TIARO truckie Joshua Mark Bullock has filed an $850,000 negligence lawsuit for a rollover that he claims caused him to suffer post-traumatic stress disorder resulting in the loss of his $1406 per week job.
The Daily Mercury reports that according to documents filed in Mackay Supreme Court the 40-year-old claimed he lost his job soon after the crash between mine sites.
Bullock alleges he suffers from “intrusive thoughts and dreams” of the crash, regular panic attacks, suicidal ideation and that his psychiatric prognosis is poor.
He said that he’s “now precluded from work as a truck driver as a direct result of the PTSD”.
His former employer, however, Dirt Diesel and Dust Pty
Ltd, trading as Queensland Bulk Haulage, has fired back, alleging that Bullock’s employment was terminated because he refused to take a drug test and that he had been driving too fast which was the cause of the crash.
Bullock had been driving between Ernest Henry and Mount Colin mines when the incident occurred on September 12, 2019 – “as the truck approached a crest on a sharp corner of an unsealed road, namely Mount Colin Access Rd, its brakes failed”.
“The truck started to pick up speed and partially drove up a rock wall to the side of the road way before rolling,” court documents alleged.
Bullock alleges that the brake line of the truck failed due to it being struck by an object, such
as a rock, and disconnecting the brake lines push and twist air fittings as a result.
In court documents sighted by the Daily Mercury, the 40-year-old claimed he com-
pleted a pre-start check of “the truck that revealed no problems/issues”.
“Given the brakes of the truck have been in working order up until very shortly before
the incident, the object must had struck the brake line as the truck travelled along Mount Colin Access Rd,” court documents read.
Bullock claimed the brake line would not have failed if an object struck it had it been fitted with fail safe fittings.
Queensland Bulk Haulage, in its defence, denied the brakes failed before the truck rolled or that an object struck the brake line “because there is an absence of any evidence” to support this claim.
“The material contributor to the incident was (Mr Bullock’s) failure to drive the truck at the speed he knew to have been required to control the operation of the truck through the section of road where the incident occurred,” Queensland Bulk Haulage’s defence claim stated.
AFTER two years of fighting for truckies’ rights at the Gatton hook-ups, Wes Walker is reluctantly pulling the pin.
The disability pensioner said he simply can’t afford the cost of the fuel required to keep up his daily cleaning regime of the two portaloos that he campaigned so tirelessly to get.
“It is sad news for the truck
drivers,” said Walker who now fears the toilets will be removed by the Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR).
“I don’t want to let the good truck drivers down, but I’ve got to look at this financially.
“It’s costing me about $100 a week to drive out there and back.”
Aside from the GoFundMe
campaign organised by Big Rigs and few donations from truckies, Walker says he hasn’t had a scrap of financial support.
The only transport company he wanted to thank was Lindsay Transport which juggled delivery schedules so a female truckie could appear alongside him in the story that A Current Affair broadcast at the begin-
ning of his long fight for basic facilities in 2021.
“I’m devastated,” an emotional Walker added.
“They’ve got no one fighting for them these poor drivers, and companies don’t really give a shit about them unless those wheels are going round and round.”
Walker says he’ll never forget
the day a tearful female truckie for Don Watson Transport ran up to him and gave him a hug soon after the two portable toilets arrived in August.
“She was so happy that she didn’t have to squat in front of other people. That made me tear up.“I don’t deserve that –it’s the drivers that deserve to be looked after.”
TRANSPORT for NSW (TfNSW) is installing a number of machine learning traffic counting and classifying cameras across the state.
Images of heavy vehicles are taken by the cameras, which then classify the type of vehicle in transit and the type of cargo being transported.
“This heavy vehicle traffic information is helping Transport for NSW shape the future of freight, to better understand freight movements, improve road and rail safety, and enable more efficient
deliveries,” said the freight branch of TfNSW.
“The cameras are not used for enforcement or monitoring people or private vehicles.”
Truckies can expect to see machine learning traffic counting cameras installed at the following locations:
• Cockfighters Bridge, Wollombi Brook
• Thomas Mitchell Dr, Muswellbrook
• Kamilaroi Hwy/Waverley Road Railway Crossing, Werris Creek
• Curlewis Railway Crossing.
According to the fact sheet on the cameras’ webpage, there is a radar sensor and camera on the unit that takes a picture of the heavy vehicles when certain criteria are met.
After the picture is taken, artificial intelligence within the unit can tell the difference between different types of heavy vehicles, for example, a container carrying heavy vehicle, B-double or semi-trailer.
The units are also able to track changes in load. If a shipping container truck entered a location carrying one
container and left with two containers the platform contains a record of this change. Aside from the above locations, TfNSW says the cameras can also be found at:
• Sheahan Bridge (northbound only), Gundagai
• Foreshore Road, Port Botany, Sydney
• Hexham Bridge (South Bound only), Newcastle
• Stockton Bridge, Newcastle
• Tighes Hill Bridge, Newcastle
• Moorebank Road, Moorebank, Sydney
POLICE are urging heavy vehicle drivers to plan their trip and know their load heights following a spate of incidents involving over-height trucks attempting to use tunnels across Sydney.
In recent weeks, the NSW Police Force, Transport for NSW and the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator have responded to numerous incidents involving over-height trucks attempting to travel through Sydney’s tunnel network.
These incidents have resulted in significant traffic delays impacting hundreds of thousands of motorists.
The penalty for non-compliance with dimension requirements under the Road Transport Act 2013 increased to $5500 from Friday, December 9. The offence now also incurs 12 demerit points.
NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet said the previous penalty was not sufficient to deter drivers from making poor de-
cisions, which were hurting the state’s economy due to long delays on the road.
“The economic cost on our city and state is substantial, so it has to stop, we’re doubling the fines and we’re going to increase the demerit points,” he said.
Traffic and Highway Patrol Command’s Superintendent Paul Carrett said heavy vehicle operators, particularly those carrying over-height loads, needed to carefully plan their trips..
“Those involved in moving oversize or over-mass freight need to be doing more to ensure that the integrity of their load is appropriate for our roads,” Supt Carrett said
“Every heavy vehicle driver needs to be aware of their obligations.
“There’s no excuse for this type of reckless behaviour and significant financial penalties apply for non-compliance, as well as potential licence and registration suspensions.”
AN eye-catching Lindsay Transport B-double is the latest rolling safety billboard to appear on our roads this summer.
The trailer freatures striking imagery of three barramundi on the side to help promote safer travelling distances between trucks and motorists.
The front trailer is emblazoned with the message, ‘Be a Mate. Don’t Tailgate’, and the rear asks drivers to, ‘Leave a 3-second gap while driving behind trucks, with three images of barramundi underneath with ‘1 Barramundi, 2 Barramundi and 3 Barramundi’ underneath as a visual tool to help motorists count a safe space.
The Queensland Trucking Association (QTA) has partnered with the Motor Acccident Insurance Commission (MAIC) for the campaign, the second in its Safety Trailer Partnership Program.
The project kicked off earlier this year with Transurban and its ‘Are you in my blind spot?’ safety messaging on a Followmont Transport B-double trailer set.
QTA CEO Gary Mahon says the barramundi follow-up with MAIC, which launched at a media event in Brisbane on
Monday, is a big message board that will hopefully strike a chord with a motorists and remind them to keep their distance.
“We’re hoping that line, ‘Be a mate, don’t tailgate’ is a line that will catch on a bit,” said Mahon.
“There will be in the vicinity of eight of these [safety trailers] operating by the end of next year [2023].
“WorkCover, for example, is also working with us, and their messaging is going to be more around managing attitude and
mental health.
“These billboards will last somewhere between two to four years with those skins. It’s a pretty decent investment and we’re going to be seeing these billboards all around the place. You’re just as likely to see them in Adelaide as you are in Cairns.”
Mahon says key partners such as Transurban, MAIC and WorkCover, are keen to partner with industry to show that “we have some skin in the game”.
“We’re trying to reinforce
and add to the messaging, and we think it helps with our drivers too to see that we’re out there trying to push that message for them too.”
Matthew Waugh, MAIC manager research and grants, says as regulator of the Queensland CTP insurance scheme, they were keen to be involved due to one in two of the new claims being rear-end crashes.
“The research tells us that the predominant reason for that is people are following too close,”
said Waugh.
“The rule that is applied is that you allow two seconds to the vehicle in front, but with this campaign we’ve allowed three seconds because that’s to identify that trucks take longer to decelerate.
“The message is also not just about following the truck. Sometimes we know that our truck drivers leave a safe distance to the vehicle in front, then people cut in front of them as well and that ends up being an issue.”
Waugh says one of the elements that MAIC really liked about the QTA trailer concept is the ability to deliver its ‘message in the moment’.
“You hope that if someone does see the message that they take that time to have a think about how they’re driving in that very moment, and that message might stick with them for a little while, and they might adjust their behaviour if they need to.”
Waugh says that MAIC’s scheme data tells it that when a heavy vehicle is involved in a crash, the consequences on those involved in terms of personal injury is often more significant.
“The message that we would say is that you just need to be aware that a truck is very unique circumstance for people who are driving them.
“They can’t slow down, their visibility of you isn’t as high so you just have to have that extra caution and leave that bigger gap, and not cut in front of them.”
“It must be very frustrating for truck drivers that someone just cuts straight in front of them, and that puts pressure on them to brake hard.”
ADELAIDE truckie James Rundle has been recognised as a Bridgestone Bandag Highway Guardian after coming to the aid of a driver whose vehicle had rolled off the side of a road and down a steep embankment in South Australia.
As first reported by Big Rigs in October 2021, the Musico Refrigerated Transport driver was enroute to deliver eggs when he came across suspicious tyre marks on the highway.
After initially thinking it was a past incident, Rundle doubled back to the scene to reinvestigate and discovered a driver trapped in their rolledover vehicle which was down the embankment.
Rundle alerted emergency services and administered first aid to the crash victim, waiting alongside him until he was taken to hospital.
The 32-year-old driver had been trapped for several hours when they were found, and Rundle’s actions saved their life. They were unable to call for help as their phone was damaged in the crash.
Bridgestone Australia and New Zealand managing direc-
tor, Heath Barclay, commended Rundle on his gut instinct to go back and investigate further.
“James Rundle is a credit to the Australian trucking industry, and the roads would be a much safer place if there were more people like him,” Barclay said.
“Not only was he vigilant in his daily duties and acutely aware of his surrounds, but he displayed incredible initiative by questioning the tyre marks and then going to the driver’s aid by alerting emergency services and providing first aid.
“We’re delighted to recognise James as a Bridgestone Bandag Highway Guardian for his perception of the situation and for taking action.”
Australian Trucking Association chair David Smith joined Bridgestone and Bandag in congratulating James Rundle on his milestone accolade, which had been delayed from being presented earlier due to Covid restrictions.
“The Bridgestone Bandag Highway Guardian is one of the highest honours in our industry, and we’re delighted to award the title to James
Park NSW 2164 Ph. 02 9756 6199, email: isri@isri.com.au, www.isri.com.au
BRISBANE
Rundle. There are thousands of individuals in our industry, and he joins a very elite group of only 24 others with the title today,” Smith said.
“We believe it’s important to recognise those who go above and beyond the call of duty, and together with Bridgestone and Bandag, we take great delight in celebrating drivers like James for their selfless and heroic actions.”
3/120 Gardens Drive, Willawong QLD 4110 Ph. 07 3275 2044, email: sales@isribrisbane.com.au, www.isribrisbane.com.au
MELBOURNE
Unit 1/569 Somerville Rd, Sunshine West VIC, 3020 Ph. 03 9311 5544, email: sales@isrisunshine.com.au, www.isri.com.au
MACKAY
110 – 120 Maggiolo Drive, Paget QLD 4740 Ph. 07 4952 1844, email: admin@isrimky.com.au, www.isriseatsmackay.com.au
PERTH
408 Welshpool Rd, Welshpool WA 6106 Ph. 08 9362 6800, email: info@mmtisri.com.au, www.mmtisri.com.au
DARWIN
Mobile Sales and Service Ph. 08 8927 0986, email: info@isridarwin.com.au, www.isridarwin.com.au
ADELAIDE
TAMDELE, 21 Hakkinen Road, Wingfield SA 5013 Ph. 08 8347 1222, email: sales@gitsham.com.au, www.gitsham.com.au
NEWCASTLE/HUNTER VALLEY
Unit 2/13 Hinkler Ave, Rutherford NSW 2320 Ph 02 4932 0600, email: sales@hvss.com.au www.isri.com.au
Seating - on a higher level.
NOT ONLY WAS HE VIGILANT IN HIS DAILY DUTIES AND ACUTELY AWARE OF HIS SURROUNDS, BUT HE DISPLAYED INCREDIBLE INITIATIVE BY QUESTIONING THE TYRE MARKS AND THEN GOING TO THE DRIVER’S AID BY ALERTING EMERGENCY SERVICES AND PROVIDING FIRST AID.”
