ownerdriver DECEMBER 2020 #335
DEDICATED TO THE SUCCESS OF THE PERSON BEHIND THE WHEEL
OWNERDRIVER.COM.AU
Electronic diaries Official approval for pen and
paper replacement See page 14
Goodbye ProStar Final countdown for
International’s Australian presence See page 64
SAFE ’N SOUND
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Contents #335
DECEMBER 2020
36 to reduce Newell heavy vehicle and motorist through traffic
56 BLAST FROM HIS PAST Michael Vella of NSW Freightlines, a big fan of heritage trucks, has two of the best classic Kenworths going ’round
56
“Crawler ratios in mDrive have been a long time coming”
64 GOING, GOING … GONE! The imminent demise of International ProStar from the Australian market puts the final nail in the coffin of a disjointed attempt
20 MACK TO SING SAFETY ANTHEM
It is looking ever more likely that the longawaited Anthem will be the first Mack to come with an advanced safety package as standard
36 VALVOLINE TRUCK OF THE MONTH
Airlie Beach Hotel owner Michael McFee’s stunning Kenworth T909 B-double combo resembles a mobile billboard
52 DUBBO BRIDGE BATTLE GAINS IMPETUS
Community group says a city bypass is needed
to build a new future for an iconic brand
72 VOLVO DELIVERS New FM, FMX, FH and FH16 models to herald a new era in driver safety for Volvo Group Australia
74 COMPOUNDING A COMEBACK The introduction of a 13 litre turbocompound Euro 6 engine in Volvo’s new model range comes as no surprise
20
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4 DECEMBER 2020
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SPECIALISTS IN WHEEL ALIGNMENTS, STEERING & SUSPENSION REPAIRS
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25/11/2020 1:16:33 PM
FUSO CAPPED PRICE SERVICING
FUSO IS NOW TAKING THE GUESS WORK OUT OF YOUR SCHEDULED SERVICING. With Fuso Capped Price Servicing, you can now get capped, upfront, totally transparent pricing for your Fuso Canter, from as little as $750.* That’s great value for Fuso Genuine Parts and factory trained technicians. VISIT FUSO.COM.AU TO FIND YOUR CLOSEST PARTICIPATING AUTHORISED FUSO DEALER.
*Price is based on 30,000kms or 12months, 150,000kms or 60months & 210,000kms or 84months scheduled servicing, and is eligible for the entire Canter range. Fuso Capped Price means the maximum capped price payable in accordance with these Terms and Conditions for the relevant Standard Scheduled Service as published here www.fuso.com.au/Capped-Price-Servicing, which is capped for the period 1 January 2020 until the 31 December 2020 from participating authorised Fuso Dealership only. OWD-FP-5210196-CS-335
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ownerdriver EDITORIAL
Editor: Greg Bush Ph: 0408 780 302 Fax: 07 3101 6619 E-mail: Greg.Bush@aremedia.com.au Senior Journalist/LCV Specialist: Cobey Bartels Ph: 0409 044 128 E-mail: Cobey.Bartels@aremedia.com.au Technical Editor: Steve Brooks E-mail: sbrooks.trucktalk@gmail.com Contributors: Warren Aitken, Frank Black, Warren Caves, Warren Clark, Rod Hannifey, Michael Kaine, Vania Khoury, Sarah Marinovic, Ken Wilkie Cartoonist: John Allison
PRODUCTION Production Co-Ordinator: Cat Fitzpatrick Art Director: Bea Barthelson Print: IVE Print
ADVERTISING Industry Sales Manager: Adrian Christian Ph: 0423 761 784 E-mail: Adrian.Christian@aremedia.com.au Brand Sales Manager: Peter Gatti Ph: 0437 895 600 E-mail: Peter.Gatti@aremedia.com.au Sales Manager (Qld): Hollie Tinker Ph: 0466 466 945 E-mail: Hollie.Tinker@aremedia.com.au Sales Manager (Vic): Matt Alexander Ph: 0413 599 669 E-mail: Matt.Alexander@aremedia.com.au Sales Manager (NSW): Con Zarocostas Ph: 0457 594 238 E-mail: Con.Zarocostas@aremedia.com.au Sales Manager (SA/WA): Nick Lenthall Ph: 0439 485 835 E-mail: Nick.Lenthall@aremedia.com.au Agency Sales Manager (NSW): Max Kolomiiets Ph: 0415 869 176 E-mail: Max.Kolomiiets@aremedia.com.au
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BEHIND THE WHEEL Greg Bush
Brighter days ahead
A
USTRALIA may have passed the worst of the COVID19 pandemic but its ramifications look likely to linger for some time. Although the trucking industry has, for the most part, survived the brunt of COVID’s impact, there are areas within transport that have the felt its effects more than others. Some may regard it as a “first world problem”, but almost every road transport event has been either cancelled, postponed or forced to go virtual in 2021. Organisers of the popular annual Tooradin Tractor Pull & Truck Show, usually held in the middle of January, have erred on the side of caution by cancelling its 2021 event. This is despite Victoria relaxing some restrictions in November. However, the Tooradin team is planning ahead for its next event to be held on January 15, 2022. Also looking forward, the Livestock, Bulk and Rural Carriers Association (LBRCA) has made the early decision to postpone its annual conference, which was due to be held on March 4-6 in Wagga Wagga. The LBRCA is currently exploring options to reschedule the event later in 2021. On the truck sales front, it’s an intriguing scenario. Due mainly to coronavirus, fluctuations are occurring on a month-to-month basis. September’s sales rebounded from an ordinary August without returning to July’s reasonable figures. On the positive side, September’s figures are not far off those in September 2016. It’s the heavy duty category that is most interesting. Volvo, who had previously soared past Kenworth, is now
struggling to maintain its lead. Perhaps Volvo will regain the advantage with its newly announced updated line-up. Some things, however, rarely change. A recent report by the ABC highlighted the negative side of trucking – namely mental illness and depression. It quoted that suicide is now the second leading cause of death for truck drivers aged under 39. Although the report may generate sympathy from the general public, this is hardly a recommendation for transport companies to attract young drivers into the industry. It pointed out the perils of the job, namely long absences away from home, missing out on major family events and, subsequently, failed marriages. This is why it’s important for initiatives such as the Healthy Heads in Trucks & Sheds foundation to support drivers and logistics workers with issues relating to mental health and physical wellbeing. It’s also worth mentioning that the foundation is receiving valuable support from Daimler Truck and Bus Australia Pacific, which is contributing to the training and education stream. Still, there’s much work to be done to transform road transport into a viable and attractive career choice. Safer trucks are a major step in the right direction in that regard. However, it’s onwards and upwards for 2021 – things can only get better and a break over the Christmas/New Year period will be a timely tonic for many. The Owner//Driver team would like to wish our valued readers all the best for the festive season and beyond.
The Tooradin Truck Show will be back in 2022
OwnerDriver has an expanding national circulation, with emphasis on maximum saturation and readership throughout all Australian states and territories. Our efficient delivery service incorporating specialist delivery companies and Australia Post ensures that current editions of OwnerDriver are delivered to respective outlets within days of its publication. If you are having difficulty obtaining a copy within your area, or alternatively, are receiving requests for more copies than you are receiving, contact Stuart Jones on 03 9567 4207. No material may be reproduced in part or in whole without written consent from the copyright holder.
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The Goods
NEWS FROM THE HIGHWAY AND BEYOND
NHVR repeals Auswide prohibition notice Auswide notice revoked after evidence of improvement to practices
THE NATIONAL HEAVY VEHICLE REGULATOR (NHVR) has repealed the prohibition notice issued to Melbournebased Punjab Roadtrains, trading as Auswide Transport Solutions (ATS), and associated company Southern Cross Freight Lines, after the parties agreed on an undertaking. Though details are not made public, NHVR executive director statutory compliance Ray Hassall says Punjab had entered into the undertaking with the regulator after providing evidence of improvements to practices. “We have repealed this notice following Punjab entering into a detailed undertaking,” Hassall says. “The undertaking includes regular milestones that
Worksafe Victoria in reversing trailer fatality probe
Punjab has committed to meeting to provide evidence of its compliance with the regulator’s requirements.” ATS director Amrit Kankar welcomes the move in a statement on social media, and defends the company’s credentials. “Our business has depots located in all states in mainland Australia and has been delivering time sensitive freight all across Australia for over 10 years for our valued customers. “Our business was issued a prohibition notice Monday 16th November. “NHVR and Auswide Transport Solutions has agreed to an undertaking and the prohibition notice has been revoked. “No enforcement action has been taken by the NHVR against our business as part of this investigation. “Auswide Transport Solutions still retain all its accreditations with the NHVR.” NHVR encourages those with concerns about industry safety or compliance across the supply chain to make a confidential report via the NHVR Heavy Vehicle Confidential Reporting Line on 1800 931 785.
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WorkSafe Victoria has issued an incident report on a freight depot fatality as it continues to probe the incident. On November 2, a 65-year-old man was directing a co-worker to reverse a truck and trailer into a shed at a Yarraville depot, when he stumbled and fell into the path of the trailer, the workplace authority reports. WorkSafe continues to investigate the matter, a spokesperson says. This is the second death this year from an employee being struck by a truck and trailer at a depot in the state. In other incidents this year, six drivers in road freight transport have sustained fatal injuries following single vehicle accidents, rollovers, or losing control of the vehicle. The death brings the workplace fatality toll to 60 for 2020, four more than at the same time last year. In its incident report, WorkSafe advises employers to identify and control any risks to health or safety associated with the use of the vehicles, such as implementing traffic management systems, separating people and vehicles/plant, and controlling fatigue risk.
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25/11/2020 12:46:57 PM
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24/11/20 8:56 am
THE GOODS NEWS FROM THE HIGHWAY AND BEYOND
Go ahead for Picton Road upgrade Hume and Princes Highways blackspot link unlikely to be completed until 2024 PICTON ROAD FREIGHT and safety advocates are lauding the announcement of a $44 million state pledge towards planning the New South Wales link route’s duplication. As one of NSW’s crash black spots, it, along with with $35 million in planning money for the duplication of Heathcote Road, is one of the main winners of the recent 2020-21 state Budget. The funding for the Picton Road duplication in the Wollongong and Wollondilly areas will be delivered over the next four years, for planning to improve safety and connectivity along the road, NSW minister for transport and roads Andrew Constance says in a statement. “Picton Road is a major arterial road providing connection between the Hume Highway at Wilton and the Princes Highway near Mount Ousley, linking Port Kembla, the Illawarra region and the south coast with Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne,” Constance says. “This commitment will allow Transport for NSW to complete the strategic business case for the upgrade, as well as finalise modelling and options testing at the Picton Road and Hume Highway interchange. “The funding will also support the completion
of the concept design, environmental assessment and planning approvals, and allow the development of the final business case and detailed design of the upgrade.” Upgrading Picton Road was identified as key to meeting the demand for additional freight and improved safety in the NSW Freight and Ports Plan for 2018-2023. The Picton Road strategic business case, including preferred upgrades, is due to be completed in the second half of 2021, the statement adds. Once completed, work will start on concept and detailed design. Early work, for the already funded upgrade on Heathcote Road between Holsworthy and Voyager Point, is expected to start in early 2021, with major work planned to commence in September 2021 and completion expected in late 2024. The Heathcote Road announcement is in addition to the $183 million in state and federal funding already announced for duplication between Infantry Parade and The Avenue, and $73 million for Heathcote Road Bridge. The Australian Logistics Council (ALC) says the announcement is a milestone for the supply
Above: Dangerous stretch along Picton Road near Wilton
chain industry as it continues to work with government for better infrastructure and freight corridor planning. “We are thrilled to see this commitment to better infrastructure for our industry with assurance to timelines and budget,” ALC CEO Kirk Coningham says. “The preservation of freight corridors is critical to the future growth of the Australian economy.”
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24/11/20 8:56 am
THE GOODS NEWS FROM THE HIGHWAY AND BEYOND
Scania to miss Brisbane Truck Show Scania says timing the issue as show organisers confirm demand for main floor space remains high SCANIA WILL be missing from next year’s Brisbane Truck Show (BTS), marking it as the second Swedishheadquartered truckmaker to bow out after Volvo. However, Scania is not pointing the blame at the COVID-19 pandemic for its non-attendance at the event. “Scania has continuously exhibited in Brisbane for more than 30 years, transitioning seamlessly with the move from the showgrounds to the BCEC in 2009,” says Dean Dal Santo, director of truck sales for Scania Australia. “However for 2021 the timing of the show doesn’t fit with some other exciting activities we have planned for the Australian market later in the year. “We nevertheless wish the show well for 2021,” Dal Santo says. “Our decision is unrelated to the impact of COVID-19 on the Australian market. In fact, Scania Australia has
striven successfully to maintain a ‘business as usual’ posture towards our customers throughout 2020, bolstering sales and service functions and protecting customer uptime via our nationwide company-owned branches and network of authorised independent dealers. “We have continued a dialogue with our customers throughout the pandemic, and maintained a strong order and delivery profile, as well as growing our service support function during 2020. “As we look into 2021, we continue to see excellent business opportunities opening up and we have determined to focus our attentions on these. “Through 2021 we plan to maintain a high level of communication with our customers and prospects, as we roll out our many innovations in the latter part of the year.” However, BTS organiser Heavy Vehicle
Industry Australia (HVIA) is taking the move in its stride, seeing it as a global issue rather than an Australian one. “We are of course disappointed to hear from any exhibitor that they are not in a position to attend the show,” HVIA chief executive Todd Hacking says. “This year has been very testing for businesses across the world and in some cases that has proven to impact stock availability and new product timelines. “However, in other cases it is quite the opposite. In fact, we still have a waiting
Above: Scania’s display at the 2019 Brisbane Truck Show
list for space on the main floor of the 2021 Brisbane Truck Show. “Our members and other exhibitors can’t wait for the show to get here so they can get back in front of customers and other prospects,” Hacking says. “Queensland has shown it is ready to host large events again with the success of the AFL finals series, and businesses across the city have adjusted to welcome our attendees in a safe manner.”
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24/11/20 8:56 am
THE GOODS NEWS FROM THE HIGHWAY AND BEYOND
Thumbs up for electronic work diaries A tech alternative to the old pen and paper system finally gets regulatory approval
operators. ATA chair David Smith says the EWDs will reduce paperwork for drivers and the amount of record keeping that companies need to do to stay compliant. “The ATA is separately pressing for changes to the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL) to simplify the fatigue rules even further,” he says. The Victorian Transport Association (VTA) also gave it the thumbs up. “EWDs have tremendous capacity to increase productivity and efficiency because they reduce the time required to manually record work and rest hours, allowing drivers more time to complete their vital transport work,” says VTA CEO Peter Anderson. “The capacity for EWDs to reduce this kind of red tape is enormous and converts into potentially many millions of dollars in productivity gains which can be reinvested back into transport operators and the people they employ.” Anderson notes EWDs also have the potential to contribute to better safety outcomes and were an important tool in ensuring compliancy. “The industry has worked hard to reduce fatigue among drivers, and we welcome the use of technology that can lead to healthier, better-rested and more compliant drivers,” he says. Heavy Vehicle Industry Australia (HVIA) hails the move as providing “practical advantages that would be realised by road transport operators of all sizes”.
ABOVE: From left: Minister Michael McCormack, NHVR chair Duncan Gay, MP Scott Buchholz and NHVR CEO Sal Petroccitto
“What we are witnessing is the rapid development of truly connected vehicles,” Hacking says. “On top of the wonderful safety benefits, the productivity gains and efficiencies are going right into the hip pocket of truck operators whether they are an owner-driver or a large fleet operator. “I strongly encourage all operators to talk to their suppliers about the benefits and the business case for implementing these technologies in the shortest possible timeframe. “For operators that are keen on getting a better understanding of the
opportunities, we will be hosting a Technology and Innovation Hub at the 2021 Brisbane Truck Show, with industry experts on hand to help you realise the advantages for your operations.” Supermarket firm Aldi has also backed the move to EWDs within the company and used the announcement to spruik its compliance strategy. Following a successful trial, Aldi says it will roll-out a new fleet management tool with plans to deploy EWDs, once approved by the NHVR. The new tool is to be deployed across Aldi’s entire fleet.
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THE FIRST Electronic Work Diaries (EWD) have been approved in Australia. The rollout commenced on December 1, the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) reports. The EWD Policy Framework and Standards were developed in association with technology providers, transport operators, police and transport authorities in 2018 and were subject to comprehensive review and consultation. Australian heavy vehicle drivers will now have a choice in how they record their work and rest hours, with NHVR-approved electronic recording systems providing an alternative to written work diaries. “The work diary has been a requirement for fatigue-related heavy vehicles for more than half a century, and today more than 200,000 written work diaries are used by heavy vehicle drivers each year,” minister for infrastructure, transport and regional development Michael McCormack says. “This announcement will cut this red tape enabling drivers to record their work and rest hours by simply pressing a button, rather than spending time ruling lines and counting multiple time periods on multiple pieces of paper.” At this stage, local Australian companies Step Global and Teletrac Navman are the first to meet the strict requirements. The Australian Trucking Association (ATA) is sure the move will reduce red tape and improve safety for transport
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Win for Brown & Hurley apprentice Heavy Vehicle Industry Australia celebrates transport industry excellence at awards ceremony THE HEAVY VEHICLE INDUSTRY AUSTRALIA (HVIA) Industry Awards, which took place in Brisbane on November 20, has praised the winners across several prestigious award categories. Assistant minister for road safety and freight transport, Scott Buchholz, who announced the HVIA’s Safety Innovation Award winner, praised the achievements of the wider transport industry. Buchholz explained the HVIA awards acknowledge and celebrate the industry’s hard-working members, who continue to excel in providing innovative solutions to improve safety and productivity in the road transport sector. “The COVID-19 pandemic has placed unprecedented pressure on Australia’s freight and logistics sector,” Buchholz said. “Our national economy relies on keeping freight moving. “A lot of work goes into making sure that happens and during the pandemic, the industry rose to the challenge. “Again today, I congratulate the entire heavy vehicle industry; transport operators, manufacturers, repairers and drivers on a job well done. Through your joint efforts you have ensured that our trucks and trailers have stayed on the road and freight kept moving,” he said.
Above: From left: HVIA president John Drake, Scott Buchholz and HVIA chief executive Todd Hacking at the awards breakfast
HVIA CEO Todd Hacking, echoed the comments, focusing on the high standard of excellence maintained throughout a difficult year. “Whilst 2020 has been a tough year for all, it is more important than ever to celebrate and acknowledge all of our nominees,” Hacking said. Award recipients across all categories were: Joel Dunstan, The Brown & Hurley Group (National Apprentice of the Year Award); John Jackson, Brimarco (Peter Langworthy Future Leader Award); Maxitrans Industries (Community Leadership Award); Tiger Spider (Product Innovation Award); Jost Australia (Safety Innovation Award); and Rob Perkins (Industry Recognition Award).
