Prime Mover October 2023 by Prime Creative Media

T H E P E O P L E & P R O D U C T S T H AT M A K E T R A N S P O R T M OV E

October 2023

O C TO B E R 2023

Cahill Transport Chronicle of a Dynasty

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OCTOBER 2023 $11.00

ISSN 1838-2320

9 771838 232000

INDUSTRY Carrier: Monson Logistics Spotlight: Elite Roads Showcase: Alternative Energy Solutions Personality Profile: Stephen Downes

INNOVATION Fleet: Carbon Leasing & Rentals Payload: Turfco Test Drive: Mercedes-Benz GigaSpace Delivery: The Perth Property Co

AUSTRALIA’S GUIDE TO UTES, VANS, LIGHT TRUCKS & PEOPLE MOVERS

Delivery Magazine inside: Pages 72-81.

MAGAZINE

Care. It’s what we do. At Isuzu, we’ve always taken great care of our customers. We’re Australia’s number one truck… an honour we’ve held for over three decades. That means more businesses put their trust in us than any other truck brand. We understand that reputations are riding on us and that’s why Isuzu Care is more than just an aftersales service package. It’s part of our DNA. From day one, we support customers and demonstrate that reliability is everything. We pride ourselves on being proactive and always going the extra mile. And as we look to new frontiers, we’re finding new ways to help our customers exceed their goals. Isuzu Care is what sets us apart. Always has, always will.

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MEET THE TEAM

T H E P E O P L E & P R O D U C T S T H AT M A K E T R A N S P O R T M OV E

Australia’s leading truck magazine, Prime Mover, continues to invest more in its products and showcases a deep pool of editorial talent with a unique mix of experience and knowledge.

October 2023

O C TO B E R 20 23

Cahill Transport Chronicle of a Dynasty

Christine Clancy | COO

p ri me mo ve rma g . co m. a u

With more than two decades of experience as a media professional, Christine has worked in newsrooms across Canada, Vietnam and Australia. She joined the Prime Creative Media team 12 years ago, and today oversees more than 43 titles, including a dozen print and digital transportation titles. She continues to lead a team that focuses on continuous improvement to deliver quality insights that helps the commercial road transport industry grow.

A seasoned transport industry professional, Peter has spent more than a decade in the media industry. Starting out as a heavy vehicle mechanic, he managed a fuel tanker fleet and held a range of senior marketing and management positions in the oil and chemicals industry before becoming a nationally acclaimed transport journalist.

ceo editor managing editor, transport group senior feature writer

INNOVATION Fleet: Carbon Leasing & Rentals Payload: Turfco Test Drive: Mercedes-Benz GigaSpace Delivery: The Perth Property Co

MAGAZINE

John Murphy john.murphy@primecreative.com.au William Craske william.craske@primecreative.com.au Luke Applebee luke.applebee@primecreative.com.au Peter Shields peter.shields@primecreative.com.au

business development manager

Ashley Blachford ashley.blachford@primecreative.com.au 0425 699 819

art director

Blake Storey blake.storey@primecreative.com.au Kerry Pert , Louis Romero, Tom Anderson

design journalists

Peter White peter.white@primecreative.com.au Louise Surette louise.surette@primecreative.com.au

design production manager

Michelle Weston michelle.weston@primecreative.com.au

client success manager

Salma Kennedy salma.kennedy@primecreative.com.au

head office Peter White | Journalist

Peter has completed a Bachelor of Media and Communication (Media Industries) degree at La Trobe University, and he brings a fresh perspective to Prime Mover. He gained valuable experience at Upstart, La Trobe’s newsroom, work that has been supplemented by direct industry experience in a Council placement. Peter has a strong interest in commercial road transport, and in contributing to Prime Mover’s efforts in growing the industry.

INDUSTRY Carrier: Monson Logistics Spotlight: Elite Roads Showcase: Alternative Energy Solutions Personality Profile: Stephen Downes

AUSTRALIA’S GUIDE TO UTES, VANS, LIGHT TRUCKS & PEOPLE MOVERS

Louise Surette | Journalist

Louise joins Prime Mover after nearly 25 years as a writer. Starting her career as a reporter at the Toronto Star, she has spent much of the last 15 years as a design writer and editor. In 2020, she was shortlisted on the Richell Emerging Writers Prize list. Originally from Nova Scotia, she lives in Melbourne with her two children.

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articles Ashley Blachford | Business Development Manager

Handling placements for Prime Mover magazine, Ashley has a unique perspective on the world of truck building both domestically and internationally. Focused on delivering the best results for advertisers, Ashley works closely with the editorial team to ensure the best integration of brand messaging across both print and digital platforms.

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All articles submitted for publication become the property of the publisher. The Editor reserves the right to adjust any article to conform with the magazine format.

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Peter Shields | Senior Feature Writer

ISSN 1838-2320

Delivery Magazine inside: Pages 72-81.

William Craske | Editor

Over the past two decades William has published widely on transport, logistics, politics, agriculture, cinema, music and sports He has held senior positions in marketing and publicity for multinational businesses in the entertainment industry and is the author of two plays and a book on Australian film history. Like many based in Melbourne he is in a prolonged transition of either returning or leaving.

OCTOBER 2023 $11.00

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PRIME MOVER magazine is owned and published by Prime Creative Media. All material in PRIME MOVER magazine is copyright and no part may be reproduced or copied in any form or by any means (graphic, electronic or mechanical including information and retrieval systems) without written permission of the publisher. The Editor welcomes contributions but reserves the right to accept or reject any material. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of information Prime Creative Media will not accept responsibility for errors or omissions or for any consequences arising from reliance on information published. The opinions expressed in PRIME MOVER magazine are not necessarily the opinions of, or endorsed by the publisher unless otherwise stated.

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CONTENTS

Prime Mover October 2023

COVER STORY “The challenge, during this new phase, is to embrace change while holding on to the timeless family values that have guided us for decades.”

ASPHALT JUNGLE

Prime Feature

STORIES

Torque Show Manufacturing engines and transmissions in the Freightliner and Western Star brands, Detroit also takes a prominent place in the latest fuel cell and electric drivetrain developments for parent company Daimler.

FLEET FOCUS

Chronicle of a Dynasty In an age obsessed with automation, Cahill Transport has shown transformative change need not come at the expense of the customer.

Arrivals and Departures Tasmanian freight firm, Monson Logistics has ordered 20 new IVECO S-Ways triggered, in part, by its expansion to the mainland where the new vehicles will operate from a premises in Melbourne.

Transition Time CarBon Leasing & Rentals is a business fast making a name for itself in the electric vehicle market as it readies for broader mass adoption. TRUCK & TECH

Asphalt Jungle Australian asphalt surfacing specialist, Elite Roads, has discovered the versatility offered by the Euro 6 DAF CF530, of which it recently deployed four new units on projects.

TEST DRIVE

Max Headroom Launched at the 2023 Brisbane Truck Show in the guise of the special Actros 25 Driver Edition, the GigaSpace cab is also available without the bling and trim package.

Regular Run 08 10 30 66 68 70 72 82 84 85 86

From the Editor Prime Mover News Mindset Alternative Energy Solutions Showcase Personality Profile Prime Movers & Shakers Delivery ARTSA-I Life Members Truck Industry Council Victorian Transport Association Peter Shields’ Number Crunch

FROM THE EDITOR

Revert to Prototype

William Craske Editor When the benefits of a life built upon the achievements of the past are deemed no longer acceptable, to the point they are openly deplored, greater insistence becomes commonplace for counting on the advantages of the uninvented. Regretting the technology in use is, in the scheme of things, a recent phenomenon, like being able to view the earth from a passenger jet mid-flight, a practice virtually unknown for nearly all human existence and one likely to keep pace for generations to come to judge by those at window seats glued to their screens. Rarefied experience sits outside the herd. That’s hardly new. But in post-scarcity environments the real currency, it can be argued, is in problems rather than solutions. The creep of modern NGOs suggests as much. There’s big business in being at once the arsonist and the firefighter. It’s a recipe, seemingly embedded in most of our recent policy settings, for calamity. Potholes. Train derailments. Housing crisis. Do you believe in accelerationism? French President Emmanuel Macron subscribes. Addressing his new cabinet late last year, Macron admitted the current moment

is structured by a series of crises, “each more serious than the other” before he declared “we are living the end of what could have seemed an era of abundance”. Ostensibly it was decline or rather its manufacture he was relating, and the market conditions are, for those at the levers, favourable. It certainly wasn’t the guiding principle of the Danton pre-Dreadnaught battleships. Despite being obsolete before they even hit the water, the Danton class despite this or rather because of it, were the first French battleships to receive turbines that offered more power in a smaller volume than triple-expansion steam engines at a significant increase in fuel consumption at low speeds. They were also more notably designed with a wine cellar in the hull to improve ballast. Certainly, beer and rum had been, for centuries prior, stored below in the hold of a ship. The French Navy were determined to make the most of the situation. The Bretagne-class SuperDreadnoughts had a similar cellar located within the main armour belt and were even equipped with a barrel hoist. While the threat of being left behind in a technological arms race is one hell of a motivator for engineers especially when they have militaries and governments breathing down their necks, there is always scope, given the circumstances, to make the most of what you have and don’t. The Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II embodies this idea with a vengeance. Everything in the singleseat, twin-turbofan, straight-wing, subsonic attack aircraft is designed to make room for the GAU-8 Avenger 30mm hydraulically driven seven-barrel

Gatling-type cannon. This includes the nose landing gear, which is offset to the right of the aircraft so that the firing barrel lines up along the centre of the airframe. Basically, a flying gun, the A-10 must integrate the recoil forces of its armament, given it can expel 3,900 rounds a minute, which are better concentrated to inhibit changes in aircraft yaw when fired and to keep it on target. For the purposes of ballast empty casings are retained in the nose. The centre of gravity kept in check by the weight of these empty shells. Unlike the McDonnell XF-85 Goblin, known as a parasitic fighter, which was supposed to solve another problem to do with long range refuelling by sitting inside a Convair B-36 bomber to detach then re-attach when enemy fighters drew near, the A-10 “Warthog” is engineered to do one thing – provide superior air support – and this it does well. The new Ford Mustang GT3 repurposes raw materials from the world of fighter jets, particularly titanium components from America’s F-22 Lightning for use on the gearshift paddles and some other interior elements. Locally it is going to be priced at $470,000. One can’t help but wonder whether it is better suited to being seen and not heard. Like the XF85, it’s a parasitic vessel, too. Ingenuity, as we are seeing, can be absorbed, exploited and even in the case of flying, easily familiarised.

O c t o ber 2023

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PRIME NEWS

> Lindsay Transport surpasses half billion in revenue Lindsay Transport is now the largest refrigerated transport company in Australia. Operating revenue increased by 29.5 per cent to $513.28 million according to its 2023 annual financial statement amid record revenues reported by the wider Lindsay Australia group. The positive growth comes after unprecedented demand in road and rail services, further accelerated by industry consolidation. Surges in demand, according to Lindsay Australia, followed the public exit of Scott’s Refrigerated Logistics, a key competitor of its transport division. The transport business had already laid strong foundations to meet strategic goals with sizeable investments in road assets, along with improvements to its underlying core business. In a statement Lindsay Australia said the transport unit had enjoyed continued growth supported by expenditure totalling $40 million on new road and rail equipment for the reporting period. This investment included the rollout of larger road combinations, which will continue to drive utilisation and support positive consumer demand for fresh, chilled and frozen products. Lindsay also acquired a large parcel of

used assets from Scott’s Refrigerated Logistics, which ceased operations in the second half of the year, for an additional $23 million. This acquisition included 44 prime movers and 350 used containers and other rail assets which have empowered the company to meet its customers’ ongoing logistical challenges and needs. “Ongoing investment in the Transport division remains a key focus for the Group to ensure we maintain our firstclass, safe and reliable fleet and can continue to perform our role as an essential service provider and a key player in securing food security for Australia,” said Lindsay Australia in a statement. Lindsay Transport, moreover, would continue to renew its road fleet in line with a mobile asset replacement plan, regarded inhouse as another key pillar to its ongoing success in the segment. “This plan will ensure the fleet remains first in class while delivering efficiency and safety across Lindsay Australia’s network,” said the company. “In FY2024, the Group will continue to invest in growth in the road fleet, acquiring new larger trailer combinations to improve operational performance. FY2024 will

see a renewal program commence after obtaining the used containers in FY2023.” High fuel levy recoveries due to increased diesel prices and the execution of rail expansion strategy also heavily contributed to the resultant $72.35 million in profit before tax, an increase of 76.3 per cent on the prior period. “The record FY23 performance was an outstanding result for the Lindsay business,” said Clay McDonald, Lindsay Australia CEO. “The Transport division led the way with a significant uplift in demand for Lindsay’s road, rail and depot handling services.” McDonald paid tribute to the exceptional agility, capability and customer service demonstrated by the Lindsay Australia team to handle significant increases in demand. Strategic capital investments in recent years, according to Lindsay Australia, were likely to effectively meet some of the excess demand requirements of the market. The company in the annual 2023 financial report said it continued to manage rising cost challenges due to inflation and a competitive labour market.

> Transport businesses brace for new Fair Work legislation New industrial relations legislation introduced by the Federal Government has received a mixed reception by the road transport industry. The Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Closing Loopholes) Bill 2023 will significantly amend the Fair Work Act 2009. Under the bill, which Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, Tony Burke, introduced into Parliament, the Fair Work Commission will have the power to set minimum standards for the road transport industry. The legislation gives discretionary powers to the Fair Work Commission on what those minimum standards will cover, such as fair payment terms. A road transport expert panel will be established within the Fair Work 10

O c t o ber 2023

Commission to hear applications for standards, guided by advice from a road transport industry advisory group. Before making a road transport minimum standards order, the Fair Work Commission must ensure there has been genuine engagement with the parties to be covered and consultation with the road transport advisory group and its subcommittees has taken place. The order, furthermore, must take into account the commercial realities of the industry and not adversely affect the viability and competitiveness of ownerdrivers. The National Road Transport Association is examining the details of how the panel would operate.

CEO Warren Clark said NatRoad generally supported measures that ensure the safe performance of work but believes they must be evidence-based and able to be practically implemented in the workplace. “It is in everyone’s interest that the industry remains viable, productive and safe and we have been pushing that point to the Government,” said Clark. “NatRoad is committed to understanding the consequences of the legislation and the formation of an expert committee to advise the Fair Work Commission on minimum standards.” Clark, however, said NatRoad remained opposed to any return to the flawed and unworkable Road Safety and Remuneration Tribunal of the past.

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PRIME NEWS

> Auswide Transport Solutions awards driver new Kenworth

Auswide Transport Solutions recently presented its driver of the year with a brand-new Kenworth K200 Big Cab as a reward. Michelle Evans-Mcleod joined Auswide Transport Solutions in June last year after moving to Australia in 2007 and working with subcontractors for Mainfreight and Chem Couriers since 2015. Last month, she was recognised as Auswide Transport Solutions’ driver of the year. “It was a bit of a surprise, actually,” Evans-Mcleod told Prime Mover. “I’ve never had anything like that before in my life. I didn’t know we even had it, and I suppose it’s a massive pat on the back, especially when it’s announced on social media. They didn’t warn me either, they did it quietly.” The new Kenworth, fitted with a

microwave, TV, and all available modern conveniences, was part of an order which consisted of units 279 and 280 for the fleet. Fitted with a Cummins X15 600horsepower engine, the unit is rated to 110 tonnes. Auswide Transport Solutions CEO, Tom Pausic, said one of these vehicles was always going to go to Evans-Mcleod. Together with General Manager, Gabby Singh, he planned to present her with the driver of the year award when the prime movers arrived. Unlike other communal vehicles in the fleet which are shared among drivers, though, the K200 will solely belong to Evans-Mcleod. Choosing Evans-Mcleod as the recipient of the new Kenworth and driver of the year award, Pausic said, was a given. “Soon after coming onboard, she quite clearly demonstrated absolutely everything we needed from a professional driver, and she quickly ranked as one of our best,” he said. “I’ve seen what she can do firsthand, and I’m confident of her skillset and her ability. Michelle quickly understood the path we were heading towards with our customer-first and safety approach and

now is a stand-out in those areas.” Due to his confidence in EvansMcleod’s ability, Pausic has positioned her in a large project with four other drivers to run quad combinations between Adelaide and Darwin in the coming weeks. “I’ve got her with tier one clients because I know the work will get done,” he said. “She has excelled in every area – I can’t think of anything professionally that would preclude her. No nonconformances (NCRs), no breaches, cleanliness of vehicle is second to none and her timeliness and punctuality is exceptional. The way she handles herself with clients and other staff members is above and beyond.” The new Kenworth has been on the road with Evans-Mcleod since it arrived. The unit is now doing a Mildura changeover on its way up to Sydney and onto Melbourne via Adelaide. Even prior to receiving the new Kenworth, Evans-Mcleod had thoroughly enjoyed working at Auswide Transport Solutions. “It’s been awesome,” she said. “I can honestly say it’s been the best company I’ve ever worked for in Australia.”

A strong full year financial performance over FY23 has been reported by Qube. In addition to seeing revenue growth increase by 16.2 per cent to $2.99 billion, underlying earnings growth of 26.8 per cent jumped to $280.3 million the company announced. Continued high volumes across agriculture, automotive and container-related logistics activities helped drive the results despite container volumes weakening in the second half of FY23. Qube Managing Director, Paul Digney, said the business’ FY23 performance was an outstanding result particularly given continuing high inflation which had increased key operating and funding costs during the period and skilled labour shortages. “Through our ongoing focus on productivity improvements and by

leveraging our scale and infrastructure to reduce costs, Qube has again achieved a very good financial performance, with strong underlying earnings growth and high cashflow generation for the period,” he said in a prepared statement. “Our diversification strategy, together with our substantial investments in people, infrastructure, property, equipment and technology to build capacity, scale and capability, have again ensured the business has been able to withstand inflationary pressures and other challenges while creating significant value for our shareholders,” said Digney. Qube also completed two acquisitions during the financial year including 100 per cent of Kalari, a respected national bulk transport business. The company also announced a 16 per cent reduction from

FY22 in Lost Time Injury Frequency Rate. Qube’s Total Recordable Injury Frequency Rate (TRIFR) target saw an increase of around 19 per cent in FY23 to 8.8 per million hours worked, which is better than industry benchmarks the company claimed. The Logistics and Infrastructure business unit delivered what Qube called “an exceptional result” in FY23 with underlying revenue increasing by 18.9 per cent to $1.34 billion, and underlying EBITA increasing by 54.2 per cent to $224.5 million. The Logistics and Infrastructure business remains highly diversified with the top 10 L&I customers representing around 14.2 per cent of the Operating Division’s total revenue and includes retailers, manufacturers, food processors and grain traders.

Michelle Evans-Mcleod.

> Qube reports growth in profit, revenue

O c t o ber 2023

Drive the road of change

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PRIME NEWS

> Malec moves into Port of Brisbane Part of the Malec fleet.

Australian-owned, multi-state transport company, Malec, has moved into its new container storage and logistics facility on Fisherman Islands. The 4.35ha site is obtained under a 10-year lease agreement with Port of Brisbane Pty Ltd (PBPL). Established as small courier business in Geelong by Matthew and Joanna Malec in 1997, Malec today employs more than 300 people around Australia. The fleet of more than 400 trucks and trailers is purpose built or modified to lift, load and carry in a range of applications from 20-ft or 40-ft containers, or 40 tonnes of logs, to pallets and loose boxes of tiles. Delivered by Principal Contractor, FKG, the new facility comprises a 750m2 workshop, 300m2 office, 38,200m2 of

hardstand and a washbay as well as 60kW rooftop solar, recycled water to the washbay, stormwater collection and energy efficient fittings. The development also included approximately 11,300m3 of concrete from Boral’s Envirocrete range, which uses less Portland cement. As a result, it reduced the project’s overall environmental impact during the manufacturing and construction phase – a key sustainability benefit on projects with large concrete hardstand areas. The new facility was delivered on a repurposed brownfield site. As part of the works and in line with PBPL’s sustainability priorities, a substantial amount of demolition material from the existing site was sent for recycling or reuse to minimise waste including four hectares of chip-seal pavement reused on haul roads at the Port’s reclamation area; and 200 steel columns sent for recycling and the concrete footings sent for crushing into aggregates for reuse. Construction commenced in October 2022 and was completed in June 2023. PBPL Chief Commercial Officer, David Keir, welcomed Malec to its new home and said the location would support

the business to achieve significant operational benefits. “Malec first came to Port of Brisbane during a phase of significant growth and transition for the company. We worked to secure them a temporary site, while our teams worked together to design and deliver a purpose-built permanent home that’s close to the action of the Port’s quayline and terminals,” said Mr Keir. “We continue to see strong trade growth through the Port, including a record 1.53 million twenty-foot equivalents (TEUs) in FY22. As Port of Brisbane continues to grow, so too do opportunities for our customers such as Malec.” Managing Director, Matthew Malec, thanked the Port of Brisbane, and everyone involved with bringing the project to fruition. “This development is a testament to our ambitions and commitment to offer best-in-class facilities for our staff, customers and community,” he said. “This is the first of many projects we’ve got in the pipeline across the country to align with our goal of leading the way for safety, service, and sustainability in the port transport logistics industry. Finally, we are growing our team and will have more announcements coming soon.”

