Refrigerated Transport Equipment

Australian designed and built chassis incorporates provision for Ringfeder coupling for road train applications.

A match made in heaven

COMBINING A RUGGED AUSTRALIAN DESIGNED AND BUILT CHASSIS WITH THE RENOWNED THERMAL EFFICIENCY AND STRENGTH OF A EUROPEAN SOURCED BODY, SCHMITZ CARGOBULL AUSTRALIA HAS ALL BASES COVERED WITH ITS LATEST RANGE OF REFRIGERATED TRAILERS.

With any type of semi-trailer, having a chassis specification that’s suited to local conditions is paramount. Schmitz Cargobull has that box well and truly ticked now that the company has designed and developed its very own locally manufactured chassis in partnership with prominent Melbourne-based trailer builder, Bulk Transport Equipment (BTE). According to Les Lange, National Sales Manager at Schmitz Cargobull Australia, one of the most important features of Australian fridge vans is that they must be the right length to enable a long bonneted prime mover to be used legally as a paired combination.

The new Strenx® 700 steel chassis marries seamlessly with the body for a fully integrated appearance. “Particularly for the Queensland market where they often use the big bonneted Kenworths with bullbars, we needed to introduce two new van sizes, a slightly shorter 22-pallet van and an optional 10-pallet lead trailer to ensure the B-double combination would fit within the 26-metre overall length envelope in mixed fleet situations” Les explains. Possessing an extensive transport equipment sales background, Les started with Schmitz Cargobull Australia in October 2019 and says he was happy to hit the ground running to ensure the company’s new products would be fit for purpose in this market. “We needed to review the body kit specifications that had been brought in to ensure they met our requirements, and also focus on introducing our own locally built chassis,” Les says. “Schmitz Cargobull Australia needed to be in control of its own destiny in terms of having the chassis built to our exacting

standards. We have our new body assembly facility at Noble Park (Melbourne) so it made sense to continue the evolution and develop a complete Schmitz Cargobull Australian trailer offering.” According to Les, this gives the company the integrated product it needs to go toe-to-toe with the other manufacturers in the fiercely competitive refrigerated trailer market. “BTE has set up a dedicated chassis building line for our product and we see the company as a great partner in achieving our goals,” Les says. “The company is located close to our Noble Park assembly plant and we have strong relationships with the BTE engineering and management team – for us it’s an ideal fit.” Another important aspect of the new Schmitz Cargobul l Australian chassis, is the use of Strenx® 700 – a high yield strength structural steel which embodies a significant weight saving over conventional steel and is ideal for high centre of gravity trailer applications. “We really went back to the drawing board with the chassis and designed it from the ground up to suit the refrigerated trailer market,” Les says. “We made sure it was super strong yet as light as possible and with the best clearance around the gooseneck area, utilising all the strengths of the 700-grade steel. “For running gear, we have standardised on BPW axles and suspension with drum brakes, 36cm airbags and vertical shocks which is widely deemed the industry standard specification for fridge

Stylish toolbox features flexible mounting system to ensure brackets don’t crack under harsh Australian operating conditions.

vans in this country.” Les is also keen to point out that much effort was put into ensuring the chassis and body of the Schmitz Cargobull fridge vans integrated perfectly with each other to provide the best possible appearance with the finished product. “In the past I’ve seen fridge vans that didn’t exactly look like the chassis and body were meant to be married together, so to speak. Working closely with the Brown and Hurley Group – the sales and service partner for our vans in northern NSW and Queensland – we’ve made sure our trailers really look the part and can stand up to the harsh environment of the far Northern part of the country.” Schmitz Cargobull moved into its new facility at Noble Park last year and to date this year has delivered in excess of 50 fridge vans from the premises. The product offering has now expanded to include 10- and 12-pallet A trailers, 22-pallet shortand standard-length B trailers, standard and extra long 24-pallet semi-trailers and 26-pallet Performance-Based Standards (PBS) tri-axle semi-trailers. “The enquiry rate and amount of new customers coming on board with us have been exceptional,” says Balint Kolnhofer, Managing Director at Schmitz Cargobull Australia. “We have done the groundwork to get our sales, service and parts business partnerships up to speed so now we’re ready to tell the market that we can supply whatever configuration is needed.” The message is clear: Schmitz Cargobull Australia is serious about supplying top quality refrigerated trailers with specifications exactly tailored to the Australian transport industry.

