NZ Truck & Driver December 2025

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2026

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December 2025/ January 2026 $10.90 incl. GST

BIG TEST Milking more mileage | FLEET FOCUS Paving two paths | FEATURE: Bill Richardson Memorial Rally

G N I K G L I N I M MILKmore E G A E E L G I A M E MIL

The Official Magazine of

Issue 296

PLUS

FLEET FOCUS Paving two paths FEATURE Bill Richardson Memorial Rally

ISSN 2703-6278

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To find out more, visit your nearest Isuzu Trucks Dealer or visit isuzu.co.nz

*Overseas optional body and accessories shown

CONTENTS

Issue 296 – December 2025-January 2026 2

News The latest from the world of road transport including… New average speed safety cameras and roadside drug-testing both up and running… Fuso launches its upgraded Shogun range… In-motion EV charging trial in France… A big milestone at the Mt Messenger project… Fuso doubles down on hydrogen technology and the 2026 Dakar Rally gets ready to roll.

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81

89

DAF nears a century of innovation A visit to the DAF Museum in Eindhoven where the Dutch truck maker has restored milestone models which showcase its innovative history.

95

Celebrating a decade on the run Canterbury’s annual Dave Carr Memorial Run celebrated its 10th anniversary in early November with a record turnout of 130 trucks.

50 Advantage Tyres Fleet Focus

Southpac Trucks Legends The McKay Way – An impressive fleet and family values has seen Kevin and Megan McKay build their thriving transport operation based in Gisborne.

102 Southland rides the storm A brave call to persevere after a fierce storm hammered the region saw more than 80 trucks turn-out for the Southland Transport Invercargill Truck Show.

REGULARS: Bygone Days – Transport Wairarapa Ltd 80/ Double Coin Tyres NZ Transport 81 Imaging Awards Part 3 telling the story of Transport Wairarapa Ltd, its varied fleet and its regional hubs from the archives of Rod Simmonds plus a look at the photo collection of driver Jim Laird.

Paving Two Paths: We visit with Canterbury-based JCL Asphalts and Blue Diamond Haulage, two paving operations established by James Craw which are bringing new technology to the sector.

MANAGEMENT

Action packed Manfeild The 2025-26 NAPA Auto Parts NZ Super Truck Championship got away to an eventful start at Manfeild during Labour weekend.

Transporting New Zealand CEO Dom Kalasih gives a briefing on the benefits of Transporting New Zealand’s new Green Fleet Self-Assessment Tool and provides an update on transport decarbonisation strategies. There’s also the latest on The Regulatory Systems (Transport) Amendment Bill now progressing through Parliament.

98

Just over 100 trucks took part in a Christchurch to Invercargill rally to celebrate what would have been the 85th birthday of HWR Group founder Bill Richardson.

Giti Tyres Big Test Milking More Mileage: A Scania P460 and a fouraxle trailer combine to make a unique combination in the Open Country Dairy tanker fleet. It’s a blend of horsepower and new electric pump technology which is achieving industry-leading fuel consumption numbers.

43

FEATURES: 71 A Southern Adventure

Recognising NZ’s best-looking trucks… including a giant pull-out poster of this month’s finalist.

105 CrediFlex Recently Registered The October registration data reveals a slight lift to the New Zealand new truck and trailer market.

We take a look into the monthly data and there’s a bonus-size gallery of new rigs on the road.

COLUMNS: 67 National Road Carriers Association CEO Justin Tighe-Umbers takes a look at the challenges facing new entrants to the transport industry and provides an insight into the productivity benefits which can be unlocked by the fast-track consent process.

ADMINISTRATION MANAGER

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Brian Cowan

CONTRIBUTORS

Olivia Beauchamp Gerald Shacklock Rod Simmonds David Kinch Geoff Ridder

ART DEPARTMENT Design & Production Luca Bempensante Zarko Mihic EQUIPMENT GUIDE AUCKLAND, NORTHLAND, BOP, WAIKATO, CENTRAL NORTH ISLAND Advertising Hayden Woolston 027 448 8768 hayden@trucker.co.nz

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www.nztruckanddriver.co.nz Truck & Driver | 1

NEWS

New speed and drugs enforcement begins

DECEMBER WILL SEE TWO MAJOR TRAFFIC enforcement strategies rolled-out on New Zealand roads.

The first average speed safety camera site is scheduled to be operational from December 1 and roadside drug testing will commence in the Wellington region ahead of a nationwide introduction in 2026.

Subject to the final testing, the first set of average speed safety cameras is expected to begin enforcing speeds at Matakana Road in Warkworth from December 1.

Average speed cameras work by calculating a vehicle’s average speed along a length of road between two camera locations. They measure the time the vehicle takes to travel between the cameras and calculate the average speed.

Drivers are only ticketed if their average travel speed between two cameras is over the limit.

NZTA Waka Kotahi says the cameras can distinguish between light and heavy vehicles, meaning that on 100km/h and 110km/h roads, trucks and buses will be measured against their maximum permitted limit of 90km/h.

Earlier this year NZTA announced 11 sites – all in the upper half of the North Island – where the new technology will be deployed. A further six locations – three in the lower North Island and three in the South Island – have been announced along with a timeline for the rollout.

The new locations are: • Southland – SH6 Kingston to SH97 Five Rivers • Canterbury – SH8 Lake Tekapo to Twizel • Otago – SH1 Allanton to Waihola • Wellington – SH2 Te Mārua to Brown Owl • Hawke’s Bay – SH2 Te Hauke to Pakipaki • Manawatū-Whanganui – SH1 Sanson to Foxton

The roadside drug testing regime is also scheduled to begin from December and be fully operational by mid-2026.

2 | Truck & Driver

One of the new average speed safety cameras installed on Matakana Rd, near Warkworth.

Tara Macmillan, NZTA Head of Regulatory Strategic Programmes, says the locations for average speed safety cameras have been determined by analysing crash patterns, traffic volumes and the percentage of drivers exceeding the posted speed limits.

“All of this evidence tells us that there is a serious risk of people being killed or seriously injured in crashes on these stretches of road,” she says.

“The risk of crashes is significantly reduced if more people drive to the speed limit. By installing average speed safety cameras, we are reducing that risk and making these roads safer for everyone who uses them.

“Safety cameras reduce speeding, making crashes less likely to occur, and ensure that if crashes do happen, the people involved are far more likely to walk away unharmed.

“Speeding drivers can cause serious and irreparable harm on the roads, including deaths and serious injuries. Evidence shows that we can reduce the chance of people being killed or seriously injured in crashes if drivers travel within speed limits, and that is why we have safety cameras.

“Not only are speeding drivers putting themselves and others at risk, they also make our roads less efficient and hinder productivity. Crashes can close a road for hours at a time. Fewer crashes mean fewer road closures, and more consistent and reliable travel times for everyone.”

NZTA will install ‘average speed camera area’ signs before each camera area.

On longer stretches of road (corridors), drivers will see extra ‘average speed camera area’ signs along the way. These signs are a reminder to drivers to check their speed and slow down if needed.

The rollout of average speed safety cameras supports the focus on enforcement of high-risk behaviour, including speed, as part of the strategic safety priority in the Government Policy Statement on Land Transport 2024 (GPS).

NZTA does not receive any incentives or funds from tickets issued. Safety camera infringement fees go into the Government Consolidated Fund.

From July 1 2025, NZTA has been responsible for the operation of all safety cameras, and NZ Police no longer operate their mobile safety camera vans.

Police officers will continue to issue notices for the offences they detect.

The long-awaited roll-out of the roadside drug testing regime is also scheduled for December, starting in the Wellington District.

Police will begin roadside screening for four key drugs – THC (cannabis), methamphetamine (meth), MDMA (ecstasy) and cocaine – using new oralfluid testing devices.

“Around 30% of all road deaths now involve an impairing drug. If you take drugs and drive, you’re putting innocent lives at risk – and we will not tolerate

NEWS it,” says Transport Minister Chris Bishop.

“Our Government is committed to improving road safety, and that includes holding dangerous, drugged-up drivers to account. Rolling out roadside drug testing is a practical step towards safer roads and fewer tragedies.”

Police Minister Mark Mitchell says the new regime will strengthen Police’s ability to keep roads safe.

“This is another positive step in delivering our road-safety strategy and targeting the key factors behind fatal crashes. The ability for Police to screen for impairing drugs is a welcome addition to their enforcement toolbox,” Mr Mitchell says.

The roadside drug testing will scale up from April 2026, with nationwide coverage expected by mid-2026.

Police will be able to stop any motor vehicle at any time to screen the driver for the presence of drugs. The first roadside screening test will be a quick tongue swipe taking just a few minutes. If the test is positive, officers will take a saliva sample for laboratory analysis. While the roadside device detects the four key drugs, the laboratory can test for up to 25 substances listed in the Act. A second roadside screening test will then be conducted. If that test is positive, the driver will be prohibited from driving for 12 hours to address any immediate road-safety risk. An infringement notice will follow a positive laboratory result.

Drivers who refuse or fail to comply with a roadside drug test will also be issued with an infringement notice. Most drivers will be free to go within about five minutes once they have a negative test result.

The introduction of roadside testing is being welcomed by road freight association Ia Ara Aotearoa Transporting New Zealand.

“The introduction of robust roadside drug testing is long overdue, with several other countries having already introduced this,” says Transporting New Zealand Policy & Advocacy Advisor Mark Stockdale.

“Our members take road safety seriously – in fact the health, safety and wellbeing of drivers is currently one of the top three issues flagged in our 2025 Road Freight Industry Survey.