> DJ Morgan Transport accepts DAF CF530 delivery Townsville-based family transport company, DJ Morgan Transport, has taken delivery of four new DAF CF530 prime movers. The new DAFs were recently purchased to bolster the fleet dedicated to a Bega milk contract. As part of this contract, the new units have been put to work with an existing fleet supplying all of Bega’s distribution centres from Mackay through to Mossman and out to Mount Isa. Additionally, its Tip Top bread contract requires the fleet carry goods from Brisbane all the way through to Cairns before Mount Isa. The CF530s, fitted with 16-speed ZF automated manual transmissions (AMT), tow refrigerated B-double trailers with Concessional Mass Limits (CML) of 14

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65 tonne. In their freight tasks, the trucks travel anywhere up to 5,000 kilometres per week. DJ Morgan Transport founder, David Morgan, told Prime Mover the units arrived just three weeks ago and have already made their mark. “Fuel economy is one of the standout features on these units, and they’re just a really nice truck to drive,” he said. “They’re not very complicated and their manoeuvrability and driver acceptance is just great.” The fleet also has past experience with DAF’s XF range, which Morgan said was a major contributor to returning to Brown and Hurley for another set. “We already had another nine DAFs

previous to this purchase, and for our European trucks, DAF are the truck that we purchase now,” he said. “We made a conscious decision to purchase more DAFs because we were impressed with how the previous ones worked and what they did.” The availability of the units, Morgan said, was also beneficial. “The availability on the last XFs was just really good, and the dealer made it a lot easier to buy the product this time around as well.” Along with DJ Morgan Transport’s Bega contract, it holds a Woolworths contract which sees the fleet travel from Sarina, south Queensland, through to Mossman in the north and out to Mount Isa.

PRIME NEWS

> CTI Logistics delivers record financials ahead of strategic site realignments A positive health and safety culture have been instrumental to the strong operational results reported by CTI Logistics. The Perth-based transport and logistics company upon release of its annual report cited an excellent safety record following a period of high volumes on its way to $302 million in operational revenue, an increase of 7 per cent on the previous period. Strong national growth across a broad customer base was also reported with operating cash flow of $46.8 million up 17 per cent on FY22. “Our achievements are testament to the hard work and dedication of our staff and subcontractors around Australia, delivering for our customers in a disrupted logistics market,” CTI Logistics said in a prepared statement. A strong focus on revenue capture, especially in Western Australian regional freight, saw transport revenue, helped by the acquisition of Action Couriers and Foxline businesses, increase to $184.7 million, a rise of 6.7 per cent. Profits were also healthy as CTI reported $53.4 million in EBITA across transport and logistics. Net debt remained low at $20.1 million

while net assets increased by 12 per cent to be valued at $113 million. Interstate transport, according to CTI Logistics, benefited from supply chain disruptions, including higher volumes and demand for premium freight services before a normalisation of supply chains returned at the end of period. The business invested $30.5m in property, plant, equipment, security monitoring and transport/cyber/ governance systems with fleet renewal, especially in upgrading commercial vehicles to Euro 5/6, rail utilisation, routing and alternative fuels a major focus. The Hazelmere WA development has progressed with the regional freight hub expected to be completed later in the month. Costs of $17.9 million have been incurred as of 30 June 2023 on the site consisting of 25,000m2 in buildings on 60,000m2 of company-owned land. “This development is a significant investment for the company, which expands the WA metro and regional transport capacity and will generate returns as well as reduce leasing costs,” CTI Logistics said. The regional freight hub development has been majority

funded by cash flow, with the balance from available banking facilities. Plans are being finalised for the development of the remaining 34,000m2 adjoining company-owned land. CTI Logistics confirmed it expected to relocate its Queensland operations by September 2023 to a new strategically located facility at Yatala between Brisbane and Gold Coast. The company anticipates further growth ahead of the 2032 Brisbane Olympics with the new 23,000m2 facility combining two sites that will likely generate operational synergies and positions. In addition, the company is increasing its capacity in NSW for its GMK operations in Gregory Hills by a new 11,700m2 facility at an adjoining site. “Considering the number of the above factors affecting the results in the current period, forecasting the future operating environment and outlook remains difficult,” the company said. “However, the Company continues to generate strong cash flow and is poised to take advantage of and benefit from opportunities as they arise despite the changing economic conditions.”

> Hundreds of drivers caught in police blitz A dramatic move by police to improve heavy vehicle safety and compliance has seen hundreds of truck drivers in Melbourne issued with infringement notices. With the police steering their focus towards heavy vehicles, the blitz, which took place in the city’s northern suburbs, detected more than 130 traffic offences over two days. Fawkner Highway Patrol and local police intercepted more than 315 heavy vehicles as part of the operation, which focused on areas with high volume of heavy vehicle traffic. These areas included Bulla Road, Calder Freeway, Hume Highway, Mickleham Road, Pascoe Vale Road, Somerton Road and Tullamarine Freeway. At these locations, police conducted vehicle checks and drug 16

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and alcohol testing at static sites while using Automatic Numberplate Recognition Technology to scan more than 34,000 vehicles. As a result, six drug drivers, 21 speeding offences, 20 unroadworthy vehicles, seven mobile phone offences and 16 unregistered vehicles were detected. Police also issues a series of infringement notices to heavy vehicle drivers that had unsecured loads. In one of these instances, a truck driver on Tuesday was found to be driving without a seatbelt on. The next day, he was randomly intercepted by police and was found to be driving without having properly secured his load. He also allegedly tested positive for cannabis. Fawkner Highway Patrol Senior

Sergeant, Megan Cartledge, warned that this behaviour can lead to “absolutely devastating consequences”. “It was disappointing to see six drivers behind the wheel of a truck while on drugs,” she said. “Trucking companies and their drivers are responsible for ensuring compliance with National Heavy Vehicle Law – these standards are in place to ensure the safety of everyone on our roads. “A heavy vehicle with safety issues creates an enormous risk to both the driver of that vehicle and other roadusers. “While the majority do the right thing, we’re imploring drivers to check their vehicle is safe and loads are secure before taking to the roads. This simple action could save a life.”

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PRIME NEWS

> Austrans launches new facility Austrans has announced the launch of its new New South Wales facility, which underlines its dedication to transforming transport, logistics, and supply chain services. Austrans recently agreed on a deal with ALTIS Property Partners for the last available building at Premier Logistics Hub – Altitude, Bankstown Airport, offering it 14,615m2 of warehouse and office accommodation. Here, Austrans will join logistics providers eStore Logistics, CouriersPlease and DHL Global Forwarding at the precinct. The new Austrans facility is broken up into 11,000m2 for cross-stock services, rail-cross stock, wharf unpacks and general logistics needs, and 3,000m2 for other Austrans customers in intermodal storage, cross-stock and

Greg O’Shea. 18

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wharf carriages. According to Austrans, the fully leased industrial state is the most centrally located warehouse development of this scale with direct access to the M5 Motorway, Sydney CBD, Port Botany and the new Western Sydney Airport. Austrans Managing Director, Greg O’Shea, told Prime Mover this factor played a major part in the agreement. “The location is quite strategic for us being closer to Treloar,” he said. “That’s probably one of the main things that attracted us to the site as well.” O’Shea said the new facility will open up Austrans’ network to be able to do more for its customers. “Our locations are connected by intermodal networks — we’ve got two sites in every state almost now,” he

said. “This being one or our premiere sites really opens us up to do more in the Sydney market where we’ve been a bit limited before because of how tight the real estate has been in Sydney as of late.” The site, O’Shea said, is underpinned by Austrans’ organic growth as well as the onboarding of major new national retail customers and will set a new standard of building design for the company moving forward. “To be able to get this building and to be chosen by ALTIS to be in this business park is pretty formidable for the business,” he said. “The new facility is in line with our brand of quality and growth and will bring operational savings in the long-term because of its premier location.”

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PRIME NEWS

> John West Logistics adds next gen MAN TGS prime movers

MAN TGS 26.440 in Brisbane.

Three third generation MAN TGS 26.440s have been deployed by John West Logistics. The first of these new 440hp prime movers joined the Eastern seaboard fleet in Brisbane in July with the remaining two trucks in the order deployed in Sydney last month. Assigned to the growing contract logistics division of the business, the trucks are new additions, following a recent contract it won. With a 24-tonne payload, the MANs are carrying packaged products and proving excellent vehicles for application at this initial stage according to the company’s National Equipment Officer, Clint Sheppar.

“They’re right up on their weights for a single trailer,” he told Prime Mover. “We’ve introduced the new 440s into the larger size of the fleet. We haven’t done 10,000 kilometres in them yet but all reports from our drivers indicate they are very happy.” He added, “So far we can’t complain.” Aside from the additional levels of comfort the new generation MAN TGS is offering the John West Logistics drivers, the agility on the ground is ideal. The trucks are hooked to 10-metre-long trailers, relatively short in a heavy application, but hardly an afterthought when delivering into confined spaces.

“Being cabover, they have a really good turning circle we’re able to manoeuvre in and out pretty easily,” said Sheppard. “The handling on a metro detail is impressive.” They are not the first trucks from the MAN brand in the fleet, which is predominantly supplied by Volvo Group. John West Logistics already runs 13 4×2 MAN TGLs in Sydney. These units have been running for the past seven years. “They have done a fantastic job,” said Sheppard. “It’s not as if haven’t been acquainted with the MAN brand. The MANs in our Sydney fleet have been perfect. Basically, we set and forget them.” According to Sheppard they have kept up a dedicated maintenance program on the older MAN units which has held them in good stead. The new units not surprisingly have also been put on contract maintenance programs. “We’ve had that experience already with them in Sydney,” said Sheppard. “The new models came in at the right price and we were willing to give them a go.” Fuel economy to date is solid. Initial fuel burn data indicates 2.3l/km. “Being a smart truck as well and only requiring the safety inspections and potentially on our fuel burn, annual maintenance, is potentially going to help out with operations and downtime,” said Sheppard.

> Popular industry veteran among winners at Australian Freight Industry Awards The Australian Freight Industry Awards recently recognised leading individuals from the transport and logistics sector. Hundreds were in attendance at the black-tie Gala Presentation at Melbourne’s Palladium Room at Crown for the 33rd AFIAs where Kevin Halpin was honoured with the Personality of the Year Award. Halpin who has been the long-time Victorian Transport Association Relationship Manager was a popular winner. “This is the greatest acknowledgment I’ve ever received and I received this from an association that I’ve been involved 20

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with and an industry that I’ve been involved with for a while since 1971,” he said upon accepting the award. “This is truly an extraordinary award for me on something that I’ll always cherish.” Judges assessed a record number of applications ahead of the event with finalists shortlisted across a range of categories. The Female Leadership Award went to Katharina Attana of Tasman Logistics Services. Melissa Scerri of Victoria International Container Terminal won the Young Achiever of the Year Award. The Sustainable Environment Award was presented this year to Hyzon

Motors while iTrazo Tracetech won the Application of Technology Award. Linfox received the Best Practice Safety Award and CMV Truck & Bus, one of the sponsors on the night, won the Investment in People Award. “We are incredibly proud of the achievements of all our award winners, finalists and nominees,” said Peter Anderson, VTA CEO. “It’s been another tough year as we all work to move higher and higher freight volumes, against a backdrop of labour shortages, higher costs, long lead times for trucks and equipment, and inflationary pressures starting to bite.”

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PRIME NEWS

> Penske expands Queensland network The site of the Yatala branch.

Penske Australia has acquired Total Fleet Maintenance (TFM) in Yatala, effective September 1st, 2023. A family-owned heavy-duty truck and automotive repair and maintenance business established and grown by Steve Edmunds, TFM has serviced the southeast Queensland area for 16 years, providing outstanding service and support. The Yatala facility will extend support coverage for Western Star Trucks, MAN Truck & Bus, Dennis Eagle, Detroit, and Allison Transmission customers. It’s the third Penske Australia retail location now in southeast Queensland as it expands its presence in the growing region. “In addition to our Wacol and Lytton

facilities in Brisbane, our increasing on-highway customer base in southeast Queensland gave us an opportunity to expand our service network through TFM, which has a fantastic reputation in the area and brings skill and expertise to our network,” said John Delany, Penske Australia Eastern Operations General Manager. “We’re now able to cover the two largest regions in Queensland being Brisbane, including the port, and the Gold Coast.” With a 2,000m2 workshop across the 6,678m2 site, the Yatala facility includes 21 workshop bays, brake and suspension testing capability, an authorised heavy-vehicle inspection

station, and air conditioning re-gas services. Penske will also introduce retail parts sales at this location. “As the 20-strong TFM workforce transitions into a Penske Australia location, led by branch manager Carl Landridge and assisted by Mark Parcell and Damon Hogg, the team will continue to provide the same service excellence that existing customers have come to expect,” said Delany. “This will be further backed by Penske Australia’s ‘customer first’ philosophy, our streamlined systems and processes, and our extensive national parts capability that is underpinned by our world-class Penske Distribution Centre, located in Wacol. “As we’ve done recently with Lytton and now in Yatala, Penske will continue to invest in our branch network to ensure we are located where our customers need us and also to ensure that our facilities are equipped with the highestperforming equipment and tooling. “Over the coming months, the TFM branch will be upgraded and rebranded to Penske Australia Yatala.”

> New high productivity vehicle bypass ready for roadtrains Operators have been encouraged to adopt roadtrains with the opening of the Warialda High Productivity Vehicle Route in Gwydir Shire, New South Wales. Since its completion one year ago, the four-kilometre bypass is reportedly saving transport operators a 144 kilometre round trip while reducing the number of trucks travelling through the Warialda town centre. As a result, Gwydir Shire Council and its Director Engineering Services, Alex Eddy, is recommending the uptake of roadtrain combinations in the region. “Agriculture is the biggest industry in Gwydir Shire, so we identified that there was a need to get roadtrains from the very productive areas in the north of our Shire to the Gwydir Highway so they were able to get to eastern 22

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markets,” said Eddy. “For a roadtrain to get from the north of our Shire, east, they were detouring as much as 140 kilometres to the Newell Highway, to Moree onto the Gwydir Highway. “The bypass itself, we were fairly sure what the traffic volumes were going to be to a large degree because we knew what the truck counts were coming through Warialda. “What we didn’t know was how many roadtrains that were currently detouring via Moree through to Inverell would then be travelling through our bypass.” According to Eddy, an increase in roadtrains within Gwydir Shire in recent times has demonstrated positive outcomes. “We’ve seen as time has gone on, more operators have shifted to roadtrains

and that’s been reflected in the traffic make up on the bypass going from fewer B-doubles to more roadtrains,” he said. “Ultimately, what that means is there is less vehicles on the road.” The Warialda High Productivity Vehicle Route project received just over $3 million in funding as part of the Fixing Country Roads Program, which aims to improve freight connectivity and access across regional NSW. This program, according to Eddy, was essential in making this route a possibility. “Fixing Country Roads and programs similar to it are absolutely vital to Gwydir Shire,” he said. “A project like the Warialda Bypass, [costed at] $8.1 million, the likelihood of Council being able to fund that with internal revenue is almost nil.”

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PRIME NEWS

> McIver honoured at Festival of Transport The latest round of transport legends have been cemented at the Shell Rimula National Road Transport Wall of Fame in Alice Springs. More than 300 people gathered for the Festival of Transport held on 26-28 August. Some 55 new inductees were honoured at the annual event which also included an inaugural Transport Women Association Limited (TWAL) presentation that highlighted the contributions of women in the industry over the years. Western Australian Senator Glenn Sterle, Northern Territory Treasurer Eva Lawler and Northern Territory Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price were among the VIPs in attendance. Former fleet operator Bruce McIver was recognised as an icon in the industry. The long-serving director of McIver Livestock Transport and previous President of the Australian Trucking Association, a group he had helped establish in its previous incarnation the Road Transport Industry Forum, McIver is known for both his leading role in industry

organisations as well as for his achievements in the trucking industry. He started out as a driver in 1969 working for his father and uncle. Active in transporting construction materials and equipment for the reconstruction of Darwin following Cyclone Tracy in 1974, McIver at one stage was moving 94 double-deck crates on roadtrains and B-doubles. As a long haul innovator, McIver also pioneered dozens of roadtrain spec’d oil tankers and a customised B-triple using eight built-for-purpose tippers on an innovative axle combination. Inducted to the Wall of Fame in 2003, McIver is considered the father of Queensland’s merged Liberal National Party where he acted as president for seven years before he accepted a role as non-executive board member of Australia Post. With last year’s festivities being disrupted by COVID regulations, this year’s event returned successfully to in-person presentations. Nick Lubransky, Transport Marketing Manager, Viva Energy Australia, the

Shell brand licensee in Australia, was pleased to be involved in the event. “Since the year 2000 the Shell Rimula brand has been involved in recognising the efforts of people from the transport industry at the National Road Transport Hall of Fame, and we are proud to be involved again this year,” he said. “It means so much to people to be inducted and recognised, with many people having their family and friends along for the ceremony.” He added, “We are also seeing an increasing number of women being inducted, which is a fantastic recognition as well. The Dream Maker award, presented by the TWAL and announced during a red-themed gala dinner on Saturday evening, included 25 recipients. The TWAL Dream Maker award recognises the women who work behind the scenes and help those who front an organisation to achieve desired outcomes, whether it be an owner-operator, family enterprise or large firm.

Nick Lubransky addresses attendees in Alice Springs. 24

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PRIME NEWS

> JJ’s Waste and Recycling trials electric Volvo on Sunshine Coast Volvo Trucks Australia and key waste management contractor, JJ’s Waste and Recycling have joined forces to trial the Volvo FE Electric in waste applications. Affectionately dubbed “Oscar” by VGA staff, the 6×2 FE Electric featured on the Volvo Group Australia stand at the 2023 Brisbane Truck Show. The truck has been fitted with a rear loading 16 cubic metre waste body ideally suited for urban operations. The three-month trial will take place on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast and will provide insights into the impact of electric PTO use on range and productivity. Utilising four Gen 2 batteries with a capacity of 265KWh the dual motor FE Electric has a potential range of up to 220 kilometres. “The electromobility and waste management really do go hand in hand,” said Gary Bone, Vice President Volvo Trucks Australi. “The stop start nature of this application in densely populated urban areas should prove to be a promising zero emissions solution for our cities.” He added, “Recent developments in battery technology, which will flow down to Volvo’s medium duty

T M

1 Volvo FE Electric overlooking the Mooloolabah spit.

electric range have seen significant increases in both range and charging performance which will only add to the attractiveness of electric vehicles in waste applications.” With the rear loading waste body, the FE Electric has a potential payload of up to 7 tonnes depending on body positioning and the corresponding front axle load. Joe Branagan, Operations Manager, JJ’s Waste and Recycling will be

watching the outcome of the exercise with great interest. “This is the perfect opportunity for us to understand how we can decarbonise our fleet over time,” said Branagan. “Clearly, we can’t just switch to electric overnight so partnerships like the one we have with Volvo Trucks are vital to see what applications we can put electric trucks to work in now as well as what the future of zero emissions waste management could look like.”