Transport Women Australia announce 2020 scholarships Transport Women Australia Limited (TWAL) and Daimler Truck and Bus Australia Pacific has announced that four women from various sectors of the transport industry are the 2020 winners of the Driving The Difference Scholarships. They are Isaiah Tomkinson of Lindsay Transport; Alexandra Del Piero of Metro Trains, Sydney; Lynette Gray of Robertson’s Bus and Coaches; and Hannah Stewart of Stows Waste Management. Transport Women Australia Limited says it is proud to award these scholarships as it showcases the diversity of the applicants and the courses they wish to study. “It is exceedingly difficult for us to make the decision to get to the final four,” says TWAL chair Jacquelene Brotherton. “Inquiries for the scholarships were amazing and the applicants set such high standards each season, it makes you wish you had more to bestow. “We have winners from the train, bus, trucking, and waste industry with shows the diversity of our membership and applicants; we were quite stoked that they came from three different states.”
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MACK TO SING
It is looking ever more likely that Mack’s long-awaited Anthem will make its Australian debut in early 2021. Just as likely, it will be the first Mack to come with an advanced safety package as standard equipment and, if all goes to plan, the same safety systems will also become standard on the bulldog’s two biggest sellers, Super-Liner and Trident. Yet, safety is just one of several big benefits Anthem will belatedly bring to the kennel club. Steve Brooks reports
I
T HAS BEEN a long time coming, but if the whispers are correct and Mack’s new Anthem does actually debut on the Australian market in early 2021, it will be an incredibly momentous occasion for the bulldog breed in this country. A milestone for true celebration. Not because of its unique Tonka toy looks or the fact that Mack will finally boast a high-rise stand-up cab and ‘crawler gear’ transmission option. No, the real celebration will come from the fact that it’s now 20 years since Volvo bought Mack and, at long last, after endless hard questions and weak answers, the Swedish corporation’s megaphone mantra on the vital
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importance of safety will finally extend to Mack’s Australian operation. Indeed, it is becoming increasingly apparent that Anthem will be the first Mack on the Australian market to offer a comprehensive safety package as standard equipment and, accordingly, quell the hypocrisy that year after year has highlighted the vast separation of Volvo and Mack on the development and deployment of standard safety systems. As it does in the US, the safety platform to be employed in Australia’s Anthem is effectively the same Bendix Wingman Fusion system that has been an extra cost option on Mack’s Granite,
Trident and Super-Liner models in Australia since 2017. Right now, though, with Anthem almost certainly on the cusp of an Australian release and set to replace Granite in the Mack range, there are hints of a strong push by senior powerbrokers within Volvo Group Australia (VGA) to also make the Wingman Fusion system a standard offering on Trident and Super-Liner at the same time as Anthem’s local introduction. Whether VGA chooses to tell us or not, we’ll know soon enough if our insights are on the money, with Anthem expected to be launched to dealers in the first quarter of 2021 and full
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SAFETY ANTHEM
production at VGA’s Wacol facility in Brisbane scheduled to start in the second quarter. Given the timing, VGA’s decision to forego next May’s Brisbane Truck Show and subsequently miss the opportunity to propel its new and improved Macks into the public gaze seems extraordinarily odd. Even more so when it’s mixed with the fact that Volvo also has an entirely new range of trucks to showcase. Odd indeed!
SAFETY STANDARD In the modern era where inherent safety systems are increasingly sought by truck operators to satisfy socially-sensitive freight customers
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– especially among ‘blue chip’ fuel and retail companies – there are sound commercial reasons for Super-Liner and Trident to join Anthem in having Wingman Fusion as a standard feature. For starters, the arrival late last year of Freightliner Cascadia with the standard inclusion of a comprehensive and advanced Daimler safety package raised the bar to new heights in the conventional truck sector. Without something similar offered as a standard feature, Mack could easily find itself out in the competitive cold. The same scenario, of course, also applies to conventionals from Kenworth and Western Star.
It is no longer enough to simply offer advanced safety technology as an option. In Mack’s case, for instance, it appears most truck buyers have been hesitant to tick the safety box and subsequently pay the optional premium for Wingman Fusion, said to be somewhere between $5,000 and $10,000. According to our information, less than 10 per cent of all Macks are currently delivered with part or all of the Bendix system installed. In fairness, though, cost may not be the only motive why so many operators decline the Bendix option. As an add-on rather than an integral, factory-owned system, there are reports that some
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Likewise, the Bendix system has little or no bearing on cab construction and, consequently, the ability of Mack’s aging cab shell to withstand a severe impact remains somewhat less than Volvo models, which meet Sweden’s rigorous cabcrash test standard. In years to come, however, Mack may indeed meet the Swedish cab standard. It’s no secret that in January 2018, at a meeting of senior business leaders with US president Donald Trump, Volvo Group global chief Martin Lundstedt outlined ambitious plans to invest “north of two billion dollars” in development programs around its two North American nameplates, Mack and Volvo. Given the vast amount of money, it’s reasonable to assume that somewhere in that program there’s an entirely new conventional cab under development, with the core design almost sure to be shared across both Volvo and Mack brands. If so, there is every likelihood the highest levels of crash integrity along with significantly more advanced electrical systems will be part and parcel of any new cab. Moreover, there are rumours a completely new cab may be as little as two or three years away and maybe, just maybe, Anthem is aimed at simply filling the gap in the interim. Whatever the outcome and the time frame, Mack’s safety push today remains bolted to Bendix – part of Germany’s giant Knorr-Bremse group – and the Wingman Fusion system, which integrates advanced camera, radar and braking technology.
“It is no longer enough to simply offer advanced safety technology as an option.” aspects of the package have been problematic at times. What’s more, there are those owners and drivers who simply dislike anything that infringes on ‘old school’ practices, much like many attitudes when automated transmissions first came on the scene. Still, when it comes to inherent safety standards in a modern truck, there’s also a moral imperative. Simply put, and despite the remonstrations of various Volvo Group executives here and abroad over many years, Mack has largely floated adrift of the Swedish ethos on safety. Numerous Volvo and Mack operatives, some at very senior executive levels, have for many years repeatedly dismissed and even bluntly disregarded questions on the reasons why Mack has been seemingly sidelined on the standard fitment of advanced safety compared to its Volvo and UD stablemates. All too often, their responses have been limited to lame lines like: “They’re two different trucks for two different customer bases,” or “No one ever asks for it.” Yet, in the Volvo world, where safety is a heavily funded core quality, no one has to ask for safety. It’s just given – a moral and potentially life-saving initiative with increasing commercial clout in the modern world. The same can be said for UD under Volvo’s stewardship. Anthem, however, and potentially its Trident and SuperLiner siblings, will bring Mack a long way into the safety sphere by making the Wingman Fusion system standard – with the cost obviously tucked into the price of the truck – and finally delivering an advanced safety platform as a fundamental feature of the bulldog brand. It has been a long time coming. A very long time. Like I said, it’s now 20 years since Volvo bought Mack, but as the saying goes, ‘better late than never’.
Above: Flashback! Anthem at the 2019 Brisbane Truck Show. It has been a long wait for Anthem’s arrival and Mack’s first stand-up cab Below: Sneak peek! Mack Anthem with stand-up cab and 36-inch sleeper spied recently at a VGA facility in Brisbane
FUSION PACKAGE Our first close encounter with the full Wingman Fusion package came on a wickedly wet and windy Victorian day at Shepparton’s Driver Education Centre in late 2016, with Mack excited and keen to showcase its ability to finally offer an optional safety system. As we reported back then: “The latest evolution of the Bendix system is Wingman Fusion, and it’s this high-tech program which has now been applied to Mack in the US and will early next year [2017] be offered by Mack Trucks Australia as an extension to the optional ‘Road Stability Advantage’ [electronic stability program] also developed by Bendix.” Then, as now, the full system consists of the stability program along with Wingman Fusion’s adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning, information alerts on following distance and stationary objects, and the ‘Blind Spotter’ function that reveals the presence of other objects down the passenger side of the truck. Installed in a Mack Granite – ironically, the model about to be replaced by Anthem – the drive program at DECA started on a fearfully slippery skid pan before stints on a test track and the open road. In every instance, the system’s full array of features
BENDIX AND BULLDOG With Bendix an external supplier rather than a factoryowned arm of a major truck manufacturer, it’s obvious there are some areas where the Bendix Wingman Fusion system is simply not able to contribute to the safety portfolio of a truck. Like, a driver’s side airbag, which, unlike Volvo, UD and Freightliner’s Cascadia for that matter, is not part of Anthem’s safety suite. Interestingly though, Volvo’s US conventional models are equipped with a driver’s airbag.
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SHORT RUN, SWEET RIDE A short drive from Mack’s Lehigh Valley plant, the company has a bulldog customer centre and test track. As far as test tracks go, it’s nothing special or particularly demanding. But on a cold and snowy Pennsylvania afternoon back in early 2018, it was at least a reasonable venue to climb behind the wheel of Anthem for the first time. Two test units were provided for a few hours – one a day cab, the other a flat-roof sleeper, each powered by a modest 430hp (321kW) version of the MP8 engine coupled to an mDrive transmission, and each towing a loaded flat-top trailer. Anyway, with Anthem now almost certainly on the cusp of an Australian release, but not knowing when or even if we’ll be invited for an official test drive, it’s probably worth recalling initial thoughts from that US trip. As reported back then: “Let’s start with the most obvious feature of all: that hood, which, apart from its unique appearance, also uses an innovative locking mechanism behind the lower edge of the grille in place of normal lock-down clamps on the rear corners. What’s more, Mack insiders say the grille design not only enhances aerodynamic efficiency and fuel economy, but also provides ample airflow to further aid cooling capacity.” As for Anthem’s somewhat radical facial features: “While first pictures may have conjured thoughts of a chunky mix of meccano with a touch of Tonka, the consensus among our small group was that it’s a truck which actually looks far better in the flesh. Even appealing, and quintessentially Mack. “Still, opinions are sure to vary, but there is, of course, much more to Anthem than first meets the eye. “For the driver, it’s a hugely improved environment with main gauges and instruments ideally sited each side of a central digital information screen, while the layout of control wands and switches for a multitude of current and new functions is neater and vastly more practical than the current outdated design.” While the steering wheel arms hold switches for radio volume, phone and cruise control, “some will find the wheel odd with its straight section near the driver’s waist. Unusual, sure, but also a very clever and effective way of increasing belly room for those with a generous girth, especially the short, stumpy types who need to be up close to the wheel. “That’s about it, for now.”
“Less than 10 per cent of all Macks are currently delivered with part or all the Bendix system installed.” showed an impressive ability to avoid or at least minimise the impact of crash events. Yet, as Mack and Bendix operatives were quick to point out, it is a safety package designed to provide collision mitigation rather than collision prevention. While typically upbeat about the availability of the Wingman Fusion system, former Mack Trucks Australia vicepresident Dean Bestwick (now working with Mack in the US and replaced by former Mack and Volvo vice-president Gary Bone) emphasises that it is essentially a driver assistance system. “[This is] one of the most comprehensive and powerful driver assistance systems available on conventional trucks in Australia and New Zealand,” he explains. But: “This system will not replace an alert or skilled driver.” It was a statement endorsed by Brett Nicoll, then lead applications engineer for Knorr-Bremse Australia. “As good as these systems are, the technology is collision mitigation, not collision prevention,” Nicoll says.
Top & above right: Bendix Wingman Fusion being demonstrated on a Mack Granite. Optional since 2017, it will be standard on Anthem and perhaps on Trident and Super-Liner as well. The package includes ‘BlindSpotter’ function Left: Mack Anthem on a Pennsylvania test track in early 2018
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In effect, softening the smack rather than avoiding the smack altogether.
LONG ROAD AHEAD
“Crawler ratios in mDrive have been a long time coming.”
“Anthem will give us a massive boost,” says an emphatic Bestwick during an impromptu interview in the spacious surrounds of a high-rise Anthem cab and 70-inch (178cm) sleeper at the 2018 Mid-America Trucking Show in Louisville, Kentucky, just six months or so after the new Mack’s launch on the North American market. Four years in development before production started at Mack’s Lehigh Valley facility in Pennsylvania, Mack boffins were openly optimistic about Anthem’s ability to recapture some of the US linehaul market, where the bulldog had once stood so strong and proud. No less exuberant or enthusiastic was Bestwick, citing Anthem as much more than a dog with a new look or simply a replacement model for Granite. While Mack’s modern presence on the US linehaul market is meagre at best, the bulldog remains a powerful player on Australian highways, with models such as Trident and Super-Liner entirely unique to our part of the world. It’s worth noting, too, that the engines and transmission used in Australia are sourced from Europe, not the US. As Bestwick was quick to add, though, it is the uniqueness of Mack’s Australian range that has for a long time limited the brand’s ability to tap into various US options. Anthem, however, creates a bridge between the Australian and US markets, more than any model since Volvo took control of Mack in 2000. “We’re competitive now with our current range, but the things Anthem provides will make us even more competitive,” he insists. “It’s a new ballgame for us. We need more from America and Anthem provides the things we want. Simple as that.” Another visitor to Mid-America in 2018 was Volvo Group Australia senior product manager Scott Simpson. Calm and thoughtful, and somewhat more subdued as engineers invariably are, there’s little doubt he has subsequently had a significant hand in testing and validation for the Australian market, and at Louisville didn’t shy from expressing early satisfaction with aspects of Anthem’s design. “There’s a lot to like from what I’ve seen,” Simpson commented at the time. “The gusseting they’ve done to strengthen the cab for the higher roofline seems really strong. “It’ll go through plenty of testing before it’s released in Australia, but we already know there are a lot of improvements in a lot of areas. “I’d say they’ve done a really good job with it.” High praise indeed from a man with an engineer’s propensity for cautious commentary. Yet, despite the optimism and expectation of a bright new chapter in Mack’s long history in Australia, it was an unusually cautious Bestwick who would not be drawn on a possible introduction date for Anthem in Australia. “Anthem’s introduction will depend on the quality levels achieved through the testing program and validation process,” he said, adding that particular attention will be paid to Anthem’s electrical systems and features, and obviously enough, structural integrity of the high-rise cab, which allows a standing height of 1.8 metres and more. “We’ve been waiting for Anthem for a long time. A little while longer won’t hurt if it means making sure everything’s right.” Critically, it’s believed a good deal of development work has been done to upgrade and standardise the electrical systems of Anthem, Trident and Super-Liner so all can share in a range of new features and initiatives.
COVID DELAY Nonetheless, there’s no question it has been a longer testing and validation process than originally expected. At the 2019 Brisbane Truck Show, for example, a walkthrough cab and sleeper exhibit was accompanied by suggestions Anthem would hit the market later that year. Obviously, that didn’t happen, so with the arrival of 2020 came assertions it would be introduced mid-year, but then, of course, came COVID as the chosen excuse for Top & left: Anthem at Mid-America Truck Show in early 2018. A stand-up cab is a major advance for Mack, complete with an improved driver layout
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“Anthem is much more than simply a replacement for Granite.”
Above: Our first and only drive of Anthem was on a US test track in early 2018. Back home and despite repeated assurances, Mack failed to deliver access to trial units as local development issues caused delays Left: Anthem on trial with a fleet customer … guess who! Below: Set for demo duties, a Super-Liner fitted with Anthem’s stand-up cab and 36-inch bunk
many things, including another delay to Anthem’s release. Now, however, it’s almost certain – or as certain as anything can be at VGA these days – that Anthem will be launched in early 2021. “Full steam ahead,” according to one source. And, vitally, Anthem’s modernised, high-rise cab with a notably improved driver environment will be available on both Super-Liner and Trident. As Bestwick quipped several years ago: “Anthem is much more than simply a replacement for Granite. It’s what it can give us for other models in the range that makes it so special for our market.” Given Australia’s B-double length limits and Anthem’s 2,996mm bumper to back-of-cab dimension (120mm longer than Granite), it’s our bet the hi-rise cab will only be available with a 36-inch (91cm) sleeper. Likewise, Trident and Super-Liner. In fact, it’s a poorly-kept secret that a SuperLiner with a hi-rise cab and 36-inch bunk has already been built for demo duties. Down the track, though, it would be entirely surprising if Mack didn’t have plans to eventually offer both shorter and longer sleeper sizes than the 36-inch model. Even so, it seems highly unlikely that the 70-inch sleeper offered with the hi-rise cab in the US would be considered for the Australian market. It’s simply too long for the great majority of our needs. Meanwhile, existing sleeper options on current Super-Liner and Trident low-roof cabs are sure to continue. Finally, there are some indications the arrival of Anthem will also see the much anticipated debut of crawler gear options in Mack’s mDrive automated transmission. The mDrive, of course, is Mack’s version of the Volvo I-shift transmission, which has for some time offered an optional 14-speed model that adds two crawler gears to the standard 12-speed layout.
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As we understand it, mDrive will be soon available with optional 13-speed and 14-speed models, offering a single 17:1 crawler ratio in the 13-speeder, and 19:1 and a tree-climbing 32:1 in the 14-speed. Yet, with Anthem’s standard gross combination mass (GCM) rating of 70 tonnes and conditionally up to 106 tonnes, powered by the 13-litre MP8 engine with up to 535hp (399kW) and 1,920ft-lb (2,600Nm) of torque, the newcomer is probably not the most likely beneficiary of the crawler ratios. Where the bog cogs give Mack its biggest – and long overdue – benefits are in some Trident tipper and dog applications and the truly heavy-haulage and road train workloads frequented by Super-Liner with its burly 16-litre MP10 engine. As one Mack insider conceded some time ago, the absence of crawler cogs in mDrive has been the main reason some operators have argued long and loud for an Eaton 18-speed manual shifter, with its deep reduction ratios. Again, crawler ratios in mDrive have been a long time coming, but like the rest of the Anthem package, it’s all better late than never.
ownerdriver.com.au
25/11/2020 12:32:12 PM
WILKIE’S WATCH Ken Wilkie
Undisciplined drivers It’s no secret that most motorists view trucks as a hindrance that get take up space on their highway
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LOODY HELL – this is the month Santa Claus shows up. I can’t get over how quickly the year has gone. I guess that’s what happens when one is head down and bum up most of the time. What with being reasonably active with work, plus spending a fair amount of time helping out my favourite state politician, time has flown. Sorry folks, I have no required reading this month. I’ve started on a story about HMAS Perth. We’ll see how it goes. I’ve noticed a couple of comments about the value of work diaries in relation to managing fatigue. They are definitely valuable from the point of view of raising revenue to help governments cover the cost of our burgeoning public service. I have a view that there does need to be a limit on the hours a person is able to work, simply from the stand point of conditions of employment. God only knows where it would end up if open slather was the order of the day. There are so many complexities around the fatigue issue that it is not at all funny. But managing fatigue? Don’t think so. A driver has
to manage his or her fatigue and manage the book. Two different issues. That bureaucracy and politicians raise so much revenue from them is simply a travesty of justice. And so much derogatory comment is hurled at us when we stuff up. It’s just outrageous. If the things managed fatigue, we wouldn’t have so much palaver about technology. We wouldn’t have drivers advocating the fitting of sophisticated cattle prodders in the name of fatigue safety.