Many road freight operators already undertake random drug Camera locations Percentage speeding Speed limit(s)* Expected enforcement testing in the workplace, and during speed survey timeframe the plan by Police to perform Kaitaia-Awaroa Rd* 75% 60 and 80 km/h Mid to late 2026 50,000 random roadside drug Matakana Rd* 12% 80 km/h 1 Dec 2025 tests per year will help improve East Coast Rd* 18% 80 km/h Mid 2026 road safety for all road users,” Stockdale says.

Kahikatea Flat Road* 27% 80 km/h Early to mid 2026 To prepare for the Glenbrook Road (East)* 13% 80 km/h Early to mid 2026 introduction of the new Glenbrook Road (West)* 24% 80 km/h Mid 2026 random roadside drug test, Whitford Road* 55% 80 km/h Early to mid 2026 Transporting New Zealand is running a webinar for truck Pine Valley Road* 74% 80 km/h Early to mid 2026 and bus operators on Friday SH 2 Matata* 45% 100 km/h Early to mid 2026 November 28.

SH5 Tumunui* 47% 100 km/h Early to mid 2026 The webinar will feature the SH2 Pōkeno to 28% 90 km/h Early to mid 2026 NZ Police Commercial Vehicle Mangatāwhiri* Safety Team explaining how the new test will work, the drugs SH2 Upper Hutt - Te 81% 80km/h and 70 km/h Mid 2026 being tested, and what the Mārua to Brown Owl penalties are.

SH6 Kingston to SH 97 26% 100 km/h and 80 km/h Mid 2026 Other speakers include Five Rivers Intersection The Drug Detection Agency SH8 Lake Tekapo to 19% 100 km/h Mid 2026 discussing what their workplace Twizel testing shows and how to SH1 Allanton to Waihola 21% 100 km/h and 50 km/h Mid 2026 implement drug and alcohol SH1 Sanson to Foxton 15% 100 km/h and 70 km/h Mid to late 2026 policies in the workplace, while Gibson Sheat Lawyers will SH2 Te Hauke to 16% 100 km/h Mid to late 2026 explain employers’ obligations Pakipaki and rights to undertake testing * These locations have previously been announced. in the workplace.

Truck & Driver | 3

NEWS

The tunnelling crew celebrates the breakthrough on the 235-metre tunnel which forms part of the SH3 Mt Messenger Bypass project.

Tunnel breakthrough at Mt Messenger build A MAJOR MILESTONE HAS BEEN REACHED AT THE Te Ara o Te Ata – Mt Messenger Bypass project with the successful breakthrough of the project’s 235-metre tunnel – a key feature of the future State Highway 3 route in North Taranaki.

NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi Regional Manager of Infrastructure Delivery, Rob Partridge says the breakthrough of the tunnel’s top section is a proud moment for everyone involved in the project.

“It is a visible sign of the progress being made to deliver a safer and more efficient route for all road users, and to unlock long-term economic and environmental benefits for the region.

“The need for a more resilient and reliable route over Mt Messenger was underlined recently when heavy rain created an underslip that caused delays for road users for more than three months.

“This achievement marks a major step forward for the southern section of the Bypass, which will replace the steep, narrow and winding stretch of SH3 over Mt Messenger with a safer, more resilient, and reliable 6km two-lane highway.”

The Bypass is being delivered by the Mt Messenger Alliance in partnership with mana whenua Ngāti Tama.

The project is being delivered in two stages – the ‘southern’ and ‘northern’ sections. Since construction began on the southern section in 2022, more than 300,000 cubic metres of earthworks have been completed, with the southern-most 1km section now at road level.

With the 6.5m high upper section of the tunnel now completed, excavation of the tunnel’s 2.5m lower section will begin, with full tunnel excavation targeted for completion in late February 2026.

Work is also progressing on the project’s 125m bridge, with a 110m temporary staging bridge in place to support construction of the permanent structure. Construction of the bridge’s foundations are underway.

Completing the northern section of the project remains subject to ongoing legal challenges regarding the final parcel of land required.

Funding and timeframes for the northern section will be confirmed once construction is able to start in this area.

SuperRigs `26 details confirmed The Shell Rotella SuperRigs event was staged at Texas Motor Speedway in 2024.

4 | Truck & Driver

NORTH AMERICA’S ANNUAL SHELL ROTELLA SuperRigs Truck Beauty Contest will continue to make its home at major speedway venues in 2026.

After events at Texas Motor Speedway in 2024 and Atlanta Motor Speedway earlier this year, the 2026 event scheduled for June 25-27 will take place at Bristol Motor Speedway in Tennessee.

This iconic motor sports location is a one-of-a-kind setting and is sure to impress with its rich history for the 44th annual SuperRigs spectacular.

Hard working owner/operator truckers from across the United States and Canada compete annually for more than $25,000 in cash and prizes.

Twelve drivers will be selected to have their trucks featured in the annual Shell Rotella SuperRigs calendar.

Along with the headline Best of Show prize, Shell Rotella SuperRigs competitors also compete for awards including Best Chrome, and Best Lights.

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NEWS

Bombay prepares for fourth truck show THERE’S STILL 14 MONTHS UNTIL THE POLISHING starts and the heavy metal begins rolling through the gate, but the 2027 Transfleet Trailers / Allied Petroleum Bombay Truck Show is already taking shape.

The fourth edition of the Bombay Truck Show will take place on Saturday January 23, 2027, and will follow largely the same format and layout as the third show held in January this year. The venue will again be the Bombay Rugby Club.

“I am getting a few inquiries from people who think it’s next year (2026) – which is pleasing because it shows how much enthusiasm there is for the show,” says show committee member Marieka Morcombe.

More than a year out from the event the committee already has quite a lot going on behind the scenes.

“It feels like we only just handed out the cheques from this year’s event and we are well into the planning for the next one,” Marieka says.

“The big news in the last few weeks is our naming rights sponsors have stayed onboard and signed up again. It’s fantastic to have the continued support of both Allied Petroleum and Transfleet Trailers – who have been with us from the beginning,” Marieka says.

“It was great to go back to our major supporters and find out they are just as excited about the next show as we are. Transfleet and Allied are now very much part of our brand name, and having them back again was very important to us.

“And the other good news is we’ve completed our discussions with Leaderbrand and secured the land adjacent to the rugby club grounds for parking, show space and access.

“That’s probably the biggest influencer for setting the date and planning the show. Without the huge generosity of our neighbours, the Bombay

Truck Show would only be a fraction of the size.”

The buildup will gain momentum in the second quarter of next year.

“From April 1 next year we will start reaching out to the exhibitors from the last show to offer them the first right of renewal. Plenty of exhibitors shoulder tapped us at the last show to say they were already locked in for 2027. But every year we do get a few spaces pop up for new companies to join us, which keeps it fresh,” Marieka says.

It will be mid-2026 when entries to the big Show & Shine competition will open.

“We’ll open up the entries around June or July. I’m expecting it will be very popular again and we’ll need to limit the numbers again,” Marieka says.

There were 473 trucks entered in the 2025 Show & Shine.

“There’s really no way to accommodate any more trucks. As the show becomes more popular with the public, we need the space for car parking,” says Marieka.

Other pre-event work involves some fresh prize ideas to make the Show & Shine awards even more special.

The primary focus of the Bombay Truck Show will remain on community fundraising and providing a fun family day out.

The January 2025 event raised $145,482.70 for local community groups, the main donations of $42,500 each going to Franklin Hospice, Leukaemia and Blood Cancer NZ, and the Bombay Rugby Club.

There were also distributions made to the Bombay School, Bombay Netball Club, and the Counties Rugby fees free initiative for kids – from the car parking proceeds.

The total raised from the three shows held in 2020, 2023 and 2025 now exceeds $296,000.

Truck & Driver | 7

NEWS

Fuso doubles down on hydrogen tech MITSUBISHI FUSO TRUCK AND BUS CORPORATION (MFBTC) unveiled two hydrogen-powered heavy-duty truck concept models at the Japan Mobility Show 2025 in Tokyo at the end of October.

The dual concepts showcase both hydrogen fuel cell electric and hydrogen combustion engine solutions.

The H2IC concept is a heavy-duty truck powered by an internal combustion engine that combusts hydrogen, while the H2FC is a heavy-duty truck powered by a fuel cell system.

MFTBC believes hydrogen is an effective means to achieve carbon neutrality for commercial vehicles involved in heavy-duty transport and long-distance haulage, owing to its high energy content, long range, and short refuelling time.

By utilising components and technologies common to diesel trucks, the H2IC could enable faster and smoother transition to hydrogen vehicles. In particular, H2ICE technology shows particular strength in high-power applications such as construction vehicles. The “H2IC” is fuelled with compressed hydrogen gas.

In the H2FC concept a fuel cell system converts hydrogen to electricity, which then powers an electric motor.

The H2FC stores hydrogen in liquid form, which has a higher density compared to compressed hydrogen gas. This enables a vehicle with up to 1200km of driving range and a refuelling time of 15 minutes.

In a Japan-first, the heavy duty H2FC is equipped with a liquid hydrogen tank designed for subcooled liquid hydrogen (sLH2) refuelling.

8 | Truck & Driver

Jointly developed by Daimler Truck and Linde Engineering, a global leader in industrial gases and hydrogen infrastructure, this is a liquid hydrogen filling technology that eliminates the need to discharge the boil-off gas (evaporated hydrogen gas) by pressurising hydrogen during refuelling. It also reduces boil-off during operation.

This addresses a challenge previously faced when handling liquid hydrogen. Furthermore, sLH2 significantly simplifies the equipment required at hydrogen stations when using compressed hydrogen gas, contributing to reduced infrastructure costs.