> Mainfreight opens purpose-built facility in Queensland Logistics and transport company, Mainfreight, has unveiled a new site in Brisbane. Mainfreight team members and customers were invited to the opening of the dedicated airfreight and perishables facility located at Eagle Farm. Multiple loading docks will provide it with full end-to-end cold chain from truck to depot. “Our recessed loading docks allow product to remain at their required temperatures during loading and unloading process,” said Mainfreight in a statement. Purpose-built to manage an extensive array of cargo types and cater to a variety of temperature sensitivities, 26

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the new branch features nine individual temperature-controlled zones allowing for the handling of a wide range of freight profiles with different temperature sensitivities. Individual areas with chillers maintaining temperatures ranging between 0-15 degrees Celsius will provide an optimal environment for products such as pharmaceuticals, fresh produce and other temperature-sensitive items. There is a freezer section to preserve the integrity of frozen products, a dedicated staging room that can maintain temperatures between 0 to 15 degrees Celsius for the handling of perishable products, as well as a dry freight/ambient area for general cargo

and goods that do not require specific temperature regulation. Two large fumigation enclosures equipped to treat up to 40 pallets at once, streamlining the fumigation process and reducing turnaround times are also part of the facility. The new building was designed according to environmental principles including water efficient landscaping, major solar installations to power the office and operations, and smart lighting across the facility to minimise electricity where possible. Electric (EV) charge points have been installed to charge what Mainfreight described as its “expanding fleet of electric trucks and business vehicles.”

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GLOBAL NEWS

> Volvo achieves milestone for autonomous trucks Volvo Autonomous Solutions (VAS) has achieved an industry-first milestone with the removal of the safety driver in an active commercial mining operation at Brönnöy Kalk mine in Velfjord, Norway. The autonomous transport solution developed for Brönnöy Kalk consists of seven fully autonomous Volvo FH trucks and VAS’s in-house developed virtual driver. Operating in challenging conditions that include steep inclination, extreme weather and long stretches of dark tunnels, the trucks haul limestone from the mine to the crusher. For Nils Jaeger, President of Volvo Autonomous Solutions, a long-held vision is now a reality. “Removing the safety driver in an active commercial transport operation in some of the world’s most challenging conditions is a major leap for the industry,” he said. “With this milestone we are underlining VAS’s leadership in autonomous driving and paving the way for a safer and more efficient future for the mining and quarrying industries,” said Jaeger. Raymond Langfjord, Managing Director of Brönnöy Kalk agreed it represented a major step forward for the company. “We implemented autonomous trucks for several reasons: safety, efficiency and flexibility. With the removal of the safety driver we can now truly reap these benefits and increase our competitiveness in this tough industry,”

Nils Jaeger, President of Volvo Autonomous Solutions.

he said. The solution implemented at Brönnöy Kalk has been in development since 2018 and represents not just a major breakthrough in technology but also provides potential for exciting new business models. According to Sven-Erik Gustafsson, Head of Solutions, Mining and Quarry at VAS, this is because rather than purchasing a truck or machine, Brönnöy Kalk is buying autonomous transport capacity from VAS. “While autonomy brings unprecedented benefits to the industry, incorporating new technologies into existing operations can be a daunting challenge

for many customers,” he explained. “By providing a complete solution that encompasses everything from software to site infrastructure to training to operations, we are able to reduce complexity for customers like Brönnöy Kalk and enable them to be a part of the autonomous future,” Gustafsson said. The solution includes seven Volvo FH Trucks, VAS in-house developed virtual driver for confined areas, infrastructure, training as well as a comprehensive repair and maintenance program. A wheel loader operator uses a touch screen in the wheel loader to call the trucks for loading and to manage the operation. A Volvo autonomous truck works in Velfjord, Norway.

O c t o ber 2023

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OEM MINDSET

LOCAL SAFETY TESTING HITS HOME Australia’s road transport industry is under great pressure to support a growing population, from the onroad logistics of moving products and produce across the country to truck-reliant businesses that work in all manner of applications.

Simon Humphries Simon Humphries is the Chief Engineer of Isuzu Australia Limited and the Product Manager for Medium-Duty and Heavy-Duty segments at IAL.

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reat improvements have been made recently in the comfort and efficiency of heavy vehicles used across the industry. But by far, some of the greatest and arguably most important advancements have come in the evolution of our safety technology. This is with regard to the technology that assists with the safety of vehicle occupants and the safety of other road users. Australian operators have a unique combination of factors and challenges to tackle that include operating conditions, climate and the roads themselves. This is of course across a vast landscape that covers greater kilometres and a much greater range of road conditions compared to most other countries on the planet. With this in mind, government regulatory bodies stipulate a range of safety requirements under Australian Design Rules, more commonly referred to as ADRs. ADRs are applied to Isuzu trucks manufactured in Japan but Isuzu Australia Limited (IAL) takes further steps by conducting our own testing program on Australian home turf to ensure we are capturing our unique conditions and the requirements of local operators during the development, proving and calibration stages. We look at vehicle safety in two broader forms — active and passive safety. In past years ‘passive’ safety features were a key focus, namely the development of

components such as seatbelts and airbags and improving the overall construction of cabins and running gear to protect occupants. Since the late 1990s, IAL and many other OEMs have put a much greater emphasis on, expended more resources to conduct extensive research and testing into improving ‘active’ safety features to prevent incidents from happening in the first instance. This is of particular importance in our arena in the development of heavy vehicles, where even low speed accidents can have catastrophic consequences to not only driver and passengers, but other users on the road. Even in recent times and with improved safety measures in place, heavy trucks and buses have been involved in high-profile crashes that have ended with fatalities. The tragic event which unfolded in the Hunter Valley recently springs to mind. This hammers home to us at IAL – as Australia’s largest volume seller of commercial heavy vehicles – that we have an obligation to take truck safety very seriously. Isuzu has collaborated with commercial vehicle braking and control systems specialists KnorrBremse for many years, conducting extensive Electronic Stability Control (ESC) system testing in Japan. In a first for us here at Isuzu Australia and a first for any Japanese-made truck on Australian soil, we recently conducted a rigorous round of ESC testing and

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calibration exercises in conjunction with Knorr-Bremse Australia. This was conducted at the DECA (Wodonga TAFE) testing and training facility in Shepparton in Central Victoria on a medium-duty Isuzu FTR 150-260, fitted with a test body customised for Knorr-Bremse. The test body features flexible loading racks and extended outrigger wheels attached to the body sub-frame to enable a safe testing environment and assist with development of a new calibration for the EBS-5 control unit. This control unit is factory-fitted to Australian-market MY22 Isuzu FTR 150-260 models and all MY22 FV models in the range, providing for an advanced ESC system. What was unique about this particular FTR model was an extended wheelbase of 7.2 metres, which is a dimension beyond that available from the factory in Japan. It’s significant, too, in that this wheelbase length is the longest possible while remaining within the ADR turning circle limit of 25 metres. To determine the new calibration, we put the truck through a series of specific manoeuvres within the controlled environment of the DECA facility. Specialised Knorr-Bremse equipment

on board the truck recorded and sent data back to the team throughout the manoeuvres. It’s important to note the types of manoeuvres undertaken by the test truck were tailored to the way in which trucks are deployed within Australian industries and applications. That’s not to say we believe all Aussie drivers knock along at breakneck speeds but these specific manoeuvres on the DECA skid pan helped us to simulate what a possible rollover situation would look like on the bitumen, being operated by an Australian driver in Australian conditions. The ESC system being tested and calibrated would then intervene automatically for the test driver and help to prevent those incidences of rollover or loss of directional control. The system works by firstly removing the throttle from the driver’s control and then automatically applying appropriate braking to individual wheels to slow the truck down to a safe speed. As is the case with any development or proving work, especially in the road safety space, the devil is in the detail. The data collected throughout the testing was critically analysed and fed back into

the programming of the EBS-5 control unit. The use of outriggers during this testing phase prevented any rollovers and determined the exact point at which it would happen on the test truck — but unfortunately you don’t get that type of back-up out on the open road. That’s why we conduct further extensive on-road testing to ensure calibrations are correct and the systems are working as they should in an everyday situation. While the bulk of Isuzu’s braking componentry, development and set-up is conducted in Japan by Isuzu Motors Limited (IML) and Knorr-Bremse, our local calibration and testing program at Isuzu Australia allows for a fine tuning that’s bespoke for our road conditions, wheelbase modifications and prevailing application use. As you can appreciate, it is important that we apply our local knowledge and engineering rigour to help refine the safety technology on the trucks which we sell here in the Australian market. It is a continued process as technology evolves, with our end goal to deliver the safest driving environment and the most fit-for-purpose on-road product to Australian businesses.

Isuzu FTR 150-260 fitted with a test body customised for Knorr-Bremse.

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In an age obsessed with automation, Cahill Transport has shown transformative change need not come at the expense of the customer.

ransport businesses that came to prominence decades ago have been no more insulated against the challenges of progress even when their protocols for safety and productivity are well established and proven. The rate of change visited upon the industry in recent years, as businesses strive for even greater efficiencies in the streamlining of their operations, are ongoing and manifold. Innovations pursuant to achieving higher payloads on bigger vehicles are only part of the story. Technology and its exerting influence across all strata of operations makes moving with the times, for all its 32

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disruption, a matter of necessity. Cahill Transport understands this. The 72-yearold logistics and trucking business based in Victoria, has, as part of its customer offering, recently embraced cutting edge technologies as it continues to evolve a chronicle that begins at the turn of the century with John Cahill and his horse and cart in Nyngan and its lineage through Joe Cahill Jnr and his Ford semi in the early 1950s to his grandsons, Dan and Mick, today. Adaptation to an ever-changing environment links each of the three epochs of the Cahill Transport dynasty even as it enters the next phase which might be better described as its latest process of renewal.

Exceptional customer service might be a cornerstone of the legendary family business, but reinvention is a hallmark. Head of the Customer Commercial team Manu Poulose acknowledges there is inherent complexity in rolling out new, integrated systems while making sure that it doesn’t come at the expense of the personal touch its loyal customers have come to expect. “The challenge, during this new phase, is to embrace change while holding on to the timeless family values that have guided us for decades,” he says. “To strike a balance between cutting-edge advancements in technology and our core values.”

Manu Poulose.

Physical systems now considered antiquated are gradually being replaced by the latest software, as part of a major project which will offer its customers an integrated solution for the digital age. Automated tracking, for instance, provides real-time updates for customers offering enhanced visibility and accuracy regarding the whereabouts, transit times and condition of their freight. In addition to delivering an intelligent logistics environment for customers it alleviates their anxiety. The steps to digitisation, however, have been cautious. In an age obsessed with rapid automation companies can risk neglecting the needs of customers who

require, as the Cahill Transport legacy attests, the utmost care and attention. “At Cahill Transport, we place a premium on developing strong relationships with our customers,” says Manu. “Our business model is to collaborate and grow with our existing customers. We recognise the importance of personalised attention in fostering organic growth, which is why we assign dedicated account managers to each client. These managers act as a single point of contact for our customers, ensuring that their needs and expectations are consistently met.” High value is also placed on actively engaging with its customer base and

listening to their feedback according to Manu. “We promote open communication, actively seek constructive criticism, and are constantly looking for ways to improve our services in order to better meet their needs,” he says. “By doing so, we hope to establish a relationship that goes beyond simply providing products or services.” Asset monitoring across all classes of vehicles will soon be complemented by temperature tracking. Important for a major new division of the business that was launched. Better known as a carrier of palletised freight, Cahill Transport more recently moved into refrigerated transport, an undertaking primarily driven by existing customers the company has been willing and ready to find additional solutions for. The foray into the temperaturecontrolled sector is based predominantly around current requirements within the market says Manu. “With the expertise we now have in the business, we felt it was the perfect time to make that call,” he says. “Mick and Dan will always comment on any ideas that come through and if it’s mutually beneficial for the customer and us, we want to build on that partnership with them.” In fact, it was a major supermarket chain that prompted the move having sought to gauge Cahill Transport’s interest. Testament to the carrier’s good standing, the customer made it known that if an opportunity ever arose for Cahill Transport to involve itself in the sector it was eager to partner. “We didn’t go out to market. The growth has been due to our existing customers,” says Manu, who joined the company four years ago. “When I started here, a clear direction I was given was to have a strong focus on customers and then grow with them.” In meeting said criteria, a business can no longer afford to be a typical carrier. Economic policies that ditched austerity to address large budget deficits began p r i m e m ove r m a g . c o m . a u

COVER STORY

A new Kenworth K220 prime mover at the Laverton North depot.

Manu inspects the cab of a new truck.

O c t o ber 2023

to bite in the aftermath of COVID. Navigating the tricky landscape gave rise to higher urgency among those few astute businesses that worked with their customers when it came to recovering skyrocketing costs. Cahill Transport was one of them. “Some of them actually came straight to us and asked if we were happy to change our fuel levy model to get better results,” says Manu. “We have customers who are loyal and want to grow with us, and it’s not a transactional thing. It’s not all about the quick dollars for us. We want organic growth and that’s where we’ve seen some of our biggest improvements. We need to make sure our customers are happy for the long-term.” Based on this firmer grasp of customer longevity, the improvements Cahill

Transport chases internally, especially considering the current, inflationary economic climate, are something the customer can appreciate having had passed on. Indeed, there are many metrics within the business to measure success across the key markers of finance, operations, and safety. One measure, according to Manu, that his team is most proud of, unsurprisingly, is customer retention. “Losing a customer is a rarity and we now have a number of large customers that have been with Cahill for over 20 years, which we value greatly,” he says. “It’s a lot easier to grow with an existing customer then to go and find a new customer. The business invested in account manager positions, and we see the value in offering customers a single

point of contact to ensure their needs and expectations are consistently met.” Cahill Transport’s fleet is critical to its success. The importance of investing in high-quality vehicles outfitted with the most up-to-date safety features to protect both the driver and the cargo is deeply embedded within the business. To support the operation, the organisation has reduced the average age of its fleet by more than 70 per cent in recent years, using advanced driver safety monitoring and telematics to support safer outcomes for its teams. “The average age of our linehaul fleet now sits at three years and as such we don’t have many breakdowns,” says Manu. “Our trucks arrive and depart on time.” The fleet of trucks, distinct in an iconic

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COVER STORY

claret red, are renowned for best in show presentation. Already this year, Cahill Transport has already taken delivery of more than 50 new prime movers. Kenworth, DAF and Volvo are the brands of choice. The fleet specifications are being standardised across various combinations with the aim to increase flexibility and maintain compliance. As a strong PACCAR customer, having taken delivery of the first Australianproduced DAF truck, Cahill Transport marked a milestone in 2021 with a Kenworth K200, its 100th purchased from the brand. It came in a special commemorative livery, as too did a new Kenworth W900SAR Legend III Limited Edition unveiled earlier this year. Purchasing premium brands is a major factor in reliability which is enhanced by the facilities and maintenance teams.

Joseph, Mick and Dan Cahill.

O c t o ber 2023

Future technicians are sourced through apprenticeships. At present, the Melbourne workshop at Laverton North, is being replaced by a new state of the art facility that is under construction on an empty block close to the adjoining Cahill head office. It will include five service lanes. Even though emerging technologies are still in the testing phase, the organisation, according to Shane Lovell, Cahill Transport General Manager, is excited about the prospect of providing future solutions in retail direct and last mile delivery. “Cahill’s customers are increasingly seeking tech-based solutions to increase operational efficiency, both in the warehouse and on the road,” he says. “Customer EDI, improved Guardian Seeing Eye technology and a message-

based employee communication platform are just some of the recent adopted measures.” Beverage transport has also witnessed healthy activity. A long-standing alcohol customer who has undergone recent growth has led to expanded distribution centres in every state to handle the warehousing, linehaul, local distribution and even raw materials coming into the country in containers. Six new UD rigid trucks have been introduced for the increased volume of local beverage distribution in the Northern Territory where the Cahill warehouse just increased its footprint to accommodate the increase in stock. Significantly, the business, according to Shane, has recently invested in a national overhaul of its Warehouse Management System to keep up with the demands of this

growing arm of the business. “Our name can be a little misleading, as we are now holding freight in 85,000m2 of warehousing across the country,” he says. “Storage levels have been growing significantly over the past 24 months.” Just as the business has significantly increased its warehouse footprint nationally as part of the aforementioned 85,000m2 in warehousing capabilities across all capital city locations to support this strategic direction, both the growth and new truck additions require constant recruitment and retention of capable drivers. Drivers participate in a ‘Driver of the Month’ program which is based on driving metrics, with vouchers awarded monthly to both linehaul and local deliveries. The program, in addition, to creating some friendly competition, has resulted in

an overall lift in driver performance and abetted cost reductions in fuel use and tyre expenses. Recruitment also encompasses a referral program with subsequent benefits awarded for the nomination of a new driver by a current driver, with an additional bonus if the new driver is retained for a specified minimum period. Previously recruitment was an area of responsibility for state managers, but Cahill’s now has a national recruitment team that builds on the culture of being an employer of choice supported by comprehensive training processes for the people joining the team, which now exceeds 320 people. “Employee retention has been a big thing for us and 50 new prime movers this year is an attraction for good drivers,” says Manu. “We’re always

looking outside the box to recruit people. Some people may go elsewhere but come back after six months because the grass isn’t greener. After 72 years we are still a family-owned business which differentiates us from bigger companies, and we want to look after our people.” That point of difference is vital. Fostering organic growth, of course, rests not just on offering personalised attention though it helps. The business, as it makes clear, goes beyond simply providing products or services. Family dynasties, after all, are not built in a day. In August, the company turned 72. The long haul continues without a destination in sight. With Mick Cahill’s four sons all now working in the business and a talented management team in place, the journey, it would appear is only gathering speed.

Manu with a newly delivered Kenworth K220.

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FLEET FOCUS

A R R I VA L S AND

DEPAR T Tasmanian freight firm, Monson Logistics has ordered 20 new IVECO S-Ways triggered, in part, by its expansion to the mainland where the new vehicles will operate from a premises in Melbourne.

eing an island state, Tasmania brings in, on average, about 15.5 million tonnes of freight every year. Over 90 per cent of international freight that arrives in the state comes through one of the three facilities owned and operated by Monson Logistics. These depots — in Burnie, Bell Bay, and Hobart — are custom and quarantine approved. Just recently, in conjunction with the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service, Monson Logistics undertook major upgrades across its sites with the installation of facial recognition scanners recently completed in Burnie and Hobart. Two-factor authentication of people movements in and out of the depots was a recommendation by a taskforce created by customs to ensure greater security compliance according to Managing Director Bruce Monson, who founded the company in 1992 with his wife Toni. “The truck drivers now have a card to get into the depot,” says Bruce. “To obtain that card they need to verify their identity for customs. When they scan their card not only do they need to have the card, but it physically scans their face and it recognises the face with the card that’s been scanned.” 38

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Instead of having somebody monitor camera footage all day to verify arrivals and departures, it was decided after some investigation that facial scanners would be the best technology to employ. “As far as I’m aware we’re one of the first depots in Australia to actually use facial scan technology on all drivers and everybody coming in and out of the depot,” says Bruce. “There’s quite a few movements through the gates and it’s working well. We had 90 trucks come in and out of the Burnie depot on the first day we had the system implemented.” Monson Logistics undertakes all deliveries for its key account, Timberlink, which has a main softwood factory in Tasmania, Australia-wide. That equates to the delivery of ten trailers a day to the mainland. Most of that, moreover, is delivered direct to the customer whether that’s Bunnings or other hardware stores. The fleet uses a combination of flat trays and curtainsider trailers for this task. On the back load the curtainsiders carry steel mesh, bottles for the wind turbine industry or miscellaneous freight into Tasmania. “Most of that is 45-foot trailer work,” says Bruce. “Because we’re going in and out of Bunnings stores and all the other major retailers, we want a smaller more

A new IVECO S-Way has its load tied down in Melbourne.

The S-Ways are set to depart.

