NZ Trucking Magazine, October 2022

HONOURING A TITAN OF NZ TRUCKS

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TRUCKING NEW ZEALAND

REVISITING THE RIGS OF 2012 HEADING BACK TO ALICE Official magazine of the

OCTOBER 2022

LIKE NO OTHER

DO BIG THINGS technicians & APPRENTICES WANTED.

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A new Mainfreight DAF XF charges up the climb leading out of Te Kuiti, heading south on SH3.

CONSTRUCTION CREW. FUSO delivers powerful tipper solutions across light, medium and heavy-duty applications.

From the pure muscle of SHOGUN, featuring Japan’s most powerful truck ever, to FIGHTER, the middle-weight champion, and CANTER, New Zealand’s favourite light tipper truck, we have a solution for you.

Our trucks are built for New Zealand with industry-leading attributes across light, medium and heavy-duty applications. Maximise your payloads reassured that FUSO’s class-leading Japanese dependability, Daimler inspired performance, and impeccable safety will deliver for you day after day, payload after payload.

Talk to your local FUSO dealer today for tipper solutions that will deliver for you. fuso.co.nz/tipper-solutions

SCAN HERE TO LEARN MORE!

MITSUBISHI FUSO Authorised Distributor Fuso New Zealand Ltd www.fuso.co.nz

Photo: Western Hills Quarry, Horahora, Whangarei

TOGETHER STRONGER.

Our uniquely Kiwi story is about family – and you are at the heart of it.

For 50 years Kiwis and FUSO of Japan have worked together to test, refine and deliver world-class trucks that perform exceptionally in New Zealand and throughout the world.

Together we have worked to maximise productivity, and lead the cause of uncompromised safety and wellbeing for our people, environment and communities.

On FUSO’s anniversary of 50 years in New Zealand we thank those generations who, to this very day, keep industry moving through our spirit of collaboration, innovation and sheer hardwork, always striving to be the best we can be.

Our uniquely Kiwi story is about family and you are at the heart of it.

MITSUBISHI FUSO Authorised Distributor Fuso New Zealand Ltd www.fuso.co.nz

Piha, New Zealand, 2022

CONTENTS THE

EDITORIAL DIRECTOR

REST

Dave McCoid Ph: 027 492 5601 Email: dave@nztrucking.com EDITOR

8 Editorial

Gavin Myers Ph: 027 660 6608 Email: gavin@nztrucking.com

10 Road Noise – Industry News

FIELD EDITOR

Carl Kirkbeck Ph: 021 760 766 Email: carl@nztrucking.co.nz

50 A Go in Giga – Quick drive in the new Giga

For all advertising enquiries: Matt Smith Ph: 021 510 701 Email: matt@nztrucking.co.nz Pav Warren Ph: 027 201 4001 Email: pav@nztrucking.co.nz

60 Just Trucking Around

42 A GOOD YEAR

62 Gallery – Derek Tankersley 64 Aussie Angles – Alice Springs Hall of Fame

SUB EDITOR

PRODUCTION MANAGER

Tracey Strange

Ricky Harris

CONTRIBUTORS

ART DIRECTOR

72 Where’s that Road?

Craig Andrews Marty Crooks Faye Lougher Craig McCauley Jacqui Madelin Alison Verran Mike Verran Shannon Williams

John Berkley

74 New Rigs

Georgi George

86 Mini Big Rigs – Ken’s trailer begins

Niels Jansen (Europe) Paul O’Callaghan

PUBLISHER

88 Craig’s Truckin’ Snapshot

(Europe)

Howard Shanks (Australia)

Will Shiers (UK) VIDEO PRODUCTION

DIGITAL IMAGING

Willie Coyle DIGITAL MANAGER

52

80 New Bodies and Trailers 82 Million Mile Club

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84 Wanaka Memory

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Jonathan Locke Izaak Kirkbeck Milly McCauley Howard Shanks

90 Little Truckers’ Club 92 What’s On/Cartoon

OPPORTUNITY FROM ADVERSITY On the Path

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. This magazine is subject to the New Zealand Press Council.

Complaints are to be first directed to: editor@ nztrucking.co.nz with “Press Council Complaint” in the subject line. If unsatisfied, the complaint may be referred to the Press Council, PO Box 10 879, The Terrace, Wellington 6143 or by email at info@ presscouncil.org.nz Further details and online complaints at www.presscouncil.org.nz

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2012 Cover Trucks Today

56 96 Moving Metrics 100 Bandag celebrates 60 years 102 Product Profile – MAX-SAFE 104 Product Profile – NAPA

GOOD MACK FROM WAIKANE

106 Trucking Industry Summit

In Honour of Mack

108 Vipal’s Knowing your Tyres

68

110 Carriers’ Corner 112 Truckers’ Health 114 Health & Safety 116 Legal Lines 118 NZ Trucking Association

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

120 Transporting New Zealand 122 The Last Mile

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EDITORIAL

THE MORE THINGS CHANGE

I

t’s amazing how perception changes as one grows and – whisper it – ages.

As a child, you can’t wait to turn 18, to be an ‘adult’.

By the time you’re that age, even the thought of turning 40 or 50 still seems a lifetime away. Then, one day – I’m told – you’re left looking back wondering where it all went.

Looking at the changing world around them, each generation gets its turn to lament. ‘Back in my day’, and all that. Environments, attitudes, priorities, and ways of thinking might change, but I believe that, fundamentally, the more things change, the more people stay the same.

At any time in any society or subset, there will always be that undesirable element that ruins it for everyone else – self-interested, uncouth, loutish, criminal. There will also always be the good buggers – who have everyone’s back, stop at nothing to get the job done, humbly mop up the mess, and generally try to make society a better place.

And then, there’s everyone in the middle who just wants to get on with life. Gavin’s guide to society in a nutshell…

Apply that to trucking

and the parallels are plain to see. Regulation that’s become an increasing burden exists because there’s some undesirable element that needs to be kept in line and a need to ensure a level playing field. In part, anyway…

That one’s probably too complicated to unpack in a year’s worth of magazines.

It goes without saying that the bulk of the industry occupies the latter two regions of the scale. There’s the majority who simply get on with the job and keep the wheels turning, nobody any the wiser. And then there are the good buggers of the industry – humble, committed, principled, forward-thinking.

They’ll give you the time of day and you’ll always come away perceptibly richer from the experience.

Recently, I’ve encountered quite a few people who fit this mould, both of the old-school and younger. Meeting them is always a reminder of all the good this industry represents.

It’s very much a perk of this job and often my measure is coming away from the encounter thinking, “If I gave up this magazine gig to get behind the wheel, I’d happily

go drive for them.”

For an industry trying to get on with the job amidst hegemonic ideology, competition, media portrayal and public perception, those kinds of encounters are critical. With Covid restrictions banished to memory in September and truck show calendars filling up again, the opportunity is ripe for good PR. But I’d like to encourage the creation of those opportunities and encounters too. It’s up to the industry, as a whole and at the individual level, to go out of its way to promote its good name.

We’ve seen the upshot of this sort of effort through our sister magazine Little Trucker Down Under, which after a year of publication has exceeded expectation and really driven home how much trucks capture the imagination of who we like to consider the truckies of the future. We’re told by teachers that when each new issue appears in the classroom, the kids can’t get enough of it.

And when all is said and done, it’s these kids, the future truckies and members of society, who will grow up in a changing world with changing

Correction In our July 2022 cover feature we opened the story stating that Barker Trucking had added the first and third of the new Fuso Shogun 510s registered for New Zealand’s roads to its fleet.

However, while we go through every effort to check the factual accuracy of the information we’re given before publication, sometimes certain facts slip through all the relevant checks.

Since publication it’s come to our attention that Mackenzie Civil (NZA71) was first registered on 22 December 2021, with the first Barker 510 (NZU386) first registered on 6 January 2022.

Our apologies for the incorrect information appearing in print.

perceptions, but we pray will look at the trucks around them with an enhanced appreciation.

Go, the good buggers. Go tomorrow’s truckies.

TRUCK & LIGHT COMMERCIAL adapted masthead.indd 1

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AJ Singh’s X-Way is Top Truck of the Year 2021-2022

T

he Iveco X-Way 570 belonging to Daily Freight OD, AJ Singh has been voted 2022 Top Truck of the Year. AJ received more than twice the number of votes than the next favourite during voting, which ran from 12 August to 18 September on the New Zealand Trucking website.

AJ’s affable and humble nature reflects his career journey, which started at 16,

working on the family farm in India. At 18, AJ had arrived in New Zealand seeking greener pastures and a route into the driving seat of a real highway rig. Just over seven years later, he took delivery of the Iveco and has been living his dream since.

As ever, the Top Truck of the Year competition is supported by the good folks at Power Retreads, who will award AJ a new set of

retread drive tyres, valued at up to $4500. Rochelle Thomas of Auto Art by Rochelle will also provide a bespoke painting of the winning truck based on the Top Truck poster printed with the August 2022 issue.

These prizes, along with the 2021-2022 John Murphy Memorial Top Truck of the Year plaque – awarded in

TM

memory of the former editor of New Zealand Trucking magazine – will be presented to AJ soon, so look out for that report in an upcoming issue.

Congratulations to AJ, and well done to all the other trucks in contention this year.

Our thanks to everyone who voted.

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ROAD NOISE NEWS

Scania opens National Training Development Centre

Commercial Vehicle Safety Programme on the move

S

W

cania New Zealand has opened its new National Training Development Centre in Christchurch.

The Scania national training programme is responsible for developing the next generation of Scania technicians, ensuring they keep pace with the latest technology.

The facility includes factorysupported training models and units to work on, as well as structured training and development programmes for all requirements.

Services director Raúl Rodríguez Almaguer says the facility is a valuable resource for Scania New Zealand’s technicians, apprentices and customers alike.

“The training programme provided emanates from Scania headquarters in Sweden and is therefore at a global standard of excellence,” he says.

Technical training instructor Russell Dixon says the new dedicated space helps Scania scale up its factorybased training as it rolls out new technology and training requirements.

“This allows Scania to drive the shift to a sustainable transport solution as the specialist training leads to greater uptime for customers’ trucks plus greater vehicle reliability while ensuring we are providing the best service possible throughout our service network.”

aka Kotahi’s expanded Commercial Vehicle Safety Programme is picking up steam, with work to start shortly at four new sites.

The CVSP uses roadside technology and intelligent software to screen and collect vehicle number plates and weight data and validate it against the Motor Vehicle Register and Permits data.

Automated assessment factors direct potentially noncompliant heavy vehicles into the Safety Centre.

Two CVSCs, at Glasnevin in north Canterbury and Paengaroa in Bay of Plenty, have been upgraded, and work is expected to start shortly on new CVSCs at Ohakea, Mackays Crossing

and Bombay, with the Rakaia CVSC not far away.

Eventually 12 CVSCs around the country will cover nearly 50% of New Zealand’s heavy vehicle kilometres travelled.

The CVSP was initially called Weigh Right, but the name was changed earlier this year to reflect the broadened screening capability of the programme.

CVSP manager Sean Bridge says enhanced ability to use data gathered 24/7 at the CVSC will enable Waka Kotahi and Police to better direct their resources. CVSCs will be used increasingly as multi-agency facilities in joint education, compliance and/ or enforcement operations.

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ROAD NOISE NEWS

Fantastic start for Trucking Radio 24/7

I

n its first couple of months ‘on air’, Trucking Radio 24/7 has exceeded all expectations.

The app has received more than 2200 downloads between the Apple and Android platforms, and overall, listeners enjoyed more than 1.7-million listening minutes (between app and web).

“We’ve been blown away by the response, support and interest from within the industry,” says New Zealand Trucking Media’s Matt Smith.

“Client feedback has been phenomenal, and we’ll be making some exciting announcements over the coming weeks.”

As New Zealand’s first and

only radio station dedicated to the trucking industry, Trucking Radio 24/7 has also welcomed some big names and friends of the industry to the family.

Mike King, advocate for mental health and wellbeing and founder of I Am Hope, has added his support to the platform and will be a regular voice on Trucking Radio 24/7, encouraging truckies to check in on each other and embrace positive mental health.

The new Business of Transport segment launched on 19 September. The onehour show airs four times a week. It features the latest news and updates from the industry, as well as special features and guests, and a

weekly economic outlook and commentary by trusted economist Cameron Bagrie.

Finally, well-known television and radio personality Clint Brown has joined Trucking Radio 24/7 as motorsport editor, focusing on truck racing.

“We’re exceptionally excited to have Mike, Cameron and Clint onboard; we know listeners will derive great value from their content and updates. We look forward to welcoming more industry voices to the Trucking Radio 24/7 family as we evolve the content to give the industry exactly what it wants to hear,” says New Zealand Trucking Media editorial director Dave McCoid.

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ROAD NOISE NEWS

Suit up for NZ Super Trucks

N

Z Super Truck Racing is back for the 2022/2023 season.

The season kicks off at Manfield on Labour Weekend, 22/23 October, tying in with MTD’s 50 Years of Mack celebration. Races also have been confirmed at Timaru on 28/29 January 2023 and Invercargill on 18/19 March 2023. More rounds and dates will be confirmed soon. For those wondering, the chances of one more round at Pukekohe before its motor racing days come to an end are unfortunately slim, says NZ Super Truck Racing president Dave West.

“The first race was held at Pukekohe in 1988,” explains West. “The series had some

big numbers in the early year, and then it died away a bit.

It’s hopefully in a resurgence.”

Ten trucks are confirmed for this season, including the Kenworth T401 of Australian driver Steven Zammit, who will do his best against local talent. “It’s a really good field of trucks,” says Shane Gray, vice president of NZ Super Truck Racing.

“There’s lots of positive attitude and interest right now. In general, the racers have lifted their game; the trucks have become super trucks, not just racing trucks.

We have a good level of commitment this year. And everyone’s keen to see an Aussie get beaten,” he laughs.

The field will consist of

some new and old faces, with Ron Salter making a return and Troy and Connor Etting entering the fray. “If anyone’s thinking about giving it a shot, get hold of any of us, and we’ll point you in the right direction,” adds West.

He says the committee is enthusiastic about the championship’s future.

“There’s renewed energy, and everyone’s keen to promote the sport and have some good, fun racing.”

Spectators are welcome to come for the weekend, with qualifying and the first championship race on Saturday, and two more championship races and the ‘flying farewell’ on Sunday.

The best bit is it’s entirely open to the public, who can interact with the drivers and get up close to the trucks.

More info will be available on the NZ Super Truck Racing Facebook page, and tickets will be available at the gates.

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ROAD NOISE NEWS INTERNATIONAL TRUCK OF THE YEAR

DAF XD and eActros Long Haul are ITOY winners

D

AF’s XD series has received the International Truck of the Year 2023 honours, awarded by a jury of 24 European commercial vehicle editors and senior journalists.

With a winning score of 134 votes, DAF’s new distribution truck fought off tough challenges from Scania’s new Super long-haul driveline range and Mercedes-Benz’s heavy-duty Actros, equipped with the third-generation OM471 engine.

The annual award goes to the truck introduced into the market in the previous 12 months, which made the most significant contribution to road-transport efficiency. This judgement relies on several critical criteria, including technological innovation, comfort, safety, driveability, fuel economy, environmental ‘footprint,’ and total cost of ownership (TCO).

With the same DNA as

the new generation heavyduty XF, XG, and XG+ models, DAF’s XD has taken full advantage of the EU’s new mass and dimension regulations.

The result is a truck range that dramatically improves direct visibility (a key factor for distribution vehicles), internal cab space, aerodynamics, fuel efficiency, active and passive safety, and driver comfort.

During recent test drives in the Netherlands, the IToY jurors appreciated the driving position and the allround enhanced visibility provided by a large, curved windscreen, side windows with low beltlines and the kerb-view window. These features – along with the optional digital vision system that replaces the traditional rear-view mirrors and the corner view mirror – improve

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the safety of vulnerable road users along congested urban roads.

The performance of the new powertrain was also praised.

It is based on the Paccar MX-11 engine, coupled with the ZF TraXon automated gearbox with advanced predictive features.

Summing up the jury vote, IToY Chairman Gianenrico Griffini commented: “With the introduction of the new XD series, DAF has delivered a state-of-the-art distribution truck family that sets a new benchmark in the automotive industry. Moreover, the new XD is a suitable platform for the coming generation of battery electric vehicles (BEVs), to be introduced at the IAA Transportation.”

Meanwhile, Mercedes-Benz Trucks’ eActros LongHaul – a concept prototype for heavyduty long-distance transport – has won the 2023 Truck

Innovation Award.

This award acknowledges the enormous technological changes and energy transition within the automotive sector and is awarded by a jury of 25 commercial vehicle editors and senior journalists representing major trucking magazines from Europe and South Africa.

With a winning score of 112 votes, Mercedes-Benz Trucks’ battery-electric truck (BEV) fought off the competition from ZF eTrailer, the fullelectric Volta Trucks Zero range, and Faun Enginius fuel-cell powered vehicles for municipal missions.

The IToY jurors praised the advanced characteristics of the eActros LongHaul, which employs fast-charging long-service life lithium-iron phosphate cell technology (LFP), and the speed of Mercedes-Benz Trucks’ R&D process. Announced for the first time in 2020, the

eActros LongHaul is already undergoing intensive testing, will hit public roads this year, and near-production prototypes will go to customers for real-world-use testing in 2023.

Also praised were the compact dimensions of the tractor unit, which, within a wheelbase of four meters, accommodates three battery packs with a total installed capacity of more than

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600kWh and two electric motors, as part of a new eAxle, with a continuous output of 400kW. IToY chairman Gianenrico Griffini says: “The MercedesBenz eActros LongHaul opens a new chapter towards e-mobility. It’s proof that the transition to CO2-neutral long-haul transport is an achievable target, relying on hi-tech solutions and continuous R&D efforts.”

ROAD NOISE NEWS

eEconic to trial in NZ, Aus

M

ercedes-Benz Trucks will begin validation trials for the all-electric eEconic in New Zealand and Australia early next year.

One of the trucks will operate in New Zealand, while three will operate in Australia.

The eEconic is designed to work in densely populated areas. The truck produces zero local emissions, and the powertrain operates nearsilently.

Production of the eEconic recently began at the Mercedes-Benz Trucks factory in Worth, Germany.

“Waste collection represents the perfect application for a near-silent electric truck that produces zero local emissions as these vehicles operate on the doorsteps of our community,”

says Mercedes-Benz Trucks Australia Pacific director Andrew Assimo.

The eEconic validation trial announcement comes soon after Mercedes-Benz Trucks confirmed it was also conducting a local validation trial of the eActros electric truck. Four eActros units will

operate in Australia, and one will run in New Zealand, with additional units to follow.

The eEconic uses much the same electric drivetrain as the eActros. It has been designed to cover most typical wastecollection routes operated by an Econic in a single shift without intermediary charging.

The electric drivetrain enables a level cab floor to be used, allowing easy movement through the cab. This is particularly advantageous when the driver wishes to leave the vehicle through the folding door on the co-driver’s side, well out of the way of traffic.

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ROAD NOISE NEWS

Fuso unveils next-gen all-electric eCanter

M

itsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation has unveiled the next generation all-electric lightduty eCanter.

The eCanter was launched in 2017 as Japan’s first series-produced all-electric light-duty truck. The vehicle also runs in Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand.

The next-generation eCanter addresses more diverse logistics needs with a significantly expanded vehicle lineup.

An eAxle system provides motive power, integrating the motor with the rear axle and allowing for a more compact drivetrain structure. This allowed a significant product expansion, with up to 80 variants for overseas markets.

The next-generation eCanter starts from 4-tonne GVW. Cab variation has been expanded, including standard (1700mm) and wide (2130mm variants). Wheelbase options have been expanded and range from 2500mm to 4750mm.

With the next-generation eCanter, MFTBC will introduce

a new modular concept for the batteries. The vehicle can house one to three batteries based on the wheelbase.

Single-battery vehicles with a rated capacity of 41kWh can drive approximately 80km on one charge. In comparison, those with two batteries can be driven for approximately 140km, and those with three

batteries for about 200km.

The new model is also equipped with an ‘ePTO’ power take-off unit, which enables special-purpose applications for customers wishing to operate their eCanter with a tipper, rear crane, or climate-controlled van body, among other various options.

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COVER FEATURE

PLAYING THE SOUTHERN

ANTHEM Story by Dave McCoid

Photos and video by Carl Kirkbeck and Dave McCoid

When the All Blacks walked off Eden Park with the William Web Ellis trophy in June 1987, who would have thought almost a quarter of a century would pass before we won it again? Likewise, when New Zealand Trucking magazine first hit the shelves in March 1985, who could tell 37 years would go by before a Southern Transport Mack would adorn the cover? In the month that Motor Truck Distributors celebrate its 50th year of operation, we feel incredibly privileged to right that anomaly.

24 New Zealand Trucking

October 2022

I

t is understandable that Southern Transport has a special place within the HW Richardson Group.

It was, after all, the late Bill Richardson’s first business.

However, the truth is that the ‘special’ moniker goes well beyond even that.

Southern Transport is a company with a special place in the hearts of the wider trucking industry, community,

enthusiast fraternity… in fact, anyone interested in New Zealand trucks and trucking.

Southern’s green-and-cream livery is as worthy of the icon title as Road Metals’ brown and white, TD Haulage’s blue, yellow, and red, or Uhlenberg’s orange and green. Like others that have stood the test of time, no matter how many times you see it, Southern’s is a livery that engenders more

than mere recognition. Like an Elton John song, those colours have contributed to the backdrop of many lives.

It is, therefore, not overstating it to say it is a privilege to have Southern on the cover for the first time during our tenure as magazine owners. We also wanted to make it that bit more special; October 2022 is the month Motor Truck Distributors

(MTD) celebrates 50 years in existence, and therefore its Bulldogs on the roads of Aotearoa. It’s also 35 years to the month since the Southern Transport Mack Super-Liner appeared in a feature as MTD’s 1000th Mack; the October 1987 issue largely dedicated to that milestone.

How fitting is it that Southern Transport’s first Mack Anthem should also be

Emptying fertiliser boats at Bluff is a regular job at Southern. our first contact with Mack’s latest offering?

Fitting the mould “Keeping vehicles as clean as possible is a passion of mine” is a quote from the late Bill Richardson in his 1999 book Wheels & Deals. It’s a short sentence that encompasses the pragmatic expectation that was a hallmark of the man’s life.

The driver of Southern Transport’s first Mack Anthem, Nick Young, would have done well under Bill. In fact, you could say he goes a little beyond the expectation; a bulk tip truck exposed daily to the joys of quarries, fertiliser stores, aggregate supply yards, and concrete batching

plants. Nick’s Anthem took out the King Rig award at the Gore Truck Show in June this year – another first for Southern, incidentally. Based on what we saw over two days in late winter, preparing the truck for the show wouldn’t have taken a hell of a lot. Nick’s a disciple of the little-and-often club, choosing to touch up bits and pieces whenever he has a moment.

There was certainly something special about standing in the company’s yard on 3 Spey Street with vehicle operations manager Roy Agnew on a beautiful winter’s morning, watching Nick ready the latest Bulldog to wear the green and cream.

Even though 92 Otepuni

Road was the original domicile for Southern Transport, 3 Spey Street was a custom-built site for Freight Haulage back in the day, so it isn’t without its own sense of history and place in the region.

The Anthem certainly looked the part with a definite aesthetic harmony between the truck’s lines and its TES bulk body and trailer. We’d have to say that this one is the pick of the Anthems we’ve seen to date. There’s no doubt keeping the huge King Bars alloy bumper from dominating the eye will take some doing.

The twin stacks with stencilled heat shields, bug deflector, stencilled and backlit bin corners, Alcoa Dura-Bright alloy wheels, plus a little bit of

Left: Southern passing Southern. No mistaking what part of the country you are in. Right: Discharging at Awarua.

26 New Zealand Trucking

October 2022

lighting finesse here and there, certainly give this machine a lift.

“It’s probably got a bit more bling than Bill would have put on,” says Dale Cocker, 28-year company veteran and HW Richardson Group general manager of specialised transport. “But who knows? It was a different time back then.

Plus, it’s a first.”

Canine to K9 Another entrant into the heavy truck scene whose opening night gala was thwarted by the plague, Anthem even got started on a roadshow in New Zealand with the new Hino 700 series before the second lockdown parked that somewhere near Nelson

In the hole at the Green Hills quarry loading dunite. from recollection. It’s a muchanticipated machine that addresses some of the ties that bound the Bulldog yet leaves others in place.