POOR EXCUSES
KEN WILKIE has been an owner-driver since 1974, after first getting behind the wheel at 11. He’s on his eighth truck, and is a long-time Owner//Driver contributor. He covers Rockhampton to Adelaide and any point in between. His current ambition is to see the world, and to see more respect for the nation’s truckies. Contact Ken at ken@rwstransport.com.au
As I’ve said, I’ve done a bit supporting my favourite Queensland political candidate of late. The pre-polling booth was situated in a pretty busy street with a double row of centre car parking, ideal for accommodating the needs of the constant flow of voters. However I am amazed that we got through almost two weeks without a pedestrian being skittled. One morning, having gotten on site early to set up the gazebo, the electoral staff boss came out for a chat. I raised the issue about how dangerous the situation was. The traffic was flowing at significant speed – it was posted 60. There were elderly people shuffling
“Tailgating is more prevalent than in times past.” ownerdriver.com.au
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across the road and being distracted by a hoard of folk thrusting how-to-vote cards in their faces. Now, the site manager must have been considered a responsible person to be managing the polling booth. But there was no support to have a temporary reduced speed zone created. No support for a temporary pedestrian crossing either. “It’s a council road,” was his response. Besides there is a mechanical workshop just up the street and they need to road test their repairs. And nobody else saw the issue. So who is out of step here? He was most empathetic that those promoting their particular party brand did not stand in the property vehicle exit point – for safety considerations mind. Yes, I know, I appear to be the only one in step. But really, the dangers were so obvious. Just a classic example of educated folk whose job description does not cover road safety.
AMBLING MOTORISTS Again, on the requirement that heavy vehicles not be allowed to use the outside lane on Queensland’s M1. It wouldn’t be such an issue if the other traffic was encouraged to travel at the posted limit. I think an intelligent proposal would be the adoption of a benchmark speed with a publicly advised breach limit that’s a reasonable point above that benchmark speed. Currently, motorists are allowed to amble along like Brown’s cows coming to milking. It creates even more traffic friction and frustration for those who have time constraints. Tailgating is more prevalent than in times past. There is a mentality in the non-transport sector that road transport is something of a nuisance. Well, our industry hierarchy needs to follow up on the recently publicly declared essential service status of road transport and press for a more realistic attitude directed towards truckies and trucks. Another major contributing factor to tailgating is the brain dead slogan of ‘Every K Over is a Killer’. It’s just a fairy floss road safety initiative from those who have little understanding of the real issue. Since the Queensland election, I was driving southbound towards the New South Wales border. There was a terrible accident on the northbound section near Nerang. A motorcyclist lost his life – according to the gossip a tradie had lost a ladder in front of the poor chap. Obviously, commiserations to his loved ones. But why was there a traffic jam on the southern lanes? I do not want to appear callous and indifferent to what had taken place but there is an issue with the discipline displayed by many motorists. Driving is a serious business. So serious that a person lost his life due to another driver’s negligence – if the scuttlebutt is correct. Someone had to be negligent. It’s too serious a business to be rubbernecking on the situation that existed in the other road. The issue of tailgating – as I mentioned earlier – would be reduced if driving discipline was more in vogue. Of course those whose time is not so restricted would suggest maybe that the one too close up the back should exercise some driving discipline. And what is tailgating anyway? It depends to a marked degree on the sensitivity of the driver in the front vehicle. So much comes back to a consideration to allow other drivers free unfettered travel. My Mum had a saying – two wrongs don’t make a right. Instead we have become a ‘Jack’ society. “Stuff you Jack, I’m OK.”
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24/11/2020 10:19:38 AM
DIABETES NSW & ACT Vania Khoury
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Driving and diabetes Have you ever thought about what would happen if you had low blood glucose levels while driving?
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RIVING A VEHICLE requires complex physical and mental skills. When you have diabetes, you may need to take extra precautions to ensure road safety. If you take insulin or glucoselowering medicines, hypoglycaemia (‘hypo’) can stop you from driving safely. If you are not sure if you are at risk of having a hypo, see your diabetes team.
Are you at risk? A hypo occurs when your blood glucose levels (BGLs) drops below 4mmol/L. Some people may not experience any symptoms, while others experience symptoms at higher BGLs. These include: • weakness • trembling or shaking • sweating • light-headedness or dizziness • headache • lack of concentration or behaviour change • hunger • numbness around the lips and fingers • a fast heartbeat • blurred vision. Hypos can affect your ability to drive safely. It is important to treat a hypo immediately. If left untreated, you may have a severe hypo where you could become unconscious and/or have a seizure.
What do you need to do? Don’t drive under 5mmol/L. Monitor your BGL before driving. If below 5mmol/L, or you feel unwell, follow hypo treatment as outlined here: 1. Safely pull over 2. Turn off the engine and remove the key 3. Check your BGL 4. Immediately eat or drink 15 grams of fast-acting carbohydrate (e.g. juice, soft drink, sugar, honey or jellybeans) 5. Wait 10–15 minutes and check your BGL again 6. Repeat steps 4–5 if required until your BGL is above 5mmol/L 7. Once your BGL is above 5mmol/L, eat a long-acting carbohydrate, (e.g. a piece of fruit or bread, yoghurt or muesli bar) 8. Wait 15 minutes and check your BGL again
5mmol/L, and you feel well. Carry your meter, strips and hypo treatment with you, but remember not to leave them in the car, as heat and light can damage them. On longer trips, monitor BGLs at least every two hours. If you have experienced a severe hypo, where you needed assistance to treat it, lost consciousness or had a seizure, you must get medical clearance before you drive again. Some people do not feel early hypo symptoms. This condition is called hypo unawareness. In general, most people with this condition are not eligible to drive.
VANIA KHOURY is a registered nurse and credentialed diabetes educator at Diabetes NSW & ACT. For more healthy lifestyle tips and other helpful information on diabetes head to the Diabetes NSW & ACT website www.diabetesnsw. com.au or call the Helpline on 1300 136 588 to speak with a health professional.
What about high BGLs and driving? When your BGLs are above 15mmol/L, your symptoms may include tiredness, blurred vision and trouble feeling the pedals due to nerve damage in your feet. This can affect your ability to drive safely, putting you, and others, at risk.
What are your responsibilities? • Don’t drive under 5mmol/L • Advise your local Driver Licensing Authority (DLA) if you take glucoselowering medicines, including
“Most people with this condition are not eligible to drive.”
•
•
•
insulin. If your diabetes is treated with diet and exercise only, check with your local DLA as notification requirements vary from state to state Don’t drive if your BGLs are over 15mmol/L or you are unwell, and follow your sick day management plan See your diabetes team to discuss your sick day management plan, diabetes and driving, your risk of high and low BGLs, prevention and treatment If you have hypo unawareness, tell you diabetes team, and discuss your eligibility to drive with your diabetes specialist Carry your monitor, strips and hypo treatment with you at all times.
More information on hypoglycaemia, hyperglycaemia and sick days can be found at diabetesnsw.com.au or by calling the Contact Centre on 1300 342 238. You can find a booklet on diabetes and driving at the NDSS website www.ndss.com.au/about-diabetes/ resources/find-a-resource/diabetes-anddriving-booklet
WHAT IS TYPE 2 DIABETES?
Type 2 diabetes is the fastest growing chronic condition in Australia. It is a progressive condition that tends to develop gradually. As a result, the signs and symptoms may develop very slowly. You may not notice the signs or symptoms at all, or you may dismiss them as a normal part of getting older. This can mean that by the time you notice something, you may have been living with diabetes for some years, and you could be at risk of developing complications. In some cases, those complications may be the first sign that you have diabetes. Some symptoms of type 2 diabetes include: • Passing urine more frequently, commonly noticed at night • Dry mouth • Being more thirsty than usual • Feeling tired, lethargic or irritable • Constantly feeling hungry despite having eaten • Having cuts, sores or ulcers that heal slowly • Itching, skin infections • Thrush or bladder infections • Blurred vision • Weight changes – commonly a gradual increase in weight • Mood swings • Headaches • Feeling dizzy • Pain or tingling in the lower legs and/ or feet. If you notice one or more of these signs or symptoms, you should make an appointment to see your doctor immediately. Early detection and treatment of diabetes can prevent the development of serious, and in some cases lifethreatening, health problems. To find out if you’re at risk of developing type 2 diabetes in the next five years, head to diabetesnsw.com. au/risk-calculator and complete the short 12 question health check.
You can drive if your BGL is above
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ownerdriver.com.au
24/11/2020 10:24:45 AM
TWU Michael Kaine
Driving under pressure The federal government is playing into the hands of the trucking industry’s top end of town
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HAT WILL it take for our federal government and its agencies to do something about reforming our industry? In September, Safe Work Australia reported a jump in driver deaths for 2019 – up to 55 from 38 in 2018. We would expect the numbers of driver deaths to fall this year given the volume of road users would be significantly down due to state border closures and lockdowns, but these deaths remain simply too high. Initial evidence shows a major problem with mental health, with a study from Monash University showing 50 per cent of drivers surveyed experienced some form of psychological distress. The issue is acute for younger drivers, with the percentage of drivers under the age of 35 experiencing severe psychological distress being almost double the national average for males of the same age. Insolvencies in our industry continue unabated. Since 2013, there has been almost 3,000 businesses in the transport, postal and warehousing sector that have gone bust, according to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. The problem with rates also persists. Ask any truck driver and they’ll tell you rates haven’t moved much in decades, despite costs skyrocketing. Clients have become bigger and bolder: Amazon is on the march in Australia through its enormous fulfilment centres and Amazon Flex. Meanwhile, Aldi has proved it will take whatever legal route necessary to stop drivers speaking out about its poor safety record.
MICHAEL KAINE is the national secretary of the Transport Workers Union of Australia. Contact Michael at: NSW Transport Workers Union, Transport House, 188-390 Sussex Street, Sydney, NSW 2000. twu@twu.com.au
in themselves, but I don’t think they are going to solve any problems when the problems are about the way work is done in the industry,” Williamson said. “There’s no point in putting electronic diaries in trucks where the truck drivers are being motivated to push the envelope.”
ACCC’S CONTRADICTION The reality of the economics of our industry was readily acknowledged recently in an exchange in the Senate. Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) chairman Rod Sims was being crossexamined over the letter threatening jail that the ACCC sent to owner-driver Frank Black over an opinion article he wrote in Owner//Driver in April.
Sims stated to the Senate that he understood the difficulties that truck drivers were under: “If there are issues … then there may well be regulation issues or government policies to deal with that.” But the ACCC stood by the threatening letter to Frank: “Our collective assessments and individual assessments are that this is an entirely appropriate letter.” So one of the most powerful regulators acknowledges there is a problem in our industry and is aware of research showing that the squeeze by clients places pressure on drivers that can be deadly. Yet, he stands by his organisation’s decision to target a truck driver voicing an opinion about this. It brings the notion of shooting the messenger onto a whole new level. The federal government and its agencies make a lot of noise about issues in our industry without tackling the real problem. Whether it is electronic work diaries or attempts to call an opinion article stating the obvious ‘cartel behaviour’, our industry is left wanting. There is nothing being done to tackle the fundamental problems of our industry – and there is not even an agency tasked with trying to help. We look forward to the Senate inquiry’s continued hearings into the safety and sustainability of the transport industry. We look forward to its reports on the state of our industry. We hope that the federal government and its agencies do not continue to turn a blind eye to what is going on in our industry with distractions and meaningless statements, but start to recognise the problems and get on board in addressing them.
BRING OUT THE
MONSTER IN YOUR TRUCK
EWD FANFARE Into this mix steps Michael McCormack, federal minister for transport for over two years. McCormack likes to put out press releases talking big about his commitment to road safety and the nation’s drivers. But he has done little to help our industry. His recent announcement of the rollout of electronic diaries came with the usual fanfare. Some drivers might like the idea of an electronic diary, some will hate it. But love it or hate it, the truth is they will do little to stop the slaughter on our roads, or make jobs or rates better. The idea that an electronic work diary will free drivers up so they can “manage their fatigue, rather than manage the book”, according to McCormack’s press release, is plain ridiculous. Filing out a work diary doesn’t stop drivers being forced to drive long hours and skip their rest breaks, the economics of our industry does. Professor Ann Williamson, who has extensively researched the effects of fatigue in injuries and safety, summed it up well a few years ago. “There’s nothing wrong with electronic work diaries
BELOW: The ACCC’s Rod Sims receives a “please explain” during the Senate Estimates hearing
“Truck drivers are being motivated to push the envelope.” ownerdriver.com.au
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silverbackchrome.com.au DECEMBER 2020 31
24/11/2020 10:30:53 AM
EYES ON THE ROAD Rod Hannifey
Gearing up for 2021 The move to a new TruckRight Industry Vehicle is gaining momentum, with a few details to overcome
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HERE WILL be one more TruckRight Industry Vehicle (TIV) in the New Year if all goes to plan. I had been trying to get sufficient support for some time and had a plan as to how it might happen, but that was me being, perhaps, overly positive. You have to try. Now, I have a lot of balls in the air and many committed sponsors who have been with me since the start, and have to pull it all together with a hope it will be on the road towards the middle of next year. I was getting very frustrated but had not given up and after some more emails and suggestions, I now believe I have a workable plan. There is still much to tie together and co-ordinate, and I hope to have something pretty unique to not only give those who contribute some return on their investment, but to continue the efforts thus far, which were the original goals.
IMPROVING ROADS The TruckRight Industry Vehicle has four aims. The first is to provide input and information to road authorities to see improved awareness and understanding of the impact of road irregularities upwards into trucks, the drivers and then back into the road itself and the repair and removal of these road hazards. The original TIV was the first linehaul truck anywhere in the world to have the capability to provide this road impact data and still continues to do so. Being a working vehicle it will provide information directly from the source on the road and, on a continuing basis, will be able to detail the worst road irregularities and monitor and report on improvements and their effects. We can give notice of deterioration in roads before very major repairs and costs are needed and in so doing, see a better standard of road generally and savings made in road repair costs. This will not only save money for road authorities, but will reduce damage to the roads, the trucks and the drivers. Road authority staff will be invited to ride in the truck to experience the impacts from such road dips, bumps and culverts and this information will continue to be provided, so that improvements can be monitored and cost/benefit savings recognised.
of a truck. Also, through attending suitable events with the TIV, the aim is to further improve road safety for both truck drivers and other road users by promotion of “sharing the road with trucks” driver education, both at time of licensing and for motorists who may never get to ride in a truck. The ‘Truckies Top Ten Tips’ will be handed out and promoted to reduce the up to 80 per cent of car/truck fatalities caused by car drivers. This will also include promotion of the ‘Truckies On-Road Code’ to further seek to improve truck drivers’ behaviour as well, along with how we are seen on the road by motorists, and the caravan survey will be offered for vanners.
ROD HANNIFEY, a transport safety advocate, has been involved in raising the profile of the industry, conducting highway truck audits, the Blue Reflector Trial for informal parking bays on the Newell, the ‘Truckies on Road Code’, the national 1800 number for road repairs proposal, and the Better Roadside Rest Areas Group. Contact Rod on 0428 120 560, e-mail rod.hannifey@bigpond. com or visit www.truckright.com.au
RAISING ROAD TRANSPORT INDUSTRY AWARENESS Third is to promote awareness of the contribution and improvements in safety, efficiency and technology of the Australian road transport industry. Truck drivers go to work to do one thing: to get home safely to the families they see far too little of, so that you as a consumer can have your food, fuel and every other commodity you use. Every item you use has been on the back of a truck at least once and often many more times than that.
BELOW: Green reflectors on the Hume Freeway, Victoria. Photo by Greg Bush
“The Australian economy … now rides on the back of a prime mover.”
The technological improvements in engine management providing reduced emissions, the increase in training being provided and the major reduction in crash statistics involving trucks, which are higher than the reduction for cars, are major indications of a road transport industry striving to improve road safety for all road users, truckies included. With the Australian freight task set to double in the next 15 years or less and our ageing workforce across all industry sectors, not just road transport, there are major employment opportunities in a whole range of jobs across transport, warehousing and logistics. It was previously said years ago that the Australian economy rode on the sheep’s back – it now rides on the back of a prime mover.
SEEKING MORE AND BETTER REST AREAS Inspection and reporting on current truck rest areas along with where additional sites are needed and will also form part of these trips, to see sufficient and suitable truck rest areas provided in the future. A national roll out of the ‘Green Reflector Marking of Informal Truck Rest Areas’ will be sought as an immediate, interim measure. Rest areas are required for all road users, but truckies are the ones who are required to sleep and rest in many of the roadside rest areas. Not only are there not enough of them, as recently confirmed by a national rest area audit, but far too many lack suitable shade and facilities. The other point neglected here is the major increase in the use of road side rest areas by caravanners, caused by many factors, including fewer caravan parks, higher fees in those that have upgraded and higher fuel costs for those who are self-sufficient and spend much of the year on the road. This can be very seasonal, with many heading north from southern states as temperatures drop and then home as temperatures increase, putting large demands on all ready insufficient rest areas. I believe I have been true to the aims and that they remain as valuable as when I started. May I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a ‘Trucking Good New Year’. It has been trying for many, but we must keep trying.
IMPROVING ROAD SAFETY By inviting journalists and others outside the trucking industry to do a trip in the truck, this will give them the opportunity to both see and feel things from the seat
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ownerdriver.com.au
24/11/2020 10:42:45 AM
The legal view Sarah Marinovic
Work diary exemptions There are circumstances where you can qualify for a work diary exemption permit. Here’s how
I
T CAN be hard to fill out a work diary at the best of times, but for drivers who experience reading and writing difficulties it can be almost impossible. I have represented many drivers who have had to go to court over work diary breaches arising from struggles with reading and writing. Often they have been too embarrassed to ask for help, and then found themselves in trouble for something that really wasn’t their fault. There are options available to help comply with work diary laws for those who find filling out the diary challenging. It’s useful for more of us in the industry to know this information, because most of us are likely at some point to know or meet someone who could use this help. Drivers with literacy difficulties can apply to the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) for a work diary exemption permit. If the exemption is granted then the driver is allowed to use an alternative method to keep track of their work and rest hours. They later pass this information on to a nominated scribe who fills out the work diary for them.
SARAH MARINOVIC is a principal solicitor at Ainsley Law – a firm dedicated to traffic and heavy vehicle law. She has focused on this expertise for over a decade, having started her career prosecuting for the RMS, and then using that experience as a defence lawyer helping professional drivers and truck owners. For more information email Sarah at sarah@ainsleylaw.com.au or phone 0416 224 601
PROFESSIONAL HELP You can apply for the exemption
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through the NHVR website. The driver will need to provide the following supporting information: 1. A report from a qualified professional explaining why they need the exemption, e.g. describing their reading levels. Some examples of the kind of professional who can prepare these reports include doctors, speech pathologists and psychologists. 2. A detailed plan for how the driver proposes to keep track of their hours and how/when the nominated scribe will fill out the work diary. It’s important to speak with the nominated scribe before submitting the form as they need to agree to the arrangement and will be legally bound to follow it once it is approved. A work diary exemption permit isn’t an easy way out of complying with the work diary requirements. It does involve a degree of work and follow up from both the driver and their scribe. But for those drivers who sincerely need this help it’s a great way to stay on the right side of the law and to take some of the stress out of the work diary. As always, the lawyers at Ainsley Law are here to answer any questions you may have about the work diary laws. Feel free to visit our website at www.ainsleylaw.com.au and get in touch for more personalised advice.
