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CONTENTS

26

Pro-Active – Max Payload, Top Capability x3

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Wheels at Wanaka 2021

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WATCH T HE V IDEO IN T HE DIG ITAL EDIT ION

INTERNATIONAL TRUCK OF THE YEAR

Associate Member

EDITOR

Dave McCoid

ASSISTANT EDITOR

Gavin Myers

D

Ph: 027 492 5601 Email: editor@nztrucking.co.nz Ph: 027 660 6608 Email: gavin@nztrucking.com

For all advertising enquiries for New Zealand Trucking magazine and Truck Trader contact: Matt Smith

Ph: 021 510 701 Email: matt@nztrucking.co.nz

Pav Warren

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SUB EDITORS

OFFICE ADMINISTRATION

Tracey Strange

Georgi George PUBLISHER

CONTRIBUTORS

Craig Andrews Carl Kirkbeck Faye Lougher Craig McCauley Jacqui Madelin Niels Jansen (Europe) Howard Shanks (Australia) Will Shiers (UK) Paul O’Callaghan

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PRODUCTION MANAGER

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64

The Mack Titan Race Truck – Genesis and Build

THE REST 8 Editorial

ART DIRECTOR

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10 Road Noise – Industry news

DIGITAL IMAGING

Willie Coyle

54 Just Truckin’ Around

DIGITAL MANAGER/CONTENT

Louise Stowell New Zealand Trucking magazine is published by Long Haul Publishing Ltd. The contents are copyright and may not be reproduced without the consent of the editor. Unsolicited editorial material may be submitted, but should include a stamped, self-addressed envelope. While every care is taken, no responsibility is accepted for material submitted.

Opinions expressed by contributors are not necessarily those of New Zealand Trucking or Long Haul Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.

56 Toki Truck Show

This magazine is subject to the New Zealand Press Council.

68 Gallery – Rob van de Hoek

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60 International Truck Stop – China on the up

88 Special Report – The impact of Covid-19 92 Incoming Cargo – Interviewing Mr Diesel 96 NZ Trucking Association Summit – Riccardo Areosa and Paul Fantham

70 New Rigs

98 Product Update – Vipal treads over the competition

74 New Bodies and Trailers

100 IRTENZ – Turbo and superchargers

76 Rhino Photo Comp – Always standing at your post

102 Truckers’ Health

78 Mini Big Rigs – NZMTA Nationals 80 Little Truckers’ Club 81 What’s On/ Cartoon

ABC Audited circulation 7092 as at September 2017 Nielsen audited readership 95,000 as at 01–2016

84 Moving Metrics

104 Health and Safety 106 Legal Lines 110 NZ Trucking Association 112 Road Transport Forum 114 The Last Mile B R OUG HT TO YO U B Y

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EDITORIAL

Mustn’t push back

I

have always been somewhat perplexed why New Zealand adopted a small, flightless, blind, solitary, largely bad-tempered bird as its national symbol despite being home to the largest eagle on record.

People I’ve discussed it with cite the fact the kiwi is still with us as the primary reason, as opposed to the Haast’s eagle, which is not. Up until now, my argument has been that it would have been a way of posthumously honouring a bird we’ve rendered extinct through our actions (as we’re inclined to do).

But looking around now, it’s probably fitting. Karma even? We have the kiwi as our bird rather than an apex predator able to use the bald eagle’s talons as a toothpick – figuratively speaking.

Why? Simply put, the ever-increasing paralysis, overthinking, ineptitude, and deception that encroaches further into our lives daily and appears to go unchallenged.

Let’s not even go near Transmission Gully – there’s just not enough paper.

The project has chalked up an almost half-billiondollar blowout, rework, and according to the media last week, the government is now not sure how the original sums were done. It’ll keep lawyers busy for decades. No, let’s scale it down a tad. One of the supreme examples of real-life 2021 New Zealand has to be the upgrades to SH2 between Waihi and Tauranga in the western Bay of Plenty. It’s narrow, rough,

multi-textured, uneven surface has had millions spent on it over what is becoming an interminable length of time only to end up a widened, rough, multi-textured, uneven surface – with side barriers and cat’s eyes of course.

None of the hideous narrow bridges on the route has been replaced, and from what I can see, only one additional slow-vehicle lane has been added to date, starting halfway up the steepest hill on the corridor just East of Waihi. What use starting it halfway up is, loses me to be frank. And after all the improvements are complete, it appears the speed limit is being reduced permanently on the Katikati-to-Tauranga leg, down from 100kph and then 90kph for the last few kilometres, to a blanket 80kph, rendering the passing lanes on that stretch useless.

If the intention was to reduce speed, why spend all that money making it wider? It’s like a double amputee getting two new legs and the local DHB setting fire to their car and e-bike just after.

Then, there’s the SH1 Wairakei to SH5 Napier/Taupo Road intersection, one of the newer, wider sections of SH1, bizarrely compromised for a year now with all manner of reconstruction while the SH5 Napier/Taupo Road and SH2 Napier to Wairoa remain to workplace safety what Donald Trump is to a harmonious United States.

And do we even start on the SH60 Takaka Hill road? It has just rolled through its fourth

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8 New Zealand Trucking

May 2021

summer of compromise. At what point do carriers in the area demand a rebate on the RUCs for almost half a decade of disruption and significantly increased R&M brought about by loaded trucks stopping and starting on a severe incline multiple times a day? A solitary road link to a significant tourism, farming, quarrying and commercial-fishing region has seen little urgency in its rehabilitation since being severely compromised by Cyclone Gita in February 2018.

Leaving the road-builders to muddle on… It’s absurd to think about the amount of industry representation we have, yet we’re still crippled by a plethora of ludicrous rules and issues. Take drivinghours, legislation that actually promotes the driving of heavy trucks while tired. What about driver/truck facilities and hours in and around the Cook Strait ferries; the ongoing debacle that is transport engineering certification – it just goes on.

Then there’s the day-today reality of unchallenged occupational inertia. Here’s another example of 2021 New Zealand that happened just last week. A truck driver delivering to a site was asked about his choice of PPE while driving; the enquirer wanting to know why he hadn’t driven the 1000-odd kilometres to the delivery point in full body cover and heavy boots. The driver then had to undergo a full drug, alcohol, and fitfor-work test only to find the

consignee unable to unload him for three and half hours.

Maybe concentrating on organising their own operation would have been the more productive fit-for-work option?

What started off this editorial was a discussion I had with an experienced driver some time back who was beyond punch-drunk, utterly resolved to continual unchallenged adjustment.

“It is what it is,” he said.

“Nothing’s improving; nothing gets done. The job’s getting harder; there’s more resistance at customer sites all the time, the roads are a workplace and they’re atrocious – dangerous – and no one’s batting for us. No one’s pushing back. It’s all very well celebrating the industry and travelling the length of the country chasing media exposure, but someone also has to do the dirty work for us. Why weren’t the amenities open from the minute lock-down was announced last year?

Seems obvious to me. All these associations and we had nothing. I’ll just keep on going until I’ve had enough and can’t do any more, and then I’ll just park it.”

His is a sentiment not hard to find.

Dave McCoid Editor

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ROAD NOISE NEWS

OBITUARY – TRISH BEXLEY Long-serving New Zealand Trucking magazine stalwart Trish Bexley has died after a battle with cancer.

Trish joined the company in March 1994 in the thennew role of office manager.

At the time employed by the local MAN agent, she was head-hunted to fill the position, created by the magazine’s fast growth.

She continued through changes in the publication’s ownership until retiring in 2016.

Under the Fairfax Magazine Group, Trish’s role expanded to proofreading several publications and becoming sub-editor of New Zealand Trucking. She was involved with several titles as diverse as NZ Autocar and Farm & Lifestyle magazines.

Trish was also responsible for the production of Truck Trader magazine, the forerunner of Truck & Light Commercial Trader.

Although Trish enjoyed being around trucks, she was primarily a people person and often spoke of her pleasure working with those in the industry.

She is survived by daughters Claire and Lisa and three grandchildren.

10 New Zealand Trucking

Grant (left) and Rick Ranger have recently taken ownership of Auckland Truck Alignment.

New look, same service

F

ather and son duo Rick and Grant Ranger have recently taken ownership of Auckland Truck Alignment in Papatoetoe.

The Rangers took over on 1 April, the deal coming about after Rick took his truck in for wheel alignment and thought it would be a good business buy. The owner of 22 years, Neil Smith, agreed to sell, and the company now enters a new era.

Auckland Truck Alignment

May 2021

is an established name in heavy-commercial tyre, wheel alignment and suspension maintenance. Those who know the business can expect the same service levels to continue as the new owners add their touch.

All the same services, including truck and trailer wheel alignment, tyres, suspension repairs, and onand off-truck wheel balancing, remain on offer. The business continues as a member of the

New Zealand Heavy Transport Wheel Aligners Association, which incorporates the biggest players of the heavycommercial vehicle wheelalignment industry. Members must work to a code, and all equipment is audited and kept up to standards dictated by the association.

“The business is going through a bit of rebranding at the moment, and we’re giving the building a facelift,” says Grant.

Drivesure Vehicle Testing starts heavy-vehicle operation

D

rivesure Vehicle Testing has recently commenced operation of its first heavyvehicle testing facility at its Henderson Supersite in Moselle Avenue.

“The addition of heavyvehicle COF inspection completes our services alongside entry certification, light-vehicle inspections such as WOF and COFA, and vehicle registrations,” says CEO Greg Ranson.

Drivesure has grown during the past 12 years from a single WOF testing station on Auckland’s North Shore to a full-service KSDP (Key Service Delivery Partner) for the New Zealand Transport Agency, with operations across Auckland

and in Hamilton.

“Key to our growth and success has been our people and management systems.

The establishment of this new heavy-vehicle inspection operation has been driven by industry demand, along with our strong track record of quality inspection outcomes for both customers and the NZTA.” The Henderson inspection site can accommodate all classes of heavy vehicle, and is open from 6am Monday to Saturday.

Additional sites are under review, with strong industry demand for vehicle inspection services of all types at present, including compliance and in-service inspections.

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ROAD NOISE NEWS

SCANIA NEW ZEALAND EXPANDS INTO WHANGAREI AND GISBORNE Scania New Zealand has opened two new workshops in Whangarei and Gisborne.

Both sites will operate with a full suite of services, parts and after-hours support.

The Whangarei site was the previous CablePrice workshop for Northland.

It will now be operated by Scania New Zealand and will be rebranded for its opening.

The Gisborne site is the location of the new, authorised Scania service dealer for the East Coast region, East Coast Heavy Diesel and Machinery.

Scott Hale, director of East Coast Heavy Diesel and Machinery, said the company was delighted to come under the Scania stable and looked forward to maintaining its highly professional standards and customer-focussed service.

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Industry leaders partner to reduce freight emissions

A

report released in mid-April by the Sustainable Business Council’s (SBC) Freight Group sets out an ambitious but achievable 30-year pathway to progressively decarbonise New Zealand’s freight system.

The Low Carbon Freight Pathway report was launched at an event at Toll Tamaki in South Auckland, attended by Transport Minister Michael Wood and industry leaders from the transport, freight and business sectors. The freight group includes leaders from nine New Zealand companies committed to lowcarbon freight – Countdown, Fonterra, the Lyttelton Port Company, New Zealand Post, Ports of Auckland, Swire Shipping, The Warehouse Group, TIL Logistics Group and Toll.

The host of the event and member of SBC’s Freight Group, executive general manager Toll New Zealand, Jon Adams, said the companies in the group were already advancing their own decarbonisation pathway and were committed to the country’s zero-carbon future by 2050.

“Every year, we move about 280 million tonnes of

freight across our transport system – through road, rail, coastal shipping, international shipping and air. That’s about 56 tonnes of freight per person in New Zealand. On current projections, our freight volumes will increase by 33% well before 2050. If we do nothing, emissions will grow by more than 37% by 2050.

We need to act now.”

Fellow group member and sustainability expert Rosie Mercer, general manager of sustainability at Ports of Auckland, said that members of the freight group partnered to help the wider freight sector get to net zero.

“New Zealand’s freight system is vital to our economy and our wellbeing. It is a complex system, and we believe that the most effective approach to decarbonisation is leadership with an approach designed and led by, and for, industry.

“This is the Freight Group’s goal. At the core of this approach is working in partnership with the government to support a planned and staged 30-year decarbonisation programme,” she said.

Both acknowledge that decarbonisation across the

transport sector is ambitious but achievable.

“The report shows that the most effective pathway is to manage the economic cost of the transition carefully.

Our proposed low-carbon freight pathway has three interconnected horizons of work, with each horizon progressed concurrently and starting immediately.

“These horizons have different levels of intensity and time periods, allowing a staged transition. It’s an approach that provides businesses with the time and greater surety to best manage the transition of their fleet.”

The low-carbon freight pathway proposes: • Reducing emissions by optimising the use of existing vehicles; • Replacing fossil fuels with biofuels; and • As vehicles are retired, replacing them with zerocarbon vehicles.

“Our next step is to work with the sector and to bring more partners on board the pathway.

“As more businesses begin the transition, the cost of decarbonisation will fall as we achieve economies of scale,” said Adams.

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ROAD NOISE NEWS

CABLEPRICE NELSON TO SERVE MERCEDES-BENZ, FREIGHTLINER, FUSO CablePrice’s branch in Stoke, Nelson, has become a full Mercedes-Benz, Freightliner and Fuso dealership as well as the region’s official MercedesBenz van service and parts dealer.

The workshop has been expanded to cater for fulllength truck and trailer units, buses and vans.

Other new features include a re-designed site layout with additional yard space, along with heavy-duty lifts and a high roof, so the team can lift almost any vehicle while remaining fully under cover. A team of qualified Mercedes-Benz technicians has also been employed.

Like all CablePrice branches, Nelson provides everything from scheduled servicing and routine maintenance to general repairs and 24/7 roadside assistance. It operates a fully stocked parts department.

The team can offer quick turnaround times and prompt delivery option. Any part not in stock can usually be secured overnight.

Tom Chapman is new VP Mack Australia

V

olvo Group Australia has announced that Tom Chapman has been appointed to the role of vice president, Mack Trucks Australia.

Tom has worked within Volvo Group Australia (VGA) since 2015 in a variety of roles, ranging from marketing and communications to, more recently, supporting the VGA retail network, working in branded commercial support roles.

“Throughout his time within

the VGA business, Tom has demonstrated an impressive ability to drive change, find solutions and support our dealers and our customers,” said Martin Merrick, president and CEO, Volvo Group Australia.

“Tom’s drive, enthusiasm for the Mack brand, and his commitment to customer success make him perfectly placed to steer Mack Trucks Australia into an exciting future,” he continued.

“Mack is in excellent hands

as our transformation journey continues to take shape here in Australia.

“Our new Australian-made Mack range has hit the road with excellent initial feedback from customers driving these trucks for the first time.

“We look forward to seeing Mack continue to evolve under the stewardship of both Tom and the wider Mack team as we power into a rapidly changing future for road transport.”

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14 New Zealand Trucking

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31st of June 2021 31st of31st June of31st 2021 June of2021 June 2021 31st of June 2021

ROAD NOISE NEWS

Iveco delivers for MIT students

S

ponsoring The Blues has led to a collaboration between two of the team’s commercial partners that will help introduce industry standard equipment to the next generation of automotive engineers.

Iveco and Manukau Institute of Technology started talking about how they could work together at a sponsors’ function, which has led to Iveco donating two diesel engines and a gearbox to the south Auckland vocational education provider.

“The industry is screaming out for training on diesel – so

this will be a real industry arch,” said MIT automotive lecturer Trevor Williams.

Not only will the students be able to learn on the new equipment, they will also be able to complete work experience with Iveco.

The engines allow for learners to be directly exposed to modern systems.

“They will learn stripping identification, measurements and reassembling from an engine point of view, then we’ll use the fuel system to educate students on how the common-rail fuel system works. They also go through the oiling system, the turbocharger, intake and

exhaust,” said Williams.

The work experience with Iveco will happen at least once a week in the company’s Wiri-based workshop, less than three kilometres from MIT TechPark in Manukau.

“Once some of our students have completed a few months’ worth of work with the automotive school, we want to get them in to complete work experience here at Iveco,” explained MIT recruitment consultant,

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Blues Rugby general manager commercial, Todd Hewitt, is delighted with the collaboration that has come from both parties’ support of the franchise.

“We’ve made a concerted effort at the Blues to focus on collaboration between partners and this initiative is great testament to that focus,” he said.

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Fuso eCanter launched to Zero Emission Area

F

uso New Zealand recently hosted the first local adopters of the Fuso eCanter, as well as representatives from government and infrastructure, for a special launch event and information session ahead of the first eCanter units in May. Five of the units will be dedicated to Auckland Transport’s Queen Street Valley Zero Emissions Area (ZEA) Trial, which is headed by participants Mainfreight,

Bidfood, Toll, Owens Transport and Vector OnGas. The event saw a full demonstration of the Fuso eCanter, including test drives, as well as providing a great insight into developments and trends concerning EV technology and power infrastructure, particularly from a transport operator perspective.

“We’re all excited to finally see Fuso eCanter arrive and go to work in the Auckland

CBD. It is ideal for inner-city delivery. It’s easy to drive, produces zero emissions and is virtually silent, which is a huge benefit to local residents and workers. The ZEA trial sets the scene for the future, particularly for these earlyadopters who have joined us on this journey leading the charge,” said Kathy Schluter, Fuso NZ head of sales and customer experience.

Fuso eCanter is the first series-manufactured electric

truck from an OEM globally and is backed by three million kilometres of real-world testing and evaluation.

“We are delighted to be the first to bring New Zealand a zero-emissions delivery truck, which includes fully integrated advanced safety systems. This is a project we have focussed on for a number of years, and we are looking forward to getting these units out to work for our customers,” said Schluter.

The eCanter is driven by a permanent synchronous electric motor powered by an 81kWh (420V) lithium-ion, liquid-cooled battery pack. It delivers an impressive 135kW and 390Nm, which provides a range of 100 to 150km on a single charge – well-suited to around-town delivery routes. New Zealand Trucking magazine drove the eCanter in the April 2020 issue when it was in the country for evaluation.

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PACCAR celebrates 50 years of Australian manufacturing

O

n 2 March 1971, the first Australian-made Kenworth truck rolled off the production line at Bayswater, Victoria.

Fifty years, 60 models and more than 70,000 trucks later, employees recently celebrated that history-making day with government officials, dealer principals, industry partners, and suppliers.

As part of the celebrations, Australian Treasurer Josh Frydenberg; Assistant Treasurer Michael Sukkar; Assistant Minister for Road Safety and Freight Transport, Scott Buchholz; and Assistant Minister to the Deputy Prime Minister, Kevin Hogan, toured the facility before celebrating with staff the role PACCAR

has played in both the trucking and manufacturing industries during the past 50 years.

Speaking at the anniversary celebration, PACCAR Australia managing director, Andrew Hadjikakou, paid tribute to the foresight of those that first brought Kenworth to the country and those responsible for establishing the Bayswater plant, describing its development as a defining moment for the Australian road transport industry.

“We are extremely proud of this achievement and honoured that the treasurer and his colleagues have joined us to show their support for our industry and

for PACCAR,” remarked Hadjikakou.

The company’s success has been underpinned throughout by an unwavering commitment to manufacturing quality trucks designed specifically for Australian conditions.

“Today, the workforce behind each truck is measured in the thousands.

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“Not everything has changed, though. Each Kenworth is still specifically application-engineered for its intended task and the desire to build the world’s best trucks still inspires and unites us.”

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ROAD NOISE NEWS

Recycled plastic truck mudguards

A

collaboration between some of the country’s leading manufacturing and transport companies will mean hundreds of plastic truck mudguards will not be going to landfill this year – and instead will be recycled into new mudguards for heavy-commercial vehicles.

The project, led by Rhino Manufacturing in Rotorua, repurposes used Rhino mudguards into New Zealand’s first recycled plastic truck mudguards. The recycled mudguards perform in strength and colour and meet the necessary industry requirements.

Rhino Manufacturing general manager Will Samuel said the project had taken a year from initial concept to

prototype, to hitting the road on trucks across the country.

“We are thrilled with the development of this innovative and sustainable product that will go some way to helping the freight industry reduce its carbon emissions.

It’s a really small step, but it’s an important one, and it goes to show how a bit of creative thinking can start making a difference,” he said.

“It’s also cost-effective, as the recycled mudguards are the same price as new guards. We’ve been blown away by the support and feedback from industry and believe that this is just the start of the potential for this product and process.”

The first trucking company to use the recycled guards

TR Group national sales manager Shane O’Grady (left) and Rhino Manufacturing general manager Will Samuel. is TR Group. National sales manager Shane O’Grady said the company had a strong commitment to sustainability and the recycled mudguards were a “no-brainer”.

“We are always looking for innovative solutions to help us reduce waste. We are returning our own used guards for recycling, so it’s great to see the finished product back on our trucks,

having come full circle.”

Fonterra is one of the largest contributors to the recycling effort – with hundreds of milk tankers on the road and over a dozen mudguards on each one – and has been a key partner in the product’s launch.

“We started looking at our own recycling options,

Continued on page 24>>

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ROAD NOISE NEWS << Continued from page 22 but after discussions with Rhino, we liked the fact that we know our old guards are being completely repurposed for the same purpose. It’s a great example of the circular economy,” said Fonterra’s national parts and warranty manager, Guy Cooper.

Plastics supplier Vision Plastics manages the supply of plastic and recycling processes, and general manager Steve Lewis said plastics could sometimes unjustly get a bad name.

“This project clearly demonstrates that companies can cost-effectively achieve environmental benefits.”

Samuel said trucking companies could return their used Rhino guards for free, and shipping might also be covered, depending on proximity to the specialist plastics recycling centres.

Peter Sowman 1962 - 2021

T

R Group is devastated to announce the passing of dearly loved friend and team member Peter Sowman. After a short but brave battle with cancer, Peter passed away on his own terms, at home, surrounded by his loved ones. He is survived by his partner Sandra, children Josh and Aimee, his parents, brothers and sisters, and extended family.

Pete was a well-known industry identity, having spent many years with Waste Management, NZL, TDL, and TR Group (for the past seven years). He will forever

be remembered for his love of the people around him, a good yarn, a party, a dance and most of all for treating everyone he met with respect and care.

Pete was also a very talented athlete, having played representative rugby and competed worldwide in Ironmans, marathons, and ocean swims. Up until he became ill, Pete was training to become the oldest person to swim the Cook Strait.

“In recent times, Pete had found his happy place with a house on the beach at Pukehina and re-locating with TR Group to run its branch

in Mt Maunganui. In the short space of time, he was there, he had made many great friends in the Mount and had created a wonderful atmosphere and culture at the branch,” said Brendan King, TR Group general manager.