A non-proprietary safety package ex-factory in the form of Bendix Wingman Fusion second generation, it delivers collision mitigation via automatic emergency braking (AEB), adaptive cruise, lane departure, lanekeeping support, multi-lane continuation of AEB, and driver awareness. There’s also Bendix Side-Spotter, Mack Stability Advantage, and on this unit, a park-brake door alarm.

It is at times like this in history that having regional assembly also pays off in

spades, with Anthem coming here as an 8x4. Obviously, the undercarriage is largely a carry-over from the Granite and 8x4 Trident it replaces – there are still the yucky passenger entry steps – so the work was largely done there. But there’s also that Machiavellian lot in far-off Palmerston North and the fear of ‘If you don’t, then we will’.

God bless the turbos!

The things that remain are the 400kW (535hp) power cap and the old Australasian conundrum for the brand that the Super-Liner is an entirely different machine if you’re on the hunt for 600 ponies plus. Luckily, the linehaul era we live in now is geared to nine-axle cab-overs, so that’s

less of an issue here than at the billabong, but it is still a limiting factor, nonetheless.

In terms of adversarial relationships, it’s New Zealand’s classic Mack versus Kenworth thing all over again, with Anthem and T410 holding stage in the sub-15 litre, 8x4, bonneted US tractor scene currently. Western Star 49X is supposedly coming with eight feet last time we heard, so that’ll add some extra bite to the two-party broth!

Don’t drop the bone It was General Douglas McArthur who told a wave of new troops entering the Pacific in World War II that they didn’t need to earn his

respect; they had it. What they had to ensure was that they didn’t lose it. As classy as it might be, with mod cons no other Mack has, Anthem has enormous boots to fill, which applies as much here at 3 Spey Street as anywhere else. Bill Richardson bought his first Mack in 1974, and although one Mercedes-Benz, in particular, had shown him what diesel engines could deliver in terms of reliability compared with its benzeneburning brethren, he was not a proponent of proprietary drivelines as a rule. Suffice to say, there was a level of apprehension that came with the first Bulldog arrival in the wake of delivery failures on the part of long-time family

Loading sand at the company’s extraction site on Pit Road near Oreti Beach.

New Zealand Trucking

October 2022 27

The payload burden released at Allied Materials Invercargill. supplier, International, and then Kenworth.

Hindsight is easy, but he need not have worried one bit because HE7215 fleet No.44, an R685RS packing the legendary 11-litre 237hp motor, reset the bar for truck performance in the fleet. It paved the way for a long line of Macks, and they continue to enter the premises to this day, both at Southern Transport and throughout the wider business.

Fleet No.30 is the first Anthem to find a home in

Says it all really.

New Zealand, one of a pair bought by HW Richardson Group, the other joining the Allied Bulk business unit in the Bay of Plenty. They are both pre-production models that took part in the Covid-stymied roadshow launch in 2021.

It’s a milestone Mack for company and country, although not the first milestone truck for the company – with first CH, last MH, first Granite, and 1000th Mack all proud notches on the Southern Transport belt. Yes, 3 Spey Street is immensely proud of

its place in Richardson history and its long line of Bulldogs.

This yard is Bulldog turf, and Southern Transport manager Lionel Wood smiles when he points to the operations office.

“Walk into that office… guys like Rodger Little, who has been here 15 years, and his son Bobby are Mack stalwarts to the core. They’re everywhere here.”

No inch given Big shoes to fill for No.30 for sure, and we were here to see how the Anthem was

measuring up at 74,000km and 11 months old. Using General McArthur’s modus operandi, had the Anthem done itself proud and held the respect?

The first thing we discovered is lineage and mana cut you no slack at Southern Transport. Here was a nineaxle bulky with 12.9 litres of MP8 motor between the rails running the 408km return run to Dunedin and back at 58 tonne HPMV pretty much daily.

Putting that into perspective, when dear No.44 hit the

Passing the old Sod Cottage, a SH1 landmark in the south. tarmac in 1974, her 237hp and 39-tonne GCM translated to 4.5kW (6.1hp), and 31.5Nm (23.2lb/ft) per tonne. Leap ahead 48 years and No.30 at 58 tonne equates to 6.9kW (9.2hp) and 44.9Nm (33.1lb/ft), modest by today’s standards.

Yet an interesting story was to unfold.

“It’s a considered thing,” says Dale Cocker. “The terrain up to there [Dunedin] has no real big climbs, just a few pinches, and the rest is rolling or flat. If we needed to push on further out, we would take

it to the next level. It’s always a balancing act between capital cost, tare, productivity.

Will we achieve more revenue with the bigger truck? There’s plenty of MP8s here working at bigger GCM numbers, and to date, it works out good. We try and quit them at 15,000 to 17,000 hours or 850,000km.

That’s about 10 years give or take, although with the supply chain of recent there’s a few out over the million. I’d rather there weren’t, but it’s the times we live in.”

And before you all start,

Dale Cocker started in transport at the coalface in Southland, has driven, worked in freight sheds, operations, and management. It’s a silly thing indeed to assume the top end of HW Richardson Group is littered with people who don’t know a Ringfeder from a Roadranger. As we alluded, after two days, his argument was hard to fault in this application in a business of this size.

Nick does the odd day around home, especially in the quieter winter months when

Two local loads in Dunedin from Blackhead Quarries’ Walton Park site (left) and Blackhead Road site (right).

the fertiliser demand is less.

Today, there’s a fertiliser boat in at Bluff and some local supply yards to top-up, so day one of our two days was around home.

We start with two loads ex-the boat to the Ballance works at Awarua. In 2022, having nine-axle bulk units capable of swallowing 39,780kg at a time certainly keeps the heat on the crane operators portside, especially when you hit the truck rotation sweet spot. Back when Ron Carpenter sold his first Macks, the GCM was less than what Nick’s putting on.

The 33km return run to Awarua from Bluff is better than well known to Richardson trucks through history. It’s flat and with no holdups.

Nick cleans up a rotation in a smidge over an hour, with the Anthem not challenged at all.

Next on the to-do list were two loads from the company quarry at Green Hills on Omaui Road, a little south of Awarua on the right.

With magnificent Foveaux vistas from the quarry rim, we were there for loads of dunite rock, an igneous intrusion, according to the geo boffins, which proved to be right. Courtesy of Greg on the loader, 39.7 tonne of it intruded its way into the

GREY HOUND S Anthem’s bins. By all accounts, it’s a CO2-sequestering rock form if you do the right hocus-pocus to it, too. How lucky can you be in 2022?

There are few things in life better than being in a loaded truck and trailer in the bottom of a quarry, with the good lorry’s snout pointed at the top. Engage the differential locks and let the dog off the leash.

Inside the cab, MP8 has a lovely deep earthy note; it’s a better-sounding truck inside than outside, by a long shot.

The 12.9-litre motor hauled the 58-tonne GCM up the steep grades in third and fourth, with Nick keeping the mDRIVE in manual power mode, choosing to run the cutter just to ensure the truck didn’t confuse ambition with ability.

The Anthem, of course, heralded the arrival of mDRIVE with crawlers, and in the Southern machine is the Mack TMD12AD mDRIVE AMT ‘12-speed-and-one’ option, giving 13 total with the crawler at 17:1. There’s also a twocrawler option with a Hillary Step-conquering 19:1 bottom sprocket. Nick says it’s a welcome addition but also notes they’d been experimenting with tyres because at times it’s been the final connection with Mother Earth that’s caused some issues.

“I think we’ve got it sorted now – she’s getting in and out of where she needs to.”

Rear of the transmission is Mack’s 2370B single-reduction bogey at 23,000kg rating and 3.09:1 final, riding on Mack Airride eight-bag suspension.

tep inside the Anthem and it’s a whole new world, that’s for real. Well, sort of. This is likely the last hurrah for the base cab shell. Even under Volvo ownership, Mack has continued its trait of getting max ROI from product development.

After the R-Model’s 40-odd year trot, this replacement shell, first encountered on the CH, is well into decade three. Cabs in 2022 play a more dynamic role in survival, well beyond impact management, and change in the form of ‘platformisation’ is coming. In a world this costly, with the need to satisfy that North American market in not just productivity but now safety at a level matching the all-conquering Freightliner Cascadia, it can’t not. The great irony has always been that Volvo has had all the safety arrows; it just lacked a quiver in its Mack brand in which to put them.

Although a step in the right direction, Bendix Wingman Fusion won’t keep the safety wolves from the door forever. Collision mitigation is no longer the end game.

It has, however, allowed the brand to remain in situ at one of its more famous national homes. “Following a fatal accident involving a group company vehicle about five years ago, we pretty much made an overnight decision that, where possible, all heavy trucks going forward must have autonomous emergency braking at a minimum,” says Dale Cocker, HW Richardson Group general manager, specialist transport. “The ‘where possible’ was about the concrete mixers – you couldn’t get that technology

on them then, but you can now. At the time, safety packs added about $10,000 to $12,000 to the cost; now it’s just in the price you get.

“The Anthem trim doesn’t have the plushness I guess you’d say that was available previously, so we added the buttoned hood lining at Palmerston North, just to retain some of that.”

While certainly a step forward on technological offerings, there’s no question Mack’s gone for a more utilitarian look in the new cab over the rugged individualism of the red Ultra Leather and Elite interiors of generations past. We do hope you like what you see because this is it from Metro Liner to Titan.

There are lots of black, silver, and grey, plastic and composite materials… a lot like the base T410. No woodgrain, and apart from what the MTD crew added, no buttoned vinyl. It’s very angular and ‘sci-fi’. There’s no question the design language points to a new demographic.

Looks are only skin-deep, of course, and trucking is about driving. Anthem is not a wide cab obviously – only International had that sorted back in the early 1990s – so there’s far less cat-swinging room than in Kenworth’s 2.1m jobby.

Like all US bonneted day cabs, it lacks storage so the centre caddy between the seats, added in the Manawatu, is a godsend.

There are coffee-cup holders, and some stows in and around the dash, with additional cubbies above the windscreen as well as the usual door pockets.

Sitting in the pilot possie, square is in, with all dashboard regions framed

in square or rectangular sections. The binnacle adheres to a crowd of offerings nowadays, with two four-gauge clusters separated by Mack’s Co-Pilot diagnostics and telematics screen. All exterior light controls run from a switch bank on the right of the binnacle, and to the left, there’s still a lovely wrap that even ‘Wee Man’ could reach from the helm. Brake valves and climate matters find their home in the bottom of the wrap, and working from inside out, there’s mDRIVE, entertainment, and comms; and on the left of them, new rocker switches in a handy cluster with another gauge set above. The gaping omission in a 2021 truck is infotainment.

The left steering column wand houses the high beam and turn signals, and the right, engine braking and Co-Pilot. The Anthem’s tiller has now joined the smart ranks, no longer the domain of mere directional control, with cruise and phone on the left spoke, and volume/ entertainment controls on the right. Pity that it doesn’t also work the telematics.

If you’re interested, the steering wheel also gives you an idea on how

1

2

3

1 & 2) Binnacle and wrap have a carry-over familiarity, however, space-age greys and silvers are in, as are square and rectangle themes. Still a neat place to work. Nick has zero need for the big-belly tiller.

3 & 4) Buttoned roof trim is a Kiwi thing. Like all US day cabs, storage is at a premium. Thank goodness for the centre caddy. 5) Entry on the driver’s side is exemplary. On the passenger side… well, let’s not go there. 6-8) The MP8 is a proven, tireless, trojan in the 13-litre class. Looking snug in its new home.

No more side latches. It’s like a big car now. well the US is doing at controlling obesity. The clue therein? Not that good. The Anthem’s wheel sports a cut-off base radius, straight-lining it from about 5pm to 7pm on the imaginary clock face.

There’ll be all sorts of PC excuses for it, like ‘always knowing where the bottom of the wheel is’, but we’re sure it’s a case of, if the humans won’t give, the trucks have to.

Access on the driver’s flank is superb; the passenger side, not so. Bonnet-flipping is controlled via a canny latch mechanism under the front of the grille – gone are the side latches. Once up, the MP8 is perched there and easy to get to for the necessaries.

Time for another game of ‘how snub is my bonnet’. Remember it’s an

experiment fraught with flaws, but it’s fun. Sitting in his International ProStar, Brian Aitcheson could see the ground just on 4m in front of the bonnet, and Brad McKee in the McNulty’s Cascadia came in at an impressive 3.75m.

Bear in mind, Brad’s a tall young punter and Brian, while not short, is not in Brad’s league. Remember also that the ProStar packs big iron. We haven’t done the T410 yet, but the Anthem, with Nick in the go position and topping out at 178cm, could see terra firma at 5.5m.

In the bumper-to-back-ofcab measure-ups, Anthem came in at 2995mm, Cascadia 2946mm, T410 2850mm, and ProStar 2870mm. If BBC is your everything (as well as grunt) then the Western Star 4884 at 2271mm might be your

jam.

What you glean from all that is visibility in the Anthem is as good as any, and the West Coast mirrors do what they’ve always done well, although again, things are moving on when you look at T410 and Cascadia.

Although for a brief moment, we were gripped with fear and anxiety at not being able to locate the famous Custom Built for Southern Transport badge.

National sales manager at MTD, Stu Wynd, dabbed our sweaty foreheads with the damp cloth of reassurance, saying it was on the way.

That’s Anthem inside out on the first visit. It will be interesting to look back in 20 years and see just what role the Anthem played in Volvo’s North American class-8 aspirations.

4

5

8

7

6 New Zealand Trucking

October 2022 31

At Ravensdown Dunedin, rolling the covers over and all lined up to cross the wheel wash.

Tipped off at Allied Materials on Bond Street in the city, it was back for more of the intoxicating view and ‘rubble rousing’ at Green Hills. The last mission of the day was loading the on-cart for the early morning run to Dunedin, ex the Southern Aggregates’ sand extraction operation on Pit Road, Oreti Beach.

All done and back at the yard in that post-park-up wind-down that’s such a cool part of trucking, we were subjected to the real test.

“What Mack in history does it most remind you of?” asks Nick.

‘Crikey, now we’re on the spot’, we thought. “Um, aside from the obvious CH cab shell, I’d have to go Vision on account of the bonnet rake?”

I reply.

A truck that grows on you with every passing.

“Oh really?” he says. “I see R-Model in the shape of the guards at certain angles too.” On close inspection and adopting said angle, we could certainly see where that was coming from. Then we realised the more we looked, the more we could see, eventually pondering the possibility that within its unique lines, was Anthem in some way a clever design salute to every model that’s preceded it? And is that saying something deeper?

At that point, our own dear Carl Kirkbeck says, “With the steep, narrowing bonnet and wide guards, I can even see shades of the AC in there!”

We always knew Capt. Happy operated in a parallel universe, and that certainly confirmed it.

To the Octagon!

Business is business and to reconfigure an old biblical chestnut, ‘When much is paid, much is expected.’ Harking back to the August issue, even though the list of reasons Leithem and Kirsty Harte cited for throwing voluminous amounts of power at not much GCM were completely justifiable given the nature of their operation, so too is the slightly more conservative and calculated approach of Dale Cocker. Firstly, he’s spending other people’s money in a larger fleet situation, with budgets, targets, and driver satisfaction all to consider. Yet the very thing that made the Harte truck work is identical to what makes the Anthem work, as you’ll see.

As we follow the Anthem

up-country from Invercargill, the load’s influence on its progress is only marginally noticeable, as it pulls away from the likes of the roundabout at Edendale. Due to a couple of photo stops, Nick got the jump on us, and it wasn’t until he got into the bigger rolling country on SH93 between Mataura and Clinton that our Corolla quickly reeled him in. The 12.9-litre motor puts up little fight in the top end and basically heads for the climbing gear without delay. However, once there, it has no issue hanging on down around the 1200rpm mark as hills are crested and conquered.

Back out onto SH1 and beyond Balclutha, the rollypollys flatten out north of the Lovells Flat area, and the

RIGHT AT

HOME Nick Young – happy in the South.

H

e keeps his truck in great condition. He’s quiet yet friendly, accommodating and engaging.

Southern to the core, you might say. But no, although he’s been in these parts for 22 years, calls the deep south home, and will shudder at the mention of Auckland, 40-year-old Nick Young is a Kapiti Coast lad by birth. So how did it all end up here? The answer in the first instance... education.

Nick spent his early years growing up in Levin with his two sisters. His dad worked as a mechanic at the Levin Council. “Mum said I was the easy-going one. My two sisters were higher maintenance,” he laughs. By the end of day two, we could do nothing but support that statement based on what we’d experienced.

At 13, he moved up to Katikati in the Bay of Plenty and, developing a keen interest in hospitality, signed on at the Bay of Plenty polytech once the government’s pre-tertiary educational requirement was done. After a two-year course, at 18, he headed south… way south, to the Southern Institute of Technology in Invercargill, where he spread the last year over two and supplemented education with industry experience in the sector.

Nick honed his hospitality craft in bars, restaurants and bottle stores, and although offered waiting gigs in a high-end Christchurch restaurant, he chose to stay put.

Trucking’s not always considered accommodating when hours of work come

up, but hospitality can be a whole new ball game on the unsociable front.

“With a wife and new family on the scene, I got a little burned out, I guess you’d say, so I applied for a job as the commercial laundry van driver at the Valet dry cleaning company.”

Laundry’s a big thing in Invercargill. It’s where laundering requirements for the bulk of Central Otago’s tourism scene are tended to. That was where Nick Young first met Lionel Wood, who happened to be the commercial service department supervisor at the time. Go figure!

Nick got his class-2 licence and found driving to be not bad at all.

“From there, I moved on to Summerland Freight, working my way up to class 4, delivering mainly metro freight on weekdays with regular Saturday trips up to Dunedin. I was there about five and a half years before the move to Southern. I had some mates at Southern who said it was a good place to work and I should apply.”

That all happened about eight and half years ago, and the rest, as they say…

Initially, on a ‘flea’ [small] truck, Nick soon gained his class 5, and within six months he was on a Hino swap body truck and trailer unit, amassing experience in tipping and asphalt work. Another Hino was next and the work profile for this truck included carting concrete panels and sometimes bridge beams, a line of work he enjoyed.

“That second Hino coincided with the building of a big Five-Mile retail and

supermarket complex in Queenstown, so we were trucking all the panels up from Stresscrete here in Invercargill. There were lots of weird and interesting shapes and I got a fair bit of experience in that line of work. At times, I’ve ducked back to help out if something odd has come up.”

His time in the Hinos led to the first Mack, which was also his first bulky. A CH handed down through the fleet, the truck set Nick up for his first-brand new Bulldog, a 500hp Granite bulk unit that he put 380,000km on before being handed the keys to the Anthem.

“I enjoy driving, being out and about, seeing things and meeting new people. I enjoy the catchups with regular customers and meeting new ones, or other drivers. At places like the fertiliser works, you could be there for 15 minutes or three hours. So, at times, there’s plenty of opportunity for cleaning and yarning.

“You can’t really fault working at Southern either. It’s well established, with solid, reliable work. If you want to do the work, it’s a place where there’s a job for life if you want it. Of course, being part of the group, there’s the opportunity to try different things too. If I wanted to do a spell on machinery or some other part of the business, there’s really no end to the avenues.

“I can’t complain in any way about how I’ve been treated. I get trucks like this to drive, and it’s simply a fair day’s work for a fair day’s pay, I guess. I’m certainly not giving up anytime soon.”

New Zealand Trucking

October 2022 33

Volvo Group equipment ,‘we got this’.

Anthem motors along happily through Milton, Waihola, and the flood-free area.

It’s still well dark when we get to the Allied Concrete plant on the corner of Anzac Ave and Butts Road in Dunedin just over the road from Forsyth Barr Stadium.

It’s a gnarly little climb up past the batching plant around and up the hill to the stockpiles.

Again, with the diff-locks in, and even with a stop for a gate opening, the Mack heads up with little fretting, and Nick performs the discharge operation effortlessly. It’s fast turn-around stuff.

Par for the daily course is a couple of loads from local quarries back into the plant, keeping everything nicely topped up.

Load one was from the Blackhead Quarries Walton Park operation between Abbotsford and Mosgiel.

Knowing it was Abbotsford over the brow of the hill above, I had my fingers crossed everything would stay where

34 New Zealand Trucking

it was supposed to, and we didn’t leave with 39.7 tonne of aggregate and a spare bedroom.

Jason is the super friendly site manager at Walton Park and today’s relief loader driver.

Nick’s a great ambassador for the Southern brand, and his calm, congenial, and polite persona ensures he gets on well with his customers.

The Anthem’s kitted out with SI-Lodec scales, and the Southern team is meticulous about optimising potential.

Transport, as we know, is not the margin king of commerce and over both days, Nick was super vigilant when it came to No.30 carrying all it possibly could prior to departure.

Load two was from what has to be New Zealand’s most picturesque quarry – another Blackhead operation, this time out on the wild south-east coast… on Blackhead Road, as a matter of fact.

We’d been here once before for the October 2015 issue with Ben on the Hilton Haulage October 2022

Mercedes-Benz Actros. A spur of rock being picked at by man and ocean alike; it makes for the coolest of images.

Dunedin is not an easy place for a truck. If it’s not hills, it’s the labyrinth of roads on the flat that is chocka with traffic. City hills are always the worst because compulsory stops and red traffic lights care not a jot whether it’s 58 tonne of HPMV, or Daihatsu Mira.

The Main South Road from Walton Park comes onto the motorway between Saddle Hill and Lookout Point. Nick powers into the base of the lookout and the mDRIVE swings into action, searching for the cog that’ll see it past the fire station at the top.

“I go into manual here again,” he says. “I’ve been caught out with cars coming into the lane, the adaptive cruise picking them up, and the truck slowing down. Not ideal when you’re this heavy.”

The truck settles in at 23kph, seventh gear and 1600rpm.

Peak power of 399kW

(535hp) occurs between 1450 and 1900rpm, and maximum torque of 2603Nm (1920lb/ft) rolls in at 1050rpm and bids farewell at 1450rpm. It’s little wonder she’s happy to grind away at 1200rpm if the other inputs are queued up just right.

The Anthem was really at home in the flat, tight, start/ stop stuff of the city. The low terminal speed of the traffic mass allows the rig’s modest output-to-weight stats a hiding place in the crowd. It’s actually an ideal set-up.

Nick just lets the truck do its thing, never trying to push the fact. It’s the perfect style because, as we’ve said, 58 tonne is very different to 45 back in the day. If you start trying to bunt it around through hasty inputs, it’ll bunt back, making for an uncomfortable day, not to mention undue wear on the mechanical carriage.

Back at the plant, it was hoists-up on the TES body and trailer and before we

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

Mack Anthem Tare: 11,660kg (load certificate) GVM: 32,980kg GCM: 70,000kg Wheelbase: 6035mm Engine: Mack MP8 Capacity: 12.8-litre Power: 399kW (535hp) Torque: 2603Nm (1920lb/ft) Emissions: Euro-5 Transmission: Mack TMD12AD mDRIVE AMT HD Deep Reducing Gearing 13-speed Clutch: Sachs single-plate 430mm (17”) clutch Chassis: 9.5mm thick frame Front axle: Mack FXL 14.6 twin steer Front-axle rating: 13,000kg (6600kg x2 manufacturer’s rating) Front suspension: Parabolic leaf spring with shock absorbers and stabiliser bar (non-load share) Rear axle: Mack 2370B single-reduction 3.09:1 Rear-axle rating: 23,000kg Rear suspension: Mack Air-ride 8-bag suspension Brakes: Disc. ABS, EBS Auxiliary braking: Mack PowerLeash Plus engine brake Additional safety: Bendix Wingman Fusion and Bendix Blindspotter, lane-departure warning.

Mack Road Stability Advantage. Park brake door alarm knew it, we were once again available to industry.

Owner-manager of Transport Engineering Southland a.k.a.

TES, Stephen Keast, has a long association with HW Richardson and supplies body and trailing equipment to many of the business units.

“It’s a case of him knowing us and us knowing him, as well as supporting local,” says Dale. “The latter is huge for us. In saying that, with the size and spread of the company now, supporting local also means Transport and General and Transfleet, too. They’re all very good products.”

Fits and starts Had we started the day with 700 guns-blazing horsepower, it would have all been for nought once we arrived at Ravensdown in Dunedin for the load home. With the spring season in the throes of lift-off and the tail-end of pre-season plant maintenance going on, there was a bit of a line-up. That meant two

and half hours later, we left, such are the challenges of modern-day operations and driving. That delay is close to 20% of the available driving day for a modern truck driver.

But the team behind the scenes at Southern manage the potential, sending Nick in after two local loads, not three.

We leave with good time to get down to the Ravensdown McNab store just outside of Gore before it shuts, and then on home before the book ran out of time.