HEATH BARCLAY
THERE aren’t many people or companies in the road transport industry with as long and storied a history as Kelvyn and Shirley Fuller of K&S Fuller Transport. For nearly 60 years, their well-branded fleet has traversed Australia’s highways transporting all kinds of freight.
From humble beginnings in central NSW in the 1960s, K&S Fuller Transport built a respected reputation for providing safe, efficient and reliable transport services. The business moved to south-east
Queensland in 1974 and operates a depot adjacent to the Port of Brisbane, Brisbane Airport and National Highway 1.
But now the company owners, industry legends Kelvyn and Shirley Fuller, who are the ‘K’ and ‘S’ in K&S Fuller Transport, have decided it’s time to travel a new road to retirement and greener pastures.
“We’ve been in the industry for nearly 60 years, so we feel like the time is right to move on and retire,” said Kelvyn Fuller.
“As a family owned and
operated business, we are extremely grateful for the support and opportunities provided to us by our valued staff and customers. We have always strived to go above and beyond, and Shirley and I are particularly proud of what we have achieved together.”
K&S Fuller Transport have built a large fleet comprising trucks, refrigerated vans with split systems, tautliners, flat top trailers, rigid trucks, utilities, and container trailers. The company moved whatever needed moving, to wherever it needed to go. Decades of experience, combined with their infrastructure and networks, have helped K&S Fuller Transport efficiently move freight across town, across Queensland and across Australia.
The end of an era presents a great opportunity for other transport operators, or those aspiring to enter the industry.
K&S Fuller Transport has appointed Grays to sell its entire fleet of more than 50 assets. Commencing in February 2023, this major online auction event will present buyers with over $5 million worth of quality transport assets.
Discerning buyers will find great value in the K&S Fuller Transport fleet, suited for general transportation services, but also comprising a number of temperature-controlled, refrigerated vehicles and trailers. Safe Food accredited vehicles and trailers have multi-zoned split systems to accommodate frozen, chilled, fresh and general freight in the same trailer, transported over large distances with multiple drop-offs as required.
Terry Rowland, national head of industrial at Grays, said, “We’re extremely proud and excited to have the opportunity to present this fleet to market via a major auction event. Kelvyn and Shirley have built an impressive business over a long period of time, and their fleet is well-presented, well-maintained and ready to get to work. This auction event is not to be missed by anyone looking to upgrade their fleet in
2023, or those looking to start a transport business.”
With K&S Fuller Transport reaching the end of the road, Kelvyn and Shirley Fuller will be pleased to see their muchloved and well cared for fleet go into the hands of the next generation of transport operators, with many more miles to be travelled.
To view the list of items going under the hammer, visit grays.com.
WHAT a shame our good friend Wes Walker is calling time on his relentless campaigning for truckies’ basic rights at the Gatton decoupling facility in Queensland due to financial constraints
His tireless fight for portaloos at the site is legendary, even making it on to A Current Affair in the early weeks of the long fight.
I know there are many in association roles who continue to do great advocacy work for industry, much of it on subjects that would never make good stories on primetime TV. But how many of those would do this work if they weren’t getting paid?
I know it’s only two toilets, but it was what Walker represented that’s such a big loss: an independent voice for the truckie who wasn’t afraid to ask the tough questions of those in power. A bit like us in that way.
Hopefully he’ll be back in 2023. We need more people like him in the trenches with us.
THE Australian Livestock and Rural Transporters Association (ALRTA) welcomes the release of a Senate Committee inquiry report into the Adequacy of Australia’s biosecurity measures and response preparedness, in particular with respect to footand-mouth disease (FMD) and varroa mite. The report contains 29 recommendations, including investigating the feasibility of a Road Transport Management Deposit Scheme, national coordination of internal border controls and permit systems, and establishment of effluent management infrastructure at truck rest stops on
key livestock freight routes.
The devastating impact of an FMD outbreak would be acutely felt by all rural transport operators, their families, employees and communities, both immediately and for more than a decade afterwards.
For this reason, ALRTA has been heavily involved in the biosecurity inquiry, providing evidence in-person and lodging a comprehensive written submission.
I am particularly pleased that the committee has applauded ALRTA’s initiative and desire to manage our own risks via a Road Transport Management
Deposit Scheme. Further consultation and modelling work is required to bring such a scheme into being, but recognition of our seasonal exposure and a recommendation to determine the feasibility of a scheme, represent a landmark first step in the right direction.
In the immediate aftermath of the ridiculous state-based Covid permit system, I am excited at the prospect of the Australian Government coordinating a national approach to interstate border control and permitting for affected trucks and livestock.
In the event of an FMD
outbreak, there will be chaos enough without having to deal with eight different movement permit systems.
ALRTA has also long called for a national truck wash and livestock effluent disposal network on key livestock freight routes – this is critical to controlling and eradicating an FMD outbreak.
The committee has agreed with ALRTA that the Australian Government should take the lead in coordinating a network plan and sustainable funding mechanism.
However, I note with concern that this is not the first
time a Senate Committee has made this recommendation and flag the need for action, not just words.
On the whole, this inquiry has delivered a broad range of sensible recommendations that would greatly improve Australia’s biosecurity preparedness.
Yet time is of the essence. With major disease threats on our doorstep, I call for the Australian Government to adopt the recommendations and act with all haste on implementation.
- Scott McDonald ALRTA president
BEN Stamatovich’s video clip of his UHF radio conversation with a caravanner to facilitate a safe passing manoeuvre incited plenty of lively chatter on our Facebook page.
Niell Graham wrote: “The general public need to remember even though they are on holiday we are still working and just want to get passed so we can continue our work.”
Added Dale Edwards: “I found that a lot with caravaners while travelling
along the silver city hwy out of mildura and barrier hwy between broken Hill and wilcannia made it a very enjoyable relaxing trips.”
Nick Kuys said it’s a workplace and just like other workplaces there are time restraints that all other road users need to be aware of: “So how do we get it to be a better workplace? Both NHVR and Workplace standards have a duty of care to help reduce risk to drivers.”
DISABILITY pensioner Wes Walker is back on the warpath, this time taking
Dave Divad wondered if there would be compensation be available to those
Tony Stephens said the clip shows the perfect safe way to behave when getting passed.
CHRIS Duncan’s challenge to Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk to jump into his cab and experience the crumbling state roads first-hand, touched a chord with readers.
“Good luck with that,” said John Randall. “My experience is they only put pollies in a truck with some yes person that won’t ask hard questions and take you on roads that they pick still you may be proved wrong!!! Good luck.”
Clem Wheatley wrote that it might help if governments recognised the fact
that this nation is highly reliant on roads and road transport to keep it running: “You would think that such a vital network would receive more funding and attention from those supposedly responsible.”
Added Stan Alton Stanley: “Great thought mate, but I fear she won’t take you up on the offer just like the dozens and dozens of politicians that have been offered the same opportunity over the last 50 odd years I’ve been in the industry Concluded Aron Valinoti: “What a joke.”
RFNSW says it’s time for the consumer watchdog, the ACCC, to step in and that if the “naïve and gullible” truckies and transport companies didn’t adhere to
pallets have been merged with that supply chain.
“If no extra pallets supply has been injected into the system, there is the
“Must be the same Engineers that stuffed up the TOOWOOMBA bypassTruckie Chris Duncan is angry that Queensland’s roads are in such a poor state. The caravan encounter on the return leg from Perth to Adelaide near Cocklebiddy, WA, incited plenty of debate.
NEWLY married to his highschool sweetheart, to which he shared three young children, 36-year-old Logan based truck driver Brendan Armanasco had his final send-off in December, with trucks gathering in convoy to bid their farewells.
The son of a truckie, when Brendan was growing up, all he wanted to do was to drive trucks – and upon finishing school, he got his truck licence and was on his way.
His wife Pagen Armanasco said he gave everything a crack throughout his truck driving career. “He did linehaul, local work and even went to the mines at one point,” she said. “He was just a typical truck driver – fun loving and easy going. Brendan had a big heart that he wore on his sleeve. He was a little rough around the edges but like a teddy bear on the inside.”
Pagen and Brendan met 21 years ago and began dating 13 years ago. They had planned to get married on March 5, 2023, but as Brendan’s health began
rapidly deteriorating, they decided to tie the knot by his bedside in ICU.
Brendan passed away from heart failure after battling stage 4 dilated cardiomyopathy. “He had been unwell for some time, then it all came to a peak this year,” revealed Pagen. “You wouldn’t have known Brendan was unwell if you saw him. He was working until three months before he passed away. His heart medication interfered with his kidneys, so he had kidney failure too and had six heart attacks in just three days.”
Unsure of how much longer Brendan had, the couple got married on November 14. Sadly, Brendan passed away just one week later, on November 21 – also leaving behind Charlotte (9), Georgia (2.5) and 11-month old Wyatt who celebrates his first birthday next week.
Knowing how much Brendan loved his trucks, Pagen wanted to give him a fitting send-off. The funeral service was held at the Willmax and Carters truck depot in Rocklea on December 3, and around
20 trucks took part in a procession. “Otways Transport was the last company Brendan worked for and they let us use the truck Brendan drove. It was the lead truck and it carried his coffin. It was absolutely perfect. I cannot even begin to find the words to show our appreciation to Otways Transport for making his final ride so amazing,” explained Pagen. “We actually wired up lights to his coffin as well and plugged them in with a trailer plug, so he also had his lights going too. Carters Transport
supplied some trucks for the convoy and the other trucks were all from people he knew. They did about an hour trip, heading down the Centenary before turning around and coming back up to Rocklea.”
Pagen says she hopes that her late husband is remembered for the wonderful man he was. “I hope he’s remembered for his character, he had a very unique character and a little bit of a dry, warped sense of humour. I hope people remember him for all the laughs he gave,” she said.
“With two of our kids being so little, I haven’t explained what’s going on to them because I didn’t know how to. But they’ll grow up knowing exactly who their father was.”
Tragically, Pagen also lost her truck driving father Ross Ranger 16 years prior, in a truck accident. And she had organised a similar send-off for him.
As Pagen and the children continue to heal and grieve after their tragic loss, close friend Rene Plowman has set up a GoFund Me page for the family to assist with bills and expenses.
“Brendan’s body couldn’t fight anymore. He fought so hard too. We promised we will look after his family and he could go with the peace of mind knowing this,” Plowman explained on the page.
She added, “Pagen knows too well living without her dad. It breaks my heart to see her babies go through this same grief.
Pagen is such a strong woman and a true trucker’s daughter and wife. It’s in her blood. I know she will keep Brendan’s love alive for her babies and they are blessed with a strong line of women on her side of the family too. Rest easy Brendan. We will look after your family from here.”
To donate, please visit gofundme.com/f/help-pagen-charlotte-georgia-wyatt-armanasco.
PACCAR Australia has notified its customers of a price increase on all new Kenworth trucks from March this year.
In an email to customers sighted by Big Rigs, PACCAR Australia managing director Andrew Hadjikakou didn’t specify what the exact increase would be but said PACCAR is “deeply grateful for your understanding in this difficult business environment.”
“As you would be aware rising inflation has driven increased costs of products and services in Australia, and abroad,” explained Hadjikakou.
“This environment has resulted in unprecedented cost increases to our trucks and despite tireless work by our teams to suppress and absorb these costs, they have proven to be unavoidable.
“We have considered every possible way to avoid passing through price increases to existing orders such as your own, but we face a reality where the price of existing truck orders will need to increase. PACCAR has not taken this decision lightly.”
PACCAR declined to com-
ment further on what other measures it had explored to keep costs down.
“We appreciate your business partnership, commitment to Australian Manufacturing and are deeply grateful for your understanding in this difficult business environment,” added Hadjikakou.
“The PACCAR team remains focussed on providing the best quality products and support for our customers. We hope that these qualities, which undoubtedly influenced your purchasing decision, remains prominent in your mind now and into the future.”
One large Kenworth dealer told customers they would now have the opportunity to cancel their order at no charge providing it was done in writ-
ing before production deadline.
At deadline for this issue, Big Rigs wasn’t made aware of any other manufacturer announcing a price increase in 2023.
But a source familiar with the new truck market said he’d be very surprised if others don’t
follow PACCAR’s example.
“You’d be struggling to find anyone who hasn’t lifted their price due to the rising cost of raw materials and shipping,” the industry insider said.
“That’s the cold hard facts.”
Meanwhile, the new truck market is celebrating its best ever year in 2022.
Although exact numbers for 2022 weren’t available at an earlier than usual deadline for this issue, the Truck Industry Council (TIC) was predicting that previous best mark of 41,628 would easily be smashed when the final numbers are tallied.
By the end of November
the year-to-date (YTD) tally was already at 40,267 and with December sales averaging out at about 3400 trucks, a new mark was a formality.
Although Volvo had a big finish to 2022, trumping Kenworth in November sales, Australia’s favourite heavy-duty truck still boasted the biggest market share of the sector with 20.2 per cent of units moved.
Volvo was next on 16.4 per cent, followed by Isuzu on 13.8 per cent. The others were headed by Scania on 7.5 per cent, and marginally ahead of a bunched pack.
“It is pleasing to see the solid sales continue through November, with a number of new records set,” said TIC CEO Tony McMullan.