“We will forever treasure the memory of Pete and the amazing ability he had to make us feel special and happy when he entered the room.

“The world is a lesser place for his passing, but we will hold dear his memory and the impact he had on our lives forever. Rest in peace, Pete.

Our love is with you always.”

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COVER FEATURE

PRO-ACTIVE Long-established and well-respected Dannevirke-based AWE McNicol launched its Napier-based Central Log Transport (CLT) operation in January last year. The goal was to deliver maximum payload with topend capability, a combination not always easy to achieve. CLT believes that with the ProStar in peak trim, they’re as close as they can get. The company’s third ProStar was recently commissioned and with No.4 in the wings, it’s worth investigating why.

Story by Dave McCoid Photos and video by Gavin Myers, Chad Jones, and Dave McCoid

N

othing’s truer than the adage, ‘There’s more than one way to skin the old domestic tiger.’

In March, we looked at Kane Bennett’s new Kenworth T909 log combination in classic 6x4 and 4-axle configuration, built to slot nicely into work the HPMVs turn up their toes at. It was a simple truck in terms of set-up and day-to-day compliance costs.

This month, we head down the other end of the philosophical spectrum and, by that, we mean taking maximum advantage of every opportunity both machine and VDAM afford. To do that, we went back to the friendly log-truck community in the sunny Hawke’s Bay, where toots and waves are as common as a rock in the Gimblett Gravels. We were there to spend a couple of days with three of AWE McNicol’s new International ProStar R8 HDs, running under the company’s CLT (Central Log Transport) banner.

A new day Log trucking is renowned for its bracing start times, and 1am is about as character-building as it gets. It’s the regular ‘go’ line for drivers Jarrod Jones and Farran Marsh, and on this day, CLT director and operations manager Zac Brausch is also on deck. As we stood on the forecourt of the BP

Bayview in Napier, it looked supercool as the three ProStars glided in, one, two, three, each taking a bay in the empty servo. Out jumped the lads, and in typical Hawke’s Bay fashion, they were all as happy as hell to see us.

Drinks purchased, it was in with Zac and up SH2 toward the small village of Raupunga, situated on the northeastern side of the Mohaka River. There, we turned inland onto Putere Road and headed up a long valley.

The 25km or so trip into the spur road began with the usual deception, a dual carriageway with fog lines. Then the fog lines disappeared, then the bitumen started to narrow and lose its edge-integrity in places, causing the trucks to dip and lurch a little more, then the climbing and descending got more severe. Then, as you’ll have guessed by now, the bitumen disappeared altogether… thankfully. ‘Thankfully?’ Well, yes, because if you’ve done a bit of log trucking in New Zealand hill country, you’ll know it’s the bitumen access roads that go the longest between fix-ups. Regularly getting the council grader and scarifier on the gravel sections isn’t too hard.

But getting them to rip up and repatriate slumped bitumen can be like asking Meghan Markle to help paint Buckingham Palace.

All in all, it was your classic Kiwi

Loaded ProStars on the run down White Pine Bush Scenic Reserve, Hawke’s Bay. Big payload, and stock off the skids …quantitative easing you might say.

New Zealand Trucking

May 2021 27

While the world sleeps the log industry’s day is well underway.

forest-access scenario. And, as log truckers know, the key to ongoing safe access and consistent productivity is communication. In the pitch black of the early morning, the bush radio was alive as trucks called themselves in and out, using established mile markers at the location queue points. It’s all done like a cheery chat room, with the vital information interspersed with levity, which is critical when you consider where they all are, what they’re all doing, and the time they’re doing it.

Zac pulls onto the spur road at the top of a nondescript hill, and the headlights swing into the bush and shine down the road accessing our skid.

“This will be one of the winter skids this year,” he says.

“It’s one of the closer skids to Putere Road – only about three kilometres in.”

The climbs and descents were certainly ‘winter manageable’. We were third in the line. Farran was immediately in front in the newest of the CLT machines.

Jarrod led the charge in the original truck, painted in white rather than the customary AWE McNicol gun-metal grey. It had been spec-built

by Intertruck, with a few additional bonnet graphics and the like, so had been left as-is, with just signage added.

Soon, the lumens of the headlights gave way to the impressive log-harvesting operation of Grapple Yarding Services. This is haulier or swing-yarder country. No

expansive landings here, as you often find on the Plateau.

The East Coast is more like the Coromandel, King Country, and parts of Tasman with their tight reverse-in/ drive-out operations. The trucks had it easy at this site since the next skid site was only a hundred or so metres down the hill, allowing them to turn around there, cruise back up and wait their turn.

Finding the right mix It would be fair to say International’s ProStar and 9870 products are finding a happy home in Hawke’s Bay in ever-increasing numbers. CLT’s operation has the three trucks we’re here for, with No.4 due in July and – potentially – a fifth

Left: Jarrod and Farran work as a team. Right: Jarrod arrives at the weighbridge just before dawn.

28 New Zealand Trucking

May 2021

sometime after that. Twist Trucking’s now up to about seven, and there are ProStars in the Weatherell Transport and Austin Clements fleets.

Stephenson Transport in Waipawa is also about to take on a couple of 9870s in its stock division. They’re just the obvious ones that spring to mind, so why all the fuss?

It would be fair to say all these apples haven’t fallen far from the Brian Aitchison tree in terms of a potential explanation. Readers will remember that we tested Brian’s ProStar two years ago, and at the time, he couldn’t fathom why you’d buy anything else, citing tare weight and running gear as the mainstays of his decision.

The motivation for Zac Brausch, at least, isn’t too

Chain check on the way out. far removed.

“They’re a bit cheaper than a Kenworth. But for us, it’s the payload and running gear. You can chase payload in other brands too, but you’ll start to compromise on the power.

“They’re all set up as nineaxle at 50-max, and that gives us a 33-tonne payload. We’re in the process of getting 54-tonne permits; that’ll give us 37 tonnes. All six crews up here [Putere Road] are 54-tonne access, plus there’s two more just south of Wairoa and one in Putorino.

“There’s work we could do closer to Dannevirke, but it’s all woodlot on 44-tonne roads, and that’s no good for us because you’re just not optimising the truck’s potential.”

Payload aside, there’s an

awful lot in terms of potential.

Intertruck Distributors’ brochure cites the 8x4 ProStar R8 HD with Cummins X-15, Eaton, Meritor, and the company’s IROS rear suspension at a ballerina-like 9200kg, with motion lotion in the tank. The newest of the CLT trucks tips the scales at 10,900kg, with the various customer-centric requirements, and the Patchell Industries 5-axle 2-bay trolley weighs 6100kg.

“The first trailer came with a straight-through chassis, and the second with a drop chassis,” says Zac. “Patchells said there’d be a weight penalty with the drop frame, but it was a little too far from what they told us, so we’ve gone back to straights, and that’s where we’ll stay. When

you chase payload, everything comes under scrutiny. Having said that, I have to admit that trailer is like nothing else in the fleet to tow.”

Back to the truck, and it’s the X-15 under that snub wee snout that is one of the real jewels to its ‘Pro’-ness.

It means the ProStar keeps both Kenworth’s T610, and Western Star’s 4800 series trucks honest in terms of short bonnet, 15 litre, 8x4 conventional configuration trucks. Wanting big muscle at both Mack and Freightliner means living in a new dimension, literally.

The back wall of the cab in the ProStar is 2895mm from the front of the Ali Arc bumper, with the big red devil snuggly in place beneath the bonnet. For interest’s sake,

the T610 has a BBC (Bumper to Back of Cab) of 2850mm (2860mm in SAR trim), and the 4884FXC 2271mm.

The CLT trucks run the high-end Cummins output offering from Intertruck at 459kW (615hp) and 2779Nm (2050lb/ft). Behind the 15-litre Euro-5 engines in the three trucks are one Eaton Roadranger RTLO22918B 18-speed manual and two Eaton UltraShift PLUS 20E318B-MXP 18-speed AMTs. “Yeah, it’s a hard decision,” says Zac. “The first truck – the white one Jarrod’s in – was a spec-build with a manual. He wouldn’t have anything else. Trucks No.2 and No.3 have been autos, and they’re fine. Not everyone wants them, but everyone

Left: Safety is reflected in the rules.

New Zealand Trucking

May 2021 29

Log tally base in Napier. can operate them – that’s the problem. With the manuals, you have to find people who can operate them – and that’s getting harder. Getting bums in seats is the biggest problem the industry has, and even with new gear, we’re no exception.

“At least with AMTs, you’re eliminating one potential pitfall. Truck No.4 will be an AMT, but if the fifth one goes ahead, it will be another manual because there’s still a generation who want a gear lever.”

Fascinating times, aren’t they?

Rearward further, and you’ll

find Meritor’s RT46-160GP drive bogie at 1.4m axle spacing with inter-axle lock and cross-lock on both axles, independently operated. The Meritors run 4.3:1 on account of the 11R rubber.

The axles are perched on International’s four-bag IROS (International Ride Optimised Suspension), in HD guise for the arduous work. Brakes are disc all around with EBS – and, therefore, ABS – as well as Automatic Traction Control.

The two autos sport a bit more in driver aids: intelligent gear selection, auto skip shifting, low-speed creep, hill start, electronic clutch

A hive of industry by day.

30 New Zealand Trucking

May 2021

actuator, stall prevention, and auto neutral. Jarrod’s has all of that, too, but it’s programmed into him rather than the truck.

Being Ultrashift PLUS units, the AMT machines are also equipped with Cummins ADEPT; the problem is that the roads north and west of Napier aren’t that adept at providing a terrain sympathetic to the capabilities of the system.

South, however, could well be a different story. If the trucks find themselves on regular jaunts in and out of the Wairarapa, there may be some serious diesel to

be saved, exploiting what the engine and transmission ‘smarts’ have to offer.

The CLT trucks are all equipped with New Zealand’s own Bigfoot central tyre inflation (CTI) systems, a system Zac says was recommended to him when they started the log truck operation 18 months ago.

“Bigfoot, Patchell log gear, and Hendrickson axles was the advice we got,” he says.

“Patchell is strong down here, and the gear obviously lasts.”

Breaking out The Grapple Yarding team’s Josh Styles had the three

Farran Marsh, a man happy to be working in the log truck industry.

loads on in double-quick time and with a smoothness that defies logic.

Going bush has never been that difficult, and getting back out not always so simple. It’s the extraction that separates the Scouts from the Cubs and the Guides from Brownies, speaking to both driver and machine; more so in a country such as this, where there’s no wheeled loader able to come and assist if you’re ‘dagged’ on a hill a kilometre from the load-out.

If you think you’re going to be in real tiger country, one of the ProStar’s other handy-to-haves on the spec sheet is the ECAS second steer. Dumping the air in the second-steer when the going gets especially challenging throws a huge chunk of weight back to the drives, and with all available locks engaged plus CTI, it would take the Hillary Step to stop it. The CLT trucks have the standard Soft-Ride parabolic springs under the front, but it’s an option for Zac in future deployments.

The departure from the skid was a dip into a long climb, the initial part of which was docile and afforded the trucks somewhere to double check the chains for the trip out. The three trucks with twin 5-inch stacks, Ali Arc bumpers and stainless bug-guards looked as pretty as a picture.

The logs secured in their bunks, Zac engaged the necessary power-sharing apparatus on the Meritors and lifted off.

“We drive them in manual – it’s the only way to get out,” he says, selecting third gear and feeding the X-15 some diesel with his right foot.

Our minds were instantly back with Craig Kelly in the Uhlenberg T610 two years ago when he turned her out onto the main road at Waitara with 54 tonnes in tow and fed it the berries. When an X-15 is given something substantial to gnaw on – like 33 tonnes of wood – it emits a wonderful

sound. Zac showed the ProStar the first hill. The truck scrambled up with little fuss, and there was no indication on the way out of issues underfoot.

“They’re bloody good on traction,” he says. “We’re trialling different drive-tyre combinations with our supplier Bay Tyres – a mix of retreads and virgins. The newer truck came shod with Kiwi Tyres, and they’re working well. They’re maybe a bit aggressive in the dry, but doing really good off-road in the wet.”

In the unlikely event the incline does beat the ProStar, the Ali Arc bumper does have a more than chunky centrally mounted tow pin.

Down into the dips, the Jacobs delivered its usual satisfying note and 448kW (600hp) of retardation.

You could easily see the advantages of the AMT for a fleet owner, where you can never be 100% sure who might be driving it next.

Every time Zac selected a button, it changed gear effortlessly, allowing him to be constantly vigilant of position, communications, and general surroundings.

It’s worth noting, though, that experience and plain old empathy for machines still plays a huge role, and AMTs aren’t an elixir for idiots. Zac was making shifts pretty much where you make them in a manual and not doing anything that may cause the truck undue stress.

Soon we were back out on Putere Road.

“The main road up the valley gets a lot of traffic.

Generally speaking, it holds up not too bad, although it only takes one or two to get a bit excited, and all of a sudden, the ruts and corrugations will be away,” he says.

Midway along the Putere Road, there is a primary school, and it sits in a gully, so there’s a 7am curfew on engine braking in the area.

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May 2021 31

Jarrod exiting Putere Road.

“The previous teacher commuted in, but the new one lives close by. It’s fair enough.”

It’s amazing the tools we come to rely on that we can’t do without. There was a lot of freight shifted in New Zealand before Mr Jacobs arrived with

his engine brake. Yes, the weights might be far greater, but nine axles with modern disc brakes and assistance systems have no trouble in the right hands.

As a fleet operator, Zac is aware of the social licence the business is allowed in terms of operating in these

rural areas, ensuring such rules are adhered to.

As we passed the school later in the day on the second round, all the kids were lined up on the fence and waved frantically to the passing ProStars, who in turn tooted back with equal enthusiasm.

Through drivers’ eyes About a third of the way out, we all pull over for the chain check, and I swap Stars for the one with a gear lever.

Jarrod Jones is not old by any means, but he’s an oldschool trucker to the core.

The son of a career truck

Testing each others mettle on the Devil’s Elbow section.

32 New Zealand Trucking

May 2021

Photo Credit: Brausch collection

The ProStars aren’t the first foray into New Zealand’s homegrown Inters. There’s a couple of 9870s lurking in the parent AWE McNicol livery that paved the way.

Right: It’s always a reassuring sign when the boss knows where the steering wheel is at 1am. Zac Brausch runs the family’s CLT operation and is certainly ‘that guy’.

A FAMILY AFFAIR

T

he name AWE McNicol is a long-standing and respected primary industry brand in the Wairarapa, historically focussed on the cartage of wool for its owners, the Primary Wool Co-Operative.

The transport arm of the business was purchased

by Warren Brausch and business associate Steve Young some 11 years ago. At the time, 75% of the ledger was wool cartage, but in the succeeding years, the business has diversified its product portfolio, and today wool comprises just under 50%. With Warren running the general arm, the Central Log Transport operation,

based in Napier, works to spread the business’ risk and is run by son Zac. The unit works for Harvest Logistics, servicing New Zealand Forest Managers plantations.

The business is truly a family affair, with Zac’s mum, Donna, assigned the logbusinesses administration requirements. Youngest sister Courtney works part-time, overseeing the company’s health and safety requirements and taking on administration in the generalfreight operations.

“I’ve been here for about half the time we’ve owned it,” says Zac. “Before that, I was working in Western Australia. I enjoy trucking; it’s interesting with

lots of variation, and I enjoy the mix – management, operations, driving, and being a builder by trade. I like turning my hand to a bit of the maintenance, too.”

The fleet’s a mixed bag, with 10 curtain-side units, a drop-sider, and the three log trucks – soon to be four. There’s a healthy representation from New Zealand’s home-assembled International product, with a couple of 9870s in the general arm of the business.

“We aim for 30 tonnes on the non-log trucks, and the International product allows that. Others not so.

“The reality is that as the business grows, I’m tied up more and more in the running

of it all – that’s life, I guess,” says Zac, with a smile. “Like many operators, finding capable drivers is always an issue, and we’re really lucky to have Jarrod and Farran in the log arm. They’re doing a superb job for us.

“There’s an opportunity to grow the log division without doubt, but we need the people. If you’re out there and want to be part of a tight team in a lovely part of the country, give me a call.

Oh, and if you’d like a crack at a varied and interesting operations role, we can accommodate that too.

“Never miss an opportunity,” he says with a grin as he turns back toward the waiting ProStar.

New Zealand Trucking

May 2021 33

FEELING SPORTY

I driver, Gary, Jarrod also chose the life for himself, and at age 38, he has 15 years of driving under his belt, having first started in the Kaingaroa in his dad’s Atkinson when on the off-highway network.

“I’ve driven lots of gear – ‘K-dubs’ and that – and I thought I’d take a while to mould into these ProStars.

But, mate, they’re the bees’ knees,” he says as he slips the clutch and ‘gets into it’… and I mean ‘gets into it’. Jarrod starts picking gears off like shooting drunk turkeys three metres downrange with a shotgun, all in a sequence he decides, and all the more impressive considering the topography – gullies, dips, and short, vicious twisting climbs.

“I get them on the hills coming out, eh?” says Jarrod referring to the AMT machines. “There’s a fraction of a delay in the AMTs on what would be the splits that I don’t have, and I just inch away.”

Spending time in the two trucks provides the stark realisation of what 200,000 years of programming in the human computer has achieved in terms of finesse and intuition. When those qualities aren’t as honed through the driving artform, the influence will be felt well beyond the cab.

New Zealand Trucking’s Gavin Myers is back in with

34 New Zealand Trucking

Farran, and he’s getting much the same story.

Farran’s a recent arrival to the log-truck industry. He also has spent most of his working life behind the wheel having cut his teeth with his father and uncles. He has worked as a fleet and ownerdriver so far. Now 42, one of Farran’s dreams was to be able to take his dad for a ride in a truck that he [Farran] owned, something he was able to fulfil before his dad’s death.

He agrees with Jarrod’s summation of the ProStars.

“Yep, they’re cool trucks and go bloody well. Given the choice, I’d certainly go for a manual in this work, but it’s pretty hard to fault. I’ll drive it in manual in the hard stuff – sometimes the auto gets caught out.”

Jarrod and Farran came off linehaul jobs to work in the CLT business. They’re both Hawke’s Bay boys, each looking for more of a home life.

“I’ve done eight years on logs in total, in both islands,” says Jarrod. “But at the time we came back up early last year, I was working linehaul based out of Amberley.

Dad got crook, so we came home. I wanted a job where I could spend more time with him and family, and Zac was on the lookout. He’s been a bloody great boss to work for. You know what’s May 2021

f you step back and look at a ProStar, the impression is one of a compact, unintimidating, arrowlike carriage. Walk up to the nose, and the average sixfooter will be a good head above the famous orange diamond emblem on its front.

They’re slippery, and the battle is always on between International and Freightliner as to who has the lorry that slices the atmosphere most efficiently. Is it ProStar or Cascadia? On the vast open plains of the central United States, it’s a meaningful stat and represents real dosh.

In this work in the back blocks of Hawke’s Bay, aerodynamics are of little consequence.

Access is easy, and the doors have beautiful big handles – inside and out. Once inside, there’s a spacious feel in a cab that’s only about 80mm narrower

The Prostar cockpit.

A compact, powerful, manoeuvrable truck that’s begging to be driven. (Right) The AMT shifter module in the foreground.

than Kenworth’s 2.1m. There’s buttoned vinyl on the roof and rear wall, and a dash with a more fleet-spec plastic grey-and-black backing to the wrap and binnacle than the Aitchison machine’s Rosewood backing from two years ago.

In typical fashion, the Intertruck team say they have found a way to swish that up a bit, painting the backing in mid to dark grey. So that’s the go, moving forward.

The binnacle bristles with gauges, warning lights and small central telematics, trip and driver-info readout.

There’s an independent design language for the binnacle and the wrap, with the binnacle looking more carlike while the wrap is a flatfronted affair, more modular in appearance.

The fully adjustable steering wheel falls comfortably to hand and looks like it is out

of a ute or car also – nothing in that, just saying. There’s a smart wheel with just a horn button and cruise management – that’s handy.

Wands are home to wipers, indicators and headlight beam adjustment on the left, and trailer control on the right. There are some switches under the binnacle – lights, mirror heat and like – and, on the wrap, climate, entertainment, traction, tyre inflation, some more gauges, brake valves, and minor incidentals.

When you’re talking space, day-cab loggers will never win any prizes for being a home away from home, and there is an intrusion into the cab from the engine department to get Big-Red to fit, although the occupants don’t take any heat for that as they did in distant predecessors. There are stows on both the left and right side of the front overhead console, which is home to a radio slot and interior light module.

The passenger seat has a locker underneath, there are door pockets and the godsend console between the seats. Also scoring high on the ‘handy’ scale is the locker between the entry steps on the driver’s side. It saves wet gloves and dripping hardhats from entering the inner sanctum.

Visibility is superb; it’s a big glasshouse with quarter lights. Mirrors are well placed, with all the mirror-type things you’d expect in terms of heat and adjustment. The driver gets a fully adjustable air seat, and at the time of writing,

1

3

2

4 3) With its low, sleek profile, the ProStar is a simple beast to get in and out of. 4) A handy toolbox for hats, gloves and wet stuff that ‘we’ don’t want inside if at all possible.

1 & 2) Starchy efficiency aside, in the comp for who has the coolest shifter, there is no competition at all. the standard offering in this department had also just had a birthday. An ISRI 6860/875 seat with the Inter logo embroided in the headrest will now adorn your new ProStar. Savage!

“The new-look dash

backing and seat upgrade have made a huge improvement,” says Intertruck managing director Comer Board.

The AMTs have the pushbutton shifter module, but the coolest-of-cool is the long

Yep, the X-15’s in there. If you can’t see it, put your foot on the throttle – that’ll tell you.

gear lever in the manual, with the legendary International kick or tweak in the shaft that tells any truck-head worth their salt just who this truck’s daddy was.

In many ways, it is a tipof-the-hat to the legendary models of the past.

The bonnet lifts with ridiculous ease to reveal daily checks.

Overall impression? It sounds crazy, but the ProStar invokes the same feelings of enthusiasm as great models of Inter’s past. It has the big shifter that comes to you, and although a US machine, it somehow honours the cockpit feel of the Aussie T-Line in the way everything is easy to get at.

The ProStar is a truck that begs to be driven, and for me, that’s just what an Inter should be, a truck in the same category as your favourite pair of gloves.

New Zealand Trucking

May 2021 35

required, and he leaves you to it. The trucks get fixed when something goes wrong; Motorworks in Napier is

fantastic. And look – when he needs to – he’s there at 1am and gets in himself. You can’t ask for more than that.

It’s a family business, and it has that feel. There’s a great culture.

“Oh, and the money’s

better than down south too,” he laughs.