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ownerdriver.com.au
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DECEMBER 2020 33
25/11/2020 11:40:39 AM
As well as being involved in road transport media for the past 20 years, GREG BUSH has strong links to the music industry. A former Golden Guitar judge for the Country Music Awards of Australia, Greg also had a three-year stint as an ARIA Awards judge in the late 1990s and wrote for and edited several music magazines.
ROAD SOUNDS Greg Bush
Festive sounds abound Holiday albums to soothe those tough year blues POWER UP AC/DC
BONECRUNCH The Backsliders
VINDICATOR Yukon Blonde
Sony Music www.acdc.com
Rocket Distribution www.backsliders.com.au
Dine Alone Records www.yukonblonde.com
Evergreen hard rocking Australian band AC/DC has risen from the ashes again with Power Up (alternatively titled PWR/UP), their first studio album since 2014’s Rock Or Bust. It’s also the first since guitarist Malcolm Young’s passing in 2017. Young’s nephew Steve Young is now an integral member of the band, alongside regulars Angus Young, Phil Rudd, Cliff Williams and Brian Johnson. Still as loud and vibrant as ever, AC/DC digs out the guitar riffs for ‘Shot In The Dark’, its lyrics revolving around bedroom electricity. They keep it straight and rock simple for ‘Realise’, and Angus Young pumps out driving chords and licks on ‘Kick When You’re Down’. The band slows it down ever so slightly for ‘No Man’s Land’, a song about living to fight another day, and maintain their politically incorrect attitude on ‘Money Shot’. Another big album from AC/DC.
Bonecrunch is the 15th album for Sydney-based blues band The Backsliders, led by founding member Dom Turner, the lead vocalist and slide guitarist. On Bonecrunch, The Backsliders have embraced a more varied sound, leaning towards rock. It’s a highly addictive album, with the guitar solo-filled track ‘Mass Destruction’ leading the way. Midnight Oil drummer Rob Hirst co-wrote ‘Tea and Sugar Train’ with Turner – it’s an up-tempo swampy track that features harmonica player Joe Glover. ‘Dog In The Fight’ deals with the life of the working man – its ceaseless beat will have Christmas party-goers on their feet. ‘Bad Recruit’, about a poor partner decision, is another quick-time track, while The Backsliders pay tribute to the late 'John Prine'. There’s an acoustic delta blues sound to ‘You Don’t Love Me’, and ‘Tombstoning’ is a rhythmic instrumental.
Canada’s fivepiece band Yukon Blonde moved away from guitarbased rock on the 2018 album Critical Hit, and has continued in that pop-rock direction on fifth album Vindicator. Again, they’ve embraced synthesisers and drum machines behind catchy melodies. Yukon Blonde is especially cheerful on ‘In Love Again’, with keyboard player Rebecca Gray delivering a dreamy lead vocal. ‘You Were Mine’ starts off as another pop piece before moving into a rock section. ‘It’s What You Are’ has an ’80s Brit-pop sound, and despite the title, ‘Good Times’ is anything but, although it moves to a mid-track dance beat. ‘Your Heart’s My Home’ is arguably one of Vindicator’s best tracks, although the rocky ‘Big Black Cloud’ also comes into contention. Even with the occasional expletive, the album is all sweetness and light.
MEET MY GHOSTS David Schaak
VICTORIAN EVENING The Paradise Riflebirds
LIVE DRUGS The War On Drugs
Independent www.davidschaak.com
Lowfly Records paradiseriflebirds.bandcamp.com
Inertia www.thewarondrugs.net
Bred in Melbourne and based in Brisbane, singersongwriter David Schaak has announced himself on the Australian music stage with Meet My Ghosts, his debut album. With vocals sounding somewhere between John Mellencamp, Steve Earle and even Bruce Springsteen, Shaack delivers 11 impressive tracks. One of the best, ‘Lone, Alone & Lonesome’, features grungy guitars, reminiscent of Neil Young’s backing band Crazy Horse. ‘Honey Pot’ is an interesting inclusion; written in 2017 and early in Donald Trump’s presidency, it’s another rock guitar-based track about corrupt and powerful men. ‘Long Shower’ is a tribute to Schaak’s cousin Shelly who passed away from cancer in 2018 – it's a powerful mid-paced rock piece. But he mixes it up on ‘Ghosts’;, a quiet, acoustic number of personal perspectives, while ‘Take A Shot’ was written on a flight back from the gunhappy USA.
It’s been a long time between releases for Queensland band The Paradise Riflebirds. In fact, Victorian Evening is their debut album following a 2009 EP under the name of the Riflebirds. The trio consists of Brisbane-ites Simon John and Joel Edmondson, plus Londoner John Tulloch, The Paradise Riflebirds’ music lies somewhere in the “shoe gazing” category (e.g. Radiohead). There’s nothing straightforward about this band’s music, rather Victorian Evening is a voyage around sonic landscapes. ‘Goat Paths To Nowhere’ features fuzzed-out guitars amid clever time changes. In contrast, ‘deHavilland Dreamstate', a song about the difficulties faced by fly-in/fly-out workers, is almost pop orientated. There’s ambience and a touch of jazz about ‘Concrete Bones’, while ‘King James Shadow’ is a quiet exercise in minimalism. Forget the dancing shoes; this needs to be appreciated in an uninterrupted environment.
Pennsylvania band The War On Drugs has released its first live album, Live Drugs, to much fanfare. Not your regular live album, the tracks were extracted from many years of live performances and seamlessly combined to create a complete concert experience. Although only containing 10 tracks, Live Drugs stretches to over 70 minutes due to lengthy numbers ‘Thinking Of A Place’ from the Grammy-winning A Deeper Understanding, and ‘Under The Pressure’ which is stretched from its 2014 Lost In The Dream original. Both those tracks illustrate why The War On Drugs is one of North America’s top bands. Lead singer Adam Granduciel has a distinctive sound, both vocally and with his guitar harmonics, and brings those qualities to the fore on ‘An Ocean Between The Waves’. There’s one cover – Warren Zevon’s ‘Accidentally Like A Martyr’ – and it slots in nicely among the originals. An absolutely brilliant album.
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Country Corner CHRISTMAS FOR COWBOYS Troy Cassar-Daley Sony Music www.troycassardaley. com.au
Multi award-winning artist Troy Cassar-Daley gets into the festive season with his new album Christmas For Cowboys. Surprisingly, it’s actually Cassar-Daley’s first Christmas release and he delivers a number of familiar standards, including ‘Blue Christmas’, ‘Let It Snow’, ‘Please Come Home For Christmas’ and ‘Silent Night’. The banjo adds a bluegrass tone to ‘Let’s Make A Baby King’, and again on ‘Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas’. There’s a couple of nice Australian-flavoured Cassar-Daley originals too. On ‘We Want To Share Christmas With You’ he reflects on a harsh year, while the ballad ‘Christmas For A Broken Family’ features a guest vocal appearance from his talented daughter, Jem Cassar-Daley. Forget waiting for the Christmas stocking – grab this one now.
MY MIND’S PROJECTION Brad Cox
Sony Music www.iambradcox.com Brad Cox first came to prominence in 2018, winning the Toyota Star Maker competition in Tamworth before successfully releasing his debut selftitled album. He’s come up with the goods again with My Mind’s Projection. With a love of beer and women, Cox delivers a boisterous country rock track ‘Drinking Season’ and the back-ontrack anthem ‘Hold Me Back’. He gets chatted up in a bar on ‘Give Me Tonight’, and lightens up on the road with ‘I Keep Driving’. Cox teams up with fellow country artist Adam Eckersley for the ballad ‘Remedy’, and sings of a bad romance on ‘Short Lived Love’. Cox spent much of COVID driving a tractor while thinking up new material. It’s paid off big time.
ownerdriver.com.au
25/11/2020 12:15:33 PM
NatRoad Warren Clark
Prioritising access Recommendations from the Productivity Commission’s Report on National Transport Reform
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The National Heavy Vehicle Regulator should negotiate with individual road managers to facilitate a riskbased assessment of permits, using information from previous access permit approvals on each route. This information should be used to construct more flexible pre-approved permit arrangements with road managers. It is the opinion of NatRoad that members who have previously obtained a permit for a particular road combination shouldn’t have to apply for multiple permits for the same stretch of road. The practice of applying for multiple permit applications should be replaced with an objective, risk-based pre-approval system. NatRoad understands that, frequently, road managers do not have sufficient expertise about heavy vehicle classifications and/or the characteristics of some heavy vehicles. This can complicate and delay access
WARREN CLARK, NatRoad’s chief executive officer, has more than 20 years’ experience leading and developing business for emerging companies. Warren has held the position of CEO at various companies and is a certified chartered accountant.
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N OCTOBER 1 this year, the Treasurer released the Productivity Commission’s final report on national transport regulatory reform. The Productivity Commission (PC) was asked to assess the economic impacts of the transport regulatory reforms, agreed by COAG in 2008–09, on heavy vehicle, rail and maritime safety and productivity as these reforms have not delivered the expected boost to productivity for road transport. The federal government has requested that NatRoad identify particular recommendations from the report that should be given priority and why. Our first recommendation is that heavy vehicle access, as a key area in need of reform, is given greater priority. PC Recommendation 7.3 fits with NatRoad’s policy of calling for a much greater number of pre-approved routes to be in place:
decisions, and relates to another of the PC’s recommendations on providing adequate resourcing to road managers, which we suggest be prioritised. NatRoad believes that there must be a more explicit link between access and road funding. Heavy vehicle operators should not be required to pay for roads which they cannot access. This concept should be a foundational matter when examining road funding for the future; if heavy vehicles cannot access parts of the road network then they should not be required to pay for that part of the network. Neither should they be forced to take tolled routes as that further undermines the basic principles of fairness. We believe that the issue of access is of such importance that access reform should proceed ahead of some other areas under consideration in the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL) review. Access expansion is the key to increasing productivity. Hence, the PC recommendations made on access reform should be a priority. The NatRoad submission to the HVNL review on access outlines our wish to revert to the fundamental proposition that members should not have to pay for roads they cannot access. In addition, the current permit system is clunky, inefficient and largely unnecessary. NatRoad would like to see the access system move to one where permits are an exception for access rather than the norm. Immediate implementation of the PC’s recommendations on access will assist to achieve that vision. The National Transport Regulatory Reform report is available at www.pc.gov.au/inquiries/ completed/transport/report
Call 02 9060 1610 or visit www.superchrome.com.au for more details. Address: 93 Malta St, Fairfield East NSW 2165 | Email: sales@superchrome.com.au
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truck of the month
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ownerdriver.com.au
25/11/2020 12:35:50 PM
BEER AND BLING
Like a mobile billboard, it’s hard to miss Airlie Beach Hotel owner Michael McFee’s stunning Kenworth T909 B-double combo. It’s enough to whet the appetite for a schooner and parmigiana at the popular tourist destination. Warren Aitken writes
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“That truck ticks all the boxes; it has all the right stuff in it.”
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hicken parmigiana! Yes you read that correctly, I’ve just started a story on one of Australia’s coolest Kenworth’s with the words ‘chicken parmigiana’. No doubt you’re wondering why? Well, I guess that’s a fair question. It would make a really cool story if I was to BS you and say it’s been done on a dare, however I’m sure my editor would have already rewritten the intro if that was the case. No, I’ve used those two words because I stumbled upon this standout truck while enjoying one of the best chicken parmigianas you could ever have! I know that’s a big call. Australians are pretty serious about many things: their footy, the Melbourne Cup, habitually losing to New Zealanders at rugby and their chicken parmigiana. So I don’t speak lightly when I say, sitting down at the Airlie Beach Hotel and enjoying a 400g parmy was unbelievable. When I’d finished it (and you better believe I finished it), not only was I about two inches short of being perfectly round but I’d also managed to catch sight of a stunning 10 tonne taxi that happened to be parked in the driveway. I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to learn more. So off I went to investigate. Now, instead of writing a food blog about parmigiana, we’ve ended up here, with this story. Allow me to fill you in. Understandably, after a tough 2020, my better half wanted a break away, surprisingly with me in tow. So, with holiday
destinations somewhat limited in 2020 we decided to try out Airlie Beach. The Airlie Beach Hotel to be precise; perched right on the waterfront in one of Australia’s top tourist towns. It seems the most unlikely place for me to stumble on a stunning Kenworth T909, but that’s exactly what happened. So there we were, sitting outside having dinner. In my case it was the chicken parmy I’ve already waffled on about, obviously with cheesy garlic bread. Suddenly my ears sensed the sound of a rumbling engine; those sweet smooth tones of a Cummins X15. I popped out the back of the hotel and there she was in all its bug-covered glory – the Airlie Beach Hotel T909. Even parked in the carpark of a top-notch hotel in a top-notch holiday location, the Kenworth stood out like a pregnant pole vaulter. I must admit I was smitten straight away. Like a starstruck One Direction fan I lined up to have a word with the driver. The truck draws plenty of tourists every time it pulls in and that night was no exception. A few holidaymakers who had been walking by had been blinded by the bling and came over to photograph the truck. Once it was my turn, I was pleasantly surprised to find out the driver was a fellow kiwi, Bradley Gallagher. I expressed my interest in catching up and doing a few photos – and that’s where it all began. Now that we all know how we got here, let’s learn about what and who drives arguably Australia’s coolest T909.
ownerdriver.com.au
25/11/2020 12:37:01 PM
Heading north The 2019 Kenworth T909 and Vawdrey B-double set is the pride and joy of Michael McFee, the owner of the Airlie Beach Hotel. While Mick’s main game is in hospitality, he is no stranger to the transport industry. His school holidays were spent travelling the roads between Sydney and Canberra with his grandfather, who carted gas. Michael remembers tagging along in his pop’s old ACCO before moving up to a Mack Super-Liner. So Mick had diesel in his veins from a young age. But instead of following in his pop’s work boots he headed along the path of his father who worked tirelessly in the hospitality industry. During his growth within hospitality, Mick ended up shifting from the ACT up to sunny Queensland, or more precisely, Airlie Beach, where he bought the Reef Gateway Hotel. After the devastation of Cyclone Debbie in 2017, which left the Whitsundays decimated, he moved onto the Airlie Beach Hotel in a bid to revive it to its former glory and to help kickstart the local community. If the attention to detail on his truck isn’t already an indication, you soon learn Mick is all about doing it right. He rebuilt the hotel with a Vegas-like bottle shop out the back and a top-quality restaurant out the
ownerdriver.com.au
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Above: No missing out on the disco tunes with the custom stereo in the T909. Everything inside is as immaculate as the exterior Left: Bradley Gallagher stands proudly beside his company vehicle, one of the country’s sharpest T909s
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“It’s the trailers that let people know what he’s selling.”
front called The Pub. Currently, he is still revamping the 80-plus rooms on site. In order to keep the workers and patrons fed and watered, Mick was bringing a fair few supplies up from Brisbane – his closest main distribution centre. At his previous hotel he had experienced several third-party issues that not only delayed, but often damaged the products he was ordering. He approached a family friend, Geoff Richards, to see if he could cart his product up. “I spoke to dad’s old friend Geoff about getting his company to cart my stuff,” Mick tells me, knowing that at least he could rely on a quality service. “Geoff said, for the amount I’m moving, I should just buy my own truck.” So that’s what he did.
Kenworth connections The first truck he bought was for his previous hotel, the Reef Gateway, and it was an eye-catching Mack Super-Liner, brighter that a 10-year-old spelling bee champion. The truck is amazing and can still be seen up and down the coast, supplying the Reef Gateway Hotel. However, when it came to a new truck for the Airlie Beach hotel, Mick left all that to his driver at the time, Brendon Murphy. “Brendon was a full blown Kenworth man,” Mick jokingly informs me. “So I just chose the colour and paid the bill.” Brendon’s Kenworth connections came to the fore, directing Mick to Ben Sparrow at Brown & Hurley in Yatala who was
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tasked with the job of fulfilling the long list of requirements. “It’s very cool to be part of a build like this,” Ben says as he broke down the almost year-long project. “That truck ticks all the boxes; it has all the right stuff in it.” The truck emerged out of Kenworth’s Bayswater facility in Melbourne in the requested colour – and that was about it. Everything else was added afterward, including a revamp for the entire sound system, thanks to the specialist sound team at Brown and Hurley’s Yatala branch. They added four sub woofers, a couple of amps and replaced all of the factory speakers with upgraded equipment. Ben applauds the work done there. “It’s all upgraded speakers but installed in the factory positions, so you can’t tell. Great work!” Right from the start, Brendon set the rig to have a clean, crisp look. The truck left the factory without any badges, and the bottom of the sleeper is painted to match the truck rather than traditional stainless. Once it was out of the factory the truck was sent to Ryan Northcott at Bling HQ in Brisbane. “He’s the best in the business,” Brendon tells me. Ben also heaped praise: “The quality of the work speaks for itself.” They are not wrong. Brendon and Mick both sat down with Ryan to discuss the look they wanted and both reckon he had absolutely nailed it when the truck was handed back. The fuel tanks and AdBlue tanks were wrapped together to give the truck an old school clean, four-tank appearance. The custom-made rear bar was one of Brendon’s favourite parts. Custom-made step boxes were made to suit Brendon’s vision as well. Those are the big talking points; there’s so much added to this truck it’s almost impossible to list. Bling HQ nailed the look perfectly with just enough shine to make it stand out without being garish. By the time it rolled out of Bling HQ it was already a standout truck. Then it got hooked up to its top-of-the-line Vawdry B-double set. Talk about wow factor. Mick actually let me into a little of his marketing genius in regard to this.
Marketing tool The simplicity of the truck is there to emphasise the trailers. The whole unit is a rolling billboard for him, but it’s the trailers that let people know what he’s selling. I had asked him why there was no company logo or anything on the truck and he replied: “You don’t want people looking at the floors or walls, you want them focused on the product.” I admit I had to listen to that quote a couple of time before Mick’s wisdom sunk in. Mick sees the importance of good quality gear on the road,
Top, Left to Right: A crisp Brisbane morning sees Brad and the Kenworth loaded and heading for the fantastic Airlie Beach Hotel; Delivering undamaged stock is priority for the Airlie Beach T909. Repurposing pool noodles to keep the gates from rubbing on the packaging shows dedication Above Left: Mick insisted on a little artwork on the rear of the fantastic B-double set. Boy does it work! Right: It’s all about the clean and simple look with these custom steps
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25/11/2020 12:42:08 PM
THE ORIGINAL ENGINE OIL
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“It’s very cool to be part of a build like this.”