“These record sales could not come at a better time, with the average age of trucks cracking the 15-year mark in 2021 and with Australia having one of the oldest truck fleets in the Western world, we need record, or near record sales to reverse this fleet aging trend.
“An old truck fleet is not good for road safety, nor noxious and greenhouse emissions, or for operator productivity.”
BASED on the iconic Kenworth W900SAR, which was built and sold in Australia from 1975 until 1987, the 50th anniversary edition Legend SAR quickly became a hot-ticket item when it went on sale for just one day in July 2021.
Coffs Harbour based business Crampo’s Tippers was lucky enough to secure the Kenworth Legend SAR #250. Sticking with the theme of the truck itself, company owner and founder John Crampo decided to go all out on the truck body and trailer – in an ode to some of Australia’s most iconic celebrities and nostalgic items of the 1980s decade.
The PBS-approved truck and four-axle dog is certainly a stand-out. On the front of the dog trailer, it reads: “Back to the Eighties. When the fun begun.”
“It’s got to be fun or I ain’t doing it. I like to make things different. I liked the truck in the 80s. It was a good truck then and is a good truck now,” said Crampo.
“It looks pretty cool too is what everyone seems to say once they see it. It’s what was a fun time in the 80s and people that were around back then have said we’ve nailed the truck. I didn’t come up with the idea until I was actually driving the truck up to Brisbane to get it painted.”
Crampo created the artwork, with Fleetmark doing the amazing sticker work on the bins, while the heritage paintwork on the Kenworth was completed by Damo at Master Art Designs. He also wanted to thank all of the suppliers who helped bring the truck and dog to life. “The bodies were done by Hercules in Brisbane, with all the polishing done by Ultimate Shine Metal Polishing. Inside was finished off by Briskair in Brisbane, putting aircons, TVs, etc. Stainless work was done in Albury by Rob from RC Metalcraft, the abundance of lights and cameras were done by Active Car and Truck Electrics in Coffs and Brown and Hurley Coffs Harbour, who always assist us in the delivery of our units. It wouldn’t look half as good as it does without all the help from these guys,” he said.
“The paint scheme and linework on the Legend SAR is based on an 80s theme too. That’s the way they used to paint the trucks back then.”
On the truck body, you’ll find Crocodile Dundee, a Sandman panel van out of Mad Max, Strop and Hoges, Olivia Newton John, Elle Macpherson, the Hey Hey it’s Saturday crew, Pacman, Cold Chisel concert tickets and more.
Then the trailer is adorned with images that include the Divinyls, Kylie Minogue, Mel Gibson, a homage to the old Four’N Twenty pie ads, INXS, a pinball machine showing ACDC and Space Invaders, World Series Cricket which started in the 80s, Peter Brock as the king of the mountain, Jimmy Barnes as the “Working
class man” and John Farnham as “Whispering Jack”.
Crampo bought his first truck in 1987. It was an Atkinson International 4870 truck and two axle dog. Then he bought his second truck the following year.
Fast forward to today and he now operates a 28-strong truck fleet – mostly Kenworth truck and dogs. There is one truck and dog bearing the Australian flag, another with ‘Great Southern Land’, one featuring the Southern Cross, and a set-up dedicated to the farmers, which was stickered when the country was going through drought.
Most of the trucks are based at the Coffs Harbour depot, with some also located at the company’s second base in Taree.
These days most of Cram-
po’s Tippers’ work is transporting sand, gravel and fertilisers, mainly throughout NSW as well as some runs into Brisbane.
In recent years, John has also been joined in the business by his son Sam, who is general manager – and at just 21 years of age, he’s already poised to one day take over the family business
As Sam explained, “Officially, I’ve only been here for four years, but when I was younger I was at the depot at every chance I had – changing tyres, changing brakes and learning to do everything. Now I organise the loads, organise the drivers’ runs as well as driving.”
The most recent addition to the fleet, the new 80s themed Legend set-up, came off the
production line in March but wasn’t finished and ready for work until October. Under PBS, it’s achieving payloads of about 38 tonne.
The Legend SAR truck and dog made its truck show debut at the recent Grinding Gears and Burning Diesel event, held in Coffs Harbour in November. The event, which is now in its second year, aims to raise the importance of suicide prevention and awareness in the industry. This time around, the convoy attracted close to 90 trucks.
Grinding Gears and Burning Diesel was started by truckie Ian ‘Eno’ Taylor after losing his colleagues Mark Haines and Tom Seccombe to suicide. It raises money for Lifeline North Coast.
“We took a few trucks to the event last year as well, that was the first time it was run and what happened to those fellas was still quite recent. Both the boys were local guys. We didn’t know them personally, but we knew of them and wanted to show our appreciation,” explained Sam.
Looking ahead, Sam says he’s hoping to take the 80s themed truck to various other truck shows in the near future, including the Casino Truck Show later this year.
• To make a donation to the Grinding Gears and Burning Diesel fundraiser, visit fundraise.lifelinenorthcoast. org.au/fundraisers/ianeno taylor/grinding-gears-anburning-diesel.
In transport there’s no one size fits all. That’s why we have a wide range of sleeper cabs locally engineered to maximise the living quarters of your most important asset, your drivers. When it comes to comfort and well-being, size matters. kenworth.com.au
JUST over 12 months since two Adelaide transport operators merged, the company’s general manager says the future is looking bright.
In October 2021, Eades Transport purchased Adelaide Refrigerated, merging the two refrigerated businesses to form AR Logistics.
“The customer profiles were very similar, the legs were very similar, so there was a lot of parity and synergy in there,” explained AR Logistics general manager Taiira ‘Moz’ Rivers. He joined the business about six months ago, having previously worked as state manager at Visy Logistics.
“They were looking at some of the same customers. Eades took one of the major customers from Adelaide Refrigerated, so they were basically fishing from the same pond.”
Through the merger, two depots were closed, and the company now runs out of its facilities in Adelaide and Sydney. It provides refrigerated transport services between Adelaide, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth.
“We’ve got really wide coverage and the market is only growing. Two of the depots were closed because of the scale of the business, with the Eades depot being leased out now, but the scale of operations has grown four times larger,” explained Rivers.
But despite not retaining all of the depots, he says job
losses were minimal. “There were job duplications across both businesses, but that applied to less than half a dozen employees. Many staff were retained, some didn’t like the change. There’s changed management, changed structuring and we’re purchasing a new fleet.”
Prior to the acquisition, Eades ran a fleet of approximately 25 trucks and 40 trailers. After joining forces with
AR Logistics recently put 20 prime movers under the hammer with Ritchie Bros., as it works to modernise the fleet. Those that were sold ranged from 1988 to 2021 model Kenworths, DAFs, Scanias, Volvos and Macks. They will be replaced with 15 V8 Scanias.
“We’re going into a different business model. There was the maintenance of the older fleet and there’s driver attraction as well. They all had manual gearboxes but there’s drivers these days that don’t want to drive a manual anymore,” said Rivers.
“The model will probably adopt a similar operational model to what Europe is doing with their contractors. Australia hasn’t really taken that up
yet. We’ve started that process now. Drivers are always the issue – it’s not just attracting drivers, it’s attracting quality drivers who are willing to train and take on new technology.”
That includes adopting Guardian Seeing Machines across the entire fleet and plans to move across to electronic work diaries.
Despite some hiccups following the merger, according to Rivers, “the future of the
PRIMARY Connect+ has teamed up with Hawk Logistics to pick up around 2000 refrigerated pallet spaces a week in Melbourne’s metropolitan area.
Hawk Logistics is a Melbourne-based transport business, with other depots in Griffith and Adelaide, specialising in refrigerated transport covering metropolitan and linehaul activities.
Hawk Logistics moves chilled and frozen products into Primary Connect+’s temperature controlled depot in Melbourne before the products are redistributed nationally for Primary Connect+’s customers.
Vehicles are fitted with GPS systems and temperature monitoring to ensure products are within temperature specification.
Wilander Saldanha, general manager Hawk Logistics, said: “We are very excited to be partnering with Primary Connect+ and supporting their extensive transport network across Australia.
“We have recently implemented Yojee Routing Software to help drive efficiencies in our transport operations which Primary Connect+ can benefit from.
“The Primary Connect+ team is a great team to work with and have been very supportive during the onboarding process and for our day-to-day operational requirements.
“We are hopeful to have a long-standing partnership with Primary Connect+ and hope to continue to grow our business as the Primary Connect+ network grows.”
business is enormous.”
He said, “We’re having to turn work away at the moment. Getting the right staff has been difficult but I’m recruiting outside of the transport sector. We now have a registered nurse, a plumber, someone who came from a management role in McDonalds. All things can be learnt if you have a willingness to learn. But transport isn’t just a willingness, it’s an attitude.
“There’s been organisational change. Flattening out our systems is working and our staff love coming to work. I’m really optimistic with where we’re going and with the market. I’ve employed financial analysts too, so we’re restructuring and breaking down every aspect and component of our business.”
WE NOW HAVE A REGISTERED NURSE, A PLUMBER, SOMEONE WHO CAME FROM A MANAGEMENT ROLE IN MCDONALDS. ALL THINGS CAN BE LEARNT IF YOU HAVE A WILLINGNESS TO LEARN. BUT TRANSPORT ISN’T JUST A WILLINGNESS, IT’S AN ATTITUDE. ”
TAIIRA ‘MOZ’ RIVERS
BY DAVID MEREDITH
GOLDSTAR Transport’s Sean Carren has never been shy of dipping a toe into the future - after the homework has been done that is. But a big part of the homework in transport takes place after the presentation is given, the specs determined, the graphs examined and the promises assessed.
It’s done by working a new truck or new technology in real-world commercial conditions, where time waits for no engineer, stylist, or accountant, and customers simply want on-time, on-budget performance.
Where a driver has a job to do and a reasonable deadline to meet, fully expecting that when he or she turns the key – or presses the button – the truck will go and keep going until the job’s done.
So, the likelihood of Goldstar Transport using electric Fuso Canters in the fleet for local pick-up and delivery was not dependent on Daimler Trucks convincing Sean Carren that it was a good idea. Instead, it
depended entirely on what happens over the next several months, as the first eCanter goes to work in Perth and the second one joins it early this year.
Big Rigs spoke to Carren about the new truck before the Daimler executives arrived for the official handover. His team had been busy making sure the truck was ready for its photo shoot, as well as getting a couple of pallets of Coca-Cola product ready as props. Coke is one of Goldstar’s long-term customers, and along with Woolies has joined Goldstar to partner the assessment of the eCanter in the distribution network.
The partnerships are a lot more than handshakes and encouragement. Both companies have worked hand in hand with Goldstar and are working through the requirements for charging platforms on the respective sites, which will be used in conjunction with the charge station at the Goldstar depot. eCanter’s around 150km range (on a good day with a good driver) will then be managed
with sizeable safety margins. Whilst not in place yet, solar power generation on-site is a complimentary objective.
Clearly the philosophy is to “Charge when Stopped”, rather than “Stop to Charge.” Transport operators are of one mind when looking at interrupting a delivery run for big chunks of time, other than necessary rest stops.
The Goldstar team has planned routes very carefully and will include some delivery points where excessive noise is not appreciated. Hospitals, care facilities and the like won’t miss diesel clatter when daily requirements of food and other supplies are delivered.
Primarily, Carren is aiming at a steady but determined ‘greening’ of the company’s fleet of 170 vehicles, a process that starts with the first truck. Coca-Cola Euro-Pacific and Woolies are just as determined as Goldstar to minimise environmental impacts across their vast networks as customer demand for product deliveries continues to expand.
It may be some time before daily road trains are heading north from Perth with only an electric hum as accompaniment. Vast distances, mostly flat roads and extraordinary ambient
temperatures are entrenched enemies of battery performance. But Goldstar’s Fuso eCanter is a stepping-stone in that direction, and, if Carren gets his way, an electric Actros rigid or prime
mover may join the fleet late next year to accelerate Goldstar’s path to zero-carbon deliveries.
Check with Big Rigs mid2023 to see how the Goldstar eCanter is travelling.
TEAM Global Express is putting together a fleet of 60 battery electric delivery vehicles and associated charging infrastructure to service its Express Parcels division at the depot in Bungarribee, NSW.
The $44.3 million project will include the purchase of 24 Fuso eCanter light rigids, 36 electric Volvo medium rigids and all that’s required to keep them going.
Team Global Express will invest $24.1 million towards its ‘Depot of the Future’, with a further $20.1 million in funding provided by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA), on behalf of the Australian Government.
The transport and logistics operations of Team Global Express span across Australia and New Zealand, with over 13,000 delivery vehicles in the fleet.
The company’s decarbonisation strategy will see onethird of its western Sydney fleet transition to battery electric vehicles and operate under a ‘back-to-base’ model, with the trucks travelling from distribution centres to customers
in urban areas, then returning to the depot for charging.
Fuso’s eCanter is the first electric truck from an original equipment manufacturer in Australia and the only electric truck in its class to feature a range of active safety features –and so it was seen as a perfect fit for the task.