“It’s an easy truck, in the sense that it’s all pretty effortless, meaning driving it and working it,” says Nick.

“A lot more refined than the Granite I was on previously.

Once you know where it fits and how to get it in and out of places, you’re pretty set.”

Nick says the truck has been totally reliable with only a wonky bonnet catch and a ‘finicky’ LED light to see to.

Not bad for the first of a new model.

Powering into Dunedin’s

Fuel: 500 litres DEF tank: 125 litres Wheels: Alcoa Dura-Bright alloy wheels Tyres: 275/70 R22.5 Electrical: 12V Cab exterior: All-steel cab. Remote door opening.

Heater remote mirrors, side/close view mirror.

Cab interior: Premium grey trim. Performance leather air ride seats (both). Electronic actuated HVAC. Extras / Customer adaptions: Twin vertical exhausts with backlit Anthem-stencilled shrouds. King Bars Texan Alloy bumper. Nut covers, hub caps, bug deflector (clear). Stainlesssteel kick plates. Driving lights in Texas Bumper. Additional marker lights on bumper aligned to rood markers. Spectra LED beacon, and a flasher unit for Pederson lights. Personalised number plate surround and 3M protection on bumper. Mack rear window logo. Mack floor mats, centre console, CB radio.

Lookout Hill from the standing start at the northern end, the Mack saw 20kph in fifth at 1800rpm briefly, and on the Saddle Hill 37kph in eighth and 1700rpm. In a 13-litre motor at 58 tonne, the Power Leash combination exhaust and engine brake is going to be more a driver aid. It

can be connected to cruise to help maintain speed, but its max 315kW (495hp) of hold-back is going to need some big-brother servicebrake aid at regular intervals, which being disc from front to rear are right on the money in the Anthem. Again, Nick’s intervention via the

New Zealand Trucking

October 2022 35

S Emptied out once more in Dunedin and ready for the home load.

middle pedal was barely detectable.

Fuel consumption to date is running at about 1.6kpl.

Mark Amer’s Trident back in 2019, running an MP8 at 45 tonnes GCM, was hitting 2.2kpl. A difference for sure, but what stands the Anthem in good stead beyond the GCM difference is load factor. Being a log truck, the Amer unit runs at about 50% load factor, whereas the Anthem is rarely without a payload burden.

A beautiful afternoon indeed to be motoring through the countryside of the lower south. Being an 8x4 adds a level of reassurance to directional control in such high weight deployments. Having a new steering box and springs makes Anthem a leap ahead of its predecessors in that department also. The electric steering assist is only available in the US. Both driver and passenger get an air seat in the Southern machine, and there was next to nothing in the way of kick from the second steer.

Mack doesn’t seem to have adorned Anthem with any more sound deadening, as the robust note we encountered in Matt Sherlock’s Trident, MutDog, back in May this year was still with us, in the high 70s

36 New Zealand Trucking

dB-wise. Thankfully, as we said before, she’s a lovely sounding 13-litre.

Through the undulating country north and south of Balclutha, that ability for the MP8 to hang tough down low allowed the combination to just roll through the hills with minimal fuss until it all flattened out once again on the run into Clinton.

Respect retained!

Because we had a date with destiny at McNab, we stuck to SH1 at Clinton rather than head up SH93. A short discharge visit again, and from there, all roads lead to home.

Making the right truckbuying decisions in 2022 is never easy. Making them in 2022 New Zealand is even harder. Few nations have the choice we do. To say those at the top of Southern Transport have made a few good trucking buying decisions over the years is a bit of an understatement.

Southern Transport Fleet No.30 is a well-thoughtthrough machine; a truck bought with other people’s money, people Dale Cocker has the utmost respect for.

It’s well capable of the run it’s doing for the tenure in mind. I don’t doubt Dale Cocker for a moment when he says, “If we were pushing it out any further, October 2022

we’d make the jump.” He’s the kind of person you get down here. If he didn’t mean it, he wouldn’t say it.

But harking back to a chestnut of Bill Richardson and his understanding that without people, you have nothing. Yes, it’s a neat truck doing a job that’s well within its capability.

Yes, there’s no question it’s challenged from time to time in the act, but HPMV has in some way taken us back 30 years in the sense that many trucks are again challenged in effecting their daily to-do list.

The key to the Anthem continuing to do what it does for the next nine years with minimal R&M and acceptable fuel consumption is wholly and solely down to Nick Young and the way he drives it.

It’s no different at the other end of the scale. The only reason Leithem and Kirsty Harte’s big-power, low-GCM MAN works is exactly the same – the way Leithem and Nemo drive it.

Likewise, Rowdy’s FH16 at TSL. Try thrashing those big boys and see how the R&M, fuel, and tyre bills go.

There’s no doubt that in Nick’s hands, or ones of a similar ilk, the Anthem will quite easily write the next chapter in the proud history of Mack at HWR.

outhern Transport has its roots in the forests of Southland, if that pun is allowable.

In 1946, Bill Richardson’s father Harold bought two International trucks from Jim Farrelly’s embattled Niagara Sawmilling Co, of which his own father Robert was a shareholder.

R Richardson Ltd would eventually own the business outright in Harold’s time at the helm. With the purchase of those machines, Southern Transport was born.

Harold’s interest in trucks was sparked by the likes of the International and a brand-new Diamond T his father Robert bought in the early 1930s to use in the family construction business mentioned above. Transport and construction had always formed the cornerstones of Richardson enterprises.

GREEN AND CREAM Robert’s father Samuel partnered in a coach business in Wyndham within a year of immigrating from Ireland in 1878. Robert (Harold’s father and Bill’s grandfather) was his fourth child and commenced the construction endeavours that encompassed sawmilling and logging.

For many years, Southern Transport’s cartage was centred around the family’s sawmilling and construction operations. However, a young Bill was influenced by not just the family truck and machine history but sojourns to the North Island with his father, where he saw a size and scale of equipment he’d not seen before. Following Harold’s return to work from illness in 1960, Bill told his

dad that building wasn’t for him, trucks were.

In true Richardson form, Harold encouraged his son to go where his interests were, and if they bought out a local carrier to secure a general goods licence, would he stay in the family business and run the transport arm? Of course, the answer was affirmative, and so that same year, South Invercargill Transport, its four trucks and, most importantly, its vehicle authorities, were secured for £8900.

Interestingly, the famous green and cream was the brainchild of a painter who worked in the family construction business, and by all accounts, it adorned all manner of kit in the era.

It is easy to say the rest is

history. But we all know what happened in the succeeding five decades, with the classic Bill Richardson three-pronged approach of organic growth, acquisition, and collaborative, mutually beneficial partnerships playing out.

The pride instilled by the Southern Transport brand and its place in the group’s wider history is quietly evident the moment you’re inside the gates at 3 Spey Street.

General manager, specialist transport, Dale Cocker has been with HW Richardson for 28 years, and Southern comes under his wing. He was manager at Freight Haulage when Bill died in 2005, and in 2007, Dale was the first person outside the family to be given full

responsibility for what is essentially a division of the wider group, his role taking in all 100%-owned transport interests outside Allied Fuel, Contracting and Concrete.

He’s acutely aware of the faith extended his way, and listening to him speak clearly demonstrates his understanding of everything encompassed in the appointment. You can hear the personal weight he bore when he tells stories like the move of Southern to Spey Street.

“I guess one of my ‘claims to fame’ will be the guy that mooted the Southern move from its spiritual home in Otepuni Road to Spey Street.

That was a nerve-racking conversation with Shona, I

New Zealand Trucking

October 2022 37

can tell you, but it made good commercial sense, and the family were fantastic about it. FHL had moved to the old Clifton Wool Scours to be closer to their work and there was increased shed capacity there for them. Southern’s work was more and more on the southwest side of the city, and we had trucks weaving through the city to get home to Otepuni Road at night, and doing the same in the morning to get out. Spey Street was an obvious place to go, and it was a purposebuilt facility back in the day.”

The shift was made in September 2010 and a week later, a snow storm hit Invercargill, damaging several buildings in the city, including the old storage sheds at Otepuni Avenue. Timing as they say…

“Southern has a special place, as you’d expect. There are some amazing stats in that business. Lionel Wood is only the fourth manager it’s had since 1960, for instance.”

Today, there are 28 trucks branded in the green and cream with 11 other trucks working in the colours of Allied Materials, Joe’s Refuse Service, Heavy Haulage, Gibbs Firewood & Coal, and Clearway Skips, all brands that fall under the Southern Transport business unit.

Core functions of the greenand-cream fleet include bulk cartage, log transport, construction material, machinery and waste and recycling cartage, as well as some reefer work.

“There’s a mix of brands, but we still buy Macks both here and throughout the wider group. I look at it this way; I’ve got no reason to change course from the decisions of someone who the industry regarded as a very intelligent operator in Bill. The Mack people, both here and in Australia, are great to work with. Murray Sowerby was always very supportive, and now Stu [Wynd] is there. There are a

Left: Dale Cocker is GM specialist transport at HW Richardard, with Southern Transport under his wing. Right: Lionel Wood is only the fourth manager Southern Transport has had. Photo: James Jubb. lot of other options, but none are currently any better for doing what we use the Mack product for.

“We think it’s a good place to work. There’s history and a good sense of camaraderie among the

brands. We offer discount fuel, medical insurance, long service acknowledgement from five years, and there’s always plenty of scope for advancement.”

Southern Transport: as entrenched in Southland

culture as a Bluff oyster, Oreti Beach, Doubtful Sound, or a hardy wind-bent tree at Slope Point. Based on gut feel, having met the team of 2022, it’s likely to be around at least as long as the others on that list, too.

The first Richardson Mack, No.44.

The snow storm that hit shortly after the move to Spey Street in 2010.

From left: vehicle operations manager Roy Agnew; vehicle operations systems support Bobby Little, and his father, vehicle operations supervisor Roger Little.

Yes Bill, they certainly took an interest alright!

KNOWING YOUR NAME A lthough there are days when I find the thought of being almost 57 scary, I’m thankful for the privilege of seeing each new day and the things I’ve been able to do, not the least of which is meeting Bill Richardson twice. The first time in 1996 was the most intriguing. I was a 31-year-old nobody, one of a touring party that included sawmilling and transport folk of real note Bill was showing around his truck museum.

That night, the long-track speedway was on at the Invercargill Racecourse, and our party and a group from Southern Transport were there independently of each other. In the dim light of the evening, I passed Bill among the crowd, and he said,

“G’day, Dave. Big night, eh?”

We had a short but warm exchange. I was floored.

He was noted for being a hard but fair businessman and for his understanding that there are no businesses without people. His writings on work/life balance and family were ahead of their time, even then. In his 1995 book Wheels & Deals, he wrote that the HW Richardson Group, as it was then, turned over $150 million, ran 350 heavy trucks and paid out $20 million annually in wages. Of his museum, a place in which he found solace following the tragic death of his son Harold in September 1995, he said: “I hope when I die, someone will be interested enough to carry it on.”

Succession is the ultimate test of any family undertaking. When two tragic blows are dealt in the space of a decade, the ability to succeed in its stewardship comes under the refiner’s ultimate test.

Bill died suddenly in March 2005, sending shockwaves through New Zealand commerce and leaving his wife Shona, daughter Jocelyn and her husband Scott O’Donnell, plus trusted deputies, to calmly take the wheel as it were.

Today, the HW Richardson Group is New Zealand’s largest privately owned transport entity, comprising 48 companies across six sectors, employing 2500 staff in Australia and New Zealand, with 1300 heavy

Above: Shona and Bill Richardson. Right: Jocelyn and Scott O’Donnell. Photos: Richardson Family Collection.

vehicles and an annual turnover of $2 billion. As for the museum, Shona, Joc, Scott and everyone continuing the Richardson legacy have not just grown the museum beyond recognition but have made Invercargill itself a bucketlist tourist destination for the millions of folk around the globe who have a bent for man’s mechanical marvels.

Their investment in their home city and region is entrenched in family tradition, paying back and paying forward.

Often the great tripwire of succession in business is understanding your children don’t relive your life; they’re different people with different experiences and – often – values. The

New Zealand Trucking

October 2022 39

Special Thanks Well, it took 37 years, but we did it! All good things, I guess... Thanks to Scott, Joc and the Richardson family for opening the doors and letting the Anthem out to play.

Thanks to Dale Cocker for your willing and enthusiastic cooperation throughout. Likewise, Lionel Wood and the team for making 3 Spey Street so welcoming. We feel like we could bring an apple slice and join in for smoko anytime. Thanks, especially, to Nick Young, the latest poor person to endure the crazy truck nuts from New Zealand Trucking. And thanks to Stu Wynd and the team at MTD for their unfailing cooperation. Happy 50th birthday to you all.

Photo: Richardson Family Collection. clincher, in this case, is understanding that Bill Richardson was not a selfmade man; the Richardsons are a self-made family. Right from the arrival of Jocelyn’s great-great-grandfather Samuel from Ireland in 1878, the Richardsons have been people of Southland commerce. Every generation has introduced the next at an early age to the hard realities of the balance sheet through

inclusion in what the family is all about. Sometimes, as in Bill’s father’s case, that introduction was particularly harsh, but that helped engender an appreciation of those who ‘came along for the ride’ and stuck with them. That heightened sense of appreciation stayed with Bill his whole life.

The pattern of inclusion and opportunity manifested itself in Bill and his brother

Ken at a time when a young country was commercially mature enough for three generations of training and experience to flourish. By the time Bill tragically left us, as premature as it was, his generational work was done.

As TSL co-owner Wayne Williams said to us recently, “Scott and Joc don’t always get the credit they deserve.

They’re wonderful people to work with in business.”

There’s no shortage of Wayne Williams and Dale Cockers in the core and associated businesses today, multi-decade vets for whom work is not simply a job.

Bill’s greatest legacy was the same as his father Harold, as it has been all the way back to Samuel and Alice, empowering those who came next and understanding that without people, there is nothing.

50 years of events – 1972–2022 1973

NZ population hits 3million

1979

Air New Zealand Flight 901 crashes on Mount Erebus

1985

Greenpeace vessel Rainbow Warrior bombed and sunk

1986

Soviet cruise ship, the Mikhail Lermontov, sinks in Marlborough Sounds

1987

New Zealand wins Rugby World Cup.

1990

Commonwealth Games held in Auckland.

1991

An avalanche on Aoraki / Mount Cook reduce its height by 10.5 metres.

1995

Team New Zealand wins America’s Cup.

2014

1998

The women’s rugby team, the Black Ferns, become the world champions

Eketahuna earthquake causes moderate damage in the lower North Island

2015

The All Blacks Win the Rugby World Cup

2003

Population of New Zealand exceeds 4 million

2016

2010

A magnitude 7.1 earthquake in Christchurch

A magnitude 7.8 earthquake strikes near the town of Kaikoura

2010

Pike River mine explosion traps and kills 29 miners

2017

Emirates Team New Zealand wins the 35th America’s Cup

2011

A magnitude 6.3 earthquake strikes Christchurch causing widespread damage

2019

51 people are killed during an attack on two mosques

2021

Emirates Team New Zealand successfully defends the 36th America’s Cup

2011

All Blacks win Rugby World Cup against France, 8–7 in Eden Park

2022 Mack Trucks NZ celebrate their 50th Anniversary kingbars.com.au

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31/05/22 1:25 PM

RIGS OF 2012

A GOOD YEAR

As the country woke to the first day of January 2012, the kids were dropping Carly Rae Jepsen’s Call me Maybe into the iPod nano, while most of us were in a state of physical discomfort. Less than 24 hours in, we had already broken at least three New Year’s resolutions.

Story by Gavin Myers and Carl Kirkbeck

A

lthough the new chronological calendar started with promise and anticipation as we steadily worked out of recession, there were a couple of exceptions to this rule.

Some experienced a sinking feeling instead. A balmy evening on 13 January set the scene off the coast of the Tuscan island of Giglio, where Captain Francesco Schettino decided to perform the nautical version of a flyby and steered the 60,000-tonne

42 New Zealand Trucking

Photos from NZT archives and as credited

Costa Concordia cruise ship off course and close enough to the island to ground it on jagged coast.

The ship capsized, becoming the largest shipwreck in history, twice the size of the Titanic at more than 900ft long. Thirty-two people paid the ultimate price for this stupidity in the ship’s chaotic evacuation. Schettino became the lightning rod for international disdain due to abandoning the ship well before everyone else was off.

What is it again that they say

October 2022

about rats and sinking boats?

On 20 January, barely a week later, another sinking feeling hit a little closer to home, this time for infamous internet entrepreneur Kim Dotcom. One day before his 38th birthday at 7am, police officers stormed his home in a military-style raid. Dozens of officers swooped the estate in helicopters, squad cars, motorbikes and pizza delivery vans. Included in the raid were several members of New Zealand’s elite counterterrorist force – as well as

Gary, ex-Team America.

Dotcom’s bodyguard later recalled that the officers were seen to be armed with assault rifles, sidearms and Twinkies when they entered the premises. “I heard loud banging noises. I was just scared and worried. I thought I’d better wait for them to come to me rather than popping out and scaring someone who might shoot me,” Dotcom said.

While the raid was being carried out in New Zealand, law enforcement started to

January/February

Then pull the plug on file-sharing website, MegaUpload.

Hundreds of servers were taken offline and other Mega properties, such as Megavideo, disappeared, leaving many around the globe wondering where they would now watch free informative and educational human biology videos.

The year 2012 was also a big one for big social media numbers, with the global interweb running red hot. PSY showed us all how it was done ‘Gangnam-style’, and

Facebook proudly reported it had achieved one-billion plugins to the matrix.

Meanwhile, back at the coalface in the real world, the transport industry was humming with an abundance of work post-recession.

However, the increasing driver shortage problem was beginning to make its presence felt, and it’s fair to say it’s an issue that, 10 years on, has become the daily thorn in the side for many.

As far as new trucks hitting the road, sales numbers were increasing and respectable, giving us here at New Zealand Trucking a great selection for the front cover and pages of the magazine.

Some of our classmates are still with their original purchasers, whereas others have moved on once or twice, so join us now as we call the roll for our class of 2012, and let’s see how their working careers are panning out.

A POWER-STARRING ROLE Iveco Powerstar ADN 6x4 450 Then: FZF766, Texco Excavating, Christchurch Now: Same company, now Texco Groundworks “I’ve been waiting for your call,” laughs Jason Stephens, fleet manager at Texco Groundworks. Jason was with the company (then Texco Excavating) when we first featured FZF766. “We still have the truck; it’s still exactly the same – same paint, same trailer, exactly the same work.”

When we featured it, the Powerstar was employed in the post-earthquake clean-up of the Christchurch CBD, with the late Doug Milne behind the wheel. At the time, we reported that Doug was quite taken with the truck. “I’m more impressed with this than I thought I would’ve been,” we quoted him as saying.

Doug was specifically impressed by the ZF-based EuroTronic II 16-speed automated transmission. Jason says that, after 23,532 hours and 676,258km, towing the two-axle Guy Norris Engineering tipulator at 35 tonnes (and a bit of backup transporting work now and then), the truck has been incredibly reliable.

“It’s had no engine work, and the gearbox is still original.

That’s it, other than two clutches and regular maintenance and servicing. It’s been in the hands of five drivers, with Darren Bone currently behind the wheel,” Jason says.

“It’s been a marvellous truck to have in the fleet. Others have come and gone since we got it, but we’ve kept it because it’s just been such a good truck.”

Now

Photo: Jason Stephens.

March

April

Then

Then

NORDIC NOUS

BEYOND THE GRILLE

Volvo FH16-700

Freightliner Argosy FRL

Then: GCQ988, Craig Johnson Carrying (Courier Post) Now: Scaife & Sons, Waikanae

Then: GEY39, Ferndale Farms, Maramarua Now: Chris Angus Transport, Matatoki

Our big-hitter of 2012 was a Volvo FH16 700 in Courier Post livery, driven by Craig Johnson, a regular on the TaupoAuckland, Taupo-Wellington run. A fan of big horsepower, Craig opted for the 700hp Swede in B-train configuration to “pull the heaviest loads on the most time-critical run”.

Craig had owned a succession of FH16s and said: “I can’t fault them on how they perform. They are just bullet-proof.”

Evidently, GCQ988 remained in its Courier Post colours right up to 2021, when in October, it was bought from MTD Palmerston North by Robin Scaife of Scaife & Sons, Waikanae.

Based on the Kapiti Coast, Scaife & Sons is a pile-driving company working in Wellington and the lower North Island.

“It has a three-axle transport trailer to pull a 16-tonne digger around with. Otherwise it’s loaded with poles,” says Robin.

Like Craig, Robin was also attracted by the high horsepower.

“I saw it on Trade Me and thought, ‘Ooh, it has 700hp, I’ll have to go have a look at that.’ We liked what we saw…”

At the time, the Volvo had covered 2,250,000km. “I believe it has had a significant amount of work, the latest being a brandnew motor before we bought it,” Robin says.

“It has heaps of power to do what we need it to – and also auto, which was brilliant. The ride’s what I was mainly looking for, and it rides nicely,” he adds.

Some readers will recognise this Freightliner Argosy, though not for positive reasons.

Put on the road by Derek Tremewan of Ferndale Farms, the Argosy attracted attention with its “eye-catching looks” and bold chrome grille, introduced with the Series 2 generation.

Not that that was a deciding factor for Derek – he’d already owned six of them and had a good run with them.

In our article, we commented: “The new Argosy is a big improvement over the past model […] this is far more than a facelift,” and continued, “it’s the improvements in finish, quietness, the ride and appearance that make this Argosy so exciting.”

It was fitted with the 560hp DD15 and 18-speed Roadranger combo, and as an eight-axle log unit, was more than up for the task.

Chris Angus Transport of Matatoki bought it off Derek in June 2014 with 330,000km on the clock to run in the central and upper North Island.

“We converted the trailer to five axles in April 2015, and the engine had a full in-frame rebuild in October 2018 at 964,217km,” says Chris.

Unfortunately, GEY39 rolled over in May 2020, having covered a commendable 1,144,217km in its lifetime. “It was a real shame that truck went over,” Chris says solemnly.

Now 2014

Photo: Robin Scaife.

Photo: Chris Angus.

May

June

Then

Then

HEAVY DUTY T909

A STRONG, SILENT MAN

Kenworth T909

MAN TGX 26.540 6x4 BLS

Then: T909KW, Daniel Smith Industries Now: Same owner

Then: GDU604, Guy Small (AF Logistics) Now: A&R Rust Contracting, Whakatane

Can you believe it was 2012 when the T909 was the ‘new kid’ in Kenworth’s T900 series? As they say, the classics never die and while a new era of styling was permeating for the Bug, we prized the T909 for maintaining its heritage and being as iconic as its predecessors.

“While it’s as brutal as its predecessors, there are subtle changes that make a great thing even better,” we commented.

Those changes “dragged the truck into the 21st century”, as we put it at the time. So what better chance to put Kenworth’s new big-hitter to the test than to join the crew at Daniel Smith Industries for a run in what was New Zealand’s very first T909 6x4 heavy-haul truck tractor? It had all the looks and, with a 130-tonne GCM rating, was well up to the task.

We commented that while Daniel’s T909 might look like a throwback to the classical ages, this truck was “no neanderthal build”.

The truck entered service with the Euro 5-rated Cummins Signature EGR engine rated at 447kW (600hp) and 2779Nm (2050lb/ft) driving, of course, though an 18-speed Roadranger.

“With a truck this traditional, anything else would be sacrilege,” we said.

T909KW remains with the Daniel Smith Industries fleet and is still running strong. While we were able to reach out to Daniel, he was unfortunately unable to supply an update or current pictures of it in time for print.

In the June 2012 issue, directly after the story on the MAN TGX 26.540 that appeared on the cover, came the Rigs of 2002 feature. At the time – in 2002 – just four of the covers were European trucks (one of which was a double-up), and none were MAN. That might have been because, as we noted in the MAN story, just 120 MANs were sold locally between 1992 and 2005 – less than 10 a year.

There’s no doubt that the brand was in a much stronger position by June 2012, when our spotlight fell on the TGX owned by Guy Small and leased to AF Logistics. Guy had also run a 460hp and a 530hp MAN TGA – which we reported had clocked up 1,000,000km. The TGX presented a case of evolution over revolution.

Whakatane-based Allan Rust of A&R Rust Contracting bought GDU604 about four years ago off Penske Tauranga.

“It has about 980,000km on it now, and I only do about 10,000km per year. It’s in semi-retirement,” he chuckles.

Allan uses it as a transporter to shift his gear around locally.

“For what I’m using it for, it’s fine. Mechanically it’s been good.

I believe Penske gave it an engine rebuild just before I bought it.”