R TURES

Three of the new IVECO S-Ways. p r i m e m ove r m a g . c o m . a u

FLEET FOCUS

manoeuvrable type of truck.” And that truck is invariably an IVECO. Monson Logistics would be one of the biggest operators of IVECO prime movers in the state with some 60 prime movers on the books. Earlier this year a new order of IVECO S-Ways was completed, 20 units to be precise, five of which are already in action. These initial trucks have been designated work in a Brooklyn depot in Melbourne’s inner-west, the company recently acquired from a retiring subcontractor as part of its mainland expansion. The subcontractor, Eganmay Haulage, was running a fleet of 18 Kenworth 600 horsepower prime movers, most of which are of a 2004 to 2006 vintage. Those vehicles the S-Ways have replaced are in the process of being sold off by Monson Logistics who has introduced, according to Bruce, a better suited truck. “The cabover is a bit more agile getting in 40

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and out urban areas,” he says. “Also, the safety systems are really good like lane departure warning, adaptive cruise control and the automated manual transmission (AMT) makes for a better experience driving around the city.” The S-Way is the first heavy segment vehicle IVECO has brought out from its factory in Europe. It is fully imported into Australia and features the latest technology. “When they were building trucks in Australia the technology was a couple of years old by the time it was tested in Europe and then put into their factory in Australia,” says Bruce. “As a result, we’ve had quite a jump in technology that’s available now in the trucks because we’re going straight to the European spec.” Five of the new IVECO S-Ways are rated at 550hp, making them equal to the task of the odd B-double assignment in country Victoria, with the others featuring

a 460hp powerplant. The remaining units due by March next year, will be assigned to Tasmania as the fleet phases out some long-in-the-tooth IVECO PowerStars. In Tasmania the fleet, at present, constitutes the IVECO Stralis cabover, ranging from 460hp, 500hp and 560hp variants. Timber industries globally withstood an upheaval in 2021. Tasmania though went largely unscathed. Just as harvested plantation timber is considered a renewable resource, Timberlink is currently expanding its factory following stronger than usual timber sales. The sawmill produces in the vicinity of 200,000m2 of sawn timber a year. Timberlink is also in the process of refining its operations to hit its zero emissions target by 2030. That’s another reason why Monson Logistics is investing more heavily in the new IVECO S-Ways given the Euro 6 trucks, profile favourably, with a lower emissions output.

Bruce Monson with his IVECO X-Ways.

While the demand for timber has been inordinately high it is steadying according to Bruce. “Most transport companies in Tasmania can move fairly quickly to adapt to the local conditions,” he says. “Aside from Team Global Express down here, the majority of the transport companies in Tasmania are privately owned as opposed to being corporate. Customer service goes a long way with a lot of the local companies here. I think people are more loyal.” The fleet utilises 60 trailers for its Tasmania to Melbourne transport task. Of those 25 are flat tray trailers to accommodate the movement of steel products and components for infrastructure work. As a bond store provider, Monson Logistics processes a wide range of cargo from overseas, destined for many of Tasmania’s large manufacturers and infrastructure projects. These are unpacked at their depots before being delivered to site.

“Any infrastructure required components from overseas ultimately comes into our facility and then once it’s in our facility, more often than not, we get the opportunity to quote, unpack and deliver it to the end user,” says Bruce. “At the moment the state is the beneficiary of lots of infrastructure work. There’s a lot of cargo moving. We also export a bit of product as well.” Originally founded as a shipping agency business organising ships loading bulk concentrates, bulk logs, and bulk woodchips mainly out of the Port of Burnie, Monson Logistics, as Bruce recalls, expanded its operations in time to meet the needs of many companies it was dealing with on exports that also required domestic transport assistance. They purchased their first truck in 2003. By 2007 the fleet had grown to seven trucks. A depot in Bell Bay was purchased in 2010 soon followed by the Burnie site in 2012. At the time they were running 14 trucks. The following year Monson Logistics purchased a depot in Hobart. “Up until 2015 we used a subcontractor to do a lot of the timber deliveries to Melbourne,” says Bruce. “In 2015 we decided that we would do that ourselves. So, we scaled up which meant we had to start getting backloads from Melbourne as well. Once we took over the Burnie depot in 2012, we started doing international container storage and bond work for ANL and now we represent every major shipping line in Tasmania doing all their bond work down here and any movement of empty or loaded containers on their behalf in Tasmania.” The company now employs around 100 staff. They possess 160 trailers and operate 30 forklifts and have just introduced three reach stackers to the Burnie container facility. It’s located on a 7-hectare site, making it one of the largest off-wharf container depots in the state. Truck Safe accredited, Monson Logistics also complies with NHVR fatigue management and NHVR mass management. All trucks feature tablets which include an incident reporting system. All jobs are scheduled electronically — there’s no time sheets

to fill out. Telematics are provided by MTData. Maintenance is conducted via a system called Gearbox with all pre-starts completed electronically as well. “We allocate each driver a truck and that’s theirs to look after all the time,” says Bruce. “Overtime is not an issue. We always have overtime available. If drivers want to work overtime, then we can give them 12-14 hours a day most of the time, every day.” He adds, “We don’t work night shifts.” Having commonality across the trucks through the IVECO brand helps with parts and servicing. The business, unlike many others, escaped the pressures of having to revise their approach to new asset investments when a timely delivery of seven new IVECO X-ways landed in January 2020 before supply chains tightened up. “We weren’t under pressure to update any of our trucks until we did purchase the Melbourne facility in Melbourne last year,” Bruce explains. “The fact that we’ve had all of our trucks with IVECO saw the OEM work extra hard to make sure we got priority on trucks that were coming in on order because they had, at the same time, just moved from their factory in Australia to Europe. IVECO worked very well with us. We did have eight or nine trucks on order at that time and we managed to get another dozen units on order for delivery in the following six months which was good.” The new trucks have been welcomed by most of the drivers. That said, some resistance has been encountered in Melbourne from Kenworth loyalists. “A lot of people love their Kenworths and especially with all the extra safety features on the S-Way you do have to adapt your driving style especially with warning signals and alerts,” says Bruce. “Overall, they’ve been received quite positively in Melbourne and in Tasmania we’ve been using IVECOs for 20 years. There’s not too much change here. The drivers are used to them and the main thing they like down here is the comfort. They can do a 14-hour day and get out of the truck and feel quite refreshed especially if they’ve been driving some of the older type trucks.” p r i m e m ove r m a g . c o m . a u

FLEET FOCUS

Scott Gillespie.

TIME TRANSITION

CarBon Leasing & Rentals is a business fast making a name for itself in the electric vehicle market as it readies for broader mass adoption.

n just a short period of time, CarBon Leasing & Rentals has worked with the likes of Kings Transport, All Purpose Transport and ANC. The Perth-based business is determined to carve out a niche as an electric vehicle leasing and rental provider in a market that might not be niche for much longer judging by recent sales. Market share for the combined passenger car, SUV and light-commercial vehicles hit 7.7 per cent at the end of July. Having reached a crucial tipping point of 5 per cent, it moves past a common milestone associated with the threshold of mass 42

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adoption for new technology. Australian first half year sales of electric vehicles have already eclipsed those in 2022. Part of that upward curve comes from businesses starting to transition their fleet to battery electric technology as new products are made available. For those looking to reduce emissions on their transport network this is where CarBon comes in. In addition to the supply of electric commercial and passenger vehicles, CarBon helps manage EV transition and implementation according to Chief Executive Officer Scott Gillespie, who

spearheads the company. “In transport, as we all know, if you’re going to replace a diesel with an electric vehicle you want to make sure you can do your job because time is money and if you’re sitting on the side of the road charging and you’re not delivering then it’s not good,” he says “So understanding what is fit-for-purpose and being able to guide operators on infrastructure and what they will need that’s what I wanted to do with the business.” Scott is well familiar with logistics and last mile delivery having founded a transport and logistics company 15

Hyundail Mighty EV loaded with a pallet.

years ago. As a long-time distributor of Goodman Fielder around the Perth metropolitan area, the company delivers household bread brands like Helgas, Wonder White and others into Woolworths, Coles and IGA stores and performs a similar task for Western Milling, delivering its bagged flour in Western Australia and New South Wales. Truck emissions have been on his mind for some time. “That’s how the idea for CarBon was formed, using my transport and logistics background to be able to guide people on what they can and can’t do and making sure it was a successful deployment,” says Scott. “I was looking at why businesses weren’t adopting

those sorts of vehicles. It was mainly understanding whether they were fit-forpurpose.” That specialist approach to EV transition has been refined by CarBon which offers tailored strategies that guide and manage every facet of fleet electrification from fleet analysis to vehicle choice and implementation, charging options, utilisation to change management and even CO2 reporting. Around nine years ago Scott was already hellbent on adopting alternative energy sources for use in commercial road transportation. To reduce diesel emissions, he looked at compressed natural gas. The task of aligning CNG supply and bowser installation

to produce what he needed proved complicated and costs soon became prohibitive, leaving the project shortlived. Since then, he hasn’t stopped looking at ways to decarbonise his fleet. This inevitably led to CarBon. “We offer a flexible leasing solution where our minimum term is 12 months on a truck or van and then we will tailor it to suit the customer,” he says. “For us, having that flexible leasing solution gets the products in, it gets customers operating them, it proves our success and most of them are heading into fiveyear-terms now.” People in transport understandably get nervous about new technology. Being cautious they approach the first vehicle p r i m e m ove r m a g . c o m . a u

FLEET FOCUS

with a short-term mindset, usually with an exit clause at the ready. CarBon, according to Scott, uses modelling that ensures the transition, no matter how tentative, will work. “We had a customer who wanted to go down from Brisbane to Byron Bay and it wasn’t feasible as they would be charging twice on that,” he says. “So, we showed them what was and wasn’t possible. “You’ve got to ensure that the deployment of an EV is a success because you don’t want them going backwards after they’ve gone forward. For us, that’s critical in our model and giving people flexibility to tailor their lease to suit their needs.” That said, people are concerned about residual value and what to do with the vehicle at the end of life. CarBon can point to solutions for the repurpose of batteries as off grid charging solutions or at home charging solutions. “It takes away the hassle and worry from companies who are uncertain as to what they do at the end,” says Scott. “We look after all that as well for them.” The business is geared around three segments: transport, mining and rideshare. In mining CarBon offers a full light fleet solution including a Gen-2 LandCruiser 79 Series-based ZED70 Ti of which it ordered 200 units from Zero Automotive in August. In rideshare, the company is supplying its partners with EVs such as the Tesla 3, BYD ATTO and MG 4s nationally. CarBon also has a novated lease segment that is seeing a significant uptick. By June next year, Scott estimates the CarBon fleet size, across all categories, will surpass 1000 vehicles. “That’s based on our trajectory and the forward orders that we’ve got and are starting to come through,” he says. “There are other partnerships that will be coming out over the next month and that’s going to accelerate our footprint.” Customers in commercial operations have had success with LDV Deliver 9s and Skywell EC-11 cargo vans. In the light truck space CarBon stocks Foton t5iBlue and Hyundai product. This month it will add the Ford eTransit and 44

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the JAC 9-tonne truck. CarBon already has a number of customers who want to deploy the Hyundai Mighty EV into their fleet for its 3.5- to 4-tonne payload. At present, CarBon offers ten units in the fleet which they will build to around 40 trucks over the next 12 months. “We want to be increasing that based on some of the customers and some of the contracts and announcements that are coming over the next couple of months,” says Scott. “We see it being a big part of our fleet.” Offered with a factory-fitted pantech or refrigerated pantech, the Hyundai Mighty EV affords up to 200km in range when laden from its 114.5kW battery system. There’s also distinct crossover in the commercial vehicle realm for the innovation and accessibility Hyundai is renowned for in its passenger car range. “The product is brilliant. When we’ve compared it to other vehicles coming across, we’re really impressed by the innovation and the tech and the safety as well,” says Scott. “That’s paramount for our operators and that is really carried across with Hyundai. We did see some other brands come out in the first round and their safety features weren’t as good, whereas Hyundai has brought that 100 per cent complete to market.” Well built, according to Scott, the Hyundai Mighty EV is going to be a strong option in the niche space for last mile where a little bit more payload is required. “It’s good in that sense and is going to be awesome in that 7.5-tonne GVM category,” he says. “With the range that it can get, I think it’s a great truck.” Demand continues to be largely driven by the customers of transport operators who want to see fleets act on emissions. As the transport sector is regarded as one of the heaviest emitting industries where any small change can be made to mitigate environmental impacts it should be according to Scott. “Let’s be honest in that last mile lighter vehicle space you can do it now,” he says. “In the heavier space

Hyundai Mighty EV factory fitted pantech.

we understand there’s limitations and customers aren’t demanding that as much as the light vehicle space. Equally some of our customers are just innovative companies. They’re saying we need to start to move. Let’s be a leader rather than a follower.” The EV work being pioneered by Kings Transport, a partner of CarBon’s, in last mile logistics has not gone unnoticed. Kings now has dedicated battery electric vehicles that deliver for a range of large global and Australian retailers following the company’s initial proof of concept pilot program explains Scott. “It’s the same with All Purpose. They’ve got another four or five customers talking to them about delivering their products

in electric vehicles because they see the benefits of it,” he says. “They want to reduce their carbon footprint as well. Our leasing model enables those contractors. Kings have contractors. All Purpose have contractors. ANC have contractors. But our model allows them to get into an EV that they wouldn’t have been able to do if they had to go and purchase it outright at double the cost. For some it’s hard for them to finance.” Last year ARENA announced a $70 million funding pool aimed at supporting EV uptake through public charging stations. Scott applauds this pivot to redirect investment to charge infrastructure but insists the focus needs to include better accessibility for

commercial vehicles. “They should start thinking of commercial vehicles and how they would access those chargers, rather than putting it in a carpark that has got a 2.1 metre clearance. I think it’s something people have not thought of previously.” Commercial charging also needs to be provisioned at service station providers. One solution might be to invest in DC chargers where accessibility isn’t an issue, say, for instance, in industrial parks where power supply tends to be strong and reliable. The sooner it happens the better it will be for uptake and the operator experience, which, as Scott believes is superior. “A lot of people who have jumped into

vans are finding the cost is a lot less in terms of charging versus diesel and diesel’s pricing fluctuates so much,” he says. “It offers stability in their costs too.” CarBon offers a fully inclusive lease designed to make budgeting easier. Operators, what’s more, who drive an EV note it’s less stressful in the traffic and that they handle better. That’s the feedback Scott has been receiving. “It’s on the whole a more pleasurable experience and as these products continue to arrive, it allows us to scale as we’ve got many customers asking about what they can do,” Scott says. “Our business is now 18 months old and it’s like a snowball that’s gathering momentum.” p r i m e m ove r m a g . c o m . a u

TRUCK & TECH

Elite Roads has added four DAF CF530 prime movers to its Melbourne fleet.

ASPHALT JUNGLE

Australian asphalt surfacing specialist, Elite Roads, has discovered the versatility offered by the Euro 6 DAF CF530, of which it recently deployed four new units on projects.

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edicated commitment and mastery of technological innovation has paved the way to achieving repeated, successful client outcomes for top tier businesses. Quite literally in the case of Elite Roads. New technology, a decade on since it was founded, remains a driving force for the company, whose continual investment in a wide range of cutting-edge working equipment facilitates the quality and environmental accountability sought after in its every project. Automation plays a crucial role. Many of the manual processes still commonplace

in the road construction industry have been automated by Elite Roads, making it something of a trailblazer in the segment. It hasn’t gone unnoticed. The recent full-depth rehabilitation of the Hume Highway, spanning 1.3 kilometres near Tallarook, which was completed over a six-week period, personifies the technical precision involved in delivering a safer commute on one of the largest trucking routes in Australia. The business enlists an inhouse survey team to work closely with clients to better understand their quality requirements so that an approach is tailored through the right technological

means to the design and scope required. This is achieved, by and large, through GPS machine control technology fitted to Elite Roads’ pavers, profilers and excavators, removing human error, wastage of product and provides a smoother finish for road-users. Elite Roads also fits exclusion zone lighting to its machines to ensure safe working practices during night works, which helps to prioritise minimal disruptions to projects and the local municipalities in which they are undertaken. In addition to asphalt paving, Elite Roads provides road and pavement profiling, micro stabilisation, survey and machine

control and trucking. Asphalt being a temperature-sensitive product needs to be delivered on time. “We can’t afford to lose any time on the way to our destinations,” says Managing Director Deon Coote, who ahead of expanding the company’s fast-growing mobile assets, weighed up a range of factors with the latest truck technology and price point perhaps highest on the agenda. “After owning numerous brands of trucks and exploring other brands, we kept coming back to DAF,” says Deon. “It was strongly recommended that we look into the DAF CF range, and we quickly

realised why. They ticked all the boxes for our needs — they were spacious enough for the drivers yet still very agile around some of the tight worksites we access.” The DAF CF530s, in addition to featuring all the latest safety features, offered compelling projected fuel efficiency numbers while maintaining the horsepower Elite Roads requires — generally 530hp. “It was important to maintain a similar horsepower and 530hp gives us enough power on the hills out in country Victoria and the engines have enough torque to get up and going in the stop-start city environment,” says Deon. “What has truly impressed us is the fact that we have maintained the required level of power with a more fuel-efficient truck.” Elite Roads bolstered its heavy vehicle fleet, which has doubled in the last six months, with four of these Euro 6 DAF CF530 units. The new trucks are towing new Muscat Flocon trailers which are being used for carting asphalt and road profilings all around the state. That includes distant drives out to regional areas and localised projects closer to the city. More commonly the DAFs must access construction work sites and supplier asphalt plant facilities. “In the short time we’ve had them we’ve noticed they are fuel efficient, and the feedback feature shows the drivers how they can improve their fuel efficiency too,” says Deon. The Euro 6 compliant PACCAR MX-13, Multi Torque, straight six, 12.9-litre engine delivers an output of 2,600Nm and offers best-in-class fuel economy in the application. The trucks have been configured along with the PTO to ensure the Muscat trailers, also recently acquired, are fully functional. A Stabilink rear axle p r i m e m ove r m a g . c o m . a u

TRUCK & TECH

The Euro 6 DAF is loaded with asphalt.

Aerial view of the Citywide Asphalt plant in Laverton North. 48

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suspension optimises roll stability helping to ensure the truck and trailer combination is ideally suited for operational requirements. DAF bullbars were added, as the vehicles will work at all times of the day and night including in regional and remote areas, for some extra protection for the drivers. Beyond that, Deon says the trucks are well spec’d as they come standard. “There is enough space in the cab and the driver has all the latest tech at the press of a button and even a fridge which they all love,” he says. “Drivers are hard to come by these days so the automatic gearbox is a must. We felt we were getting great value with these models.” The new trucks are not part of a

Elite Road personnel approach the four new DAF CF530s.

replacement program. Ongoing demand and growth within the business have made it necessary to expand the fleet. “We’ve experienced a lot of growth and change in the last few years which I am really proud of,” says Deon. “After celebrating our tenth year in business we wanted to look at how we would progress into the future for the next decade and beyond.” The new Muscat Flocon live bottom trailer.

Northern New South Wales, where Elite Roads opened an office in Lismore earlier in the year, offers a glimpse of what’s set to come. It coincides with a major rebranding, launched in February, which has delivered a bold new look designed to encapsulate the company’s continuing commitment to finding solutions and producing quality outcomes for clients. According to Deon

it reaffirms the company’s dedication to sustainable and innovative work practices and reinforces its commitment to its people and their safety. As a truck, the DAF CF range more than lives up to these standards. The vehicles prioritise the well-being of the occupant with front and rear disc brakes with EBS, ABS and AEBS, Protective Cab Mounting System, Side Camera System and Reverse Warning. Active warning systems and incident mitigation are also impressively integrated with Adaptive Cruise Control, Forward Collison Warning, Lane Departure Warning System and Vehicle Stability Control in addition to LED Head Lights and Tail Lamps providing additional protection for the driver, onsite workers and other road-users. Having the latest safety functions satisfies the needs of drivers, who can be fussy at the best of times. “A feature which we really liked was the fact our drivers can get feedback on their driving performance,” says Deon. “PACCAR arranged for the driver-trainer to spend some time with our team and make sure they understood how to get the most out of our new trucks.” p r i m e m ove r m a g . c o m . a u

TRUCK & TECH

Marcus Rogers and son.