Contact Schmitz Cargobull Australia Unit 2, 221 Browns Road Noble Park North 3174 VIC Ph: +61 434 743 144 Web: www.cargobull.com.au

Double stacking bars are neatly stowed beneath the ceiling when not in use.

Fast Fact

Schmitz Cargobull has partnered with Brown and Hurley to distribute its range of refrigerated trailers in northern NSW and Queensland.

The ABC of staying cool

A SHIFT IN CUSTOMER DEMANDS FOR ABC TRANSPORT MEANS THAT CARRIER VECTOR MULTI-TEMP FRIDGE UNITS ARE ENTRUSTED WITH THE TASK OF MAINTAINING GOODS AT PEAK FRESHNESS UNDER THE HARSH AMBIENT CONDITIONS WHILE TRAVERSING CENTRAL AUSTRALIA.

ABC Transport was started with one truck to service remote Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory, Western Australia and Pitjantjatjara Lands of South Australia, at its peak servicing 35 Aboriginal Communities weekly, and has grown today to encompass 30 triple road trains plying the Stuart Highway – the north-south route that bisects the country – between Adelaide and Darwin. The freight comprises a 50-50 split roughly between refrigerated and general freight with the trailer fleet consisting of a mix of flat-top, drop-deck and curtain-sided trailers along with the refrigerated vans. According to General Manager, Steve Bartkowski, ABC’s history with Carrier fridge plants dates back to 2010 when some secondhand refrigerated vans were purchased that had carrier Vector 1800s fitted to them. On the strength of the performance of these units, new units have been subsequently added to the fleet in recent years. “Over the last four years we have predominantly purchased new Carrier refrigeration plants when new additional trailers have been added to the fleet,” Steve says, adding that lower running costs were a big drawcard. “We’ve got a great relationship with the authorised Carrier dealer – RTS Refrigeration

in Wingfield (SA) – and they do a great job in the installations and servicing of the Carrier units,” Steve says, adding that the company runs a selection of Carrier Vector 8500 singletemp and Carrier Vector 8600 multi-temps on the new trailers. According to Carrier, these are the latest Tier 4-compliant units from North America, which are the slightly older cousins of the latest Carrier Vector HE19 and are very fuel efficient and perform well in high ambient temperatures – conditions that the ABC Transport fleet encounters in spades during the frequent trips through central Australia. “We push our equipment pretty hard, in

the first 12 months they cover about 450,000km running around the clock, so we do expect a lot out of them, we have a great service regime and team, that enables this to happen” Steve explains. “Especially the variations they experience from the tro pical north in the top end, the sunburnt sweeping plains, arriving into the lush green pastures of the wheat crops on the fringes of Adelaide in the spring. “In summer an average outside temperature of above 35°C is experienced daily during the majority of the 3,000km journey, this provides an extremely challenging environment to operate, let alone controlling sensitive temperature-controlled freight.” Steve says the Carrier fridge units stand up well to the harsh environment and, apart from a few very minor issues that were rectified quickly by Carrier & RTS, they have performed faultlessly. “We need reliability when travelling through a lot of nothing.” “It doesn’t matter what brand of equipment you run, there will always be at least a few small issues, but it’s the way they are

Founded in 1998 in Alice Springs, ABC Transport was focused on delivering vital supplies of general and perishable goods to remote Aboriginal communities. ABC Transport relies on Carrier’s trailer refrigeration units.