Unfortunately Alan could not supply a recent image of the MAN in time for our print date.

Now

Now

New Zealand Trucking

November 2020 45

July

August

Then

Then

EAST MEETS WEST

AMERICAN IRON MEETS KIWI STEEL

Mitsubishi Fuso HD Euro FV470K1

Western Star 4864FXC

Then: GEZ269, Barry & Brian Watts Now: JB Earthmoving, Greytown

Then: GEQ710, Brendon Young Transport Now: Central Demolition, Palmerston North

It may be a common sight on the road today, but when it arrived in the fleet in 2012, the Fuso HD Euro presented buyers with a greater proportion of European componentry within its Japanese skin. After time in the FV470 tipper unit with Gisborne-based Barry Watts, we concluded, “It’s hard to see how this truck can’t be a winner in the long term for Fuso.”

Owned at the time by Barry and his brother Brian – who was also the local Mitsubishi car/Fuso truck dealer – the Fuso was a ‘put your money where your mouth is’ proposition. “We’d been buying them long before we had the franchise,” Brian said.

Today, run by JB Earthmoving of Greytown, GEZ269 is still configured as it was in 2012. Owner Jeremy Bennett bought it from the Watts brothers and the mileage remains quite low at 350,000km.

“It runs pretty much around the Wairarapa. We haven’t done many kilometres with it,” says Jeremy. “We do a lot of farm work, so it probably does more time under the digger than on the road.”

Jeremy says the Fuso has gone well, with only “little niggles and bits and pieces” to keep on top of. “However, it just had a major gearbox overhaul. It was covered by insurance because they put it down to the PTO being installed incorrectly,” he says.

If you like something, why not buy it? That was true for Brendan Young when he put this 4864FXC on the road back in 2012, and it was also true for Ian Butcher of Central Demolition in Feilding when he purchased the truck roughly five years ago.

“Ian likes American trucks, and he’s always had a passion for Western Stars. It’s a big truck for what we do, but he likes them, so we buy them,” explains fleet manager Aaron Wiseman.

“We have four or five stars now and have had a good run out of them. One is up to 1,400,000km and never had an overhaul. That’s got lots to do with scheduled servicing.

They’re smooth running.”

Aaron says GEQ710 has clocked 883,000km and has been reliable, with only general wear and tear and minor fixes to be done. “It’s had a clutch and a couple of injectors. The usual stuff for a truck of the era and mileage,” Aaron comments.

The truck operates as Central Demolition’s bulk unit, towing a 45-cube trailer, mainly between Wellington and Rotorua, with a bit of local work.

When Brendan bought the Western Star, the brand was still new to the trucking scene Down Under. However, it quickly made an impact.

“In some ways, the old dilemma of what to buy is becoming easier for the traditionalists that appreciate the American trucking tradition…” we commented.

Now

Now

Photo: Jeremy Bennett.

Photo: Bill Mallinson via Central Demolition.

September

October

Then

Then

HOW TIME FLIES

ACTROS GAINS TRACTION ON THE COAST

Kenworth T408

Mercedes-Benz Actros MP2 3246L/45

Then: GFL997, TDL Group Now: BP Rowlands Trucking, New Plymouth

Then: GLD284, Westland Milk Products Now: Metal Solutions BOP, Kawerau

September 2012 saw us feature the second Kenworth T408 to occupy a cover spot, this time an 8x4 tractor unit belonging to TDL Group.

The new-look bonneted Kenworth had been on the road for more than a year by this point and by all accounts, had gained quite a following. “Judging by the numbers that have gone out the door, the styling exercise was a big success,” we commented.

GFL997 also featured a new piece of mechanical componentry bolted to its Cummins ISX EGR motor – Eaton’s latest UltraShift Plus 18-speed automated transmission. We described it as “a revelation” compared with the previous generation. “Eaton finally seems to have caught up with their European competitors,” we commented.

The truck’s driver at the time, Paul Le Gros, agreed. “It just knows what to do,” he said.

Records indicate that GFL997 has passed through numerous hands since it left the TDL fleet. While we managed to contact its current owner, unfortunately he declined to give us an update on the truck.

The only Mercedes-Benz to grace the cover in 2012 was the Actros 3246 driven by George Simon for Westland Milk Products. Spending the first years of its life based out of Hokitika and with a preference for Euro trucks, Westland had big expectations of the Actros. George was especially impressed by the Voith retarder and the G330 PowerShift transmission.

Now with 899,000km under its wheels, Metal Solutions BOP has been running it since December 2019.

“The truck is still running strong but quite a different machine than it was,” says managing director David Fretwell.

“It’s been able to grow with our business, especially now that we have the five-axle trailer behind it. It mainly does hooktruck work and it’s H-rated.

“With the 22-tonne Palfinger hook unit on this truck, it’s a super-versatile unit. We have hook bins for it, a flat deck, and recently put together a special-build Hardox bin that fits a new 10-tonne Yanmar digger. This gives us the versatility to arrive at a site, hook the bin onto the ground and drive the digger out, and then load the hook bin on the truck. We also transport our Merlo telehandlers and forklifts to sites on the flat deck and drive them off at ground level,” Dave says.

The Actros received a new clutch and retarder kit when it was bought, and Dave says it’s been a reliable unit since then.

He’d like to acknowledge Chris Phillips from East Coast Heavy Diesel in Whakatane, CDS in Mt Maunganui and Coastline Auto Electrical for doing their bit to keep it reliable.

Now

Now

Photo: Dave Fretwell.

November

Then

December

Then

HINO HEELSNAPPERS

FRENCH CONNECTION

Hino 700 FY2945

Renault Premium 460.26 6x4 Lander T3S

Then: GHZ340, McCarthy Transport, Whanganui Now: Dowman Contracting, Whanganui

Then: GMF327, Ballie Transport (Foodstuffs) Now: Far Freighters, Pukenui, Kaitaia

In what was probably a first for a ‘Rigs of’ feature, the McCarthy Transport Hino 700 cover star from our November 2012 issue had just changed hands as we were compiling this story.

Having been in the McCarthy fleet all this time, GHZ340 was bought by fellow Whanganui business, Dowman Contracting, to be converted into a transporter. The reconfigured rig should be on the road by the time you read this.

“Ex-log trucks tend to be good options for transporters because they have a relatively long wheelbase. They lend themselves to a good conversion. We know the McCarthy family relatively well, and we know their gear is well looked after and well serviced. It’s a truck we could know the history of,” says Scott Dowman.

McCarthy’s engineering workshop has even built the beavertail transporter deck for Scott.

In 809,000km (as we reported at the time, exactly what McCarthy was expecting from it), Scott believes the 700 has had just a new gearbox and top-end rebuild.

Spec’d for log work, the 700 had Hendrickson Primaax suspension and 1.44:1 Dana cross-locked rear axles. It was praised for being easy to drive and manoeuvrable – and punching above its weight.

When it enters operation with Dowman Contracting, GHZ340 will transport the company’s gear around the Whanganui region and out to Rangitikei.

Unfortunately as the Hino’s new colours were being applied at the time of writing, Scott could not supply a recent image.

Not many Renault trucks were sold in New Zealand, but those who have owned them know how good they really were. When we tested GMF327 new in December 2012, owner John Baillie was impressed by the Lander’s package and optimistic about operating it. The truck’s current owner, Greg Gemmell, says that when he bought it, John told him: “it was a bloody good truck.” Three years down the road and Greg reckons “it’s wonderful”.

“It’s probably the most underrated truck I’ve ever owned. If they were still making them now, I would buy more of them.

The comfort leaves my new Volvo FM for dead. It’s coming up to 800,000km now, and there’s not one rattle in the cab – it’s quiet.”

Greg says he’s used the Renault for all sorts of things. “It’s run a 50Max B-train curtainsider down to Auckland and back, it’s towed logs with a bailey bridge, it’s done reefer work, did a kiwifruit season… It punches way above its weight. I really rate it.”

Greg bought it through Carl Capstick at MTD on a guaranteed buyback. “When the time came, they took it back… and I bought it straight back off them,” he says.

Greg says GMF327 has never failed a COF and he’s had no mechanical issues with it. His one criticism is that the retardation provided by the exhaust brake isn’t as strong as he’d like when descending a hill.

“People laugh at you when you tell them you’ve got a Renault, but they’re not shit,” he says matter-offactly. Unfortunately Greg could not supply a recent image of the Renault in time for our print date.

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The new C and E Series Giga has the modern Isuzu look.

A GO IN GIGA

Isuzu Trucks New Zealand revealed the updated Giga in April. Recently, we got behind the wheel for a preview drive alongside the brand’s baby NPR350.

Story by Gavin Myers

I

t’s been too long since we were last able to catch up with an industry OEM and get behind the wheel of some of their latest models.

With the announced demise of the Pukekohe raceway in 2023, General Motors and Isuzu Trucks New Zealand took the opportunity to line up a selection of vehicles for the media to sample. For some of us, it would probably be the last time we would be able to take to the fabled racetrack, so the fact that GMSV also had its new C8 Corvette and heavy-duty Silverado 2500 Z71 at hand was the cherry on the cake.

But it was the pair of Isuzu trucks we were most interested in. First up was the new Giga, a CYJ530 8x4 chassis cab. Sure, a bare chassis cab is never ideal for evaluating a truck. But we were here to see the design in the metal and learn about the new suite of safety features that distinguish the model

50 New Zealand Trucking

Photo: Isuzu Trucks New Zealand from the outgoing VC36 Giga – which has been on sale in New Zealand since 2015.

The new model is instantly recognisable as an Isuzu, with the bold dark-chrome grille now matching the style of the smaller N and F Series, a double-plane item with diagonal uprights. The new bumper has more meat to it, and conversely, less grille, and there are new all-LED adaptive headlights (known as ‘adaptive driving beam’).

These form part of the impressive suite of standard safety systems, most of which are encompassed in the advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) package. ADAS consists of electronic vehicle stability control (EVSC), advanced emergency brake system (AEBS), distance warning system (DWS), autonomous cruise control, lane-departure warning system (LDWS), as well as hill-start assist on some models. The ADAS

system in the Giga differs from that fitted to the N Series (New Zealand Trucking, February 2022) in that its dash-mounted dual optical sensor camera combines with a radar mounted in the grille for long-distance ‘vision’.

We were able to experience some of these features around Pukekohe, with the merits of DWS and autonomous cruise control plain to see.

But the features built into ADAS typically shine on busy streets, and we’ll be keen to see how they enhance the driving experience during a day’s work.

The new Giga is available in standard and new highroof (on 530 models) cab variants, and like the exterior, the cab’s interior has received a refresh for improved driver ergonomics. The driver perches in a comfortable new ISRI seat, which offers heating and cooling. There’s a new gauge cluster with a new multi-information display.

Finding a comfortable driving position is incredibly easy, and the Giga hinted at having some well-sorted suspension as we took it around Puke.

The 6WG1 engine remains in service, with the 395kW (530hp) still topping the range and the 298kW (400hp) version receiving a power bump to 313kW (420hp).

Buyers can choose from Isuzu’s 16-speed AMT with a new shift programme or an 18-speed Roadranger that now features a clutch brake instead of a counter-shaft brake.

Isuzu Trucks offers 29 models in the new Giga CYJ and EXY series, all of which feature a new additional warranty cover that takes the total warranty period to five years or 500,000km.

We have a full cover feature of the new Giga lined up for a forthcoming issue, wherein we’ll really get to grips with the new model, so keep an eye out for that.

October 2022

ISZ191

THE NEW ISUZU GIGA. OUR SAFEST HEAVY DUTY MODEL YET.

I

t’s been too long since we from the outgoing VC36 Giga system in the Giga differs were last able to catch up – which has been on sale in from that fitted to the N with an industry OEM and New Zealand since 2015.

Series (New Zealand Trucking, get behind the wheel of The new model is instantly February 2022) in that its some of their latest models. recognisable as an Isuzu, with dash-mounted dual optical With the announced demise the bold dark-chrome grille sensor camera combines with of the Pukekohe raceway in now matching the style of a radar mounted in the grille 2023, General Motors and the smaller N and F Series, for long-distance ‘vision’.

Isuzu Trucks New Zealand a double-plane item with We were able to experience took the opportunity to line up diagonal uprights. The new some of these features around a selection of vehicles for the bumper has more meat to it, Pukekohe, with the merits media to sample. For some of and conversely, less grille, of DWS and autonomous us, it would probably be the and there are new all-LED cruise control plain to see. last time we would be able to adaptive headlights (known as But the features built into take to the fabled racetrack, ‘adaptive driving beam’).

ADAS typically shine on busy so the fact that GMSV also These form part of the streets, and we’ll be keen to had its new C8 Corvette and impressive suite of standard see how they enhance the heavy-duty Silverado 2500 safety systems, most of driving experience during a Z71 at hand was the cherry which are encompassed day’s work. on the cake. in the advanced driver The new Giga is available But it was the pair of assistance systems (ADAS) in standard and new highIsuzu trucks we were most package. ADAS consists of roof (on 530 models) cab interested in. First up was electronic vehicle stability variants, and like the exterior, the new Giga, a CYJ530 8x4 control (EVSC), advanced the cab’s interior has received chassis cab. Sure, a bare emergency brake system a refresh for improved driver chassis cab is never ideal for (AEBS), distance warning ergonomics. The driver evaluating a truck. But we system (DWS), autonomous perches in a comfortable were here to see the design in cruise control, lane-departure ISRI seat, which offers GET ON THE ROAD, AGAIN, AND AGAIN AND AGAIN… THE NEW GIGA IS COMING SOON WITH new ADVANCED the metal and learn about the warning system (LDWS), as heating and cooling. There’s SAFETY FEATURES SUCH AS ANTI SKID REGULATOR, ADVANCED EMERGENCY BRAKE SYSTEM AND ELECTRONIC new suite of safety features well as hill-start assist on a new gauge with a STABILITY CONTROL JUST TO NAME A FEW. ALL ISUZU GIGA’S NOW COME WITH 5 YEAR / 500,000KM WARRANTYcluster .* that distinguish the model some models.

The ADAS new multi-information display.

ENQUIRE ABOUT THE NEW GIGA AT YOUR LOCAL ISUZU DEALER OR VISIT ISUZU.CO.NZ

Finding a comfortable driving position is incredibly easy, and the Giga hinted at having some well-sorted suspension as we took it around Puke.

The 6WG1 engine remains in service, with the 395kW (530hp) still topping the range and the 298kW (400hp) version receiving a power bump to 313kW (420hp).

Buyers can choose from Isuzu’s 16-speed AMT with a new shift programme or an 18-speed Roadranger that now features a clutch brake instead of a counter-shaft brake.

Isuzu Trucks offers 29 models in the new Giga CYJ and EXY series, all of which feature a new additional warranty cover that takes the total warranty period to five years or 500,000km.

We have a full cover feature of the new Giga lined up for a forthcoming issue, wherein we’ll really get to grips with the new model, so keep an eye out for that soon.

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w

BUSINESS PROFILE

Story and photos by Gavin Myers

OPPORTUNITY FROM

ADVERSITY Small businesses need specific characteristics to ensure longevity and success. Grit, determination, resilience, agility and forwardthinking are just some, and all illustrate the story of TMS Contracting.

I

t’s always interesting to learn of the paths that got those we meet to where they are today. TMS Contracting owner Hudson Lusty always had an interest in trucks, but unlike many who own trucking companies, he didn’t get there in the driver’s seat.

He grew up on a farm north of Wellsford and loved driving trucks around the farm. His grandfather had a transport and lime quarrying business in Wellsford, and his uncle also owned trucks. However, it was the really big machinery that had Hudson’s attention.

52 New Zealand Trucking

October 2022

“I started off with the territorials in the army; that’s where I got my driver training,” Hudson explains.

“Then I branched into logging in the bush, which ended up taking the best years of my life, really. We contracted to Carter Holt Harvey and, unfortunately, got spat out the back end of the key supplier process when it all changed in the late 1990s.”

Hudson did private woodlots for a while, but the GFC soon forced a change of plan. He took the opportunity to head over to Western Australia to “get on the

real big machines”. It was during his time in the Aussie mines that TMS came to be.

“It stands for Te Mata Station because my dad’s got a farm in Te Mata. When I formed it in 2016, the original plan was to buy and sell cattle and graze them on his farm. That never came to be but soon after, I discovered there was a demand for machine operators.

So, in my R-and-R breaks away from the mines in WA, I started work as a machine operator contracting principally to C&R Developments, which was doing a

w

1

2

3

1) Quick look at the new 700’s interior. It’s a comfy workplace, says Tumai. 2) TMS owner Hudson Lusty (left) and the 700’s driver Tumai Ratu. 3) The TMS Hino is a regular sight at the Rodney Aggregates Whangaripo Quarry. stripping contract at Winstone Aggregates’ Hunua quarry.

They’re a good company, I couldn’t say enough about the guys from C&R.” A move from Auckland to Warkworth meant the end of the work with C&R, but a chance meeting with Doug Reddell from Red Dell Ltd meant Hudson soon had a replacement job as a machine operator subcontractor for his breaks back home. In late 2019, TMS purchased a CAT 310 Excavator from Terracat with the intention of subcontracting to Red Dell.

Then Covid-19 came along and closing of the borders and ongoing travel restrictions meant regular travel to WA wasn’t possible Says Hudson: “That was a bugger because I loved the work over in WA, especially my last job with BHP Iron Ore where after a period of time in production crews I ended up training new operators coming

onto site. BHP was a great company to work for, and during Covid I was able to work from home for a while, but that couldn’t continue full time.”

Hudson took the opportunity to ramp things up with TMS. In November 2020, he bought a Hino 300 from Shane Kemp at Hino Whangarei to support the digger and a Mack Granite bulk truck and trailer and a transport trailer. “And we’ve been building on that since,” he says. The Granite was put to work doing subcontract work with Clements Contractors in Whangarei and with Wharehine Group on the NX2 Puhoi-to-Warkworth motorway project.

Hudson works closely with Doug to provide Red Dell with all its trucking, and he is working on developing opportunities with bulk haulage, containers and freight for other customers.

That meant another vehicle was needed, and Hudson immediately turned to Shane.

In June 2021, he ordered a new Hino 700, which was delivered in January – not too bad considering the supply-chain issues that have plagued the industry over the past couple of years.

“It was a total supplypackage deal. They already had a build slot with Morgan Engineering for the tipper body, which was lucky because it’s hard to get build slots now. There’s a four-axle MTE trailer for it in the yard,” explains Hudson.

The 700 has been placed in the care of Tumai Ratu, who’s been driving for TMS for about a year. Since this is one of the first new Hino 700s we’ve encountered, we took the opportunity to get Tumai’s impressions.

“It’s a nice truck; there’s nothing hard about it. I like it. I drove the older 700 – a

2009 model – and this has much more room. The gearing is still pretty low, but comfort is good. It does run a lot better than the old ones and pulls easy with the trailer at 44-tonnes,” he says.

After just 36,000km, the 700 is averaging 2.0kml.

Hudson adds that the exhaust brake and retarder are exceptional.

The one ‘hiccup’ Hudson’s had with the 700 called on all those small-business characteristics at once.

“Three weeks after we got it, some arseholes broke into the yard and stole the whole exhaust system out of it. That was devastating. And they unbolted it, didn’t cut it out.

There were very few of those on the road, and it’s totally different from the previous model, so you wonder what they were going to do with it.

Took every bolt as well…

“We did all sorts to find it – the guys from Truckstops

put in a massive effort calling out to scrap dealers, but nothing turned up. The worst thing was we couldn’t get any parts, and it was off the road for eight weeks before the parts arrived, which had to come in individually. It made a real dent in our financial situation, I can tell you!

“Insurance took care of it, but not the lost production, and we had to rent a truck from TR Group over that time, still paying finance on the truck. Luckily, we could get one from them. Oh, they took the 300’s complete exhaust unit as well.”

Setbacks overcome, Hudson currently keeps the Hinos busy with local work and sets the Granite on longer-distance projects, taking the opportunity to head out behind the wheel and “make things happen from the truck”. Hudson is yet another savvy operator to use MyTrucking software to keep tabs on day-today operations. “It’s an excellent

platform, integrating with Xero, and it has revolutionised dispatching and invoicing for me. The best thing is if you want to know something, you pick up the phone and a human answers pretty much straight away.”

The trucks operate up to six days a week, and another might be on the horizon as more work comes on through Red Dell. “We have a good arrangement – Doug’s specialty is finding work, pricing and dealing with council. I’ve been more on the delivery side, coordinating the trucking and material and looking after progress on the ground.”

As with many small, young transport businesses in New Zealand, TMS Contracting has faced its share of challenges.

Hudson’s previous experience has allowed him to etch those characteristics for success in the company’s operations, and it seems he has TMS set on a good path.

TMS fleet consists of multiple brands from the Sime Darby stable.

Tumai loads up at the Whangaripo Quarry.

54 New Zealand Trucking

October 2022

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TOP TRUCK

Story and photos by Craig McCauley

GOOD MACK

FROM WAIKANAE Mack Trucks has been dominant in the Kiwi heavy-haulage industry since it arrived under Motor Truck Distributors in 1972. Kapiti Coast contractor Goodmans has used the Bulldog breed to shift its civilengineering machinery for almost 25 years.

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oodmans’ history goes back to the decade before Ron Carpenter took what could only be described as a bold move, establishing the Mack truck brand in New Zealand under his Motor Truck Distributors business.

In 1963, brothers Rick and Tony Goodman were running the family farm. Their father, who worked for the then-Ministry of Works housing division, mentioned the possibility of work being available on the construction of new subdivisions in

nearby Cannon’s Creek, a suburb of Porirua.

With a true Kiwi can-do attitude, the brothers loaded their Fordson CD50 bulldozer onto a newly purchased Bedford truck and, in the same vein as Ron Carpenter would go on to do, set about building a business.

Goodman Earthmovers grew during the ensuing years, amassing a fleet of machinery, working throughout the lower North Island.

Contracts included major earthworks relating to the electrification of the

North Island main trunk railway line.

In the mid-1990s, the company re-structured. Rick and his wife Helen bought out Tony, and the couple’s four children joined the business over time.

The current Goodman Contractors operation is owned by siblings Stan, Lance, Vaughan and Marianne (Archer) and operates more than 150 pieces of earthmoving machinery from its Waikanae base.

Until the late 1990s, the company used external operators to relocate its machinery. With the railway work

The Titan and Super-Liner harnessed together, ready to shift Goodmans’ Wabco 353FT motor scraper to the Te Ahu a Turanga Manawatu-Tararua Highway near Palmerston North.

in its heyday at this time, a lot of machinery needed to be relocated between sites and Vaughan says the cost nearly outweighed the job’s income at times.

One of the original 284kW (380hp) 3406A Caterpillar-powered Mack Super-Liners (owned originally by late Taupo trucking identity Denis Cronin) was purchased from its thenowner AF Porter.

Vaughan recalls taking his wife to collect the truck from Hamilton and her displeasure regarding the lack of

comfort offered by the Super-Liner on the trip south.

The turn of the millennium heralded a new era in heavy haulage for Goodmans, with the Super-Liner replaced with a truck of similar historical significance.

Motor Truck Distributors built three special-edition Macks in 1997 to celebrate its 25th anniversary – an MH, a CH and a CL, the latter owned originally by McCarthy Transport Contractors.

Set up originally as a rigid tipper,

the CL had been traded to Motor Truck Distributors and was on the lot in Palmerston North for sale.

Once in Goodmans’ ownership, it was shortened to a tractor unit and went to work in front of an MTE three-rows-of-four low-loader trailer for a while until the size of machinery dictated the purchase of a larger three-rows-of-eight trailer.

Powered by Mack’s famed 429kW (575hp) E9 V8 engine, the CL served Goodmans well until the arrival of a new-generation Mack CLX 6x4

New Zealand Trucking

October 2022 57

Super-Liner in mid-2013.

At the time, the company was heavily involved in the construction of the 18km expressway between MacKays Crossing, near Paekakariki, and Peka Peka.

The new Super-Liner spent a fair proportion of its early life shifting machinery between worksites on the project.

A TRT five-rows-of-eight widening trailer was added to the Goodman arsenal in 2017. Coupled to the SuperLiner, and rated at 130-tonne GCM, the combination had the capacity to carry the company’s largest machines with ease.

Mack’s ‘big dog’, in the form of a CXXT 6x4 Titan, joined the CL and Super-Liner in 2020, purchased for its lower ratio gearing, heavier drive train and an increased GCM of 165 tonnes.