TURF HOME

A new Isuzu FYJ 300-350 twin-steer was all New South Wales family-owned turf farm, Turfco Australia, needed to gain an upper advantage in the turf war against payload.

t is said that some of our soil is actually stardust from the remains of stars fallen to earth. A 2021 study published in Earth and Planetary Science Letters, for example, found that around 5,200 metric tons of micrometeorites (5.2 million kilograms) land on Earth every year. Be that as it may, a turf farm in Jaspers Brush, New South Wales, most likely comes across these particles every once in a while. Turfco Australia was established in 1987 as a small family-owned and operated business in the Shoalhaven and Illawarra region. Since then, over more than 35 years, the team is still made up of members of its founding family, such as turf farmer, Marcus Rogers. 50

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Marcus was born and bred in the turf industry. It was his father (and his cousin) that began Turfco in the late ‘80s and who are still around today as they oversee the next generation coming through. While Marcus has technically been with Turfco since birth, he officially joined the team in 2013. Since 2019, he has been part of the business’ leadership team in his position as General Manager. “Turfco started in the late 1980s a few kilometres from where we are now, on the northern side of Berry, just towing a little bit of turf,” he says. “Thirty-six years later we’ve got a couple hundred acres of turf and five different varieties.” For Turfco, which is always on the

lookout for the best possible product combined with the best possible service, it was a top priority to join the Lawn Solutions Australia network — an association of more than 45 of the best turf farms nationwide. According to Turfco, this group amounts to over 55 per cent of the total volume of turf sold in Australia each year. In 2020/21, the Australian turf industry produced 37.5 million square metres of turf valued at $269 million, according to the turf Annual Investment Plan 2022/23 that was presented to the turf Strategic Investment Advisory Panel which Lawn Solutions Australia occupies a position in. As a result, for Turfco to keep up with

the large demand for turf and grass in Australia, it was necessary to expand its fleet with the purchase of a new Isuzu FYJ 300-350 twin-steer truck. “With turf, we’ve had a bit of a problem over the last few years with the floods and everything else,” Marcus says. “A pallet of turf when it’s dry can be six to eight hundred kilos, and when it’s wet, it can go up to 1,600 kilos and sometimes tip a little bit higher.” Given the conditions, it became evident they needed another truck. “We always had just standard rigids and bogie drivers, and especially when it was wet, we couldn’t quite fill a truck up with how heavy the turf was,” explains Marcus. “So, we opted for the twin-steer with an

extra few tonne of payload so we could fill it up to the brim, even when it is wet.” In hindsight, the purchase would allow Turfco to load more turf than ever before possible, resulting in an efficiency surge in its operations. “It’s pretty good with efficiency, actually,” Marcus says. “Instead of getting eight to ten pallets of turf in there when it was wet, we can now always get 12 in. From a mass management point of view, it’s made us a lot more confident in filling our trucks up with turf especially when it’s heavy. From a business efficiency point of view, we needed another vehicle anyway because of growth and expansion.” Turfco throughout its history has been

loyal to Isuzu. The first Isuzu truck was purchased by Marcus’ father in the late ‘90s. He had previously relied on Volvos. He then bought another two brand-new Isuzus in 2000 – one of which is still present in the fleet today – along with three similar models to the new FYJ 300-350 as the business grew. Since the first truck, Isuzu has been the only brand of choice for Turfco’s new trucks, due to their affordability and the familiarity the fleet’s drivers have developed with them. “We’ve always liked them, and they’ve always worked well and ran well for us,” Marcus says. “When it was time for a new one, which ended up being the twin-steer last December, we didn’t even look at other models. We just rang up Dwyers p r i m e m ove r m a g . c o m . a u

TRUCK & TECH

Isuzu FYJ 300-350 twin-steer.

Truck Centre in Wollongong and asked if we could have one.” Having the dealer in its corner, Marcus says, has also been handy for getting parts. It proved no different here. “They’ve also got a service centre in Nowra which is only 20 minutes from us,” he says. “It makes getting parts a lot easier because if they’re not in there they might be in Wollongong. If not, it’s only usually a day or so away. So, it’s always easy to get parts — we’ve never had a problem with the parts.” Turfco’s automatic FYJ 300-350 8x4 is powered by Isuzu’s 6UZ1-TCN engine and paired with an Allison 4430 transmission. A very unique feature worth mentioning though, is the Poyntz electric wagon cover fitted to this truck. Instead of a normal Tautliner, this system allows the curtains to be rolled up at once with a push of a button. “That’s a massive thing for us, especially in windy areas,” Marcus says. “It’s also a big timesaver when you’ve got multiple deliveries. One truck can do 12 different deliveries, and it might be a pallet per delivery. If you get to just press a button and the curtain rolls up each time instead of loosening the curtain and undoing the straps, it’s much more efficient when delivering.” 52

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Although the FYJ 300-350 took some getting used to, being the first fully automatic vehicle in the fleet, it’s since become a favourite among Turfco’s operators. “It was weird at the start, because when you first get in it, you’re looking for something to do with your left foot,” Marcus says. “But the guys really like it. We do have lots of hilly, tight streets where we are near the escarpment, and it handles the tight bends just as well as the standard rigids.” The twin-steer FYJ, Marcus says,

appealed partly as he thought it would please his drivers. In that sense the stars have aligned. “When delivering turf you can spend plenty of time behind the wheel and we knew if we got an auto it would make delivering turf that little bit easier,” he says. “It’s certainly comfy and it’s easy to drive.” Another rigid flat top is next on the shopping list. Unsure of the specific model, though, Marcus does know one thing — that Turfco will arrive back on home soil at Isuzu.

Turfco carries forklifts on the back of the trailer.

MARKETPLACE

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Our online marketplace is dedicated to the sale and hire of trucks, trailers and other transport equipment Australiawide. From low loaders and tag trailers to rigid-bodied vehicles and prime movers, you’ll find it here. Whether you’re looking for a deal or keen to sell some high-value assets, we have you covered.

TORQUE

SHOW

TRUCK & TECH

O c t o ber 2023

Manufacturing engines and transmissions that are original equipment in the Freightliner and Western Star brands, Detroit also takes a prominent place in the latest fuel cell and electric drivetrain developments for parent company Daimler.

wned by Daimler since 2000, the organisation once known as Detroit Diesel was rebranded simply as Detroit in 2011. As the organisation progressed to become more than an engine manufacturer, componentry including transmissions, drive axles, telematics and safety systems have become important features of the Detroit portfolio which today also extends to include electric drivetrains. The current annual production of the plant in Detroit, Michigan totals 110,000 heavy duty engines, 10,000 medium duty engines and 45,000 transmissions. Since its purchase by Daimler, Detroit has since been a key factor in the global developments and manufacture of Daimler’s major truck driveline components. Detroit continues to develop and refine its range of diesepowered engines in parallel with rapid developments in battery electric and fuel cell electric technologies and is the supplier of the electric drivetrains in the successful Freightliner eCascadia trucks. “The long-term future is all about zero emissions,” says Bob Gowans, Business Manager–Detroit at Penske Australia. “As a business we are part of the Daimler family globally and Detroit is absolutely up there in terms of fuel cell and electric drivetrain developments. For the moment,

Bob Gowans.

our strategy for Australia is to make the best of the fuel we have available and keep improving the fuel consumption within the legal requirements as far as emissions go, and to make the most of renewable options within a combustion engine. We want to minimise the fuel we use, which is a noble thing to do from a CO² point of view, but it’s also a fairly important thing to do from an operational question of how much it costs to run a truck.” Every Detroit engine in the truck range is now Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) fuel compatible. HVO is chemically identical to diesel and the engine operates exactly the same when running on the renewable fuel. A key environmental factor is for the HVO to be sourced from agricultural crops rather than fossil bases such as natural gas as it looks to provide a medium-term solution for applications in remote locations where electricity or hydrogen facilities are unlikely to be readily available. Down-speeding has also contributed to the current Detroit engines’ fuel efficiency and lower exhaust emissions. “Down-speeding suits the light- to medium-duty cycles that we see in hundreds of thousands of trucks in the United States,” says Bob. “You can argue that a single trailer or even B-double application here is not that difficult a duty cycle for the engine because we’re

not actually running it at full power for significant portions of the time. With down-speeding we’re getting the same power and torque outputs at a lower engine speed which results in a more efficient engine.” The DD13 and the DD15 used in the United States are providing maximum power at 1500rpm, requiring a drop off in the engine speed. The DD16, according to Bob, is purposely an 1800rpm maximum power engine which utilises the turbo compounding technology to recover energy from exhaust heat and significantly improves the thermal efficiency of the engine. The inherent design of Detroit engines such as the DD13 has focused on delivering a long flat torque curve to provide the driveability and fuel efficiency associated with engine down-speeding. This has resulted in the DD13’s ability to deliver 90 per cent of its peak torque in just 1.5 seconds, whereas a competitor’s engine in the same time frame will only be at 50 per cent. Factors contributing to this improved performance include the use of non-waste gated turbochargers and low inertia camshafts. The use of the proprietary asymmetric turbocharger reduces weight and complexity plus

delivers improved performance with sustainable reliability. The turbochargers are manufactured in-house by Detroit and the turbo shafts have a tolerance of just six microns. The manufacturing process involves bar codes and data matrix stamps to ensure the aerospacelike quality of the components which is intended to eliminate any turbo problems to be associated with Detroit engines. Turbocharger testing involves shaft speeds of up to 405,000rpm. “Turbo compounding works when you have nice high gas flows in a fast-spinning engine,” explains Bob. “That works well in the DD16 which is our highest performance engine and for the power and torque that it produces it’s great on fuel.” All displacements of the Detroit engines benefit from having similar modular designs incorporating wet cylinder liners, cast engine blocks and one piece cylinder heads. Extensive webbing in the Detroit block castings is used for strength as well as reduction in noise and vibration. Detroit engines are renowned for the retardation braking capabilities delivered by the improved ‘Jake’ engine brake which is integrated into the overhead camshafts rather than located on top of the rocker arms. This design provides three stages

of engine braking and is relatively quiet in its operation, allowing for the safe application of the engine brake in built up areas. Most key maintenance components are located above chassis rail height to provide direct access for servicing technicians and results in reduced service time being required, as well as good heat dissipation. Large capacity engine sumps help extend oil drain intervals as does the maintenance free crankcase breather which is a closed system and returns any blow by oil to the sump. After assembly, every engine is hot run tested on one of the 42 dynamometers located in the Detroit plant prior to being shipped. At the Daimler truck plant in Charlotte, North Carolina, the engines are retested after installation into Freightliner and Western Star trucks to ensure there are no issues and to confirm the power and torque ratings. Intended to provide first rate performance for a long operating life, Detroit engines have been designed and manufactured with best-in-class fuel economy and lowcost maintenance and service in mind. This, combined with environmentally responsible emission levels, make it a formidable product platform.

Detroit assembly line in the United States. p r i m e m ove r m a g . c o m . a u

BRIGH TRUCK & TECH

With more than 2000 different vehicle lighting products that are constantly being improved or upgraded, Andrew May’s job of keeping fleet managers in the know is a tough gig. So, how does Andrew, HELLA Australia’s new National Fleet Business Development Manager, help make fleet mangers’ job easier?

father who drove trucks between Mount Isa and Darwin and loved racing cars in his spare time is one good reason why Andrew May has the career he does. “I’ve always loved anything that has to do with vehicles,” he says from his office in Brisbane. This is helpful, considering his role in a newly developed position at HELLA Australia requires him to have extensive vehicle and vehicle parts knowledge. He describes his new National Fleet BDM job as a way of opening up a better, more direct line of communication between HELLA Australia and the fleets. “Essentially, my job is to help fleets get the best possible solutions on to their vehicles,” he explains, adding that his experience with other companies over the years has put him in a good position to understand fleet managers’ needs and their pain points.

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“We’re giving fleets the opportunity to talk directly to a manufacturer about products and offer up the safest and most durable options that work best for them,” Andrew says. The job of a fleet manager isn’t an easy one, Andrew points out, especially considering how many products, details and parameters they have to deal with. “I think fleet managers appreciate that we’re offering them a service that helps them to save time and it makes their selection process easier,” he says. “Considering HELLA offers a wide range of products, the selection of what works best in different settings requires great deal of assessment.” One big benefit for fleet managers is that Andrew can, not only suggest what will currently work best for them, but also let them in on what products will be available in three- or six-months’ time,

as HELLA rolls out new products with leading technologies to improve safety and durability. As a leading automotive supplier in the country, HELLA Australia provides a wide range of lighting, electrics, and electronics products to the automotive aftermarket and specialist manufacturers. It is part of the HELLA Group and now sits under the umbrella brand, Forvia, the seventh largest automotive supplier globally. Although far from the outback terrain of Australia, the unique natural environment down under is given strong consideration during the design phase. Australia is the perfect testing ground for product durability and life expectancy. “Our backyard is quite brutal,” Andrew says. “It’s diverse and vast. If a product can survive here, it can just about survive anywhere.” So, what are fleet managers looking

GHT

IDEAS

for when it comes to lighting? Now fully ensconced in the role, Andrew is noticing a clear priority — reducing downtime as much as possible. This means minimal maintenance which is why he is excited about HELLA’s plug and play solutions, offering ease-of-use and outstanding value. “Our DuraLED family of products is also a proven example of this,” Andrew notes. With 25 years of in-field application, Andrew can confidently convey the “Lifetime Warranty” statement as a proven milestone and not just a marketing ploy. “Often the clincher is the serviceability in the field,” he says. “Previously fleets might have had a product that would need to be removed after breaking and then rewired which is time consuming. But we see value for fleets to have products that you literally unplug, plug a new one in and you are ready to go again with very little downtime. Fleets are running their vehicles for a lot longer now and HELLA

has a high standard when it comes to longevity.” Following his fleet manager clients’ lead, their priority has now become Andrew’s personal objective. “If I was to have one goal constantly in my head it would be simply to enhance efficiency and reduce unnecessary downtime,” he says. “If we can tick those boxes, all while ensuring the product is providing the safety factors they need while lasting the life of the vehicle, then we’ve hit our goal.” The exchange of information isn’t a oneway street, Andrew says, with feedback from fleet managers shifting into a priceless tool when it comes to research and development, something that is an ongoing priority for Forvia, with close to 10 per cent of their earnings going into the area. “I know that I can confidently support a product because in reality, the basis of

Andrew May.

our company is that we are an original equipment manufacturer and there are no corners cut,” he says. “Our Fit and Forget by design philosophy shall be incorporated into every aspect of the product life cycle, ensuring product performance and customer satisfaction are never compromised.” Research is also what will set Forvia apart in the future, he says, with the company focusing intensely on sustainability and a target of zero emissions by 2045. HELLA New Zealand, which already uses 100 per cent renewable energy, manufactures all the LED products which Australia sources today. With constant new discoveries which then become products, staying on top of it all is a big job, but Andrew says he’s up for the challenge and is positive about what is to come. “There is just so much knowledge and experience at HELLA that I can lean on,” he adds.

HELLA Australia head office in Mentone.

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TRUCK & TECH

TRAINING

D AY

In a post-lockdown world, getting together to exchange ideas has a bit more meaning and for JOST, it not only ensures its products are reaching their full potential, but it is fostering a unique opportunity to share knowledge among those who are passionate about what they do.

orget Zoom, Teams and Youtube videos. For semi-trailer operators, old school, face-to-face demonstrations and firsthand practice are back, and their popularity among fleets is proving that they might be back for good. “We really like to offer up hands-on training when it comes to our products,” says JOST General Manager – Sales and Marketing, Corey Povey. “We want success in every application we offer, and these training sessions are proving to be both interesting and enjoyable ways to ensure that.” JOST’s most recent workshop was a collaboration arranged by DHL Supply

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Chain, with JOST offering national distribution network, Primary Connect, a hands-on presentation on how semi-trailer turntables operate. Using a JOST training trailer, it focused on preventing dropped trailers and understanding why and how they occur. Led by JOST Area Sales Managers, John Dreves and Stewart Lamb, the training took place at Primary Connect’s Sydney National Distribution Centre. “Primary Connect and DHL collectively have shown their dedication to transport safety,” Corey says. It should be noted that this particular workshop included JOST’s innovative fifth wheel sensor technology, which importantly ensures the coupling

and uncoupling process is successful each time. The system gives the driver a visual and audible warning from inside the cab if it detects that any one of the skid plate, kingpin or safety latch are not in the correct position for a secure connection. One difficulty associated with tackling the problem of miscoupled trailers – and what makes this such a critical issue – is the huge variety of causes that can lead to a trailer being miscoupled and when or how a miscoupled trailer actually becomes separated from the prime mover. Primary Connect National Transport Safety Lead, Virginia Callow, highlighted the importance of the message behind the demonstration.

“Dropped trailers might look funny and be classified as a minor incident, but trust me, they’re a big deal. They can put drivers and road users at risk, be extremely costly, mess with operations and the recovery can be complex.” Virginia Callow Primary Connect, National Transport Safety Lead

John Dreves and Stewart Lamb [in orange] at Primary Connect’s Sydney facility.

“Dropped trailers might look funny and be classified as a minor incident, but trust me, they’re a big deal,” she said. “They can put drivers and road users at risk, be extremely costly, mess with operations and the recovery can be complex.” In the best-case scenario, the driver will notice a miscoupled trailer following bestpractice procedures and visually inspects the coupling to ensure the kingpin is secure in the lock jaw and the safety mechanism is in place, prior to performing a tug test after coupling. If the check is not made on the kingpin in the jaw, then a miscoupled trailer can separate from the fifth wheel during the tug test or when manouevering in the yard, which can cause damage to the truck or trailer and delay deliveries. However, the weight of a loaded trailer sometimes puts enough force onto the fifth wheel that

Offering the DHL staff through a fifth wheel tutorial.

it can pass a hasty tug test and give the driver a false impression that the trailer is securely connected. This can lead to a potentially far more dangerous situation if the trailer separates from the prime mover when travelling at speed on the road. JOST has also held training sessions at the Toll/Woolworths Michinbury, New South Wales site for Toll Group’s drivers and management team. In that training session, JOST covered everything from the maintenance and operational aspects of its turntable systems, to optimising their performance. Toll Group Operations Support Manager,

Mark Haworth, said the sessions, held in June, were invaluable. “We consider it our top priority to invest in the professional development of our drivers and management team to ensure that our customer receives the highest level of service and quality that they expect and deserve,” Mark said. “These training sessions present an excellent opportunity for our team to learn from the best and enhance their skills and knowledge.” Next up will be demonstrations in Coffs Harbour where JOST equipment experts will be on hand to help with installation and training on fifth wheel sensors with Lindsay Transport. p r i m e m ove r m a g . c o m . a u

TRUCK & TECH

Andrew McKenzie.

LEAP

YEARS The year for Scully RSV, although not yet over, has been flush with growth and innovation.

f you were to sum up the year Scully RSV has had in one word, connection would arguably define it best. Whether with customers and their needs, engineers and their innovations or communities who need a helping hand, by all accounts, the refrigerated transport company has fostered the alliances it needs to keep moving forward. “If I had to pick a highlight from this year, I’m not actually sure I’d be able to,” says Scully RSV CEO, Andrew McKenzie. “Everything we’ve achieved has really been so varied and unique in terms of 60

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its impact. From our technology projects that have impacted our fleet operations, to the community initiatives that drive our purpose and give back.” Technology certainly offered a win for fleet managers this year, with Scully RSV unveiling ScullyLive, which allows customers to access vehicle performance data in real-time. The system, created by data fusion company Inauro, provides managers with information on vehicle location, temperature compliance and driver behaviour. It all integrates seamlessly into third party applications, providing customers with

increased efficiency of operations and improved safety. In fact, safety has become a big theme for Scully RSV, having kicked off the year with a mission to become “the safest fleet in the industry.” This took shape through its SafetyCulture initiative which captures pre-start inspection data for both trailers and rigid vehicles online, notifying Scully RSV’s Fleet Operations teams of any issues immediately. The roll out took place across the entire fleet of rigid and trailer vehicles. Spreading its footprint to include

Western Australia was also a defining moment for the company. With its rigid and trailer customer base increasing over the past few years, a permanent base in Perth made sense. The new branch services the entire Western Australian region and has a fleet of refrigerated utes, trucks and trailers for local transport routes or as long-term fleet solutions. Scully RSV also moved into a new head office in Brisbane in the suburb of Rocklea. The facility enables triple the manufacturing capacity, as demand for rigid bodies and refrigerated vehicles continues to grow. Its original, nearby office in Archerfield has been retained, supplementing the company’s manufacturing needs. Having the ability to service customers no matter where their location has been an important step for the company, says Andrew, increasing its capacity to open up to a whole range of clients. “We proudly service everyone from national logistics providers, to supermarkets, food suppliers and sole traders operating their own refrigerated delivery vehicle,” he says. “It’s our size, scale and quality of vehicle that’s driven the trust from our customers and supported our growth this year.” That growth is represented well with figures that show its rigid fleet has grown by 50 per cent and its trailer fleet by 21 per cent, in the last twelve months.