This liquid hydrogen technology is shared with the Mercedes-Benz GenH2 prototypes and to establish the sLH2 technology in Japan, MFTBC has been conducting joint research with Iwatani Corporation, the sole domestic supplier of liquid hydrogen.

In Japan, MFTBC has been collaborating with Iwatani Corporation on joint research regarding sLH2 filling technology, regulations, and commercialisation, advancing efforts to establish sLH2 filling technology in the country.

MFTBC is also working to build collaborative frameworks with external companies and institutions to support the implementation of sLH2 refuelling technology in Japan.

As a front runner in BEV solutions for light duty trucks with the eCanter models, MFTBC now aims to demonstrate leading future ZEV solutions for heavy duty trucks also.

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NEWS

Hendrickson opens new support centre HENDRICKSON IS EXPANDING ITS COMMITMENT TO New Zealand customers with the October opening of a new state-of-the-art facility in Auckland.

The new facility is at Ra Ora Drive in East Tamaki and will serve as the New Zealand base for the global manufacturer and supplier of commercial vehicle suspension systems and components.

For over three decades, Hendrickson has served New Zealand through a

dedicated team and facility, collaborating closely with colleagues in Australia and aboard to deliver innovative solutions to transport operators.

The new, modern facility continues this tradition while supporting the efficient servicing of the country’s growing commercial vehicle industry.

The facility features a 1,052sqm warehouse with 850 pallet spaces and 24/7 gated security. The 280sqm two-level office provides ample workspace for the New Zealand team, a boardroom, and a dedicated area for displaying key Hendrickson products.

Products on display include Hendrickson’s industry-renowned INTRAAX trailer suspension and TIREMAAX tyre pressure control systems. The facility will also stock the B2AHT Beam to Axle Underslung Suspension, designed and manufactured specifically for the New Zealand market.

According to Andrew Martin, Hendrickson’s Vice President of International Operations, the new facility and dedicated product offering reinforces Hendrickson’s continued commitment to New Zealand.

“For over 30 years, we have proudly supported our customers on both the North and South Island of New Zealand. This investment ensures we are well-positioned to meet their needs for decades to come.

“By expanding our capabilities and product offering, we can provide faster, more efficient service while reinforcing our partnership with the broader New Zealand transport and logistics industry.”

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NEWS The 2026 Goodyear FIA European Truck Racing Championship will be decided over seven rounds.

2026 ETRC calendar announced A SEVEN ROUND CALENDAR HAS BEEN ANNOUNCED for the 2026 Goodyear FIA European Truck Racing Championship.

There’s a familiar look to the schedule with all seven venues returning from the 2025 season, the calendar stability featuring venues which are a long-standing mainstay of the series, underscoring the championship’s close ties with Europe’s most popular and traditional truck racing circuits.

The championship will kick off with its traditional opener at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli in Italy on the May 30-31 weekend, before moving to the Slovakia Ring the following weekend.

July will feature a visit to Germany’s renowned Nürburgring, the long-

2026 Goodyear FIA European Truck Racing Championship Round 1: May 30-31 – Misano (Italy) Round 2: June 6-7 – Slovakiaring (Slovakia) Round 3: July 10-12 – Nurburgring (Germany) Round 4: August 29-30 – Autodrom Most (Czech Republic) Round 5: September 12-13 – Zolder (Belgium) Round 6: September 26-27 – Le Mans (France) Round 7: October 3-4 – Jarama (Spain)

standing highlight of the truck racing season.

After the summer break, the second half of the season will form an intense, title-deciding phase, with four race weekends packed into a fiveweek window between late August and early October.

The championship visits the Czech Republic (Autodrom Most), Belgium (Circuit Zolder), France (Le Mans Bugatti Circuit) and Spain ( Jarama).

Alongside the drivers’ battle, the Teams’ Championship and the Chrome Drivers’ and Young Drivers’ classifications will once again be part of the series, with the winner of the latter of the two contests receiving invitation to the prestigious end-of-season FIA Awards gala.

European truck market slows THE FIRST NINE MONTHS OF 2025 continue to prove challenging for the EU’s commercial vehicle market, with significant registration declines in key markets amid an already challenging economic context. The only exception was the bus segment, which recorded growth.

New EU truck registrations fell by 9.8% compared the same period in 2024, with the market totalling 225,483 units.

This downturn was driven in volume by a 9% decline in heavy-truck registrations, alongside a 13.5% decrease in medium-truck demand.

All major markets contracted, with Germany (-17.9%) and France ( 13.4%) experiencing double-digit declines.

Diesel maintained its leading position in the EU truck market during the first nine months of 2025, accounting for 93.5% of new registrations.

Electrically-chargeable trucks now secure 3.8% of the market, up from 2.1% last year.

The Netherlands (+192.3%), Germany (+32.9%), and France (+27.2%) were the main drivers of this, together accounting for two-thirds of the EU’s electrically-chargeable truck market.

While the electrically-chargeable share

increased, the growth trajectory is still being constrained by the near absence of key enabling conditions.

In other segments, new EU van registrations fell by 8.2%, with the three largest markets contributing to the downturn. France recorded the steepest drop with an 8.3% decline, followed

by Italy (-6.1%) and Germany (-6%). Conversely, Spain saw a surge in registrations, rising by 13.3%.

Meanwhile, new EU bus registrations rebounded 3.6% by the end of the third quarter of 2025, reaching a total of 28,417 units.

Truck & Driver | 11

NEWS

New finance service from Daimler Trucks THE LAUNCH OF DAIMLER TRUCK FINANCIAL Services (DTFS) into the New Zealand market will bring a customer-centric approach to truck finance.

DTFS is the dedicated financial services provider for Daimler Truck brands – including Mercedes-Benz Trucks, Freightliner and Fuso trucks.

With its extensive commercial vehicle industry experience and knowledge, it is uniquely positioned to understand the specific needs of commercial vehicle customers.

With the company’s entry into the New Zealand market, local operators now have a dedicated financing partner that is deeply integrated into the

Craig Cubitt, Managing Director & CEO at Daimler Truck Financial Services Australia.

truck ecosystem, from the initial vehicle purchase through to the entire lifecycle of the asset.

Unlike traditional financial institutions, DTFS’s key differentiation is its customer-centric approach. The company says it’s committed to providing fast, innovate and customised solutions, including streamlined application and approval processes to get customers on the road and earning sooner.

Leveraging its specialised knowledge, DTFS can offer rapid credit decisions, including a “Fast Track” finance programme for qualified business customers.

The suite of innovative DTFS financial products is designed to meet the evolving needs of the transport industry and can cater to a single-truck operator as well as large fleets. This includes flexible financing options and forwardthinking solutions that can also support the transition to electric vehicles (EVs) and other new technologies.

“DTFS is in New Zealand to be a true business partner for our dealers and customers by offering personalised, dedicated commercial vehicle finance solutions,” says Craig Cubitt, Managing Director & CEO at Daimler Truck Financial Services Australia.

“Our mission is to make the financing process as straightforward and efficient as possible, so our customers can focus on what they do best: keeping New Zealand moving,” Mr Cubitt says.

Business customers can access the DTFS solutions through the authorised Daimler Truck dealer network across New Zealand - alongside nationwide sales and aftersales support for Fuso, Mercedes-Benz, and Freightliner trucks.

“This partnership brings together sales, service, and finance under one roof — a complete solution for operators of all sizes,” says Torben Freer, the General Manager of Sales and Marketing at Keith Andrews Trucks, Torben Freer.

“DTFS brings a forward-thinking approach to finance — designed to grow with customers and support them at every stage of their journey and this represents a major step forward for New Zealand’s transport sector,” Mr Freer says.

Another year of Truckie Rest Zones concludes THE NZI TRUCKIE REST ZONE programme wrapped up its 2025 calendar with South Island events based at the Glasnevin and Rakaia CVSC facilities.

Glasnevin in North Canterbury hosted its Rest Zone on October 29 and the Rakaia event was held on November 19, completing the six dates

Glasnevin in North Canterbury hosted its NZI Truckie Rest Zone event in late-October.

12 | Truck & Driver

across New Zealand this year.

The Glasnevin day was very successful in spite of some chilly conditions. However the sun was shining with snow-covered hills in the background, creating a stunning backdrop for the day.

The event saw strong engagement, with around 90 drivers stopping in, and a further 40 receiving

NZI goodie bags as they passed through.

Drivers were welcomed with hot drinks and food from the BBQ, generously cooked by the Fern Energy team, alongside friendly conversation.

In total, 78 coffees were served, and 27 drivers took the chance to complete a free Hato Hone St John health check.

This impactful day was made possible thanks to the collaborative efforts of Hato Hone St John and Fern Energy.

At NZI Truckie Rest Zones, heavy vehicle drivers can pull their rigs in, enjoy some complimentary refreshments, get a health check, and have a chat to NZI’s Fleet Fit experts about driver fatigue and ways to keep themselves safe and well.

Fatigue is a major cause of road accidents, and NZI wants to support drivers to stay safe on the roads. So let your team know to come along to refresh and recover for the next leg of their journey.

Dates and venues for 2026 will be confirmed in the New Year.

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NEWS

Tonly 91t haul trucks are being tested with battery swap technology.

Battery swap trial of haul trucks BATTERY SWAP TECHNOLOGY FOR ELECTRIC HAUL trucks is being trialled at the Oyu Tolgoi copper mine in Mongolia.

Rio Tinto and China’s State Power Investment Corporation (SPIC) Qiyuan are collaborating on Rio Tinto’s first use of battery swap electric haul trucks in surface mining operations.