The Titan is certainly not short on thrust, with power and torque peaks of 511kW (685hp) and 3120Nm (2300lb/ft) produced by the Mack MP10 SCR Euro-5 engine. The combination of Mack’s TMD12AO23 mDRIVE transmission and an Eaton-Fuller two-speed ancillary transmission (‘joey box’) transmit the power to a 23,500kg-rated pair of 4.3:1 Dana D52-190 rear axles.

Goodmans’ philosophy regarding fitting the joey box was to make life easier on the clutch and when running gear in tight situations, soft ground conditions, and on steep hills,

where the truck may have trouble getting moving with a decent load on.

Says Vaughan: “The Titan really crawls along in deep reduction. It gives you a lot of confidence operating the unit that you won’t end up stranded in an awkward spot.”

Operating the Titan is a man who has been around the Mack product in New Zealand since he was a youngster – Marcello Giacon.

Marcello spent plenty of time in the passenger’s seat of the Mack Ultra-Liners operated by his father, Lou, a well-known Mainfreight contractor from the Capital.

His own career began in an R-Model belonging to Paraparaumu trucking identity Clive Taylor. After a stint on one of Clive’s CHs he joined John Ray Ltd, piloting firstly an RB and latterly a Trident,

before joining Goodmans.

Presentation is a hallmark of the Goodman operation, and it’s embodied all over the Titan. A King Bars Hume Metro bull bar and Bling Man stainless visor are fitted up-front, along with stainless air intakes, exhaust shrouds, and custom-made side skirts.

They all contrast nicely against the unique Caribbean Green paintwork.

Practicality hasn’t gone

amiss either. The 36-inch MidRise sleeper features a rear window for enhanced visibility, VDO Kimax 1 load indicators help keep axle weights in check and lubrication is taken care of by a Groeneveld lube system.

New Zealand Trucking magazine went looking for something special in honour of MTD’s 50th anniversary – open this month’s Top Truck poster and enjoy.

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Marcello Giacon drives the Titan and enjoys heavy haulage.

A The TRT-built five-rows-ofeight trailer is well-suited for moving Goodmans’ largest motor scrapers.

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October 2022

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Jason ‘Bert’ Lyon Jason Lyon, known to most in the industry as Bert, was off to deliver a load of sawlogs to a local mill when Craig McCauley intercepted him in Harewood.

He pilots a 685hp Mack SuperLiner for the famed Steve Murphy Ltd fleet, carting logs from various Canterbury forests to local mills or the Lyttelton port.

Bert is a second-generation trucker and originates from Marlborough, where his career began at 15 in an Isuzu ELF for Gill Construction. After gaining his HT licence at 18 – and in a neat quirk of fate – he took the wheel of Gill’s then-No.44, a GM-powered Leyland Super Buffalo that his father, Mike, drove brand-new in the 1970s.

What is his favourite truck? He pauses before saying “either the T404ST or the T908” he drove at Murphy’s.

Bert says the best part about

truck driving is the independence it allows, and the biggest negative is the amount of compliance surrounding the industry.

An apt vexing question for an early-spring day is: Washing the

house or mowing the lawn? Bert thinks the bristles on the wash brush are better suited for use on the Super-Liner, and he would prefer a stroll behind the good Masport.

of career. “The road is my freedom. I’m married to the road.”

Despite loving his job, he does have a couple of issues. “The way people are driving these days is a real problem,

and the road conditions are appalling.”

Chad was presented with our vexing question No.2: Is Elvis really dead?

He responded: “Yep, he would still be making records if he wasn’t.”

Chad Nukunuku Alison and Mike Verran stopped to say gidday to Chad Nukunuku while he was fuelling up at the Caltex Truckstop at Sulphur Point, Tauranga. Chad has been driving for ODH 2000 Ltd (Over Dimension Haulage) for just over a year.

He spends each day behind the wheel of a 2015 Western Star 4884, carting containers around the Waikato and Bay of Plenty.

On the day the Verrans caught up with Chad, he had picked up a full container from Rotorua to cart to Sulphur Point Wharf. He was then heading back to Rotorua with an empty container to start the process again.

From a young age, Chad wanted to drive trucks. “I used to go riding in a truck with my uncle, Storm Hema. In the school holidays, I would go with him in his CAT-powered Kenworth, ‘Pink Panther’ and his Mack Super-Liner ‘Mighty Mutt’.”

Chad’s driving career has so far spanned 35 years. He loves his choice

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October 2022

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BACK DOWN THE ROAD A BIT

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CAPTURING THE MID COUNTRY This month, we have another person best described as one of the quiet, unassuming, great blokes of New Zealand road-transport photography and a dyed-in-the-wool enthusiast for everything trucking. Manawatu-based Derek Tankersley has spent decades amassing a vast collection of images. Thanks, Derek, for letting readers enjoy some real pearlers from your archive.

“Growing up in Carterton in the Wairarapa, I was always interested in farm and earthmoving machinery.

I managed to get a short ride in a Pinfolds Transport stock truck, and I have been forever hooked on trucks.

“My uncle worked in the office of Transport Wairarapa in Masterton, and he got me dozens of rides in

their trucks in the early 1980s. School holidays were spent travelling around the lower North Island in stock trucks and visiting various freezing works and sale yards. After a few rides, I decided to start taking photos with my parents’ Kodak Instamatic camera. I graduated to a point-andshoot camera and eventually an

SLR. Any spare money was spent on developing many thousands of photos.

“Family holidays were spent in Rotorua, so I spent time at Taupo truck shows and the Waipa weighbridge. My passion for trucks or taking truck photos has never waned.”

1) Transport Wairarapa Nissan V8 No.22 at the Masterton sale yards. 2) Transport Wairarapa No.36 Ford D Series, parked at the bottom of Remutaka Hill. 3) David Pope’s 142 420hp Scania parked up in Carterton. 4) A Williams & Wilshier Kenworth W924 at the Waipa weighbridge. 5) Herb Renalls’ 500hp Mack Super-Liner in the main street of Carterton. 6) Mack Ultra-Liners belonging to ODs of Child Freighters at the BP Truck Rodeo in Taupo.

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AUSSIE ANGLES

Story and photos by Mike Williams

WE STAND ON THE SHOULDERS OF GIANTS From 26 to 28 August, many truckies, families and friends headed to Alice Springs and the National Road Transport Museum for the annual Festival of Transport and the Road Transport Hall of Fame inductions. And what a weekend it was…

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ransport Women Australia kicked off the celebrations with a well-attended breakfast. Jacquelene Brotherton made the opening speech, welcoming one and all. Of course, the ‘Truckies Breakfast’ was the order of the day, and it seems you just can’t have too much bacon. This was my first taste of what would become an unforgettable weekend of humour, storytelling and

October 2022

education.

After breakfast, it’s time to walk around and take in the museum’s scale. It’s difficult to explain the variety and quality of the former kings of the road on display – everything from a Ford Model T to the latest Kenworth prime mover. I was lucky enough to find myself alone in the Kenworth pavilion and able to stand there and appreciate the history. The first K125 CR to roll off the production

line in Bayswater, Victoria, in 1971 is there on display.

To be able to stand beside it and touch history is a feeling I can’t really explain. As I walked around the site, it was hard not to be impressed by the variety and quality of the displays.

Then it was time for a moment’s silence to take in the memorial wall.

Entering the pavilion that will play host to the Saturday afternoon induction

Shell Rimula has had a 21-year partnership with the Hall of Fame. ceremony, and on the right is the Roger Goss Oshkosh cabover hooked up to a set of Cleveland trailers, looking every bit as if it’s about to head out the gate on a mission. It probably could, too. Over to the left is the Vestey Rotinoff ‘Julie’ powered by a massive RollsRoyce engine. Its bonnet is longer than a 909, and it has sliding doors and more gear leavers than most blokes have ever seen. She’s reported to be the only remaining example in the world.

On the walls hang trailer curtains that many of us would recognise: Thompson promotional curtains and one from the original Rod Hannifey Transport Industry Vehicle,

Cat, and Shell. There’s so much to take in.

The stage where the inductees will receive their medallions and the hundreds of seats for the guests are all ready and waiting.

After lunch, we headed over the road to the races to view the running of the Cummins Cup, race one on the card at the Alice Springs Turf Club.

Fashions on the field were pretty casual, not what you’d expect to see at Flemington or Rose Hill. Wide-brimmed hats, comfortable shoes and a cold beverage made more sense on a warm day. Qualis, ridden by LJ Miller, was fastest over the distance and took home the trophy.

I arrived at the museum

Memorial wall.

early after lunch on Saturday to spend some more time looking at the exhibits before the 3:30pm start. I spent some time looking at the original Joe O’Brien Diesel Dog cartoon panels – there has to be several hundred of them, and yet another trip down memory lane – oldschool truckie humour at its best.

About 350 people packed the hall to witness the 31 inductees for 2022 collect their medallions, along with another 24 held over from the small ceremony last year. Some were well-known names and some not-so-wellknown, but equally deserving and coming from all areas of the trucking industry. There

were several posthumous inductions, which were quite emotional and brought a tear to more than one eye. Jim Cooper was named an icon of the industry.

A Jim Cooper-designed Powertrack prime mover was one of the six new additions to the collection.

Shell donated its Grey Ghost, an Acco service truck that raced around in the darkness, repairing fuel pumps. Also notable were a Leyland Super Hippo with a drill rig mounted on its rigid body and a rare twin-steer UD that once carted eggs. The Gilbert’s T650 that sat behind the stage for the inductions and a magnificently restored Mack in Lloyds North livery

in memory of Byron ‘Bonza’ Bonney really stole the show.

The Road Transport Hall of Fame has been through a bit of a rocky period in recent years. Covid-19 affected visitor numbers, just as with any other venue. Changes to the management team and concerns over the museum’s financial future have raised questions about the continued viability of the site. It seems we can be reassured the Road Transport Hall of Fame has a strong future.

Rex Mooney and Nick Prus have worked diligently to ensure this. The hall will be out of administration by the end of October, and a new management committee is due to take the reins in November. Plans for alterations and additions to the site, the addition of the Alice Springs RSL military collection and the Ghan Railway exhibits have expanded the scope and interest in the site and point towards a sustainable future.

Shell will continue highlighting the contributions the transport industry has made and honour Australia’s trucking heroes through the Wall of Fame. During the 21-year partnership, Shell Rimula has recognised more than 1700 distinguished members of the road transport community.

The management, sponsors, staff, volunteers and loyal supporters deserve a hearty round of applause for their efforts in 2022, which was a roaring success.

A huge thank you is also due to the donors of new additions to the collection of historic vehicles. As an industry, we must do what we can to preserve the memories and hand down the stories.

We stand on the shoulders of giants. It’s been my privilege to see the hall and meet some true industry legends.

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1 & 2) Vesty Rotinoff ‘Julie’ hides a massive Rolls-Royce engine under that long bonnet. Sparse cab accessed by sliding doors. 3) Roger Goss Oshkosh could’ve hit the road there and then.

Joe O’Brien Diesel Dog cartoon panels: classic truckie humour.

Mike would love to interact with readers and get your feedback.

You can contact him via Twitter (@theoztrucker), Facebook (On The Road Podcast – @otrpodcastaus), or direct via email (mike@ontheroadpodcast.com.au).

Visit ontheroadpodcast.com.au to find his show.

Catch Mike’s Aussie Update on Trucking Radio 24/7!

Next month, we’ll hit the road to Alice Springs with a couple of Aussie Truckers.

66 New Zealand Trucking

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INTERNATIONAL TRUCK STOP

The Dutch truck event drew more than 55,000 visitors this year.

EURO STYLES This year, Europe’s largest truckfest celebrated 40 years of running. As ever, it attracted some of the most photo-worthy rigs on the continent.

Story and photos by Niels Jansen

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he TT Circuit in Assen, Netherlands, was the place to be at the end of July for anyone who loves trucks. Here, the well-known Truckstar Festival took place again after two years of silence due to the Covid-19 pandemic, celebrating its 40th year. The event attracts commercial vehicles from all over Europe, and the

transport industry was more than ready to participate.

More than 5000 truck owners from the Netherlands and abroad had indicated they wanted to participate in the festivities with one or more vehicles. However, the Assen circuit could ‘only’ accommodate 2300 big trucks.

The publishers of Truckstar Magazine have organised the

festival since 1992. The first gathering was held in and around an exhibition hall in the town four decades ago.

Thanks to the ever-growing number participants and spectators, the F1 race circuit at Zandvoort then hosted it for nine years. Since 1992, the present location in the east of Holland has fit the bill.

Over the years, the ingredients of the event have

The mighty 25.25m Scania truck and trailer of Van Herk took out the Most Beautiful Truck of the Netherlands 2022 award.

not changed much. On both sides of the 4.5km-long racetrack in Assen, truck drivers and their family and friends are allowed to organise a weekend-long ‘garden party’. Many come complete with barbecue, disco and makeshift swimming pools.

Around the paddock, more than 160 beautifully refurbished vintage commercials were displayed by their proud owners.

Across the road, dozens of shiny American rigs drew the crowds, as did the state-ofthe-art recovery trucks and heavy-haulage transporters.

Of course, there was also a large area where anything

This immaculate Scania R770 combo from Denmark captured the international Best of Show award.

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1 1) The spectacular Scania 650S ‘Iceman’ from Finland. 2 & 3) Conversion specialist Vlastuin’s latest project is the FH16-based VT5 bonneted tractor. Vlastuin has built several dozen of these mighty Scania Torpedos. related to the transport industry could be admired or purchased – from drivers’ apparel to a light bar, and hotdogs to miniature trucks.

Also present were the importers of major Euro truck brands. They showed factoryfresh chassis and, to please the public, fully decked-out owner-driver rigs. Some makers also had made room for alternative-fuel vehicles.

Dutch truck conversion specialist Vlastuin from Renswoude stole the show with a Next-Gen Scania Torpedo and its latest project, a big Volvo VT5 tractor. Both top-class bonneted tractors received attention from local operators and foreign truck

owners who want to stand out from the crowd with their rigs.

A few hundred entrants from all over Europe participated in the Special Paint and Show Truck competition. The large number of pristine vehicles that British and Irish owners had entered was striking, even more so considering the high price of fuel and ferry crossings required to make it to the event. The same applies to the Scandinavians, who were also present in force with some spectacular Scania and Volvo working trucks. And the Fins are masters in coming up with new ideas to make their trucks almost a work of art.

Three winners in the national ‘open-top’ category.

For those who had enough of just watching gleaming heavies in the various show areas, the festival also offered weekend-long shows and contests with motorcycles, cars and trucks on the racetrack opposite the grandstand. But the highlight of the annual festival is always the election of De Mooiste Truck van Nederland (the most beautiful truck of the Netherlands) and the following parade on the track.

Since 1983, the publishers of Truckstar Magazine have issued a catalogue that contains hundreds of truck pictures sent in by drivers or owners. Buyers of the catalogue are asked to vote

on which three trucks from nine categories are eligible to compete in the final contest. This year’s ‘Photo Yearbook’ was 224 pages thick and featured more than 1500 heavy trucks. During the weekend, a team of professional judges inspected the final 24 trucks voted for by the readers.

Come Sunday, the nominees were presented in front of the circa 5000 spectators in the grandstand.

The winners in the Special Paint and Show Truck contest were also announced.

After much deliberation, the eight-axle 2019 Scania R650 of Robert van Herk was voted Most Beautiful Truck

Special Paint winner ‘Purple Rain’ from Switzerland – in appropriate weather conditions!

of the Netherlands 2022. The 25.25m-long truck and trailer combo was well-thought-out, down to the smallest detail.

Both inside and out, the over-length blue and white truck looked the part and, according to the judges, it simply had the wow factor.

In addition, there were trophies to win for Best Interior, Best Paint, Best Bodywork and Best Polish.

The international field trophies went, among others, to the wildly painted Scania 650S ‘Iceman’ of Juha Ristimaa from Finland, the magnificent Scania R650 ‘Purple Rain’ of VoWa Transporte in Switzerland, and the immaculate and

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well-thought-out Scania R770 truck and trailer of Christian Soleen from Denmark.

Although the show and shine contests are the main attraction for truck owners, Assen is also a weekend for the whole family, with lots of entertainment, from spectacular motorcycle stunts and car football to a fairground and a pop concert.

Despite some rain, everyone October 2022

thought the biggest truck festival in Europe was well worth waiting for after two Covid-plagued years.

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WHERE’S THAT ROAD?

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Look here, eagle-eyed truckers, and see if you know where this stretch of bitumen is. Last month was back to ‘tricky dicky’ with only a handful of correct entries. This month, we reckon it will be interesting. This (right) is one of the country’s more well-worn truck paths, yet it still may not leap out instantly from this angle. See how you all go.

Nowhere near the entries we had for the Mohakatino River Bridge on SH3, but a steady trickle, nonetheless.

And we expected it might be a bit more challenging – although the road sign is readable if you had some wizardry to hand by all accounts. The answer was SH85 (The Pigroot) east of Becks, heading for Palmerston. The eagle-eyed winner was Shane Clarke from Tinwald near Ashburton. Well done, Shane, and thanks to everyone who entered the competition.

TO ENTER Flick us an email at editor@nztrucking.co.nz Subject line: Where’s that road? OCT-22.

Tell us your answer, and let us know your postal address.

Note: You must include the subject line, otherwise it might get lost in the pile. We’ll pick a winner at random from the correct entries, and see what’s in the prize basket. The competition closes at midnight on 31 October.

The Pigroot is not as well-known as SH3.

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What AT delivered a really smart result.

Thank you team team forfor helping helping usus onon this this project.” team for helping us onproject.” this project.”

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NEW RI GS ON THE R OAD

DOUBLE BUGIN’ IT! OPERATOR: Vowles Transport, Morrinsville ENGINE: Cummins X-15 15-litre 459kW (615hp) 2779Nm (2050lb/ft) TRANSMISSION: Eaton Roadranger RTLO20918 18-speed manual REAR AXLES: Meritor 46-160

Kenworth K200 8x4 rigid – 2.3m Aerodyne sleeper Kenworth K200 6x4 tractor – 2.8m Aerodyne sleeper

axles, diff locks (dual cross on 8x4 and single on 6x4) REAR SUSPENSION: KW Airglide 460 BRAKES: Disc. ABS, EBSS BODY/TRAILER: Roadmaster FEATURES/EXTRAS: Stainless-steel drop visor, step infills. Painted toolboxes and

fuel tanks. Alcoa Dura-Bright alloy wheels. Eagle twin air intakes. Additional marker lights – two rows of five roof lights. Fridge, TV, DVD player PAINT: Ex-factory SIGNAGE: Caulfield Signs & Graphics, Rotorua OPERATION: General freight,

nationwide DRIVER: Truck and trailer – John Dalkie Tractor semi – Dallas Anderson SALES: Adam McIntosh

Scania S730 B8x4NZ rigid – sleeper OPERATOR: Waikawa Haulage, Napier ENGINE: Scania DC16 16-litre Euro-6 545kW (730hp) 3500Nm (2581lb/ft) TRANSMISSION: Scania Opticruise GRSO926R 12-speed AMT with 4100D retarder REAR AXLES: Scania RB735 hub-reduction rear end FRONT SUSPENSION: Scania spring REAR SUSPENSION: Scania air suspension BRAKES: Disc. ABS, EBS BODY/TRAILER: Patchell – Shorts truck set-up and new 5-axle multi-bay trailer FEATURES/EXTRAS: Offset steer wheels, SI-Lodec scales. Big Foot CTI. LED Light bar. Broshmik stoneguard and visor. Alcoa Dura-Bright alloy wheels.

V8 leather trim. Fridge PAINT: Haddock Spray Painters 2003, Whakatane SIGNAGE: Caulfield Signs & Graphics, Rotorua OPERATION: Log cartage, Hawke’s Bay DRIVER: Storm Harrison SALES: Callan Short

w w w. t r g r o u p. c o . n z 74 New Zealand Trucking

October 2022

Photo: Andrew Geddes.

TANE MAHUTA

BREAKING THE MOULD… AGAIN OPERATOR: Musson Logistics, Rangiora ENGINE: Cummins X-15 15-litre 459kW (615hp) 2508Nm (2050lb/ft) TRANSMISSION: Eaton UltraShift 20E318B MXP 18-speed AMT REAR AXLES: Meritor 46-160 SUSPENSION: Front: Lead axle parabolic spring and shock absorber. Second steer, ECAS

International ProStar R8 8x4 rigid

Rear: IROS BRAKES: Drum. ABS, EBS BODY/TRAILER: Mills-Tui bin-wood body and 5-axle trailer Palfinger log crane with cabin FEATURES/EXTRAS: Ali Arc log-spec alloy bumper. Premium interior trim PAINT: Ex-factory SIGNAGE: Truck Signs, Tauranga

OPERATION: Bin-wood and round wood, Canterbury and upper South Island DRIVER: Graeme McCartin SALES: Shaun Jury

TWO TIMES THE SPACE DAF XF530 Euro-6 6x4 tractor – Super Space Cab sleeper OPERATOR: Mainfreight – GMC Haulage, Christchurch ENGINE: PACCAR MX-13 Euro-6 13-litre 390kW (530hp) 2600Nm (1920lb/ft) TRANSMISSION: ZF TraXon 16TX2640OD 16-speed AMT REAR AXLES: PACCAR SR1360T with dual diff locks REAR SUSPENSION: PACCAR 8-bag ECAS with shock absorbers and stabiliser bars BRAKES: Disc. ABS, EBS SAFETY: ACC, FCW, AEBS, LDW, VSC, ASR, HSA, RW, FUPS RIGGING: HDPS Engineering, Christchurch FEATURES/EXTRAS: LightFix light bars all around.

Custom installed side skirts. Stainless-steel rear guards. Additional marker lights. Leather interior PAINT: Ex-factory SIGNAGE: Action Signs, Christchurch OPERATION: Mainfreight 2Home, North Island SALES: Chris Gray

Free phone: 0800 50 40 50 New Zealand Trucking

October 2022

75

NEW RI GS ON THE R OAD

EXEMPLARY, MY DEAR WATSON OPERATOR: Sherlock Contracting, Rotorua ENGINE: Volvo D16G 16-litre 522kW (700hp) 3150Nm (2323lb/ft) TRANSMISSION: I-Shift ATO3112F 12-speed plus crawler gear FRONT AXLE: 7.5 tonnes REAR AXLES: RTH2610B hubreduction rear bogie

REAR SUSPENSION: Volvo RADD GR – 23 tonnes BRAKES: Disc. ABS, EBS SAFETY: ACC, FCA, LCS, LDW, DA, Passenger corner blind spot camera BODY/TRAILER: MTC Equipment, transport FEATURES/EXTRAS: Alloy cab roof bar, twin beacons, air horns. Factory blind-

THE LEGACY LIVES ON OPERATOR: PGF Transport, Benneydale ENGINE: Cummins X-15 15-litre 459kW (615hp) 2779Nm (2050lb/ft) TRANSMISSION: Eaton Roadranger RTLO20918B 18-speed manual REAR AXLES: Meritor 46-160 with full cross locks REAR SUSPENSION: Kenworth Airglide 460

Volvo FH16 700 6x4 tractor – sleeper

Kenworth T610 8x4 rigid

BRAKES: Disc. ABS, EBSS BODY/TRAILER: Transport and General Transport Trailers truck body and 7.7m 5-axle trailer FEATURES/EXTRAS: Big Foot CTI. Groeneveld auto greaser.

Twin stacks with stencilled shields.

Stainless-steel drop visor, bug deflector, second steer guards. Chromed mirrors,

w w w. t r g r o u p. c o . n z 76 New Zealand Trucking

October 2022

spot camera, navigation, load indicator, fridge PAINT: Ex-factory OPERATION: Transporting Sherlock plant and equipment, Bay of Plenty and Waikato SALES: Todd Martin

alloy bumper. Alcoa Dura-Brights.

Painted fuel tank with stainless-steel trim.

PACCAR GPS PAINT: Ex-factory SIGNAGE: Fleet Image, Te Awamutu. Cab stripes and fuel, DEF, and hydraulic tanks OPERATION: Bulk products, North Island DRIVER: Steve Torr SALES: Adam McIntosh

International ProStar R8 LGHD 8x4 rigid

LOGGING LIKE A PRO! OPERATOR: DT King, Invercargill ENGINE: Cummins X-15 15-litre Euro-5 410kW (550hp) 2508Nm (1850lb/ft) TRANSMISSION: Eaton UltraShift 20E318B MXP 18-speed AMT REAR AXLES: Meritor 46-160 REAR SUSPENSION: International

IROS-HD BRAKES: Drum. ABS, EBS BODY/TRAILER: MTE Invercargill.