Scully RSV’s SafetyCulture Pre-start vehicle inspection.

As a result of the increases in manufacturing capacity at Rocklea, Scully RSV is now looking at other opportunities thanks in part to feedback from customers. As a case in point, it is now working to supply refrigerated bodies because of the increase in customers coming in with a chassis or looking to upgrade their old bodies. The organisation also launched several ExFleet Releases in 2023, giving customers the chance to own a Scully RSV from their fleet. The company will continue to offer this in 2024 as their new manufacturing capacity allows further replenishment. It hasn’t all been about business, however. The company, despite its successes, has continued to give back to local communities. One of its most recent

initiatives, OzHarvest, has become the perfect charitable fit for the company, allowing it to put its products and services to great use. Partnering with the food rescue organisation, Scully RSV supports their fleet requirements but also encourages its contacts in the supermarket and food supply industry to support the worthy cause. Another charity Scully RSV has been heavily involved with this year is This Is a Conversation Starter (TIACS), a free phone and text counselling service offering mental health support to Australia’s blue-collar communities and their families. Scully RSV supports TIACS as an investment partner, ensuring the community is not only aware of this important service, but will have ongoing access to it. This year the company showcased special customised TIACS livery on one of its trucks to help promote the organisation. Andrew says Scully RSV’s charity work gives everyone in the company a boost and, coupled with its expansion projects as well as ongoing partnerships with top industry OEMs and suppliers, he looks forward to discovering what next year holds. “I’m proud of our team and what we’ve achieved together and the relationships we’ve continued to build with our partners and customers,” he says. “It’s truly been an incredible year.”

Scully’s rigid fleet in Perth.

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ALTERNATIVE ENERGY SOLUTIONS SHOWCASE

FIRST MOVES

The shift towards environmental sustainability within the transportation industry has rapidly jumped from a buzz to a bellow and Mark Gjerek, Director of the transport consultancy group MOV3MENT, is making sure his voice is heard.

love of all things motorised and a concern for the environment might seem like incompatible bedfellows, but Mark Gjerek doesn’t see it that way. From OEMs and fleet managers to industry associations, Mark has forged a career helping them manage their energy and navigate the challenges of vehicle emissions in the face of new technologies, ever-changing government policy, and a general lack of real-world information. His business offers what he calls practical, real-world advice that simplifies the sustainability problem for vehicle fleets and takes the bottom line into consideration. “The mission is to decarbonise transport, but it’s a journey and sometimes it’s complex and messy,” Mark says. His acceptance of that, and an understanding that most clients need a tailored strategy not a one-size-fits all approach is what sets MOV3MENT apart. “We don’t use a cookie-cutter approach,” he says. “We take the time to understand our clients and where they are positioned, and offer advice based on that. “Sometimes that involves challenging their understanding of the problem, which you can’t do with a template.” He also sees a key strength in not having any physical products or software to sell, allowing his team to focus on strategic and technical advice instead of “upselling” to clients. 62

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“We only provide information, data insights, and the guidance our clients need to make the right choices at the right time,” he says. “For example, all the recent buzz is for electric trucks and hydrogen. We’re leaders in that area, but we also know that’s not going to work for everyone today. There is still a lot fleets can do to reduce fuel costs and emissions that most fleets aren’t doing.” Mark got his start in the automotive industry, working for Volvo and Toyota. After more than a decade of roles involving both cars and trucks, he noticed a shift within himself. “I’m passionate about all kinds of vehicles — cars, trucks, motorbikes,” he says. “But I started to get concerned about the environmental impact of vehicles. So I decided to be part of the solution rather than the problem.” After a spell working in business sustainability programs, he began his consulting career 15 years ago, essentially doing what he still does today — providing advice on how to reduce vehicle fuel costs and reduce emissions. In 2015 he founded MOV3MENT. His team provides advice to fleets, as well as government and the truck industry. Much of this work includes keeping the lines of communication open between all the various interests. In other words, not just sharing information but connecting people and organisations as well.

“We are often introducing our clients to other clients we’ve had, simply because they are working in the same space,” he says. “Or they have had similar problems and can benefit each other, or to overcome the gap between industry and government.” A big part of MOV3MENT’s job is staying on top of research and innovations within the industry, many of which are currently moving at lightning pace. That includes weeding out information that isn’t relevant. Many of the technology studies and trials of electric trucks come from overseas or from laboratories, which as Mark explains, isn’t always relevant to the unique conditions presented in Australia’s road freight sector. “A lot of the information clients might find online is from overseas and just doesn’t relate to Australian trucks or how they’re used,” he says. “This is where real world experience is critical, which allows us to steer our clients to the most relevant information or adapt and tailor it, avoiding costly mistakes based on wrong assumptions.” Another factor that changes quickly in this area is government policy and programs, which the MOV3MENT team are close to. Mark acknowledges that it’s hard for the truck industry, particularly small and medium operators, to keep track of all the changes in policy and programs and grants across local, state, and federal governments.

“There is support available in some areas and we ensure that is included in our advice to clients,”he says. The number of factors fleets need to consider is clearly broad and deep, including things like the resale value risk of trucks with new technology, understanding the need for recharging infrastructure, emerging changes in regulations, expectations on future fuel and energy prices, or even knowing how a company’s competitors are tackling emissions. As a result, companies often need a customised and staged energy strategy. Mark cites an example of a recent medium-sized fleet of about 500 trucks that came to him with the goal of reducing emissions, but not fully understanding what options they had or how quickly the technology was developing. His team provided an integrated strategy with different options for the short-mediumterm and long-term, as opposed to one solution. “We needed to show them what they could do in the interim,” Mark explains. “This could be aerodynamics, driver training, low rolling resistance tyres – all the things that can improve fuel efficiency – while their readiness for alternative fuels and electric trucks developed.” When it comes to finding savings, one area that is often overlooked by the road transport industry is using data more effectively. “It’s not a criticism of the sector: things are busy, low-margin and it’s hustle, hustle, hustle,” he explains. “But this is an area where, as independent experts, we can come in and take that data and come up with some insights and add value from our own data and information in ways that our clients might not have the time or capability to do.” So, is the goal to get off diesel completely? Mark says that will happen eventually, it’s just the rate of speed that’s unclear. “In some segments we can get off diesel now, but for others we are looking at five to ten years, so we need to consider interim solutions,” says Mark, who adds it doesn’t all come down to emission rates, particularly as the sector is sensitive to

Mark Gjerek.

higher costs. “Cost is a major factor, but you also need to consider changes in productivity, competitive advantage, reputation effects both the positive such as new business and the negative, health and safety”, says Mark. Highlighting his team’s connections and expertise with the latest alternative fuel tech, Mark cites a project working with freight precincts in Queensland to accelerate the shift to zero emission

trucks. MOV3MENT partnered with QTLC through their Future Freight Energy Hub initiative to put on a zero emission trucks ride day at the Port of Brisbane. Interest was massive, according to Mark, at more than double the event capacity. “We helped plan the event and provided commercial and technical information sessions with fleet examples, suppliers, as well as the drive program,” he says. “Getting people into these trucks, bums on seats, is critical to moving this technology forward.” While Mark is always considering the future and its possibilities, what that future will inevitably bring is anyone’s guess. Electric trucks, fuel cell hydrogen vehicles, biodiesel, renewable diesel and e-fuels are all in the running, and all being developed and improved. “That’s true, but I don’t see a future where you’re going to have four or five different technologies or fuels all vying for a front seat position,” he says. “There are going to be winners and losers. That’s why it’s important decision-makers have the best information available and understand the risks of picking the wrong horse in that race. I think that’s where MOV3MENT fits in the bigger picture.”

Volvo FE Electric at the Future Freight Energy Hub initiative at the Port of Brisbane. p r i m e m ove r m a g . c o m . a u

TEST DRIVE

Inside the GigaSpace cabin.

MAX

HEADROOM

Launched at the 2023 Brisbane Truck Show in the guise of the special Actros 25 Driver Edition, the GigaSpace cab is also available without the bling and trim package.

his new version of the Actros cab boasts a cathedral-like 2.13-metres of interior height, measured from the floor between the seats to the ceiling. The impressive interior volume is wellutilised with increased storage being added including three large cupboards built into the front of the truck in the space above the windscreen. An optional microwave can be installed in the center cupboard. There is additional space under the bunk, that can include 64

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two slide out fridges both of which are within easy access of the driver. There’s also a drawer for the logbook; and smartphones can use the charging pad on top of the dash. Although the GigaSpace cab is taller, it is no longer than the standard Actros cab, maintaining its versatility in relation to overall combination length regulations. The standard Actros fixed bed provides a width of 750mm (without any foldout sections) and the locally-sourced thick inner-spring mattress will provide the

driver with the makings of a restful sleep. Controls for lighting and climate functions are located in the sleeper. The GigaSpace can also be fitted with an additional second bunk bed which folds down off the rear wall for those who need to double up. Introduced in Australia in 1998, the Mercedes-Benz Actros is now in its fifth generation and Mercedes-Benz Trucks is celebrating this 25th anniversary with the availability of a special Actros 25 Driver Edition which features a dark

Mercedes-Benz Actros 2663 B-double.

grey metallic paint scheme matched with Alcoa Dura-Bright wheels. On the outside, the special model is distinguished by a European-style driving light bar mounted on the roof, stainless steel steps, large Actros branding on the rear exterior wall of the cab, and Actros 25 Driver Edition graphics and badging. Inside, the special model features leather-seats, a leather wrapped steering wheel and woodgrain trim. A bunk curtain featuring the Mercedes-Benz logo, is also provided as part of the package. The imposing GigaSpace cab was a popular display at the 2023 Brisbane Truck Show, and customer interest has been such that it is now also available in a more “standard” version without the 25 Driver Edition package but still retaining the higher roof. It is this model of the Actros 2663 we take for an extensive drive through Central Victoria in a single trailer configuration grossing around

40 tonnes, which as expected, the 630hp/3,000Nm 16-litre engine handles with ease. The 3.583 rear axle ratio translates to an engine speed just over 1400rpm at 100km/h in top gear. Total fuel storage capacity on this truck is 1,100 litres comprising of a 370-litre tank on the driver’s side and a 730-litre diesel tank on the kerbside which features an integrated factory-produced 110-litre AdBlue tank. The turbo compound OM473 engine drives through the latest generation 12-speed Automated Manual Transmission (AMT). The driveline is managed by the Predictive Powertrain Control system (PPC), which uses topographical information, including pre-mapped three-dimensional GPS data, to enable the truck to make the best, and most economical, choice of throttle application and gear selection. The eco-coast feature disengages the driveline under certain circumstances to

allow the truck to coast in order to save fuel. The Predictive Powertrain Control is able to help the truck anticipate the terrain ahead and select the optimum transmission shift pattern and engine response for maximum fuel economy. The PPC default set-up references data for Australia’s A and B roads plus many more, and through machine learning retains the information gathered while en route. PPC can be used in conjunction with the cruise control at speeds between 25km/h and 100km/h. As the terrain varies from steep hills to undulating roads or on flatter sections, PPC recognises impending driving situations in adequate real-time and takes anticipatory action such as holding on to a gear, rather than changing up, just before the crest of the hill, or even selecting neutral to allow the truck to coast in order to save fuel in the appropriate conditions. A notable situation can occur p r i m e m ove r m a g . c o m . a u

TEST DRIVE

A 730-litre diesel tank features an integrated factory-produced 110-litre AdBlue tank on the kerbside. .

momentarily prior to the actual crest of the hill being ascended when the driveline is disengaged to wrangle the most amount of vehicle momentum without having to use the engine. The first couple of times this happens is a little disconcerting as we reach crests while traversing the Pentland Hills and the initial reaction by the driver, as the engine drops back to idle prior to the actual end of a climb, is to assume the cruise control isn’t working. We very quickly get used to it, and what was noticible the first couple of times soon becomes readily acceptable, although we momentarily check the MirrorCam screens in case a truck behind gets too close as we roll off the throttle. The Actros’s Active Drive Assist (ADA) feature involves an electric motor fitted to the steering box which helps to actively steer the truck and provide assistance additional to the hydraulic power system to improve maneuverability, especially at low speeds. This electric assistance also enables SAE-Level 2 partially automated driving capability, although the driver is still required to maintain contact with the steering wheel. Visual and audible alarms activate if the driver’s hands are off the wheel for an excessive period of time. The Lane Keeping Assist system is 66

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proactive rather than reactive and actually assists to steer the truck and keep within the chosen lane, rather than applying correction after it has deviated across the lane markings. Once we are on the highway, it takes only the first few kilometres to become familiar with the steering system which is sufficiently refined to enable a choice of three settings on where the truck sits within the lane. This addresses the situation found with the first generation versions where a driver may find themself continually applying some resistance through the steering wheel in order to position the truck where they think it should be within the lane. The system utilises cameras to monitor lane markings, and uses that data to help operate the electro-hydraulic steering system. The driver can overrule Lane Keeping Assist at any time and is also able to turn off the system. The adaptive cruise control function is integrated into the Active Drive Assist system and if the driver gets too close to a vehicle in front, the ADA can automatically brake the truck until the pre-determined minimum distance has been re-established. The newestgeneration ADA 2 is capable of initiating an emergency stop if it recognises that the driver has not been actively involved in the driving process for a certain

period of time, which could be related to fatigue, inattention or medical issues. Initially the system requests the driver via visual and acoustic signals to place their hands on the steering wheel. If, after multiple warnings, there is no response the ADA system can brake the truck safely until it comes to a complete standstill while staying within its lane. The hazard lights are activated and as the truck comes to a standstill, the system can automatically engage the electronic parking brake. This Actros is equipped with an improved version of the optional MirrorCam system with cameras relaying the footage onto screens mounted close to the A pillars. In addition to reducing drag and turbulence the cameras also improve visibility by removing the traditional mirrors from the driver’s field of view and the driver doesn’t need to take their eyes very far off the road ahead in order to check what’s happening behind. The exterior camera wings have been redesigned and are now 100mm shorter without affecting the cameras’ ability to provide an expansive peripheral display, and the screen resolution has been improved. The benefits of MirrorCam are numerous and the familiarity with the screens quickly becomes intuitive. The effectiveness of MirrorCam is further highlighted when negotiating tight turns as well as when reversing due to the automatic switching to panoramic mode providing an increased field of vision to the driver. The panning function creates the situation where the displayed image follows the trailer(s) according to input from the steering wheel angle. The pre-trip setting up of the MirrorCam to mark the absolute rear end of any combination takes only moments using controls in the cab. The GigaSpace cab may have interior dimensions suitable for basketball players, but it doesn’t appear misproportioned and retains a high degree of aerodynamic efficiency despite its size.

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IN CONJUNCTION WITH

PERSONALITY PROFILE

WINNING FORMULA Stephen Downes came to Daimler Trucks as the Freightliner Trucks Australia Pacific Director at the beginning of 2015. Ever since then he has overseen the development and launch of the Freightliner Cascadia into the Australian and New Zealand markets.

ustomer advocacy has been a point of focus for Stephen Downes, Freightliner Director for Daimler Truck & Bus Pacific, as the North American brand continues its pursuit of bringing the latest innovations to market. Prime Mover: How has acceptance been for the Cascadia in the local markets? Stephen Downes: The Cascadia has been really good for us and customer acceptance has been fantastic. Feedback in terms of fuel economy, as well as from the drivers’ perspectives, is first rate. PM: How have the dealers responded to the Cascadia? SD: They love it. Without going over old ground, Freightliner’s product quality now is streets in front of what it used to be. Having a class-leading product to sell and support is something that they really appreciate. PM: What’s the immediate future hold for Cascadia? SD: There’s a big push in North America to continuously upgrade Cascadia in the safety and connectivity areas so we’ll keep bringing that type of innovation 68

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to the market here. The safety features Freightliner has generally are on par with what’s in Europe and in a lot of ways the factory developed connectivity we have is superior. The great thing about Daimler Trucks North America is they are very commercial and pragmatic about those sorts of features. They don’t just work in ideological concepts — they operate in what’s going to work for customers and operators and aren’t afraid to take the lead. PM: What else can we expect? SD: From a safety perspective, they are embracing technology more and more to deliver not only a safer environment for the driver, but other road-users as well, by leveraging things like cameras and advanced radar technologies, some of which are already in place and some they are expanding. In the connectivity space there is a real push there to come up with structures and systems which are a benefit to operators in terms of how they manage the information they can get back about their truck and their drivers. Data is really powerful and if you’ve got the right information, you can manage it. If you haven’t, it is like flying blind, relying on what you’ve always done and that’s not always the most effective way of operating. We see a whole lot of different operators, and we don’t see all of the details, but the ones that we get the impression are running the best operations are the ones who utilise that data to their advantage. PM: Other than safety and connectivity, what else is Freightliner working on? SD: Freightliner has always had a methodology where they want to deliver continuous fuel economy improvement year over year so there are a few things around aerodynamics and some other

areas they are leveraging to get the desired results. PM: Is there a conscious effort to build a reputation for durability of the Cascadia? SD: No, the Cascadia is proving its durability all by itself. We know our customers are thrilled with the durability of these trucks and the word-of-mouth has been brilliant for us. The guys in the US are relentless with their testing, including putting them on the test track and flogging them mercilessly. But from an operator perspective, Australians typically like to have a truck prove itself on our roads in our conditions. I believe the best way that we have been able to overcome criticism levelled at us in the past over durability is to get bums in seats and let the customer see it for themselves. PM: There’s a confidence that this is a significant step up for the brand? SD: The manufacturing quality and design of the Cascadia is like nothing that came before it and our customers are experiencing that out on the road. The first Cascadia test unit that came to Australia has 800,000km on it and you would never know because it is as tight as a drum. Customer advocacy is something we certainly work hard at. There are two camps: some have always been Freightliner people and those were some of the early adopters and have been rewarded with the performance and they are perfectly happy. There have been a few others who have been staunch competitor-buyers and they have taken a little more work to get on board, but we found once we get them in Cascadia and we give them a good understanding of how the product works and what they can do to make it work for them, we really get good cut through.

PM: Can you explain why Cascadia is North America’s biggest selling heavyduty truck? SD: They are a good value, high performing truck. Locally, we talk about the total cost of ownership, and the sticker price is one thing but when you look at what’s included from the four-year warranty to the Best Basic servicing for half a million kilometres, all combined with the fuel economy savings, it’s a great value proposition. It adds up to what we believe, and what our Australian customers are telling us, is a pretty compelling decision just on fuel economy alone. We’ve had a testimonial from a customer who said the fuel savings that he’s experienced is enough to cover the payments on the truck. That’s a win in anyone’s language.

PM: Are the local sales figures a true reflection of the demand for Cascadia? SD: If we could have got our hands on more we could have sold more. The momentum is there. There are a lot of customers who are talking about how great the product is and we know they’ve seen the savings to the bottom line. And driver acceptance has been good. I’m not wanting to cast aspersions, but drivers these days are not required to do what they did 40 years ago. Today, operators are looking for a truck which is as comfortable and easy to drive as possible. We know the driver pool is getting older so they probably value the comfort and ergonomics more than they might have when they were 25.

PM: Is the Cascadia too sophisticated? SD: One of the great things that Freightliner does is, they don’t try to over complicate things. Despite the fact that they’ve got a very healthy collection of safety and connectivity systems, they are all integrated in such a way that they are as least intrusive as possible. So, when you need them, they’re there, but not when you don’t. Cascadia has always had that high level of safety technology as standard from day one and we maintain that’s what people should be getting. We will be a dominant player in the fuel efficiency space, not just because of the aerodynamics but due to factors such as the integrated driveline. Importantly, it will be one of the safest, if not the safest truck, with secondto-none driver comfort.