The trial is a major step towards developing the cost-effective technology and operational learnings required to reduce emissions from mining haulage fleets – one of the largest contributors to the company’s Scope 1 and 2 carbon footprint.

Over the last year Rio Tinto and SPIC Qiyuan have delivered and installed a fleet of eight 91-tonne Tonly trucks, together with 13 batteries (each 800kWh), a battery swapping station, static charger, and supporting infrastructure.

The trucks will now be used by Oyu Tolgoi for tailings dam construction and top soil transportation tasks, providing Rio Tinto with hands on experience operating and maintaining a complete battery electric truck and swap charging system.

Battery swapping technology allows the battery of an electric mining truck to be replaced at a battery swap station in less than seven minutes, without the need to charge the vehicle at a fixed charging facility. This minimises downtime and improves equipment efficiency.

“The launch of this trial with SPIC Qiyuan is an important milestone, harnessing China’s widely used and leading battery swap technology in a partnership that supports Rio Tinto’s drive to accelerate low-carbon innovation,” says Rio Tinto General Manager Global Equipment and Diesel Transition Ben Woffenden.

“The rapid deployment and fast-tracked operational learnings have highlighted the importance of partnerships in advancing low-emission haulage alternatives for our business.”

The equipment will be tested through to the end of 2026 and will help Rio Tinto identify opportunities for wider adoption of this low emission technology across the company. Rio Tinto’s global fleet of 700 haul trucks includes about 100 small or medium class (100-200t payload) vehicles, offering the potential to adopt current-generation battery swap technology.

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NEWS

Dakar marathon set for January

Martin Macik gave a new MM Technology truck a winning shakedown at Rallye du Maroc in October.

CZECH DRIVER MARTIN MACIK – THE 2024 AND 2025 Truck category winner at the marathon Dakar Rally – gave his latest Iveco a convincing win in Rallye du Maroc raced in Morocco during October.

The win was a successful shakedown for the MM Technology team and a new truck ahead of the 48th edition of the Dakar Rally – the seventh to be staged in Saudi Arabia – which starts on January 3 and finishes on January 17.

A two-week itinerary will cover 8000km, with an estimated 5000km of the route will be timed competitive sections.

The start and finish venue for the 2026 Dakar is the Red Sea port of Yanbu with a mid-way rest day in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia. During the rally six bivouacs will be set up in the heart of the desert and in Riyadh with

four loop stages scheduled along the way.

There are 48 entries listed for the Truck category with Macik’s leading rivals being Alain Loprais (Czech Republic), Mitchel and Martin van den Brink (Netherlands), Lithuanian Vaidotas Zala and Czech Tomas Vratny.

Hino returns to the event with its updated 600 Series racer driven by Teruhito Sugawara.

Alongside the main competition category the Dakar Classic regularity event continues build a loyal following since its inception in 2021. Eligible entries now include cars and trucks from the 1980s and 1990s, as well as vehicles registered up to 2005. The Classic route for 2026 is a new record for total special distance: 4,500km.

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NEWS An e-truck charges while driving in France, the world’s first dynamic wireless-charging highway.

Photo: VINCI Autoroutes photo library – Caroline Gasch.

Charge-in-motion breakthrough A WORLD-FIRST THAT PROVIDES IN-MOTION wireless charging for electric vehicles – including heavy-duty trucks – at highway speeds is now operating near Paris.

Electreon, a global leader in wireless electric road technology, has launched the world’s first highway that wirelessly charges vehicles in motion. The shared system enables passenger vehicles, vans, buses, and heavy- and medium-duty trucks to charge simultaneously, creating a universal model for electric mobility and proving that highways themselves can serve as charging assets in the shift to electric travel.

Led by VINCI Autoroutes – France’s largest toll road operator – and backed by Bpifrance, the Charge As You Drive project marks a major leap forward for electric vehicles of all sizes.

In partnership with Electreon, VINCI Construction, Gustave Eiffel University, and Hutchinson, VINCI Autoroutes helped develop and test an active 1.5km stretch of the A10 near Paris (one of France’s busiest 4-lane highways) where electric trucks, buses, vans, and cars now recharge as they drive – without stopping or plugging in.

This milestone positions the company as the first in the world to demonstrate reliable, high-power wireless charging for heavy-duty vehicles traveling at typical highway speed.

Several expert and independent laboratories of Gustave Eiffel University conducted extensive tests on mechanical, thermal, and power transfer performance, confirming average power transfer above 200kW and peaks over 300kW – twice the power required by a heavy-duty truck to drive that distance.

Electreon’s achievement in France shows that high-power wireless charging while cruising on the highway can reshape how electric vehicles operate – especially heavy-duty trucks.

By replacing the existing ‘stop and charge’ routine with continuous, onthe-go energy, Electreon allows electric freight vehicles to operate just as efficiently as traditional ICE trucks. With the additional power transfer,

vehicles gain extra power as they drive – rolling off the highway with more charge than when they entered – cutting vehicle downtime for charging and reducing costs along the way.

“The system’s outstanding performance, demonstrated in this project and verified by independent laboratories in France, proves that our technology is the only one capable of delivering high-power, reliable dynamic charging,” says Oren Ezer, CEO of Electreon.

“Electreon’s technology not only meets but exceeds all the targets set by the French government. I believe these results pave the way for the deployment of thousands of kilometres of wireless roads in France – and across the world.”

Electreon’s technology is a response to the French Ministry of Transport’s visionary plan to deploy 9,000km of Electric Road System (ERS) by 2035.

“The initial results of the ongoing trials on a section of the A10 motorway confirm the findings of previous studies,” says Nicolas Notebaert, CEO of VINCI Concessions and President of VINCI Autoroutes.

“Deploying this technology on France’s main road networks, in addition to charging stations, will further accelerate the electrification of heavyvehicle fleets, and thereby reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the freight and logistics sector—which alone accounts for more than 16% of the country’s total emissions.”

Electreon is involved in building a network of wireless charging roadways across nine countries.

In the U.S., it deployed the nation’s first public wireless charging road in Michigan, and is teaming up with UCLA to keep campus shuttles running efficiently ahead of the 2028 Olympic Games.

In Utah, Electreon and Utah State University’s ASPIRE Centre are powering two pioneering projects: heavy-duty Kenworth trucks charging as they drive on a test track, and, a new installation at the Utah Inland Port in Salt Lake City – built to validate dynamic charging for commercial freight and logistics.

Truck & Driver | 17

NEWS

New Shogun line-up now a THE EIGHTH GENERATION FUSO SHOGUN RANGE for New Zealand has been unveiled at a VIP launch function staged in Auckland on November 6.

The Shogun line-up comprises 15 model options, comprising a choice of 8-litre, 11-litre and uprated 13-litre six-cylinder engines.

Delivering on Shogun’s proven reputation for dependability, innovation and value for money, the new range features a mix of tractor, tipper and freight (rigid) options in 4x2, 6x2, 6x4 and 8x4 configurations, with GCM ratings from 36-70t.

Interest in the new model has been building since the premium 530hp version was previewed at the 2025 Brisbane Truck Show and Fuso New Zealand is now taking pre-orders.

The flagship models have a 530hp 13-litre engine (replacing outgoing 510hp models) available in 6x4 tractor (standard and hi-roof versions) and a 6x4 tipper configuration. For 8x4 operators the 460hp 11-litre engine remains the top performance option.

With 530hp and 2,600Nm of torque, the 13-litre Shogun models are the most powerful Japanese trucks available in New Zealand. The new 6R30T5 530 engine delivers more power and 100Nm more torque than the outgoing Fuso New Zealand General Manager Sales & Marketing Torben Freer briefing guests at the VIP Launch event.

18 | Truck & Driver

510 model with torque available across a wider band (950–1900rpm).

The engine upgrade delivers to 4% better fuel economy and the JP17 emission rating exceeds Euro 6 standard.

This fuel efficiency gain is achieved through improved combustion efficiency and the wider torque spread which reduces the need for downshifts.

Also contributing to the reduced fuel consumption are refinements to the ShiftPilot AMT while the redesigned cab face and bumper reduce drag by an estimated 1.3% - contributing an additional 0.3% fuel saving.

Another upgrade on the 13-litre models is an enhanced 570hp Jacobs engine brake (1400–2300rpm) for superior braking power – which also supports fuel savings on downhill runs.

Fuso NZ says the FV2653K 6x4 Tractor with air rear suspension as standard is targeted at linehaul operators, offering up to a 1,000kg kerb weight advantage over direct competitors combined with a 70T GCM capability (for the Hi-Top version).

The 11-litre line-up includes 10 variants with 400PS (2,011Nm) and 460PS (2,213Nm) output depending on model. The 4x4 tractor has 400PS while the 6x4 tipper has both engine options. There’s also a 6x4 Freight in long wheelbase spec with the 400PS engine.

Across the six models of 8x4 freight there is a Super Low cab long wheelbase model with the 400PS engine and five choices of 460PS output including standard and Hi-Top versions and a choice of 5870mm and 6720mm wheelbase options.

The 460PS 8x4 models have a GCM rating of 53t.

Class-leading standard safety features on all models sees the introduction of Active Brake Assist 6, Sideguard Assist 2.0, Trailer Stability Assist and Front Blind Spot sensors. Active Sideguard Assist 2.0 is an upgrade which offers left and right-side blind spot protection.

These join existing standard features which include Lane Departure Warning, Driver Fatigue Monitoring and Electronic Stability Control.