These eCanters are part of a five-year Team Global Express electric truck trial that also includes the installation of 63 chargers on site and a large battery system to store energy generated by a 400kW/h solar power generation system at the Bungarribee depot.
The near-silent Fuso eCanter is currently in operation with leading brands including Australia Post, Bunnings, Coles, Centurion and Toohey’s.
Daimler Truck Australia Pacific president and CEO, Daniel Whitehead, says the Team Global Express project is a great example of carbon-reduction in action.
“We are thrilled to partner with Team Global Express for this exciting project, which represents a dramatic step for-
ward on the journey towards zero emission freight transport in Australia,” he said.
“This ambitious initiative shows what our industry can achieve with positive government policies and agencies like ARENA. We have no doubt this ground-breaking project will provide inspiration for many operators in Australia and are pleased the Fuso eCanter has been recognised as the best truck for this role,” Whitehead continued.
The 36 Volvo medium duty electric trucks being added to the fleet will be equipped with four 66kWh battery packs for increased range and improved charging performance. The FL Electric utilises a 600-volt single motor electric drive system as well as a two-speed automated transmission and has a range of up to 300 kilometres.
The trucks will be fitted with 10-pallet van bodies and will become a part of the company’s Sydney metropolitan pick-up and delivery fleet. With a GVM of 16,000kg, payload for the quad battery FL is expected to be 5900kg in this application.
“I’m extremely happy to see a valued customer such as Team Global Express take such a significant step towards zero-emissions transport,” said Paul Illmer, vice president emerging technology business development, Volvo Group Australia. “Importantly it’s also a show of faith in our ability to deliver electric transport solutions that are efficient, productive and dependable business solutions.
“We’ve had to put in some hard yards to ensure that we deliver a customer experience that is a step up from the status quo. Electromobility doesn’t have to be a compromise and ultimately, I feel we will prove this and more as these trucks take to the streets during 2023.”
Illmer continued, “We provide an entire connected ecosystem around our electric vehicles, and this helps deliver both peace of mind and certainty when transitioning to zero emissions vehicles.”
Team Global Express Group CEO, Christine Holgate, explained that the announcement of the electric truck trial represents an important milestone.
“Today is an important step toward progressing Australia’s pathway to reduce scope 1 emissions and secure a net zero future. This is the first project of its scale in Australian logistics, as such we are in a unique position to work closely with ARENA to share the knowledge we gain and provide this vital information for the benefit of the entire transport and logistics sector,” she explained.
ARENA CEO Darren Miller said that he was looking forward to seeing the project get underway. “We’re excited
to be working with Global Express in switching a significant portion of its fleet to electric vehicles at its Bungarribee depot. We expect the project will provide valuable insights into the costs and operational aspects of transitioning its wider fleet to zero emissions vehicles. Importantly, our goal is for the heavy vehicle industry to learn from this project as others consider their transition pathway.
“Operating a fleet of battery electric heavy vehicles will help to address some of the key barriers to adoption, including overcoming the higher upfront purchase price, and uncertainty of integrating electric vehicles into existing operations at scale. Understanding these barriers will help to build market confidence around EV technology and show that the transition to heavy electric vehicles is possible.”
Team Global Express sustainability director, Heather Bone, added that the electric truck trial has come about thanks to the company’s determination to drive down emissions.
“Our team is fully committed to the electric truck trial and are thrilled that it has come to fruition,” she said. “Our customers are demanding greener solutions and we are delighted to be able to deliver actions like this.”
Team Global Express already has real-world experience running the Fuso eCanter, with three units currently operating in its New Zealand fleet.
The Fuso eCanter is designed for local distribution in high-density urban areas and uses six liquid-cooled lithium ion batteries with 82.8kW/h
of electricity that feed a permanent magnet synchronous motor. Power output is rated at 135kW, while 390Nm of torque can be delivered the moment the accelerator pedal is pressed.
The eCanter is the only electric truck in its class to feature active safety features. It comes standard with Advanced Emergency Braking System (AEBS) and Lane Departure Warning System (LDWS), which are increasingly important for leading companies and government bodies with a firm focus on health and safety.
The eCanter is part of the Daimler Truck commitment to ensure all new vehicles in Europe, North America and Japan are “tank-to-wheel” CO2-neutral by 2039.
Mercedes-Benz Trucks will begin local validation trials for the fully electric eActros and eEconic models next year, with an initial batch of six test trucks in Australia and two in New Zealand.
All Daimler Truck electric vehicles are engineered to meet Australian design rules and no PBS permits are required to operate them on public roads.
Fuso trucks feature diesel engines that align with or undercut the stringent Euro 6 emissions standards, which will not be mandated in Australia until 2024, as standard for medium duty Fighter, heavy duty Shogun and the Rosa light bus.
Freightliner’s Cascadia was the first conventional truck in Australia with the US GHG 17 emission rating (equivalent to Euro 6 under upcoming local emission standards), while Mercedes-Benz led the way by introducing Euro 6 on every single Actros model in 2016.
A major transport player is set to operate Australia’s largest electric truck fleet to date from its western Sydney depot.
THE Gippsland region in southern Victoria has long had a close association with road transport since the early days with the region home to number of diverse and dedicated haulage operations working across a large geographical part of the state. And, as in years past, the trucking community will come together on Saturday, March 4, for the 2023 Boss Forestry/Gippsland Truck Centre East Gippsland Convoy for Kids.
Since its inception in 2010, the convoy, which makes its way from different starting points in Gippsland to meet at the Great Lakes Airfield in Lakes Entrance, has been a popular event which has raised money for a variety of children’s charities in the area.
Held every four years, and after a year’s delay due to Covid organisers are aiming to go one better than the 2018 Convoy which saw over $70,000 raised on the day.
In 2023 the Convoy will be raising money for Camp Quality, Angel Flight and Ronald McDonald House, with the volunteer committee planning a family fun day at the conclusion of the Convoy.
Tanya Dixon, from the
Convoy organising committee, is looking forward to breaking the 2018 roll-up of 180 trucks which came from the greater Gippsland regions, the NSW Sapphire Coast and from as far afield as Melbourne and Sydney.
“We will have two convoys starting from Orbost and Traralgon joining up at the Lakes Entrance Airfield. We will be having ‘lead truck’ auctions commencing in early January and people are also welcomed to run their own fundraising campaigns and dig deep, which we will run through our Facebook page” she said.
Current planning will see trucks muster and depart Traralgon at 7.30am and Orbost at 9am, running along the Princes Highway converging on the Lakes Entrance airfield at 11am.
A family fun day will follow through to 4pm with a truck Show-N-Shine, Charity Auction, food trucks, merchandise and trade stalls along with a variety of entertainment for young and old. Admission to the alcohol-free event is a very reasonable $5 per person, $10 per vehicle with trucks admitted for free.
With road transport such a critical part of the Gipps-
land economy, the convoy has strong corporate support in 2023 from Barinsdale based businesses, Boss Forestry and the Gippsland Truck Centre.
This is backed up by a number of gold, silver and bronze sponsors, and contributions from a variety of local businesses for support and managing the requirements of the event on the day. As is often the case with these types of events, local community groups also step up to help out.
“We try to involve community groups where possible to help spread the fundraising, and this time the Lakes Entrance Fire Brigade/CFA are playing a large part in providing services on the day with proceeds also going to them,” said Dixon.
Rounding out the day’s activities is the Transport Industry Dinner which is sponsored by Dixon Transport Insurance Brokers and Kennedy Trailers, which will follow at the Lakes Entrance Golf Club kicking off at 6pm.
A minute’s silence will be observed to remember those in the local trucking industry who have passed on, with a two-course dinner and entertainment to follow making for a great finish to the event.
A Kenworth T659 log truck which is owned by local company S.R. Dicker Contracting, has been chosen as the ‘face’ of the convoy, with the truck featuring in the convoy logo which has been designed and donated by artist Paul McVilly.
The event logo is a feature on all posters and promotional material for the event, along with a range of merchandise that has been produced in-
cluding shirts, hoodie tops and caps which will be available on the day.
With generally fantastic weather across the Gippsland region in early March, the day is shaping up to be a great day out for truck enthusiasts young and old, and Tanya Dixon is part of a determined team working hard to ensure the day will be a success and raise plenty of money for the nominated charities.
“We have nine dedicated community members who are committed to making the event great!”
For further information check out the East Gippsland Convoy for Kids Facebook page or email: egconvoyforkids@gmail.com and for Transport Industry Dinner bookings, or merchandise enquiries contact Dixon Transport Insurance Brokers on (03) 5152 3931.
IF you’re into both trucks and LEGO then the 2023 Brisbane Truck Show has a real treat in store for you.
With support of Mack Trucks Australia, LEGO brick fan, educator and builder of amazing LEGO brick creations Ben Craig has been commissioned to build a large-scale Mack Anthem at this year’s event from May 1821.
In fact, this mind-boggling project to build a real-life truck out of LEGO bricks has already commenced design work.
Comprising hundreds of thousands bricks, the build will take seven months in the lead up to the 2023 show, with the finishing touches to
be added live in front of the public at what’s sure to be among the most popular displays at the show.
“LEGO and Mack Trucks. Two iconic brands loved by both kids, and the big kids at heart, around the world,” said Mack vice president Tom Chapman.
“In 2023 we will have been manufacturing Mack Trucks in Australia, specifically Brisbane, for 60 years. To celebrate, we’re building an impressive Mack Anthem out of LEGO right in the heart of South Bank and inviting the community to help build it!”
Best known as The Brick Builder, Craig’s previous works include a full-size 1973 Viscount Royal caravan. Con-
structed from 288,630 LEGO bricks, the 2200mm wide, 2350mm high, 5800mm long model weighed 1.6 tons and is the largest caravan ever made with LEGO bricks.
A secret fan of large trucks and engineering, the Mack Anthem is by far the largest project undertaken by Craig, whose healthy obsession with LEGO began at the age of two and has never ceased.
Relishing the challenge, Craig has the hit the ground running with a site visit to Volvo Group Australia’s Wacol factory to witness the process involved in designing and building the Australian-made Mack Anthem – a process he intends to follow with the LEGO version.
Starting with the Anthem’s computer-aided design (CAD) files, Craig and his team are undertaking a threeto-four week design phase, before sourcing bricks from LEGO and other suppliers in Europe and Australia to commence build early January.
An estimated 95 per cent of the build will be completed off-site at Craig’s Gold Coast studio, before being transported in sections in containers to South Bank where the project will be completed.
Strengthened with metal internal supports, the Anthem will feature a detailed exterior and interior, including wheels, air lines, fuel tanks, turntable, fully operable doors and 36inch sleeper.
Detroit’s DD16 delivers all the power you need.
With up to 600 horsepower and 2,050 lb-ft of torque, the big bore workhorse provides efficient and dependable power and performance without compromise. Detroit’s advanced technology also means GHG17 requirements are met through innovative fuel efficiency resulting in lower emissions.
This power, performance and efficiency prowess is backed by our industry-leading warranty and extended coverage packages that ensures the highest level of support for our customers.
Combined with superior fuel economy and the absence of a midlife change out, the DD16 delivers an enviably low total cost of ownership and maximum uptime.
This is all backed by our well-established and extensive national service and support network which, together with our highly skilled factory-trained technicians, means you can count on getting the right advice when you need it.
With Detroit, there’s no compromise.
SHELL Rimula has partnered with Big Rigs in a big way – so now there’s even more reasons to send in your best truck shots.
Each month, the Big Rigs team will choose a #PicOfTheMonth, with the lucky winner receiving a $500 Shell Coles Express Gift Card.
Keep an eye out for our regular posts on the Big Rigs National Road Transport Newspaper Facebook page, calling
for your best truck photos and add yours in the comments, or email them to editor@bigrigs. com.au.
Don’t forget to include a brief note about the truck and where the photo was taken. We’ll feature some of the best photos in each edition of Big Rigs Newspaper, with one winner announced each month. Keep those amazing truck pics coming!
Ian Miller hauls a load of structural steel, for a veggie hothouse, in Gin Gin, WA.
Gavan Roy enjoys this stunning Cape York sunrise at the Weipa/ Bamaga turn off.
Sam Hill snapped this great photo before heading from Perth back to Dalby.
Tom Charlton shared this great shot of the Kenworth admiring the view in Bowen.
Jarred Sohn snapped this shot during roadworks on the Old South Road in Alice Springs.
Mathew Moreland shared this shot of the T909 he drove for the local truck show, sitting next to his dad’s 1976 LW Canadian Kenworth.
Greg Woodbury takes a quick walk-around and a breather at Kiama Bends.
Congratulations to Jamie Neville, who has won a $500 Shell Coles Express Gift Card for this great shot, snapped on the Strzelecki Track, as lightning strikes.
Kyle Sexton caught this ripper shot during the 2022 harvest, out on the paddocks near Goondiwindi, as lightning struck.
Dan Bateo shared a great shot of this quad set-up at Wonmunna Mine in WA.
Mick Hogg shared this snap taken at Netallie Hill Rest Area, NSW, while running a road train from Brisbane to Adelaide.