Top: Bling HQ had to work pretty hard to get more lights on the 909 than the Awesome Airlie Beach Hotel Above, Left to Right: Ryan from Bling HQ has done a fantastic quality job in customising the big Kenny
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and exactly what it can do for a company’s image. It’s not hard to be smarter than me, but this man leaves me licking windows in the principal’s office. So with the truck on the road I guess you are wondering, does it actually do anything other than just look friggin’ amazing. Normally I would agree with everyone and say, it doesn’t look like it. However, I did find it when I met current driver Bradley up in Airlie Beach and it was plastered in bugs. So it does work. Kiwi boy Brad is no stranger to a pimped-up Kenworth. He’s earned his stripes keeping the shine on some of the coolest Kenworths around, notably when previously piloting rigs for SRV and Greg McDonald. His reputation for professionalism and dedication was what earnt him the recommendation for the spot when Mick was looking for a new driver. The big 909 loads up with the weekly supplies out of a couple of locations around Brisbane and heads straight to Airlie Beach. In a pre-COVID world the truck would be doing the run twice a week. Like most of Australia though, Airlie Beach has seen a drastic downturn in tourists and as such Brad is currently on one run a week. The tall poppy side of me would love to spend some time taking digs at Brad now for only working ‘part-time’ but truth be told, the little bugger still makes himself useful. Once the big rig gets up to Airlie Beach, Brad has to split up and unload as the hotel is not really B-double friendly. Once
the A-trailer is unloaded it’s put to the side where Brad and the staff set to washing it. Then the B-trailer is brought in and the same process is repeated. The truck gets taken around to the bottle store in order to make use of the tank water (oh yeah, they are that fussy). Once it’s all shined up ready for the return trip the unit will be put back together out at Cannonvale. Like a good little worker bee though, Brad then joins the rest of the crew in unstacking and organising the weeks’ worth of product into storage and cold rooms as required. It’s very much a team mentality that steams from the Airlie Beach crew, so much so I almost wanted to offer some help myself. Obviously I didn’t; apparently ‘our holiday’ does not include cleaning a truck and stocking shelves. But the thought was there. Well, that’s about all the information I have gathered. It seems everyone involved in this project – the salesman, the driver, the Bling man and even the guys that help keep it looking 11 out of 10 are just driven by pride. It’s a wonderful thing to see. Pride in your job, pride in your workmates, pride in the company and definitely pride in the truck. It’s always hard to wrap up a story sometimes, never knowing the right words to say. I’m going to just let the pictures of this stunning Kenworth say more than I can and instead leave you with a solid piece of advice: whatever you do, when you’re in Airlie Beach go to The Pub and try the damn chicken parmigiana. You will not regret it!
ownerdriver.com.au
25/11/2020 12:43:01 PM
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This is where lenders like ScotPac Business Finance come in. Established in 1988, ScotPac is Australia and New Zealand’s largest non-bank lender for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and a leading provider of working capital solutions, specialising in invoice, asset and trade finance facilities. With over 30 years’ experience in the transport sector, ScotPac aims to improve cash flow to generate funds that all transport operators, particularly SMEs, rely on, as well as support the purchase of vehicles to expand the fleet. With offices across Australia, they have local teams on the ground, ready to help with a fast turnaround.
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VOTE FOR YOUR FAVOURITE AND YOU COULD WIN BIG! HERE ARE THE 12 FINALISTS FOR THE 2020 VALVOLINE TRUCK OF THE YEAR
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he 2020 Valvoline Truck of the Year Award marks the culmination of the third year of the highly-popular Truck of the Month feature in Owner//Driver. The team here at Owner//Driver has chosen the 12 finalists, but the responsibility of selecting the winner is now turned over to you – our valued readers. Among the nominees are some amazing trucks – so we don’t envy the job ahead of you! Read on to find out how to vote, and what you can win for your efforts!
HOW IT WORKS To be eligible, trucks must have appeared as a Truck of the Month in Owner//Driver magazine over the past 12 months. The outright winner will be decided by popular vote – with the winner featured in the March 2021 issue of Owner//Driver magazine as well as online at OwnerDriver.com.au!
YOU CAN WIN TOO Not only does your vote count towards your favourite truck getting the gong, but it also puts you in the draw to win a massive $5,000 BCF voucher. Just imagine all of the boating, camping and fishing gear you could get with that. All courtesy of our valued sponsor Valvoline! HOW TO VOTE Simply jump online and head to OwnerDriver.com.au/TOTY, follow the prompts to the promotion entry page and complete the entry form (including your full name, mailing address, telephone number and valid email address), and vote for your favourite truck. Voting commences on December 1, 2020 and closes at 11:59PM on January 31, 2021. To help you make your choice, you’ll be able to view the original feature stories on all 12 finalists on the site. You can only vote once, so make it count!
MASSIVE $5,000 BCF VOUCHER UP FOR GRABS Conditions apply, see www.ownerdriver.com.au/toty. Open to AU & NZ residents 18+. Starts: 01/12/2020. Ends: 23:59 (AEDST) on 31/01/2021. Limit 1 entry per person. Draw: at Are Media, 73 Atherton Rd, Oakleigh, Vic 3166 on 05/02/2021 at 11:00 (AEDST). Prize: BCF Retail Store Voucher valued at $5,000.00. Winner published on www.ownerdriver.com.au/toty from 09/02/2021. Promoter: Are Media Pty Ltd (ABN 18 053 273 546) of 54–58 Park St, Sydney, NSW 2000. Permits: ACT: TP20/01620.
THE CONTENDERS – VOTE NOW
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Dennis Kelly’s ’88 Mack Super-Liner Bulldog brand enthusiast Dennis Kelly has immortalised the almost forgotten Australian pastoralist and land owner Sir Sidney Kidman in the form of a stunning, customised 1988 Mack Super-Liner. Mack maestro Glen Beutel, PJs Custom Spraypainting and Truck Mechanical in Brisbane all played a big part in the whole project, giving the ‘Cattle King’ Super-Liner a major makeover.
Image Warren Aitken
Steve Earl’s Scania R 620 Earls Express has some of the best looking rigs running on and off road around the country, including their eye-catching Scania R 620. The stunning purple paintwork, pink splashes and lettering on this and other Earls Express trucks and trailers indicates this is a business that wants to create an impression – a strong, dependable one. Image Charlie Suriano
Rob Starcic’s Classic Kenworth W925 Although not a fleet owner in a true sense, truck enthusiast Rob Starcic was swept away when he first laid eyes on this stunning Kenworth W925 with it 64-inch sleeper at a truck show. Rob kept the truck’s original colour but wrapped the tanks, capped the ends and had new battery boxes and toolboxes made so both sides were identical. Image Warren Aitken
Paul and Gina Gleich’s 2015 Kenworth T659 The story of Paul and Gina Gleich is one of becoming transport operators almost by accident. But, after years of doing it tough, they’re now enjoying the fruits of their labour with a fleet of Kenworths, especially with the newest member – the T659 nicknamed “Loosen Up”. Image Warren Aitken
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THE CONTENDERS – VOTE NOW
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Glen Pilbeam’s 1985 Mack Super-Liner On the lookout for a suitable rebuild project, the Pilbeam family travelled north from Heyfield in Victoria to Dalby, Queensland, discovering a 1985 Mack Super-Liner well past its peak. However, after undergoing a thorough transformation over two years, including a lengthy stay at Royan Truck and Trailer Repairs in Melbourne, the truck was brought back from a slow death to better than new.
Image Warren Aitken
Frank and Christine Commisso’s Kenworth T909 Frank and Christine Commisso have been through the tough times, but their hard work has paid off, resulting in the addition of their stunning flagship truck – a Kenworth T909. With Kyzer Kustoms in Shepparton chipping in, the T909 boasts 400 lights, low mount guards and stainless air cleaners. It regularly hauls a Freighter tautliner A-trailer and Maxi-Cube B-trailer.
Image Warren Aitken
Peppi Inverno’s Kenworth Legend 900 For any operator of a small fleet, buying a brand new truck is a big investment, especially so when it’s a limited edition Kenworth Legend 900. But for Gippsland couple Peppi and Danielle Inverno, it was a venture that has solidified the family unit. While it’s a show-stopper, the 900 is also an everyday working truck. Image Alastair Brook
Cromack Transport’s Mercedes-Benz 2658 In a fleet of various makes and models, a superbly presented Mercedes-Benz 2658 is setting high standards in reliability and fuel economy for Cromack Transport in northern NSW. Although the only Benz in the family business, Graeme and Jeff Cromack say it may not be the last as the big Benz continues to notch impressive results. Image Mark Bean
Wallace International’s 2010 Western Star 4800FX Wallace International boasts a stunningly-presented fleet of big rigs, but none more striking than the company’s 2010 Western Star 4800FX. The Cummins ISX-powered Star has clocked up more than 500,00km but sports the looks and sounds of a truck half its age. Notably, the company’s transport manager Gary Perry is a fan of the Western Star brand’s enduring appearance.
Image Warren Aitken
Ryan Demasi’s 2006 Kenworth T904 Western Australia’s Ryan Demasi went from laying turf to owning ‘The Incredible Hulk’, one of the most stunning Kenworth T904s in the country. No longer the quiet Cummins workhorse, the 2006 “green monster” has had an upgrade with new piston linings, rings, pumps … everything got slapped on, including a huge Cat turbo. Image Warren Aitken
Detour Logistics’ Kenworth K200 When Volvo discontinued its XXL cabs in Australia, Detour Logistics’ boss Colin Beer looked to Kenworth’s ‘big cab’ K200. Regular driver Mal Whiley appreciates the K200’s roominess which, along with the trailers, has clocked up around 520,000km. Powered by a Cummins 600hp engine, the K200 has had its tanks painted and, with its custom guards, looks the goods.
Image Warren Aitken
Michael McFee’s 2019 Kenworth T909 As well as being boss of the Airlie Beach Hotel in north Queensland, Michael McFee is also the proud owner of this 2019 Kenworth T909 which hauls a Vawdrey B-double set. While it’s impressive on the outside, driver Bradley Gallagher is also blown away by the Brown & Hurley-installed upgraded sound system. Image Warren Aitken
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KENWORTH T600 1989, Kenworth truck and parts for sale Kenworth 1989 T600, complete rebuild 18 months ago, M11 Cummins at 400hp, 1613 road ranger, 462 Eatons on airride 460, cleanskin tyres, very well maintained, set up for trailer, currently still working. Loads of Parts for various trucks also available at extra cost, 405315. NSW. DIY1049804. 0411 229 088. $37,500 (Truck only) - Loads of Parts available at extra cost
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INTERNATIONAL ACCO 2650G 1993, Bogie Drive Tipper with only 94,400kms. Good condition, cab A/C, Cummins Deisel Engine. GVM 22T, 6 cylinder, 6x4 axle, 44887722. QLD. DIY1003220. 0477 607 010. $35,200
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THREE A 11R22.5 HWY AND DRIVE TRUCK TYRES WHOLESALE PRICES. 11r22.5 Highway & all purpose pattern $230 11r22.5 deep tread drive (22mm) $245 2958022.5 highway $245.00 All major brands available fitting available ph for pricing, .. VIC. DIY1037631. 0410 485 770. $230 Incl GST
IVECO ACCO 2350G 2003, Cummins 285hp, Allison 6 speed automatic, air bag rear suspension, parabolic spring load share front suspension, 541615 klms, 389 VPO. QLD. DIY993248. 0422 374 733. $99,000 inc GST
FREIGHTER MAXITRANS 2008, 45 foot Excellent condition. Just come from annual RTA inspection. Load restrain curtains, yes. NSW. DIY1043262. 0499 159 133. $35,000
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The publisher accepts no responsibility or liability for any losses incurred by a buyer responding to an advertisement in this magazine. Buyers are solely responsible for their own negotiations and transactions with advertisers. Bauer Trader Media advises buyers beware of negotiating by email only; of paying deposits to private advertisers for goods unseen; of transferring money (for example via Western Union) interstate or overseas. Buyers should contact Bauer Trader Media customer service on 1300 362 272 if they suspect an advertisement may be fraudulent. In the event that a buyer suffers financial loss as a result of responding to a private advertisement in this publication Bauer Media Ltd (The Publisher) shall not be held liable or responsible.
FORD STERLING 2004, Ford Sterling Agi in great condition, 2FZHATBS45AU87959. NSW. DIY978851. 0432 248 155. $35,000
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THE GOODS NEWS FROM THE HIGHWAY AND BEYOND
Dubbo bridge battle gains impetus City bypass needed to reduce Newell heavy vehicle and motorist through traffic, says community group CONCERNED Dubbo residents, Dubbo mayor Ben Shields, association members and key industry personnel, including road safety advocate Rod Hannifey, have reinforced their position against the New South Wales government’s plan for a River St bridge across the Macquarie River. The Stop The River Street Bridge community group claims to have more than 10,000 signatures on its petition to have an alternate bridge build at Troy Bridge Road, which would then create a Dubbo bypass. The NSW state government has been accused of refusing to reconsider or discuss Troy Bridge Road option. In November, Mick Veitch, state shadow minister for industry and trade, rural roads and rural affairs, and western NSW, succeeded in having a motion passed in the upper house to have all documents relating to information on the new Dubbo bridge handed over to the community. The shadow minister says the community has been previously “thwarted” in attempts to obtain the information. In addition, Veitch stated that trucking industry representatives had informed him they had not been consulted about the project. “They will be one of the main users of whatever project goes ahead so I would have figured that a public servant out there would have spoken to the trucking industry about the project. “I undertook to the Dubbo community and to those individuals that I would move a motion for a call for papers under Standing Order 52 to assist them in collecting the information they require,” Veitch says. At the petition handover ceremony on October 29, Mayor Shields spoke about why Dubbo Regional Council opposed a bridge at the River Street site and why they support a Troy Bridge bypass. The New South Wales Roads & Maritime Services has previously said that an upgrade of Troy Bridge would not benefit the Dubbo community and would cater for only 10 per cent of traffic. However, petition organiser Karina McLachlain says the opinions of the road transport industry, which would benefit from the bypass, has not been considered. “As a national highway, the A39 extends from Queensland to Victoria. The Newell is important to the economies of Brisbane, Melbourne and many towns and cities in between,” McLachlain told the gathering. “The road transport industry that uses the Newell is directly affected by what happens in Dubbo and yet they
Another day, another traffic jam of trucks and motorists along Whylandra St, Dubbo
have been excluded from consideration. “When I went to the Bathurst Truck show last year to speak to drivers, they only needed to hear the words ‘bypass for Dubbo’ before they were almost snatching the petition out of my hand in their race to sign it. I collected 380 signatures that day!” John Morris, who runs a transport consultancy business, is also a member of the Newell Highway Task Force (NHTF). He says the NHTF has an official policy position to support the heavy vehicle freight bypass for Dubbo and take heavy trucks out of the Dubbo CBD. “I have been a keen advocate of a heavy transport freight bypass around Dubbo for over 22 years,” Morris says. “Whylandra St and Erskine St are now handling a huge number of heavy vehicles, which are increasing every day. “We now have 36.5m type 1 roadtrains, B-triples and AB-triples running on the Newell Highway from Melbourne to Brisbane and return. “It is essential, in the interests of road safety, productivity and truck driver wellbeing, as well as the safety of our Dubbo motorists, that we design, fund and build the first of three heavy transport bypasses around Dubbo sooner rather than later. The north-west bypass first.” Group researcher and statistician Paul Oboohov then presented two of 13 charts he had compiled. “The ‘take-away’ from Paul’s research is that the 12
Heavy vehicles tackle the Whylandra and Victoria St roundabout
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bypasses that were studied in NSW from 1997 to 2018, over 20 years, showed that the crashes in each town were dramatically reduced by 74.04 per cent to a level of 25.96 per cent of the original level of crashes before the bypasses went in,” Morris continues. “The ‘casualties’, that’s people killed or injured, fell from 518 to 213, a drop of 58.88 per cent. That is 41.12 percent of the original level of people killed or injured. That’s a lot of lives saved.” One noticeable absentee from the meeting was National Party MP Dugald Saunders, the member for Dubbo. And McLachlain didn’t hold back when referring to Saunders’ opposition to the bypass and Troy Bridge. “Since the NSW government announced its preferred option of River St, without even allowing us the opportunity to vote for Troy Bridge Road, there has been no end to the extent of misinformation that the RMS and Dugald Saunders have disseminated for public consumption,” she says. “Dugald’s background in the media gives him an air of superficial credibility. However, the attractive picture that Dugald paints is revealed as a horror story in waiting by even rudimentary fact-checking. “There is no disguising that the River Street proposal is a disaster waiting to happen,” McLachlain says. “The reason that we started the petition was because many members of the public were angry and needed an avenue in which to redirect their anger into positive action. “Also, many members of the public were still unaware of how unsuitable the location chosen for the new Newell Highway bridge was and how it would cause far more problems than it would solve,” McLachlain adds. “We did not want people to wake the day after the new bridge opened, faced with worse traffic or to find the bridge inaccessible in a flood due its submerged approach roads and think ‘I wish I had taken more notice of this project when we still had a chance to stop it’.” The petition handover was live screened on the Stop The River Street Bridge Facebook page, which remains available for viewing. – Greg Bush
ownerdriver.com.au
24/11/2020 10:50:55 AM
events news
AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS ON SHOW AT NATIONAL DIESEL DIRT & TURF
The Expo runs from April 9 to 11, 2021 at Sydney Dragway, Eastern Creek
T
here is something special about a field day. Whether it’s the variety of exhibits or the fun atmosphere, field days always draw a crowd. The National Diesel Dirt & Turf Expo is no different, with visitors enjoying the relaxed, familyfriendly experience. In April 2021, this annual Expo continues at the recently refurbished Sydney Dragway at Eastern Creek. This new home for the Expo provides all the facilities and security for a great all-weather exhibition area. Not only is the new site excellent for exhibitors; the new Expo layout makes it easy to access all sites. The variety of products and solutions at Diesel Dirt & Turf is far ranging; from site preparation, earthmoving equipment and attachments, GPS tracking and environmental solutions to public space management, farm implements and much more. Agricultural equipment suppliers have always been a part of the Expo. The 2021 event will be no exception with exhibitors such as Saliba Agricultural Equipment. Based in the Hawkesbury region, Saliba ag has expanded its range to include imported equipment brands to cater for the needs of all ag enterprises, be they are a turf farmer, strawberry grower, construction contractor, concreter or chicken farmer. Their range includes bagging machines, custom
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trailers, Faza fertiliser spreaders, Fontana geoblades, forklifts, Gilibert muck spreaders, land levellers, laser levelling tractors and Lipa mulchers. Another long-time exhibitor at Diesel Dirt & Turf is FAE Australia Pacific Pty Ltd, which supplies tree mulchers and forestry tillers for management of agricultural land and wooded areas, river zones, green areas and plantations, golf courses, green urban areas and forest paths. Visitors can check out the range of FAE tree mulchers and forestry tillers, stone crushers, stump cutters and multifunction heads that allow industry professionals to perform any reclamation work and land preparation. The range includes PTO-driven
heads, which are easily applied to different power tractors, as well as hydraulic driven heads for skid steers, excavators and special vehicles. The success of agricultural suppliers at previous Diesel Dirt & Turf expos has encouraged others such as Seed Force, an Australian seed wholesaler that supplies premium cultivars across Australasia. With the backing of the international seed powerhouse RAGT, Seed Force draws on the latest research and development to help farmers get the best results from their broadacre crops, forage crops and pasture. Focusing on yield, quality, disease resistance and persistence, Seed Force said it has changed the game and led the way – taking farmers on the journey. On the back of successfully launching the world’s first global barley variety RGT Planet into Australia, Seed Force and its parent company RAGT plans to substantially increase its footprint in broadacre crops. The company says it is constantly growing, testing, fine-tuning and expanding its range, adding new cultivars to a proven system that gives farmers the power to grow. If you are looking for a convenient location to check out some of the latest agricultural equipment, you need to put the Diesel Dirt & Turf Expo in your diary for Friday 9, Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 April, 2021.