rectified that really matters and the boys at RTS are spot-on when it comes to this. “Everything has its Achilles Heel, unfortunately,” he adds, but we try to run equipment that we know has good after sales support so that any glitches don’t impact our business, and therefore impacts our clients’ businesses, Carrier have been exceptional in this respect.” In recent months the Carrier air curtain has been fitted to a handful of units, the feedback so far has been positive, although the upcoming build up season for the wet season in the Northern Territory will be a testing time. The air curtain creates an efficient and invisible barrier to heat entry into the refrigerated trailers while loading and unloading. According to Carrier, the air curtain is an effective and user-friendly alternative to PVC strip curtains which can be an impediment to forklift and pallet jack access. Located above the rear or side door openings, Carrier says the air curtain can be fitted to most types of road transport vehicles including semi-trailer fridge vans with either barn or roller shutter rear doors, body trucks and vans. As for prime movers, ABC Transport runs a mix of Kenworth and Mack, with the bulldog brand having dominated the fleet for the last five years, with Graystar Refrigerated branded vans dominating the latest editions in the fleet. “Our drivers play a key part in the business so you have to offer them trustworthy, top quality modern equipment to get the job done harmoniously,” Steve says. “We’ve found the Mack Super-Liners perform exceptionally well and they also have a very favourable overall cost of life. They do an

awesome job considering when delivered from the dealership they cover 450,000km in their initial year pulling triple road trains grossing between 110 and 130 tonnes all day, every day.” The Super-Liners feature MP10 engines which are rated at 685hp and have the M-Drive automated manual transmissions which Steve says the drivers really appreciate along with the overall living space offered by the bulldog brand. Steve says about half of the company’s drivers run two-up on the express freight runs meaning each truck has two drivers enabling unbroken travel between Adelaide and Darwin, covering the 3000km journey in under 36 hours. The other half, he says, drive solo carrying the non-urgent general freight through to Darwin. Operating in what is arguably one of the harshest environments in the world, ABC Transport relies on the tough-as-buttons Carrier Vector refrigeration plants to maintain set temperatures day-in, day-out across this vast continent.

Contact Carrier Transicold Australia National Sales: 1800 448 166 Web: www.carrier.com.au

Fast Fact

Running triple road train fridge vans on express runs through arid central Australia between Adelaide and Darwin, ABC Transport depends on Carrier Vector fridge units to keep their cool on around the clock operations.

Tried and true

CONTINUOUS DEVELOPMENT OF THE THERMALLY EFFICIENT AND HIGHLY PRODUCTIVE ICELINER ENSURES THAT COLD CHAIN LOGISTICS OPERATORS HAVE ACCESS TO THE BEST TEMPERATURE-CONTROLLED TRAILERS THAT VAWDREY AUSTRALIA HAS TO OFFER.

The Iceliner entered the Australian market in 2002, on the back of the extremely popular Vawdrey dryfreight FRP van, and has since developed a strong presence in the refrigerated transport industry. This specialised reefer design is manufactured and assembled at Vawdrey Australia’s Dandenong South plant, offering fleet operators greater flexibility in specifications along with faster turnaround times. Vawdrey Australia Director, Paul Vawdrey, says the family business built the Iceliner based on field experience, customer needs and sound manufacturing process. “It’s a robust all Australian-made product that addresses the needs of the Australian heavy duty refrigeration market,” he says. “Locally engineered and manufactured to suit the requirements of Australian refrigerated transport operators, Iceliner trailers are available in -18°C, -28°C and multi-temperature

specifications. These complete units, manufactured in-house at our Dandenong South plant, are well suited to both distribution and heavy duty applications.” A full-length lightweight steel chassis, according to Vawdrey, gives the trailer the added strength and durability that is necessary for heavy duty applications without adversely affecting payload capacity. Vawdrey’s refrigerated trailer design and build team are led by freezer industry icon, Robert Eppel, and constantly seek new materials, designs and manufacturing processes that not only improve thermal efficiencies but also provide a robust product with low tare weight.

