2 minute read
Tyres & Wheels
How KS Easter’s maintain their shine to stay ahead of the rest
The KS Easter fleet runs across most of the Australian east coast, South Australia and Melbourne, and comprises about 120 prime movers and roughly 260 trailers, including curtainsided drop decks, refrigerated units and B-triples. KS Easter is self-regulated and has onsite brake roller testing, a shaker machine, as the authorities have, as well as its own hoists to maintain high levels of equipment maintenance which sees the trucks over the shaker and brake testing machine at every service to test brake performance and efficiency, and to diagnose steering and suspension components of the trucks. In addition, computer downloads and other compliance related measures ensures road safety compliance. For cleaning the trucks and trailers, KS Easter has its own wash bay at its Brisbane depot where a team of in-house detailers take care of the washing of the trucks inside and out – down to the wheels. When asked how they keep their combinations so polished by a follower on the KS Easter Facebook page said: “There’s not much to polish when you have Dura-Bright rims and protective coating on the tanks and bumpers. Not that hard if you keep on top of it. And a team of detailers to help”. Some of the drivers take pride in keeping their trucks clean themselves, while having the choice to have the detailer crews take care of it if they wish. “To be honest, Dura-Bright was a life saver when they came on the market,” says Matthew Easter. “Polishing means down time. Saving on that down time means we can get our trucks back on the road sooner and making sure our
KS Easter specify Alcoa Dura-Bright wheels on every piece of equipment they purchase due to the value they add to their business through less cleaning downtime and better fuel efficiency. customers are given the standard of service we promise.” When KS Easter owner, Ken Easter Jnr, bought his first Kenworth back in 1981, Alcoa wheels were not a common commodity in a world where steel wheels were the go-to. The new aluminium wheels stood out to Ken as something special, and he put Alcoas on his tipper trailer too, which was an even more rare practice in the early 1980s Australian trucking world. Since the early 1990s KS Easter has 100 per cent specified Alcoa wheels on its trucks and trailers and switched to 100 per cent standard spec of Dura-Bright wheels when they arrived on the market. “Every single piece of equipment we purchase is on Alcoa Dura-Bright wheels,” Matthew says. “The patented technology offered by the Alcoa Dura-Bright surface treatment allows the wheels to stand strong against dirt and road grime, while keeping their shine,” says Shannon Girard, Marketing Manager for Howmet Wheel Systems, distributor of Alcoa Wheels products in Australia. “While KS Easter is living out the Dura-Bright wheels slogan, ‘No More Polishing’, it is also reaping all of the premium benefits offered by Alcoa wheels, such as their light weight for improved fuel efficiency, their unmatched strength from our proprietary MagnaForce alloy, which is 17 per cent stronger than any other alloy in the industry, and of course their excellent heat dissipation resulting in extended tyre and brake life.”
Contact
Howmet Wheel Systems Australia 18 Law Court Sunshine West VIC 3020 Tel: 1800 955 191 Web: alcoawheels.com.au