By now, we’re out on the appalling excuse for a national highway that is SH2 between Gisborne and Napier. Nasty gullies and narrow, largely shoulderless roads at the likes of Putorino and Tutira, and narrow, tight climbing in and around Taihoa and Tangoio, make this a sad excuse for a workplace in one of the country’s forestry hotspots.

On the second round later that day, we stop at the Tangoio Roadhouse for the necessary break. Farran reflects on his short time in logging.

“I was the same. I wanted a bit more life – not driving all over the country and having

The concept that changed the trucking world in the early 1990s. ‘What goes down, can go back up, and visa-versa’. (Right) The in-cab controller: easy to use in a busy office.

Finding the elusive creature

E

xtracting log trucks from much of the nation’s forested areas in a manner not traumatic to either man or machine has always been a challenge. As we’re all well aware, New Zealand’s a mountainous country. And as payload size increased exponentially from the early 1970s, so did the level of difficulty encountered when exiting the bush, especially as shorter cut logs won increasing

36 New Zealand Trucking

favour over the once-dominant long wood.

Before the 1987 increase in GCM to 44 tonnes for permitted trucks, the 6x4 configuration reigned supreme.

However, the new regs showed an obvious payload favouritism for a 4-axle configuration truck and therein lay a problem for our log hauliers. Second-steer axles lift the weight off drive wheels, and lifting the weight off drive wheels is an issue in the bush.

May 2021

When forests such as the Coromandel Peninsula’s rugged Whangapoua Plantation came on stream for the first time in 1992, traditional 8x4s (tandem steel/ double drive), bailey bridge combinations (a long-log semi) and B-trains were prohibited by the forest company Ernslaw One before operations started, due to issues those configurations were known to have in such environments.

Situations like this led to the

rise of tri-drives. Operators could at last cash in on the advantages of the 4-axle truck in terms of payload, and leaving the forest boundaries was essentially no longer a problem… well, sort of.

There were three main ‘cons’ with the tri-drives in their short reign. Firstly, they were heavier. Secondly, they had more moving bits; but their big downer was a reluctance to go where you pointed them, especially in wet conditions.

breaks away from home.

Jarrod and I have been mates for years, and he kept saying to me to come work with Zac. I’ve never done logs and didn’t know a thing, so I was a bit wary. Zac caught up with me, though, and we had a talk, and yeah, it all looked good.

“I can’t believe how welcoming this industry has been to a newbie. I’ve had complete strangers stop and ask how I’m going and not to hesitate to yell out if I need to know something. The loader drivers are patient and take their time. This industry has been so welcoming. I’m loving it.”

Break over, and the ProStars are off. As always, there’s a healthy rivalry between the mates in terms

of whose truck has the edge, and as we head for the Devil’s Elbow, just south of Taihoa, we’re keen to see. In the steepest pinch, the AMT truck was in 11th at 1900rpm and 39kph, and the manual truck 10th at 1800rpm and 37kph, nothing in it at 50 tonnes.

“I can’t fault it, really,” says Jarrod. “They’re such an easy truck to use. They run cool; they’re not too big and clunky. Up the Putere beyond marker 9, there are a couple of corners that others need a couple of goes at, and these will simply go around as long as you hug the outside. In terms of traction, they’ll just come out of anywhere so far.

Check out the pusher pad on the trailer. It’s untouched.

They’re attracting interest, that’s for sure.”

Engaging traction aids or loading long wood also contributed to rising in-cab excitement when attempting to manage directional control. In the event all three of the above factors aligned – rain, driveline locking, and load type – it’s safe to say the steering wheel was often about as much use as a pruning saw at the Stihl timber sports. In short, with tri-drives, we’d progressed but hadn’t solved the issue. Back to the drawing board.

The pressures we ran in drive tyres had always been a case of ‘best compromise across the breadth of the vehicle’s workflow’. Lowering pressure to increase the footprint and grip was well known, and automated systems for doing just that had been used in the military since early World War II. In one of the best examples of necessity being the mother of all invention, the development of a commercially viable central inflation system in the mid-1990s changed the face of truck operation, log

trucking especially. Key to its affordability was the design, external hoses delivering air to an ingenious hub-mounted, sealed, rotating union, with no invasive requirement to the mechanics of the inner hub and axle assemblies. Almost overnight, the 8x4 tandem steer/double drive, as we know and love it, became a viable proposition in the bush, a configuration with which you could now load, steer, and exit the narrow, steep, winding trails.

Like anything, there were early teething and lessons learnt. Still, the advantages far outweighed the initial niggles, and it didn’t take long for operators in other disciplines to see the benefits. Stock cartage, road building, mining, lines maintenance, heavy haulage – all are disciplines where CTI has found a welcome home.

In 2021, CTI systems are as reliable as any component on a truck, and Bigfoot Central Tyre Inflation Systems based in Rotorua is one of the industry’s most respected

suppliers. Since fitting its first system to an LW Kenworth belonging to Fearon Logging from Masterton in 1994, Bigfoot’s has been a story of continuous development. It was the first and remains the only CTI manufacturer in New Zealand to produce its own sealed rotating mechanical union. It was also the first to introduce a GPS speed signal taken from the CTI system.

In 2016, Bigfoot was bought from original owners Neil and Maree Wylie by Neil’s brother, Graham. Manufacturing for both local and export markets, Bigfoot produces a range of advanced products.

These include multi-zone CTI systems that allow different regions of a combination – steering, drive, and trailer – to be managed from a single control unit, and lowheight mechanical unions that allow fitment to hub reduction axles.

All manufacture and R&D is done in the company’s Rotorua base by a team dedicated to easing the burden on operators who need

to extract increasingly valuable assets from difficult terrain.

That dedication to our industry has been recognised, with Bigfoot winning the 2015 Westpac Rotorua Business Excellence Award. In 2017, a study on the benefits of Bigfoot’s CTI systems, accompanied by an international literature review, was undertaken by Dr Glenn Murphy.

“We are a small company with an ever-increasing footprint,” says Graham.

“Central tyre inflation is all that we do, and we are really focussed on achieving the best possible outcome for our customers and industry alike. Our system is evolving to take advantage of the latest technology while maintaining our inherent Bigfoot practicality and reliability, which is second to none.”

Bigfoot is another superb example of a local business that forms part of the culture and modern history of the industry it serves.

New Zealand Trucking

May 2021 37

The three ProStars arriving portside in Napier.

38 New Zealand Trucking

May 2021

The ride in the 8x4 ProStar was one of the more impressive aspects for us, bearing in mind the ugliness of the surface. The drive axles have a 1.4m spacing and the steer’s R8-spec gives them 2.0m. The front springs are Soft-Ride, as the literature says, and they really are right up there for the class. Other 8x4s on these roads would have you out of the seat in places but, aside from the very occasional tap from the second steer, the ProStar trundled along with an A+ report for co-operation under challenging circumstances.

Noise-wise, it’s a US conventional, and sound levels pretty much mirrored that of Kane Bennett’s T909, at about 70 to 72dB. The ProStar is always an interesting truck in which to ride, almost like a cab-over with a bonnet. The rake is so steep, the snout is almost lost to the eye but for the apex of the curve, and the first piece of road you see is well under a car length from the front bumper at just under 4m.

If there’s one area in the ProStar’s armoury that is vulnerable at the time of writing, it’s the lack of modern safety systems. The same truck in the home market [USA] sports the Bendix Wingman Fusion system as an option.

However, 8x4 ProStars are unique to New Zealand and are about to be validated to New Zealand specs.

Intertruck has commissioned Knorr Bremse in Melbourne to test and validate the ProStar 8x4 models with the full Wingman Fusion suite, which includes its Collision Mitigation System. Intertruck confirms Wingman Fusion is now offered on all ProStar 6x4 and 8x4 models. ECAS on the second steer is incluided as part of the validation process.

Great news, but there’s no arguing there’s still huge demand for uncomplicated high-productivity trucks. And sales speak, Intertruck’s Kiwi

assembly plant is currently running at capacity.

If you’re going to drive it...

Given the terrain, extracting maximum fuel efficiency is going to be challenging… well, I guess we’re saying that if the bar of expectation is set too high, it might be an anxiety-inducing path. A standard roster is an export ex-Putere Valley to Napier, then back for one into a local mill at Wairoa, and then a home load of export from one of the gangs south of Wairoa.

All three drivers over the two days had similar styles.

The ProStars were kept humming along in the higher end of the tachometer at about 1600rpm to 1950rpm – in other words leaning on power. The nature of the country means lost impetus is never regained, or at least not until the next dip. It’s a battle of physics – mass and gravity – and an operator must decide where the lines of productivity and efficiency cross. There may only be seconds between one style and the next, but by the end of the day, a lot of seconds have added up.

To date, the ProStars are sitting about 1.41kpl (4.00mpg). If you were a linehaul operator, that’s probably not where you’d want it; in these conditions, that’s probably where it’s at for a truck with this make-up and work profile.

When your heart is in it We left Napier with a thousand thoughts, the dominant one being there is not only many ways to skin a cat, but many different cats to skin. Forest plantations and woodlots come in endless shapes, sizes, and locations, and manufacture all types of logs. One truck configuration could never optimally serve all masters. Zac and Kane are both right; if the machines fit the purpose, just drive

S P E C I F I C AT I O N S

INTERNATIONAL PROSTAR R8 IROS HD SERIES (CENTRAL LOG TRANSPORT SPEC)

Tare: 10,900kg (load certificate) ( 8455kg cab chassis minus fuel and DEF) GVM: 31,000kg GCM: 72,000kg Wheelbase: 6600mm Engine: Cummins X-15 Capacity: 15.4 litre Power: 459kW (615hp) Torque: 2779Nm (2050lb/ft) Emissions: Euro-5 via SCR Transmission AMT:

E aton UltraShift PLUS 20E318B-MXP two-pedal 18-speed.

Cummins ADEPT integrated electronics

Clutch AMT: Eaton Fuller ECA 15.5” 2-plate, ceramic, electronic adjust Transmission Manual: E aton Roadranger 22918B 18-speed manual Clutch Manual: 7-spring twin plate ceramic, 15.5” plate, manual adjust Chassis: 257mm x 91mm x 9.5mm Front axle: Meritor MFS-143 Widetrack Front-axle rating:

1 3 tonnes

Front suspension: Three-leaf parabolic spring, shock absorbers Rear axle: Meritor RT46-160GP. Inter-axle locks independently operated, crosslocks on both axles Rear-axle rating: 20,900kg Rear suspension: International Ride Optimised Suspension (IROS) HDS – four-bag air suspension Brakes: Full disc Auxiliary braking:

J acobs engine brake

Additional safety: EBS, Automatic Traction Control Fuel: 435 litres DEF tank: 90 litres Wheels:

Alcoa Dura-Bright, off-sets on the front

Tyres: 11R 22.5 Electrical: 12V Cab exterior: Aluminium cab to SAEJ2422 strength standard (exceeds ECE-29).

Rubber front, air rear mounting. LED headlights with carbon-fibre lens. Stainless visor and bug guard. Heated remote mirrors with spotter lens and down-look mirror on left Cab interior: Diamond-quilted vinyl trim on roof and rear panels. Centre storage console between seats. Alpine radio, CD, MP3 player with Bluetooth, AUX USB, and phone connectivity. Multi-position leather-wrapped steering wheel. Fully adjustable air ride seats with integrated seatbelts. Climate control Option: Ali Arc log-spec bumper. Twin 5-inch stacks. Premium Plus Interior

New Zealand Trucking

May 2021 39

Stev Trai

the doors off them. In fact, the key to ultimate efficiency is in the variation in trucks.

With good despatching, both trucks will likely arrive portside with loads optimal for the lead they’ve been on.

As for the ProStar, I love great trucks that honour their past. Intertruck’s Hugh Green laughs when he says how he’s often jibed about S-Lines.

“I’ll take that every day. They were great machines that made people a lot of money.”

There’s no denying there’s a love for old Inters as far back as the modern truck era goes.

The regard exists because each product incarnation has served its owners well. Sound

machines with competitive tare weights and front-line running gear have been the International niche for generations. The ProStar is roomy, quiet by comparison with its forebears, definitely cooler, and rides superbly, so there’s no question it’s an evolution. But it’s very much a driver’s machine; not overcomplicated, fun to operate, there to get a job done, make its owner some dosh, and packing a mechanical armoury that keeps the other big fellas more than honest.

And in that respect, it holds to everything the brand has ever been.

D p o

T L

Acknowledgement Hawke’s Bay turned on the weather and the people with their usual hospitality and helpfulness. Thanks so much to Zac Brausch for giving us the green light and his co-operation on the day. Jarrod Jones and Farran Marsh; what a great pair of blokes, and it was fantastic to see people happy at work, enjoying life’s adventure. Chad Jones, your help collecting detail and footage was invaluable.

And thanks as ever to Intertruck’s irrepressible team of Comer Board, Hugh Green and salesman on the ProStars, Jarod Maclennan.

Cuz Trai

NZT 21

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Don’t let your payload weigh on your mind!

Tipping Units, Bulk Haulage, Logging and Weighbridges

Cuzzin Transport Trailer Manufacturer: Patchell Industries

Mclellan Freight Trailer Manufacturer: MD Engineering Balclutha

Sollys Golden Bay Trailer Manufacturer: TMC

Rotorua and Christchurch Phone: 07 349 4700

www.silodec.co.nz NZT 21028 SI Lodec FP NZT.indd 1

22/04/21 8:49 AM

EVENT

WHEELS AT WANAKA Those who made the trek at Easter to the biennial Wheels at Wanaka show experienced entertainment on a level not seen previously in New Zealand.

Story and photos by Craig McCauley

42 New Zealand Trucking

May 2021

T

he second Wheels at Wanaka event, referred to by organisers as the History-in-Motion Show, drew about 24,000 attendees to the lakeside town over the past Easter Weekend.

More than 200 trucks, ranging from the early 1900s to today, gathered at the Three Parks site for the event, sponsored by Southpac Trucks.

Attendees had the opportunity to join various parades relevant to their vehicle’s brand, and a common comment was that it didn’t matter whether you had polished your truck within an inch of its life or merely washed it and parked it up, everybody was just there for a good time.

Arguably, the most popular part of the previous 2019 event was the ‘Earthmoving

Extravangza’, where classic earthmoving machinery performed working displays in a purpose-built pit.

This year’s extravaganza morphed in size, with 80-odd machines put through their paces by a team of expert operators.

All roads leading to Wanaka could have been described as a truck show themselves.

B.R. Satherley Transport’s Kenworth T909 passes through Queensbury with C & R Developments’ Caterpillar 24H grader on board.

New Zealand Trucking

May 2021 43

Potentially the most extensive line-up of Mack Super Liners seen in one spot in New Zealand.

A trio of beautifully restored trucks in period liveries owned

by Graeme and Gail Maxwell of Dunedin.

Peter Turner’s recently restored Karrier rolls out of the parade grounds.

Dog duo – two CH Macks from the Central Machine Hire fleet.

Three generations of Whites – a 1982 Road Commander, a 1977 model 4000 and a 1966 2064.

Robin and Maureen Kelso’s lovely N-series Volvo on its way to the show and the Best European award.

Two 1973 Kenworth LW924s in traditional South Island liveries.

Milton Durham won Best Classic with his Mack R797RSX.

New Zealand Trucking

May 2021 45

A nice throwback to trucking near the end of the 20th century was this Scania R143M belonging to G & K Urquhart Contracting from Temuka.

Maungatua Contracting’s International Paystar 5000 keeping the dust down.

Wheels at Wanaka 2021 Results – Earthmoving

Wheels at Wanaka 2021 Results – Trucks

Vintage: Alistair McDonald, Ruston Bucyrus RB10 Dragline Classic: Ken Tisdall, International TD18 Modern: Keith Sargeson Bulldozer: Trevor Smith, Euclid TC12 Loader: Tim Ross, International 560 Pay Loader Grader: Al Haig Off-Road Truck: Ken Philpott, Caterpillar 769B Horsepower: Yeatman Bros, Wabco 333FT Performance Award: Phil Dreadon Snr & Phil Dreadon Terra Cat Operator: Daryl Sutherland Terra Cat Modern: Blair Duncan Robert Duncan Memorial Trophy (for outstanding contribution to Wheels at Wanaka): The Ross family, C & R Developments, Cambridge

Veteran: Ewan Playle, 1921 International Pre-War: Alistair & Jane Nicholson, 1942 Ford Jailbar Classic: Milton Durham, 1977 Mack R797RSX Small: Akins Radio + Electrical, Austin A60 British: Ron Taylor, 1933 Morris Commercial American: Super Freight, 1966 White 2064 European: Robin & Maureen Kelso, 1983 Volvo N1223 Kenworth / DAF: Graeme Skou, 1977 Kenworth W924 Mack: Callin Day, 1992 Mack Super-Liner International: J Swap Contractors, 1965 International RF190

46 New Zealand Trucking

May 2021

Paul Clarke’s Caterpillar D9H gets to work pushloading Rooney Earthmoving’s Terex S24.

C & R Developments’ Caterpillar 24H, weighing in at more than 70 tonnes, was popular with the crowd.

Euclid’s TC12 operated on many New Zealand projects during the 1960s. Paul Clarke’s machine originated from Canada and was done up in the livery of period South Island contractor L. D. Collis.

‘Kopuku Express’ Caterpillar 630B motor scraper, lays down its load in the fill.

The event was all about full blades and full throttle with Caterpillar models D9H, D9G and D8H pushing chock-full blades across the pit.

A Caterpillar 24H dwarfs a Caterpillar Auto Patrol 10 during the 125 years of grading in the New Zealand parade.

48 New Zealand Trucking

May 2021

NZT 21

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17/02/21 10:33 AM

TOP TRUCK

THE PRIDE OF THE FAR NORTH Te Mana O Te Tai Tokerau is written on the front of this month’s Top Truck, and there was nothing better we could have chosen for the headline for this story.

50 New Zealand Trucking

Photos and story by Dave McCoid

“

T

he trouble is, we’re so busy I don’t get to drive it much,” laughs this month’s Top Truck owner Eric Williams. We’re standing in front of the new Volvo FH16700 Globetrotter 8x4 and five-axle Roadmaster trailer that he and his wife, Latecia, recently commissioned under their E & L Williams and

May 2021

Kaitaia Bulk Store brands.

The unit is a highly spec’d piece of kit with full Globetrotter cab and mod cons such as fridge, full safety suite and driver aids, and 522kW (700hp) of punch.

Regular driver on the big Viking is Eric’s lifelong mate Jay Erstich.

The Volvo is set up as an uber-versatile curtain-side

tipper. In tow is a Roadmaster five-axle high-tensile chassis trailer. Operator ease and safety extends to all aspects of the rig, demonstrated by the Razor automated tarping system. “It works really well,” says Eric.

It’s certainly a lot of truck, but the specs aren’t over the top for the job. Jay’s week sees him depart Kaitaia

The Volvo looks a picture with the Far North rural landscape as a backdrop.

for either Mt Maunganui or Kapanui in Taranaki, delivering all manner of product on the way down and reloading pallet, part-order, and mix components for Ballance Agri-Nutrient bulk stores between Huntly and Cape Reinga. From home base, that is either a 520km or 720km lead, meaning he certainly puts that Globetrotter sleeper cab to good use.

“I like getting to the next store, have a shower and a meal, and be ready first thing in the morning,” says Jay. Look closer, and this is a truck set up by truck people

for truck people, with ample toolboxes, handwash facilities and a fall-back manually operated hoist controller mounted on the front toolbox should the wireless remote one ever ‘hiccup’ – this is ‘fert’ people, after all.

“It can be a bit of a ‘milk round’,” says Eric, “But we do the work the big bulkies shy away from. It’s complementary because it allows the overall supply chain to function. It works for everyone.”

The combination also celebrates achievement within the farming industry.

The Tauranga Canvas curtains depict winners in the Balance Agri-Nutrients Farm Environment Awards, the King family from Gisborne on the truck, and the Kidd family from Helensville on the trailer.

As a neat aside, the poster shot was taken on the Taipa farm of Winston Matthews, another prize-winning operation and the place Eric started his working career, which leads us to how this all came about.

Eric, Latecia, and driver Jay are all Far North folk. Eric (53) spent 10 years farming before taking up driving; Jay (43) is a career wheelman, and it shows watching him spin 23 metres of Volvo and trailer around on a single-lane country road.

“It makes life pretty easy, the I-Shift and all that,” says Jay mid-manoeuvre. “I used to drive a 300hp T-Line from Kaitaia to Gisborne to Tairua, to Auckland and then home again. Now, look at this.”

Eric’s dad drove for Kaitaia Transport, but Eric kicked off his driving career with Stu Desmond. In their respective careers, however, both Eric and Jay have worked their way through the ranks, and each spent time with some of the Far North’s famous transport names such as Mangonui Haulage and Kaitaia Transport in its standalone

QUICK SPECS

VOLVO FH16-700 HA 8X4 RIGID AIR RIDE Engine: Volvo D16G Euro-5 Capacity: 16 litres Power: 522kW (700hp) Torque: 3150Nm (2323lb/ft) Transmission: Volvo I-Shift 12-speed AMT Rear axle: Volvo RTS2370A hypoid single reduction 3.40:1 Rear axle rating: 23,000kg Rear suspension: Volvo RADD-G2 air suspension Brakes: Disc with EBS Auxiliary braking: Volvo VEB+ Additional safety: Full safety suite — adaptive cruise, collision warning and emergency braking, launch control, lane departure, lane change support, driver alert, ESP Wheels: Alcoa Dura-Bright

The name encapsulates everything that has gone into the truck.

New Zealand Trucking

May 2021 51

Versatility and useability are key, hence the tipping curtain combination. The curtains celebrate success in the farming industry.

The Razor tarping system (inset) makes Jay’s day quick, easy, and safe.

days. Both have immense respect for Mangonui’s owners, the Sparkman family, and attribute a lot of their knowledge and work ethic to them.

While driving at Mangonui, Eric got the opportunity to buy his own truck, servicing rural and drop-side work as an owner-driver. This led to running the local bulk store in Kaitaia, a business he and Latecia took on with the encouragement and blessing of his bosses.

“It’s a community up here, eh?” says Eric. “We have a great relationship with Dennis and Sean [Sparkman], and we

still work in together. If you’re butting heads in business today, no one wins.”

The store business has grown steadily, and throughput has gone from hundreds of tonnes per annum at the time of purchase to thousands.

The E & L Williams operation runs bulk spreaders, plus a UD on local work, there to help the Volvo at the Northern end when seasonal peaks mean things can get a little chaotic.

“The old Mitsubishi I had on the Volvo’s run was getting past it, and it was time to have a look,” said Eric.

“Ballance has been great to us, and we wanted a truck that would do its best for everyone.

“I’ve always had a hankering for a Volvo. Dad drove a G88 at Kaitaia when I was a kid, so it’s a bit of a throwback to that. But I don’t reckon you’ll do much better anyway.