Inside every cab, drivers benefit from a top-of-the-line ISRI seat (heated with diamond-stitched leather trim in 530 models) and refreshed interior styling, with an improved instrument cluster and larger 8-inch multimedia touchscreen unit. Access has been made easier with ergonomically redesigned steps.

The new Shogun range is available with (front left to right) 360hp, 400hp, 460hp and 530hp engine options.

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The Shogun also has full LED lighting for enhanced visibility and sequential indicators across the range.

Among the key variants in the range is a new 8-litre model in 6x4 tipper configuration.

The 360hp model is a lightweight, high payload (45T GCM) option, which is ideal for tipper applications. The 8-litre engine produces 354PS and 1400Nm of torque and is also available in a 6x2 freight (rigid) model.

“This is not only the best Shogun range we’ve ever bought to New Zealand; it’s the most advanced Japanese truck in the country,” says Fuso New Zealand General Manager Sales & Marketing Torben Freer.

Fuso New Zealand has committed to strong stock levels – available nationwide through Keith Andrews Trucks – ensuring operators can get behind the wheel of the new Shogun without long delays.

“There is already strong interest, with a number of units on pre-order,” says Freer.

“Customers are as excited as we are by what this eighth generation Shogun has to offer – and we anticipate a lot more heads will be turned as news spreads about just how good these trucks are.”

Gen 8 Shogun is backed by Fuso New Zealand’s 25-strong national after sales and service network and comes with a five-year / 500,000km warranty.

NEWS Road Metals staff celebrate the 70th anniversary of the company.

By Brian Cowan

Road Metals celebrates 70 years LABOUR WEEKEND’S 70TH ANNIVERSARY celebration for aggregate supply company Road Metals was held at a fitting venue, its Oamaru depot.

Fitting, because although head office is in Christchurch and much of its quarrying operations are Canterbury-based, the company’s beginnings were in Duntroon, a half-hour’s drive up the Waitaki River from Oamaru.

There in 1955, former rabbit trapper Stan Francis set up North Otago Road Metal, which was to become a major player in the hydro schemes of the 1960s and beyond, and subsequently in other major projects.

A highlight of the weekend was the bulk of the company fleet travelling in convoy from Christchurch to Oamaru. COO Daniel Francis relates how, when the group stopped on the roadside to reorganise in Ashburton, coincidentally it was outside a house where a seven-year-old was celebrating his birthday and was convinced his Dad had arranged all these cool trucks just for him.

Daniel says the trip was a rolling 240km celebration.

“The word had obviously gone ahead through the families and friends of the drivers and everywhere along the route there were people with cameras and kids waving to the trucks. It obviously made a lot of their

days, and it was a cool thing to be part of. The celebrations started leaving the Christchurch yard,” Daniel says.

Company managing director Murray Francis says the weekend was a great opportunity to recognise the contribution made by staff over the years. On hand were five, including himself, who had put in more than 50 years of service, and were still working with the company.

“That level of continuity in the staff has made my job much easier. On top of that, four of us were in the same class at Waitaki Boys’ High,” says Murray.

He credits the camaraderie forged during the early years with contributing to a distinctive company DNA. “A lot of the jobs we were on in those times were in remote parts of the South Island, so we worked together, lived together, and played together.

That approach gave rise eventually to one of our four mission statements; ‘To have fun in the workplace’, and in turn that has evolved to a motto we still use, ‘A company you’ll enjoy doing business with’.

“With 70 years behind us we’re now looking forward to reaching 100. In fact, the new generation coming through are already making noises about aiming for a second century!”

The Road Metals fleet lined up at the Oamaru depot. Photos: Simon Vincent 20 | Truck & Driver

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NEWS Rhino General Manager, Will Samuel with one of its Toitū certified mudguards.

Reducing emissions: one mudguard at a time INNOVATIVE TR ANSPORT MANUFACTURER RHINO says it is the first known manufacturer of heavy-truck and trailer mudguards to obtain an independently verified carbon footprint for a mudguard.

The Rotorua company’s flagship black recycled-plastic guard has a 76% lower carbon footprint than guards made from virgin plastic.

Rhino has been manufacturing truck mudguards and fittings for nearly 40 years. Over the past five years, the business has added a sustainability focus to its portfolio — leading to the development of guards made from recycled plastic.

The company has recently achieved Toitū Envirocare verification, in accordance with ISO 14067:2018, confirming the significant 76% carbon reduction figure.

Rhino General Manager, Will Samuel, says the milestone is a team effort, and has been achieved in collaboration with industry leaders Fonterra, Mainfreight, TR Group, TWL, and Vision Plastics.

“On the face of it, you may not expect recycled mudguards to make a big difference in reducing carbon emissions — but every little bit helps,” says Samuel.

“Large transport companies are now accounting for every kilogram of CO₂-e, while regulations in Australia, New Zealand, and Europe require certain companies to report and, in some cases, reduce the carbon footprint of their trailers during manufacture.

“By creating recycled products that stand up to tough conditions — and by developing a recycling ecosystem — we can contribute to a meaningful reduction in carbon emissions across the sector. Now, we have the evidence and data to back it up,” Samuel says.

“We hear talk of industry using recycled material, but we don’t see 22 | Truck & Driver

much evidence. Rhino is planning for a future where recycled products are the norm, not the exception. All Rhino plastic mudguards meet strict performance criteria and include a UV additive to resist colour fading.”

Rhino began producing recycled truck mudguards in 2021 and has seen increasing demand as more fleets participate in recycling. The company undertook extensive modelling before undertaking the rigorous Toitū verification process.

“We believed we had the products, data, and aspirations to meet the Toitū requirements. It took a great deal of time and effort, but we’ve got there — and we’re proud of the results,” Samuel says.

The lifecycle assessment follows a cradle-to-gate boundary, covering all stages from raw material extraction and processing through manufacturing and logistics. The verified carbon footprint includes delivery to New Zealand customers and for Australia.

Rhino has also launched a coloured guard range made from 50% recycled plastic and 50% virgin plastic, with an initial 13% lower carbon footprint — and plans to improve that metric further.

The recycling initiative now extends across the ecosystem. Fonterra, TR Group and TWL are among a number of companies who return mudguards for recycling and use recycled guards.

“Our sustainability efforts were inspired by Fonterra’s recycling initiatives. TR Group were the first to specify recycled mudguards, and TWL successfully piloted a collection system at branch level,” Samuel says.

“At the end of the day, manufacturers and suppliers like us need to contribute to ESG, sustainability and carbon-reduction efforts across the sector. It’s simply the right thing to do — and we hope others will explore their own ways to make a difference.”

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24 | Truck & Driver

BIG TEST

Truck & Driver | 25

MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM THE FAIRFAX TEAM!

As 2025 comes to a close, we’d like to thank our customers, partners, and industry friends for another incredible year.

From pioneering all-electric refrigerated trailers to delivering cutting-edge builds across New Zealand, it’s been a year of growth, innovation, and milestones we’re proud to share with you.

Here’s to an even bigger 2026, and if you’re writing to Santa, make sure there’s a Fairfax trailer on that wish list.

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The Scania rolls through the streets of Matamata on a superb spring time morning.

D

ISTINCTIVE WHITE AND GREEN LIVERY WITH THE SCANIA name prominent in capitals below the windscreen is the standard visual for an Open Country Dairy milk tanker.

But take a closer look at this month’s New Zealand Truck & Driver feature truck and a few subtle differences become apparent. The roofline of this truck is a little lower than its fleet buddies and you might notice the door handles are slightly below shoulder height.

And it’s only two steps to climb into the cab.

This Waharoa-based Scania P 460 is the only P Cab in the Open Country fleet. It’s among a handful of 6x4s (rather than the more common 8x4) milk collection units and also the least powerful milk tanker in the fleet with 460hp.

Paired with a new 4-axle TES trailer (the only one in the fleet running on Super Single tyres) it makes an innovative and agile 7-axle combination working at up to 44t that comes into its own on the tighter tanker turnarounds and narrower farm tracks found in parts of the Waikato.

The truck is also something of a technology test bed equipped with a battery-powered milk pumping system – which reduces idling time and fuel consumption – along with a full set of tyre pressure sensors monitoring each of the eight Super Singles on the trailer.

The e-pump contributes to one more special talent for the one-ofa-kind P 460. The latest Euro 6 spec 460hp 13-litre Scania Super sixcylinder engine and OptiCruise G33CM powertrain is consistently achieving fuel consumption of 3km per litre.

In detail, the total fuel burn of 38,900 litres over 117,400km is 3.01km per litre – a number that Brett Hamilton, General Manager Transport at Open Country Dairy believes is unmatched in the dairy industry.

“I wouldn’t say we are surprised at the figure because we know the consumption numbers that a configuration like this can

deliver in other parts of the world. But it does go to show that fuel economy like this can be achieved when operating on New Zealand infrastructure,” Brett says.

It’s quite an achievement for a truck that found its way into the fleet somewhat by chance. Needing another new truck in late-2024, the P 460 6x4 was available at short notice and the decision was made to slot it alongside the existing Scania R and G Series Open Country tankers.

It’s turned into a fortunate circumstance with the learnings from the high efficiency engine and the other truck’s innovations likely to help shape some of the future fleet and spec decisions.

“It was a proposal that was put to us by Scania which we evaluated very closely before we decided to go ahead with it,” says Brett.

“While the 6x4 configuration isn’t common in the dairy industry, it’s something we have a need for in the fleet for areas such as the Waikato, where many of the dairy farms tend to be older and the access can be tighter.”

The e-pump solution with the truck recovering kinetic energy to charge a lithium-ion battery pack, which then powers the pump is another part of the fuel-saving equation. The battery pack sits behind the cab with the electric motor mounted beneath the tank of the truck.