Other Iceliner features that come as standard include full width skid plate and lead in plates as well as cross member end cap side rails in one piece that provides a stronger join between the trailer walls and the floor. Also, laminated fibreglass internal joins provide a stronger, leak proof and more efficient body. “Continuous advancements in composite materials technology provide new and varying construction methods,” Paul says. “The latest in insulation material and adhesives ensure we can provide superior thermal efficiency when compared with other construction methods.” The Iceliner trailers are also feature forklift and pallet jack rated aluminium distribution

floors with a non-slip surface treatment and drain troughs plumbed to a waste tank. To complement the effectiveness of the trailer refrigeration unit, the Iceliner body is fully insulated to ensure product is maintained at the correct temperature for the duration of the freight task. “This latest Iceliner is an important moment in the development of our refrigerated product line up for our customers that demand nothing but the best. And that’s what we’ve delivered.” Many transport companies still recognise the benefits they can gain by choosing solid Australian built trailers that have been designed specifically for Australian conditions and are supported by a

network of local branches. “As all Vawdrey trailers are custom built to specific requirements for our customers, we always take pride in presenting our trailers with the highest quality finish, including any specific personalised touches.” As for high productivity, Paul says the Iceliner is well suited to take advantage of Performance-Based Standards (PBS). “Vawdrey customers are already taking advantage of the knowledge and expertise from our experienced in-house PBS team and are utilising Iceliners to carry more freight in 30m and 36.6m A-doubles, 30m B-doubles, 26- and 28-pallet single trailers in tri- and quad-axle configurations and also now in 42m AB triple combinations.”

Contact Vawdrey Australia 1-53 Quantum Close Dandenong South VIC 3175 Ph: 03 9797 3700 Web: www.vawdrey.com.au

All about keeping it cool

FOR THE LAST 15 YEARS ADVANCED TRANSPORT REFRIGERATION + AIRCONDITIONING HAS BEEN PROVIDING A WIDE RANGE OF REFRIGERATED TRANSPORT RELATED SERVICES AND REPAIRS TO ITS BROAD CUSTOMER BASE INCLUDING DYERS DISTRIBUTION.

Based at Wingfield in South Australia, Advanced Transport Refrigeration + AirConditioning (ATR) has been in operation since 2005, providing a dependable service to the refrigerated transport sector. The company offers a wide range of service offerings including refrigerated fitouts for vans, trucks and trailers, and is the South Australian service and repair agent for Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Thermal Systems. Managing Director Michael Walsh has been at the helm of ATR since its inception, with his hands-on approach to running the business finding favour with customers such as Adrian Hill, State Manager SA for Dyers Distribution. “The thing that impressed me the most about Michael is that as a Managing Director he is also very hands-on and is available 24/7 – my team and I have called him afterhours and he’s always answered the phone and been ready to help when we’ve had a breakdown with our fridges,” Adrian says. “This is the sort of service we need as a 24/7 business, we need people who understand this and can be there for us when needed.” Dyers engages the team at ATR for all the servicing and repairs of its refrigeration plants, the majority of which are Carrier units that are frequently run on three-phase stand-by power after being loaded. They can then sit at the depot overnight without the diesel engine running. “We do a lot of preloading for customers which is why we depend on the afterhours service that ATR provides – if there’s a breakdown we need someone out there immediately,” Adrian says. In addition to servicing the fridge plants, ATR is also now engaged by Dyers to manage body repairs of its refrigerated trailers, the majority of which are Vawdrey Iceliners. “We’ve recently started using ATR for body repairs and, again, Michael understands the needs of our business – that when we take a unit there for repairs we need it to be finished and back on the road in as short a timeframe as possible.” Dyers’ main line of work involves supplying a number of supermarket chains in South Australia with refrigerated products including milk and ambient goods. “This year due to Covid-19 we have been the busiest we’ve ever been,” Adrian says, reiterating that during this period of stretched resources the servicing and repair element supplied by ATR has also been critical. “I regularly meet up with Michael to go through various things and make sure we both keep up to date with each other’s business needs,” he says. All up, ATR provides the critical maintenance and repair work that keeps the refrigerated equipment of customers like Dyers Distribution operating at peak efficiency throughout the year.

Contact ATR 12 Rosberg Road Wingfield SA 5013 Ph: (08) 8347 3434 Web: www.atrplus.com.au

Fast Fact

In addition to performing vehicle fitout, repair and maintenance work across South Australia, Advanced Transport Refrigeration also provides autoelectrical services and automotive aircon solutions. The business also has a large refrigerated rental fleet (atrplusrentals. com.au) with road transport equipment that is ready for hire.