“Darren Caufield did the signage, and I think he did a great job — it stands out, that’s for sure. I brought it from Carl Capstick at Motor Truck.

“He’s one of the last of the gentlemen salesmen. He still calls in and has always stayed

in touch in the 80,000km run so far.”

What is it they say? It’s not the destination but the journey? Something like that.

This month’s Top Truck is the culmination of a journey to date and one with more than a kilometre or two left to ply.

It’s also a celebration of a husband-and-wife team, of a great friendship between a couple of boyhood mates, of a fantastic community, and what can be achieved even in a region that’s had more than its share of setbacks.

Maybe tough places sculpt great people?

52 New Zealand Trucking

May 2021

0521-02

Owner Eric Williams and (left) full-time driver on the Volvo, Jay Erstich; old mates who have come through the Far North driver ranks the right way … and it shows.

f o s r e r u t c a f u Man s r e l i a r t y t i l a qu

w w w. r o a d m a s t e r. c o . n z

0521-02

CONTACT

0800

THE

BULL

Just Truckin’

Around

www.trt.co.nz

Hamish Lyttle

Faye Lougher spotted the Emmerson Transport truck pulling over in Shannon and stopped to chat with its driver, Hamish Lyttle.

Hamish had come from Levin and was heading to Hastings. The 2018 Kenworth K200 had an 18-speed Roadranger and some pretty stylish curtains. The truck mainly carries out farming-related work, transporting meat and skins.

He says he was a “suit and tie man” working for Inland Revenue in a former life. “I didn’t like it, so I taught myself, and I’ve been in the industry for 15 years now.”

The past eight years have been spent as a driver, but Hamish started in dispatch and was a branch manager for Super Freight in Wellington before taking the wheel.

He loves the freedom truck driving gives him.

“And the view – this is my TV screen,” he says, pointing to the front window of the truck.

A common refrain – not enough capable drivers – was the main problem Hamish thought the industry faced.

“Not enough experienced drivers, and we need more female drivers too.

“I’d like to see a lot more of them on the road.”

Hamish had his 15-year-old daughter Bizhahn in the cab with him. “She’s been coming with me because she wants to be a driver too.”

Bizhahn says being a truck driver is her dream job, so hopefully, we’ll also stop her for Just Truckin’ Around one day in the not-too-distant future.

It was only fair to ask them both a vexing question, so Bizhahn got soup or stew and opted for stew. Hamish got wine, whiskey or beer, and said he’d probably go for a nice glass of red wine.

Daryl McKay Everitt Enterprises of Dunedin specialises in scrap metal. Its flagship 2002 Isuzu CXH 450 Gigamax had a makeover last year, which included a new Jonsered 1400z crane and a repaint courtesy of Wilcock Truck Painters in Christchurch.

After organising a photograph of the completed unit, Craig Andrews took the opportunity to talk to its operator – Daryl McKay.

54 New Zealand Trucking

Daryl collects scrap metal from various points throughout Otago, including Central and the Waitaki Valley, when he’s helping out at the Oamaru depot. His main role is farm pick-ups, with a regular run into OceanaGold Macraes, near Macraes Flat village. He also clears various landfills around the region.

He began driving when he was 18 and working at Everitts.

“Back then, there were no forklifts or crane attachments – it was all very hard work.”

His career in driving has not always been with Everitts. He has been back and forth a few times, although now he is there to stay. “It’s my retirement job,” he says, adding Everitts has looked after him, and the crew is great to work for.

His driving history reveals time spent at Dunedin stalwart Stewarts Transport, piloting AECs around town and later doing a daily freight run down to Balclutha in an AEC 6-wheeler with a lazy axle.

The lure of the big red continent saw him head to Australia, driving Atkinsons and Mercedes-Benz road trains out of Karratha before once again returning to Dunedin.

The transport game is one that Daryl holds in high regard, and not much bothers him about it. The odd bit of double-handling plus the good old logbook brings on a frown. When he’s not collecting scrap metals, he goes from 450hp down to one – spending his spare time riding his own horse around the countryside.

May 2021

N

Just Truckin’

Around

www.trt.co.nz

Just truckin’ around – overseas

Ian McMaster Ian is an old hand on mine sites and is currently the mobile maintenance supervisor for GEMCO (Groote Eylandt Mining Company operation). He tells Howard Shanks about the time he spent in New Guinea’s mine sites in 1973. There were no telephones or television in the camps, and the only form of entertainment were outdoor movies. He laughs as he recalls the occasional ‘safety film’ (an oblique reference to blue movies), screened to help pass the long hours. Compared with those days, Groote Eylandt is like a holiday resort.

His responsibilities include overseeing the workshop area for the mobile plant used at the mine. Ian came to the island a little over three years ago after spending 20 or so years in the mines of New Guinea and Indonesia.

Originally from “somewhere in northern Queensland”, Ian says the constant challenges mining presents have kept him in the mines for over two decades.

“It’s a very rewarding job,” he asserts. “This is the good life.”

Contractors & Truckers Delight

www.bayleys.co.nz/559873

Offers over $1,550,000 + GST Deadline Sale (unless sold prior) 1pm, Wednesday 19 May 2021 This is an exceptional opportunity to secure a prime 4.06 hectare property. Located on Old West Coast Road, it is well connected with easy access to all areas of the city and main arterial routes leading out of Christchurch; both north and south.

Currently consented for a contracting business, the property boasts a cleverly laid out 714sqm building that encompasses office space, a huge board room, bathroom, toilets and kitchen facilities plus a large

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workshop and tool storage areas. A consented truck wash, onsite well and re-fuelling station offer the perfect solution for civil/agricultural contractors or trucking companies looking to maximise space with a growing business. Whilst ideally set up for a contracting enterprise, this property will also appeal strongly to buyers looking at other opportunities; especially given its strategic location close to Christchurch city and Christchurch International Airport.

Vendor says, “Ignore all previous pricing” Their decision is made – this must be sold on or before Deadline.

Emma King M: 021 242 9911 E: emma.king@bayleys.co.nz

Chris Jones M: 027 220 5043 E: chris.jones@bayleys.co.nz Whalan & Partners Ltd, Bayleys, Licensed under the REA Act 2008.

15/04/21 3:13 PM

TOKI SHOW AND SHINE One ardent supporter of the Mack brand…

The 2016 Mack Super Liner of Floyd Trans won Best Mack.

The 1994 377A owned by JB’s Environmental was Best Peterbilt.

THE BEST AT THE

BREWERY Story and photos by Faye Lougher

A

McAuley’s showing its support.

fter 2020’s Toki Truck Stop Show and Shine was cancelled because of the lockdown, it was great to see the big rigs roll into the Tui Brewery at Mangatainoka, near Masterton, on a perfect autumn day in late March.

Numbers were down on the record 149 trucks that turned up in 2019, but there was still a collection of about 100 stunning rigs from as far afield as Christchurch and Taupo.

A total of $920 was raised for the show’s regular beneficiary, the Mangatainoka Reserve Restoration.

In 2019, a new Star of the Show award was established,

This 2019 T909 won the Best Kenworth award for HES Earthmoving.

Graeme Skou was awarded the Star of the Show trophy for his stunning 1977 Kenworth W924.

named in memory of Pahiatua driver Lincoln Johanson, who died in February 2018.

This year, it went to the immaculate 1977 Kenworth W924 owned by Graeme Skou of Marton.

“The truck convoy from Woodville was one of the best I’ve ever been involved in,” says Skou. “It was really well organised, with a huge number of trucks travelling together to the brewery.”

Organiser Kate Steminger says the Toki Truck Stop Show and Shine is one of the most popular events at the brewery.

“The drivers and owners put so much effort into

Hood Transport’s 2020 Argosy took out Best Freightliner.

TOKI TRUCK STOP SHOW AND SHINE 2021 WINNERS

JHL Trucking’s 2006 Argosy won the Shine On award.

Dennis Brown Transport took out Best Western Star with this 2013 4884.

Best Foden Foden S108 | Schmidt Scrap & Tranz | Sarah Schmidt Best Freightliner 2020 Argosy | Hood Transport | Stan Gaffney Best Hino 2017 700 Series | Murdoch Transport | Campbell Murdoch Best International 1965 RF190 | G & R Storey Ltd | Gerry Storey Best Mercedes-Benz 2020 Arocs | AWE McNicol | Zac Best Kenworth 2019 T909 | HES Earthmoving | Bevan Todd Best Mack 2016 Super Liner | Floyd Trans | Matthew Murray Best MAN 2017 TGX | Mainfreight | Hayden Copbue Best Nissan 2020 CD25360 | Little Transport | Hayden Little Best Ford 1972 D1311 | James Trucks and Machinery Best Scania 2017 R620 | Wolland Contracting | Geoff Arends Best Sterling 1997 Aeromax Best Tipper 2019 Mack Trident | Clive Taylor Haulage | Andy Maynard Best Volvo 2017 700 Series | Dannevirke Carriers | Woody Best Western Star 2013 4884 | Dennis Brown Transport | Dennis Brown Best Peterbilt 1994 377A | JB’s Environmental | Charlie Matangi Best Local Truck 2019 Scania R620 | Beale Trucking Best Vintage 1965 RF190 | G & R Storey Ltd | Gerry Storey Best Classic 1984 Mack R 688RST | Grant Moody Most Original 1974 Kenworth W924 | Justin Mills Best Fleet Central House Movers People’s Choice 2019 Volvo FH | Post Haste | Brett Mac Furthest Travelled 2017 Kenworth K200 | Austin Transport | Mitchell Lewis Star of the Show 1977 Kenworth W924 | Graeme Skou Shine On 2006 Argosy | JHL Trucking

This 1997 Aeromax won Best Sterling.

Justin Mills’ 1974 Kenworth W924 was voted Best Original.

An immaculate Kenworth from Guy Knowles.

New Zealand Trucking

May 2021 57

making their trucks look fantastic, and the displays really are impressive.

“We had more than 700 people come through the gates, including families and truckies from all over the country. And with the awesome weather, loads of people sat and listened to the live music in the garden bar, and enjoyed a cold ale or an ice cream in the sun.”

The Best MAN was this 2017 TGX in Mainfreight livery.

Best Nissan went to the 2020 Nissan CD25360 of Little Transport.

Best Foden went to Sara Schmidt from Schmidt Scrap & Tranz’s Foden S108.

Best Fleet went to Central House Movers.

Best Mercedes went to AWE McNicol’s 2020 Arocs.

Richard Webb in his 1974 KM Bedford.

Matai Transport’s Classic K124.

The classics roll in.

Murdoch Transport’s immaculate 2017 700 Series took out Best Hino.

Two tall, proud figures: the Tui Brewery building and a T909.

Clive Taylor Haulage is well-known for its immaculate trucks and ‘THER0K’, a 2019 Mack Trident driven by Andy Maynard, took out Best Tipper.

Best Ford went to this cute little 1972 D1311 owned by James Trucks and Machinery.

The Best Vintage and Best International awards both went to Gerry Storey’s 1965 RF190.

Best Classic went to Grant Moody’s 1984 Mack R 688RST.

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INTERNATIONAL TRUCK STOP

Chinese trucks have come a long way...

CHINESE TRUCK

PRODUCTION

ON THE UP DESPITE GLOBAL PANDEMIC In the past year, China’s truck-makers managed to sell more than 1.6 million heavy vehicles.

Compared with 2019, this represented a growth of more than 38%.

The Hanyan P9 was presented in February 2021 and is XCMG’s new flagship.

T

he results are quite an achievement as 2020 will be remembered as a period of great hardship due to the Covid-19 pandemic and resulting economic downturn.

So what made the Chinese heavytruck market so attractive?

There were two main factors

Story by Niels Jansen

JAC sold 53,000 units in 2020.

– an influx of new models matching European standards in design and operation, and the government came up with new measures to reduce the environmental footstep of heavy vehicles.

Furthermore, the monthby month-increase in

Photos by Vladimir Chekhuta

The top-of-the-range CAMC Valin H9 has the Euro-look.

The interior of the recently launched Foton Auman Auhawk R medium-duty truck (bottom left photo).

commercial-vehicle sales was helped by the resumption of work and production after the pandemic eased off in China in 2020. The change of people’s lifestyle after the Covid-19 period – for example, the rapid development of e-commerce – also brought a sharp increase in the demand for logistic services and a consequent need for better and more economical commercial vehicles. And the Chinese road authorities introduced a new tax-collection policy based on the number of axles and permissible axle weights.

Since 2020, the manual weighing of trucks has

been abolished and a new electronic toll road system set up, becoming active in January 2021. This led to an increase in two-axle tractors and trucks. As a consequence, sales of rigid 18-tonne GVW trucks made a big leap forward. Compared with the previous year, companies sold no less than 40% more medium-weight trucks in 2020. And significant investments in infrastructure by the government have also contributed to increased sales of dump trucks, mixer chassis and other construction vehicles.

In line with rapid growth

The Foton Auman Auhawk R is a promising new truck in the 18-tonne GVW range and was voted Chinese Truck of the Year 2021.

in the commercial-vehicle market, Chinese truck manufacturers have continuously launched various new medium- and heavy-duty models. Some completely new names entered the field, keeping up with the latest trends in road transportation and the more stringent government regulations. The mechanical quality of vehicles has improved as a result, and so has the operational applicability in the modern logistic market.

It is interesting to see which brands gained the most in the recent developments.

Looking at the top 10 rankings

A bold colour scheme is rare with Chinese trucks but SAIC is daring to offer this in 2021.

for 2020, FAW Jiefang led the list with total sales of 377,000 trucks and a market share of 23.2%. The company’s flagship truck/tractor is the J7 Eagle, which not only looks good but is built to the highest standards. With 311,000 units, the Dongfeng Corporation comes second. The top model in the Dongfeng line up is the KX Tianlong. Although it was developed a few years ago, it is now available with a six-cylinder diesel engine of 447kW (600hp), which produces a peak torque of 2750Nm. The third spot goes to Sinotruk Corporation, which

With 150,200 units sold in 2020, Foton Motors is China’s fifth-largest truck manufacturer.

New Zealand Trucking

May 2021 61

The sleek Shacman Delong X6000 must help the Shaanxi HD Automobile Group gain more market share this year.

The European-style cockpit of the new Shacman X6000 heavy truck.

Sinotruck’s Howo TH7, with its old Volvo FH cab, got a makeover.

Know these logos? These are the top 10 Chinese truck manufacturers. saw a growth of 57% in 2020. For this year, its topof-the-range Howo TH7 received a facelift of the old Volvo FH-based cab.

Together, these three large manufacturers form the main core of the Chinese truck market.

Shaanxi Co saw sales of the Shaanxi and Shacman heavy trucks increase by 28%. The latter company’s products are exported to many countries worldwide, including New Zealand.

The Delong X6000 is the company’s top model.

Power comes from Weichai Euro-6 diesel engines with up to 447kW (600hp), with a ZF automated manual transmission. For some markets, Cummins engines and Eaton AMT transmissions are also fitted.

Foton Motor increased sales by no less than 75% last year, making it the fastestgrowing truck maker in the top 10 ranking. Its all-new Auhawk R medium-duty truck, recently voted Chinese Truck of the Year 2021, should help increase sales even more.

The 18-tonne GVW truck is

Selling 311,000 trucks ranked Dongfeng at No.2 in 2020. This is the 600hp KX top model.

equipped with a six-cylinder diesel engine of 162kW (217hp)/820Nm, combined with a ZF AMT transmission.

Its good-looking design integrates European standards with China’s new regulations and market needs.

During the ceremony in April to celebrate the production of its 10,000,000th vehicle, Foton Motor also launched the new top-of-the-range Auman Galaxy. The heavy tractor has a modern Euro-style cab but you have to get used to the front-end styling.

Selling 80,000 units in 2020

The brand-new 8x4 drive FAW J7 Eagle looks well up to its task.

makes SAIC Hongyan CV Co the sixth-largest truck maker.

The company, established in 2003 as a joint venture with Iveco, markets its vehicles under the Hongyan, Genhoo and Genlyon brands. The allnew H6 range was presented late last year. Contrary to most Chinese offerings in the heavy-duty field, the new SAIC products are also available in a flamboyant colour scheme.

JAC Motors, one of the oldest truck manufacturers in the country, saw its sales share increase by 41%. JAC is one of several manufacturers that also offers heavycommercial vehicles that can run on alternative fuels such as LNG. The last three truckmakers in the top 10 rankings, CAMC, Dayun and XCMG, each had a share of just 1% to 2% of annual truck production in 2020.

It will be interesting to see what the new year brings.

The big names are expected to do good business again because of the growing demand for cleaner and leaner road transport. But do not be surprised to see also some new entrants appearing on the local market.

During a ceremony in April celebrating the production of its 10,000,000th vehicle, Foton also launched this new Auman Galaxy heavy truck.

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AUSSIE ANGLES

The concept drawings Howard took to the initial meeting with Mack. They were going to supply the prime mover to tow the B-double as well.

PART I

THE MACK I

TITAN RACE TRUCK Even by today’s standards, it would be considered ambitious to bolt a 2500hp V8 Mack engine to a truck chassis with visions of running it down the quarter-mile in 11 seconds or less. Nevertheless, back in the mid1990s, that’s what we set out to do. The following is a recount of a project we called Thunderbolt.

Story by Howard Shanks

Photos by Gary Richards and Howard Shanks

ncongruously, my wife does not share the same passion I have for trucks nor the industry.

Consequently, it is with some irony that if it weren’t for her insistence that I clean out the storeroom as I’d been promising for the past few years, I would not have stumbled across the two-andbit-decade-old files on Project Thunderbolt.

Back in the early 1990s, I worked for Truckin’ Life as the technical editor and editor at large. One of my tasks involved covering the truckracing circuit, and I’d become friends with well-known truck racers, Frank and Charlie Gaffiero. You might remember their famous Kenworth T400 Bandag Bullet with the two 92-Series Detroit Diesel V8

3

1 2

4

5

1) Project Thunderbolt and the famous Bandag Bullet. 2) In the pits shortly after completion. 3-5) Snapshots of the mock-up as the Mack was being hand-built.

The team would make something then sit the cab and bonnet back on to make sure it would fit. engines.

One night, after a drag meeting in Townsville, I suggested to Frank that if the Bandag Bullet had a challenger – something to race down the quarter-mile – it would make for a bigger drag show and ultimately more publicity. Our concept drew on the rivalry of Ford versus Holden, which had thrilled touring-car fans for years. If you’re into trucks, then you either love your Kenworth or Mack. There is no in-between.

We had the idea; we knew what truck we wanted. Now, it was a matter of putting it all into motion, and that was the start of the late nights.

By early 1996, we had a sound strategy. Discussions with promotors and potential

sponsors and suppliers were proving promising.

Furthermore, the positive feedback we received from Mack during preliminary discussions encouraged us to proceed with a formal proposal. By the time we’d submitted it to Mack at a meeting with Gary Richards, the then-marketing manager of Mack Trucks Australia, Project Thunderbolt had evolved into more than just a drag truck.

The subject line on the MTA internal memorandum dated 20 December 1996 read: ‘Unique Promotional Opportunity.’ It went on to read, “the basis of the proposal is to develop and exhibit a special display/ demonstration truck…”

Time for a quick bit of

Aussie trucking history. Mack introduced the Super Liner in the early 1980s, powered by its E9 V8, with power output from 400hp (298kW) to 500hp (373kW). These trucks and their engines quickly developed a reputation for producing inexorable power and steadfast reliability. The Mack E9 engine became king in the heavy-haulage market segment. By the mid1990s, electronics had found their way into Mack’s V8 as the drive to produce more power persisted. With the introduction of electronics and horsepower boost, the V8 received new nomenclature, now known as the EA9.

(Incidentally, the ‘A’ in the designation indicated an Australian engine.)

At the time, most truck

manufactures could only supply engines up to 550hp (410kW) and 1850lb/ ft (2598Nm) torque. Even Caterpillar’s big C16 just made (575hp) 428kW. Mack Trucks Australia had propelled its new EA9 beyond the 600-plus horsepower (447kW) frontier. It even boasted what, for the time, was a mind-blowing 2050lb/ ft (2780Nm) torque. This new tenacious V8 engine aimed squarely at heavy haulage and road-train applications indeed turned heads. When those 610hp (455kW) EA9 engines were cracking, they cracked.

And operators that had the good ones loved them.

But sadly, not all of them enjoyed the longevity of their predecessors.

As a result, the idea of

New Zealand Trucking

May 2021 65

The business end of a 2000hp+ drag truck.

reliably squeezing high horsepower out of the Mack V8 excited Gary Richards. He was keen to get involved and believed the primary objective should promote Mack’s engine power and reliability.

By April 1997, we’d received written confirmation of MTA’s sponsorship. The chassis build commenced in Frank and Charlie’s Archerfield workshop. By late September, we’d secured a cabin that went to Gold Coast bullbar manufacturer Bocar, which offered to construct a roll cage to meet the ANDRA specifications.

Meantime, the race was now on to get an EA9 engine to thump out some serious horsepower. However, thanks to Gary’s enthusiasm and a couple of strategically placed phone calls he made to the USA, a few chaps from Mack Trucks International (MTI) agreed to assist with the project, and the engine

solution arrived. Between Gary and his contacts at MTI, we made contact with USA National Tractor Puller Champion Ray Collins, who ran an E9-V8-powered 1984 Mack Super Liner called the Buckeye Bulldog, which reportedly reliably produced more than 2500hp (1864kW).

The team at Mack’s Hagerstown engine factory, which built the engines for Ray Collins, agreed to construct an engine for us similar to the champion winning model in Ray’s Super Liner. According to a facsimile dated 1 September 1997, for an investment of US$40,000 the team would deliver an engine capable of 2000hp+ (1491kW). A month later, I received confirmation that MTA transferred the deposit to MTI for the engine build’s commencement.

Over the next few months, our fax machine received an extensive workout as

A vague resemblance to the Mack Titan of the day.

correspondence went back and forth between ourselves and the United States regarding engine specs.

One facsimile from MTI in late October 1997 worth noting suggested the engine colour of the block should be Mack grey while the exhaust manifold was to be treated in ‘jet hot black’ and the intake manifold ‘jet hot silver’, a proprietary baked hightemperature finish.

Engineer Steve Trevitz was responsible for the final engine configuration. He planned to run a two-stage turbocharging system with two primary turbos feeding two secondary turbos, which fed the engine. Keeping the turbos cool is critical to reliability, especially in an engine producing this amount of horsepower. It was necessary to inject water both before and after the secondary turbo to achieve the required cooling. The

Left: We bet you’ve never seen an EA9 engine like this. Right: Two primary turbos fed two secondary turbos, which fed the engine.

addition of this water-injection system meant an additional chassis-mounted water tank.