“Instead of a 13-litre engine running to power a PTO, the engine shuts off,” says Brett.

“It means the PTO run time becomes zero and the idle time is drastically reduced. There’s an immediate diesel saving while the reduced idle time means the truck can have a longer tenure with us and potentially a higher resale value – because the idle hours will be a lot lower than is typical for a dairy tanker that’s done about a million kilometres.”

Our visit to Waharoa to test the P 460 has been put together by Truck & Driver | 27

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The P 460 (centre) has a noticeably lower roof height than its G Series stablemates.

Fleet Manager Kelvin Forsman. The new Mowatt St yard makes an immediate impression with its wide concrete truck park apron, bitumen driveway and car park, automatic gates, and a new admin building.

“Eighteen months ago, we just had a Portacom outside the [dairy] factory, and the trucks were parked a bit further down the road. It was the typical truck yard – dusty when it was dry and muddy when it was raining,” says Kelvin.

The smart new yard has diesel pumps and AdBlue on site and the new admin building includes office space and a large smoko and

D.

RE NG

Driver Steve Hart has been behind the wheel of the P 460 for three months.

meeting room.

“It has really been a game-changer for us,” says Kelvin.

“There are 25 truck parks with plenty more room around the outside if we ever need it,” he says.

Following a growth phase over the last two-and-a-half years, the Open Country fleet now includes 32 milk collection truck and trailer units along with five line haul trucks (four B-trains and one truck and trailer).

About two-thirds of the milk tanker fleet is based at Waharoa while most of the others are at Horotiu. Open Country Dairy collects

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The 7-axle unit gives Open Country Dairy a slightly more compact and agile solution for farm milk collection.

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Truck & Driver | 29

from suppliers across the wider Waikato region and beyond.

“We go over to Tauranga and Te Puke, down towards Galatea and Murupara, as far north as Port Waikato, and as far south as about Te Kuiti,” Kelvin says.

The milk goes to the Waharoa, Horotiu and more recently the Miraka (at Mokai, near Taupo) dairy factories. Depending on supply and factory capacity, there’s also some milk coming north from Whanganui.

The Waharoa-based fleet is 100% Scania with the mix being G and R Series models in 540hp Euro 5 and 560hp Euro 6 spec, plus a couple of older 500hp units.

“We only have five 6x4s, two of them with the electric pumps.

All the rest are 8x4s running a mix of 50MAX, 54t and 58t permits,” Kelvin says.

Kelvin says he’s been impressed with the performance of the P 460 and says its proving well-suited to the mostly gentle Waikato terrain.

“We don’t do a lot of big hill work. We could send it over the Kaimais for a couple of weeks and get some more feedback from that, but we tend to need bigger trucks over in the Bay. “That’s one place we could push it and put it to the test but most of our trucks are working here [the Waikato] and it’s doing everything we need it to do here.”

Along with the new yard and new trucks, Kelvin says there have been other important recent changes at Open Country. New incab safety systems have been introduced including driver facing cameras supplied by Teletrac Navman to monitor phone use, seat belt compliance, and fatigue.

“I’d have to say the drivers have adapted to that change very well,” says Kelvin.

“There’s been a lot of focus on training. Not only driver training, but what we call `above the line’ training, and there’s been a big change in attitudes,” says Kelvin.

Part of the focus is on driving efficiency with some internal

Above right: Safety is a major focus at Open Country Dairy and includes first response kits, driver monitor cameras, and dash cam recording.

30 | Truck & Driver

competition to see who can achieve the best ratings on Scania’s driver efficiency app.

“Most of them are in 90s [90-plus per cent scores] and that’s where we need them to be,” says Kelvin.

There have been other achievements in recent months.

“Just recently we’ve been approved for 12 month COFs. That took a lot of work over the last two years, and it feels great to have achieved it,” Kelvin says.

“The way we do it is every service gets treated as a pre-COF, and they [the trucks] roll out of there in COF condition.”

The attention to detail also means a mechanic is at the Waharoa yard every second morning and each afternoon to deal with any minor issues when the trucks return from a shift – whether the fault is related to the trucks, trailers, tanks, or pumps.

“We have a nice yard, a nice new building and really good gear.

It’s all around retaining the drivers,” Kelvin says.

Kelvin looks after nearly 40 trucks and about 160 drivers. Some drivers work 4/4 (four days on, four days off) and others 3/3 (three days on and three days off) rosters.

And there’s regular feedback from the drivers on how to make the workday safer or more efficient.

“We now have both RTs and CBs in the cabs. The CBs are something the drivers wanted,” says Kelvin.

“Brett is really good in that respect. If the drivers have a good idea, he’s happy to listen and follow up on it. We are not a huge corporate, so we can make things happen pretty quickly.

“My job is to keep the drivers happy and make sure the fleet is in top condition,” says Kelvin.

“But now there’s also a third aspect as we start to work through what the configurations and specs are going to be in the future, which is super exciting.

“I’d say we are becoming a hub for innovation.

“The e-pump has been big for us. We are testing Gen 2 at the moment which is a more modular system (the P 460 is fitted with a

Waharoa-based fleet manager Kelvin Forsman looks after nearly 40 trucks in the Open Country fleet.

Truck & Driver | 31

Gen 1 system). We’ll probably do nine or 10 of them next year when the testing is finished.

“We are also preparing to fit some new tyre sensors which have a Bluetooth receiver on the truck which tells you pressure, temperature, weight, distance, and tread depth.

“The system we are getting is another generation beyond the one on the P 460 trailer. It’s a project that we’ll roll out in the next few months.

“And we are also testing some new hoses.”

“We are looking at lighter hoses for the guys (reinforced with nylon rather than steel). Our most common injury is a shoulder injury, and the nylon hoses are lighter.”

Our arrival at Waharoa is timed just after the fleet has rolled out at 6.30am to start the day shift collections. Kelvin has tweaked the morning schedule for truck 719 so we can make a couple of loops through the prime dairy country between Matamata and Cambridge

with enough time built into the schedule for photography.

Driver Steve Hart has just put the P 460 through its CIP (Clean in Place) process – which is mandatory at no longer than 24 hour intervals – and there’s time for some detail photography before getting on the road.

The P 460 has the Scania DC13 six-cylinder engine in Euro 6 (Step e) emissions spec with 460hp output and 2500Nm of torque – which during the day will reveal itself to be ideally available from 900-1290rpm.

It runs the 14-speed version of the G33CM automated transmission with a 3.42:1 axle ratio. The engine braking is provided by the 4700D five-stage retarder.

The P 460 had disc brakes with ABS/EBS functions and the active safety systems include Lane Departure Warning and Adaptive Cruise Control.

The front tyres are wide 385/ 55 R 22.5 steerers with the drive

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Open Country’s white and green livery is a perfect match for the lush Waikato dairy farms.

tyres being 275/50 R22.5. The trailer has SAF axles and rides on 355/ 50 R 22.5 rubber. A Groenveld auto greasing system takes care of the ball race.

The 4-axle trailer uses the NDA stainless tank as the chassis attached to TES built running gear and was new at the same time as the truck.

The unit’s total milk capacity is 28,500 litres which puts the working GCM at 44t. It’s a compact and agile unit that complements the bigger 8-axle and 9-axle units.

The odometer on truck 719 had just ticked over 117,460km as we start our run from Waharoa towards Hinuera on the south side of Matamata.

Driver Steve Hart has been with Open Country for three months and the 460hp P Series is a change of pace for him in more ways than one. It’s a return to driving after 12 years in a couple of transport management roles.

Steve was previously the Operations Supervisor for Dynes Transport North Island.

“I’d done that for five years and before that I’d done the same in the upper North Island for North Fuels, which is now Fern Energy. I wanted to get my own time back,” he says.

“Working two days, two nights, and four days off is a dream. You can always come back and do more hours because there is more work available if you want it.”

He’s enjoying the Scania and the return to driving.

“I’m only new, but Open Country seem to be a good bunch to work for. I’ve already noticed that when there’s a small issue with a truck there’s follow up, and stuff is getting fixed.

“The standard of the gear is excellent. This truck has done

117,000km and it still feels like new. That could be down to the servicing they do.”

Earlier in his driving career Steve has been the wheel of a variety of MAN, Volvo, Kenworth and Isuzu trucks in different sectors.

“I started in 1996 in an A-Train Isuzu with about 290hp,” he says.

The last truck Steve drove on a full-time basis before moving to the office roles was a Kenworth T408 fuel tanker.

“It was an eight-wheeler with a quad behind it for TranzLiquid. It was about 12 years ago. I was with them about four years and then I went to North Fuels as a regional supervisor.”

Steve says the P 460 is an ideal package for the work its doing.

“When I first found out I was going to be driving this, I thought, “uh, a little 460’.

“But to get in and drive it and actually do the job, I’m impressed.

“For a start the lower cab is a plus for me. And a six-wheeler for getting around the tanker turns makes the job easy.”

It’s short run south on SH27, through busy morning Matamata traffic and towards Hinuera before turning onto Puketutu Rd. Running empty, the P 460 still rides comfortably and feels settled on the road. It makes very smooth upshifts to cruise at a fraction over 1300rpm in the overdriven top gear at 90kph.

The first farm we visit showcases the very best of Waikato dairying. All apart from the last few hundred metres of a 3km driveway is sealed, tree-lined and has freshly mown grass edges.

“This place is exceptional. It’s giving you a false impression of what a tanker track usually is,” Steve says.

“If you look at some of the dairy farms which have been around for years – and it doesn’t matter which dairy company you’re with – they all started off with A-trains or little wee Commers, or whatever.