Melissa Wheeler snapped this shot of the ultra quad road train at the Chitties Parking Bay in WA, before heading out to the mine site.
Dave Hely shared this snap, loaded up with logs at Sunny Corner, NSW, bound for the sawmill in Oberon.
Kev Cameron waits to unload another quality load of wheat at Moree, NSW.
When the going gets tough, truckies keep everyone going
HERE’S a look at some of the major trucking events to add to your calendar in the coming months.
JANUARY
Geelong Classic Truck and Machinery Show
January 14-15
79 Breakwater Road, Geelong classictruckandmachinery. com.au
The event showcases a huge display of classic trucks, tractors, cars and machinery. There will also be over 15 fully operational steam engines, 12 permanently installed oil engines, a 1000hp marine steam engine, a wool scouring machine, and a large collection of steam models. And the Vintage Tractor Pull will return for the eighth consecutive year.
Koroit Truck Show
January 28
Koroit, Victoria facebook.com/Koroit-TruckShow-727176294021720/ After a Covid-enforced hiatus, the Koroit Truck Show will return with a bang during the Australia Day long weekend.
FEBRUARY NRFA 2023 Conference February 11 Wagga Wagga RSL Club nrfa.com.au
The National Road Freighters’ Association will assemble a topline up of speakers for its upcoming conference, which will begin at 8.30am. The NRFA represents drivers, owner operators, fleet operators and industry participants. RSVP for catering purposes by Friday January 27 to admin@nrfa.
com.au or call Collette Forsyth on 0493 564 467.
Newcastle Truck Show & Convoy February 26
McDonald Jones Stadium, Newcastle, NSW newcastletruckshow.com.au
The Newcastle Truck Show & Convoy is a fun, family day where the community and transport industry come together to celebrate and appreciate the contribution of the transport industry to our nation. The convoy departs at Newcastle Markets and ends at McDonald Jones Stadium, where over 200 trucks will be on display.
MARCH 2023 RFNSW Conference & Awards March 2
Dockside, Cockle Bay Wharf roadfreightnsw.com.au/ rfnsw-awards
An opportunity for NSW operators to connect and have their voice heard with government, regulators and industry stakeholders. The following awards will also be presented: Outstanding Contribution to the NSW Trucking Industry, Transport Woman of the Year, Professional Driver of the Year, Best Industry Newcomer, and Best Safety Culture.
Lockhart Heritage Truck Show March 4
Lockhart Showground, Treasure Street facebook.com/LockhartTruckShow
This event will be the 14th held in the small country town
of Lockhart in southern NSW. Celebrating country hospitality and the important contribution of the trucking industry to our community. A large display of trucks of all ages. Several different prizes will be awarded for the feature vehicles, Kenworth and Mercedes and other categories. Local car clubs are invited to have a display of their vehicles. Entertainment for the whole family. A delightful outdoor rural setting with onsite catering. No entry fee for exhibitors. Bookings for campsite and Saturday evening meal to be made by February 25 with Peter Smith 0458 422 808 or Trevor Slater 0407 513 974.
East Gippsland Convoy for Kids March 4
Great Lakes Airfield, Lakes Entrance, Victoria facebook.com/profile. php?id=100064776454174
The convoy will commence at Traralgon and Orbost, coming together at the Greater Lakes Airfield at Lakes Entrance, where there will be plenty of trucks on show, with previous years attracting more than 200 vehicles. Money raised will go towards the chosen charities: Angel Flight, Camp Quality and the Ronald McDonald House.
2023 LBRCA Annual Conference March 9-11 Tamworth, NSW lbrca.org.au/lbrca-events/ conferences
Registrations are now open for the 2023 Livestock Bulk
and Rural Carriers Association (LBRCA) Annual Conference, which will be held at the Tamworth Regional Entertainment and Conference Centre. It is NSW’s leading event focused on the needs of rural and regional heavy vehicle transporters. This year it will feature the theme ‘Safeguarding the rural transport supply chain’.
LRTAQ Annual Conference March 16-17
Townsville, Queensland lrtaq.com.au/conference
The Livestock and Rural Transporters Association of Queensland (LRTAQ) has announced dates for its 2023 conference, with further details to be announced soon.
White Truck Muster March 18-19
Kyabram Show Grounds, Victoria facebook.com/whitetruckmuster
The White Truck Muster is a celebration of the White
truck brand, with displays of trucks, cars, tractors, crawlers and memorabilia. The event is open to any vehicle manufactured or marketed by White or White owned companies, however other makes of trucks are also welcome.
Haulin’ The Hume March 24 & 26
Clarendon to Yass, NSW wshtc.com.au
Haulin’ The Hume, the old Hume Highway road run will depart Hawkesbury Showground at Clarendon on the morning of March 25 to Razorback Mountain, Picton, Mittagong, lunch at Goulburn then on through the Cullerin Range into Gunning and on to Yass for dinner. Entry fee $30 per vehicle. Organised by the Western Sydney Historical Truck Club.
For an entry form and further information see the website, phone Darrell Killick on 0412 050 224 or email bruce@ prodrivecompliance.com.au. Or join the Facebook group
Haulin’ The Hume - Highway 31 Road Run.
Trucking Australia 2023 March 29-31
Novotel, Sunshine Coast, Queensland new.truck.net.au
The event will discuss the industry’s biggest challenges and spark solutions to shape the future of our industry. Registration opened in early November.
May 18-21
Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre brisbanetruckshow.com.au
The Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre and South Bank Parklands will be wall to wall with the latest and best trucks, trailers, technology, components and equipment when the show returns in 2023.
Have you got an event you’d like included in the next Save the Date? Email all the details to editor@bigrigs.com.au.
The team from the NRFA at last year’s Trucking Australia on the GC. The White Truck Muster is a celebration of the White truck brand.
Koroit Truck Show will return with a bang during the Australia Day long weekend.
The Newcastle convoy departs at Newcastle Markets and ends at McDonald Jones Stadium, where over 200 trucks will be on display.
The popular Geelong event showcases a huge display of classic trucks, tractors, cars and machinery. Photo: Facebook
The vibrant South Bank precinct is jam-packed with entertainment during the Brisbane show.
tion – known as truckie-speak - has been passed down and modified by generations of Aussie truckies across the last century with comprehension almost impossible until new drivers are “in-the-know.”
EARLY 2023, the beginnings of a nationwide shift in female heavy vehicle driver recruitment practices will see greater numbers of women move into trucking careers through WiTA’s Foot in the Door initiative.
Each of the 50 initial trainees will undergo a rigorous assessment process to determine individual goals and needs before being placed with RTO’s and employers to embark on individualised training and employment pathways.
Out on the road, these women – like all new drivers - will find themselves in an environment where their colleagues speak a language not taught as a part of contemporary heavy vehicle driver training.
This form of communica-
A simplistically complex form of linguistics – strangely random words are strung together into incomprehensible sentences readily understood by drivers!
My first real encounter with this alien language happened somewhere between Port Hedland and the Rio-Tinto town of Wickham transporting oversized accommodation huts under escort when the pilot called me up: “Got a copy Lyndal?”
“Copy” I replied. “You’ve got two small ones and an Evel Knievel coming down the shute.” Having received no reply, he again repeated –this time with a little more urgency: “Lyndal, you’ve got two small ones and an Evel Knievel coming down the shute!”
For those of you not competent in Aussie truckie-speak – this mystifying gem translated into “Lyndal… two cars and a motorbike are overtak-
ing you!”
As a community road safety service for ALL new drivers, following is a crash course in “Truckie Speak 101” to enable a smoother transition into the rough and tumble of the nation’s truck yards.
First up, you’ll notice truckie-speak relies heavily on ockerisms - blended into cryptic phrases that initially require a level of guesswork to interpret what’s actually being said.
If you hear truckies mention a “blue-light disco,” a “flash-for-cash,” “angry lights, a “double-bubble,” a “Kojak with a kodak” or a “candy-car,” you can be confident police are nearby.
To the uninitiated, truckie-speak is a dialect with seemingly no rules. A “wobbly” is a caravan, a “wobbly bit” is a trailer and a ‘Wobbly-box” is an accommodation hut. “Woo-backs” are brakes and of course if you “hit the giddy-up” you’ve put your foot down! The Nullarbor is referred to as “the paddock” so a “paddock runner” is a truckie who drives the Nullarbor!
A smidge or a tad is a universal measurement that can
apply to weight, length, height and volume. “Landing gear” are trailer legs and if a truckie asks you to “drop a set,” you’re being asked to move to the left – drop your left tyres off the side of the road and make room for an oversize load.
If you hear a truckie tell someone he’s “carrying post holes or glider fuel,” then he’s running empty. “Put ya boot into it” has the same meaning as hitting the giddy-up! “Mate, you’re “running dark,” means the truck’s trailer lights aren’t working. Doing a “dollar ten” means doing 110km/h.
“Caniva crack?” “Can I overtake you?” “Up the juice in your radio box.” Turn your radio up” and “Tuck your elbows in.” “I’m overtaking!” A “seat cover” is a female passenger. “Heavies” are heavy vehicle inspectors and a “centrepede” is a road train.
If a truckie asks you to “find a spot” over the UHF, he’s asking you to pull over. “Gogo juice” is diesel. “Sgoinon?” “Howyagoin?” and “Sup?” are all greetings. “Just going for an APC” (armpits and crutch) is going for a shower!
Now you know what we’re
talking about – we need your help. If you know any women who have truck licences, who due to a lack of experience are finding it difficult to get a start, WiTA is happy to discuss 2023 placements in the organisation’s Common-
wealth funded NHVR Foot in the Door program.
On behalf of myself and the board of WiTA, we wish you a safe Christmas and a New Year blessed with the love and warmth of family and friends.
FORMULA Chemicals in Sydney purchased its first UD Quon 18 months ago – and company owner and director Leigh Smart says he hasn’t looked back.
The industry veteran has been in the transport game for over 50 years and is also a prominent member of the Australian Trucking Association (ATA).
He founded Formula Chemicals in 1973 and it’s been family-owned and operated since day one, with Smart’s children and grandchildren being part of the business too.
Among Australia’s largest chemical companies, Formula Chemicals specialises in the manufacture of strong acids, alkalisers and detergents for the food and dairy industry.
To ensure their products are transported safely and efficiently across their 33,000 annual routes in NSW, a reliable fleet of trucks is a must. Smart also understands the need for robust and dependable vehicles to maintain a productive and profitable fleet.
UD Trucks Australia recently kicked off its Lap of the Map tour, where it stopped
The Lap of the Map tour sees a fully loaded UD Quon CW25 360 circumnavigate the country, stopping in to meet the various ‘Faces of UD’ along the way including customers, dealers and UD personnel over the course of the 15,000km journey.
During the visit to Formula Chemicals, Smart explained how his UD Quon CD 6x2 360hp trucks have supported the fleet and provided exceptional fuel efficiency. “The fuel efficiency on these trucks blows you away,” he said.
“One of our guys will take a trip down to Albury and come back again and he’s still got a full tank of fuel. They’re a great truck and the drivers love them. It’s incredible how fuel efficient they are compared to our old trucks. Just unbelievable.”
Smart explained that when it came time to buying another truck 18 months ago, it was essential to find the right truck to continue their operations, particularly with transporting dangerous goods safely.
While Formula Chemicals had been exclusively purchasing from another truck brand for 35 years, Smart reached out to his local UD Trucks dealer after it was recommended to him by a friend and was immediately impressed with the professional service and support he received.
“Both the sales manager and sales executive came out here and had a meeting
with me,” Smart said. “They showed that much interest in what I was doing and what they could do to help me.
“They brought out a truck for our drivers and they couldn’t believe it. We’d never get them to go back to the old trucks, no way in the world.”
With his trucks carrying dangerous goods all over NSW, Smart says safety remains an utmost priority for Formal Chemicals. A raft of
safety features on the UD Quon include Traffic Eye Brake System, Traffic Eye Cruise Control, Lane Departure Warning System and UD Stability Control as a standard.
“They’re carrying dangerous goods and that’s the most important thing. We’re looking at a modern truck with all the latest technology, all the stuff you want in a truck and that you need. I couldn’t ask
for anymore,” added Smart.
“We’ve got the latest UD truck being built now. It will be an absolutely magnificent truck and everyone can’t wait to see it and drive it.”
When commenting on the Lap of the Map and the customer visits that have taken place, vice president of UD Trucks Australia, Lauren Pulitano said it’s been a fantastic opportunity to connect with customers like Smart and hear the genuine everyday stories of UD.
“Hearing Leigh’s story is one that makes us very proud of the work we do at UD Trucks in consistently going the extra mile to deliver reliable, safe and efficient trucks that the industry needs and relies on.
“We’re excited to continue our journey of Australia and meet the many faces of the UD family,” explained Pulitano.
“UD customers and dealers across Australia have been key to our ongoing success for nearly 50 years, and we’re thrilled to be celebrating customer success and our partnerships along the way.”