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events news
BRISBANE’S WEEK OF WEEKS The 2021 Brisbane Truck Show is not just a truck show – it’s a heavy vehicle industry festival
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he latest announcement about the 2021 Brisbane Truck Show was not about the truck show at all. Yet it was greeted with overwhelming enthusiasm by stalwarts from across the industry. The last show to feature heavy equipment and machinery was also the last show at the RNA – Brisbane Showgrounds – back in 2009. The show’s hand was forced by the redevelopment of the Showgrounds, however the move to Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre has been well rewarded. Exhibitors have been able to really step it up with the quality of their displays in one of the world’s greatest venues. The Brisbane Truck Show is the only event that takes over the whole centre, with fantastic displays filling all three floors. The proximity to South Bank and the CBD has opened up new opportunities for truck displays, networking, dining and entertainment. If there was one, the only downside was that there was nowhere for the big yellow construction gear. Well, in Australia, we never say never. The exciting news that the 2021 Civil Construction Field Days will be hosted by the Civil Construction Federation of Queensland (CCFQ) in tandem with the Brisbane Truck Show was confirmed last month. CCFQ has delivered the concept on a smaller scale before, but the 2021 event is not short of ambition. The new venue is down river from the Story Bridge alongside the fabulous Northshore Hamilton development at Portside Wharf. It is large enough for a huge array of heavy equipment and machinery and plenty of parking too. Not that you’ll need it if you take the free shuttle from the truck show, or jump on a CityCat ferry from South Bank. The reciprocal ticket means that your entry into one show will also get you into the other. That’s a lot of bang for your buck.
Australian Heavy Vehicle Industry Week Last year’s Brisbane Truck Show brought with it a new umbrella event that takes in all the displays, product launches, dinners, conferences, meetings and other activations alongside the show. Australian Heavy Vehicle Industry Week gave a name to an extraordinary collection of activities that make Brisbane an irresistible destination for the industry every two years. The 2021 event will see major anniversaries celebrated by a couple of the industry’s biggest names. Plans are well under way for how that will look on the ground but enough to say that you, the visitor will be the beneficiary. There will be more trucks and trailers on display at South Bank Parklands and more again in the CBD. Virtually every bar and restaurant in the precinct will be offering deals for truck show attendees; the National Apprentice Challenge will be staged in the South Bank Piazza and live entertainment every day – and every night – will bring the festival to life.
Past and future Meanwhile the Brisbane Truck Show will benefit from new features including a dedicated Future Fuels hub and an expanded Technology and Innovation hub. The Queensland Heritage Truck Show over at Rocklea has been taking place on the weekend of the show for years. If you haven’t made your way over there before, 2021 is definitely the year. Speaking of heritage trucks, the 1928 Thornycroft A2 that was the stage for the very first Brisbane truck show in 1968 is currently being restored. That project is no small challenge however everything is on track to unveil her on opening day of the show. It sounds like everything that’s old is new again, doesn’t it? All that and a whole lot more. With the borders opening up, hotel rooms are booking fast. Make sure you’ve locked in yours by visiting the website www. brisbanetruckshow.com.au.
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“THE RECIPROCAL TICKET MEANS THAT YOUR ENTRY INTO ONE SHOW WILL ALSO GET YOU INTO THE OTHER. THAT’S A LOT OF BANG FOR YOUR BUCK.”
Top: Best of both worlds: CCFQ CEO Damian Long and HVIA chief executive Todd Hacking Above: Classic trucks at Rocklea: Queensland Heritage Truck Show is regularly held concurrently with the Brisbane Truck Show Right: Trailers and trucks will be on show around South Bank Parklands
ownerdriver.com.au
25/11/2020 12:11:46 PM
INNOVATION - SUSTAINABILITY - SAFETY - KNOWLEDGE - CAREERS - COMMUNITY
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trucking heritage
I
HAVE, in the past, had the pleasure of viewing and photographing some splendidly fantastic, big budget truck restorations. Projects years in the making, with quite literally hundreds of thousands of dollars spent to bring a classic truck back to a representation of its former self. It’s always a pleasure to see and appreciate the skill, craftsmanship and love that is put into every nut and bolt. The restoration of old trucks is, to a degree, a personal expression. A vision realised of what the owner wants the truck to be. For some it’s an open cheque book, no holds barred, full re-incarnation of an original truck. Some choose to customise and re-model, to their own individual taste. For Michael Vella, boss of NSW Freightlines, his restoration journeys take on a slightly different direction. Michael believes some of the charm these older trucks hold is found in the details of their final presentation and condition. Michael wants his trucks to retain their working-class character, warts and all. When I first contacted Michael, he quickly pointed out: “My trucks are not big budget fancy builds”; a statement I believe he thought would deter my enthusiasm to create this feature. Not so. While his trucks are treated to fresh paint and mechanical repairs to bring them up to Above: Before restoration: The Kenworth K123 CR at NSW Freightlines’ workshop in Ingleburn after arriving from Newcastle
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ownerdriver.com.au
25/11/2020 11:33:02 AM
BLAST FROM HIS PAST
Michael Vella of NSW Freightlines, a big fan of heritage trucks, has two of the best classic Kenworths going ’round, including an identifiable cab-over from his diesel mechanic days. Warren Caves writes
ownerdriver.com.au
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Top & Right: Retro air-con: Keeping cool in the K123; The W model still does the occasional working run – hence the ‘Joy Ride’ moniker Above: Pedal to the metal in the old K123 Right: Michael Vella’s Kenworth W925 model Opposite top: Dashing interior: The W model’s dashboard has scrubbed up well
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ownerdriver.com.au
25/11/2020 11:33:59 AM
“My trucks are not big budget fancy builds.” roadworthy condition, Michael resists the temptation to go with a full-scale rebirth, instead preferring to leave some areas of the trucks in their original, blue collar condition. With a few projects on the boil, Michael took the time to show us his latest re-build, which he says is not quite finished yet (are they ever really finished Michael?), a 1978 K123 CR Kenworth cab-over, and his 1984 W925 Kenworth, which he has had for around four years now. The W-models story starts in Melbourne, where the truck was dutifully put into service for Eastoes Transport, an iconic Australian transport company founded by Les Eastoe in the late 1950s operating from Moorabbin in Melbourne’s southern suburbs. Originally a day-cab, short wheel-base truck, the W-model then went to work for Leitch Heavy Haulage where it was stretched in the chassis and had a sleeper fitted. According to Michael’s memory, he believes the W-model then went on to carting containers for a time. Originally fitted with a Cummins engine, Michael explains how it now comes to have a 3406 Caterpillar engine on board. “The owner at the time had imported a Peterbilt truck, which they spent a good deal of time and money refurbishing. Unfortunately, when it came to registering the Peterbilt, it didn’t comply with the necessary emission ADRs of the day. This led to the removal of the 3406 engine in favour of a C-15 Caterpillar engine. “Consequently, the 3406 was shelved. A little later the original Cummins engine fitted to the W-model got a bit rattly, so it was tossed aside with the 3406 bolted
ownerdriver.com.au
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into its place,” Michael says. Over time the original 15-speed gearbox was replaced with an 18-speed overdrive ’box and, to add some pliability to the ride and reduce chiropractor appointments, the suspension has been upgraded to an AirGlide 100 set-up. “I purchased the truck around four years ago and drove it home from Melbourne,” Michael continues. “I’m surprised it made it back, I didn’t even know it had chrome rims until I washed it; it was real mess.” Now that it has been restored, Michael gives it a run every couple of weeks with a load bound for somewhere in regional NSW. “It’s my therapy. I jump in it, turn off from the day-to-day running of a transport fleet and switch off for a bit. I just love driving it.”
Instant recognition The equally chequered history of the K123 CR begins with its purchase by Brambles in 1978. Somewhere after that time the truck went to Tippings in the NSW town of Lithgow. Eventually, the warm winters of Australia’s north beckoned and the truck made its way to work within a mine operation in the Northern Territory, towing a water trailer. After being pensioned off from water carting duties in favour of a truck with air conditioning, the cab-over sat idle in the Territory for a few years before being purchased by a bloke in Newcastle who wanted it for a parts truck. As often happens, the truck sat still in Newcastle for years with nothing being done with it before coming to Michael’s attention a year or so ago.
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“I like them to look like they have done some work.”
Michael spotted the truck and instantly recognised it as a truck he used to work on during his years as a mechanic at Detroit Diesel Services in Chipping Norton, Sydney. The personal association and history with the truck led him to jump in his W-model with float trailer in tow and head to Newcastle to secure the purchase. Positioned securely in Michael’s workshop, it was another six months before any progress began on the truck’s resurrection. “It really was a derelict truck at this stage,” Michael says. Following on from delays securing panels for yet another of his restoration projects, Michael decided to use the time to start rubbing back the K123. Like an archaeologist digging through layers of time to unravel its long forgotten history, Michael and friends rubbed back many layers and decades of paint schemes before landing upon the original Brambles orange, as he explains. “Crikey, there was a lot of rubbing back.” It was at this point that Michael decided that, as they’d come this far, they may as well go back to bare metal, which they did. By this point, enthusiasm in the cab-over project had blossomed. The K123 had now taken precedence over the other project.
Original Detroit Top: Michael Vella’s classic Kenworths, ready for the show circuit Above L to R: Under the K123: The original 6V92 two-stroke Detroit Diesel; The K123’s rear mounted air cleaners look as good as new
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Various mechanical work had to be done to the old truck; Hendrickson suspension bushes were renewed and jobs like re-connecting the Horton engine fan, which had been locked on to cope with the heat of carting water at low speeds around a hot NT mine site, were carried out. The original 6V92, two-stroke Detroit Diesel engine and 15-speed direct transmission remain in place, as per the
truck’s original specifications. The interior is an area where Michael wants to direct some more attention as the hand of time, UV rays and fatigue have really set in on some of the fixtures. So much so that Michael says: “When I loaded the truck onto the float in Newcastle it had a hood lining in it; by the time I arrived back in Sydney it had all but disintegrated and fallen to the floor.” Michael enlisted the help of a friend to paint the cabin, while he painted the chassis himself. “I like my trucks to look the way they do; I like them to look like they have done some work,” he says. “The classic truck scene is really big at the moment, it’s great to see these old trucks being restored, maintaining the history. The clubs run regular events and it’s not uncommon to see a small Bedford truck owner chatting with the owner of a big Mack. “Everyone’s equal, just a bunch of enthusiasts keeping our trucking history alive. I love that,” he enthuses. For Michael, it’s all about retaining the trucks’ working class, blue collar heritage. The trucks he is the current custodian of undeniably look great, not the biggest or the best, just honest as the day is long. Workhorses standing testament to the ideology of sometimes less is more.
ownerdriver.com.au
25/11/2020 11:34:49 AM
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IT PAYS TO ASK ABOUT DRIVER PAY
If you engage dodgy contractors, you’re responsible, says Truck Moves Australia director Matt Whitnall
T
You may wonder how customers can possibly be aware of what goes on behind the scenes, when the work undertaken is often on the other side of the country. There’s a few tell-tale signs you can look out for. If you received a couple of quotes for a truck move, and one was noticeably cheaper, that’s a warning sign right there. Maybe you received a quote where there was no extra charge for work on weekends or public holidays. In all these cases, wage theft is the only explanation. The bulk of the cost of a move is labour, so if it’s cheap it’s highly likely that drivers are not being paid correctly. Or maybe trucks are arriving very quickly from interstate, whether you requested urgency or not. Do the figures and work out how it was possible. Realistically the only way to achieve this is to break the law at serious risk to other road users. It’s your responsibility to look for red flags and ask hard questions. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.
here’s plenty of evidence that certain operators in the truck moving industry are guilty of serious wage theft. These on-going breaches also fall within the definition of Modern Slavery under the regulatory guidelines. So who exactly is responsible? Firstly, of course, it’s the operators who are not paying drivers correctly and fairly. It’s been three years since the Road Transport & Distribution Award took effect, so there is no excuse for non-compliance. I’m hearing of cases of drivers being paid less than half of the Award rate, and in some cases up to 75 per cent less. Secondly, and this is important, companies and individuals who engage unscrupulous operators are also in the line of fire for these dodgy practices. Chain of Responsibility (COR) legislation administered by the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) was amended in late 2018 to ensure everyone in the supply chain shares responsibility for breaches of the law. Think about that for a minute. By engaging a truck mover to undertake the straight-forward task of moving one of your trucks from point A to point B, you are responsible for everything they do along the way. This includes complying with road safety rules, but also the fair treatment of drivers and sub-contractors under the Award. That really should make everyone who contracts third parties to move trucks around Australia sit up and take notice. There’s nowhere to hide anymore, no ability to say “I didn’t know what they were doing”.
There are other things customers should do to make sure the companies they engage to move trucks are doing the right thing. Request a supplier audit to check logbooks and driver pay records. You can also ask for a written undertaking from the directors of the company that they are paying drivers correctly per the Award. Responsible operators won’t hesitate to open their books, and if you don’t get swift agreement you should end all dealings with that business. It’s time for the entire industry, right up to the companies and people engaging truck movers, to act to stop blatant wage theft and unsafe work practices. Not only is it the right thing to do, but under COR laws, everyone in the supply chain is responsible. Is saving a few dollars and turning a blind eye to dodgy practices really worth the risk to your business and reputation? Not only that, but you could also be held personally liable for non-compliance by the companies you engage to move trucks. Why risk all that for some crook?
“IT’S TIME FOR THE ENTIRE INDUSTRY, RIGHT UP TO THE COMPANIES AND PEOPLE ENGAGING TRUCK MOVERS, TO ACT TO STOP BLATANT WAGE THEFT AND UNSAFE WORK PRACTICES.”
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truck manufacturers
GOING, GOING … GONE! I The imminent demise of International ProStar from the Australian market puts the final nail in the coffin of a disjointed and altogether dismal attempt to build a new future for an iconic brand. Despite the faith and effort of capable individuals who saw the potential of ProStar and its Cat predecessor, corporate commitment was never equal to the task. Not even close. Steve Brooks writes
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T IS A brutally long way from Uluru to Dandenong, especially via Chicago and the big Cat-house in Peoria. That, however, is the decade-long mental excursion that needs to be made to gain any sense of the circumstances leading to the recent announcement that International ProStar will soon join Cat trucks on the scrapheap of arguably the most poorly conceived and overtly cynical corporate attempt to become part of the Australian trucking landscape. It all starts at Uluru, in the ageless expanse of Central Australia, with the big budget debut of Cat Trucks in late 2010. As far as new truck introductions go in our part of the world, they don’t come much grander than this. And the blunt reality is that it needed to be something special. Very special! After all, the event took place just two years after the decision by Cat to quit the truck engine business, effectively abandoning the loyal
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legions of truck operators with yellow blood coursing through their veins. With the birth of the truck, however, the ambitious and somewhat arrogant hope from Cat’s perspective was that all would be forgiven and lovers of yellow iron would literally flock to a truck bearing the famous moniker, punched by C13 and C15 Acert engines. Consequently, around 300 guests and their partners were flown to Uluru to be part of what was billed as the ‘world launch’ of Catbranded trucks. Apart from first view of the hardware, the obvious aim of the exercise was to let the world know that the vast Cat organisation, with all its strength, resources and wealth, had formed a 50/50 partnership with US truck manufacturing giant Navistar. The new entity was called NC2, ostensibly reflecting the combined strength of the two brands, with the sole aim of tackling the on-highway truck business. What’s more, it was made plain that the US market, with its significantly tougher emissions regulations, was not part of the plan. Sure, the platform for the assault was a Cat-branded version of Navistar’s supremely popular International ProStar – back then battling Freightliner’s Cascadia for domination of the US heavyduty market – but it was obvious that the engines powering the Cat trucks were somewhat ‘old world’ in an emissions sense. Simply stated, engines that were no longer compliant with US standards. Emerging in the immediate aftermath of the Global Financial Crisis, NC2 was formed in September 2009, soon after Caterpillar’s announcement that it would not develop engines to meet US 2010 emissions regulations. The plan, Cat stated, was to pursue markets outside North America with Cat-branded trucks developed in association with Navistar. To this day, the logic behind Navistar’s involvement in such a bold and altogether risky scheme remains as surreal as it is secret. For Cat, of course, the attractions of finding markets for engines no longer able to meet US requirements were as simple as they were self-serving. Unsurprisingly, there were sceptics aplenty at Uluru, still scarred by what they saw as Cat’s callous abandonment of the truck engine business. As one fleet owner confided at the event: “It came as a shock [when Cat left the truck engine business] and fair dinkum gutted us. We’d been loyal to Cat for years and I’d hate to think they’d do it again if the trucks didn’t live up to their sales targets over the next few years.” Little did he, or we, realise! Yet, in hindsight, there were worrying signs from the start. For instance, while the Uluru launch was exceptional in scale and scope, there were no Cat executives in attendance. Not one, which caused a few of the cynics among us to even then wonder about Cat’s motives and strategy.
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On the other hand, Navistar had plenty of executive players in attendance, including the president of NC2 and high-level Navistar operative Al Saltiel. In Melbourne, mid-way through 2010, Saltiel had not only announced NC2’s plan to hit the Australian market later that year with a Cat-branded truck based on a ProStar cab, chassis and running gear, but had also indicated in a press statement that NC2’s product line would eventually feature cab-over and conventional models sold under both Cat and International nameplates. In principle, it was a grand plan. In reality, it was a ploy with all the stability of desert dust driven by hot wind.
Top: ProStar in Cat clothing. Ultimately, Cat would discard the trucking venture just as it had discarded the truck engine business Below: Cats waiting for buyers. Optimistically, or naively, around 540 trucks were hurriedly assembled at the Tullamarine premises. Sales were very slow
LEASE EXPLAIN Like so many corporate executives, Saltiel was uncomfortable with hard questions from trade media and in a subsequent press conference at Uluru appeared to become increasingly vexed and frustrated with constant questions about the Cat truck’s premium price tag in a market where it was largely untested. In Saltiel’s somewhat blinkered and perhaps ignorant view, the Cat truck was a premium product and therefore justified a premium price akin to the likes of Kenworth and Western Star. Yes, really!
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“The reasons for Navistar’s involvement remain as surreal as they are secret.”