Stephen Downes.

p r i m e m ove r m a g . c o m . a u

PRIME MOVERS & SHAKERS

BACK TO S Fleet operator, Ann Lopez is a strong and passionate advocate for the road transport industry in New South Wales.

nn Lopez and her husband Phil operate a family business in Sydney specialising in container transport to and from the port. Ann is a board member of Road Freight New South Wales (RFNSW) and is often that organisation’s representative at State Government Ministerial level advocating on matters involving the industry. Ann recently attended a meeting addressing the skills shortage with Prue Car MLA, the NSW Minister for Skills, TAFE and Tertiary Education. “The Skills launch was great and I was able to meet and talk with some interesting people in the training space that may lead to some initiatives for jobs and RFNSW members in the future,” she says. “I was impressed by the Minister’s commitment to government bodies encouraging traineeships and apprenticeships.” Ann, like many, is concerned about the shortage of skilled people coming into the transport industry. The misnomer passed down from the 1960s of truck drivers always speeding and consuming drugs is still, she concedes, accepted by some members of the public today. “Not only is that incorrect but it creates the misconceptions which can be a barrier to people who would otherwise consider entering the industry,” she says. “We want more women, but they don’t want to be part of an industry which is perceived that way. Parents don’t want their young people, whether boys or girls, to be put into those perceived 70

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environments and it falsely stops people from considering a career path in transport. I’d like to see more awareness of what the industry is really like among those decision-makers and people who influence policy.” To that end, Ann has also represented RFNSW at a meeting with the NSW Minister for Small Business Steve Kamper. “I think we have to keep talking and we have to unite because as an industry we don’t talk collectively as one voice,” she says. “We all have similar problems. We all pay the same fuel tax, and we all buy trucks and trailers. There may be different sectors yet all are struggling with similar issues and yet we provide a massive contribution to the economy both directly and indirectly.” Ann refers to the previous Morrison Government’s decision to suspend fuel tax credits in 2022 as a “brain snap”. “Did they know, or not know, the consequences for our industry? How could they do that and what did they think would happen?” she asks. “Now we see many small businesses which have been running for such a long time, saying ‘enough is enough’ and closing.” Lopez Brother Transport was established in 1929. The company has seen many changes over the successive generations and a major contributor to the Lopez Bros success story has been the Lopez family’s personal involvement and ‘hands on’ approach to their business. “Someone said to me once it’s a cheap entry industry,” says Ann. “Some people

think you can get a truck and start working, but the challenge is to be able to make it sustainable and ongoing.” Ann has concern for smaller regional towns which are losing their transport carriers as it becomes increasingly difficult to promise overnight delivery because of the limited infrastructure. “You can travel the highways north and south, but as soon as you want to turn inland in NSW there is no infrastructure anymore which can sustain what we expect in our modern economy,” she says. “People expect if they need something tonight or tomorrow they’ll get it.” The lack of support to make transport a sustainable industry needs to be called out more. According to Ann the industry doesn’t emphasise how important it is, often enough. “We don’t blow our own horns beyond ‘Without Trucks Australia Stops’ and there is not a big enough connection beyond that phrase,” she says. “We all need to work together to shout out how important we are by giving people reasons to appreciate us. COVID did that for a little while and the public and politicians told us we were amazing.” Bringing about a change in the general public’s perceptions of the road transport industry will also contribute to attracting people to seek careers in trucking. “It’s actually a really good industry to join,” she says. “There is potential for women including mothers returning to the workforce.”

O SCHOOL

Ann Lopez.

The public and customers also need to appreciate the value of the trucks and trailer equipment, as well as the skills of the operators. “A client may have a precious load yet quibble over a few dollars,” says Ann. “I know it’s competitive but give us some respect for what we are doing. I hate losing work on price but I’m not going to grovel and demean what we do. When you get us, you get a good job and there’s a value to that, but there’s a cost for that as well.” In common with most of the transport industry, container specialists require some reforms to help with the ‘last mile’

mainly around access when delivering heavier containers. “Councils claim their infrastructure can’t handle the loads, yet they are happy to have the customer as a rate payer and a local employer,” she says. “The problem comes back to ageing infrastructure, especially roads which have been handed back to councils who have limited budgets.” Another particular challenge for operations such as those like Lopez Bros Transport are incorrectly packed containers which result in issues with axle weight distribution even if the gross weight is legal. Lopez Bros Transport is

ultra-conscientious about this situation and has Mass Management but there is still the additional cost of turning containers around to ensure compliance. Ann’s early career was as a schoolteacher. She draws upon those skills when communicating with officialdom. “I loved teaching. It is a different lifestyle with different skills and expectations,” Ann says. “I like the ‘art’ of teaching, if you can call it that, and communicating ideas. I want to educate the people who make the decisions that affect all of us about the importance of how our industry operates. I’m happy to do that.” p r i m e m ove r m a g . c o m . a u

DELIVERY NEWS

FORD LEASES CARRIER SHIP TO CUT WAIT TIMES

Ford Australia has signed an exclusive three-year lease deal on a vehicle carrier ship in an effort to reduce customer wait times for new vehicles. The ship, sailing under the name Grand Quest, will be put to work delivering vehicles from Ford’s Thailand plants to customers in both Australia and New Zealand. With a capacity of 2600 vehicles, Ford Australia will utilise the Grand Quest to shorten wait times for customers who have placed orders for the awardwinning Ranger and Everest. “We are investing significantly in tackling the ongoing supply chain issues headon, with a focus on ensuring customer cars are delivered as quickly as possible,” said Andrew Birkic, President and CEO, Ford Australia and New Zealand. “Securing an exclusive threeyear lease of the Grand Quest will allow Ford Australia to deliver more vehicles

to both Australia and New Zealand as we continue to face unprecedented levels of demand.” Along with the Grand Quest, and in addition to regular shipments shared with other manufacturers, Ford Australia continues to exclusively charter ships for a handful of trips at a time. “With the addition of the Grand Quest to our logistics supply chain, customers can buy a Ford Ranger or Everest knowing that we’re doing all we can to deliver their vehicle as quickly as possible,” said Ambrose Henderson, Director of CX and Growth, Ford Australia. The Grand Quest is operated by Polaris Autoliners Ltd, who work closely with Ford Motor Company globally, and has already delivered thousands of vehicles to Australian shores. “In a time of great logistical uncertainty,

taking the initiative to lease our own ship gives Ford the ability to determine shipping routes and volumes by port, allowing us greater control in very challenging conditions,” said Iris Moreno, Vehicle Logistics Manager, Ford Australia. The lengths Ford is going to doesn’t stop with the Grand Quest. In an effort to avoid lengthy delays due to port congestion, Ford has begun transporting some new Ranger and Everest models in shipping containers, opening access to unloading alternatives that might speed up final delivery to customers. As port congestion persists around the country, Ford Australia is continuing to keep its dealer network and customers informed, and is committed to investigating all available methods of shortening wait times. New Ford utilities disembark from the Grand Quest.

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The 48” widescreen inside the luxury Lexus LM500.

LEXUS UNVEILS LUXURY PEOPLE MOVER Lexus is promising to redefine the standards for chauffeured comfort with its new LM luxury mover. Set for launch in December, the LM will be available with a choice of two hybrid powertrains. This is in keeping with the Lexus Electrified strategy of developing powertrains that combine strong performance with reduced fuel consumption and lower tailpipe emissions. According to Lexus, the LM is a platform for traditional Japanese omotenashi hospitality of anticipating guests’ needs in advance “offering levels of comfort and amenity normally imagined with first and business class airplane travel.” LM will be sold initially in seven-seat configuration with the LM 350h Sports Luxury, available in both two- and allwheel drive, priced from $160,888 and $165,888 respectively. The 2.5-litre four-cylinder engine with series parallel hybrid system produces 184 kW and 270 Nm. Once the sliding door is opened the two reclining business-class-like seats draw attention, with a third row boosting capacity to seven.

When not in use the supplementary row may be conveniently folded away at the push of a button to maximise luggage space. In early 2024 the LM range will add the four-seat LM 500h Ultra Luxury, with a 2.4-litre turbocharged four-cylinder hybrid engine boasting more than 200 kW and all-wheel drive. It is priced at $220,888. The centerpiece of the LM 500h is its rear cabin, dominated by two VIP throne seats with genuine first-class levels of comfort, overlaid with extensive Japanese Takumi craftsmanship and a Lexus-first Rear Climate Concierge for holistic control of the cabin environment. Chauffeured guests can enjoy a worldfirst 48-inch widescreen along with a 23-speaker Mark Levinson premium audio system. There is also an inbuilt mini chiller. Lexus Australia Chief Executive John Pappas said the LM will delight customers with the ultimate in comfort and a level of opulence never seen before in a luxury mover. “With the LM our designers have taken

omotenashi thoughtfulness and Takumi craftsmanship to unprecedented levels,” Pappas said. “There is no Lexus like it, and almost certainly no other vehicle like it. It is the ultimate expression of Lexus ‘making luxury personal.’ “It is a great Lexus to drive but an even better Lexus to be driven in. It will be hard to surpass the LM for the ultimate chauffeur-driven experience.” Lexus customers and guests attending Melbourne’s week of fashion, fun and hospitality in early November surrounding the Lexus Melbourne Cup will be among the first to be pampered, with an impressive fleet of chauffeurdriven LMs heading to and from the Flemington track from November 4th to 11th. The second-generation LM was revealed at 2023 Auto Shanghai in April, and subsequently confirmed for Australia as part of a global rollout to more than 60- countries. “The reality is that demand will initially exceed supply for this vehicle by a significant margin, so we therefore need to manage customer expectations,” said Pappas. d e l i ve r y m a g a z i n e . c o m . a u

DELIVERY NEWS

Sean Carren.

GOLDSTAR TRANSPORT MAKES FIRST CAPRAL DELIVERY WITH E�TRUCK Capral Aluminium recently made its first Fuso eCanter deliveries through freight partner Goldstar Transport. Perthbased Goldstar delivered the Capral Aluminium products to local customer Bull Motor Bodies. Bull Motor Bodies General Manager, Simon Rawnsley said the company appreciates the opportunity to start receiving Capral Aluminium delivered by an electric truck. “Sustainability is very much at the forefront at Bull Motor Bodies,” he said. “A part of the tendering process for large corporate fleets around Australia is that fact that we are working towards net zero as an organisation, so it is important to have things like this as part of our supply chain,” he said. 74

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Capral Aluminium is the largest manufacturer extruder and distributor of aluminium products in Australia and has just introduced a lower-carbon primary aluminium option available across its locally manufactured extruded aluminium products called LocAL. Capral Aluminium Industrial Solutions State Manager for Western Australia, Nigel Williamson, said the company was pleased to kick start zero emissions deliveries with the Bull Motor Bodies order. “It is important for the environment. It is in-line with our Capral initiative to reduce emissions and it represents a positive step forward,” he said. Goldstar Transport Managing Director, Sean Carren, was delighted to help

customers along their emissionreduction journeys. “Goldstar Transport is really excited to have the zero emission Fuso eCanter as part of the fleet and work with companies like Capral who really want to make a difference,” he said. “We are committed to lead when it comes to zero emission transport and are working towards introducing larger zero emission trucks with our partners at Daimler Trucks, who share our vision.” Goldstar Transport employs 400 people and has a fleet of more than 150 trucks. It welcomed the first eCanter to its fleet late last year and is preparing to add large electric trucks to its fleet in the near future.

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DELIVERY NEWS

TOLL GROUP UNVEILS ELECTRIC UTE FOR LIGHT VEHICLE FLEET Toll Group has introduced what it claims to be Australia’s first pure electric dual cab ute into its light vehicle fleet. The new LDV eT60 has all of the existing fleet’s features except with a more sustainable package. The dual cab ute is fitted with electric motors to produce a power output of 130kW and 310Nm of torque. On a single charge, the vehicle offers a driving range of up to 330 kilometres. “So, whether you’re piling your driving gear into the spacious, sturdy tray or taking equipment between DCs, the eT60 can do the job,” said Toll Group

National Driver Trainer Equipment Design, Jarod Macleod. “And thanks to zero tailpipe emissions, it helps us do it all while contributing to a greener road ahead.” The LDV’s Alternating Current (AC) and Direct Current (DC) charging lets users power up at home or with a public charger. In addition, its regenerative braking technology directs spare energy back into the battery as the vehicle slows down. “[It’s] a great step forward in experiencing what is possible as we

COURIERSPLEASE ANNOUNCES NEW CFO

With the aim of continued growth within the e-commerce sector, CouriersPlease has appointed a new Chief Financial Officer.

Marc Jacobson.

Marc Jacobson, who previously spent eight years at Australia Post, will join the CouriersPlease senior leadership team. “I’m thrilled to welcome Marc to the team,” said CouriersPlease CEO, Richard Thame. “His impressive track-record overseeing business growth is a huge win for us, but it is his tenacious attitude and innovative thinking that will help CouriersPlease on its trajectory in being the fastest growing parcel and courier service in Australia.” During his time at Australia Post, Jacobson helped build its parcels division, developing more than ten new parcel sites. He’s previously worked at companies

AUSTRALIA POST LAUNCHES NEXT�DAY SERVICE A new Australia Post metropolitan service will offer select retailers a nextday delivery option. The initiative aims to give both retailers and customers speed and certainty, the company said, adding that the move comes off the back of recent research that suggests 68 per cent of online shoppers are likely to abandon their order if delivery is deemed too slow. “We’ve been listening to our customers, and know they expect more certainty, simplicity and speed when ordering online,” said Group Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Paul

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Graham. “This new service provides a more agile, flexible delivery option as we head into our busiest time of the year.” The metro service is available in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. It will expand to other cities and increase its customer base over the next coming months. “To support this new service and ensure we meet the next-day delivery offering, we have simplified our backend systems to quickly identify the Australia Post Metro service orders, prioritising them for next day delivery,”

LDV eT60.

keep moving our business forward in reducing emissions,” said Toll Group Managing Director, Alan Beacham.”

including Wesfarmers Industrial & Safety, Best & Less and KPMG. Jacobson said that although there are economic headwinds to be managed, he is confident that as e-commerce continues to grow, CouriersPlease will remain in a good position. “Considering UK e-commerce sales make up around a third of total retail sales, and Australia is currently sitting at around 20 per cent, we know that there is a considerable area of room for growth,” Jacobson said. “With a superb team of staff and a network of hardworking franchise partners, I have no doubt that this can be achieved.”

Graham said. “We have also been working in tandem with our retailers to ensure their distribution centres are set up to prioritise Australia Post Metro service orders.” Myer Executive General Manager of Supply Chain, Tony Carr, said the announcement will ensure faster online deliveries for its customers. “We know there is nothing more important than getting products to our customers in the quickest and most effective way and our partnership with Australia Post will ensure we continue to provide a leading online experience.”

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RIDING SHOTGUN

HOT PROPERTY

The Perth Property Co doesn’t just have a practical, reliable and easy-to-drive IVECO Daily van, but an eye-catching expression of themselves that tells their city exactly who they are.

adija Begovich and Dan Broad had everything they needed to run a successful boutique real estate firm. Their combined backgrounds provided experience in insurance, mortgage broking, home sales and styling. What they didn’t have, was a van. The Perth Property Co directors, a husband-and-wife team, sell houses but they are also hands-on with every aspect of the process, including a complimentary styling service. “Having both worked in the industry for some years with other companies, we identified areas in which we thought we could do things better,” Nadija says. “As the business owners, one of our main points of difference is our commitment — we recognise the financial and emotional investments that people have in their properties and our promise to them is that we’ll work tirelessly to achieve the best outcomes for their sale.” For Nadija and Dan one of those areas they work tirelessly on is in making a great first impression to potential homebuyers, which is why they provide home staging and styling. The process is a big job, involving moving multiple large items in and out of a home. While they had a well-stocked warehouse full of furniture, plants, artwork and homewares, they needed a good-sized van that could offer 78

O c t o ber 2023

them a helping hand but was still easy to drive and park on urban streets. “Servicing the greater Perth area, on many occasions we found ourselves needing to make multiple journeys from our warehouse to the properties we were staging, and we were losing a lot of time doing this,” Nadija said. “This led us to consider if there were better alternatives, and initially we looked at pantech bodied cab chassis before we discovered the IVECO Daily van could give us the space we needed, but in a much nicer package.” After visiting the Perth IVECO dealership, AV Trucks, Nadija and Dan ended up purchasing the 35S Daily. Their model offers 12m³ volume capacity, a 180hp Euro 6 engine and 8-speed fully automatic transmission. Putting their own personal mark on the van, the couple opted for a colourful custom wrap that included their company branding. While the vibrant mix of bright hues and eyecatching patterns are likely the first thing onlookers notice about this particular daily van, there is much more to it. The multi-award winning van’s generous proportions and internal height of 1900mm makes it easy to load and unload, allowing the couple to stand upright in the cargo area and manage their delicate cargo, without having to worry about bumping their heads.

In Australia the 35S Daily is available in three sizes: 9m³, 12m³ and 16m³. With a gross vehicle mass of 3800kg, it can legally carry a payload of up to 1520kg. It also has a turning circle of 11.4 metres and coupled with rear wheel drive, makes it easily adjustable in tight spaces, something Najija says she appreciates especially when driving in the city. “The Daily fits in a standard parking bay, it’s maneuverable, easy to drive and has all the safety equipment we wanted, and importantly, it’s saving us a lot of time,” she said. As practical as it is, Nadija says that doesn’t mean the Daily van compromises on style. “As well as being really functional, we think the van looks modern and it’s equipped with all the luxuries – even heated seats – it’s definitely in another league to what we were using previously,” The IVECO Daily 35S also comes standard with a number of safety features, including an anti-lock braking system, electronic stability control, hillstart assist as well as driver, passenger and curtain airbags. Special features include Hi-Connect multimedia system and GPS navigation, Apple Car Play support, USB and AUX connectivity, Bluetooth with steering wheel controls and Advanced DriverAssistance systems.

IVECO 35S Daily.

The Daily accomodates 12m3 cargo capacity.

The internal height of 1900mm allows Nadija to stand comfortably inside the van.

Dan Broad and Nadija Begovich. d e l i ve r y m a g a z i n e . c o m . a u

LAUNCH PAD

VELVET UNDERGROUND The recent launch of Zero Automotive’s Second-Gen EV LandCruiser has already attracted major orders. Reece Whitby MLA, West Australian Minister for Environment and Climate Action, at the unveiling of ZERO Automotive’s secondgeneration Toyota LandCruiser 79 Series-based ZED70 Ti.

fter five years of development, ZERO Automotive has unveiled its Second-Gen EV LandCruiser. The 79 Series-based ZED70 Ti, reportedly features 50 per cent more power, with fast charging in under half an hour. As specialists in electrified light vehicles for the mining space, ZERO Automotive aims to produce the world’s safest and toughest electric underground vehicle. That’s no small ambition. To make this happen, the company’s founder, Dave Mitchell, is using his extensive engineering background to shape the future of the space. 80

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Barminco, one of the world’s largest hard rock underground mining services companies, has signed on as the first customer to accept delivery of the model, while CarBon Leasing & Rentals, has confirmed an order of 200 ZED70 Ti’s to be added to its leasing roster, commencing Q4 in 2024. “Mining operations across Australia are facing increasing pressure to transition their fleets to meet ESG targets and the Zero ZED70 Ti represents a new opportunity to do this in the light commercial space,” says CarBon Leasing & Rentals CEO, Scott Gillespie. “We’ve already received a great deal of interest and look forward to deploying these innovative EVs next year to a

range of customers.” The design features ZERO’s proprietary HEPS (Hazardous Environment Protection System) underbody armour protection, which will help to dramatically increase the longevity and safety of the vehicle’s chassis in underground applications. HEPS will also be available as an upgrade for current dieselpowered vehicles. ZERO Automotive recently enlisted zero-emissions vehicle industry leader Joe Di Santo as its new CEO, amidst wide-ranging expansion plans. “Across the board, mining companies have a desire to lower their environmental impact,” says Di Santo. “ZERO Automotive has been working side by side with many in the industry to provide a solution that caters to the very specific needs of underground mining.” Following five years of development, and two years with prototype vehicles under evaluations by Barminco and AusMinerals, Di Santo says he couldn’t be prouder to officially unveil the ZED70 Ti. “Underground mining is an incredibly tough environment for vehicles,” he says. “We know we have gone above and beyond to develop this ADR approved package that is up for the task.” The HEPS solution, according to Di Santo, can withstand use in highly corrosive environments, which will genuinely increase the longevity and safety of the vehicles in the long-term.