You can follow the Lap of the Map journey on TikTok and Facebook: #UDTrucksLapoftheMap
WITH its eight truck fleet of Isuzu trucks on the road six days a week, reliability is key for fourth generation family business Routley’s Bakery. Based in Geelong, Victoria, Routley’s Bakery has 10 flagship stores across the state. It produces pies, breads and cakes, which are also supplied to cafés, restaurants, school canteens, and tuck-shops at sporting facilities and football clubs across the region.
Routley says the business was started by his grandparents in 1947.
and the five children are all in the family business. So, it’s become very family orientated,” he said.
“Now the next generation have done their apprenticeships and are working at Rout
fleet to get the product to our customers every day, without fail. The great service Routley’s Bakery receives down at Geelong Isuzu keeps the fleet operational and always on the road. “
The latest Isuzu to join the fleet is a long wheel base FRD 110-260 automatic fitted with a Thermo King fridge body and a rear tail lift. It’s been on the road for seven months and Routley says “it’s exactly what we needed”.
The FRD 110-260 has a GVM of 11,000kg and GCM of 16,000 – 20,000.
The fleet has been built up slowly over time in-line with the bakery’s expansion. The relationship between the Routleys and Isuzu Trucks goes back to the 1990s.
I know there won’t be issues,” he said.
“We did try the compet
els to Melbourne delivering a massive amount of food and produce, which is then di
He says if there’s an urgent issue, Geelong Isuzu gets the truck back to them on the
“For routine servicing we long Isuzu brings the truck out the trucks on the road, ry. That’s why we continue to buy Isuzu because they don’t let us down and we don’t have downtime waiting on repairs
SYDNEY-BASED transport company Hannah’s Haulage has added two Mercedes-Benz Trucks Actros models to its 34-truck fleet.
The family freight operation has had a positive experience running a 13-litre 530hp Actros and decided to source two top-of-the-line 16-litre 2663s through Joanne Eisel at Daimler Trucks Huntingwood.
Hannah’s Haulage director, Scott Hannah, says the 530hp Actros was doing “really well” across several roles including a run to Maitland as a B-double.
“The 530 has been really good on fuel. As a double, it was doing the same job as a 600hp truck (from a rival brand) between Sydney and Brisbane and was clearly better on fuel,” said Hannah.
“Running as a single, the fuel economy was just exceptional.”
As Hannah explains, he didn’t hesitate when the Daim-
ler Trucks Huntingwood team mentioned it had two 630hp Actros trucks available.
“The warranty on them is excellent and the servicing is pretty good too. With that, and a competitive price along with my experience with the 530, it was a pretty easy decision to make,” he said.
The two new Actros 2663s have been put to work running as B-doubles for now, transporting aluminium material for cans to a softdrink producer in Melbourne before carrying a load of full softdrinks cans on the return journey. Soon, the trucks will run as A-doubles to boost productivity.
Hannah says the early signs were good and the 2663s were also getting excellent fuel economy.
Soon after delivery, Hannah took one of the new Mercedes-Benz trucks down to Melbourne to pick up a new trailer set.
“I took one for its first run down to Melbourne to pick up a trailer and it was really impressive. I’m not alone there, the guys who drive them just absolutely love them,” he said.
“The quality of the interior and the ergonomics are really excellent. The performance is really great as well.”
The two new Mercedes-Benz trucks feature the new Hannah Haulage paint scheme, with brilliant yellow plus black and red highlights that ensure the combinations stand out on the road.
“The yellow is not just the company colour, but also perfect for safety,” explained Hannah.
“The stripe on the truck and the trailers really stands out, even in adverse weather. You also notice it, but it is not in your face or over the top.”
Also boosting safety levels are the standard active safety features that have long been at the core of the Actros model.
All Actros models come with the fifth-generation radar/camera Advanced Emergency Braking System (AEBS) called Active Brake Assist, which can now automatically perform full emergency braking for vehicles and pedestrians.
All Actros models also come standard with Lane Departure Warning System
FROM the passenger seat of his father’s truck, Tyson Staben, 26, was already learning the ins and outs of truck driving when he was just a little kid.
The second-generation truckie credits his dad with teaching him all he knows.
“My dad drove semis around Adelaide, so I would travel in the truck with him. He then started a small business when I was 10 years old, doing furniture deliveries. I’ve always loved trucks. I used to get told off at primary school for standing on the fence and getting the truckies to blow the air horn,” he said.
“Dad and the other blokes that worked with him taught me how to drive the truck, but I owe everything I know to my
dad. I used to work with him on weekends from about the age of 15. I started out washing trucks and helping where I could, then jumped in the truck as an offsider, and then progressed to getting my licence. Dad sold up about five years ago.”
At 20, Staben got his HC
licence, and then by 24 he had secured his MC.
Based in SA, the Riverland local has worked at Morgan Sawmill for close to 18 months, pulling B-doubles and road trains from behind the wheel of a 2017 Kenworth T909, which he had his eye on for some time.
“I love this truck. I used to always see it around at my old job and thought it would be nice to drive one of those one day. Now, it’s got 920,000 kilometres on the clock and it still looks brand new,” he said.
Morgan Sawmill is located in Jamestown and runs a fleet of seven prime movers and a rigid tipper. As Staben explained, “99 per cent of the work is timber work. They cut all their own wood and I cart it all around, mostly to Adelaide, as well as into Victoria. We also cart other people’s freight throughout South Australia and to Melbourne and Brisbane.”
As he stopped to chat with Big Rigs, Staben had just been loaded up with around 40 tonne of timber in Mt Gam-
bier, which was bound for Loxton.
Staben rates the travel as one of the job’s best perks. “You’re always moving and get to see a lot of the countryside and the way it changes. You could be driving through dust and sandstorms one year – and then a year later, it’s all flooded.”
Though the recent wet weather and subsequent floods have caused additional challenges as of late. “The last time I went up to Brisbane, I got stuck at Moree in NSW, when they closed all the roads because they were flooded. They were actually getting all of the trucks out of town under escort because they were running out of food. The town was blocked off by flooding in every direction,” he explained.
Staben’s favourite places to travel through are Colac and Mildura. “It’s mainly on all the backroads and is really nice going up through there – and it’s quiet. Although the roads are shocking. They have gotten worse with all this flooding. Potholes get filled in, then it rains again and washes them all out.
“The road between Cressy
and Ballarat is pretty bad at the moment too. It feels like it’s getting skinnier and skinnier every time you go down there, and there’s a big drop off the side. You don’t want to be coming across another B-double in the opposite direction. The Gore Highway between Goondiwindi and Toowoomba is pretty bad too at the moment, it’s all just flood damage I think.”
When travelling through Victoria’s west, Staben’s favourite place to stop at is the Mortlake Roadhouse. “The owner there, Dion, is just a legend. The food is really good, so you’ve got to be hungry if you want to try and finish it all. The servings are huge. If I’m planning on stopping there, I don’t eat for the day,” he laughed.
Though he lives and breathes trucking, and loves the travel, Staben says being away from home so much can be tough too. “You have zero social life. There’s only two days in the week to get everything else done, and that’s only if you get home for the weekend. Every now and then I’ll go away for two weeks at a time,” he added.
A third-generation truckie, James Markwort, 42, has travelled all over Australia during his 20 years as a truck driver.
He drives a Kenworth T409 for Millar’s Transport which is based at Heyfield in Victoria.
When I spoke to Markwort, he was driving out of Geelong to the Riverina in NSW to load bales of cotton.
“I love the industry and if you are bred into trucks you have a passion for them like me. I want to see the industry go ahead and thrive,” he said.
Markwort previously worked for Lumbars of Deniliquin in NSW where his father Ted lives and runs ECM Haulage.
His dad recently appeared in a Big Rigs driver profile which attracted more than 10,000 views on the website.
“My grandfathers were also truckies and so were some of their families and I am proud to be a third generation driver,” he said.
During his extensive travels Markwort has been to many parts of the country including numerous trips to North Queensland, Darwin and WA.
“I have transported lots of
Army equipment and vehicles to Townsville’s Lavarack Barracks and a military base at Darwin,” he said.
Like many drivers Markwort has a gas cooker on board so he can prepare his own meals when required on trips.
“My favourites are scotch fillet and rump steak,” he said.
However Markwort does stop at roadhouses too and nominated Paynes Find Roadhouse in WA, Townsville’s BP Cluden and the new one at Echuca in Victoria as his favourites.
Paynes is a family owned and operated business located in a remote area on the Great Northern Highway, 420 km north of Perth.
“I bought a scotch fillet recently at the Echuca Roadhouse and it was so tender it melted in my mouth,” he said.
As for the worst road he has been on, Markwort nominated the Ootan Track as the winner by far.
“It takes five to eight hours to do 88km on one section and it is bad,” he said.
Covid-19 affected many truckies however Markwort said he had all the jabs.
“The roads were a lot qui-
eter when Covid was around everywhere but they are getting busier now,” he said.
I asked Markwort if he could report on any humorous incidents he has seen on the highways and byways.
“What happens on the road stays on the road,” he said with a loud laugh.
Outside work Markwort enjoys pig hunting and tending to his trusty Harley Davidson bike.
“I love my Harley and go pig hunting around Deniliquin with mates,” he said.
Early in 2023 Markwort is looking forward to many trips to the tropics, including Townsville.
“That will be when the cotton season finishes,” he said.
I LOVE THE INDUSTRY AND IF YOU ARE BRED INTO TRUCKS YOU HAVE A PASSION FOR THEM LIKE ME. I WANT TO SEE THE INDUSTRY GO AHEAD AND THRIVE.”
JAMES MARKWORT
WHEN veteran truckie Steve Dean told me his nickname was ‘Boots’ I immediately checked out his footwear when I saw him in north Queensland recently.
He was wearing rubber thongs like many drivers so I asked how the nickname came about.
“I used to wear Thomas Cook boots and people started calling me that and it has stuck,” he said.
Boots, who turned 57 on December 2 was parked at the BP Cluden. He drives a Scania 620 for Exodas and is based in
Brisbane.
“I was born and bred at Adelong in NSW and have brought up frozen goods from south for Townsville and Cairns and have a backload of produce to pick up at Mareeba,” he said.
Boots has been a truckie for many years and said he won’t be changing his career any time soon.
“I don’t know anything else. I have worked with this company for six months and was with them some time back for two years,” he said.
Whilst this friendly driver cooks a lot of his food in a
microwave when away, he does enjoy stopping at the Injune Roadhouse.
“My favourite foods are steak, prawns and veggies,” he said.
The road he finds challenging to travel on is the Bruce Highway, north of Rockhampton.
His hobbies outside work include riding his 2017 Harley Davidson and watching the V8 Supercars races.
Having fair skin, I asked Dean has he ever had any skin cancers. “No, I get regular skin checks,” he said.
STRANGERS regularly ask Jim Fergus the history of his old 1980 model Ford F100.
I was one of them when the 49-year-old pulled up in his truck at the IGA Supermarket in Mundingburra, deep in the tropics of Townsville.
“I have had it for about four years and purchased it at Millmerran,” he said.
Fergus is a builder and his company is called From This To That.
“I work for my wife and the Ford carries my gear around as far away as Wide Bay, Cairns and out west,” he said.
The Ford even has a Kenworth sun visor fitted to the front.
“Yes I get stopped often by people wanting to know all about the Ford and I am glad to tell them,” he said.
Fergus got into the driver’s seat and drove from the parking area, honking his loud and easily recognised horn.
Lots of people in the carpark had a close look at the vehicle.
After the many challenges the industry was forced to tackle in 2021, we’d all hoped to have the wind on our backs in 2022. Thank heavens for the humour of our cartoonist Ryan Lee-Taylor of Blue Dog Cartoons to help us through. Here’s a look back at a few of our favourites from the trucking industry’s ‘annus horribilis’.
erators to ensure customers and consumers are appropriately charged for the goods they consume, recognising that transport accounts for around 12-15 per cent of the total cost of goods sold, with this figure expected to rise unless productivity starts to improve.
MUCH of 2022 was punctuated by three key events that have combined to put real pressure on our national economy, with consequences for the transport industry.
Soaring inflation, rising fuel costs and a normalisation of interest rates after record lows, are leading to higher business and other costs and operators need to prepare for something of a reckoning this year as these increases start to peak.
Operators have rightly factored this into their cost models, recognising that wearing higher business charges is fraught with risk and potentially detrimental to their financial health and wellbeing, and their capacity to employ people.
While this undoubtedly contributes to inflation in the broader economy, the VTA continues to advocate for op-
It is encouraging that the Commonwealth Government is doing its bit to help alleviate the impacts of higher energy costs throughout the economy. Temporary price caps will help to reduce what businesses and consumers pay for energy, freeing up their disposable income to maintain living standards that have been eroding through cost-of-living pressures. We can only hope that as inflation peaks and interest rate growth stabilises over the course of the year, a degree of normalcy starts to return after years of turmoil.
While these are domestic issues we have a degree of control over, the elephant in the room continues to be geopolitical tensions overseas that, while happening thousands of kilometres away, has implications for Australia’s supply chains and economic recovery.