His greatest angst and displeasure, however, bubbled to the surface when repeatedly asked why Navistar had torn up its seemingly successful relationship with Iveco Trucks Australia in favour of a Cat-configured exercise seemingly fraught with more risk than reward. Meantime, at Iveco headquarters in Dandenong (Vic), insiders certainly weren’t shy about expressing a deep disdain for what they saw as Navistar’s ill-considered, even treacherous, abandonment of a positive and mutually beneficial arrangement. There certainly appeared to be no love lost between Iveco and Navistar. Yet, despite a barrage of questions, Saltiel was in no way willing to explain reasons for the decision to break from Iveco in favour of Cat. “That went well Brooksy,” a colleague whispered as a seething Saltiel left the room. It’s hard to believe he could not have expected such questions. After all, before the creation of NC2 the two companies had for several years enjoyed a reasonably successful association, with Iveco assembling International 7600, 9200 and 9900 models at its Dandenong factory. Still, today, there are people who bemoan the departure of those trucks from the Australian market. Moreover, and as time would soon show, there were those within Navistar’s executive sanctum in the US far from enthralled with the idea of a close coupling with Cat. Indeed, a senior executive, who would later be one of several Navistar veterans sent to Australia to sort out the aftermath of the NC2 kerfuffle, openly conceded during a visit to Navistar’s Chicago headquarters in late 2014, that the deal with Cat was flawed from the start. His blunt and fiercely expressed opinion, like several others during and after that trip, was that rather than climb into the
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Top: International 9200, 9900 and 7600 models were assembled by Iveco at Dandenong. Strangely, Navistar ended its agreement with Iveco in favour of the NC2 venture with Cat Above left: Al Saltiel at the Uluru launch of Cat trucks. The Navistar executive was appointed president of the NC2 venture but did not cope well with questions at a subsequent press conference
commercial cot with Cat, Navistar would have been better served by either continuing its established relationship with Iveco, or entering the Australian market with a direct factory-backed operation. Anything, he quipped, would’ve been better than heading Down Under hand-in-hand with Cat, particularly when Navistar Inc. already had plenty of difficult issues to contend with on its home turf. Whatever, it was slow going for NC2 in our hugely competitive and crowded market. Whether it was gross optimism or blind naivety, around 540 Cat-badged ProStars had been built by temporary assemblers on a reconfigured line at Cat’s Tullamarine (Vic) plant, all hastily put together to beat the deadline for a new Australian emissions standard (ADR 80/03). Once they were built, the assemblers were simply paid off. Yet, despite the hype of the launch event, sales were fearfully slow and it took several years to clear the backlog of trucks clogging the Tullamarine facility. As stocks eventually diminished though, completely built-up trucks were then imported from Navistar’s production plant in Escobedo, Mexico. In a surprisingly short time, however, cracks started to appear in NC2’s plans amid an undercurrent of concern that Cat’s commitment was waning. On a positive note, though, the trucks were actually showing reasonable reliability and typically strong performance from the C15 in particular. As for the C13 Acert, emissions legislation soon ended its days. In its place came a Navistar engine of similar displacement, painted yellow with a Cat badge tacked on. Called the CT13, it did not fare well. However, as the cracks became chasms, it was increasingly apparent that NC2 was heading for an abyss. While reams have been already written on what can only be described as the ill-conceived Cat trucks exercise, it bears reiterating that the US executive belatedly appointed to run the NC2 show in Australia was none other than Bill Fulton, the same bloke at the helm of Cat’s truck engine business in Australia when Peoria’s powerbrokers announced in 2008 the decision to end truck engine development. So, when executives in the US decided they’d also had enough of NC2, Fulton once again avoided questions from customers or anyone else by staying true to form and quickly boarding a plane back to Cat HQ in Peoria. ‘Bye Bill!
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“We misjudged the animosity surrounding Cat’s pull out of the engine business.” CHANGING COURSE But rather than join Cat in washing its hands of the entire exercise, there remained forces within Navistar keen to stay in Australian and New Zealand markets, not least because Navistar found itself in possession of a big heap of yellow engines. Obviously, those engines had to be sold somewhere, somehow. They were no good for America and markets for Cat trucks in other parts of the world had failed to materialise, so Australia, and to a much lesser extent, New Zealand, carried the can. Literally. Thus, as NC2 unravelled and Navistar hurriedly took control, a deal was done whereby a new entity called Navistar Auspac would import CT610 and CT630 models built and marketed under a licensing agreement with Cat. Appointed to run the new outfit after serving a short stint as Fulton’s lieutenant was former Detroit Diesel and Freightliner executive Kevin Dennis. Unfortunately, his tenure was brief, opting to accept a managing director’s role with Penske Commercial Vehicles. After that, Navistar Auspac sailed under a couple of aging masters retrieved from International’s executive archives – the taciturn Dave Allen and the likeable Tim Quinlan – each, ultimately, following
Above: The International ProStar was launched at the 2015 Brisbane Truck Show, with the awesome LoneStar ‘Blade’ imported purely for people pulling power. Soon after, ProStar opportunities were lost in protracted negotiations between Navistar and Iveco’s master Case New Holland Right: More than two years after ProStar’s Brisbane debut, the first unit was sold to Tasmania’s John Treloar. Even then, he was nervous about the brand’s future
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the other into retirement. Australia, it appeared, was way down Navistar’s priority list and younger, dynamic corporate achievers were apparently busy elsewhere. Left to steady the ship, at least in an operational sense, were a number of local managers and engineers who had remained loyal to the Cat cause from day one, led by marketing manager Glen Sharman and engineers Adrian Wright and John Drakopolous. Still, the executive structure at Navistar Auspac remained peculiar to say the least, perhaps best typified by the involvement of a corporate veteran operating from Johannesburg, South Africa. Go figure! In a positive spin, however, the Navistar Auspac title was said “to more accurately reflect the parent company’s stake in Australian and New Zealand markets”, creating some speculation that the new entity was actually a pre-cursor to a full-blown, factory-backed return of the International brand to Australian and New Zealand markets. As following events would reveal, it was speculation without substance. At a 2014 meeting with Australian road transport reporters at Navistar’s sprawling world headquarters on the outskirts of Chicago, senior executives seemed surprised by the suggestion and were casually non-committal about a full-scale return to Antipodean markets. Higher up the executive ladder, then president of Navistar’s global division, Eric Tech, was a tad more forthright and at least conceded that NC2 had not quite gone to plan. “We misjudged the animosity surrounding Cat’s pull out of the engine business,” he said candidly, adding that the dismantling of NC2 and Navistar’s subsequent adoption of the Cat on-highway truck operation was mutually agreed by both companies. “If we had our time over, would we do it [NC2] again?” he queried. “We’d certainly change some things, for sure.” Like his subordinates, however, Tech would not be cornered on the possibility of a full factory-backed return of the International brand to the Australian market. In what appeared an extremely cautious each-way bet, he at least emphasised Navistar’s intention to remain part of the Down Under truck market, in one form or another. “There is plenty of upside for us in Australia,” he said before concluding with what seemed genuine sincerity, “Navistar is in Australia to stay.” It certainly looked that way at the Brisbane Truck Show in 2015 when Navistar Auspac not only showcased its latest creations in the Cat trucks stable but also launched the Cummins-powered International ProStar in its own right on the Australian market. Centrepiece of the International stand was the awesome LoneStar ‘Blade’, a spectacular show truck flown in especially for the Brisbane show and achieving what it was intended to do: create renewed interest in International.
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“The confidence, excitement and indeed, passion for the ProStar project simply slipped into space.”
Top: Treloar’s ProStar alongside one of his 9900 Eagles in 2018. The self-confessed International ‘tragic’ remarked, “… as much as I like International, I don’t think I could tolerate it if they pulled out of Australia again.” Sadly, his concerns have been confirmed Above: NC2 plans to tackle the big boys of the Australian trucking business failed to materialise. Miserably!
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Confidence was high that the Cummins-powered ProStar, which in Cat guise had at least shown its ability to be a durable and versatile truck under Australian conditions, would be just the thing to pave the way for a broader effort to re-establish the International brand in Australia, and in the process replace the fast-fading Cat.
THE FINAL FLING The last new Cats were sold in 2018. All up, just 1,100 units or thereabouts were delivered in Australia and New Zealand, the great majority obviously into the Australian market. For the mathematically inclined, the annual average was little more than 150 units a year, which by any measure was far from the heights envisaged during the hype of the Uluru ‘world launch’. So why was the Cat trucks’ exercise such a dismal failure? Almost assuredly, as Tech had intimated several years earlier, the whole rationale of NC2 was based on the brazen belief that a Cat badge and yellow engine would be enough to ensure success and, in the process, dissolve the disappointment of Cat’s ’08 abandonment of the engine business. Truck operators, however, have long memories. Back at the Brisbane show, early confidence in ProStar was further boosted by the resolute encouragement of high-ranking Navistar executive Tom Clevenger. He, like those in the small but loyal Navistar Auspac group, justifiably believed there was a distinct opportunity for ProStar and, in time, sibling models such as the versatile WorkStar. The missing link, however, was a dealer group to sell and service the trucks. It was obviously beyond Navistar’s fiscal interests to establish a network of its own and as early discussions indicated, it was entirely unlikely that even those Cat dealers keen to remain in the trucking business would be willing, or were even allowed, to sell and service a Cummins-powered product. And it’s at this point that the whole saga starts decaying to a
disappointing end. In effect, events were turning full circle as Navistar and Iveco holding company Case New Holland Industrial (CNHI) entered into a protracted negotiation process whereby Iveco Trucks Australia would eventually become the importer and distributor of International trucks. Unfortunately, almost two years lapsed from the time of the Brisbane show to finalisation of the deal and arrival of the first ProStars. Thus, the confidence, excitement and, indeed, passion for the ProStar project simply slipped into space, lost in layers of corporate complexity, mangled by executive disinterest and, worse, confirming a complete lack of long-term commitment to the Australian market right from ProStar’s first days under the cover of a Cat badge. The final nail was slammed home in a recent press release: “Iveco Trucks Australia has been advised by Navistar Inc. that it will cease global production of the ProStar range, effective December this year.” There is, the press release continued, a ProStar replacement under development in the US but it will be built in left-hand drive form only. From an economic perspective, it’s easy to understand Navistar’s decision. Up to the first half of 2020, a woefully disappointing 150 ProStars or thereabouts had been delivered in Australia since the first unit was sold in 2017. Given the meagre numbers, there is absolutely no economic viability in developing a right-hand drive version of the new model that will almost certainly appear in the US next year. Even so, it’s believed dedicated loyalists within Iveco proffered the idea of importing left-hook versions of ProStar’s successor and converting them to right-hand drive in Dandenong. Apparently, the idea was quickly quashed. Whether the greatest fault for ProStar’s abject failure sits with Navistar or Iveco is now a moot point. Neither brand has bathed itself in professional performance worthy of even mild applause, but when it’s all boiled down, ProStar is a Navistar product and, surely, ultimate responsibility sits with the suits in Chicago. The truck and the people who bought it, few as they are, deserved a better outcome. Perhaps the final word should go to the man who bought Australia’s first ProStar. His name is John Treloar, a self-confessed International ‘tragic’ and managing director of Treloar Transport, a busy trucking, civil construction and quarrying company based at Sheffield in northern Tasmania. In a 2018 article titled ‘Across the Ages’, Treloar was quick to praise ProStar’s potential, resolutely stating his belief that there is “… no structural or mechanical reason why the model shouldn’t succeed in Australia.” He did, however, also share a few concerns issuing from the fact that while he’d placed the order for the truck soon after the 2015 Brisbane Truck Show, his ProStar wasn’t delivered until a few weeks before Christmas 2017. “The long wait definitely became a worry,” Treloar conceded. “It started to make me wonder if the whole International exercise would happen or not. Anyway, it’s here now and doing a really good job,” he added with a satisfied smile. But then again, Treloar admitted to continuing bouts of nervousness. A slight concern, he explained, was that somewhere down the track there may come a corporate hiccup driven by some unforeseen agenda, or a change of executive resolve, each with the potential to damage or even completely dismantle the current relationship between International and its Australian distributor, Iveco. “I’m just hoping history doesn’t repeat itself,” he said after a few thoughtful moments, “because as much as I like International, I don’t think I could tolerate it if they pulled out of Australia again.” You’re not on your own. Not at all!
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truck technology
VOLVO DELIVERS D
ESPITE THE frustrations stemming from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, Volvo Group Australia (VGA) has swum against the tide, embarking on what it states as its biggest launch ever with a new range of FM, FMX, FH and FH16 models – just in time for Christmas. VGA states that all new Volvo models will be built at its production facility in Wacol, Queensland. According to Volvo, the new range has been designed with the driver in mind, pointing to “unparalleled levels of comfort, driveability and safety”. “Long haul drivers don’t just drive our trucks; they often live in them, however even in an urban distribution environment drivers also need a safe comfortable workplace,” states VGA vice president of sales, Tony O’Connell. “For some it is the modern office with every convenience at hand, for others it is also a home. “We all know how hard it can be to attract drivers in this country. Any driver would be proud to find
themselves behind the wheel of any truck in our new range.” The new Volvo FH will have the option of Euro 5 and Euro 6 emissions levels across the range in both 13-litre and 16-litre capacities as well as a complementary range of horsepower options. VGA points out that its new FM comes with an all-new cab as well as Euro 5 and 6 options in 11- and 13-litre engine capacities. It adds that emissions, efficiency and safety unsurprisingly feature highly across its line-up, in addition to a significant focus on the driver environment.
Crash test strength Volvo states that its truck cabs across the range meet the world’s most stringent crash test rating – the Swedish BOF10 cab strength test. In addition, VGA notes that visibility has been improved by more than 10 per cent on the Volvo FM, as well as the Volvo FMX, which now features similar lines
to the Volvo FH cab with a larger windscreen, slimmer A-pillars, slim line mirrors, and a lower door line. To minimise blind spots, the new passenger corner camera activates when the left indicator is used. The corner camera can also be activated at the push of a button, enabling the driver to check the area when required. The camera image is displayed on the 9-inch (23cm) dash-mounted touch-screen display. This display is said to be able to handle input from up to eight cameras. VGA explains that LED headlights on the FH and FH16 models feature the Adaptive High Beam function, which partially dips the high beam when the headlights or taillights of another vehicle are detected ahead of the truck. This means that the area surrounding the vehicle can remain illuminated by the partial high beam, increasing visibility, without blinding other road users. The system is also said to be able to detect the lights of smaller vehicles such as motorcycles and cyclists. Other active safety features being spruiked include Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) for speeds down to zero km/h, plus Hill Descent Control that automatically activates the wheel brakes when extra brake force is needed to maintain constant downhill speed. VGA says the electronically controlled Brake System (EBS), which is a prerequisite for safety features such as Collision Warning with Emergency Brake and Electronic Stability Control, comes as standard on the new truck. Volvo Dynamic Steering, with safety systems Lane Keeping Assist and Stability Assist also available as an option.
Cab comfort VGA expects drivers to welcome the Volvo FM and FMX interior cab space, which has been increased by up to one cubic metre, giving drivers more room to move as well as additional storage space. Day cab models also boast a 40 per cent increase in storage space. As far as ergonomics go, a newly designed I-Shift transmission selector and simplified switch gear across the dashboard is reported to add to ease of use and comfort from the driver’s seat. Inside, an all-new 12-inch (30cm) instrument panel minimises driver distraction with clean, clear digital instrumentation while a new larger touch screen display with a simplified menu is now claimed to be
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New FM, FMX, FH and FH16 models to herald a new era in driver safety for Volvo Group Australia
“The FH and FH16 will continue to power Australian long-haul and heavy haulage businesses.”
within easy reach of the driver. VGA says the functions within can be controlled via buttons on the steering wheel, by voice control, or via the touchscreen and display control panel.
Emissions decisions Building on the current Euro 6 offerings in classic Volvo FM11 and FM13 models, VGA points out that the entire range of models now come with options for Euro 6. In the new Volvo FM Euro 6 horsepower ratings include the 11-litre 380, 430 and 460hp (283, 321 and 343kW) options, while the 13-litre range includes the 460 and 500hp (373kW) options. However, VGA says the previous range of Euro 5 engines with 330hp (246kW) to 500hp options will still be on offer. The Volvo FMX will also retain the option of a 540hp (403kW) Euro 5 powerplant. The Volvo FH will also benefit from the addition of 13-litre Euro 6 variants including the 500hp D13 Turbo Compound engine as well as the 13-litre 540hp rating. The Volvo FH16 will see the existing Euro 5 range that covers horsepower ratings from 600 to 700hp (447 to 523kW), complemented by Euro 6 variants at 550 and 650hp (410 and 485kW).
Fuel efficient The addition of the Australian I-Save package to the new Volvo FH is set to create new levels of fuel efficiency and CO2 savings, according to VGA. The 500hp/2,800Nm Euro 6 turbo compound engine is included in the Australian I-Save package and is said to enable significant fuel and CO2 savings. For long-haul operations, VGA says the new FH with Australian I-Save will combine the new Euro 6 D13TC engine into a package that also includes I-See, which accesses centrally stored topographic data to optimise transmission performance and engine efficiency. Other components reported to be included in the package are I-Shift with dash mounted gear selector and economy transmission software, I-Cruise with I-Roll, optimised 2.83 rear axle ratio with fuel efficient energy tyres, engine idle shutdown, and variable displacement power steering pump. “I’m very excited to see the new Volvo Trucks range come to life here on Australia soil,” O’Connell continues. “Our biggest launch ever with our safest, most productive and most efficient range of transport solutions has been eagerly anticipated by customers. “This has been a massive project and we have invested heavily in our manufacturing capability to ensure that these trucks will be built at our Wacol Queensland production facility. And as always, will continue to be serviced by the largest
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dealer network in Australia and New Zealand.” O’Connell says the new Volvo FM and Volvo FMX are intelligent and versatile, and will continue to support customers by building on the formidable reputation carved out by the classic models in the urban streets, the quarries and the regional back blocks of Australia. “The FH and FH16 will continue to power Australian long-haul and heavy haulage businesses with new levels of driver comfort and appointments. “These new powerplants, coupled with our unique range of features from dual-clutch transmissions to Volvo Dynamic Steering will allow us to provide our customers with the best transport solution possible, while drivers will appreciate all the new touches that will make their life on the road easier,” O’Connell says. “And best of all, we are building this entire range right here in Australia.” The new Volvo Trucks Australia range went on sale on November 30. However, as previously mentioned in earlier editions of Owner// Driver and its website www.ownerdriver.com.au, Volvo has decided not to display its new range at the 2021 Brisbane Truck Show, despite its Wacol facility being merely a little over a stone’s throw from the show venue, the Brisbane Convention and Entertainment Centre.
From top: Volvo’s new FM model comes with an all-new cab; The 9-inch dash-mounted touch-screen display; Like the other new models, the FMX is built at Volvo’s Wacol plant near Brisbane Opposite below: Volvo’s new FH16 with XXL cab (right) and FH models – fresh off the factory floor
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truck technology
COMPOUNDING A COMEBACK The introduction of a 13-litre turbo-compound Euro 6 engine in Volvo’s new model range comes as no surprise. After all, it was more than a year ago we first asked if Volvo Group Australia was testing a turbocompound engine. The answer was a typical ‘no comment’ but it appears our speculative report in late 2019 was right on the money. The following is an abridged version of a Steve Brooks feature story titled ‘Compounding the Interest’ published in November 2019. It may help to understand how turbo-compounding works and Volvo’s motives for resurrecting the technology despite the negligible success of earlier attempts.