Headboard and log gear on truck and 5-axle multi-log trailer FEATURES/EXTRAS: Alloy log-spec bumper. Twin vertical stacks. Nine-inch

ALL BULK AND BRAWN OPERATOR: Allbulk Haulage, Gisborne ENGINE: MAN D38 15.2-litre 478kW (640hp) 3000Nm (2213lb/ft) TRANSMISSION: MAN TipMatic 12 30 OD with retarder 35 REAR AXLES: MAN Hyoid HYD-1370/ HY-1350 differential lock

offset front rims PAINT: Ex-factory SIGNAGE: Sign Solutions, Invercargill OPERATION: Log haulage, Southland DRIVER: Chris Wills SALES: Shaun Jury

MAN TGX 26.640 6x4 rigid – XLX Elite sleeper

REAR SUSPENSION: MAN 8-bag ECAS BRAKES: Disc. ABS, EBS SAFETY: ACC, EBA2, LG, ASR, ESP BODY/TRAILER: Morgan Engineering body and 5-axle alloy trailer FEATURES/EXTRAS: Colour-coded sun visor. Polished alloy wheels

PAINT: Ex-factory SIGNAGE: Marty’s Signs, Mt Maunganui OPERATION: Bulk aggregates, Gisborne region DRIVER: Harry Mills SALES: Mark Ellerington

Free phone: 0800 50 40 50 New Zealand Trucking

October 2022

77

NEW RI GS O N THE ROAD SAFETY KEY – ACRONYM BY ALPHA AB – Air Bag ABS – Antilock Braking System ACC – Adaptive Cruise Control ABA – Active Brake Assist AEB – Autonomous/Active Emergency Braking AEBS – Advanced Emergency Braking System ALA – Active Lane Assist ASR – Anti Slip Regulation / Auto Slip Regulation ATC – Automatic Traction Control

BAS – Brake Assistant System BB – Brake Blending CAB – Curtain Air Bag DA – Driver Alert DAS – Driver Assistant Support DM – Driver Monitoring DS – Driver Support DTC – Drag Torque Control EBA - Emergency Brake Assist EBS – Electronic Braking System EBSS – Electronic Braking Safety System

ESC – Electronic Stability Control FCA – Forward Collision Avoidance FCW – Forward Collision Warning FUPS – Front Under-run Protection System HH – Hill hold HSA – Hill Start Assist LCS – Lane Change Support LDW – Lane Departure Warning LG – Lane Guard LKA – Lane Keep Assist PCS – Pre Collision System

PD – Pedestrian Detection RB – Reversing Buzzer RW – Reverse Warning SAB – Side Air Bag SC – Speed Control SD – Side Detection SGA – Side Guard Assist TEBS – Traffic Eye Braking System TECC – Traffic Eye Cruise Control TPM – Tyre Pressure Monitoring VSC – Vehicle Stability Control

w w w. t r g r o u p. c o . n z

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By Shannon Williams

THE

LAST RODEO TRUCKING LEGEND REX HOLDEN With a career in the transport sector spanning 45 years, Rex Holden of Central Pine Transport has seen it all – trucks getting faster, trucks getting flashier, fuel prices skyrocketing, rules and regulations getting tighter, and roads getting worse.

F

1022-01-T

ollowing in his father’s footsteps (his dad started trucking in Taumarunui back in 1946), Rex entered the transport sector working for Joe Skudder in Hastings in 1977. A year later as an 18 year old, Rex got his licence – and the rest, as they say, is history.

After a few years with Joe, Rex moved on to Emmerson Transport.

“There were only three of us back then,” he says. “I was the first driver.”

Come 1983, Rex moved up to Rotorua where he started with Central Plateau Transport on a 1964 Kenworth – one of the first Kenworths in New Zealand.

Rex then went onto Freightways, and ended up an owner driver of a 320 Mack, the first truck he had ever bought.

After stints with K&S Traders, TD Haulage and various others, Rex made the big call to head over the Tasman in 2007.

“I wanted to have a crack at

1:02 PM

the road train work,” he says. “I was only meant to be there a year. I ended up there for nine. I went into partnership with a guy there and between us we had three Volvos, four Kenworths and nine trailers.”

After getting crook in 2015, Rex felt it was time to head home.

After getting back into the logs for a couple years, he set up Central Pine Transport with a brand new Hino – the name and colours in honour of his relationship he had with Jim Middleton for his time at Central Plateau Transport.

“When I came to Rotorua in 1983, I had only been with CPT for a week or so when my mum died, so I was going back to Hastings and Jim gave me $200 and a job when I got back. I never forgot that.”

The relationships Rex has made in the sector are the most important part of trucking, he says.

“I’ve kept in touch with all my bosses, the people who have employed me, and most of the people I’ve employed, we’ve ended up in long-term friendships,” Rex says.

“It’s all about the people you meet. I’ve got mates that I’ve known since I was a young kid, and sadly now a few are passing on, but it is a brotherhood.

Even now with the younger guys, I think they still have that brotherhood, but it’s a different game now.”

Rex had the Hino for five years before he went on to buy the Scania, aptly named The Last

“ I R E A L LY E N J OY E D D E A L I N G W I TH K R A F T. N OTH I N G WAS A PROBLEM, TH E Y MA D E TH E P R O C E SS E N J OYA B L E ”

Rodeo, that he’s currently sitting in, custom built by Kraft.

“Kraft is customer focused.

They really put a lot of effort and pride into their workmanship.

The gear sells itself, which says a lot,” says Rex. “The Last Rodeo – everyone put a lot of effort into it. It’s a smart-looking piece of gear.

Normally I don’t really care about that stuff – a truck is just a tool for the job – but it’s quite an impressive unit.

“Their finish is impeccable, and it is already proving itself, carrying some serious loads in some serious conditions.”

What’s next for Rex? “Well I’m 62 now, so I’ll drive this for a couple years and then I’ll put a driver on it,” he says.

“It’ll have to be a good driver, mind you.”

Kraft Engineering Limited: 5 Wikaraka Street, Ngongotaha, Rotorua | Phone: +64 77 357 4597 | Colin King: Ph: 027 539 0075 | E: colin@kraftgroup.co.nz | James Worsnop: Ph: 027 572 2642 | E: james@kraftgroup.co.nz

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, and

New Zealand has a rich heritage of body and trailer building,

new technology and advanced design features are showing up almost every month.

included on these pages, send a photo, features, and the

and we’re proud to showcase some recent examples of Kiwi craftsmanship every month. If you want a body or trailer manufacturer’s name to trailers@nztrucking.co.nz

Unmistakable

Features: TTE stainless-steel-sheathed deck, extruded alloy coaming rails and pneumatically controlled Ringfeder coupling and effluent tanks. Crates by Nationwide Stock Crates. Total Transport Engineers LP

Spectacular is the only way to describe this ‘Horse with No Name’. The brand-new Scania 8x4, the pride of Dargaville-based Frood Haulage, comes equipped with Total Transport Engineers LP deck and crates by Nationwide Stock Crates.

This red-and-black machine has all the modcons, with TTE stainless-steel-sheathed deck, extruded alloy coaming rails, and pneumatically controlled Ringfeder coupling and effluent tanks.

The toolbox has a stainless-steel door, and there’s a house for man’s best friend (with a stainless-steel front door). An onboard handwash tank allows all involved in the operation to keep their paws clean.

Gift that keeps on giving It’s that thing they do – popping a jolly old five-axle skele trailer on a log-deck 8x4 that’s equipped with a crane. ‘They’ can only be Mills-Tui from ‘Rotovegas’, and this slick set-up has been built for Harmer Earthmoving in Methven.

Sitting on a Scania R650 equipped with Bigfoot central tyre inflation, the flatdeck has twist locks, alloy drop-in stanchions, alloy dunnage, a dunnage rack and stanchion storage. Load placement comes courtesy of a Palfinger Q170 log crane.

Out back is a five-axle Mills-Tui F175 multi-bolster trailer built on the company’s low-rider chassis. It also has twist locks because the sliding bolsters slide back enough for a 20’ ISO container to fit right in.

Lighting across the whole unit comes via Peterson.

Features: Hendrickson AANT230 discbrake axles with Knorr EBS. Mills-Tui

KIWI 16/17

Contact Jim Doidge 021 190 1002, Hayden Jones 0800 549 489, Danial Vincent 021 222 4144 | sales@kiwityres.co.nz |

0800 KIWI TYRES (0800 549 489) | kiwitrucktyres.nz 80 New Zealand Trucking

October 2022

KIWI 175

On the MOVE Northern Linehaul out of Taupo has recently commissioned the first of four Roadmaster six-axle B-train sets for the operation.

The units are built on Roadmaster’s fabricated HT I-beam steel chassis rails with Hendrickson undercarriage, including the game-changing TIREMAAX inflation management. That’s no paid-for plug either – we’re yet to meet an operator who hasn’t told us that.

Dunnage racks and toolboxes, all fronted with stainless-steel doors, crisp black guards with stainless-steel infills, Peterson lights and Weigh-Cheetah alloy wheels sing a symphony of cool.

Add the Straitline Canvas single-skin dryfreight curtains branded in Move livery, and there’s no question whatsoever that these trailers immensely benefit the image of every company implicated in their build.

Features: Hendrickson 19.5 discbrake axles and ZMD air suspension.

Roadmaster WABCO EBS brakes.

Just dropped in!

Features: Three-piece alloy sides, grain door, Tarpaulin Makers Tarps. Mills-Tui

Ahh, the drop or lift-out sider (depending on your region of birth). Is there a finer truck configuration if you’re talking rural cool? Brooker Farming of Aylesbury near Christchurch has just taken delivery of a new DAF with a 7m Mills-Tui deck and three-piece (per side) drop-side set-up.

A grain door increases utility further, and the Tarpaulin Makers cover ensures that when the product in the back needs to run, it does.

The Peterson lighting turns night into day.

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

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KIWI 175

265/70R19.5

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

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

New Zealand Trucking

October 2022 81

A TALE OF TWO HOMES

W

e just had to have a Bulldog in the Bridgestone New Zealand Trucking Media Million Mile Club this month. After all, that’s exactly why the brand has the reputation it has... dogged service. This is a cool truck to have also, a tip-of-hat to Australia where the Bulldogs are born and where it first plied the highways, and it’s home today, under the long white cloud in the keep of a true devotee of the great marque.

Matt Sherlock’s CAT4T is a big, burly

Super-Liner running under his Helenbak Haulage banner in Palmerston North.

Originally owned by Eades Transport out of Adelaide, the Super-dog, resplendent with high-rise sleeper and many other accoutrements, was a commemorative truck for that company, spending the bulk of its life on the Aussie east coast between Sydney and Brisbane.

A 2015 model packing the big bore 511kW (685hp) motor and mDRIVE trans, Matt bought the Super-Liner late last

year and puts it to use on an as-needed basis… which pretty much means weekly.

Living testimony the old ‘run ’em hard and hot’ adage holds true, the big Bulldog had clocked up the 1.7 million kilometres when Matt brought it home, having averaged 95kph, with the fuel use zeroed out at 1,000,000 litres.

“All I’ve done is replace the turbo,” he says.

CALLING ALL TRUCKS ON OR OVER 1 MILLION MILES (1.6M KILOMETRES)

82 New Zealand Trucking October 2022

BORN TO PERFORM

I

n its first year on the road it clocked up 360,000km.

How’s that for a great performance? J Swap Contractors’ fleet No.918 (Rego. BLW538), a 2003 Kenworth T404S (short hood) has proven its worth for 19 years and nearly three times around the clock. It still holds the company record for the

most kilometres travelled in one year.

After completing 18 years of hard work, the J Swap workshop in Matamata rewarded No.918 with a full refurbishment.

Sporting a Caterpillar C15 with 500hp under the hood and running an Eaton Roadranger 18-speed manual

gearbox with Meritor diffs, the unit is kitted out with Transfleet Trailers bulk bins.

No.918 has spent its life carting stock feed, grain, aggregate and other bulk commodities around most of the North Island. Current driver Shona Tipene-Merrin is following in her father Nigel Tipene’s footsteps, who was

behind the wheel of this truck for many years.

With an impressive 2,797,870km under its belt, this KW can hold its ‘head high’, more than demonstrating its value within the company.

A truly superb effort by J Swap Contractors’ fleet No.918. Photo: Grant Schofield.

Bridgestone and N ew Zealand Trucking Media want to recognise trucks that have achieved this milestone in the act of carrying the nation on their backs. Each month, up to eight trucks will be selected, and will feature in the magazine, as well as on our social media.

Those selected will get a Million Mile Club cap and badge for the truck.

Terms • Only owners can submit • NZ trucks only • Supply chain may affect the timing of cap and badge arrival

TO JOIN, EMAIL: editor@nztrucking.co.nz • Quality image of the truck • Name of owner and driver • Basic spec (model, engine, trans, rear end) • Contact details

New Zealand Trucking October 2022 83

WHEELS AT WANAKA MEMORIES We bring you a pictorial memory from the phenomenal 2021 Wheels at Wanaka event – to keep the embers well and truly lit on the run-up to 2023!

From left: Pace Contractors, New Plymouth; Prymtyme Tustees John Matangi, Levin; Lovett Agri Leasing, Tinwald; Bevan Satherley, Napier; Mark Amer, Christchurch; Bryan Menefy, Palmerston North; Jolly Earthworks, Wanaka; Hiab & Transport Solutions – Chris Hancox, Christchurch; Andy Davie Contracting, Timaru; Central Machine Hire, Wanaka; Jones Contacting, Queenstown (end three). NOTE: Ownership list is as it was at the time.

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17/11/2020 12:35:42 pm

MINI BIG RIGS

1

3

2

4

By Carl Kirkbeck

TIME FOR A

TRAILER We have a completed tractor unit, so we can now turn our attention to the business end of the combination and build the matching trailer.

T

his month, we are looking to hook up a load to our freshly completed model of Ken Kirk’s Pilkington Glass Mercedes-Benz (New Zealand Trucking, July 2022). The Merc towed three trailers while with Pilkington Glass, a small tandem-axle flatdeck semi, a larger 43-foot flat-deck tri-axle semi, and1/50 KW C509 & Drake 2x8 & “Centurion” at $649.50 Spe then a purpose-built five-axle

New Zealand’s largest stockist of quality models and vintage toys 1/50 KW C509 & 7x8 Drake steerable trailer combo Doolan’s Heavy Haulage $849.50 (free postage in NZ)

Competition

5

6

flat-deck B-train set. The images we have of the unit show the tri-axle semi. Staying with our theme of keeping it as simple and out of the box as much as possible, we will attempt to replicate this option.

Unfortunately, there is no offthe-shelf flat-deck tri-axle semi kitset available, so we must find something that is close C509 & Drake 2x8 & 5x8enough Low Loader and scratch-build the n” at $649.50 Special Combo Deal! rest. Looking at the wide array of options available from Italeri, the Timber Trailer (kit No.3868) is the best option. This will give us the tri-axle set we are after, and the long straight chassis rails upon which to scratchbuild our deck.

Opening the box, we are

presented with the quality of manufacture that we expect from Italeri, with all the components neatly extruded and packed. Following the instructions, we are straight into stages 1 and 2 of the build.

Follow the instructions step-by-step up to the point of fitting the axles. Stop here and do not fit the wheels just yet, as we will need to apply a coat of paint to the completed chassis and flat deck first.

By completing these two stages, we now have the chassis at a point where we can start the scratch-building next month of the flat deck, headache rack and toolboxes.

1) Our subject matter: the Mercedes-Benz and tri-axle flat-deck semi-trailer of Pilkington Automotive Glass, driven

by Ken Kirk, circa 1992.

2) Our donor kitset, the Timber Trailer No.3868.

The quality of Italeri kitsets is evident on opening the box. 3) The easiest way to construct the chassis is to lay one side rail on its side and glue all the cross members into place on that side first. Once these have set in place but are still malleable, glue and fit the opposite side rail to the crossmembers. 4) Lay the completed chassis on its back on a flat surface, allowing time to set solid. It is important at this stage to ensure that the chassis is straight, square and true – any deflection now will become locked in place and distort the placement of the axles, causing the wheels to lift off the ground. It will also greatly assist with the forthcoming flatdeck scratch-building phase coming up next.

5) Next, it is time to fit the axles, air tanks and landing legs, once again paying attention to the accurate fitment of the axles into the locating tabs. 6) It is critical to have all three axles correctly aligned with the chassis. Keeping the chassis as straight, square and true as possible throughout these stages will significantly increase the ease of scratch-building the flat deck for us in the next phase.

WIN WITH ITALERI! We want you to build a model truck and trailer combination from any household items you can find. It can be utterly imaginary in regard to the amount of axles and wheels – get creative. There will also be extra points for the signwriting and colour schemes.

To keep it fair, we will run three classes, up to seven years, seven to 14 years and 14 years and over.

Our great friends at Italeri have sponsored an Italeri model truck kitset for each of the three class winners, and we’ll also send each a New Zealand Trucking cap!

The competition closes at midday on Monday, 7 November, with the winners contacted immediately and the results printed in the December 2022/January 2023 issue.

There will also be a qualified mystery judge, and the judges’ decision will be final.

So don’t hold back – get into it now. Send photos of your build and build information to carl@nztrucking.co.nz.

Happy creating.

CRAIG’S TRUCKIN’ SNAPSHOT

This Scania R620, a recent addition to the TW Transport fleet in Christchurch, was captured tipping off saw dust at an industrial site in the Garden City.

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LITTLE TRUCKERS’ CLUB

MACK COLOURING-IN COMPETITION

HI, LITTLE TRUCKERS! Hi there, Little Truckers.

MTD and Mack Trucks celebrate 50 years in New Zealand this month.

Celebrations are being held at Manfield Park, Feilding, over Labour Weekend. It will be an awesome opportunity to see some very cool trucks not seen on the road every day. I will be there wandering around with my family on Saturday. If you are going, maybe I will see you. If you spot me, come and say hi!

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

To help Mack celebrate its birthday, MTD has given us a very cool multi-function Bruder Toy Mack Truck to give away. If you would like to be in with a chance to win, all you need to do is colour in the Mack FR and either take a photo of your artwork or scan it, then email it to me at rochelle@nztrucking.co.nz, along with your full name, age and address. Entries need to be in by 10 November 2022.

This Mack truck is a little bit special as it was the first Mack to arrive in New Zealand, and it resides in Palmerston North. It is a 1972 Mack FR785RST. Here is the original photo so you can see the colours. Feel free to copy it or make it your own. I am excited to see what you all do.

Go grab your colouring pens and/or pencils and get creative.

New Zealand’s very first Mack.

SCANIA DRAWING COMPETITION 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

90 New Zealand Trucking

Don’t forget we have a couple more Scania colouring packs to give away. If you would like to be in with a chance to win, all you need to do is draw or make a truck. Take a photo of your art and send it to me at rochelle@nztrucking. co.nz along with your name, age and location. Start drawing, Little Truckers!

ALSO Check out the MODEL COMPETITION on page 86 for your chance to win an Italeri model truck kitset.

October 2022

Joke of thetcmh’sontrth uck make?

es a wi What sound do Broom broom!

Name: Age:

ake?

NORTHERN CLASSIC COMMERCIALS LONG LAP

TMC TRAILERS TRUCKING INDUSTRY SHOW

9 to 22 October Various locations, North Island Contact: Fiona Reid, 06 329 6009, reidstransport@xtra.co.nz

25 to 26 November Canterbury Agricultural Park Contact: truckingindustryshow.co.nz, info@nztruckingassn.co.nz

MOTOR TRUCK DISTRIBUTORS 50-YEAR CELEBRATION

WHEELS AT WAIRARAPA

22 October Manawatu Car Club Octoberfest Manfield Park, Feilding Contact: 50years.macktrucks.co.nz

NZ SUPER TRUCK RACING 22/23 October – Manfield 28/29 January 2023 – Timaru 18/19 March 2023 – Invercargill Contact: Facebook, NZ Super Truck Racing

4 to 6 February 2023 Clareville Showgrounds Contact: wheelsatwairarapa.co.nz, wheelsatwairarapa@waiaps.org.nz

WHEELS AT WANAKA 8 and 9 April 2023 Three Parks, Wanaka Contact: wheelsatwanaka.co.nz All scheduled events may be subject to change depending on weather conditions etc. Please check the websites 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.

92 New Zealand Trucking

October 2022

STEVEN #40 ZAMMIT SRZ Racing est. 1991 Sydney, Australia TRUCK

Kenworth T401

ENGINE

Big Cam Cummins 14L

AWARDS

1AU Super Truck 2009, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2018 Australian Team Championship Winner 2014 & 2016 - shared with Shane Gray NZ & Brett Dalglish AUS 1NZ Super Truck 2012, 2013 1st Overall A Class Truck (NZ) 2012, 2013

ABOUT

I'm a diesel mechanic running a family owned and operated company(Direct Power Steering). I have only ever wanted to race trucks from an early age of 5yrs old and started in 2002 aged 17 guided by Rob Russell one of the team owners. I developed the love to go fast, I 6 tone very quickly. Racing trucks is in my blood and not only have I gained lots of memories on and off the track but have made life long friends along the way.

From 2012 2013 driving SRZ and 2014 Driving Team Quality KW, I have competed in 9 NZ race weekend and we have won 7 in a row. Goals for the 2022/23 NZ truck season is to KICK SOME KIWI ARSE!

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96 Moving Metrics 100 Bandag celebrates 60 years 102 Product Profile – MAX-SAFE 104 Product Profile – NAPA 106 Trucking Industry Summit 108 Vipal’s Knowing your Tyres 110 Carriers’ Corner 112 Truckers’ Health 114 Health & Safety 116 Legal Lines 118 NZ Trucking Association 120 Transporting New Zealand 122 The Last Mile BROUG HT T O Y OU BY

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.

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

Summary of heavy trucks and trailers first registered in August 2022.

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 heavytruck classes and one heavy-trailer class.

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

A goods vehicle is a motor vehicle that: (a) i s 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.

Vehicle class

Description

NB

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

(mediumgoods vehicle)

NC (heavy-goods vehicle)

TD (heavy trailer)

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

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

A table of all vehicle classes is 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/vehicle-dimensionsand-mass-2016-as-at-1-August-2019.pdf Note: Vehicle classes are not the same as RUC vehicle types or driver licence classes.

96 New Zealand Trucking

October 2021

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

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

First registration of NC class vehicles year on year to date, by major manufacturer

First registration of TD class heavy trailers year on year to date, by major manufacturer

New Zealand Trucking

October 2021 97

This information is put together from metrics provided by the NZ Transport Agency.

New Zealand Trucking acknowledges the assistance of the media team at NZTA in providing the data.

ROAD USER CHARGES Total value and distance of road user charges purchased between 01 January 2018 and 31 August 2022 by purchase year

RUC purchase for August 2022, all RUC types In August 2022 there were 48 different types of RUC purchased for a total distance of 334,292,027km at a value of $58,786,919.

A description of RUC vehicle types is available at https://www.nzta.govt. nz/vehicles/licensing-rego/road-usercharges/ruc-rates-and-transactionfees/ 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)

Value of purchases

1 Jan 2018 – 31 Dec 2018

15,736,558,458

$1,875,364,397

1 Jan 2019 – 31 Dec 2019

16,166,434,103

$2,041,939,272

1 Jan 2020 – 31 Dec 2020

15,421,400,378

$2,069,615,049

1 Jan 2021 – 31 Dec 2021

16,204,803,262

$2,249,341,814

1 Jan 2022 – 31 August 2022

12,270,840,644

$1,245,657,030

RUC distance purchased for RUC type 1 vehicles

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 Dec 2021

11,427,917,860

952,326,488

1 Jan 2022 – 31 August 2022

8,901,746,497

1,112,718,312

RUC type 1 vehicles are powered vehicles with two axles (except type 2 or type 299 vehicles. Type 299 are mobile cranes). Cars, vans and light trucks that use fuel not taxed at source (i.e. diesel fuel) are generally in this RUC type.

RUC purchases all RUC types

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October 2021

The top eight RUC type purchases, other than type 1 in descending order RUC Type Description 2

Powered vehicles with one single-tyred spaced axle and one twin-tyred spaced axle

6

Powered vehicles with three axles, (except type 308, 309, 311, 399 or 413 vehicles)

43

Unpowered vehicles with four axles

14

Powered vehicles with four axles (except type 408, 414 or type 499 vehicles)

951

Unpowered vehicles with five or more axles

H94

Towing vehicle that is part of an overweight combination vehicle consisting of a type 14 RUC vehicle towing a type 951 RUC vehicle with a permit weight of not more than 50,000kg

33

Unpowered vehicles with three twin-tyred, or single large-tyred, close axles (except vehicle type 939)

408

Towing vehicles with four axles that are part of a combination vehicle with a total of at least eight axles

Average monthly RUC purchases by year (all RUC types)

RUC distance purchased year to date for selected RUC types

RUC purchases August 2022 for selected types

By comparing distance purchased year to date with the same period for previous years, trends in changes to activity by RUC type vehicles will become clear.