The engine design necessitated a staged/ progressive nitrous oxide injection to achieve more than 2500hp. In theory, the nitrous would be introduced into the engine once it left the starting line to avoid unnecessary wheel spin and provide more top-end speed. Nevertheless, Steve Trevitz indicated that without nitrous use, the engine output would exceed 2000hp. Exciting news. Gary Richards suggested the engine serial number reflect the horsepower output; subsequently, the Hagerstown team stamped EA9-20000001 into the block.

We decided to use an auxiliary drive-belt arrangement to power the air compressor because of the high engine rpm.

We used standard EA9610 components with the installation of the alternator and power-steering pump. An external high-flow water pump was the preferred option to cool the engine adequately.

On 3 April 1998, we received a facsimile from Jerry confirming the engine had left Mack’s Hagerstown factory bound for MTA, Brisbane headquarters.

Now, much like part two of this article, it was just a matter of waiting...

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BACK DOWN THE ROAD A BIT

Cattle King is a supreme example of the big Aussie truck era at Osborne’s, sporting an early 3406 Caterpillar under the floor.

CAPTAIN OF THE KING COUNTRY

O

torohanga’s Rob van der Hoek is never far from the truck photography action, whether it’s a truck show or on the side of the road somewhere. Another quiet and understated bloke who typically shuns the limelight, Rob was happy to share his decades-long passion for trucks, and we are again privileged and all the better off for this ‘Back Down the Road a Bit’ page.

Rob’s story is a great yarn, and his journey in trucking from a young fella in the 1980s has seen him in and around some legendary gear.

“An International Acco bread-delivery truck, fitted out with a sleeper, doing deliveries to Waikeria set me off on the path,” he says.

“I was hooked.”

He says he spent many long Sundays riding shotgun in Herb Dalton’s Mitsubishi FV315 at Osborne’s Transport and Bryan Lucas’ C Series ERF at Western Bay Transport.

Being based in the King Country meant he was also among the famous Osborne’s Transport Leaders in their hey-day, as well as Paul Tootill’s K144 Kenworth ‘Evil Woman’.

Bryan Lucas’ C Series ERF was typical of the big ‘stockies’ of the era when New Zealand was a real mixed bag of truck brands.

68 New Zealand Trucking

May 2021

What a time, what a place!

Although Rob’s passion is stock trucks, his career in civil construction has seen him working in the Kaiangaroa

Forest at times, and as such he has a soft spot for all things big and bushy.

The A6 Leader had the set-back front axle – this one in the colours of Otorohanga Transport.

Mitsubishi FV315s were great workhorses for so many. Here, Herb Dalton’s unit in the colours of Osborne’s Transport is loaded with four decks of sheep.

1119-37

NEW RI GS ON THE R OAD BUSTIN’ OUT Mack Trident 6x4 tractor OPERATOR: Nikau Group – Auckland ENGINE: Mack MP8 13-litre 399kW (535hp) TRANSMISSION: Mack mDRIVE 12-speed AMT REAR AXLES: Mack 2370B REAR SUSPENSION: Mack AD246 air suspension BODY/TRAILER: Custom fifth-wheel to suit ‘borrow-bin’ trailer FEATURES/EXTRAS: King Bar 4-post Warrego bull bar OPERATION: Demolition materials, nationwide SALES: Nick Kale

THE ENDLESS RIVER OF FREIGHT Kenworth K200 2.3m Aerodyne 8x4 rigid OPERATOR: McLellan Freight – Balclutha ENGINE: Cummins X-15 460kW (615hp) TRANSMISSION: Eaton UltraShift PLUS FO-22E318B-MXP REAR AXLES: Meritor RT46-160GP REAR SUSPENSION: Kenworth AG 460 BRAKES: Drum, EBS BODY/TRAILER: MD Engineering, Balclutha FEATURES/EXTRAS: Stainless-steel drop visor, trim and infills and additional lights by Southpac Engineering. Stone guard, air ram PAINT/SIGNAGE: Factory paint/Timaru Signs OPERATION: General freight DRIVER: Clem Davis SALES: Chris Gray

w w w. t r g r o u p. c o . n z 70 New Zealand Trucking

May 2021

KING COUNTRY COOL Volvo FH16 750 HA 8x4 rigid OPERATOR: Main Road Ltd – Otorohanga ENGINE: Volvo D16G 559kW (750hp) TRANSMISSION: Volvo I-Shift 12-speed AMT REAR AXLES: Volvo RTS2370A hypoid single reduction REAR SUSPENSION: Volvo RADD-GR air suspension BRAKES: Disc EBS SAFETY: OCSAFE+ safety package BODY: Domett drop side FEATURES/EXTRAS: Bi-Xenon headlights, factory hydraulic pump, factory wild-bar bulbar PAINT/SIGNAGE: Truck Signs, Mt Maunganui OPERATION: Bulk and timber, North Island DRIVER: Terry White SALES: Todd Martin

MUSCLE FOR PROTEIN OPERATOR: Open Country Dairy – BLH Holdings (Brett Hamilton) ENGINE: Scania DC16 16-litre V8 Euro-6 TRANSMISSION: Scania Opticruise GRSO905 with topographical mapping REAR AXLES: Scania RPB735 hub reduction REAR SUSPENSION: Scania full air

Scania R650 6x4 tractor BRAKES: Disc EBS, 4100D Retarder SAFETY: Full safety suite BODY/TRAILER: Transport Engineering Southland (TES)/ Crown Sheet Metals OPERATION: Milk collection and distribution, Southland DRIVER: Chris McRae, John Dalton, and Gavin Hamilton SALES: Kere Menzies

Free phone: 0800 50 40 50 New Zealand Trucking

May 2021 71

NEW RI GS ON THE R OAD

TRIED & TESTED OPERATOR: Neville Brothers – Silverdale ENGINE: MX-13 Euro-6 396kW (530hp) TRANSMISSION: ZF-TraXon 12TX2820 REAR AXLES: DAF SR1360T with diff and cross locks REAR SUSPENSION: DAF ECAS BRAKES: Disc EBS, engine brake SAFETY: Full safety suite BODY/TRAILER: Transfleet Trailers

ON TOP OF THE KAIPARA OPERATOR: Onroad Transport – EN & ME Wallace – Dargaville ENGINE: Hino E13CVG 13-litre 353kW (480hp) TRANSMISSION: Eaton Roadranger RTLO18918B 18-speed manual REAR AXLES: Hino THD18 hypoid with interaxle lock REAR SUSPENSION: Hendrickson HAS460 air suspension BRAKES: Drum ABS, auto slack adjusters BODY: Domett/Total Stockcrates

DAF CF530 Euro-6 6x4 OPERATION: Bulk materials, greater Auckland DRIVER: Craig Low SALES: Mark Tucker

Hino FY3248 8x4 rigid FEATURES/EXTRAS: Alcoa Dura-Bright alloy wheels, air management kit, LED daytime running lights PAINT/SIGNAGE: Haddock Spray Painters, Whakatane OPERATION: Livestock cartage, North Island DRIVER: Ethan Wallace SALES: Shane Kemp

w w w. t r g r o u p. c o . n z 72 New Zealand Trucking

May 2021

BIG YELLOW RISING IN THE EAST OPERATOR: Gisborne Hiabs – Gisborne ENGINE: UD GH11 11-litre 291kW (390hp) TRANSMISSION: UD ESCOT-VI 12-speed AMT REAR AXLES: UD single-reduction hypoid REAR SUSPENSION: UD 8-bag ECAS double-acting shock-absorbers BRAKES: Disc ABS brake blending SAFETY: Traffic Eye cruise and braking, emergency braking

UD QUON CW26-390AS 6x4 rigid system, lane departure, UD Stability Control BODY/TRAILER: Gary Douglas Engineering, Palmerston North/Fassi Cranes OPERATION: Crane work, greater Gisborne DRIVER: Justin Martin SALES: Rex Hansen

FRESH ON THE START LINE International ProStar T8 8x4 tractor OPERATOR: Freshways Transport – Gisborne ENGINE: Cummins X-15 460kW (615hp) TRANSMISSION: Eaton UltraShift PLUS MXP 18-speed AMT REAR AXLES: Meritor RT46-160 REAR SUSPENSION: IROS BRAKES: Disc EBS SETUP: Intertruck Engineering FEATURES/EXTRAS: Ali Arc bumper, premium trim OPERATION: Container cartage, nationwide SALES: Hugh Green

Free phone: 0800 50 40 50 New Zealand Trucking

May 2021 73

new kiwi bodies & trailers New Zealand Trucking brings you New Kiwi Bodies & Trailers. Bodies and trailers are expected to last twice as long as trucks. What’s more, there’s new technology and advanced design features showing up almost every month.

New Zealand has a rich heritage of body and trailer building and we’re proud to showcase some recent examples of Kiwi craftsmanship every month. If you want a body or trailer included on these pages, send a photo, features and the manufacturer’s name to trailers@nztrucking.co.nz

Looking resplendent at sunrise HT Transport in Opotiki recently took delivery of this stunning-looking log combination. The Mills-Tui log truck set-up and F135 5-axle multicombination trailer sets off the whole unit. It’s a well speced unit with a Hendrickson TIREMAAX tyre pressure control system, an addition that’s quickly becoming a staple. The high-tensile chassis and bolster mean the trailer imposes little burden at a mere 5700kg.

Features: Hendrickson INTRAAX disc-brake axles, Hendrickson TIREMAAX, Knorr-Bremse EBS. Mills-Tui

No getting lost in the woods Keenan Forestry’s new Kenworth and Patchell Industries log truck and trailer combo is one of the most striking you’ll ever see. The truck is kitted out with double foldover bolsters and pulls an EVO4 I-Beam lowheight 5-axle billet trailer. SI-Lodec scales keep the ‘long arm’ happy, and the whole unit glides along on Alcoa Dura-Bright alloy wheels.

Features: (Trailer) Hendrickson INTRAAX axles and suspension, WABCO braking system.

Patchell Industries

KIWI 16/17

Contact John O’Donnell 027 226 9995, Jim Doidge 021 190 1002 or Hayden Jones 0800 549 489 | sales@kiwityres.co.nz |

0800 KIWI TYRES (0800 549 489) | kiwitrucktyres.nz 74 New Zealand Trucking

May 2021

KIWI 175

Bellissimo!

Looking superb with its Craigpine graphics, this fantastic new curtain-side truck body and 5-axle curtain-side trailer combination has recently left TMC’s Christchurch factory for a life in the deep south. McNeil Distribution will run the Iveco led combination in its Tulloch Transport operation.

The trailer was built to accommodate timber packs,

with a clear internal measure of 12,050mm and, at a slender 7110kg tare. It won’t be signing up for Weight Watchers anytime soon.

Features: 19.5” SAF disc brake axles and air suspension. Alux polished alloy wheels.

TMC

Simply ideal In the spirit of not over-complicating something that doesn’t need it, Fulton Hogan Rotorua has commissioned this stylish 2-axle trailer from TMC. Fulton Hogan will use the wee gem to transport small diggers of up to 11,500kg. The simple trailer sports spring-assisted rear ramps and a tare weight of 3720kg.

Features: 17.5” FUWA drum brake and Reyco spring suspension, steel wheels.

TMC

Spec your trailer on KIWIs – the new tyre of choice for KIWIs KIWI 16

KIWI 17

KIWI 175

Wide grooves will not hold stones Heavy duty case Excellent mileage performance 17mm extra deep tread

The KIWI 16’s tougher twin Super heavy duty case Puncture resistant 17mm extra deep tread

Multi use tread pattern Urban/highway/off road Puncture resistant 17.5mm extra deep tread

265/70R19.5

215/75R17.5 265/70R19.5

265/70R19.5

New Zealand Trucking

May 2021 75

RHINO PHOTO OF THE MONTH COMPETITION

ALWAYS STANDING AT YOUR POST

I

t’s an all New Zealand affair this month. A New Zealand-assembled truck, tipping locally made posts onto kiwi terra firma. Lee

O’Connell sent in this pic of him hard at work with his trusty International 9870, dropping some posts and poles in the sunny Bay of

Plenty for Te Puke Carrying.

The average Joe and Jane have no idea where the trucks they see begin and end their journeys, and this photograph

exemplifies that fact Thanks, Lee. You’re our Rhino Photo of the Month winner for May 2021.

GO IN THE DRAW TO WIN $800 TO SPEND AT RHINO NZ

PHOTO OF THE MONTH Each month we will select the best photo from readers and publish it in NZ Trucking magazine plus social media.

The industry leader in mudguards (aluminium, stainless steel, plastic), chassis poles, saddle and clamp mountings, toolboxes and a large range of accessories.

Visit www.rhinogroup.co.nz to see the full range.

Entrants agree to their name and photo being used by NZ Trucking and Rhino for marketing purposes.

Photos must be Hi Res 3MB+ showing Trucks working in our great NZ environment.

Email pics to editor@nztrucking.co.nz

76 New Zealand Trucking

May 2021

NZT 21

NEW TECHNOLOGY TO IMPROVE ROAD SAFETY NZ Police are introducing new mobile roller brake testers and thermal imaging devices to improve heavy vehicle road safety.

Trucking companies have a duty of responsibility to ensure their vehicles are safe and not put their drivers and other road users at risk. Truck drivers also have a responsibility themselves to check that the truck and trailers are safe to operate.

“We are equipping our commercial vehicle safety teams with the latest brake safety monitoring technology to reduce the risk of a serious injury or death on our roads as a result of brake failure,” says Superintendent Steve Greally, Director Road Policing.

“Road safety is everyone’s responsibility.”

Beginning June, six new BM20200 mobile roller brake testers are being rolled out to CVSTs which will enable roadside brake tests to be completed easily and effectively for all vehicles up to a maximum axle load of 20,000kg.

The MRBTs (also known as roller brake test machines) are equipped with the same electronics and software as the BM inground roller brake testers in the commercial vehicle safety centres (weigh stations) and therefore offers the same high-test standard and data processing as the inground models.

The 84 handheld thermal imaging devices will help assess a vehicle’s braking fitness without the need for a physical inspection, allowing CVST staff to better identify heavy vehicles with a possible brake issue.

“A TID displays the temperature of the brake drum or disk on each wheel,” explains Mr Greally. “If the thermal image shows a drum or disk with a different temperature compared to others on the truck, there may be an issue with the brakes not being fully operational, which would trigger the need for a further inspection.”

“A brake issue with a fully loaded truck is a significant risk, and one that must not be overlooked.”

Although trucks are not involved in significantly more crashes per kilometre travelled than other vehicles, heavy vehicle crashes are more likely to be fatal (over 20 per cent of road deaths).

In December last year almost one in five trucks stopped as part of a Northland road safety operation were found to be unroadworthy.

Ninety six of the 534 trucks stopped failed their inspections (18 per cent). Eleven were found to have serious faults, deemed nonoperational and were taken off the road.

New Zealand relies heavily upon the valuable economic contribution the trucking industry makes every year, transporting 93 per cent of New Zealand’s total freight by weight according to the Government’s National Freight Demands Study 2017/18.

In 2020, while the rest of New Zealand was under Covid-19 Level 4 and Level 3 lock down restrictions, the trucking industry continued to move essential goods and products from ports and rail yards to store doors and suppliers in our communities.

The future role of the trucking industry, at least in the next 20 years, indicates our continued reliance. It is therefore extremely important for Police and Waka Kotahi (NZ Transport Agency) to work with operators around driver and vehicle safety so trucks can stay on the road operating safely.

While weigh stations did use in-ground roller brake testers, often rural trucks weren’t brake tested until at the six month certificate of fitness check. MRBTs were introduced into New Zealand rural communities in the 1990s enabling brake testing anywhere, anytime. The MRBTs helped deliver a reliable brake testing practice which continues today.

The BM20200 MRBT design is simple with strong and flexible mechanical solutions. The benefit is that there are no particular requirements to the testing area surface. The BM20200 can be placed on an asphalt or concrete floor, but also on an uneven gravel ground, sand and dirt.

The roller set height is only 160 mm, which ensures against bottoming out when passing with very low vehicles such as coaches and cars.

Due to the low height of the roller set, the length of the ramps is only 1.25 metres on each side, so a total setup length of only 3.5 metres.

The biggest issue found related to lighting faults, but there were also a high number of failures relating to tyres and brakes.

These vehicles posed a considerable risk to the drivers and other road users.

“The MRBTs and TIDs will improve heavy vehicle road safety,” says Mr Greally. “We are committed to reducing the number of deaths and serious injuries on our roads. Any death or serious injury is one too many, especially if it could have been prevented.”

NZT 21026 Mobile Roller Braking Machine A4.indd 1

20/04/21 9:24 AM

MINI BIG RIGS

SO GOOD THEY COULD BE REAL Story by Carl Kirkbeck

With last year’s NZMTA nationals cancelled due to the Covid-19 shutdown, it was not surprising there was a healthy display of new models at the show this year.

T

he New Zealand Model Truck Association chose the Barber Hall at the Central Energy Trust Arena in Palmerston North as the location for this year’s Easter national competition.

Since the last gathering two years ago, there was a high level of anticipation among modellers to both display their latest creations and view the latest offerings from fellow members.

Once again, the bars measuring the quality of construction and level of detail were raised, with the tables full of many heavily modified and scratch-built models. These were based on both international-style and historic Kiwi rigs from a few years ago to the units we see on our state highways today.

It was a great weekend, offering opportunities for members to catch up and letting the public see firsthand the fruits of their efforts and share in their passion.

To see more photos and get in touch with the team, check out the NZMTA’s Facebook page.

Photos supplied Name

Class Winner

Make

Best Of

Rob Craddock

Concrete Mixer

Diamond Reo

Roy Sutherland

Limited

Volvo

Nic Zwart

Radio Controlled

Scania

Peter Gillon

Skeletal

Peterbilt

Nic Zwart

Smaller than 1:35

Diamond T

Nic Zwart

Classic

Bedford

Bedford

Rob Craddock

Construction A

Cat Grader

Cat & Scratchbuilt

Rob Craddock

Open

Dodge

Dodge

Rob Craddock

Prime Mover- Conventional

International

International

Jamie Larn

Van

Scania

Scania

Jamie Larn

Prime Mover-Cabover

Volvo

Volvo

Neil Shayler

Dumper

Kenworth

Marty Crooks

Logger

Mack

Neil Shayler

Low Loader

Kenworth

Nic Zwart

Replica

Scania

Neil Shayler

Stock Carrier

Leyland

Marty Crooks

Tanker

Mack

Rob Craddock

Wrecker

International

Peter Gillon

Flat Top 1st =

DAF

Rob Craddock

Flat Top 1st =

Ford

Class Entered

NZ Rig

Rob Craddock

Diamond Reo

Diamond Reo

Classic

Neil Shayler

Leyland

Fleet

Replica

Neil Shayler

ERF

ERF & Fleet

Stock Carrier

Rob Craddock

Ford

Ford

Low Loader

Marty Crooks

Kenworth

Kenworth

Logger

Jamie Larn

White

White

Van

Neil Shayler

Leyland

Classic

Classic

Neil Shayler

DAF

DAF

Stock Carrier

Gary Mackisack

Freightliner

Freightliner

Dumper

Gary Mackisack

GMC

GMC

Wrecker

Rob Craddock

Mercedes-Benz

Mercedes-Benz

Lowloader

Marty Crooks

Western Star

Western Star

Prime Mover - Conventional

Peter Gillon

Cadillac

Cadillac

Open

Neil Shayler

Scammell

Scammell & Fleet

Prime Mover - Cabover

Peter Gillon

Iveco

Iveco

Low Loader

Marty

Mack

Mack

Van

Andrew Wasley

MAN

MAN

Prime Mover - Cabover

Neil Shayler

Pacific

Pacific

Logger

Peter Gillon

Peterbilt

Peterbilt

Prime Mover - Conventional

Peter Gillon

Seddon Atkinson

Seddon Atkinson

Van

Peter Gillon

International

Standard

Prime Mover - Conventional

9

GET IN TOUCH If you have a photo of a model truck you have built or a project you have on the go you would like to share with our readers, send it in to carl@nztrucking.co.nz.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

1) This immaculate Super Liner built by Marty Crooks, based on Stouts Transport in Taupo, looks like it has just come through the Waipungas on SH5. 2) Neil Shayler’s K104 Kenworth build is based on the rig he drives for Rozendaal Heavy Haulage, Whangarei.

3) What started as a basic European Scania kit become an extremely good representation of a typical Kiwi nine-axle unit in Toll livery after many hours of modification by Andrew Wasley. 4) Peter Gillon’s Peterbilt build, in Eltham-based Uhlenburg Haulage livery, looks all set to hook up to an LPG tanker and head north.

5) Nik Zwart took out Best Replica with his 1:24th scale version of the Svempas limitededition R730 Scania ‘Bright Amber’, owned and operated by Andssr Transport, Wellington.

6) Jamie Larn’s intercontinental tramping Scania 142 all set to head across Europe on another run to the sun, complete with an Italian road atlas on the dashboard. 7) This complex build by Gary Mackisack depicts a typical North American quarry rock rig, complete with setback front axle, modified bonnet, artillery wheels and heavily modified Fruehauf trailer. 8) This entry from Roy Sutherland of a typical Australian Volvo FH16 Globetrotter and Freighter 6-axle B-double looks all set to head up the Pacific Coast Highway to Brizzy. 9) Rob Craddock’s astounding build is based on the 8V71 re-powered 210 International run by Waikato Heavy Haulage a couple of decades ago. Note the oscillating turntable and plumbing detail.

New Zealand Trucking

May 2021 79

LITTLE TRUCKERS’ CLUB

HI LITTLE TRUCKERS! Hi there to all you little truckers!

Jamie Sinclair sent us in these awesome photos of two-year old Ewan Sinclair (right). Dad tells us you are his right-hand man, Ewan; it sure looks like you love helping him out with his truck.

I had a fantastic day at the Tui Truck Show and even got to meet a couple of you, which was so cool. If you took some photos you would like to share, we would all love to see them. Or, with school holidays upon us, I’m sure there is trucking to be done with friends and/or family, and we would also love to hear about your adventures.

If you would like to see yourself here in Little Truckers Club all you need to do is email your photos and/or drawings to me at rochelle@ nztrucking.co.nz along with a wee paragraph telling us about them, your name and age. I do enjoy seeing them all.

Have a fantastic month.

VOLVO Trucks was founded in 1928 in Gothenburg, Sweden, as a subsidiary of Volvo Group. Volvo Group invented the three-point safety belt in 1959.

DAF Trucks was founded in 1928 in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, where Hub van Doorne set up a small manufacturing company that eventually developed into a leading global truck manufacturer.

MERCEDES-BENZ was founded in 1926 in Stuttgart, Germany, following the merger of Karl Benz’s and Gottlieb Daimler’s companies into the Daimler-Benz company. In 1896, Gottlieb Daimler built the world’s first truck.