Fully Electric 4×4 Toyota HiLux.

“Ultimately, the goal for ZERO Automotive is to become a leader in electrified vehicle drivelines, which is why we are working with trusted industry partners such as ZERO’s Lithium Titanate Oxide (LTO) battery supplier Toshiba, as we look to continue to develop quality solutions that will improve the sustainability of mining,” he says. The groundbreaking deal between ZERO and CarBon, marks a significant step towards assisting the mining industry in achieving its zero emission goals while also optimising return on investment. “We know that vehicle life span is a determining factor when it comes to fleet choices for the underground mining sector,” says Di Santo. “The benefits offered via our innovative partnership with CarBon coupled with our HEPS solution, is the perfect example of how responsible business practices and economic success can be achieved.” Under the bonnet, the ZED70 Ti features a Toshiba 60kWh Lithium Titanate Oxide (LTO) drive battery, which retains over 70 per cent capacity after 20,000 full-use cycles. The architecture features 22kW Level

2 onboard fast charging and is enabled for Level 3 DC ultra-fast charging, which, with a 160kW charger, results in a charging time of less than 25min. The 3 Phase asynchronous electric motor is complete with regenerative braking, with a peak power of 200kW and a peak torque of 1,200Nm. With a focus on safety, the system features an isolator switch, manual service disconnect, a full battery management system, automatic electrical isolating contactors, multiple mechanical HV isolators, fast-acting

fusible links, an insulation monitoring device, and an eBrake. All important functions of the vehicle can be monitored by the GeoTab telematics platform. Based on the single or dual-cab Toyota LandCruiser 79 Series, the ZED70 Ti features many of the legacy systems that have given the model an outstanding reputation in the mining field, with items such as the transfer case, front and rear suspension, brakes and rear differential carried over from Toyota.

Front view of the ZED 70 Ti at the recent launch in Perth. d e l i ve r y m a g a z i n e . c o m . a u

INSIGHT | VICTORIAN TRANSPORT ASSOCIATION INSTITUTE

The Safer Freight Vehicles project

PETER HART

he Federal vehicle regulator is working on a Safer Freight Vehicles reform package of design rule changes. A Discussion Paper was released in April 2021. Some progress has been made but final decisions have not been made two years later. The main considerations concern: maximum width, exhaust emissions standards, devices for indirect vision and monitoring devices to detect other road-users, twin-steer axle group spacing limits, the prescribed transition mass for liftable axles and ‘normalisation’ of quad-axle groups. Australia is currently experiencing a major lift in heavy vehicle technologies and it is only going to get more complex. The Australian market takes product from three key sources – Europe, Japan and North America. There are also a small but growing group of Korean and Chinese brands. Each market source has their own way of doing things. Different, but not necessarily good or bad, just different, and these differences are aligned with their home market requirements, which have a political aspect. Having said that, my September article described Australia’s policy of harmonising with ECE Regulations. The European Union has led with the adoption of these regulations. An important ‘carrot’ in this Safer Freight Vehicles project is to allow heavy vehicle width to be increased to 2.55m or maybe even to 2.60m, subject to the mandatory fitment of additional safety 82

O ccteombe ber r2023 de 2018

technologies. The current Australian 2.50m limit is out of line with Europe, which allows 2.55m. The maximum legal width in the USA is 102” (2.59m) and in Japan 2.50m. The case exists for allowing 2.6m wide refrigeration vans to allow for wall insulation thickness. The width is measured with the mirrors folded in. AustRoads, which is a research and service organisation that is owned by the state road agencies, supports changing the Australian width limit to 2.55m. AustRoads pointed out four years ago that New Zealand adopted this maximum width in 2017 and there is no evidence that higher crash rates resulted. Australian regulators have been considering this modest change of width for more that a decade. Some 2.55m wide vehicles were trialed across the Nullarbor Plain in the early 2000s, but the trial did not lead to regulation change. Admittedly the heavy trailer industry has opposed the 2.55m change because it was concerned with the likely added competition from European trailer builders. However, the trailer industry is very busy supplying Australia’s high productivity industry and now is the time to allow wider heavy vehicles. Furthermore, a significant European trailer manufacturer, Schmitz Cargobull is active here. Quad-axles are routinely used on PBS vehicles, but have no ADR status. The issues arising about including a steerable axle in the group and about road friendliness status need to be sorted out. The discussions about more sensible transition masses for liftable axles have been going on for more than a decade. The Safer Freight Vehicles project is a welcome development; but it is taking too long! Each of the three key markets is ahead of Australia in the domain of engine gaseous emission regulation. Australian Design Rule (ADR) 84/00 requires all new Australian heavy motor vehicles to meet the next level of gaseous emission standards by 1 November 2025. This rule requires compliance

with Euro VI Stage C, US EPA Tier 4 or JIS (2016). The next European gaseous emissions standard Euro VII, a combined light and heavy vehicle emission standard, is expected to apply from 1 July 2025 for new light-duty vehicles, and two years later for heavy vehicles. Australia will be about ten years behind Europe. The additional cost of this technology could be 3-5 per cent of truck cost. Each of the three key markets have active programs or rules that require significant portions of zero emission trucks to be supplied according to a schedule. Australia has no announced plans to mandate zero-emission motive technology in Australia. The focus of Safer Freight Vehicle package is mainly focused on a few safety technologies — conspicuity markings, lane departure warning, blind spot warning and enhanced indirect vision technologies, wide angle mirrors. Despite being the world leader in the multi-combination domain, Australia seems to play catchup in the technology space. Sometimes it is sensible to let the technologies mature overseas; however, Australia has a lot to contribute because of our experience of A- and B-doubles on metropolitan roads. It’s impractical for Australia to dictate unique requirements in the ADRs or for operational requirements on products coming into Australia, particularly when we are collectively buying just 1 per cent of the world’s trucks. Australia is a taker of HV technology and an adopter of configuring vehicles for high productivity. Australia’s linehaul fleet runs on average at higher speeds, with higher GCMs, under higher ambient temperatures, engulfed in more dust and often on potted hole or rutted roads, which all adds up to unique demands on the equipment. So inevitably, there will be Australian developments. The proposal to delete the option of fitting flat mirrors to prime movers is a case in point. Multi-combination drivers universally want flat-mirror rear vision to allow good depth perception. They also

ARTSA-I LIFE ME MBERS

Powered by need curved mirrors to give angle-ofview. A hybrid solution is needed. There are already significant safety developments in the regulatory pipeline. ADR 108/00, Reversing Technologies, cameras, and sensors for rigid trucks becomes mandatory for all new vehicles on 1 November 2027. While this technology has merit, it continues to ignore the simple technology of reversing lights and buzzers on trailers. ADR97/00, Advanced Emergency Braking for Omnibuses, and Medium and Heavy Goods Vehicles becomes mandatory from 1 February 2025. Great technology but drivers need to be trained to get the best out of the system. The Federal Regulator is developing ADR 109 – Electric Power Train Safety Requirements; and ADR 110 – Hydrogen Fuelled Vehicle Safety Related Performance. These are Australian developments of UN ECE Regulations 110 and 134 respectively. The purpose of these rules is to provide minimum safety standards for electric- and hydrogen-based traction systems. These technologies will cause significant change in workshop practices and electrical safety regulators will become active in the heavy vehicle space.

The National Heavy Vehicle Regulator has released a Heavy Vehicle Productivity Plan 2020-2025. It has three stated objectives, which are: 1 - Provide Certainty and Consistency by targeted elimination of access permits. 2 – Partner with local government to build capacity to provide greater access for high-productivity vehicles. 3 – Promote safer and more productive vehicles that are better for the environment and for communities, by implementing an uptake plan with incentives. This is in partnership with the State road agencies and the Federal vehicle regulator. The Safer Freight Vehicles project is part of item 3. Also in item 3 is delivery of the revised PBS scheme called PBS 2.0. All these three objectives require road access for high productivity vehicles to be clarified and extended. The NHVR is the key regulator to liaise between the three levels of government to achieve reasonable outcome in a timely way. The NHVR plan does not have specific goals for safety and productivity improvements. It does have the goal of improving heavy vehicle data acquisition and ‘enrichment’. ARTSA-i has a particular interest in this goal because of our industry-leading data

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COMMERCIAL ROAD TRANSPORT

project, ARTSA-Data. ARTSA-i has recently worked with the NHVR to better understand the make-up of the PBS fleet. Hopefully ARTSA-i can contribute further by assisting the NHVR to quantify the productivity and environmental potential of the Australian heavy vehicle fleet. It could do this by adding further value to the ARTSA Data collection by better quantifying the body types and the safety technologies used in the Australian heavy vehicle fleet. The timeframes for change in our industry seem to be reducing. The imperative to improve safety, productivity and environmental performance are obvious. The Australian commercial vehicle sector is innovative and adaptable. It is capable of coping with the rapid pace of change, but there are significant challenges arising to find and train staff for the next decade. The need for clarity in the regulation development plan is an important factor. The need to develop an industryrecognised career progression path with milestones and status for drivers and technicians is urgently needed. Dr Peter Hart, ARTSA-i Life Member

MGM Bulk’s 32-metre PBS sidetipper. p r i m e m ove r m a g . c o m . a u

INSIGHT | TRUCK INDUSTRY COUNCIL

Low and zero emission trucks and road-user charging — again

TONY MCMULLAN

bout this time last year I detailed in this column, that in early 2020, just before the world and Australia was plunged into the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, the National Transport Commission (NTC) undertook a review of heavy vehicle pay as you go (PAYGO) charging fees in Australia at the request of, the then named, Transport and Infrastructure Council within the Council of Australian Governments (COAG). At that time, this was the first review of Australia’s heavy vehicle road-user charging (RUC) scheme in over four years. A preliminary study commissioned by the NTC identified that there was a substantial shortfall (-11.4 per cent) in the revenue generated by the heavy vehicle road-user charge versus road spending in 20202021. However, the NTC also found, that if the PAYGO costing formula was applied, the calculated increase was much smaller, at only 3.7 per cent. This was because the formula uses historical, not current, government road expenditure information. I explained that at the start of the 2020 RUC review, the Truck Industry Council (TIC) expressed an opinion that the NTCs analysis should be extensive and holistic, arguing the current RUC, that derived much of its funding from a diesel tax levy, was fundamentally flawed in light of a global movement to alternatively fuelled trucks, most 84

O c t o ber 2023

likely to be powered by electricity and hydrogen. TIC postulated that the current RUC arrangements could not take Australian road transport deep into the twenty-first century and that a significant overhaul of the current charging arrangements was required. TIC suggested a RUC scheme that ensures that all vehicles pay proportionally for the damage, or lack thereof, that they contribute to our roads, the safety they afford all road-users, the public health outcomes they generate and the carbon emissions that they produce, would be a fairer scheme. Sadly, I also reported that the NTC rejected the Truck Industry Council’s calls for a wide-ranging review of the RUC, detailing that the scope of their actions was governed by the request set by the COAG ministers. Hence the review process was a somewhat benign examination of the PAYGO parameters. In TICs view, a missed opportunity. Ultimately, the outcome was that transport ministers decided to adopt a 2.75 per cent increase to heavy vehicle charges for the 2022-2023 financial year only. Ministers justified the smaller increase due to an economy in the midst of COVID and coming off the back of drought and bushfires. In announcing their decision in December 2021, Ministers also indicated that they would revisit the determination later in 2022, with a view to what future action needs to be undertaken. Roll on December 2022 and the now named, Infrastructure and Transport Ministers Meeting (ITMM), agree to an annual 6 per cent increase to heavy vehicle charges between 2023-24 and 2025-26, commencing from 1st July 2023. Ministers also agreed in-principle

to a three-year road-user charging cycle, replacing the current annual cycle. While this provides greater certainty to industry by providing a longer-term view of RUC costs, the decision effectively means that the next charging review will be for roaduser charges beyond July 2026. So just three and a half years away from 2030 and the Government’s commitment to cut carbon emissions by 43 per cent, Australia will still have a heavy vehicle road-user charging scheme that is based on revenue derived from diesel-powered trucks. Revenue that will decrease noticeably as we move to 2030 and beyond, where low and zero emission truck adoption will become strong. A scheme that does not reward operators for the take-up and use of those new CO2 emission reducing trucks. A roaduser charging scheme developed and still firmly entrenched, in the last century. TIC continues to call upon State, Territory and the Federal Transport Governments to show leadership for the times and look beyond the current RUC scheme and to instigate a substantial review of the PAYGO road-user charging scheme in Australia. That work should investigate and develop a heavy vehicle road-user charging scheme to take our country out of the twentieth century and into the twenty-first. Paving the way to a safer truck fleet, one that leads to better health outcomes for all Australians, produces ongoing reductions in CO2 emissions from the road freight sector and provides operators who embrace low and zero emission technology with financial incentives while using these new vehicles in their daily businesses. Tony McMullan CEO, Truck Industry Council

VICTORIAN TRANSPORT ASSOCIATION | INSIGHT

PETERSTUART ANDERSON ST CLAIR

he best and brightest of the nation’s freight and logistics industry were honoured at the 33rd Australian Freight Industry Awards last month with hundreds attending our black-tie Gala Presentation at Melbourne’s Palladium Room at Crown. TWUSUPER and Viva Energy Australia once again were the major sponsors of the awards, and the VTA together with the AFIA Committee extends our sincere thanks to them for their very generous and ongoing support. The transport industry responded with enthusiasm to our call for submissions, with judges assessing a record number of applications, shortlisting finalists across a range of categories. The winners were: • Kevin Halpin, Personality of the Year Award • Katharina Attana of Tasman Logistics Services, Female Leadership Award • Melissa Scerri of Victoria International Container Terminal, Young Achiever of the Year Award • Hyzon Motors, Sustainable Environment Award • iTrazo Tracetech, Application of Technology Award • Linfox, Best Practice Safety Award • CMV Truck & Bus, Investment in People Award

We are incredibly proud of the achievements of all our award winners,

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COMMERCIAL ROAD TRANSPORT

Transport industry celebrates excellence finalists, and nominees. It was also a pleasure to host dignitaries from state and federal governments, along with VTA life members, councillors, and hundreds of VTA members, associate members, and transport industry operators and suppliers. As I said to guests on the night, it’s been another tough year as we all work to move higher and higher freight volumes, against a backdrop of labour shortages, higher costs, long lead times for trucks and equipment, and inflationary pressures starting to bite. That the industry responded as it did with so many nominations articulating innovation and best practice is a credit to their commitment to recognise staff for excellence, as well as acknowledge and promote the transport industry’s continual improvement. It’s important to not let a culture of continuous improvement within the transport industry go unacknowledged and our industry is full of examples of this. Best Practice Safety winner Linfox introduced a new program to encourage their teams to think differently about health and safety, with the aim to simplify systems and processes and identify risk. The outcome was the establishment of a unique program called the 4Ds that asks people to ask key questions in an engaging way about the things they do at work. The results of the program produced valuable

feedback for health and safety managers, including identification nationally of over 2000 risks, and over 1500 solutions. Or our Application of Technology winner iTrazo Tracetech, which demonstrated truly innovative technology and groundbreaking contributions to the transport industry, specifically in the field of supply chain traceability. Under the leadership of founder and CEO Reeanjou Ram, the company brings together the who, what, when, where, why, and how of supply chain traceability, creating digital identities using data integration for products, and is now the leading industry specialist in traceable technology. These are just a small sample of the innovation and creative thinking in our industry, which were recognised through the awards. The AFIAs play a crucial role in recognising the transport industry and its workers and promoting continuous improvement. By acknowledging excellence and innovation, boosting morale and motivation, enhancing the industry’s reputation, and attracting talent, these awards contribute to the overall growth and success of the transport industry in Australia. It is imperative that we continue to appreciate the efforts of those who work tirelessly behind the scenes to keep our economy moving. Peter Anderson CEO, VTA p r i m e m ove r m a g . c o m . a u

PETER SHIELDS’ NUMBER CRUNCH

Marching on Eggshells

Care. It’s what we do. At Isuzu, we’ve always taken great care of our customers.

Aug-23

YTD

Change

ISUZU

1183

9291

11.2%

HINO

433

3924

-9.0%

FUSO

347

3359

7.1%

VOLVO

308

2302

63.0%

KENWORTH

284

2260

18.3%

121

1030

20.2%

132

1005

10.6%

116

822

18.4%

780

2.9%

696

39.5%

580

49.9%

492

53.3%

262

-17.9%

205

12.6%

194

-25.4%

110

-36.0%

-58.9%

39.0%

46.7%

36.5%

-75.0%

3384

27597

11.0%

186

1732

29.0%

737

64.9%

182

601

-37.1%

348

150.4%

318

24.2%

165

-46.8%

538

3901

13.1%

3922

31498

11.3%

We’re Australia’s number one truck… an honour we’ve heldIVECO for over three accounts decades.data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics MERCEDES-BENZ National shows that the real Grossbusinesses Domestic Product (GDP) growth That means more put their trust in us than anySCANIA other truck brand. was 0.4 per cent in the June quarter, in line with the upwardly We understand reputations ridingquarter. on us and that’sUDwhy revised growth rate ofthat 0.4 per cent for theare previous TRUCKSIsuzu Care is This was despite slowing to 2.1 per cent for the year to June, more than just an aftersales service package. MACK compared with 2.4 per cent in the year to March. The ABS figures It’s part of our DNA. show homeowners had spent nearly $83 billion on mortgage DAF interest in the year to customers June, an indication of how Fromrepayments day one, we support and demonstrate that reliability is FIAT much money has been diverted by the Reserve Bank’s higher everything. We pride ourselves on being proactive and always going the interest rate strategy to keep inflation at an ‘acceptable’ level. FREIGHTLINER extra mile. While the overall economy tippy toes through both local and international the new truck industry only ways toHYUNDAI And as wechallenges, look to new frontiers, we’re fishowed nding new help our customers a slight slowdown after the rush to fi nalise deliveries prior to exceed their goals. MAN the June 30 cut-off of the instant asset tax write off scheme Isuzu Care is what sets us apart. and the market bounced back from July’s 2,732 new units to WESTERN STAR 3,384 during August, according to the statistics from the Truck Always has, always will. RENAULT Industry Council. The result compares favourably with August 2022, which saw 3,426 new cab-chassis and prime movers sold, VOLKSWAGEN a difference of just 42 units (-1.2 per cent). The Light Duty sector had a comparatively slow month during DENNIS EAGLE August with 1,272 units, 200 less than for the same month FOTON MOBILITY of last year (-13.6 per cent). However, the YTD total of 11,114 remained 5.4 per cent ahead of 2022 (567 units). SEA ELECTRIC Medium Duty sales at 693 for the month were up slightly on the FORD August 2022 results with an additional 64 units (+10.2 per cent) and the YTD total cracked through the 5,000 barrier with 5,227 CAB CHASSIS/PRIME which was an increase of 225 units (+4.5 per cent). The Australian Heavy Duty market continues to impress with its M-B VANS results. August recorded 1,419 units, 94 more than in August last VOLKSWAGEN VANS year (+7.1 per cent) and takes the YTD to 11,256, some 1,948 more than during the corresponding period last year. That’s RENAULT VANS significant at a growth rate of 20.9 per cent. The overall YTD market result at the end of August of 27,597 FIAT VANS trucks was a credible 2,740 more than at the same point last IVECO VANS year, an increase of 11.0 per cent over what was already a record year. FORD VANS The Heavy Van category recorded 538 new units for the month, VANS 38 more than last August’s (+7.6 per cent) and taking the YTD to 3,901, an additional 451 over last year’s result for the same TOTAL period (+13.1 per cent). 86

O c t o ber 2023

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