New Zealand Trucking

October 2021 99

INDUSTRY UPDATE

BANDAG CELEBRATES 60 YEARS IN AUSTRALIA In September, Bandag celebrated its diamond jubilee in Australia. As the country’s sole producer of pre-cured retread materials, it was an occasion to remember.

B

andag is known for costeffective, cold-cured retreads.

The process was pioneered by Bernhard Nowak, the Bandag name being an anagram of his initials (BAN), his hometown of Darmstadt (D) and the German equivalent of ‘Pty Ltd’ (AG).

The formation of Bandag in Australia was driven by Bill McNichol, the founder of Queensland Tyre Retreading.

Having read about the Bandag process in a trade magazine, he sent his eldest son Gordon to Germany to scope it out.

With the global rights also sold in 1961 to American businessman Roy Carver, McNichol then flew to Muscatine, Iowa, to secure the Australian rights to the process – and following a revision to the agreement, the right to manufacture in Australia.

McNichol imported a complete retreading plant and installed it at his former hot-cap retreading shop at Coronation Drive, Brisbane. Demand saw Bandag expand rapidly with a second plant in Sydney, and then Melbourne and Cairns soon after.

In 1970, the decision was made to relocate and consolidate Bandag’s production efforts into one site, and 9ha was purchased in the Wacol Industrial

Estate – where Bandag remains.

Several eras of ownership followed McNichol’s death in 1970, with Blue Metal Industries taking over in 1976 and Boral in 1982. Bridgestone’s association with Bandag commenced in 2000 when Bridgestone Australia purchased the Australian and New Zealand operations from Boral, with Bridgestone Corporation then acquiring Bandag Inc globally in 2007.

According to Heath Barclay, Bridgestone Australia and New Zealand managing director, the 60-year milestone celebrates this history and points to the continued relevance retreads play.

“This milestone celebrates the achievements of every current and former employee of Bandag in Australia and their commitment to producing quality pre-cured tread and retreads, continuous process improvement, and supporting trucking and bus fleets in reducing their environmental impact through more sustainable product choices.

“This commitment is the reason why Bandag continues as a strong Australian manufacturer today.”

Bandag’s Wacol plant is responsible

Heath Barclay, Bridgestone Australia and New Zealand managing director (left), and Greg Nielsen, Bridgestone’s general manager of retread business.

100 New Zealand Trucking

October 2022

for producing pre-cured tread for the eight company-run Bandag retread factories and 30 licensed dealers throughout Australia and New Zealand.

It is also the primary producer for the Asia Pacific region, exporting to Thailand, Fiji, China, South Korea and Indonesia, and a key part of the global supply chain for other Bridgestone regions, including America and Europe.

“As sustainability becomes an increasingly more important factor for fleet operators, we’re proud to be able to offer products through Bandag that promote material circularity through casing reuse, waste reduction and the use of fewer resources and materials.

Further to this, Bandag is also supporting local jobs and industry,” Barclay adds.

The Bandag tread plant in Wacol is the last remaining tread production facility in Australia, following the cessation of car tyre manufacturing back in 2009. Bandag regards this as a testament to the sustainable nature of retreading.

Says Greg Nielsen, Bridgestone’s general manager of Retread Business: “Our success is down to our emphasis on quality and adoption of state-of-theart equipment, ensuring we remain a viable solution for the local market. By focusing on quality, we’ve been able to stay competitive through ensuring that locally made Bandag retreads are comparable to the quality of new Bridgestone tyres.”

The Bandag tread plant in Wacol is Australia’s last remaining tread production facility.

Safety alert:

Cardan shaft park brake failures

Waka Kotahi has issued a safety alert because there have been several incidents where the Cardan shaft park brake has failed and the vehicle has rolled away.

The key points of the alert are: • Due to the design of the brake, the vehicle may roll away when parked on a slope, especially if the load is changing and/or the vehicle is parked on an unstable surface.

Cardan shaft park brake assembly

• Avoid parking on slopes or use wheel chocks when parked on a slope and when the vehicle is jacked.

• You need to understand the brake mechanism and its limitations.

• Vehicle owners are responsible for ensuring the brake is serviced regularly to maintain performance.

Cardan shaft park brakes (also known as driveshaft park brakes) are fitted to many small to medium trucks and a small number of passenger service vehicles. They are designed to hold the vehicle and its load but have limitations which can lead to the vehicle rolling away.

Changes to CoF requirements The current certificate of fitness stall test does not adequately assess parking brake performance. It will be replaced by a more rigorous roller brake machine test from 1 October 2022 for most classes of vehicle with Cardan shaft park brakes.

Read our safety alert: nzta.govt.nz/safetyalert-cardan-shaft-park-brake-failures Read more information about Cardan shaft park brakes at: nzta.govt.nz/cardan-shaft-park-brakes

PRODUCT PROFILE

PREVENTING

ROLLAWAYS

There are many risks involved when operating a heavy vehicle. For example, drivers not correctly applying park brakes can lead to serious accidents and even fatalities.

I

n July, Waka Kotahi New Zealand Transport Agency issued a safety alert for owners and drivers of vehicles fitted with cardan shaft park brakes.

Cardan shaft park brakes, also known as driveshaft park brakes, are fitted to many small to medium trucks and a small number of passenger service vehicles. The safety alert aims to raise awareness of the limitations of the brake mechanism, including the potential risks of parking on slopes.

The MAX-SAFE Anti-Rollaway Brake System is designed to alleviate these faults, applying the park brake if the driver doesn’t fully apply it when they leave the cab.

AutoKraft Electrical and Diesel in Palmerston North is the New Zealand importer and distributor for the MAXSAFE Anti-Rollaway Brake System.

“It is critical that the Cardan shaft brake is applied to the correct level and maintained correctly,” says director Matt Rowe. “If it’s not applied with the

102 New Zealand Trucking

October 2022

correct force, the truck can roll away.

“The MAX-SAFE Anti-Rollaway system monitors the application of that. If it is not applied to the correct level, a pre-warning will sound when the driver’s door is opened. If the driver then gets up off the seat, it will fully apply the brake to the correct force.”

Rollaways According to Waka Kotahi, four incidents involving cardan shaft brakes in New Zealand have resulted in fatalities over the past decade, including brakes fitted to road vehicles as well as off-road equipment.

AutoKraft managing director Gary Puklowski says that while most larger companies are aware of the risks of rollaways, the reported amount is only about 3%.

“Potential rollaways are likely to be an unconfirmed weekly occurrence for any major fleet operator that has a substantial amount of vehicles on the road.

“It’s not something as an operator

that you are going to report to your manager,” he says. “So the amount of reported cases is very low, and generally, the reported cases are the ones that end in some form of accident or damage to that vehicle or property.

“MAX-SAFE gives peace of mind – it’s a backup system so that if there is an error by the operator, it provides protection for that vehicle as well as the public.”

Puklowski says proactive companies are seeing the risks and using the MAXSAFE product to mitigate them. “Any company that has had a rollaway, and there have been quite a few, they see it as a great product. The ones that are having problems generally jump on it,” he says.

“Unfortunately, some companies don’t give it the time of day or know about the solution, and it will be one of those situations where you’ll end up being the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff.”

Fleet rollouts The team at AutoKraft works with transport operators to install the MAXSAFE Anti-Rollaway system across their fleets. The solution works across all types of park-braking systems, including mechanical, pneumatic, and electronic.

“After speaking with the customer, we get an idea of what their fleet is like, what their requirements are, and from there we organise a trial system into a nominated vehicle,” says Puklowski. “After the trial, if the customer decides they want to continue with the solution, we’ll start

69 69 P 693 69 P P Palm P P w Pho P w ww w

The MAX-SAFE AntiRollaway solution automatically raises the handbrake if the driver leaves the seat without applying it to the correct force.

installing it into the rest of their fleet.”

Several leading transport companies across a range of industries – from garbage collection to concrete – have incorporated the MAX-SAFE system into their fleets with the help of AutoKraft.

“We have some customers who are fitting the MAX-SAFE Anti-Rollaway

solution to all of their new procurement vehicles, so all new vehicles coming into their fleet are receiving the product,” says Rowe.

“And then we have others who are putting it into their most high-risk vehicles first in a total fleet rollout.”

To learn more about the MAX-SAFE Anti-Rollaway Brake System, contact Matt Rowe at AutoKraft Electrical and Diesel on 027 208 2799.

PROVIDES AN ACTIVE SAFETY SOLUTION FOR CARDAN-SHAFT AND AIR PARK BRAKE SYSTEMS.

ANTI-ROLLAWAY ANTI-ROLLAWAY ANTI-ROLLAWAY ANTI-ROLLAWAY ANTI-ROLLAWAY ANTI-ROLLAWAY BRAKE SYSTEM BRAKE BRAKE SYSTEM SYSTEM BRAKE SYSTEM BRAKE BRAKE SYSTEM SYSTEM Providing for a safer Providing Providing for for a safer Providing for aaasafer Providing Providing for for asafer safer safer work environment work work environment environment work environment work work environment environment 693 Tremaine Avenue, 693 693Tremaine Tremaine Avenue, Avenue, Palmerston North, 693 Tremaine Avenue, 693 693 Tremaine Tremaine Avenue, Avenue, Palmerston Palmerston North, North, Phone: 06-359 0102 Palmerston North, Palmerston Palmerston North, North, Phone: Phone:06-359 06-3590102 0102 www.autokraft4x4.co.nz Phone: 06-359 0102 Phone: Phone: 06-359 06-359 0102 0102 www.autokraft4x4.co.nz www.autokraft4x4.co.nz www.autokraft4x4.co.nz www.autokraft4x4.co.nz www.autokraft4x4.co.nz

PRODUCT PROFILE

LET’S GET IT STARTED Safe and easy-to-use battery jump-starters are essential to a transport operator’s toolbox. For heavy vehicles, jump-starters can often be huge, with a heavy weight to match. But the team at NOCO has released its most powerful lithium jump-starters yet.

T

he GB251 is a commercialgrade, portable jump-starter and can jump-start a dead battery in seconds, ensuring vehicles are safely back on the road as soon as possible.

Designed for the largest, most challenging engine starts with more than 3000A of starting power, the NOCO Boost Max lithium GB251 24V jump-starter works for most commercial vehicle types.

It works on petrol and diesel engines up to 32 litres, including trucks, motorhomes, coaches, buses, mining, agricultural, construction and vocational equipment – whether six,

eight, 12 or 16 cylinder.

The GB251 is equipped with an integrated voltmeter to help pinpoint battery issues. The voltmeter doubles as a 60-second countdown timer, which shuts off the pack after 60 seconds to help preserve the internal battery charge.

The no-melt and smoke-free clamps are reinforced with all-metal construction versus generic all-plastic construction. It is designed to transfer maximum current flow with minimal power loss and has silicone insulation for heat stability and flexibility in cold weather applications. Compared with the generic battery clamps, NOCO

battery clamps are designed with care to prevent injury.

NOCO’s lithium technology makes the GB251 24V jump-starter compact and lightweight, weighing just over 6kg.

It’s not just a lithium jump-starter either but also a portable power bank for recharging smartphones, tablets and other USB devices. With more than 242 watt-hours of lithium power, the GB251 can provide endless hours of operation and recharge devices multiple times before needing a recharge.

The GB251 is a useful tool for daily use and emergencies. It is equipped with a 600-lumen LED flashlight with various brightness modes, SOS and an emergency strobe – handy to have as a roadside tool.

NOCO jump-starters are available at NAPA Auto Parts. Contact your local team with the know-how to find the right jump-starter to suit your business on 0800 800 073 or visit napa.co.nz

NOCO’s range of portable jump-starters is available for most applications.

GB251 Features • Spark-proof: Spark-proof technology and reverse polarity protection allows the GB251 to connect safely to any battery.

• 80X: Up to 80 jump-starts on a single charge.

• USB: Recharge personal devices on the go, such as smartphones and tablets.

• 10X LED: The GB251 has an ultra-bright 500-lumen LED flashlight with seven light models, including SOS and an emergency strobe.

104 New Zealand Trucking

A driving force in the automotive aftermarket

N

APA Auto Parts is one of New Zealand’s largest aftermarket parts suppliers, bringing together the strength and expertise of Ashdown-Ingram, Appco Automotive Supplies, Bindon’s and Sulco under one roof.

Twenty branches have been opened since June 2020 – the first branch was opened in New Plymouth in June 2020, with the latest opening in August in Pukekohe.

NAPA Pukekohe is in the old Autostop Pukekohe building at 150 Manukau Road. This was the final branch to come under the NAPA masthead from the heritage businesses.

Further growth is happening in the South Island with the successful NAPA Invercargill

October 2022

celebrating two years and moving to bigger premises to service a growing customer base.

On 5 September, the doors opened at 106 Yarrow Street. The larger premises mean more stock is available on the shelves, and more than 5000 new stock items will be added across a number of product groups.

This is just one investment in the NAPA brand, alongside the recent Wiri GPC distribution centre. The new 29,000m2 centre can hold 140,000 product lines to support the 120-branch network of GPC’s Repco and NAPA retail brands and its Motion Industries New Zealand industrial-parts supply business.

“We’re just getting started...” says Tony Walker, GM of operations and sales at NAPA.

Open

VALID 1ST SEPTEMBER - 16TH OCTOBER 2022

SIMPLY MEET THE MINIMUM SPENDS ON SELECTED BRANDS AND GO INTO THE DRAW TO WIN • Every $500 spend on selected brands puts you in the draw to win • Every $250 spend on selected brands via PROLink puts you in the draw to win Prizes: • 2x NAPA arcade games with built-in fridge and loaded with over 50 games • 20x pairs of NAPA bar stools

Open to NAPA Auto Parts Trade Account customers operating within New Zealand only. Promotion starts 12:01am on 1 September 2022 and ends at 11:59pm on 16 October 2022. Every $500 spend on selected brands during the promotional period gives 1 entry into the draw. Every $250 spend via PROLink on selected brands during the promotional period gives one entry into the draw.

Spend is cumulative across invoices. Images for illustration purposes only and may differ slightly. The selected brands are: Kelpro, Black Tips, Drivetech4x4, FloKool, NAPA, OEX, ProSelect, Fuelmiser, Great Whites, RDA Brakes, Thunder and Tru-Flow. Promotion excludes Cash Sale account purchases. Customers must have an up-to-date Trade Account to claim their prize.

Prize includes x2 NAPA Branded Arcade Games and x20 pairs of NAPA bar stools.

Trucking Industry Summit 2022 In the September, October, and November 2022 issues, we summarise the key addresses from the Trucking Industry Summit 2022 held in Christchurch at the end of July. This month, the ministry, regulator, and police.

Harriet Shelton Ministry of Transport MoT manager supply chain

The industry needs to get itself into a good position to handle change and to prepare for the challenges ahead, says Shelton.

“It was only 100 years ago that horses were the main way we moved freight around New Zealand. Major system shifts have happened before – and we do adjust. But the pace of change seems to have accelerated – it just seems to be faster than ever.”

Shelton says New Zealand is at risk of losing its clean green image if it doesn’t make changes to emissions targets.

“We all know that heavy vehicles contribute a lot of emissions. We’ve seen the statistics,” she says. “But New Zealand is always going to be dependent on road transport. Even if we shift a little bit more by rail and coastal shipping, transport will still be the main way we move freight. And so the task of decarbonising that road freight is a really, really important one.”

Shelton says the government’s goal of reducing transport emissions is happening while freight tasks are increasing.

“We need to accelerate the uptake of zero-emission heavy vehicles. We need to reduce the emissions in our existing fleets by improving vehicle efficiencies and operational efficiencies,” she says.

“Ninety-three percent of our freight in New Zealand is carried by road.

That’s unlikely to change very much.

We need to prepare the system to face the substantial changes that are going to occur.

“This poses a lot of challenges for the sector, but also provides a lot of

106 New Zealand Trucking

October 2022

opportunities for the system to do better and to work smarter.”

Tara MacMillan

Waka Kotahi Road to Zero portfolio manager Waka Kotahi has a decade-long strategy to reduce death and serious injuries by 40% by 2030 against 2018 levels.

MacMillan says only an 11% reduction has been achieved so far, so much more work is needed. Key interventions include Alcolocks, safety cameras, police enforcement, with speed and infrastructure two significant components.

She says where infrastructure is not an option or funding isn’t available, lowering speeds is necessary to make roads safer. “We recognise that changes like dropping down to 80kph is a lot for New Zealanders to wrap their heads around.

“We know that profit equals efficiency. We know that supply-chain costs have increased. But we also know that evidence tells us lower speeds reduce wear and tear on your trucks, and that is a noticeable benefit of those lower speeds.

“However, we also know that you want to see our state highways supplying as much of the network at 100kph as much as possible. We are taking a pragmatic approach.”

MacMillan says to get New Zealanders and industries behind the Road to Zero strategy, Waka Kotahi must get the pace of change right.

“And that is why you might see greater use of 90kph where it makes sense and on interim bases only over the next few years,” she says. However, if other solutions cannot be rolled out, the speed limit will stay or be lowered even further.

MacMillan says there is also a focus on making fleets safer, with the industry working to remove one- and two-star vehicles – which 30% of deaths are attributed to – out of fleets.

Technology also plays a big part in the Road to Zero strategy. “We know a lot of you are already on the journey of

adopting telematics. We think that will absolutely encourage safe behaviours,” she says. “It is a focus of our three-year action plan that kicks off next year.”

Fatigue management is also a hot topic, according to MacMillan. “We need drivers to make the right choices.

Reviews are underway, and a lot of work has been done to see what is in place over in Australia, the settings they’ve deployed, the learnings they’ve had, so we can apply that to New Zealand.”

Neil Walker

Waka Kotahi National maintenance and operations Climate change, emissions targets, population growth and an increase in road freight over the past decade have thrown a few headaches Waka Kotahi’s way.

Walker says one of Waka Kotahi’s key priorities is preparing for New Zealand’s weather events that damage roads and infrastructure. “We’ve had a pretty tough past six months with the intensity of our weather events. We are refreshing our longer-term planning because we know there’s a lot ahead that we’re going to have to think about how we respond, and the first of those is climate change,” he says.

“We’ve got a reasonably resilient highway, but it is getting harder and harder to actually manage, and the events are getting harder to respond to due to the intensity of them.”

Walker says the government’s emissions-reductions plan is also a priority. “We have to figure out what that actually means for the way that we undertake our work in the network. It’s a 30-year strategy, but it’s got to look at what we need to do tomorrow right out to that 30-year period.”

Population growth is also an area of focus. “You have to design your transport network with how you’re building your communities and how people want to live,” says Walker.

He says the growth in road freight over the last decade has been a surprise.

From left: Tara MacMillan, Bruce O’Brien, James Smith, Neil Walker, Brett Aldridge and Harriet Shelton.

“For the period between 2009 to 2017, there was a 32% increase of freight movement on the network. The prediction is that it is probably going to be an increase of 40% over the next 30 years. That extra impact on the network does have a large impact on our payments and servicing.”

Walker says improving freight connections is one of the government’s strategic priorities. “The state highways make up about 15% of the New Zealand roading network, but 70% of freight is carried on those roads.”

Brett Aldridge Waka Kotahi COO regulatory services

Aldridge says as the land transport regulator, Waka Kotahi is shifting its focus from prescriptive compliance to a safety system with a view on outcomes. Transport businesses are operating in increasingly complex environments while trying to remain safe and profitable while providing an essential service to New Zealand.

“And while safety is paramount, there are always going to be things that we can’t tolerate – where we, as a regulator, have got to step in,” he says.

“We are seeking to better understand the pressures that are out there.”

Between 2020 and 2021, there were 5072 deaths and serious injuries on New Zealand roads. Of these, 540 were transport service operator-related.

“Driver factors contribute to most of the deaths and serious injuries in the past few years. And we know many of those can be prevented. The good news is vehicle failure appears to be relatively low.”

Aldridge says driving under the influence of alcohol and other substances is way over representative in these statistics. “Alcohol is by far their largest offending factor among commercial drivers, followed by speed and distraction through use of mobile phones.

“We know that fatigue is a huge issue and that it’s underreported. We know the reactions of a fatigued driver are comparable to one under the influence of alcohol.”

Aldridge says one of the Road to Zero goals is to ensure businesses treat road safety as a critical health and safety issue. “There are significant opportunities to encourage businesses throughout the supply chain to take ownership of road safety issues, to strengthen the regulatory framework, commercial transport services, and to promote the uptake of safer vehicles.

“We know that industries that are healthy and thriving have much more ability to focus on increasing safety and dealing with these issues. But we know businesses and sectors are struggling to survive. The ability to make balanced decisions becomes more difficult when survival is at stake. And we know the commercial transport sector gets squeezed and squeezed between suppliers and consumers.”

He says the organisations and industry groups cannot do it in silos.

“I can only see this happening through partnership, through participation, trust, understanding collaboration, openness, and honesty, and through using industry bodies that represent you and working together with those in commercial transport.”

Bruce O’Brien New Zealand Police Assistant commissioner

As part of its role in the Road to Zero strategy, the New Zealand Police is focusing on a prevention, intervention, and enforcement framework, says O’Brien.

The police is working with community providers on prevention to ensure young people are getting the right licenses and training. “We’re working with industry because we know there’s a lot of skills that sit within the industry around training people to the right standards,” he says.

Regarding intervention, O’Brien says: “We know that there are some operators who won’t comply. We work with them through our commercial vehicle safety teams to ensure that we’ve got the best opportunity to change some of those behaviours.”

That leads to enforcement. “When we don’t see those behaviour changes, that’s when enforcement comes in.

These bad behaviours can have tragic and fatal consequences, so we need to ensure that there’s a deterrent factor in there as well.”

O’Brien says it isn’t only high-risk drivers who are represented in injury and death roading statistics. The focus for the police centres on the contributing factors to death and serious injury, including restraints, impairment with drugs and alcohol, distraction – primarily cellphones – and speed.

He says poor behaviour of other drivers around heavy motor vehicles is one of the biggest complaints from the sector, especially on motorways around Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch.

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October 2022 107

KNOWING YOUR RETREADS

TYRE HANDLING AND

SAFETY TIPS Vipal Rubber presents valuable information to help you get the most from your tyres. This month – the handling and storage of tyres.

Mounting and dismounting truck tyres •P lace axle stands under the truck to ensure operational safety for removing the wheel assemblies.

• Release the tyre air pressure before removing the wheels from the vehicle.

• Use a water-based lubricant on the tyre beads for mounting/dismounting.

• Remove moisture from inside the tyre before mounting it. This will avoid rim and valve damage.

• Drain the moisture from the air-compressor receiver regularly.

• Use a certified ‘safety cage’ to inflate the tyre.

• The workplace area must have rubber tyre-changing mats.

• Match the same type of tyre and running tread pattern across the front axle.

• Match the same type of tyre and drive tread pattern across the rear axles.

• Do not exceed 2mm of height between dual wheels – the tallest tyre must be mounted on the outside position.

• The wheel must be clean and free of oxidation, cracks and deformities, which can cause damage to the tyre.

• If the fleet requires you to mark or brand the side wall

of the tyre, we recommend the mark or brand be placed adjacent to the valve during the fitting process. This process facilitates quicker and easier inspection and tracking of tyres.

• Where possible, every wheel should be balanced after the tyre-fitting process is complete.

Storing tyres •K eep tyres away from electric motors, battery chargers, and welding equipment.

• Store tyres in a sheltered area that is dry and wellventilated, and away from direct sunlight.

• The storage area should be paved and clean, with no grease, oil, solvents or petrol.

• Keep a fire extinguisher nearby.

• Where possible, store tyres vertically on a rack or shelf.

If not possible, do not stack more than eight truck tyres on top of each other. Turn the tyres over every three months.

• Remember to rotate the tyres in your stock holdings – first in, first out.

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For your closest dealer: sales@powerretreads.co.nz powerretreads.co.nz

1) Use a certified ‘safety cage’ to inflate the tyre. 2) Use a water-based lubricant on the tyre beads for mounting/dismounting. 3) Match the same type of tyre and tread pattern on individual axles.

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CARRIERS’ CORNER

LIKE TYING OUR OWN SHOELACES TOGETHER New Zealand needs to focus on pulling the right levers to ensure its sustained growth.

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roductivity, efficiency, global competitiveness and a smarter economy are terms we repeatedly hear from the powers-that-be regarding where the nation needs to be focused and where businesses’ energies should be applied.