SCANIA AB was founded in 1911 in Södertälje, Sweden, due to a merger between Vabis and Maskinfabriks AB Scania and has since built and delivered more than 1.4 million trucks.

IVECO was founded in 1975 from five different brands – three from Italy and one each from France and Germany.

The name MAN (short for Maschinenfabrik Augsburg Nürnberg AG) first appeared in 1908. However, the company can trace its origins back to 1758.

Ewan washing dad’s truck.

Ewan (2) with his dad, Jamie.

FIND THE LITTLE TRUCKERS’ CLUB LOGO The Little Truckers’ Club logo is hidden somewhere in this issue — find it and let me know where it is, and you may win a prize. You can email me at rochelle@nztrucking.co.nz.

The first truck didn’t look like any truck we see on the roads today.

FIND-A-WORD I have listed the names of some trucking companies from all over New Zealand. You will find them all hidden in the grid below. The names can be found going across, backwards, upwards, downwards and diagonally in the puzzle. Can you find them all? You could also look up the names and see what each company does. Have fun, little truckers!

N A C N O R T H C H I L L D M L

M A R T I N B O R O U G H E C L

B F T G P I N B A C N L N S C E

W U Y I L L I H C G I B K B A K

A I J H O W E N S A W E L J R I

I N M A I N F R E I G H T H T E

M O K A S P W B N Q L A T W H H

80 New Zealand Trucking

E U J B R E N I C S T L F Z Y O May 2021

A H A N O T P Q D E R L R H A I

Z L X Z B O M L K E P S E S Q T

N E A H I L T O N A M A I R P R

O N P L M T W H D H E F G A I A

S B R Y A L B U S H L G H M G N

N E G I Z S E D D G L W T T T Z

E R C U C R G O L J I Q L T F L

H G V G H E K I O H S E I E X I

P A X S T T L P F B O R N R N Q

E B J K R L M A N C N Y E B M U

T E M U K A V D I S L T S O L I

S C K L N S D O P Z E E L A N D

1: BIG CHILL Distribution 2: BOOTHS Transport 3: BRENICS Transport 4: BRETT MARSH Transport 5: ELLISON Cartage 6: FREIGHT LINES 7: HALLS 8: HEIKELL Transport 9: HILTON Haulage 10: MAINFREIGHT 11: MARTINBOROUGH Transport 12: MCCARTHY Transport 13: NATIONWIDE Livestock Limited 14: NORTHCHILL Ltd 15: OPZEELAND Transport 16: OWENS Transport 17: PINFOLDS Transport 18: RYAL BUSH Transport 19: SALTERS Cartage 20: STEPHENSON Transport 21: TEMUKA Transport 22: TRANZLIQUID Logistics 23: UHLENBERG Haulage 24: WAIMEA Contract Carriers

WHAT’S ON Brisbane Truck Show

Gisborne Truck Show

13 to 16 May 2021 Brisbane Convention Centre Contact: 0061 7 3376 6266, or email admin@brisbanetruckshow.com.au

Gisborne East Coast Truck Show 2021 27 November 2021 A&P Showgrounds Gisborne Contact: Peter de Denne, 027 434 4727

McDonough Contracting Gore Truck Show 2021

Bombay Truck Show

5 June 2021 Transport & Engineering Repairs, Falconer Road, Gore Contact: goretruckshow@gmail.com Facebook: Gore Truck Show

Alexandra Blossom Festival ATL Haulage Trucks 39th Annual Truck Parade 25 September 2021 Fulton Hogan Yard, Dunstan Road, Alexandra Website: blossom.co.nz

RTF Conference 25 and 26 September 2021 Ascot Park Hotel, Invercargill Contact: forum@rtf.nz

12 February 2022 Bombay Rugby Club Contact: bombaytruckshow@gmail.com

TMC Trailers Trucking Industry Show 11 and 12 March 2022 Canterbury Agricultural Park Contact: truckingindustryshow.co.nz, or email info@nztruckingassn.co.nz

All scheduled events may be subject to change depending on weather conditions etc. Please check the websites above before setting out.

Show organisers – please send your event details at least eight weeks in advance to editor@nztrucking.co.nz for a free listing on this page.

New Zealand Trucking

May 2021 81

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84 Moving Metrics 88 Special Report – The impact of Covid-19 92 Incoming Cargo – Interviewing Mr Diesel 96 NZ Trucking Association Summit – Riccardo Areosa and Paul Fantham 98 Product Update – Vipal treads over the competition 100 IRTENZ – Turbo and superchargers 102 Truckers’ Health 104 Health and Safety 106 Legal Lines 110 NZ Trucking Association 112 Road Transport Forum 114 The Last Mile B R OUG HT TO YO U B Y

MOVING METRICS

THE SALES NUMBERS New Zealand Trucking reveals how the economy is travelling via key metrics from the road transport industry. From time to time, we’ll be asking experts their opinion on what the numbers mean.

Summary of heavy trucks and trailers first registered in March 2021 This information is compiled from information provided by the NZ Transport Agency statistical analysis team and through the Open Data Portal.

The data used in this information reflects any amendments to the data previously reported.

Vehicle type This summary includes data from two heavy-truck classes and one heavy-trailer class.

Note: vehicle classes are not the same as RUC vehicle types or driver licence classes.

Vehicle class

Description

NB (medium-goods vehicle)

A goods vehicle that has a gross vehicle mass exceeding 3.5 tonnes but not exceeding 12 tonnes.

NC (heavy-goods vehicle)

A goods vehicle that has a gross vehicle mass exceeding 12 tonnes.

TD (heavy trailer)

A trailer that has a gross vehicle mass exceeding 10 tonnes.

A table of all vehicle classes can be found in Table A of the Land Transport Rule Vehicle Dimensions and Mass 2016 Rule 41001/2016 https://www.nzta.govt.nz/assets/resources/rules/docs/vehicledimensions-and-mass-2016-as-at-1-june-2019.pdf

First registration of NB, NC and TD class vehicles year on year to date

A goods vehicle is a motor vehicle that: (a) is constructed primarily for the carriage of goods; and (b) either: (i) has at least four wheels; or (ii) has three wheels and a gross vehicle mass exceeding one tonne.

First registration of NB and NC class vehicles for March by major manufacturer

84 New Zealand Trucking

May 2021

First registration of TD class heavy trailers for March year on year by major manufacturer

First registration of NB, NC and TD class vehicles for March year on year

First registration of NC class vehicles year to date 2018–2021 by major manufacturer

First registration of TD class heavy trailers year to date 2018–2021 by major manufacturer

New Zealand Trucking

May 2021 85

This information is put together from information provided by the NZ Transport Agency. New Zealand Trucking acknowledges the assistance of the media team at NZTA for providing this information to us.

ROAD USER CHARGES Total value and distance of road user charges purchased between 1 January 2018 and 31 March 2021 by purchase year

RUC purchase for March 2021, all RUC types

Purchase period

Distance purchased (km)

Value of purchases

Monthly average (km)

1 Jan 2018 – 31 Dec 2018

15,736,558,458

$1,875,364,397

1,311,379,872

1 Jan 2019 – 31 Dec 2019

16,166,434,103

$2,041,939,272

1,347,202,842

1 Jan 2020 – 31 Dec 2020

15,421,400,378

$2,069,615,049

1,285,116,698

4,109,811,019

$568,206,122

1,369,937,006

1 Jan 2021 – 31 Mar 2021 In March 2021 there were 47 different types of RUC Rolling trend purchased for a total distance of 1,515,312,146km at a value of $214,508,550.61.

month-on-month purchase of RUC during 2020 – 2021

A description of RUC vehicle types is available at https://www.nzta. govt.nz/vehicles/licensing-rego/ road-user-charges/ruc-rates-andtransaction-fees/ Please note data may differ slightly from that reported for the same period previously due to adjustments being made to the base data.

Purchase period

Distance purchased (km)

Average monthly distance (km)

1 Jan 2019 – 31 Dec 2019

11,502,905,782

958,575,482

1 Jan 2020 – 31 Dec 2020

10,952,303,565

912,691,964

1 Jan 2021 – 31 Mar 2021

2,930,726,549

976,908,850

RUC distance purchased year to date March for selected RUC types

86 New Zealand Trucking

May 2021

The red dots represent the cost of RUC purchased for that RUC type for the year to date March 2021 only, thus for RUC type 6 vehicles, powered vehicles with three axles, (except type 308, 309, 311, 399 or 413 vehicles), the higher value results from the high cost of RUC for these type vehicles above 12 tonne.

RUC purchases March 2021 for selected types

SUMMARY OF HEAVY TRUCKS AND TRAILERS FIRST REGISTERED IN Q1 2021 This summarises first-time registrations of classes NB, NC and TD vehicles in New Zealand for the first three months of 2021.

It provides additional information to that published monthly as all makes of heavy goods vehicles and trailers are shown.

Each table is arranged alphabetically and gives the total number of new units first registered over the period. The information is put together from information provided by the New Zealand Transport Agency through the Open Data Portal.

Class TD A class TD is a trailer that has a GVM exceeding 10 tonnes.

Class NB A class NB vehicle is a goods vehicle that has a GVM exceeding 3.5 tonnes but not exceeding 12 tonnes.

Make

Number of units

DAF

1

FIAT

104

FORD

9

FOTON

39

FUSO

149

HINO

87

HYUNDAI

23

ISUZU

127

IVECO

28

LDV

2

MERCEDES-BENZ

53

PEUGEOT

11

RENAULT

6

TOYOTA

1

UD TRUCKS

4

VOLKSWAGEN

41

XCMG

4

Total for quarter

689

Make

Number of units

Make

Number of units

ACE

2

MD ENGINEERING

3

ADAMS & CURRIE

1

MILLS-TUI

5

CNC

1

MODERN TRANSPORT

1

COWAN

3

MTC EQUIPMENT

4

COX ENGINEERING

1

MTT

1

CWS

9

NOT IDENTIFED

6

Make

Number of units

DOMETT

23

ORION

1

DAF

37

DOUGLAS

1

PATCHELL

48

FREIGHTLINER

11

EVANS

4

PTE

2

FUSO

62

FAIRFAX

4

ROADMASTER

19

HINO

73 5

Class NC A class NC vehicle is a goods vehicle that has a GVM exceeding 12 tonnes.

FOREMOST

1

SDC

2

INTERNATIONAL

FREIGHTER

12

SEC

2

ISUZU

94

FRUEHAUF

37

TEO

1

IVECO

37

GROVES

1

TES

12

KENWORTH

68 3

GUY NORRIS ENG.

1

TIDD

5

LIEBHERR

HAMMAR

3

TMC

16

MACK

5

HOWARD PORTER

1

TOTAL TRANSPORT

1

MAN

12

HTS

2

TRANSFLEET

11

MERCEDES-BENZ

23 62

JACKSON

9

TRANSPORT TRAILERS

16

SCANIA

KRAFT

3

TRANSWORX

1

SHACMAN

3

LILLEY

4

WAIMEA ENGINEERING

2

SINOTRUK

13

LOWES

2

WARNER

1

TADANO

1 31

LUSK ENGINEERING

6

WARREN

2

UD TRUCKS

M.T.E.

24

WEALLEANS

1

VOLVO

66

MAKARANUI

3

WHITE

1

WESTERN STAR

5

MAXICUBE

4

Total for quarter

326

Total for quarter

611

SPECIAL REPORT

As New Zealand’s only heavy-truck manufacturer, Intertruck is preparing to double production output this year off the back of the pandemic.

INVESTIGATING THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 How heavy vehicle OEMs handled the past year’s events and their outlook a year after being hit

by Covid-19.

Story by Gavin Myers

A

year has passed since the Covid19 pandemic sent the world into lockdown. As quickly as the government responded, so did the trucking industry. With the sector largely considered ‘essential’, truckers who could get loads kept the economy moving during the toughest lockdown periods, while the workshops that kept

88 New Zealand Trucking

their engines humming were allowed to do their part – at a socially acceptable distance.

You can’t change a tyre, perform a COF inspection, or service a truck from home.

Of course, vehicles were still sold, and things still happened in the background, with non-essential staff working remotely. For everyone, it was something to get used to, exasperated by adapting to new IT systems, reduced efficiency in global supply chains and fewer vehicles, parts and components coming out of factories.

To find out how local vehicle importers and OEMs managed this situation, we contacted the 10 leading May 2021

names in the industry, speaking with five of them, which is a fair enough representation of what went down and what can be expected in the coming months.

Impact on a local scale According to Penske New Zealand’s Brent Warner, the company noted a slight reduction in business during lockdown but has encountered growth across all its operations since.

Warner says that the biggest challenge encountered in 2020 was effectively managing culture change in working conditions.

“At times, 60% of our staff

were working remotely,” he says.

As the only heavy-truck manufacturer in New Zealand, Intertruck NZ Group found itself in a favourable position with buyers looking for new vehicles. “The pandemic has brought about an immense growth in new clients with repeat orders from our loyal existing customers,” says managing director Comer Board. “Coronavirus has definitely brought a change to how transport operators view the importance of local manufacturing.”

Board says processing new truck compliance and COFs with increased order volumes were among the challenges for Intertruck during this

Clockwise from top: Penske New Zealand is bullish about opportunities through 2021, while Scania New Zealand and Isuzu Trucks New Zealand both made a record year of 2020. period. “There is an extreme shortage of COF B certifiers in New Zealand. It is not unusual for a testing station to take three days to process a new vehicle to its full compliance.”

Glenn Stapleton, general manager of Sime Darby Commercial Group, says that overall the largest impact on the group were issues from overseas suppliers caused by either factory shutdowns or supply chain delays. This resulted in lengthened lead times for specific components and raw materials, impacting the supply of vehicles.

Two brands, in particular, enjoyed a record year despite the challenges of 2020 — Isuzu and Scania.

Isuzu achieved the title as the leading brand of new trucks sold in New Zealand for the 21st consecutive year, while Scania achieved the No.1 position in market share for heavy trucks (more than 16,000kg GVM), buses and engines in 2020.

Dave Ballantyne, general manager of Isuzu Trucks New Zealand, says: “We have endured the same trials and tribulations as the rest of the industry with regards to various lockdown measures, so the uncertainty associated with the pandemic is something we have had to work through. While I can’t speak for Isuzu Japan itself, I would anticipate variables associated with business planning linked with the pandemic would have presented the biggest challenge.”

Deon Stephens, sales director for Scania New Zealand, says that when it came to Covid-19, the directive from Scania’s global commercial operations office was to become ‘customercentric’. “We were told to not focus on 2021 but on orders for 2020, on customers and key suppliers — to help the customers through the situation. We had no

cancellations last year — the demand was there. That directive followed our core value of customer first, and we delivered on commitments already made.

“In turn, we also increased our stock and parts holdings.

We could foresee there would be interruptions. The timeframe to get trucks here from Europe can be long, so we certainly focussed on that.”

Support from the principals Everyone we spoke to commented on how their organisations were supported from a wider OEM perspective. By and large, the feedback was that OEM support was extensive and resulted in changes to the way business has been done.

“Penske implemented strategies to support our customers’ immediate needs and to ensure we have a strong foundation and

focus on future growth,” comments Warner. “These included several new daily, weekly and monthly business KPI measures focussed on providing us clear guidance on current and trending market activity. This, combined with enhanced OEM partner engagement, has seen Penske wellpositioned to continue to support our customers and secure growth opportunities.”

Ballantyne says that good leadership, a strong relationship with dealer partners and consistent communication with Japan enabled Isuzu Trucks New Zealand to remain focussed on the job at hand.

“The key measure has been an increase in the level of communication across the organisation. This, in turn, helps reassure our dealers and customers that we’re doing what we can to ensure their business is impacted as little as possible. The dealers

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May 2021 89

For Sime Darby Commercial Group (Hino, Volvo, Mack, UD), order volumes have increased since November 2020. are at the forefront of our operation and are a huge support for our brand and customers.

“I must say that Isuzu Japan has been very good at supporting us through the challenges that 2020 has presented,” notes Ballantyne.

Similarly, Stephens says that communication within the Scania organisation significantly increased as challenges were discussed and worked through.

“We put in place ‘crisis response’ scenarios should Covid-19 spread throughout New Zealand, with action plans to ensure our customers are fully supported in keeping their businesses mobilised.”

Stephens notes that a specific challenge from the European perspective has been absenteeism within all European factories, all affected by either the staff or their family members getting Covid-19 and isolating.

Supply chain problems While working conditions globally had to change during the past year, with many countries still not fully back to pre-Covid conditions, the movement of raw materials, goods and components has also been widely impacted.

Subsequently, the local industry has suffered an impact on product availability.

90 New Zealand Trucking

“Covid has impacted key suppliers visiting New Zealand,” notes Stapleton.

“We are doing a good job of mitigating supply change impacts through making early changes to order volumes and frequencies. Our order volumes have increased significantly since November 2020, and this has continued into 2021.”

Shipping delays and delays at the ports are important to mention, he adds. “Our shipping partners have done an excellent job at sheltering us from the total effect and accelerating the processing of our orders through the ports. We have adjusted the frequency and volumes of orders to increase stock on hand. We are also doing that on capital items, Palfinger and trucks, to ensure that even with delays, we have shipments coming in regularly and we don’t depend on one ship or delivery.”

Stephenson concurs, stating the global shortage of raw material has affected some vehicle specification availability and delivery timeframes. Global shipping timelines have also been unpredictable, which has greatly affected planning with local body builders and delivery times to customers.

“I believe there will be further challenges from Covid19 for some time, mainly May 2021

around getting raw materials such as tyres and electronic components.

“These things affect specification. The factory monitors what parts are currently being supplied, which affects the final build.

If there’s a spec that we can’t get, the build either has to be delayed, or the spec changed.

That’ll be so for some time,” he says.

Penske, too, has experienced some disruption in international supply chains.

“However, our strategy of immediately increasing stock holdings of parts, trucks and engines as the pandemic evolved enabled us to continue with business as usual while providing our customers with the confidence and assurance that Penske can support their needs,” says Warner.

Adds Board: “Late last year, we anticipated a change in shipping patterns, understanding the extreme difficulties in this sector, and prepared ourselves to hold more inventory of materials to hold us until this settles to some normality.”

What might 2021 hold?

For Intertruck, keeping the flow of products rolling through the company’s Mount Maunganui assembly plant has meant increasing staff

levels by a third in preparation to double production output by mid-year. “It would be fair to say that we have gained the confidence of many operators by listening to what they need, building trucks designed for their businesses and setting up a countrywide dealer network to support our brand,” Board says.

Stephenson says that Scania New Zealand is still experiencing significant growth in vehicle sales and is implementing and cementing its service network strategy.

“Market demand is still buoyant, and we expect strong volumes of vehicle deliveries throughout 2021,” he says.

Warner is similarly bullish about the opportunities 2021 may bring. “We are looking forward to completing several significant growth opportunities.”

Stapleton and Ballantyne add a cautionary note, however. Stapleton says that Sime Darby expects order volumes to recover, but this is tempered by a slow return to normal stocking levels.

“The business has adapted well to the changing environment. Our suppliers are extremely responsive to Sime Darby as a major trading partner, and we continue to work closely with them to mitigate significant issues. We are seeing business improve and are confident this will continue through 2021.”

Ballantyne warns one of the biggest challenges will be planning for the unknown; “what Covid would involve, whether it was going to be short- to medium-term impact, planning for every eventuality,” he says.

“There are still a lot of variables at play, especially with regards to virusrelated considerations, and we’re working closely with Isuzu Japan to manage our production and stock requirements as effectively as possible.”

INCOMING CARGO

Story by Gianenrico Griffini

Photos supplied

NO SILVER BULLET FOR A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE While DAF is actively exploring and even testing hydrogen combustion engines, it would be a huge mistake to throw away all the benefits of the combustion engine, says DAF’s head of product development. Hydrogen is only one part of DAF’s activities within the sustainability field.

D

utch manufacturer DAF hasn’t always been considered a trendsetter in future technologies, but there is no denying it is currently spending much of its R&D efforts on alternative powertrains.

For example, the CF Electric

92 New Zealand Trucking

tractor for mainly inner-city supermarket deliveries was one of the first full-electric trucks to be commercialised.

Since then, it has also become available in a three-axle configuration that enables, say, refuse collection.

Now DAF has announced

May 2021

that a fully electric LF truck will enter production in the European spring this year, illustrating its belief in the future of electric-powered vehicles.

Not a bed of roses According to Ron Borsboom,

DAF’s executive director of product development, fully electric vehicles are feasible for specific applications where payload and daily mileage are limited, and the trucks can return to their home base regularly for charging.

“Although battery technology development is making good progress in energy density, one must not forget that they are still heavy and expensive and that a public infrastructure for charging is still lacking.

Charging stations will surely be realised by private parties.

“What I’m getting at is the overall network behind this.

Will electricity be sufficiently available to meet all our needs? I seriously doubt it.”

No ‘one size fits all’ DAF has always insisted that there is no one-size-fits-all solution on the road to a sustainable future.

“That is still our vision,” confirms Borsboom. “For urban applications, fully electric vehicles are a good option and, for vehicles that must operate both in and outside of metropolitan areas, hybrid technology is a realistic

way to go.

“Currently, we have several of these hybrid trucks operating as part of a field test with selected customers, and their feedback is very positive. Hybrid technology offers the best of both worlds: zero emissions in city centres and a long-range, as well as maximum flexibility thanks to the modern and efficient diesel engine.”

Mr Diesel, I presume Given his long and vast experience in diesel technology development – not only with trucks but also in the nautical business – Borsboom is often referred to as Mr

Diesel. He admits that this makes him quite proud.

“The diesel engine was a fantastic invention and is still a great engine. It offers unmatched efficiency, reliability, and durability. It hurts me that the public opinion sees it negatively, ignoring the industry’s immense efforts to make it cleaner and cleaner and cleaner. Its image is unfortunately not in line with the facts.

“To meet the European Green Deal requirements and the truck industry’s intention to refrain from using fossil fuels as of 2040, the combustion engine of the future will run on new generations of fuel or, for

instance, hydrogen. We should never throw out the concept of the combustion engine – that would be a big mistake.”

Taking the entire chain into consideration The European Green Deal has tasked the European truck industry with reducing its CO2 emissions by 15% in 2025 and 30% by 2030. Borsboom cautions that these objectives are challenging.

“Thanks to tremendous technical effort over the past 20 years, the truck industry has achieved a 1% CO2 emission reduction on average per year. And now we need to increase that to 2.5% per year up until 2025 and ensure annual reductions of 3% from 2025 until 2030. So, we will have to produce electric and hybrid drivelines on a larger scale, and it looks like the legislation will require 20% of the production to be emission-free.

“By the way, if we want to consider our planet, it is inevitable that at some point, we will have to adopt the wellto-wheel approach instead of

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May 2021 93

Ron ‘Mr Diesel’ Borsboom, DAF Trucks product director. the tank-to-wheel approach,” he maintains.