Truck & Driver | 33

Above: The e-pump system includes battery pack behind the cab and pump controls on the driver’s side of the truck.

“Some of those guys haven’t changed their tanker tracks. The trucks have got bigger, but the loops may not have.”

There’s generous room on this property and Steve steers the 7-axle unit in a wide arc around the tanker loop and lines up to load.

“With the electric pump I just pull up, shift into neutral, put the brake on and jump out. On the other ones you’d have to engage PTO, and you’d hear the engine ramp up or sometimes they ramp up when the probe makes contact with the milk. This truck just shuts down the engine on its normal timer.”

The truck and trailer are loaded quickly. With the peak flow of 1750 litres per minute achieved by the e-pump it’s a rapid process.

The truck is on the move again with 23,800 litres onboard, and it’s back down the scenic driveway and the return run to Waharoa with a trip through the Jumbo wash before lining up to unload.

With a load on board the refined ride quality and the quietness remain impressive.

“The truck is quiet. You do a shift in it, and it doesn’t really feel like you’ve done a day’s work,” Steve says.

“I think it has a better ride than an 8-wheeler. When it’s loaded it’s really comfortable and you’re not getting the feedback from a second steer axle.”

I ask Steve to single out his favourite feature of the truck.

“There’s probably not one thing. It’s the package, the comfort, the way it’s been set-up and the ease of operation,” he says.

The leather trimmed driver’s seat is on air suspension with power adjustment including lumbar and the steering wheel has four-way reach and rake adjustment.

“Everything is in reach. With my driving position I like to sit back a bit, but I’ve got quite short legs, so I do have to reach forward just a little bit.

“I find the visibility is good. There aren’t really any blind spots.

I don’t really understand blind spots – if you know there’s a blind spot, then take it into account so it’s not a blind spot.”

Steve does eventually single out one favourite spec item on the Scania.

“I do like the heated seats. I find if you’re not feeling good, that

Tree-lined tarsealed driveway is a luxury for most tanker drivers.

34 | Truck & Driver

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The 4-axle trailer sits a NDA stainless tank on top of TES running gear.

if you keep the seat warm and keep your kidneys warm, it’s a big help.”

The main layout difference inside the P Series cab is the centre console is raised higher, creating a flat surface between the seats at roughly elbow level. That’s a result of the cab sitting lower on the chassis.

Although it’s officially a Day Cab, there is a narrow bunk area and a slim fold down mattress behind the seats.

“If I’m overnighting in it, something has gone horribly wrong,” says Steve.

“I just hang my bag up back there so it’s out of the way and doesn’t slide around and I have a spare jacket behind my seat.”

The P 460 cab has a fridge and ample storage space for a job that has eliminated paperwork with a dash-mounted tablet.

There’s a small amount of storage above the windscreen on the passenger side with the same space on driver’s seat being the

home to the RT and CB radio.

“This one has the two side lockers, but some of ours haven’t,” says Steve.

In the left side locker, there is the first responders bag which can be accessed from both outside the can and from an internal hatch.

“In this side I’ve got some polishes and there’s spare sample vials in a separate locker that is locked for hygiene. That’s if we ever need spare sample vials.”

I mention to Steve that the performance of the truck when its loaded suggests the actual horsepower figure is of little importance.

It’s the availability of 2500Nm of torque across an easily accessible rev range and the responsive shifting of the OptiCruise which is the key to its easy acceleration and long-legged cruising.

Steve says he drives the P 460 predominately in the Economy mode.

“I do use Power mode if I’ve got a bit of hill work because it holds

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Above: Familiar modern Scania steering wheel and dashboard but in the P model the centre console is raised higher between the seats. the gears for a bit longer. But if I find I don’t need it, then I get out of it. I’m conscious of the fuel burn.”

The transmission is well matched to the torque delivery and the weights the truck is working at.

“I drove an early OptiCruise when you could just about have lunch between the gear changes, but this is good,” says Steve.

“Everybody goes on about how good the [Volvo] I-Shifts are, but I like the OptiCruise. I’m just not a fan of having the gearshift down next to the seat. I prefer to have it on the steering column stalk.”

Steve believes modern automated transmissions make driving less stressful.

“You hear the odd story about `it’s not a real truck because it’s an auto’. Well sorry, times have changed,” he says.

Steve looks at active features such as the Lane Departure Warning, Adaptive Cruise Control and fatigue and compliance monitoring with a viewpoint that reflects his recent management roles.

“I find it strange when trucks don’t have them now, especially for the fatigue. The AI camera in this one will even pick up if you don’t completely stop at a Stop sign.

“It’s technology that potentially saves lives and if you can do anything to make your day safer and more comfortable, then why wouldn’t you?

He says the Open Country focus on safety is a strong example of a shift in the industry.

“It’s a whole different type of driving now. Years ago, on milk it was just hammer down,” says Steve.

“Now the focus is on looking after yourself and looking after the gear and the company supports us with how they plan the runs.

“They really focus on trying to get the best out of the driver and the truck.”

With two of his shifts overnight I also ask Steve about the

Scania’s LED lights.

“The lights are outstanding, and the rest of the truck is well set-up. There are lights at the top on the back of the cab which shine back along the truck and there are lights on the back axles underneath. When I’m about to pull up to a shed I flick the switch, and they stay on so long as I’m under 25kph, which is really good.

“We never used to have that stuff years ago and you were literally driving by braille. Now Tyre pressure monitoring is it’s all lit up.” fitted to the trailer which rides Another question I have for on Super Single tyres.

Steve is whether he can identify something that obviously needs improvement.

“You can look at some trucks and ask `why did they do this and why didn’t they do that?’ But there’s really nothing like that.

“You can always do with a bit more horsepower but it’s not a bad match for what we do. You can have all the horsepower, but are you going to use it and do you actually need it?”

In his three months behind the wheel of the P 460, Steve has already covered a big chunk of Open Country’s collection territory.

“I’ve been up to the other side of Pukekohe and as far south as Galatea,” he says.

“One thing I like about the job is there are no real set areas. You can go anywhere and its different each day. Some people like that and some people don’t.

Below: On the slightly shorter 4-axle trailer the tank acts as the chassis (left); Fuel tank capacity is 355 litres (right).

Truck & Driver | 37

“For me, I don’t need to know. I worry about it when I clock on. I know I’m getting in a white and green truck. And chances are it will have tanks on and I’m going somewhere.

“Because I’ve been on the other side of the fence I don’t bitch and moan about where I have to go and it’s good to have a bit of variety.”

Steve then points out the Matamata countryside we’re driving through and says; “What’s wrong with this? I follow the line so I get to where I need to be and the management structure leaves me alone unless I do something I shouldn’t.

“If I pick my phone up, I can guarantee I’m having a closed door conversation. And if I don’t wear my seatbelt it’s a closed door conversation. It’s really simple and it’s the law anyway.”

Our second trip has a couple of narrow gravel driveways which have dried out in the springtime wind and sunshine.

“Eight wheelers tend to float on this stuff, but this one has got good traction,” says Steve.

If the conditions turn slippery or an extra tight manoeuvre is required Steve uses the power divider as the first call for improved

traction and then reaches for the weight transfer switch to lift the rear axle.

“If I know it’s tight I transfer the weight to the first drive axle, and it will turn itself inside out.

“It pretty much converts to a four wheeler and takes the drag off the rear axle. Once I’m around I drop it back down again.”

Before Hayden Woolston takes over for the drive back to Waharoa I ask Steve for his summary on the P 460.

From his initial thought of “uh, a little 460”, Steve says he’s been impressed with the way the P 460 performs and its suitability to the providing an agile addition to a tanker fleet.

“It would always be good to have more horsepower, but really it’s just a badge on the front for some bragging rights.

“It’s only a little 460 but you don’t need a thumping V8. It would be nice, but this package ticks all the boxes for this job.”

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OST MONTHLY READERS WILL BE aware that I enjoy testing trucks which are well-suited to their specific roles, and the Open Country Dairy Scania P 460 is no exception.

This was an opportune purchase for Open Country Dairy, as a truck became available just when they needed one in a hurry. Departing from their traditional specifications, this agile 7-axle unit has not only integrated into the fleet seamlessly, it has also offered a chance to test some innovations.

This is my first milk tanker test since taking over full-time from my father, Trevor, five years ago. I’ve done almost everything else in that time, so I’m looking forward to trying something new.

The morning was spent chasing the Scania P 460 around the Matamata area for photography and studying the truck while it

40 | Truck & Driver

loaded and unloaded using its new e-pump system. Now, it’s my turn to take the last load back to the factory.

While observing the stationary truck among its larger peers in the unloading bays, a noticeable height difference is evident. It’s not massive, but definitely noticeable. Over the years, many tanker drivers have expressed a preference for trucks with fewer steps into the cab, and this truck only has two, making for an easy climb into the cab.

There’s not much difference between the G and P model ranges in the Scania range, apart from the P cab sitting lower on the chassis. Inside that leads to a raised centre tunnel above the engine, but it doesn’t feel cramped inside.

Another first for me on this test is pulling a trailer fitted with Super Single tires. This unit, set up by TES in Invercargill, definitely

Hayden Woolston goes against the norm. However, it makes sense – this test is mainly about fuel efficiency, and having less rubber to drag can help achieve that. The Open Country transport team has also made several other modifications to optimise this unit’s performance within the fleet.

It’s not your typical tanker setup, with a 6x4 towing a four-axle trailer, but it handles its tasks well.