Such proclamations and intent are challenging to interpret when the physical delivery from those same organisations delivers a gamut of baffling outcomes, suggesting one’s left and right hands are somewhat unconnected. There seems an utter disconnect that someone somewhere must pay for the discounts and benefits being amply apportioned out.

One only needs to look at the Clean Car rebate programme introduced in April, a ‘discount’ of up to $8625 off the retail price of a new electric or lowemission vehicle, the ‘discount’ paid in lumpsum back to the purchaser, irrespective of the equity they hold in the new vehicle. While one can take whatever position they choose on the overall environmental benefits of EVs and low-emission vehicles, it is undeniable that someone is paying that ‘discount’ in the first instance. (Hint: it’s anyone paying taxes.)

Furthermore, that same vehicle you and I have just subsidised is also currently exempt from contributing to the construction and maintenance of our roading network and looks unlikely to do so until at least 2025. Long story short, the costs of building and maintaining the roads is inevitably to be borne by a smaller proportion of road users in the immediate future, compounding the already immense strain faced by the relevant budgets on our rapidly deteriorating and dilapidated network of state highways.

We’ve all just witnessed another ‘delightful’ example of things going slightly haywire in the form of the

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distribution of the government’s costof-living payment to those earning less than $70,000 per annum. Few can argue with the intent of this payment.

But one can’t help but be completely miffed by the blatant nonchalance shown towards the circa 30,000 payments made to those ineligible for it – i.e. those residing offshore, deceased, or otherwise not compliant with the criteria set, details one might expect the nation’s tax-gatherers to have a slight inkling of. Putting it into a business context, it would surely be the equivalent of writing a cheque to a creditor who’d never done any work for you, nor ever invoiced you, and better yet, without expectation of repayment.

And doing it 30,000 times!

But the bit that really irks is that the

to be looking for new ways to spend their ample piles of cash while at the same time contributing to the nation’s productivity aspirations. Once again, our sector will spin the wheels through a typical day, but with the bonus of some additional cost thrown into the mix – happy days!

What of the self-employed doctor, dentist, or tradesperson who’s suddenly lost a day’s productivity, or the individual awaiting an operation that may no longer go ahead on that date and further prevent their return to a ‘productive’ occupation? Do we not have some other mechanisms at our disposal to commemorate one’s life without burdening the country with a further $450 million? Perhaps we could’ve done it on a Sunday, or is that

Once again, our sector will spin the wheels through a typical day, but with the bonus of some additional cost thrown into the mix – happy days! bill of $3,500,100 (based on 30,000 potential non-compliant recipients) for this ‘minor’ clerical error again falls back to the very people who the payment was there to support!

The recent passing of Queen Elizabeth II has highlighted another example of this shoelace-tying mentality we seem intent on mastering, with the shotgun announcement of a public holiday to honour her passing. With a mere two-week notice, businesses of all shapes and sizes are again assumed

too simple?

One might view this month’s rant as just that – and something scribed by a real grinch. I’m not. I’m merely realistic about the balance required if we’re to truly grow our productivity as a country and think fairly about the levers we pull to achieve this.

The current model of robbing Peter, Paul and Mary to pay Buck, Sharon and Baz isn’t the solution and only leaves everyone with a bigger knot to untie.

Do you agree with Blake or want to engage with his comment? He’d love to hear from you.

Contact Blake at: blake@transcon.co.nz.

Blake Noble is managing director of Transcon, a 15-truck general freight operation based in Warkworth, north of Auckland.

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TRUCKERS’ HEALTH

ABOUT ACCOUNTABILITY Sticking to a healthy and active lifestyle can be extremely hard. But not feeling comfortable in your skin or feeling lousy because you’re not looking after yourself is also hard. Choose your hard.

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n mornings when it’s freezing, I feel too tired after work, or I have some other reason/ excuse as to why I can’t do my workout – I think about the hard I want to choose. No matter how many mantras you adopt or pep talks you have with yourself, it’s sometimes difficult to push beyond your excuses and mindset – that is where accountability strategies can come into play.

There are many ways that you can hold yourself accountable, such as: Create an exercise schedule.

On a Sunday night, sit down for 10 minutes and plan out your week with the exercise sessions you would like to complete. For example, Monday 30-minute walk, Wednesday rugby training, Thursday weights class, Friday morning bike ride. Bonus points if you can allocate a time slot for the exercise sessions.

The more detail and parameters you give yourself, the more likely you will stick with them. This is because you are going into the week already thinking about what you’d like to do each day, rather than winging it and potentially missing sessions because of ill-planning or ‘life’ getting in the way.

Set yourself a goal. It can be helpful to have a long-term plan to strive towards each day, week, month or even year. But what can keep you focused on your big scary goal are those baby steps or stepping-stone goals along the way.

For example, if your goal is to run 10km without stopping, you could set weekly goals for how far you want to run each week comfortably and up it slightly every week, even by just a couple of hundred metres. It adds up and feels great to tick things off and feel a sense of accomplishment while you’re on your journey towards your big goal.

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Join a gym, sports team or group fitness class. If I’ve committed to going to a class, a sports training/game or any group fitness activity, I am less likely to bail on it as I would be not only letting myself down but also the group/ team/coach/instructor.

If you know that soccer training is Tuesday at 6pm, you would normally show up because your team is counting on you. Whereas, if you’d planned to go for a run on Tuesday at 6pm, that is a much easier commitment to skip because no one else would mind if you didn’t do it or show up.

Have a workout buddy. If you’re not into group training, that’s okay. Instead, you could invest the help of someone you trust and feel comfortable with to keep you accountable. For example, you could ask a friend to go for walks with you on weekday mornings.

It’s the same deal with joining a group activity – you feel obliged to show up because you don’t want to let your friend/workout buddy down. It generally works well because when you don’t feel like going to your workout session, your workout buddy will feel like going and vice versa.

Reward yourself. Make a deal with yourself to treat yourself for completing so many sessions each week. Be honest about whether you feel you’ve achieved your goal allowing you your treat for your hard work.

Personally, I don’t opt for food as a treat as this can be counter-productive to overall health goals. I would rather be more creative and allow myself a treat like having a massage, going to the movies, etc.

Keep a diary of what exercise you’ve completed. Sometimes you can over- or underestimate how much activity you’ve done over the week.

Your diary doesn’t have to be an intricate description of every exercise

you’ve done, but it should allow you to see what you did throughout the week and not just estimate that you did roughly three or four sessions.

It can also help to keep the week balanced in terms of the types of training sessions. For example, you may have done weights sessions five days and choose to incorporate a bit of cardio to balance things out.

Invest in a smartwatch or fitness belt. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy, but an app can sometimes help keep you accountable.

I find my smartwatch helpful because it tracks my steps, which shows me how active I’ve been throughout the day aside from my purposeful exercise sessions. It also breaks down exercise sessions in terms of heart rate and intensity etc, which can help show you how hard you’ve worked and where you may need to improve.

Overall, finding a person or system to help keep you motivated, disciplined and on track is important. Different strategies work for different people, so try some of these options and see which ones are realistic and helpful.

Laura Hulley Personal trainer

“Are you done with that crazy looking thing?”

HEALTH AND SAFETY

INDUCTION: DO YOU KNOW WHAT TO DO? The induction, often the first touch point in health and safety, sets the scene for your organisation’s culture. But it must be done correctly to be effective.

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here are different types of induction: health and safety, site, client, familiarisation with plant and equipment and so on. Each of these must be covered with workers as required. An office worker will need much less information than a worker using heavy machinery, vehicles or moving from site to site. It might help to break the induction down into areas: health and safety, equipment, locations, customers, etc.

An induction is whatever training needs to be done for a worker to carry out a job healthily and safely. It helps if you combine some of it with your organisational requirements, so the job is also done well.

At the very least, workers should be given some level of understanding about health and safety to identify hazards and risks. They should know what to do in an accident/incident or emergency. You should also tell them about their rights and responsibilities as workers and how to participate in health and safety.

How should we deliver an induction?

If we give people too much information in one go, we will only overload them, so it is better to break it into appropriate bite-sized pieces. Use 23031 DANI1 TRUCKING AD.pdf

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pictures and demonstrations as much as possible. Provide refresher training so the worker has a good chance of remembering the information; and so that you know they have understood it.

The important thing is to work at a pace that suits the worker. Do not hand out masses of documentation (hard or soft copy) and tell them to read it and sign to say they understand. That’s no different than agreeing to the terms and conditions of when you upgrade your smartphone.

Documenting induction and training is essential. A questionnaire is great, but the worker and trainer must sign off on any training.

When should you induct a worker?

Workers should be given a health and

How can Safewise help?

We work with organisations that need more health and safety knowledge or more time to address these issues than they have in-house. We also have free Covid-19 resources available.

For more information, check the website, safewise.co.nz

safety induction on their first day on the job. It’s a good idea for refresher training to take place two or three weeks later. Workers receive a lot of information in the first few days of work, and people only remember around 20% of what they are told.

Your induction sets the scene for your organisation’s culture. Take time with the induction – make sure the worker feels comfortable to ask questions, provide supervision and a buddy for as long as necessary, and create a safe and productive workplace.

Tracey Murphy is the owner and director of Safewise Ltd, a health and safety consultancy. She has more than 12 years’ experience working with organisations from many different industries.

Tracey holds a diploma in health and safety management and a graduate diploma in occupational safety and health. She is a professional 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: (09) 985 5609 mobile: 021 326 642 danielle.beston@trafficlawyerauckland.co.nz Referral Through Solicitor Required and Arranged

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LEGAL LINES

CHANGES TO THE

FAIR TRADING ACT New provisions came into effect on 16 August 2022, strengthening protections for businesses and consumers and tackling unfair business practices in New Zealand.

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ew provisions came into effect on 16 August 2022 strengthening protections for businesses and consumers and tacking unfair business practices in New Zealand. It is important that businesses and consumers understand the implications of these changes and in particular I want to focus on the prohibition on unconscionable conduct and unfair terms in small trade contracts.

All businesses should review and adjust their current practices to ensure that they are compliant with the new laws and steer clear of any conduct which may breach these new requirements.

Unconscionable conduct is prohibited Unconscionable conduct is business activity that substantially departs from New Zealand’s generally accepted or expected standards of business conduct, such as commercial conduct that goes against good conscience. Commerce Commission Chair Anna Rawlings explains “good business conscience is measured against the values and norms of modern society and expectation of what is right and proper according to those values and norms”. She goes on to say that “those values and norms can include acting honestly, fairly and without deception or unfair pressure.

This is conduct that is more than just hard commercial bargaining, but is clearly unfair and unreasonable”.

Unconscionable conduct can take many forms. It can include a contract between a business and a customer, but it does not have to. It can also involve one off activity or a system or pattern of conduct. No individual needs to be identified as disadvantaged or likely to be disadvantaged by the conduct for it to be considered unconscionable.

However, this may often be the case with the most serious cases of unconscionable conduct.

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The courts may consider a range of factors in assessing whether certain conduct is unconscionable and some of these factors are listed in section 8(1) of the Fair Trading Act 1986 (“the Act). In summary, these are: • the relative bargaining strength of the parties • the extent to which the parties acted in good faith • whether the affected party could protect their own interests given their characteristics and circumstances • whether the affected party could understand documents provided to them • the use of undue influence, pressure or unfair tactics by the business • whether the business made clear to the affected person anything the business might do that would adversely impact the affected person’s interests or create a risk for them.

The court can also have regard to any other circumstances that indicate that the business has acted unconscionably, in addition to the factors listed. If parties have entered into a contract, the courts may also consider matters under section 8(2) of the Act such as the circumstances at the time the contract was entered into, including whether there was an opportunity for effective negotiation and legal advice, whether the terms of the contract are reasonable and the conduct of the business after the contract was entered into.

Unfair terms in small trade contracts Businesses are also protected from unfair terms in standard form small trade contracts. These are ‘take it or leave it’ contracts such as many power or phone service agreements. Many standard commercial supply agreements may also be standard form small trade agreements. Terms in these types of contracts can be assessed as unfair under the new law if, at the time the contract is entered into, it forms part of a trading relationship with an actual or expected annual value of less than $250,000.

Remember that contracts are legal agreements and it’s important that you read the whole contract through carefully. Check that you understand what is expected of you and of the other business or party to the contract. Ask questions and seek independent advice if there is anything you are unsure about or do not understand. If a business gives you an explanation of terms or words in a contract, ask for the explanation to be put in writing and attach it to the contract.

The Commerce Commission can take action to stop a business from using an unfair term in a standard form consumer contract by applying to the Court for a declaration that it is unfair. If the Court declares that a term is unfair, it is an offence under the Act to apply, enforce or rely on it and the business could be prosecuted.

Generally a term in a standard form consumer contract will be unfair if it puts customers at an unfair disadvantage by creating a significant imbalance in the rights and obligations between the business and its customers, if it would cause detriment to the customer if it was relied upon, and if it is not reasonably necessary to protect the legitimate interests of the business.

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 a lawyer.

Danielle Beston is a barrister who specialises in transport law.

Contact her on (09) 379 7658 or 021 326 642

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KNOWLEDGE-SHARING AND PROBLEM-SOLVING FOR THE TRANSPORT INDUSTRY

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TA (New Zealand Trucking Association Inc) and NRC (National Road Carriers Inc), in partnership with AutoSense Ltd, Fatigue Management Fit for Duty Ltd, and Success Formula Ltd (NTI), will be working together to create a set of tools, information, resources, and training material tailored to the needs of the transport industry. The HARMfree Transport programme will focus on improving workplace safety and worker wellbeing and includes the implementation of consistent processes, procedures and policies that can be adopted as a roadmap to achieving a risk-free workplace.

The programme has been created through crucial seed funding from the ACC Workplace Injury Prevention Grant. The grant programme funds organisations or individuals striving to solve workplace health and safety challenges. The grants are designed as a vehicle through which impactful health and safety improvements can be created. The initiative will include implementing a good work design approach to address psychosocial risks of workers in the transport sector to reduce injury.

As an industry organisation, we are closely connected to our members.

Their health and safety and HR staff often tell us it’s difficult to connect across different companies. They want to learn and solve issues to create a safer workplace for their team, but it can be really challenging connecting with their peers to seek support, discuss issues and create better processes.

Creating a programme that is industry-designed, industry-led, and

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supported by the ACC, means that the programme will be designed in a language and style practical for transport. With the right systems and processes in place, workplace health and safety incidents will reduce, creating a safer work environment that results in fewer ACC claims.

HARMfree Transport will not only deliver the tools and resources required to create safer workplaces, but also provide an environment that encourages health and safety and HR experts to reach out for support from their counterparts across the transport industry. The programme is being created to foster the sharing

mission to create safer workplaces.

While the funding is for three years, this programme will be built to be sustainable way past that time. Until now, there has not been a platform or opportunity to connect, collaborate or share knowledge. A new programme manager has been appointed and will begin mid-October. While much planning needs to happen, we expect to pilot the programme in 2023. There is huge opportunity for industry suppliers to partner with the programme, especially if they have solutions. If you or your company would like to be involved in the planning, piloting or if you have key people you would like

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Creating a programme that is industry-designed, industryled, and supported by the ACC, means that the programme will be designed in a language and style practical for transport. of knowledge via an industry network that discusses and solves problems to create a safer workplace environment.

It follows on that a key outcome of a safer workplace environment is safer roads. With stronger health and safety systems and processes in place, hazards and risks are reduced and this flows through to safer drivers and trucks travelling on our roads.

The programme is ‘human-centred’ in its design. It’s about creating a sea of transport-industry safety champions who share their knowledge of what works and what doesn’t on a shared

to connect with other champions who are doing similar roles, please let us know. We plan to hold our first focus group meeting in Christchurch, followed by one in Auckland later in the year.

It’s been a wonderful journey so far working with the collaborative team of Kelly McLuckie (Success Formula NTI), Rachel Lehen (Fit for Duty), Charles Dawson (Autosense), James Smith (NRC), Justin Tighe-Umbers (NRC), and our team Carol McGeady, Rebecca Dinmore and David Boyce.

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CHANGING THE PERCEPTION OF OUR INDUSTRY

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or far too long, trucking co-owner, Renwick Transport) businesses have suffered in the • Lisa Gibson (customer operation and labour market from a widespread HSSE lead, Z Transport) outdated and negative perception of the road transport industry.

The workshop, run by Kylie Flower Ia Ara Aotearoa Transporting New from Wisdom Learning, focused on Zealand and the Road to success what motivates us to work for change, traineeship scheme are trying to understanding different people’s change this by presenting the modern, perspectives, what we can realistically professional face of road transport and change and how. promoting the growing diversity in the The diversity champions also received industry. a presentation from senior constable Typically, trucking has been a bastion of males but this is changing, and to further attract and recruit talent, we are endeavouring to do more to acknowledge it.

Earlier this year and in partnership with Teletrac Navman and with support from the Australian Trucking Association, we launched the Driving Change Diversity Programme. I am pleased to announce that the first tranche Driving Change Diversity Programme participants attend of diversity champions has been the workshop in Wellington. appointed under the scheme – professional drivers, company managers and business owners who Bryan Ward of the Police Diversity have already engaged in a workshop to and Inclusion Team. He discussed the build the skills to promote diversity within challenges of changing an industry the transport industry and the wider culture, the small steps that led to a big community. change within the police and how our industry can learn from that.

The 11 Driving Change diversity Making our industry appropriately champions are: diverse will take a lot of mahi by a lot • Brianna Wilson (class 5 driver, Philip of people, but I am encouraged by the Wareing Ltd) enthusiasm of our first group of diversity • Sheana Martin (vehicle recovery champions and I look forward to the operator, Parks Garage) impact they will have in their everyday • Mickayla Kerr (CEO, Heagney Bros) roles.

• Jodi McNamara (driver trainer, HW Why do we continue to waste Richardson Group) funding on transport projects that • Chelly Balasbas (HR manager, Allied don’t make sense?

Concrete) News that the government is to spend • Joshua Hart (class 5 driver, Hart more than $100 million on the railway Haulage) wagon maintenance and assembly facility • Marthe Lute (health and safety advisor, at Hillside Workshops in Dunedin, despite Alexander Group) an extremely poor benefit-cost ratio • Hayley Alexander (CEO, Alexander (BCR), is another example of funding Group) going towards projects that are more • Jacqueline Smith (managing director/

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about ideology than practicality.

A recent report leaked to the media has shown the BCR for the redesigned Hillside project is only 0.2. To put this into context, a BCR of 1.0 is basically the break-even point. Such a low BCR indicates that the project doesn’t make sense. At a time when we should be working to manage New Zealand out of a widely acknowledged transport infrastructure crisis, it becomes pretty difficult to defend.

Our two major cities are groaning under the strain of poorly funded and short-sighted metro transport planning. Our state highway network is in a historically poor state of repair. And forecasts are that thanks to various factors, the National Land Transport Fund may be nearly $1 billion short over the next three years.

The Hillside project does not stand alone in a long list of poorly thought-out transport projects that the government has prioritised over basic infrastructure investment.

Transport funding across the board has become incredibly stretched, particularly considering we have 11,000km of state highways and 94,000km of roads to maintain. However, decisions to throw good money after bad on projects that do not make sense and will not make our roads any safer is hard to fathom when we consider the impact that wellmaintained roads have on road safety and the government’s often-stated commitment to Road to Zero. Which is why I think most New Zealanders see Road to Zero as having more to do with anti-road PR than a well-considered strategy to reduce road deaths.

If this government were serious about safety and improving the nation’s transport infrastructure, it would scrap pet projects like the Hillside redevelopment and invest that money back to where it is really needed – on the roads that millions of New Zealanders rely on every day.

Jet Park Hotel, Hamilton Airport 16th - 17th November 2022 The IRTENZ 17th Conference Alternative Power Train – Hydrogen, Electric, Bio fuels, LNG Commercial Vehicle Technology – Evolving technology Pavement and productivity impacts

EVOLUTION TO REVOLUTION EVOLUTION EVOLUTION TO TO REVOLUTION REVOLUTION Four panel sessions of key industry providers and operators will share their views and Keeping ahead of the decarbonisation challenge

Keeping Keeping ahead ahead ofthe the decarbonisation decarbonisation challenge challenge experience on the program of subjects and will discuss how infrastructure frameworks are Jet Park Hotel, keeping Hamilton Airport 17th November 2022 up with facilitating16th these-initiatives

Jet JetPark ParkHotel, Hotel,Hamilton HamiltonAirport Airport16th 16th- -17th 17thNovember November2022 2022 The IRTENZ 17th Conference The TheIRTENZ IRTENZ17th 17thConference Conference Alternative Power Train – Hydrogen, Electric, Bio fuels, LNG Alternative Alternative Power Power Train Train – – Hydrogen, Hydrogen, Electric, Bio Bio fuels, fuels, LNG LNG Commercial Vehicle Technology –Electric, Evolving technology Commercial Commercial Vehicle Vehicle Technology Technology –– Evolving Evolving technology technology Pavement and productivity impacts Pavement Pavement and and productivity productivity impacts impacts Four panel sessions of key industry providers and operators will share their views and Four Four panel panel sessions of of key key industry industry providers providers and and operators operators will will share share their their views views and and experience onsessions the program subjects and will discuss how infrastructure frameworks are experience experience onon the the program program subjects subjects and and will will discuss discuss how how infrastructure infrastructure frameworks frameworks are are keeping up with facilitating these initiatives keeping keeping upup with with facilitating facilitating these these initiatives initiatives

For further information contact Conference organiser: Kate Bucknell - kateb@tesnz.co.nz - 021 917506 or visit www.irtenz.org.nz For further information contact Conference organiser: Kate Bucknell - kateb@tesnz.co.nz - 021 917506 ForFor further further information information contact contact Conference Conference organiser: organiser: or-visit www.irtenz.org.nz Kate Kate Bucknell Bucknell kateb@tesnz.co.nz - kateb@tesnz.co.nz - 021 - 021 917506 917506 or visit or visit www.irtenz.org.nz www.irtenz.org.nz

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THE LAST MILE

WHY DO WE PUT UP WITH THIS?

I

started writing this while sitting in the outpatient waiting room at my local hospital. Sitting there waiting my turn, I couldn’t help but notice that the decor would not be out of place in some of those Soviet-era hospitals we might see on television. There’s only a couple of chairs of the same style or colour, and the lino on the floor clearly shows its age. Numerous notices along the coridor warn you to be careful because of the uneven floor.

I contrast this with what I have seen at many government departments and agency offices. Where do the priorities lie: flash offices for bureaucrats or Soviet-style decor and facilities in our hospitals? I admire the medical staff who tolerate such working conditions; a classic example of dedication to a profession rather than just having a job.

Perhaps some of the revelations of the past months can give us a clue to where government priorities sit. We learnt that the cost of a new 4.5km cycleway alongside SH2 in Wellington has risen to $311 million, up from its 2019 budget of $94 million. This is approximately $69 million a kilometre.

The changing spin around this project is interesting, from being an asset for the people of Wellington to a needed upgrade of the sea wall to protect the Hutt Valley train line that runs along the same stretch of road from the vagaries and weather of Wellington Harbour.

The inevitable images always depict fine sunny weather with lots of people around, as with the accompanying photos

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retrieved from one of the PR documents. Believe it or not, it depicts Wellington Harbour and as most who have visited this place are aware, there are very few days a year when the harbour looks like this.

Another revelation in July was that the organisation set up by the government under its tertiary education reform package is in serious financial strife. In a redacted report from the Tertiary Education Commission to Education Minister Chris Hipkins and released under the Official Information Act, Te Pukenga, the New Zealand Institute of Skills and Technology, forecasts a full-year deficit of $110 million. That’s an increase of $53.5 million on its original forecast. As most of the minister’s handwritten comments are not redacted, his thoughts are clear. One brought a smile to my face. The section of the report discussing staff numbers (FTEs, essentially full-time staff members), says there was an increase of 25 during the March quarter, bringing the number to 146. The minister has written: “A focus on FTE isn’t that helpful. I’m more interested in what these people are achieving than how many of them there are.”

Many of us would most likely like to know the same thing, just what has this organisation achieved? Given the recently reported increase in staff numbers at NZTA, which appears to have the support of Transport Minister Michael Wood, perhaps Wood could pick up on Hipkins’ comments and ask what this increase in staff has achieved. Certainly, they cannot say they have achieved better roads or improved road safety, given the rising road toll.

Finally, we read that the lack of effectiveness of the police’s road-policing actions is one of the reasons behind the increasing road toll. This may be so, but we must remember the increasing pressure on our police, much of which supports government policy. Even the best-trained cop couldn’t police our highways or deal with increasing instances of violent crime while they were guarding a quarantine facility.

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