Hydrogen has good potential Hydrogen is one of the most promising routes to achieving zero-emission powertrains for long haulage transport when using wind or solar power to produce it. Like other truck manufacturers, DAF is exploring fuel-cell technologies powered by hydrogen. But in addition to that, it is also investigating the potential of hydrogen to fuel a combustion engine.

“A fuel cell doesn’t have transient capabilities,” explains Borsboom. “In other words, it is not able to accelerate and decelerate. Therefore, when using fuel cells, buffering energy by a set of batteries is also needed. A combustion engine offers the required transient capabilities, is less sensitive to hydrogen quality, and doesn’t require huge cooling packages, unlike fuelcell technology.

“We have the prototype up and running in our testing environments, and our initial findings are looking good.

Mind you, it will still take years

94 New Zealand Trucking

before this new technology has the kind of proven reliability and durability you are used to seeing in our existing products, so don’t expect this to be available on the market in the foreseeable future.”

New generations of fuels Hydro-treated vegetable oil (HVO) is already on the market – and the current range of DAF trucks can operate on HVO without any technical adaptions or changes to the service schedule.

“It is good that we are doing our utmost to find solutions to meet the Green Deal requirements for 2025 and 2030, but there is already a lot we could do today to lower CO2 emissions,” says Borsboom.

“HVO is the latest generation of biodiesel in which – and this is important – production doesn’t interfere with food production and results in a CO2 reduction of up to 90% ‘well-to-wheel’.

And in the longer term, e-fuels will become available. For these, CO2 in the air can be captured and stored and through electrolysis combined

May 2021

with hydrogen. This solution will result in a liquid, CO2 -neutral fuel on which modern combustion engines can operate perfectly without any exceptions,” he explains.

But, while HVO has masses of potential, DAF will never put all of its eggs into this sustainability basket.

“First of all, let me stress once again that there is no one solution for all the different kinds of transport applications,” says Borsboom.

“Distribution transport is different from long haulage.

That is why DAF is developing, exploring, and applying a full spectrum of technologies: battery electric, hybrid electric, hydrogen – you name it. And yes, the combustion engine has great potential for the future.

“But it appears that politicians don’t want to listen.

Everyone has an opinion these days, but it would be better if the decisions rely on hard facts,” he concludes.

Gianenrico Griffini works at Italy’s Vie&Trasporti magazine and is the current chairman of the International Truck of the Year jury.

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WHAT IS E-FUEL? E-diesel has the potential to make conventional combustion engines operate almost CO2neutral. To produce it, the power-toliquid plant converts surplus hydropower into synthetic fuel.

A chemical principle is applied: the green power generated on-site in the hydroelectric power station produces hydrogen and oxygen from water using electrolysis.

In the next step, the hydrogen reacts with CO2, using an innovative and very compact microprocess technology.

The CO2 can be obtained from the atmosphere or biogenous waste gases and is the only carbon source.

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FEBRUARY 20

Presented by

FRIDAY: TRADE DAY / CAREERS SHOWCASE SATURDAY: SHOW & SHINE / COMPETITIONS

NTA INDUSTRY SUMMIT

Riccardo Areosa.

MAXING

50MAX The 2020 New Zealand Trucking Association Industry Summit took place on Saturday 21 November at Riccarton Racecourse, Christchurch.

96 New Zealand Trucking

R

iccardo Areosa, NZTA’s manager of permitting, discussed what the agency was doing around permitting. He said that nearly 50% of all combinations in use were nine-axle vehicles running 50MAX – and there was a steady increase of applications. Mostly, these nine-axles proformas had more than one permit, including 50MAX, 54 tonne and 58 tonne. He said there had also been an increase in 54- and 58-tonne permitting.

Aroeosa said the first initiative undertaken by the NZTA was increasing the warnings of permit breaches and compliance issues.

“Working with compliance teams, we’ve seen that to be working quite well. With the Weigh Right programme, we expect these figures to go up significantly,” he

May 2021

said. According to Areosa’s figures, warnings are trending downward since the introduction of Critical Breach monitoring.

A key initiative was to make 50MAX data available for GIS consumption through the agency’s data portal, Areosa said. “The data is now available for the likes of Teletrac Navman and Eroad to start mapping the 50MAX routes.”

A third ‘continuous work improvement’ initiative was the release of the HPMV full network to get a framework of state highways open to 58-tonners. “We’re trying to work with some local councils so we can make the freight connections more seamless.

We understand that with regional permitting, it’s very complicated, and we’re trying to make that simpler.

This is one of our first steps,”

he said.

Another initiative the agency was working on with its vehicle-standards team was to simplify registrations and permitting. “We found a chicken-and-egg scenario. We are trying to make that more seamless by empowering heavy-vehicle engineers and certifiers to have that conversation based on the proforma diagrams produced.

So when a vehicle is manufactured, it can go to the testing site and get a number plate and get registered and into the permitting system seamlessly.”

Areosa said that as the agency progressed with its new permitting tool (out for tender at the moment) during the next couple of years, the process would become seamless with no delays for operators.

Finally, Areosa commented on the TERNZ assessment tool used to assess all the performers against performance-based standards.

“We had a refresh of proformas at the beginning of last year with the release of B-train and logging combinations.

Now we’re looking at truck and trailers, and six more combinations are coming around mid-next year.”

ENGAGING WITH

INDUSTRY Paul Fantham, the New Zealand Transport Agency’s senior manager, commercial licencing and revenue, spoke about how the agency engaging with the industry to deliver better, safer roads.

This included simplifying the process of working with the NZTA and evening the playing field by dealing with operators who had created a commercial advantage for themselves by ‘not paying their fair share’.

Fantham said the NZTA was trying to push the regulator on these issues. “To get this done, we’re going to have to make some changes to the way we regulate road-user charges. The first thing on my to-do list is to create an RUC

compliance strategy that will take us on a journey to where we want to be in a few years.

Don’t expect that change to happen overnight. There is a lot to do that we’ll work on over the next few years, but we need that strategy to form the way that we do it.”

So what can the industry expect from the NZTA? First, “expect us to come to talk to you”, said Fantham.

“We don’t have all the answers, and we certainly need your help in developing this strategy, so you can expect to see our people engaging with you on various things over the next short while. We want to hear what you have to say.”

Fantham said the agency

had already begun conducting surveys with operators.

“We’re looking at what drives compliant behaviour and what is it that drives non-compliant behaviour.”

He said conversations with the Ministry of Transport had also started. “Some of the feedback we have from industry says that rules are complicated, that often compliance can come down to guesswork. So we’re working with the ministry to simplify the rules and make that side of it a little bit easier to understand and be compliant.”

Among the immediate changes the industry could expect to see, said Fantham, was increased frontline

Paul Fantham. activity. “Ordinarily, we do a small number of fleet assessments across the country each year. We’re going to increase the number of those,” he noted.

Naturally, the agency was investigating how to drive better compliance behaviour, he said.

“It’s really good to be getting feedback from drivers, from the small number that we’ve done, around what’s working and what isn’t. We want to hear that because it feeds into our strategy.”

PRIME MOVER, WARWICK JOHNSON’S MEMOIRS This beautifully presented 200-page publication includes more than 150 images from Warwick’s collection.

$49+$9 POSTAGE SCAN TO GO TO CHECK OUT OR VISIT: NZTRUCKING.CO.NZ/PRIMEMOVER CH7:A

Don’t you hate it when churches cross the road when all you want to do is read the newspaper?

Geany’s house out of Rotorua, Ngongotaha, tandem-pulling Internationals. I got two 6m permits for two individual trucks and trailers which was legal… But for some reason, the house was still in one piece. By using two trailers, your weight stickers were absorbed. The traffic dept never complained.

ready to go. My team was small but they were all good men. They had to be. Given the age and size of the building, moving it would be a challenge, and the stakes were high.

Let’s record who they were: Malcolm Kay, Murray Grant, my son Grant Johnson, Ned Morgan and a Maori chap who simply wanted to be known as Whetu.

To keep costs down, we bunked in the church and built ourselves a small hut to house the basic facilities of a gas cooker, fridge and a kettle. That lasted about three weeks before the sand flies and mosquitos drove us to a local motel.

Mosquitos weren’t our only problem. A small but very vocal group of protestors had assembled on the site. They didn’t want the church moved, thinking it was unnecessary and believing, I guess, that God had ordained the original site and that is where it should stay. I remember one member of the protest group was Wendy Fowler. She was a lovely woman and unfailingly polite.

We reciprocated by providing the protestors with cups of tea and coffee. We even let Wendy wander around, taking photos with a camera

70

The Remarkable Life of Warwick Johnson

Prime Mover 103

“There’s no substitute for experience” 12

The Remarkable Life of Warwick Johnson

The only time I played on Eden Park, shifting the old stand from number 1 to number 2.

building removal had begun.

I was 15 years old.

The tornado hit Dad financially, so he needed me to be part of his crew. To be fair, he paid me well at 2 pounds, 10 shillings a week, but my clothes were still hand-me-downs and often too large.

I mentioned that my grandfather, Pop Jack, was in the building removal business and considered one of its pioneers. I believe he made his first major move in the 1890s. Then, and for many years after, he crafted and honed a skill for innovation and make-do that has trickled down to me today.

One example I was told about was his moving huge (and heavy) milk vats in the new dairy factory in Hamilton.

His simple method was to use blocks of ice instead of wooden rollers to leapfrog over the ammonia pipes on the concrete floor.

Another example was the reuse of rusty wire ropes that were theoretically past their use-by days but were still serviceable when rewound by hand. I remember Pop’s hands were always torn and often festering after one of those splicing sessions. He also made his own wheels... from wood!

My father met my mother while he was working for Pop Jack – she was Pop Jack’s daughter. It was a real family business. As well as my dad, my mother’s three brothers – Fred, Victor and Gordon – all worked for him. In those days, all moves were by horse and cart; only later did they

A newspaper clipping from the New Zealand Herald, 27 August 1948.

Pop Jack

A Hamilton Borough Council image showing a roller towing a house in 1937. Notice the homemade wooden wheels on the trailer; kerosene tins filled with water were used to prevent wheels from catching on fire.

PRODUCT UPDATE

VIPAL RETREAD ROLLS OVER COMPETITION Vipal Rubber’s DV-UM3B Precure tread recently faced off in a comparative test with a competitor’s product and proved its performance to be 65% better under similar rolling and application conditions.

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he DV-UM3B pattern is a premium tread specially designed for urban use. It is particularly applicable for city buses and waste-collection trucks used in severe service, including stop-start and tightturning applications.

In the test, two MercedesBenz Atego medium-duty 6x2 trucks completed an urban rubbish-collection service route in Londrina, Brazil, with the tyres mounted in the drive axle.

The Vipal DV-UM3B reached an average projection of 14,329km compared with 8705km from its competitor,

May 2021

representing a 65% better performance.

When it came to average kilometres per millimetres, Vipal also had a far better performance, with 1194km/ mm compared with 757km/ mm — or 58% higher.

“We know the tyre market for this segment very well.

We understand the DV-UM3B tread’s potential and how effective it can be,” said Andrei da Luz, the Vipal consultant who supervised the evaluation.

According to Diego Antonietti, Vipal’s regional fleet manager, rubbish collecting is quite demanding,

especially on tyres. The DV-UM3B was developed especially for radial tyres on drive or trailer axles. Ideal for urban perimeter use, it provides excellent traction and low rolling resistance.

Its design was developed to minimise the retention of rocks and unwanted objects, providing the casing with more protection against damage.

The DV-UM3B was also made for greater mileage and stability in contact with the ground, as well as temperature, which tends to remain stable, prolonging the tyre’s service life.

Dave Leicester, director of New Zealand Vipal agent Power Retreads, adds: “This tread design has been well-tested in most major New Zealand cities in the past couple of years. The tests were run on city buses and waste trucks with outstanding results.”

The tests carried out by Vipal follow strict standards stipulated by its Performance Evaluation Methodology, which seeks to compare similar products applied in the segments for which they are intended and subjected to use under equal conditions, ensuring impartiality in the results obtained.

“Undoubtedly, the technology used by Vipal Rubber to develop its products, and the care we have in providing the transporter with the ideal application for each need, were essential for us to obtain such significant results with our product in relation to a similar one from the competitor,” explained Antonietti.

In New Zealand, Vipal pattern retreads are manufactured by Power Retreads in three factories in Auckland, Hastings and Christchurch.

The retreads are then wholesaled throughout the country by a network of independent tyre dealers.

Scan the QR code to watch the Rotary Lift Flex in action.

INFORMI NG DECI SI ON-MAKI NG I N THE ROAD TRANSPORT I NDUSTRY h t t p : // i r t e n z . o r g . n z /a b o u t - i r t e n z

FILLING THE

CYLINDER Contribution for IRTENZ by Russell Walsh (Life Member IRTENZ)

T

he diesel engines we are familiar with are generally four-stroke, i.e. completing one full cycle takes four distinct actions, stokes — intake, compression, power, and exhaust — completed over two full rotations of the crankshaft or 720 degrees.

On the intake stroke, as the piston in each cylinder moves downwards, a partial vacuum is created, and air (oxygen) under atmospheric pressure enters the cylinder through the open inlet valve(s). The volume of air that can get into the cylinder during this short time has a significant impact on each cylinder’s power and hence the power available to move the vehicle.

Engine performance can be assessed by the volume

of air entering each cylinder during regular operation — its volumetric efficiency.

A restriction in the airflow entering the cylinder, such as a partially blocked air filter, will affect the amount of air available to support the combustion process that takes place towards the end of the compression stroke, ultimately affecting the engine’s power output.

It was realised early in the development of internal combustion engines that if the air entering the cylinder was pressurised, the air’s overall volume would increase, improving its volumetric efficiency, combustion, and power output. This is sometimes referred to as charge air boosting. It was also found that the power

Roots-type supercharger mounted between the banks, as shown in a Detroit Diesel instruction manual from the late 1980s.

100 New Zealand Trucking

May 2021

output of smaller engines could be increased, resulting in better fuel efficiency and the ability to put engines into smaller spaces without sacrificing vehicle performance.

The two common means of pressurising the incoming air we are familiar with are supercharging and turbocharging.

Supercharging A supercharger — or blower as it is sometimes called — is an engine-driven mechanical pump usually driven directly off the engine crankshaft. Its speed is proportional to the engine’s speed. In simple terms, a supercharger blows air into each cylinder and, in doing so, increases the volume of air and hence the amount of oxygen available to support the combustion process.

There are three common types of supercharger; the most common is the Roots type as used on the Commer TS3 and Detroit 71 Series two-stroke engines. Rootsstyle superchargers are also common on petrol engines.

In the diagram (left), retrieved from a Detroit Diesel instruction manual, the Roots blower is shown between the two rocker arm covers.

Other types of superchargers are the sliding vane and

centrifugal blower type.

Superchargers can be expensive to maintain and, because they are driven by the engine, use some of the power that would otherwise be available to drive the vehicle. A supercharger can typically increase the intake air pressure by 6 to 9psi (0.4 to 0.6 bar), increasing the volume of air entering the cylinder by up to 50%.

Turbocharging A turbocharger performs the same function as a supercharger but is driven by the energy from the engine’s exhaust gases. This energy turns a turbine to drive a compressor wheel that drags in air from outside the vehicle and compresses it. The compressed air is then available to increase the volume of air entering the engine cylinders. The diagram (right), retrieved from Turbochargers & Air Handling|Cummins Inc., shows the internal design of a typical turbocharger.

Because they are fitted into the exhaust system, turbochargers do add a restriction to the smooth outward flow of exhaust gases, increasing the back pressure caused by the exhaust on the engine components, particularly pistons. Technology,

New Zealand Trucking

July 2020

35

Hella NZ

Basic bits of a turbocharger. Source: Cummins Inc. however, is overcoming this.

A characteristic of engines fitted with turbochargers is a phenomenon known as turbolag. Turbo-lag is a brief delay in response time after the accelerator is pressed. It is caused by the exhaust gases not having sufficient energy to spin the turbo’s turbine

wheel fast enough. Again, technology is overcoming the effects of turbo-lag on an engine’s performance.

By applying technology, the output air pressure of today’s turbochargers can be easily controlled, improving engine performance and fuel efficiency.

Charge air cooling When air is compressed, its temperature rises and its density is decreased, cancelling some of the benefits of pressurising the air in the first place. To control this increase in temperature, engines are often fitted with a cooling system — called

an intercooler or aftercooler — for the air to pass through after it is compressed and pressurised, and before it enters the engine.

Two types of intercooler are common. In air-to-air coolers, air passes through a radiator similar to an engine cooling radiator, except there is no liquid coolant in it. This radiator cools the air and transfers the extracted heat directly to the outside air.

Air-to-air intercoolers are often fitted low at the front of the vehicle to take advantage of the cool air flowing around the vehicle.

The other type of intercooler is air-to-liquid, which works in much the same way but the cooling mechanism is liquid.

Sometimes this type of intercooler system is part of the engine’s cooling system.

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TRUCKERS’ HEALTH

Doing it together

A

re you self-motivated? If your answer is no, realise that you are not alone, nor there is anything wrong with that.

It can take immense drive and discipline to exercise on your own, especially if you don’t enjoy a particular type of exercise or feel very “motivated” at the time. I put the word motivation in quote marks because I believe motivation is a myth. No one on earth is motivated 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. Discipline is the single most important trait to help you complete your training session.

Motivation is like the icing on a cake, and discipline is the flour, baking powder and the foundation ingredients of the cake. I discovered recently after completing a charity event involving almost 20 hours of summit climbing that exercise is much more enjoyable, bearable and doable when you are not alone.

If there is someone you can reach out to and lean on to become your gym buddy, join a sports team with you or go for walks/bike rides, I believe you will find it much easier to stay on track and disciplined with your exercise routine.

At the gym, many people begin as total strangers and end out as good friends as they are in the same boat, on similar journeys, moving toward trying to become a healthier and fitter version of themselves. Think of your mates and family. Is there anyone who springs to mind who might want to join you on a health journey and start exercise sessions with you? Even if it’s just for the first month, to get you into the routine and habit of exercising regularly.

The truth is that no one else minds if you exercise or not; you have to care enough and have enough accountability to

102 New Zealand Trucking

make it happen for yourself. But if you have a friend or family member meeting you, you are no longer just letting yourself down if you don’t show up. You are also letting your exercise buddy down – which for most people, is a lot more of a push than just being disappointed in yourself.

Here are some excellent exercises to enjoy with a training buddy:

• Sports involving teams, such as soccer, netball, hockey, rugby, touch, badminton.

• Group fitness classes such as boxing, HIIT training, spin, pump, pilates.

• Leisure activities such as golf, walking, hiking, swimming and bike rides.

• Out-of-the-box training styles such as pole fit, aerial, dance classes, aqua aerobics, reformer pilates.

I challenge you to ask a friend, family member or workmate to join you – try something new. I find that sometimes people write off a style of exercise before they have even tried it – you might surprise yourself and enjoy it. 

Laura Peacock Personal trainer TCA Fitness Club

May 2021

NZT

Higgins Concrete cements mental health support into core business

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iggins Concrete has partnered with Mentemia to incorporate mental health and wellbeing into its dayto-day operations, publicising it through the livery of two blue Hino mixers.

Mentemia is a mental health and wellbeing programme fronted by rugby legend and mental health ambassador Sir John Kirwan and health psychology specialist and clinical lead Dr Fiona Crichton. The programme creates a platform for individuals and businesses to focus on maintaining and improving mental health through a range of tools and techniques accessed via an app.

“We tragically lost a staff member during the Covid-19 lockdown, and that really underlined the importance of offering support to staff across both their work and home environments,” says central region manager Aaron Currie. “So we introduced the Mentemia programme into the business, giving all staff access to the full range of support it offers.”

According to Aaron, in the two months since its introduction, the programme has made it okay to talk about

mental health. He has also noticed a new openness between staff members as Mentemia is integrated into training and dayto-day operations.

“We’ve seen more willingness to talk. It’s slowly starting to push the stigma away. Everyone has exactly the same level of access to the app – it’s for everyone. As a business, we recognise that managers can’t work unless staff do their jobs.

We don’t see anyone as more or less important – we’re all after the same result.”

By decking out a new Hino mini-mixer in the Mentemia livery, Higgins has purposefully chosen a truck that will pass through the hands of multiple drivers, changing every four to six months. “The small mixer requires a class-2 licence, providing an entry point for young drivers to progress towards their class-4. This helps to get new staff into our thinking and culture around mental health from the get-go,” says Aaron.

The two blue concrete mixers join an increasingly colourful fleet, including the existing pink Hino mixer that hit the road last year in support of Child Cancer. 

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HEALTH AND SAFETY

When catastrophe strikes

O

ver the past year, businesses have had to focus on survival, adapting to working from home, changes in Covid-19 alert levels, reduced staff numbers, increasing staff numbers, shortages, new directions, and many more impacts and responses. It feels as if we are hardened and – at the same time – more vulnerable.

What else could go wrong?

But, despite all we have been going through, we aren’t immune to more disasters in the workplace. For example, I am aware of at least two catastrophic fires on business premises in the last week of March. These immediately changed the way the business operated. There was no notice, no time to move, no time to set up in other locations.

In these situations, our first reactions are shock, horror and grief. With luck, there will be no injuries. If there are, this adds to the emotional load. From here, we need to pick up the pieces, decide what we are going to do and start to act. Ideally, we will have already considered a business continuity plan; this gives us a starting point.

What are some of the things to consider? Insurance is vital.

It buys some time and takes care of the immediate financial pressure. Most businesses have insurance, but it is worth checking that the insurance is appropriate. We all hate paying for it – until we need it.

Workers need to be supported. They will be riding the same emotional rollercoaster as the owners. Added to this, they will be concerned about their immediate income needs and future work.

Similarly, customers have expectations and rely on you.

Resolving their needs is important, particularly if you intend on rebuilding and want to retain them.

Contractors are likely to be called in to clean up and rebuild. The site still belongs to the business, and owners are accountable for the safe and healthy demolition and restoration of the site. You must quickly ascertain that you are using contractors who are not only capable but also have robust health and safety practices. Their plans and implementation must be reviewed and monitored.

With good planning and luck, we will not be in a situation where we are completely out of control. The best time to plan is before it happens. 

About Tracey Murphy

How can Safewise help?

We work with organisations that need more health and safety knowledge – or more time – than they have in-house. For more information, visit safewise.co.nz 23031 DANI1 TRUCKING AD.pdf

27/5/10

Tracey is the owner and director of the health and safety consultancy, Safewise. She has more than 12 years’ experience working with organisations from many different industries and holds a diploma in health and safety management and a graduate diploma in occupational safety and health. She is a graduate member of the New Zealand Institute of Safety Management and is on the HASANZ register.