Energy costs will continue to be impacted by the ongoing war in Eastern Europe, which we hope will come to a peaceful resolution as soon as possible. Aside from the humanitarian catastrophe, war continues to impact supply chains and the price of commodities with Ukraine’s export capacity of grains like barley, corn, and wheat severely limited, leading to higher prices everywhere.
In China, an apparent shift away from a ‘zero Covid’ strategy has the potential to continue impacting supply chains. Labour shortages there in manufacturing, agriculture, and other sectors due to an expected spike in transmission will inevitably create domestic blockages.
Australia is particularly vulnerable to foreign supply chain disruptions, especially in the context of global shipping price hikes and the tyranny of distance we feel as a remote island nation. Shipping lines are either bypassing Australia altogether or are limiting their passage here to reduce costs and as a response to reduced supply.
As an industry group, our focus this year will be to advocate for the legislation, reg-
ulation and reforms that are necessary to respond to these domestic and international pressures, to limit their impact on our industry.
We will also continue to pursue reforms that are preventing operators from growing their workforce and solving chronic labour and driver shortages that have plagued the industry.
Through our Victorian Government backed programs, we’ve proved that more intensive and practical-based
driver training can produce safer drivers, whilst helping to attract new participants to the transport industry such as people looking for a career change and women returning to the workforce.
The next step in this process is to trial the program for young people, including school leavers, which is why we’ve called for a pilot program to accelerate the time to get responsible and capable and extensively trained young people behind the wheel of heavy
vehicles.
Training, not experience, should be the benchmark upon which we licence drivers and we will continue our advocacy for this strongly this year.
Notwithstanding the challenges, the future is bright for the Australian transport industry when viewed through the lens of consumption, which continues to grow.
The headwinds are there but they are not insurmountable if we work in unison and towards a common goal.
BEFORE we begin our wish list for 2023 just a quick wrap-up for 2022
The Transport Women Australia Limited (TWAL) end-of-year events included the presentations to the Driving the Difference Scholarship recipients, the announcement of Merry Manton as the Trish Pickering Memorial Award recipient for 2022, and Denis Robertson being awarded Life Membership for his service to the organisation.
We also launched our ‘Living the Dream’ campaign which was enthusiastically accepted wherever it was shown.
This campaign will now be launched everywhere over the Christmas and New Year period.
Now for 2023, TWAL will be expanding the Living the
Dream campaign on radio, and wherever else we can get the video and song played. We will be expanding all our current initiatives, the Creating Connections Mentoring Program, Women Driving Transport Careers Program, and our Learning Initiatives Breakfast Series, obviously our scholarship program and the Trish Pickering Memorial Award initiatives only come around once a year.
We hope to expand our schools and TAFE initiatives within and beyond NSW as this brings the industry to high school students who have never been aware of the possibilities of a career in
transport and logistics.
With eight directors in four states, we hope to bring the industry to as many people as possible in a positive and uplifting way by showing the amazing possibilities that can come from a career in the industry.
We will be holding our always well attended and fun Brisbane Truck Show breakfast, hosted by vice chair
Coralie Chapman. We will be holding an event and appearing on the program at CeMAT in Sydney for the first time.
We are in the planning stages of holding an event at the Road Transport Hall of Fame in Alice Springs in early May and hope to have this announcement out very soon.
During the year we will be
launching a new leadership program, as well as commencing the planning of our 2024 conference and the celebration in late 2024 of our 25th anniversary.
The organisation will be looking for more funding and to add new partnership so we can expand these programs and build for the future.
As for the industry in general, we will as always spend
time on improving the industry image where possible, encouraging more people into the transport and logistics industry, and campaigning for better facilities and rest areas throughout the country.
We are prepared to join with other organisations’ campaigns that keep our roads and drivers safer.
Meanwhile, keep living the dream!
[back row, l-r] Annastasia Denigan (Qube Bulk), Nicole Russell (Qube Bulk), Nicole Murray (Port of Brisbane), Jillian Hamilton (Manage Damage), Katharine Causer (Big Rigs), Melissa Beutel (Australian Truck Radio). [front row, l-r] Treena Heit (Big Rigs), Kirsti Frost (Qube Bulk). WOMENdisrupted by new technology in recent years and the trucking industry is no different.
ATA CHAIR DAVID SMITH Australian Trucking Association
DO you remember the George Clooney movie, The Perfect Storm, in which he played the captain of a tiny fishing boat caught in the mother of all storms?
Some days, working in the trucking industry has felt like we’re in that movie, battling the constant waves smashing us with little respite.
Like the waves, the challenges have just kept coming: the pandemic; border closures; skills shortages; supply chain issues; fuel shortages; diesel price hikes and the temporary suspension of the fuel tax excise.
Of course, nature’s also been throwing everything at us, including heavy rain, floods and bushfires. And many of our already substandard roads are a mess of potholes and patchwork repairs.
Our road network is not fit-for-purpose, road funding and user charging is broken, and the provision of rest areas is treated more like an after-thought and not a guaranteed safety standard as they should be.
Then there are the usual issues of endless red tape, the dysfunctional Heavy Vehicle National Law and the truly broken access system.
2022 also saw a federal election – and a rare change of government. Regardless of political stripes, new governments bring new energy to the reform task. With the Albanese government’s commitment to building ‘A Better Future,’ we have the opportunity to bring that appetite for change to the challenges we face.
And when I say challenges, I’m under no illusion about the
issues the trucking industry is facing. Despite that, I’m optimistic.
The key is to face the future head on. Technology and disruption do not wait, and history shows they don’t spare market leaders. If you get your bets wrong on future technology, it can upend your business – just ask Nokia and Kodak about the iPhone.
Many industries have been
Reducing carbon emissions will be one of the most significant transitions to impact trucking. This is more than an environmental story – as important as that is – because we are also talking about an economic transition. New technologies and new ways of doing business. Our customers will increasingly want sustainable transport supply chains with zero or low emissions.
All Australian, state and territory governments, and both sides of politics, are committed to net zero emissions by 2050.
If we don’t have a plan for trucking in a net zero world, we don’t have a plan to secure the future of the industry.
Then there is automation. While the hype of automated trucks often seems so distant, so disconnected from today, these trucks are now in trials on public roads around the globe. The future may be closer than we realise.
Change can be uncomfortable. But it can also provide opportunity.
This is a situation where
knowledge is most definitely power. The upcoming Trucking Australia conference on the Sunshine Coast (March 2931) will feature expert speakers on zero emission vehicles and automated vehicles and what they mean for the industry.
The conference will also shine a light on the shadowy world of cyber security. Trucking operators are not immune from this growing issue and the ATA has heard from operators big and small targeted by hackers who steal data and can even hold the company to ransom.
The conference is where we’ll come together as an industry to support each other and learn the tools we will all need to turn the future to our advantage.
I think the key is that we are a collaborative industry. We know the value of working together.
Through our members, and in particular our state, territory and sector-based member associations, we have weathered the perfect storm of the past few years. Together, I know we will build an industry that is safer, more productive and more sustainable.
FOR many in industry, 2022 was another very challenging year. While Covid-19 border restrictions lifted, the industry still faced unique pressures and challenges including supply chain issues, increasing fuel costs, driver shortages and impacts of flood events not to mention supply of new vehicles and accessing spare parts.
But, as always, the industry was able to navigate these challenges and keep trucks moving safely.
We were proud to support these efforts and work with industry and regulatory partners to find practical solutions while still delivering on our commitment to pursue a modern regulatory strategy that is focused on informing, educating, and enforcing.
Our safety and compliance officers had open conversations with drivers about safety practices and to help establish positive and long-lasting safety behaviours. We continued to work closely with policing agencies to build stronger relationships and ensure consistency in the way compliance and enforcement activities are undertaken.
We also ramped up our focus on key decision makers under Chain of Responsibility which we know is key to driving improved safety cultures and a key area industry has been advocating. This saw
an increase in primary duties prosecutions over the year. Twenty-seven Executives, off road parties, operators and other parties in the chain were before the court for primary duty matters.
But prosecutions aren’t our key driver, we value working with businesses to improve their own operations, which is why where appropriate, we will use alternatives to prosecution for industry. This year we accepted 15 Enforceable Undertakings and close to 30 court imposed Supervisory Intervention Orders (SIOs), as well as a number of improvement notices. Rather than issuing a fine, these tools enable companies to invest in improving safety practices or developing safety tools that will benefit the entire industry and other road users.
As our roads became busy again, we made a dedicated investment to improve awareness of the broader community on improving their interactions with trucks. Our young driver initiative Don’t #uck With A Truck drove home an important safety message to our L and P platers in a purposely provocative way. We continued our We Need Space campaign and partnered with Queensland Police Service to launch the Sharing our Roads with Oversize Loads campaign.
After two years of virtual meetings and cancelled physical events, one of the major highlights of the year for me was the ability to reconnect with many of you in person. This interaction is something I truly enjoy and value as it gives me the opportunity to hear first-hand your concerns,
issues or even just the opportunity to have a chat.
There were robust discussions and information sharing at numerous conferences throughout the year and while I know there is still a lot of work to do, overall, I am confident that by working together we are starting to make a meaningful and positive difference. We have appreciated your honest feedback during the year, and I look forward to continuing to engage with you in the new year.
We have spent a lot of time internally to continue to improve our approaches and I’m really pleased to see that we were recognised for these efforts and being named the 2022 Service Champion for the Customer Service Organisation of the Year – Government/Not for Profit category
at the CSIA Australian Service Excellence Awards. This achievement is at the core of our values, to provide a consistent, accountable and transparent customer experience.
I look forward to continuing to work together in 2023 as we strive to keep delivering a safe and highly efficient road freight transport sector. Next year we will continue our journey to finalise the transition of heavy vehicles services from the states to the NHVR, which will go a long way to delivering a consistent and efficient regulatory service across the country.
We recently released a Performance Based Standards (PBS) 2.0 Discussion Paper seeking industry involvement to shape the future of the
scheme so we can get these safer and more productive vehicles on our road networks sooner.
Our key priorities are focused on expanding access, moving mature combinations into the “as-of-right” fleet and reducing end-to-end approval times. We are holding a series of webinars early in the new year to ensure industry has a chance to provide input.
Continued improvements to the NHVR Portal being the single-entry point for industry, government and road managers to manage access and other heavy vehicle regulatory services will see the release of the first national network map. This will save time and effort by removing the need for industry to access multiple state-based maps to plan and manage journeys and will start
to provide dedicated heavy vehicle routing options.
Our commitment to improving the management of fatigue and helping drivers rest when they are tired and drive when they are fit will be a priority. We are focused on breaking down the barriers to help operators get into Advanced Fatigue Management (AFM). New resources and tools will be made available, including pre-approved AFM work and rest examples and a new streamlined online AFM application process.
There are a lot of exciting and innovative projects in the pipeline over the next twelve months, and I look forward to continuing to work closely with everyone across the heavy vehicle industry and supply chain to ensure safe, more productive and efficient 2023.
Queensland, in NSW and Victoria as they deliver produce and goods around the country.
The many Blenners drivers I have interviewed have described Les as a “fair man”.
One of my projects late in 2022 has been to go through old photo files I have snapped over the decades.
That was after receiving numerous requests from drivers asking if I could send them some of the pics.
These have been from drivers around Australia because of the nature of the industry and the distances they travel.
I have been throughout Queensland from the Torres Strait to Brisbane, out west to Boulia, the Gulf of Carpentaria, to NSW, Victoria, Tasmania and to a lesser degree the NT.
As I go through the files there are pics I had forgotten about. These include who now have grandsons behind the wheel of a big rig.
These trips down memory lane are testimony to the amazing work our truckies do and the number of genuine characters amongst them.
Over the past months I have had the pleasure of doing stories on two road transport identities Les Blennerhassett and Leigh Dehne and consider them both to be great Australians.
I have never met either and I’ll explain my reasoning for also describing them as legends of the industry.
Les and wife Judy own the giant Blenners which has depots at Tully, Townsville, Mareeba, Mackay, Rockhampton and Brisbane.
Over the decades I have seen his trucks around
Whilst doing some pics at the Townsville depot early one morning I could see how busy it was with trucks everywhere.
One of the drivers told me that Blenners employs more than 500 people with a weekly payroll of more than $1 million.
That is a lot of people who earn a good living. He also gives youngsters a go.
Add to that the weekly fuel bill for more than 100 trucks and Blenners make a big contribution to the economy.
Blenners started off small in 1988 and has grown since, despite suffering when Cyclone Larry devastated north Queensland in 2006. Many of the banana crops were destroyed.
Leigh Dehne is the Katherine based operator of Slingshot Transport which amongst its fleet has the famous Yellow Kenworth named Moby Dick.
He has had the Kenworth restored with modifications and it’s become a well-known truck.
Many would have read our feature on Moby Dick and Dehne in the last edition.
Having spoken to Dehne several times by phone I found him to be a gentleman.
Moby Dick has created a lot of interest, even overseas, after images were placed on social media.
Dehne also has a wonderful sense of humour with an example being one of his quotes: “Make sure when you do the story that readers know Moby Dick is the name of the Kenworth and not my nickname,” he said.