E
VERY TWO YEARS on the eve of the Brisbane Truck Show, Volvo Group Australia (VGA) holds a media conference to discuss, among other things, the state of play of each of its three brands and more broadly, deliver an overview of the business and fiscal factors affecting Australian road transport. After the presentations comes the Q&A session where the media mass breaks into small groups for a few minutes of question time with the leader of each brand as well as a face-to-face chat with the boss. These are sometimes good sessions. Other times not. It all depends on the question. If, however, you’re hoping for even a vague answer to any question on upcoming product developments, well, you might as well park the pen because all you’re likely to get is a repeat of the tired response that goes along
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the lines of ‘we never talk about future product.’ The thing is, though, in this age of information overload, instant communications, and the obvious amortisation that drives every corporate giant in every corner of the globe, it is an increasingly lame and even churlish response. Take VGA, for instance, and the question of whether or not the 13-litre D13TC turbo-compound engine now available in America and Europe is being tested here in preparation for our market. Following the TC engine’s release in America and more recently Europe, it doesn’t take the nous of Nostradamus to speculate that it is most likely being trialled here, largely to improve the efficiency, performance and even lifespan of Volvo’s (and possibly Mack’s) versatile 13-litre engine in the hard and fast world of linehaul B-doubles. When it comes to turbo-compounding anyone with their ear close to the ground knows only too well that Volvo Group is revisiting the technology in a big way despite much earlier experiences which were memorable for all the wrong reasons. This time around, however, turbo-compounding is being applied in the pursuit of greater efficiency rather than to simply fill a performance gap; a pursuit that suits Volvo’s local ambitions right down to the ground.
Some background In basic terms, a turbo-compound system employs
a second turbine driven by engine exhaust which captures a significant proportion of the heat energy that would otherwise be lost through the tail pipe and, by channelling it through a gear train and clever fluid coupling, punches more power into the crankshaft via the flywheel. In principle and in practice, turbocompounding is an effective waste recovery system. Complex and costly as it may appear though, there is nothing particularly new about the technology. In fact, ‘the other Swede’ Scania was first of all the world’s truck makers to offer a turbo-compound production model when it introduced a 400hp (298kW), 11-litre lump around 30 years ago. Cummins, Daimler, Iveco and obviously Volvo are among others who over several decades have also spent plenty on development and testing of turbo-compound systems, with varying levels of success. Volvo’s first use of turbo-compounding in Australia came soon after the arrival of the new century when, in desperate need of higher horsepower to meet increasing B-double demands, a 500hp (373kW), 2,400Nm/1,770ft-lb turbo-compound version of its former D12D 12-litre engine was released here with some highly hopeful fanfare. However, in both durability and efficiency, it did not do particularly well and the subsequent arrival of a reborn 16-litre engine followed two years later by an entirely new 13-litre displacement saw turbo-compound
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technology abruptly shelved, seemingly forever. But as the saying goes, ‘never say never’. Just when it seemed turbo-compounding had slipped off Volvo’s radar for good, Volvo Trucks North America (VTNA) late in 2016 announced the arrival of the D13TC engine, along with the claim of ‘a 6.5 per cent improvement in fuel efficiency compared with previous engine models’. Similarly impressive was a 50hp (37kW) gain in output thanks to the captured energy of exhaust gases. Mack followed suit in 2017 with its version of the same engine, the MP8-TC. Delivering the holy grail of strong low-speed performance and appreciably better fuel economy required a new approach, with VTNA product marketing manager John Moore stating that the D13TC, “… is not the turbo-compound engine of the past. It has been completely redesigned to work at low engine rpm and provide maximum fuel efficiency through extreme (engine) down-speeding. “We’ve taken the technology of the past and we’ve tweaked it with our own innovations in our integrated driveline, and we’re making it work. “In the past, turbo-compound designs were set up to run on performance only. You really didn’t see much in fuel efficiency [but] this engine is designed to do both. We designed the D13TC to run at low rpm for maximum fuel efficiency, and to be able to run at 1,400 to 1,500rpm to give us the performance we need when we do find ourselves in more aggressive terrain,” said John Moore. Subsequently, with US experience supporting the case for turbo-compounding, Volvo added the D13TC to its European stable in March this year (2019), specifically to partner and derive maximum effect from the I-Save drivetrain package developed for its flagship FH range. Volvo is claiming a seven percent improvement in fuel economy from the I-Save powertrain, utilising (among other things) tall rear axle ratios and a 300Nm boost in peak torque output provided by the turbo-compound
“The reason for using the turbo-compound unit is simply that it saves fuel.” system. (In the 500hp D13TC engine for Australia, peak torque is out to a gritty 2,800Nm/2,065ft-lb.) I-Save is the platform for what Volvo describes as a ‘long haul fuel package’ consisting of tailored cruise control and transmission functions, the I-Roll freewheeling feature, a variable output power steering pump to reduce parasitic losses, and automatic engine idle shutdown. Predictably, the 13-litre TC engine comes with a number of innovations including wave-shaped piston crowns that guide heat and energy into the centre of the cylinders to enhance combustion efficiency. On the scales, the system is said to add around 100kg to the weight of a D13 in Euro 6 guise. Respected British trucking scribe Brian Weatherley, writing in leading UK publication Commercial Motor, ironically likened Volvo’s return to turbo-compounding as something akin to a boomerang; “And just like the curved stick that circles back, compound turbocharging returns otherwise wasted exhaust gas energy back into an engine, boosting its power and torque, all for free.” With the engine designed for the Euro 6 emissions standard, Weatherley noted, “… in addition to its SCR emissions control system, the D13TC also features cooled exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) which not only further reduces the amount of NOx created during combustion but reduces AdBlue costs too.” But above all else, “The reason for using the turbocompound unit is simply that it saves fuel,” says Mats Franzen, Volvo Trucks’ director of powertrain strategy who adds that, unlike earlier generation turbocompound engines, the D13TC and I-Save are at their
most effective between 1,000 and 1,100rpm. “The improved torque level allows the use of a faster rear axle (2.83:1) while still maintaining driveability and traction,” Franzen continued. “The savings created by the I-Save package balance well with the additional cost, resulting in a positive business case for long-haul operators.” Still, when it comes to developments for the Australian market, the whole turbo-compound topic remains rooted in rumour and speculation, and it’ll probably stay that way for at least as long as the corporate doctrine continues to be ‘no comment’. Or, of course, until speculation morphs into fact.
That speculation has indeed now morphed into fact following the recent announcement of an entirely new Volvo model range. But what if the speculation had been completely wrong, leaving Volvo with the highly unenviable task of trying to set the record straight? Just a thought, but surely if would’ve been intrinsically wiser to simply respond to a genuine and obviously well-informed question with at least some acknowledgement of the facts rather than mundane and somewhat contemptuous corporate diatribe. Again, it’s just a thought!
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tech briefs
Isuzu and Volvo cement UD Trucks agreement VOLVO GROUP and Isuzu Motors have offered further detail on the commercial vehicle strategic alliance recently finalised by both parties. The deal cements the memorandum of understanding signed in December 2019 “to capture the opportunities in the ongoing industry transformation”. Isuzu will pay JPY 243 billion (A$3.3 billion), subject to regulatory approval, to buy subsidiary UD Trucks from Volvo to “create the best long-term conditions for a stronger heavyduty truck business for UD Trucks and Isuzu Motors in Japan and across international markets”. Further, Isuzu and UD are “discussing the conditions for the supply of certain truck variants” from UD to Isuzu from 2022 onwards. For seamless business continuation in the meantime, Volvo will provide transitional services and supply components to UD. Volvo and Isuzu will establish a joint alliance office, with facilities both in Japan and Sweden, which will be overseen by an alliance board comprising the Isuzu president, Volvo CEO and other key executives from both companies. The alliance framework agreement is signed for a minimum 20 years. “I have high expectations on this strategic alliance, which will make Volvo and Isuzu Motors even more competitive within their respective markets and segments,” Volvo Group CEO Martin Lundstedt says. “This is an opportunity to share
technology investments and also to help each other grow. “I am confident that UD Trucks will become a bridge between the Volvo Group and Isuzu Motors and that the strategic alliance will create the conditions to continue to develop UD Trucks to a new level within Isuzu Motors. “The Volvo Group will continue to support UD Trucks, and participate in the Asian markets through this alliance.” The agreement on UD includes an earnout, with an additional JPY 15 billion (A$200,000) to be paid subject to the company’s financial performance between 2021-2023. UD’s revenue for the last 12 months to June 2020 was JPY 278 billion (A$3.8 billion) and is said to have had a “marginally positive” impact on
Above: New partners: The Iveco and UD adjacent displays at the 2019 Tokyo Motor Show
Volvo Group’s operating income. “This is a very exciting day. We have signed the strategic alliance agreement with the Volvo Group,” Isuzu Motors Limited president Masanori Katayama says. “This long-term partnership will span across products, technologies and regions, and actively contribute to service improvements and strengthened customer satisfaction as well as supporting the logistics industry. “I am fortunate to have UD Trucks joining the Isuzu Group. UD Trucks will play an important role of the strategic alliance for efficient and effective collaboration between Isuzu Motors and the Volvo Group.”
Daimler and Volvo in fuel cell joint venture EUROPEAN RIVAL truck manufacturers Volvo Group and Daimler have signed a binding agreement for a joint venture to develop, produce and commercialise fuelcell systems for use in heavy-duty trucks and other applications. The Volvo Group will acquire 50 per cent of the partnership interests in new company Daimler Truck Fuel Cell for approximately €600 million (just under A$982.5 million) on a cash and debt-free basis. Closing of the transaction is expected during the first half of 2021. The transaction is still subject to merger control review by relevant authorities, as well as other approvals. The Volvo Group and Daimler Truck AG will own equal interests in the joint venture, but continue to be competitors in all other areas such as vehicle technology and fuelcell integration in trucks. “For us at Daimler Truck AG and our intended partner, the Volvo Group, the hydrogen-based fuel-cell is a key technology for enabling CO2-neutral transportation in the future,” Daimler chair Martin Daum says. “In the future, the world will be powered by a combination of battery-electric and fuel-cell electric vehicles, along with other renewable fuels to some extent,” president and CEO of the Volvo Group Martin Lundstedt adds. Volvo and Daimler say the future joint venture will be able to benefit from their longstanding experience in technology development, industrialisation and largescale vehicle production, with the overall aim of achieving a similar position in fuelcells that the two companies currently have in commercial vehicles. The joint venture will develop a system with several power stages, including a twin system with 300kW (402hp) continuous power for heavy-duty long-haul trucks. Both companies’ goal is to start with customer tests of trucks with fuel-cells in about three years and to be in series production during the second half of this decade, they say.
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Iveco Australia launches telematics platform IVECO’S LOCAL arm has introduced its own telematics system for the Australian and New Zealand markets. Following what it calls an extensive local development phase, the new platform is designed and manufactured in its Melbourne plant specifically for local and New Zealand markets. It is now fitted as standard equipment on every heavy duty Euro 6 ACCO, Euro 6 X-Way and Euro 5 Stralis model in the Iveco range built from September 2020, and also comes with a 12-month complimentary subscription. It can be retrofitted on applicable models. On the telematics features, Iveco notes it provides live GPS tracking, geo-fencing of operating areas and/or restricted zones, and trip information including trip details and trip reports. The system’s driver monitoring capabilities include harsh braking and acceleration alerts, moving and stationary over-revving alerts, over-speed, over-speed limit and over-idling alerts.
The software can provide driver scorecard and productivity reports to help improve driving techniques and overall efficiency. On the safety front, the system offers vehicle roll-over and impact alerts, while a theft prevention feature can mitigate risk through tracking and providing notification if a breaching of geo-fenced areas occurs, or if the vehicle is moved without the ignition being actuated. To assist in minimising vehicle downtime, the system also provides detailed insights into vehicle operating data, including odometer and engine hour readings, scheduled maintenance reporting, ‘tell-tale’ activity reporting, battery voltage level and engine coolant, engine oil and transmission fluid alerts. “As a standard package, Iveco Telematics provides logistics operators and other road transport businesses with a comprehensive, full suite of services that many other manufacturers charge additional for,” says Marco Stiffler,
Iveco Australia product manager – telematics. “Iveco Telematics provides the end user with a wealth of information that will help bring greater efficiencies to their operations across a number of areas. “As well as providing extremely useful information to the end user to increase their efficiency, buyers who allow their Iveco dealer to have some visibility into their data can enjoy a range of servicing, maintenance and preventative maintenance benefits that will minimise downtime by ensuring correct parts are in
stock prior to servicing.” All data from Iveco Telematics is accessed through a secure portal, where a profile page and dashboard allows users to customise their account details and settings, manage users and access information covering map page and areas, asset trails, live tracking, management of vehicles, groups, drivers and services, alerts, reporting, vehicle transfer and help. It is available in app form for Apple and Android devices. For fleet operators using their own telemetry programs, Iveco Telematics can be integrated with their systems.
Cummins underlines hydrogen ambitions IT MAY have cut its teeth on internal combustion but engine-maker Cummins wants the market to know it is seeking to become a hydrogen powerhouse as well with a view to producing more hydrogen electrolysers. To that end and in what the company describes as an “aggressive strategy”, chairman and CEO Tom Linebarger reveals the US company plans to grow its fuel cell and hydrogen production business to rank alongside other propulsion sources. “Hydrogen technologies, particularly electrolysers, will be a fast-growing
and increasingly important part of our business over the next few years,” Linebarger says. “As momentum increases worldwide for the use of hydrogen solutions, we will continue to leverage our industryleading hydrogen technologies, our deep customer relationships and our extensive service network to enable adoption,” He adds: “As the world transitions to a low carbon future, Cummins has the financial strength to invest in hydrogen and battery technologies as well as advanced diesel and
natural gas powertrains.” The engine-maker is broad in its transport approach, saying it is combining its powertrain expertise and its fuel cell and hydrogen technologies to power a variety of applications, including public-transport buses, prime movers, delivery trucks, refuse trucks and passenger trains. Cummins has more than 2,000 fuel cell installations across a variety of on-and off-highway applications as well as more than 500 electrolyser installations. The company reveals that, during the presentations, Cummins’ executives also
shared how green hydrogen and fuel cells will play a critical role in reducing greenhouse gas and air emissions from the industries it serves to meet experts’ recommendations to limit global temperature increases in line with the Paris Agreement. “The production of green hydrogen and the adoption of fuel cell technologies in markets that are served by fossil fuels today will be critical to lowering greenhouse gas emissions globally and also will enable Cummins to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050,” Linebarger says.
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FOR THE OWNER-DRIVER Frank Black
Intimidation persists The ACCC has again been asked to withdraw its jail threat following an opinion published in the media
L
ast month, three senior representatives of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) were questioned by Senators Tony Sheldon and Paul Scarr regarding the letter sent to me which threatened 10 years in jail for talking about low rates in trucking in this opinion column of Owner//Driver magazine. After watching the full 30-minute questioning online, it was apparent that ACCC chair Rod Sims agreed that the heavy-handed approach was not appropriate. And yet, the competition regulator continues to both stand by the threatening letter and protect whoever it was that encouraged them to write it. On June 1, I received the letter from the ACCC for expressing my concern about lower rates being offered during the pandemic. I said that we cannot afford for rates to be lowered in our industry; that in harder times we must stand strong together. There is often disagreement between truck drivers, but this I believe to be a unanimous concern. I am yet to meet a truck driver that doesn’t wish we could be paid more for the important work that we do. Ours is the deadliest industry in Australia. Hundreds of people die in truck crashes on Australian roads every year, including many truck drivers. There is an abundance of research showing the link between low rates of pay in trucking and high rates of deaths and injuries. This academic research was highlighted by Senator Tony Sheldon, to which the ACCC representatives agreed they were aware. In fact, ACCC chair Rod Sims went so far as to say he has “enormous sympathy” for the issues raised. A remarkable comment considering the regulator sent an intimidating letter to a truck driver for raising concerns about ownerdrivers staying afloat while refusing to investigate the dangerous economic imbalance in trucking supply chains.
SAFETY LAST
The ACCC has proven through its actions that it will put competition before safety, even at the risk of people’s lives. ACCC COO Scott Gregson said that there is no issue with raising safety concerns; the issue is with “a perceived call for collective approaches from competitors”. Isn’t it astounding that fuel
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companies can all hike up their prices at the same time and it goes unquestioned. But when a truck driver dares to encourage other truck drivers to stand together against pandemic profiteering from rich companies further up the supply chain – so that we can have viable businesses – the ACCC responds with an iron fist. The ACCC can’t even explain how the opinion piece constitutes a cartel offence. During questioning, Senator Paul Scarr outlined the factors listed on the ACCC’s own website. Senator Scarr’s point was that a single owner-operator writing an opinion piece about low rates and the risk of going bust falls far short of breaching any of the following: • the conduct was covert • the conduct caused, or could have caused, large scale or serious economic harm • the conduct was longstanding • the conduct caused, or could
FRANK BLACK has been a long distance owner-driver for more than 30 years. He is the current ownerdriver representative on the ATA Council.
“Sims agreed that the heavy-handed approach was not appropriate.”
have caused, significant detriment to the public • one or more of the alleged participants has previously been found by a court to have participated in, or has admitted to participating in, cartel conduct either criminal or civil • senior representatives within the relevant corporation(s) were involved in authorising or participating in the conduct. ACCC chair Rod Sims conceded that Senator Scarr made a good point – not one of these factors applies to my opinion piece. In fact, rather than causing a significant detriment to the public, truck drivers being paid properly would actually keep the public far safer. The strongest words of defence Sims could muster regarding whether I had longstanding or previous conduct were: “We don’t know without looking into it”. A similar response was given regarding the legislative protections for owner-drivers, which have exemptions under the ACCC. Despite claiming to be aware of the relevant state legislations, neither COO Scott Gregson nor Sims were able or willing to speak to it at the time, instead asking Senator Sheldon to send through anything relevant to the case. Sims then went on to say of the ACCC’s approach that “we try to deal with things in the most efficient way”, and “I readily accept that sometimes we don’t get that balance right”. What this shows is that the ACCC is willing to jump straight to a threat of jail time for a truck driver opinion columnist without doing any research into whether there has been a breach of conduct related to the person or legislation. It calls into question the legitimacy of the ACCC if the most senior representatives are unfamiliar with the laws and regulations relevant to their threats.
GAG ATTEMPT
Despite the back peddling during Senate questioning, Sims opted to stand by the letter and provided with it a further warning. When Senator Sheldon asked Sims for a meeting to further discuss the letter, Sims replied: “We’ve sent the letter and we hope he doesn’t do it again, so we don’t have to do anything.” What is this if not an attempt to gag me from speaking about dangerously low rates? The evidence points to the ACCC protecting powerful people. They refuse to investigate the economic issues in transport supply chains but go after me for raising the alarm. When questioned on how they came upon my article in the first place, they refused to respond. I am still waiting for a response on how they obtained my personal contact details since applying through a Freedom of Information request months ago. I have no way of knowing if my contact details were passed on legally, or if the ACCC checked the legality before using them. What makes what the ACCC is doing right, and what I wrote in an opinion piece wrong?
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25/11/2020 11:02:23 AM
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