3:12:58 PM

Danielle L. Beston Barrister At Law Log Book & Driving Hours Transport Specialist Work Licences Nationwide Road User Charges Contributor to New Zealand Trucking ‘Legal Lines’ Column Telephone: 64 9 379 7658 mobile: 021 326 642 danielle.beston@hobsonchambers.co.nz Referral Through Solicitor Required and Arranged

104 New Zealand Trucking

May 2021

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LEGAL LINES

Breath-testing inside people’s homes

I

am often asked about when the police may enter a home and conduct a breath test. In my view, the law needs to be clarified to let people know they can refuse police entry to their homes in some situations. This month, I’m going to discuss when you can shut the door to the police and when you do have to let them in.

Entry without permission

If the police have a warrant issued by the court, you legally have to let them in. Police can also enter to seize evidence, but only if they believe it will be destroyed while they wait to get a warrant. In situations where a crime is being committed, or there is an emergency that is threatening somebody’s life or safety, the police can also enter without your permission.

The police are allowed entry into your home without a warrant to enforce specific laws such as those relating to immigration and animal welfare. Section 119 of the Land Transport Act 1998 specifically gives police the power to enter without your permission if you’ve been involved in a police pursuit because an officer believes you were drinking and driving.

Implied licence to enter

Any member of the public, including police officers, are permitted to enter your property to communicate with you.

This is known as an implied licence to enter private property.

However, there are limits to this. Generally, they would not be allowed to go further than the back or front door without an express licence in the form of an invitation from you to come inside. If you do agree to let a police officer enter your home, you can change your mind at any time. In most cases, they then have to leave straight away. If they fail to do so, then they are a trespasser.

Breath testing

The Land Transport Act 1998 gives the police the power to stop drivers and ask them to undergo a breath test. You can be pulled over at any time if the police suspect you have been drinking or taking drugs either before or while driving.

Police can also stop any driver at a breath-testing checkpoint.

As noted previously, if the police have pursued you and they believe you were drinking and driving, then they have the power to breath-test you in your own home. However, if the police are not in fresh pursuit, they cannot carry out a breath test in someone’s home unless they are invited in, and the person consents.

Recent examples

The High Court set aside the drink driving conviction of artist Lee Torres Calderon after finding the police illegally entered his bedroom to breath-test him in 2016. In the early hours of the morning of 11 January 2016, Torres Calderon crashed

106 New Zealand Trucking

May 2021

his car into the rock wall at the entrance to Rannoch House where he was living. One of the residents called an ambulance to attend to a wound, and another gave Torres Calderon a large glass of red wine as he was shaking and upset after the crash.

A police officer entered Torres Calderon’s bedroom through a back door and asked him to undergo breath tests. Torres Calderon was a recent immigrant to New Zealand and did not realise he could ask the constable to leave or refuse to take the breath tests, which he later failed.

Justice Duffy said in her judgment that the police had implied licence to enter a property, but that extended no further than was necessary to communicate with the occupant, and they needed permission to go any further. She found that Torres Calderon had not given the police officer consent to enter his bedroom, which meant the breath test was unlawfully obtained. He had innocently drunk a large glass of wine in the almost two-hour gap between the crash and the breath tests, and there was no evidence to suggest he was over the legal limit when the incident occurred.

In 2018, Paul Gordon Davey won an appeal against his convictions for refusing to permit a blood specimen to be taken and resisting police arrest. Justice Brewer found that the officer who arrested Davey when he refused a breath test didn’t have permission to be on the property and, therefore, Davey was unlawfully arrested on his driveway. The incident began when a member of the public reported a car driving erratically. This car was located in the driveway of a house, and the police officer walked up the driveway, where he found Davey.

Davey challenged the officer’s right to be on the property and refused to do a breath-screening test or go with the officer to do an evidential breath test or give a blood specimen. The officer then arrested him, and Davey resisted by stiffening his body and refusing to walk. Justice Brewer said that a police officer had the right to walk onto a residential property for a lawful purpose, but if he is subsequently asked to leave and he refuses, then he becomes a trespasser. This was not a case of the police officer being in fresh pursuit of a drink driver and, therefore, the officer was not entitled to arrest Davey and his resistance to being arrested was not unlawful. 

Please note that this article is not a substitute for legal advice and if you have a particular matter that needs to be addressed, you should consult with a lawyer. Danielle Beston is a barrister who specialises in transport law and she can be contacted on (09) 379 7658 or 021 326 642.

Danielle Beston

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HEALTHY TRUCK DRIVER TOP TIP

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Rachel Harrison

Road Safety Coordinator

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Become a supporter of the Road Safety Truck today - you can join the New Zealand Trucking Rachel Harrison to help at an event, or make a donation.

Bryan Codogan Association, volunteer

RachelCoordinator Harrison Bryan Codogan Road Safety Clutha District Mayor Rachel Harrison Bryan Codogan Road Safety Coordinator Clutha District Mayor Road Safety Coordinator Clutha District Mayor Join usHarrison today! 0800 338 338 Rachel Bryan Codogan www.nztruckingassn.co.nz Road Safety Coordinator Clutha District Mayor Rachel Harrison Bryan Codogan

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Diversity in the workplace

W

hat does diversity mean? It is an understanding that everyone is unique and recognising our differences. These can be along the dimensions of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, age, physical abilities, religious beliefs, political beliefs, or other ideologies.

In New Zealand, we seldom celebrate the champions in the workplace who promote an inclusive working environment.

The Australian Trucking Association (ATA) and Teletrac Navman are driving diversity change in Australia. They have recently launched a ground-breaking initiative that will celebrate industry diversity, develop diversity champions, and improve its image. The initiative is structured to showcase diversity champions to the trucking industry and broader community, promote a positive perception of the industry, a nd encourage new entrants into the workforce.

Similar to Australia, New Zealand is experiencing a big shift in the perception of transport. There is still much ground to cover when it comes to diversifying the workplace. Our statistics are like Australia, where we have an ageing, predominately male workforce and a single-figure percentage of women truck drivers.

Our partner, Teletrac Navman, is a strong diversity champion and has demonstrated a commitment to drive positive change in the trucking industry, both here and in Australia. The company aims to support an inclusive sector made up of people from diverse communities. It understands the benefits that come with having a diverse workforce. For those companies that have not recognised the need for an inclusive workplace, it’s time to make some changes. It’s been proven repeatedly how valuable it is for a business to have inclusive policies and culture.

• Listen to employees when they raise concerns or have questions.

• Hold more effective meetings, ensuring you set the scene so that staff are comfortable raising issues.

• Communicate your company’s growth goals and measure progress, so staff feel included.

Ensure that when you are advertising for staff, your advertisement reflects that you are an inclusive workplace.

Celebrate acts of kindness and gestures of respect. Discourage bullying behaviour and pranks.

Different types of bullying in the workplace are starting to be identified, and it pays to keep your eyes and ears open. Even comments about the way people look or their size are types of bullying, and while they might seem funny, they are certainly not fun for the person the comments are aimed at.

After all, it is all about people, processes, and profit. If your methods are wrong, your people will be unhappy, and you probably will not have profit.

If you can create a culture where people are kind to each other, it will reflect in productivity and staff retention.

It’s costly to replace staff. Create a healthy culture by showing empathy, especially if someone is going through a tough time. Staff will see that action and feel respected and valued. Back it up with random acts of kindness – these could be as small as a chocolate fish placed in their locker with a card to say, ‘Thanks so much. I appreciate your efforts.’

We have members who reward great driving or excellent health and safety records with a grocery voucher. Such rewards are very visible to your staff and show that you care. Adopt the aspiration to be the employer whose company has an inclusive workplace culture – it will result in improved staff retention and better profits. 

It is all about people, processes, and profit.

If your methods are wrong, your people will be unhappy, and you probably will not have profit.

Here are five simple strategies to implement in your workplace:

• Stop following society stereotypes. In many cases, company supervisors and managers are to blame for the lack of diversity in the workplace.

• Share the decision-making process with all staff.

• Educate employees as to what diversity means.

• Promote flexibility in roles in your workplace.

• Respect different career goals and encourage extended learning and training.

And here are six practical strategies for creating an inclusive environment:

• Educate your leaders, supervisors, managers about diversity.

• Form an inclusion council or committee.

• Celebrate employee differences.

110 New Zealand Trucking

May 2021

NZ Trucking Association can be contacted on 0800 338 338 or info@nztruckingassn.co.nz

By Carol McGeady, executive officer NZ Trucking Association

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+ Versatile – PrecissionLeg™ + + + –– PrecissionLeg™ ––optimal PrecissionLeg™ –– tare PrecissionLeg™ stabilising forfor optimal for optimal optimal stabilising stabilising stabilising + Unique + Versatile Light + Versatile Light + Versatile Lightfor low low low tare tare + Light – low tare + Light + Light + Light – low – low – tare low tare tare + Strong + Strong + Strong – 36-tonne – 36-tonne – 36-tonne Safe Safe Safe Working Working Working Load Load Load (SWL) (SWL) (SWL) or or or + Strong – 36-tonne + Strong + Strong + Safe Strong Working – 40-tonne 36-tonne – 40-tonne 36-tonne – 40-tonne 36-tonne LoadSafe (SWL) Safe Safe Working Working orWorking Load Load Load (SWL) (SWL) (SWL) or or or option option option 40-tonne 40-tonne 40-tonne 40-tonne option option + Stable + Stable +option Stable– legs – legs – legs extend extend extend foroption for firm for firm firm base base base and and transfer and transfer transfer + Sliding + Stable – legs extend + + + for firm –– legs ––base legs ––each legs extend and extend extend transfer for for for firm firm base base base and and transfer and transfer transfer + Stable Weighing + Stable Weighing + Stable Weighing by by by each each crane crane crane orfirm or total or total total + Light + Weighing – by each + Weighing + crane Weighing + Weighing or – total by – by – each by each each crane crane crane or or total or total total + High + High + High liftliftlift – ideal – ideal – ideal forfor stacking for stacking stacking option option option + Strong + High lift – ideal + for High + stacking High + High lift lift lift – option ideal – ideal – ideal for for stacking for stacking stacking option option option + Reach + Reach + Reach– long – long – long outreach outreach outreach cranes cranes cranes + Stable + Reach – long outreach + Reach + Reach + Reach cranes – long – long – long outreach outreach outreach cranes cranes cranes + Ease + Ease + Ease – crane/stabiliser – crane/stabiliser – crane/stabiliser side-by-side side-by-side side-by-side design design design + Reach + Ease – crane/stabiliser + Ease + Ease + Ease side-by-side – crane/stabiliser – crane/stabiliser – crane/stabiliser design side-by-side side-by-side side-by-side design design design + Safety+™ + Safety+™ + Safety+™ – computer – computer – computer monitored monitored monitored handling handling handling asas std as stdstd + Ease + Safety+™ – computer + Safety+™ + Safety+™ + monitored Safety+™ – computer – computer handling – computer monitored as monitored std monitored handling handling handling as as std as std std + SDS + SDS + SDS – Hammar – Hammar – Hammar Soft-Drive Soft-Drive Soft-Drive System System System + SDS + SDS – Hammar + SDS + SDS Soft-Drive + SDS – Hammar – System Hammar – Hammar Soft-Drive Soft-Drive Soft-Drive System System System + Flex + Flex + Flex – Trailer – Trailer – Trailer or or Truckmounted or Truckmounted Truckmounted + Flex + Flex – Trailer + Flex or + Flex +Truckmounted Flex – Trailer – Trailer – Trailer or or Truckmounted or Truckmounted Truckmounted

– middle + Unique crane + Unique + Unique folds – accommodate middle –into middle – accommodate middle chassis crane crane crane to folds into into chassis chassis chassis to to to accommodate afolds single afolds single ainto single 40’ 40’ 40’ accommodate a single accommodate accommodate accommodate 40’ a single a single a single 40’40’40’ + Joiners – handle two containers simultaneously withwith joiners + Sliding + Sliding + Sliding – for – for –maximum for maximum maximum payload payload payload with with a single a single a single 20’20’20’ – for maximum + Sliding + Sliding + Sliding payload – for – for with – maximum for maximum a maximum single payload 20’ payload payload with with a single a single a single 20’20’20’ – only – only 7.57.5 tonne 7.5 tonne tonne tare tare tare with + Light + Light + Light – only – only 7.5 + Light + tonne Light + Light tare – only – only – only 7.5 7.5 tonne 7.5 tonne tonne tare tare tare + Strong + Strong + Strong – 16-tonne – 16-tonne – 16-tonne Safe Safe Safe Working Working Working Load Load Load (SWL) (SWL) (SWL) – 16-tonne + + Strong + Working 16-tonne 16-tonne 16-tonne Load Safe (SWL) Safe Working Working Working Load Load Load (SWL) (SWL) (SWL) + Strong Stable + Safe Stable + Strong Stable –– legs –– legs –– legs extend extend extend forSafe for firm for firm firm base base base and and transfer and transfer transfer – legs extend + Stable + Stable + Stable for firm – legs – base legs – legs extend and extend extend transfer for for firm for firm firm base base base and and transfer and transfer transfer + Reach + Reach + Reach– long – long – long outreach outreach outreach cranes cranes cranes – long outreach + Reach + Reach + Reach cranes – long – long – long outreach outreach outreach cranes cranes cranes + Ease + Ease + Ease – crane/stabiliser – crane/stabiliser – crane/stabiliser side-by-side side-by-side side-by-side design design design – crane/stabiliser + + + –– crane/stabiliser –– crane/stabiliser –– crane/stabiliser design side-by-side side-by-side side-by-side design design design Hammar Hammar Hammar Soft-Drive Soft-Drive Soft-Drive System System System + Ease SDS + Ease SDS + Ease SDS side-by-side – Hammar Soft-Drive – Hammar – System Hammar – Hammar Soft-Drive Soft-Drive Soft-Drive System System System + SDS + SDS + SDS + Flex + Flex + Flex – Trailer – Trailer – Trailer or or Truckmounted or Truckmounted Truckmounted – Trailer + or Flex + Flex + Truckmounted Flex – Trailer – Trailer – Trailer or or Truckmounted or Truckmounted Truckmounted

HAMMAR 110:

+Fast –new SledgeLeg™ technology, 50% faster +Narrow – SledgeLeg™ use for confined spaces +Light –from 8.4-tonne tare +Safe –optimal crane geometry +Reach – long outreach cranes +Weighing – by each crane or total

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NEWNEW ZEALAND NEW ZEALAND ZEALAND MADE MADE INMADE INNew INNew Hammar Hammar Hammar New Zealand Zealand Zealand Ltd, Ltd, 16 Ltd, 16 Marphona 16 Marphona Marphona Cres, Cres, Cres, Takanini, Takanini, Takanini, Auckland.

Auckland.

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0800 0800 0800 2 HAMMAR 2 HAMMAR 2 HAMMAR sales.nz@hammarlift.com sales.nz@hammarlift.com sales.nz@hammarlift.com www www www hammarlift.com hammarlift.com hammarlift.com NEWNEW ZEALAND NEW ZEALAND Hammar New Zealand Hammar Hammar Ltd, Hammar 16ZEALAND New Marphona New New Zealand Zealand Zealand Cres, Ltd, Ltd, Takanini, 16 Ltd, 16 Marphona 16 Marphona Marphona Auckland.

Cres, Cres, Cres, 0800 Takanini, Takanini, Takanini, 2 HAMMAR Auckland.

Auckland.

Auckland. sales.nz@hammarlift.com 0800 0800 0800 2 HAMMAR 2 HAMMAR 2 HAMMAR sales.nz@hammarlift.com sales.nz@hammarlift.com sales.nz@hammarlift.com www hammarlift.com www www www hammarlift.com hammarlift.com hammarlift.com 0720-02

MADE IN NEW ZEALAND

ROAD TRANSPORT FORUM

Establishing a new road to success

T

he Road Transport Forum’s Te ara ki tua Road to Success traineeship, aimed at assisting road transport operators to recruit new trainees and overcome the industry’s considerable workforce problems, is being well received by transport operators and recruits.

The RTF administers the programme and is working with the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) to place registered job seekers and those affected by Covid-19 in trainee roles within the industry. However, this is not the only source of trainees, and any suitable person can sign up for Road to Success once matched with a willing employer. The traineeship lasts a year.

A huge amount of work has gone into developing the programme.

We all know of trucks being parked up because of a lack of experienced drivers. I believe that during the next five to 10 years, the programme can play a major role in helping operators take on new staff and alleviate the problem if the industry continues to support it.

The Road to Success training, a mixture of practical and theoretical components, is designed to lead directly to industry-relevant qualifications. These are in the form of micro-credential qualifications completed online. It also allows recruits to undertake large chunks of training while going about their regular day-to-day jobs.

Trainee Sheryl McGlashan from Christchurch first heard about Road to Success on Facebook. She’d had driving jobs in the past, and always enjoyed driving, no matter what type of vehicle.

Before starting the programme, she had a class-4 licence and was doing metro delivery in Christchurch with Fr8base. She joined Brenics Ltd in February.

“My family and friends are very supportive, and they’re always interested in what type of truck I have been driving each day,” Sheryl says.

She likes the fact every day is different. She started her on-the-job training on day one and says she’s enjoying the challenge of another type of work.

The training is already proving useful, with Sheryl saying she is getting some practice in reversing a B-train and truck and trailer in preparation for going for her class-5 licence.

Eventually, she’s keen to get out of the city and see some of the countryside in a linehaul role.

Sheryl advises anyone considering signing up for the programme to “just do it”. “The company I am with was keen to get on board. Hopefully, many others will see the advantages that it offers and get on board with it.

“I see people asking online about how to get into the transport industry all the time. It’s an untapped market, but

potential workers need to show the companies that they are worthy of their support too.”

Brenics general manager Scott Johnstone says the company has always had internal programmes to develop employees’ skills. “It doesn’t matter what industry it is, I think it’s important to bring people through. Due to the fastpaced nature of the transport industry, everybody’s trapped in the deep end, and there’s no real structure in terms of funding. Larger businesses absorb that, but in small family businesses, everybody is expected to pull their weight almost straight away.”

Most of Brenics’ work involves class-5 drivers, so there aren’t areas into which a cadet can easily be slotted. He says partnering with the Road to Success programme means the company can provide on-the-job training, but there is also support and ongoing theory learning for cadets.

Traditionally, a big bone of contention for operators has been spending the time and money employing and training someone just for them to take a job elsewhere in the industry. Scott says that even if a trainee leaves Brenics, the company will have provided someone with a start, which can only be a good thing.

He’s so pleased with how Sheryl is doing on the programme, he’s already expressed an interest in taking on another trainee in Nelson.

“My recommendation would be that if you already have a training programme, that’s fantastic. But consolidating with other businesses brings strength in the industry to entice people in, not only to truck-driver roles. We also need people in dispatch, operations and admin roles, quite specific to logistics and transport. Not everybody understands the depth of what’s required. Not all of us are truck drivers. Not all truck drivers are just truck drivers.”

As Scott points out, many truck drivers are essentially running their own businesses, thinking for themselves, dealing with situations that arise – such as breakdowns – and making decisions and standing by them.

RTF now has two staff members – Fiona McDonagh and Caleb Rapson Nuñez del Prado – dedicated to Road to Success. Operators and potential trainees can visit roadtosuccess.nz to find out more about getting involved in the traineeship. 

The Road to Success training is designed to lead directly to industryrelevant qualifications.

112 New Zealand Trucking

May 2021

Nick Leggett chief executive officer

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LAST MILE

A fair go is all we ask

B

efore Christmas, there was the usual flood of information and revelations from the government and other organisations that can have long-term effects but are often overlooked.

The news that the NZTA is $1.1 billion over budget on 17 roading projects around New Zealand should be no surprise, given the disclosure earlier in the year about Transmission Gully. Interestingly, this revelation came via the former Associate Minister of Transport, Julie-Anne Genter; the current transport minister did not deny it. According to Genter, the blame for this blowout does not rest with the previous government’s oversight of these projects or the NZTA but – partially, at least – with the past National government’s Roads of National Significance programme.

This raises an interesting question. When Genter was associate minister, what actions did she and her ministerial colleagues take to address these cost blowouts, which must have been apparent back then? I suggest that some of the cost blowouts can be attributed to consistent redesigning of roading projects to accommodate cycleways, shared pathways, and the like. It is common knowledge that landing a lucrative government construction project is good for business – you can be assured there will always be changes to what was proposed, with resultant price variations readily accepted.

We must look at the road-building budget blowout in the

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broader context of other issues at the NZTA, such as the almost complete failure of its regulatory function, and we must ask ourselves what is happening there?

I have said many times before – and still hold this view – that many of the issues we see and hear regarding NZTA have their origins in the 2004 amalgamation of the Land Transport Safety Authority (LTSA) with Transfund to become Land Transport New Zealand, followed in 2008 by the merging of that entity with Transit New Zealand to become the New Zealand Transport Agency. It is difficult to see how the NZTA can adequately fulfil its role as a competent regulator for all those who use New Zealand’s roads when it is part of a wider organisation wearing so many hats.

We need to go back to basics; we need a standalone and adequately funded road-user regulator, something similar to LTSA, that had as its mantra, ‘safety at reasonable cost’. We also need those in charge of these organisations to be held accountable when things go wrong.

In December, we also learnt that an organisation called MOVEMENT has lodged a judicial review application challenging the NZTA’s decision-making process to give effect to the priorities specified in the Government Policy Statement (GPS) on Land Transport. The claim is that the GPS requires the NZTA to prioritise less use of private cars and reduce transport-generated greenhouse-gas emissions, but the NZTA is not doing this and – for that – it must be held to account.

The NZTA should also be held to account for our national roading network’s appalling state, but it won’t; the spin doctors will take care of that. MOVEMENT’s media statement can be read at movement.org.nz/judicial-review.

Also made public just before Christmas were the Ministry of Transport’s Briefing to the Incoming Minister: Your Guide to the Transport System 2020 and Briefing to the Incoming Minister: Your Guide to Opportunities and Challenges in the Transport System 2020. Both can be found on the Ministry of Transport’s website.

These documents are extremely high level and difficult to comprehend; they offer little information about how future policy could affect our industry. It’s interesting that there is little reference to the road-freight transport industry but rail, maritime and aviation are well-referenced. The Your Guide to the Transport System document discusses the desirable transport framework and how each part of the transport system interacts with the other parts to produce “a transport system that improves wellbeing and liveability”.

Our industry has been an integral part of improving the wellbeing and liveability of all New Zealanders for years. It does not and should not have to prove this repeatedly. Our industry is not a plague on society as some make out; it is an enabler, an enabler that sustains and supports life, an industry that is readily adaptable to changing situations. We are already doing our part to improve the wellbeing and liveability of all New Zealanders, so all we ask is a fair go and good roads to help us ply our craft safely and responsibly.  The Accidental Trucker

114 New Zealand Trucking

May 2021

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