A damsel in distress was stand-
ing at a Victorian rest area holding a jerry can.
Nobody seemed interested in asking if they could help until a truckie from a big company came along.
He soon discovered the lass, who was aged in her thirties, had run out of petrol.
So this Good Samaritan grabbed the empty jerry can and drove 20km to a servo.
He returned with the jerry can and helped her put the fuel into her car’s tank.
Naturally she was very thankful.
Our truckie mates advise of plagues of mosquitoes at locations around Australia especially areas where lots of rain has fallen.
This included places around NSW where it flooded.
Many truckies carry insect repellent “for a rainy day” –pardon the pun.
These mozzies can pass on diseases such as dengue or Ross River fever.
I know of a couple of roadhouses which have sold out of insect repellent due to high demand.
A decision by the Queensland Government to close 23 of its Driver Reviver sites in 2023 is not good news for the road transport industry.
This is due to the cost of repairs outweighing the benefits.
Over the decades I have stopped many times at such Driver Revivers when they are open – normally over holiday periods.
It must be pointed out that truck drivers were not always welcomed with open arms at these places; where you could get a biscuit, a tea or coffee, and have a rest.
The sites are manned by volunteers and I have been told by some that “they were
mainly for travellers in cars and vans.”
Having said that, if a truckie could find a suitable parking spot they could stop for a rest and most were near public toilets as a bonus.
What was a benefit to truckies was that many of these other travellers who stopped at one had fatigue.
So a break at a Driver Reviver would refresh them, making it safer for all road users.
Most of the sites will close
during the year. But when this first edition of Big Rigs comes out in early January some will already be non-operational.
The truckies I have spoken to since the announcement was made in late November all agree this will increase the risk of fatigue for other motorists.
Husband and wife team Brad and Kayla Stewart run the popular Scottsdale Junction 13 Roadhouse in north-east
Tasmania which has been receiving praise from many truckies.
Brad drives a Mack B-double delivering fuel for United and helps Kayla at the roadhouse when he gets time at home.
“The majority of our customers are truck drivers and they come from many parts of Tasmania. At least 100 a week stop here,” Kayla said.
Kayla is famous for her coffee. I also asked what was the most popular food for drivers.
“It would have to be bacon and egg muffins and spicy chicken burgers,” she said.
Scottsdale is located on the Tasman Highway, around 63km north-east of Launceston and 22km south-east of the coastal town of Bridport.
It is open from 4am to 3.30pm Monday to Friday and is next to the United Service Station, where fuel can be accessed 24 hours a day.
The building is owned by former long-time driver Robin Gerke who has had the lease on the United there for the past 10 years.
Gerke saw the need for such a facility when many truckies were purchasing coffee from Kayla, who had a food van on the site.
So he had a new building erected which has been leased
by Kayla and Brad since it opened in March.
Kayla is originally from Burpengary in Queensland and has been in the Apple Isle for three years.
It takes considerable skill by a driver to reverse a truck with two trailers to hook up a third.
Spy was at the Port Access Road breakdown area on December 2 late in the afternoon and saw such a manoeuvre.
It was a Lowes Mack Superliner and the driver had to drive forward several times as he was preparing to hook up.
The entire operation took about 20 minutes and then the triple drove off.
Some drivers will tell you they do it that many times it is common practice.
However there is little doubt it still requires precision and skill.
Hundreds of road transport people will participate in Australia’s biggest cricket carnival – the Goldfield Ashes in Charters Towers from January 20 to 22.
They will include truckies lucky enough to snare a few days off, and their families; as well as representatives of transport companies which sponsor various teams by providing colourful t-shirts and other items.
Last year more than 230 teams competed across five grades.
The event attracts teams from all over the far north and is a carnival where you can catch up with old friends.
Competition in the top grades is serious however in the other divisions the social side of it comes to the fore.
Batters who make a duck or drop a catch have to wear a women’s dress which is an unwritten rule abided by most teams.
There is a band of truckies around Australia who are known as the Leap Brigade.
These are drivers who were born in a leap year, which falls every four years on February 29.
Non leap years only have 28 days in February.
Spy heard about this at a roadhouse parking area when a veteran driver who looked well and truly aged over 60 was telling others he is just 16.
“I am actually aged 64 but being born in a leap year I divide it by four which is 16,” he said.
Leap years this century have been in 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016 and 2020 with the next one in 2024.
Long serving Charters Towers policeman Sergeant Paul Breitkreutz retired from the Force on November 30 after 41 years of service.
Sergeant Breitkreutz was a decent and well-liked cop who was a pleasure to deal with whenever Big Rigs asked for information from the area.
I recall contacting him last year after a police and scalies blitz on drivers which included truck drivers at the Mingela rest area.
The police and transport officers were provided with sausages which were cooked on a weber barbecue set up on one of the rest area picnic tables. “The only thing was that there was Covid-19 in Charters Towers and the only sausages we could buy from the supermarket were gluten free and the officers there were not too keen on them,” he said.
That caused some laughter and good-natured humour amongst truckies who heard about it.
Sergeant Breitkreutz had previously worked at the Stuart Police Station for nine years and on retirement recommended that young emerging officers try and get posted at rural communities early on in their careers.
I wish him well in retirement.
positives aspects or those issues about which I am most passionate and have a chance of making a contribution to change.
I began writing column when I was returned as Transport Women Australia Limited chair in November 2017.
In the interim, TWAL has had many successes and achievements.
It is a sad day for all of us in the industry as Big Rigs magazine has been a part of our lives for almost 30 years.
For some, their entire careers so far.
It will leave huge gap as the editors and staff have supported the industry, provided fair and rational debate and given everyone a fair say in industry doings to all, as well as stories, pictures and news of our people, our trucks and our unsung heroes.
Our lives will be the poorer for its demise; being a columnist for Big Rigs for the past year and half has allowed me to fulfil yet another childhood dream, to write, and it has given me great pleasure and I hope it has at least been enjoyed by some.
While so many are focused on the negatives of the industry, I have tried to focus on the
It has expanded the relationship with Girl Guides Australia and been involved with several successful projects with them, the Victorian Snoozefest in April 2018, the “Great Bag Migration” for the International Jamboree in Sydney in October 2018 and other interactions that are expanding the knowledge of the transport industry.
We launched the Women Driving Transport Careers initiative with our partners Wodonga TAFE and Volvo Group at the 2018 TWAL Creating
in Melbourne.
In November 2019 we celebrated the 20th Anniversary of the organisation (TWAL) with a fabulous gala dinner at The Windsor Melbourne where we also presented our first four winners of the Driving the Difference scholarships with our amazing sponsor, Daimler Truck and Bus Asia Pacific.
We also presented the inaugural Trish Pickering Mem-
orial Award, sponsored by the wonderful Wes Pickering.
This was awarded for longterm outstanding contribution by a female to the road transport industry, the inaugural winner was Pam McMillan the longest serving director and chair of Transport Women Australia Limited.
This is an annual award and the recipient of the 2020 Trish Pickering Memorial Award
formerly, was an amount of five pounds (4)
What is a single respiration (6)
Which person lives in seclusion (6)
What is an alternative term for violent storms (8)
Name a British fighter aircraft much used in WWII (8)
To breathe out, is to do what (6)
Name a port on Roebuck Bay WA (6)
To be wicked, is to be what (6)
What is the fifteenth day of March (4)
will be announced later this year at an event still to be determined.
We have also launched our Learning Initiatives Breakfast Series with several partners so far, including NTI, MOVE BANK and rt health.
In early 2020 the Creating Connections Mentoring program was finally ready to commence with both mentors and mentees signing up to the pro-
gram.
I would like to thank the fantastic team at Big Rigs newspaper for their incredible support and wish them ongoing success.
I hope that I get the opportunity to continue to work with some of them and so work towards making the trucking industry a better appreciated, and a safer place for our people.
policy that should be keeping safe one of the most dangerous industries in Australia.
To quote one truck driver turned Australian senator, Glenn Sterle, “a death at work or on the road should not be the price of doing business”.
The TWU puts it to governments that we must stop the inequality that exists between truck drivers and clients.
long way to go – we have been through countless road, freight and transport ministers and nothing changes.
Truck drivers are still dying at work.
It’s a pretty safe bet to say this is due to the lack of strong government policy in place,
Drivers must be paid proper rates, owner-drivers must be able to trust they will be paid properly for the work they do and on time. Families depend on this.
Many of the ongoing problems that occur are down to the big clients squeezing our
industry as dry as they can. They want operators to meet their unrealistic deadlines and take on more freight for less or they face the risk of
losing their contracts and the ability to support their families.
It appears the government does not care.
There are unsafe vehicles, dodgy licences, poor payment times, wage and superannuation theft – just a few of the many things we have called for to be stopped.
A reminder to governments and the transport industry clients: the industry that has kept Australia moving during the pandemic is facing an uphill battle.
Employer groups should be standing alongside transport workers to unite for a safer and fairer industry.
A final reminder to all Big Rigs readers: now is the time to unite, now is the time to ensure equality in this industry.
Together we can stand on common ground working to ensure the government continues to support transport workers and the industry they support.
The TWU will continue to voice the needs of transport workers to the employers, their industry bodies and the clients.
Better standards mean job security and ultimately a safer and fairer industry for all.
We can lift the standards we need together – our lives depend on it.
BEVAN Joseph from Sydney’s City Hino (sales), Heath Bonney from Sydney’s Adtrans Hino (parts) and John Dempsey from Mt Gambier’s Barry Maney Hino (service) have taken out the coveted titles in the Hino National Skills Contest.
After a Covid-enforced hiatus for two years, 18 of the best staff from the Hino Australia dealer network competed against each other in the Hino National Skills final, having completed a series of qualifying rounds.
Finalists in the sales and parts categories demonstrated their expertise through real-world roleplay scenarios and theory tests while the service technicians were
tested on their diagnostic, analytical and technical skills in a series of hypothetical exercises.
Parts contestants were further tested on their interpretation skills of 300 Series
Hybrid, 500 and 700 Series, and genuine versus non-genuine parts.
For the first time, all contestants competed in a friendly Sale of the Century-type exhibition quiz with Hino
ambassador Neil Crompton acting as quiz master.
After rapid-fire rounds with a series of questions from across all areas, Michael Xioa from CMI Hino Melbourne was crowned the overall quiz winner.
Held in Sydney on November 17, this was the 11th version of the event, which is one of the longest-running and most comprehensive of its type in the truck industry.
“The Hino Australia’s National Skills Contest demonstrates our commitment to investing in and developing our staff, while ensuring they remain up-to-date with the latest technology – these were contributing factors to Hino Australia recently win-
ning global Parts and Service Awards for the 14th and 11th consecutive years respectively,” said Sam Suda, president and CEO of Hino Australia.
“A skilled dealer network ensures we can continue to provide world-class service and knowledge to our customers – it is particularly important given the skills shortage that is being experienced across the trucking industry.”
Each winner receives a cash reward and an ultimate VIP experience at the 2023 Repco Supercars Newcastle event.
The event was held at Hino Australia’s Sydney headquarters and attended by VIPs including Suda and Reiji Hara, section leader, to-
Service
1st – John Dempsey –
Barry Maney Hino
2nd – Peter May – FRM Hino
3rd – Thanh Nguyen –WA Hino
Parts
1st – Heath Bonney –Adtrans Hino
2nd – Codey Colley –
Sci-Fleet Hino Brisbane
3rd – David Camilleri –CMI Hino Melbourne
Sales
1st – Bevan Joseph –City Hino 2nd – Shane Curtain
– Sci Fleet Hino Eagle Farm
3rd – Jarrod White –CMI Hino Adelaide
tal support overseas regional management department for Hino Motors, Ltd.
CENTURION has teamed up with WA based disability employment and training organisation Good Sammy to deliver job opportunities at its Perth Airport Logistics Hub.
Good Sammy employees have been working and training alongside Centurion staff
to perform warehousing and logistics services at the hub since the partnership began in early December.
Over time, they will be able to build on their hours worked duties undertaken. Good Sammy will also rotate more employees through the roles cre-
ated with Centurion to create additional job opportunities.
Centurion CEO Justin Cardaci said the company was happy to be partnering with Good Sammy in a program that provided participants with meaningful, engaging and challenging work while
also demonstrating Centurion’s commitment to diversity across its Perth Airport Logistics Hub.
“This partnership means a lot to us, and we’re glad that we can offer opportunities and mentorship to help better represent people with disability in our industry,” he said.
“The Perth Airport Logistics hub is at the heart of our distribution network in Perth. It’s a busy facility and the perfect place to learn on the job.”
Good Sammy CEO Kane Blackman thanked Centurion for joining forces: “In addition to providing employment
opportunities for people with disability, partnerships like this help organisations access local talent in a tight labour market and evidence their commitment to workplace diversity while also supporting greater economic and social participation for people with disability.”
If this sounds like you and you would like to help build on our Good Work culture, then we would like to hear from you.
In the First instance please contact P Phillip Martin@fultonhogan com au