As I leave the last farm and head back to the factory, I notice the tanker track is a little bumpy, but the 6x4 chassis handles it smoothly. Not having a second steer axle to catch bumps is a definite plus. On the country roads, which are tight and require careful positioning to the left with oncoming traffic, I’m gentle on the throttle and brakes to try and maintain the high driver score and fuel efficiency that Steve Hart, the regular driver, has been able to establish.

The steering is very informative with the weight just the way I like it and giving very minimal road feedback. The five-stage retarder is particularly helpful here; it allows me to almost drive without using the service brakes, especially when traffic slows ahead and

approaching intersections.

The driver’s position offers great visibility and comfort. The trailer tracks smoothly with its super single tires. Noise levels inside the cab are impressively low, and the 460hp, 13-litre Scania six-cylinder engine, paired with the OptiCruise 14-speed transmission, handles the weight with ease. While it may have less horsepower than other trucks in the Open Country fleet, it performs its designated tasks well, as reflected in the fuel data.

Unfortunately, my time with the truck is too short – and I have to return it. Still, it’s been a very interesting test. Achieving 3 km per litre of diesel is a significant feat, especially given that this truck is a model the Open Country team hadn’t previously worked with. Their ability to make it work effectively is a testament to their adaptability and ingenuity in challenging traditional norms.

• SPECIFICATIONS • Scania P 460 B6x4NA Engine: Scania DC13 175 in-line six-cylinder (2-stage SCR Euro 6) Capacity: 12.74 litres Maximum Power: 460hp (338kW) at 1800rpm Maximum Torque: 2500Nm (1844 lb-ft) at 900-1290rpm Fuel capacity: Diesel 355 litres, AdBlue 80 litres Transmission: Scania Opticruise G33CM 14-speed automated manual Ratios: Crawl Low – 13.26 Crawl High – 10.63 1st – 9.15 2nd – 7.33 3rd – 5.81 4th – 4.66 5th – 3.75 6th – 3.01 7th – 2.44 8th – 1.96 9th – 1.55 10th – 1.24 11th – 1.00 12th – 0.80 Reverse – 11.93 Final Drive ratio: 3.42:1 Front axle: 7500kg rating Rear axles: RB662 tandem drive with differential lock (19,000kg max axle loading) Brakes: Disc with ABS/EBS Auxiliary brakes: Scania R4700D 5-stage retarder.

Front suspension: 2 x 32 parabolic leaf springs with stabiliser bar Rear suspension: 8 bellow electronic control air suspension GVM: 26,500kg GCM: 60,000kg

Truck & Driver | 41

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Driving the economy

Hydrogen truck options available through TR Group include fuel cell (left) and dual fuel solutions.

Thinking differently: Making the most of opportunities

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Green Fleet progress

TD35648

by Dom Kalasih Chief Executive Ia Ara Aotearoa Transporting New Zealand

A recent highlight for me was the launch of our Green Fleet Self-Assessment Tool, developed with the support of TR Group and EECA. The self-assessment tool is an online initiative aimed at reducing road-freight emissions. It outlines how a range of different strategies can help businesses and their customers meet sustainability goals, and to ensure good uptake, it’s freely available on our website.

Attendees had the chance to see, touch and learn about some of the new truck technologies on display. The team at TR had done such a brilliant job of maintaining and presenting the vehicles that it was hard to believe these units are all operating in the fleet and have been doing so for some time. The range of powertrains included battery-electric, hydrogen fuel cell, dual-fuel diesel/hydrogen, hybrid (dieselelectric) and conventional diesel.

It dawned on me later that this was the first time I’d seen all those different technologies together. It made me realise how far the fleet has progressed and the incredible

amount that has been achieved in a relatively short time. Our industry has a lot to be grateful for. We simply wouldn’t be anywhere near this advanced were it not for the leadership, commitment and investment from the likes of TR Group, HWR and Hiringa.

Given the quantum of change, Andrew Carpenter, Managing Director of TR Group, gave some sage advice that has more relevance now than ever before. In essence he said: “The new technology is different, so think differently.”

If you want to use the new tech, be mindful you’re not replacing like-for-like. If you appreciate and understand the differences, you’ll find a way to make it work in your fleet.

That thought came back to me when NZTA opened consultation on three proposals to change the Land Transport Rules. This follows Transport Minister Chris Bishop’s statement earlier this year that he was “taking the handbrake off productivity through transport rule reform”.

The Government’s goal is to increase productivity and efficiency by comprehensively reforming our land-transport rules.

Truck & Driver | 43

Driving the economy

The proposed change of most interest to us, and one we’ve been discussing for a long time, is around the Vehicle Dimension and Mass (VDAM) Rule. The Ministry of Transport reported back in 2016 that higher-capacity vehicles can increase productivity by an average of 14–20%.

Similarly, the International Road Transport Union has estimated that high-productivity trucks can reduce emissions by up to 35% per tonnekilometre compared with standard trucks, simply by reducing the number of trips required. Fewer trips also mean improved safety, as crash-risk exposure drops.

We’ve been eagerly awaiting this announcement. The proposed changes would remove the requirement for 50MAX trucks to have an NZTA or council-issued permit (though they’d still need other documentation), and the trucks would no longer need to display a yellow “H” sign.

This consultation is a step in the right direction, but when you consider the potential on the table, frankly, this tranche of proposals is pretty underwhelming. The changes are largely administrative and simply won’t deliver the productivity gains the country needs.

The Government needs to be far more ambitious. Enabling highercapacity, more productive trucks on our network will help meet the Government’s goal of doubling the value of exports by 2034, support emissions-reduction targets and improve safety outcomes. New Zealand is falling behind other countries already trialling and progressing changes

in this area. We should be taking every opportunity to improve freight productivity.

Freight volumes are expected to increase by 55% over the next 20 years, and there’s only so much network capacity available. Shifting more freight with fewer trips is a necessity. The sooner we start making the changes needed to enable improved productivity, the better.

When I looked through NZTA’s proposed changes, Andrew Carpenter’s wise words were ringing in my ears. We need more people genuinely up for change, and more people ready to think and act differently.

Investing in the Roads of National Significance

On the subject of ambition, Transport Minister Chris Bishop also confirmed that the Government is committing nearly $1.2 billion in combined funds to move its Roads of National Significance (RoNS) programme to the next phase.

That announcement followed the NZTA Board endorsing investment cases for all RoNS, including Sections 2 and 3 of the Northland Expressway, the East West Link, Hamilton Southern Links, Petone to Grenada and Cross Valley Link, SH1 Wellington Improvements (including a new Mt Victoria tunnel), and the Hope Bypass.

The Minister described this as part of building a long-term pipeline of transport infrastructure to redress New Zealand’s infrastructure deficit and build jobs and growth for Kiwis. We welcomed progress on the RoNS programme but again made the important point that a bi-partisan commitment is needed to Transporting NZ avoid costly cancellations and further disruption to CEO Dom Kalasih. the infrastructure pipeline.

Some might have thought we were taking a “glasshalf-full” view, but I think we were vindicated when Labour leader Chris Hipkins said soon after that he could not “hand on heart” promise to build the highways the Government has just committed $1.2 billion to. That was interesting, given our earlier discussions with opposition spokespeople suggested they didn’t want projects cancelled.

It’s unhelpful fence-sitting, and the regret-cost risk worries me. To put $1.2 billion in perspective, Transmission Gully, one of the most complex roading projects ever completed in New Zealand, cost about the same. Transmission Gully is delivering benefits to everyday New Zealanders every day. It would be a crying shame to invest that same amount in new projects and have it come to nothing.

Ia Ara Aotearoa Transporting New Zealand’s team is available to asist our members around New Zealand Ia Ara Aotearoa – Keith McGuire, Membership Manager Transporting New Zealand Upper North Island PO Box 1778, Wellington 027 445 5785 • keith@transporting.nz 04 472 3877 | members@transporting.nz Lindsay Calvi-Freeman, Membership Dom Kalasih, Chief Executive Manager, 04 471 8285 • 027 441 4309 Lower North Island & Upper South Island Dom@transporting.nz

027 556 6099 • lindsay@transporting.nz Jim Crouchley, Membership Manager Lower South Island 027 261 0953 • Jim@transporting.nz John Collins, Membership Team Manager & Upper South Island Membership Manager 021 572 375 | john@transporting.nz

www.transporting.nz

44 | Truck & Driver

Driving the economy

TR Group Managing Director Andrew Carpenter says the company’s approach to decarbonisation is about leadership and action.

Green fleets and the road to decarbonising freight O

CTOBER WAS A BUSY MONTH FOR Transporting New Zealand. Just two weeks after the North Island Road Freight Seminar and Industry Awards, we held a Road Freight Decarbonisation Update to share how the sector has been pursuing emissions reduction and what different pathways towards decarbonisation look like.

Four MPs from different parties in parliament were able to join us; three of whom sit on Parliament’s Transport and Infrastructure Select Committee. They each gave brief addresses to the approximately 40 guests of industry members, suppliers and other stakeholders.

Transporting New Zealand CEO Dom Kalasih kicked off the event by introducing our Green Fleet Self-Assessment Tool - a free online questionnaire developed with support from the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA). It’s aimed at businesses within the road freight industry who want to estimate their emissions impact and discover various ways to reduce it.

Users of the tool may find that just by making simple changes in their everyday operations they can reduce both their environmental footprint and fuel usage/costs.

46 | Truck & Driver

Industry leadership: TR Group’s practical approach The presentations continued with TR Group outlining how the company is tackling decarbonisation through both technology and operational improvements.

Managing Director Andrew Carpenter said the company’s approach was about leadership and action. “It’s the right thing to do,” he said.

“We want to make that ‘hard’ a little less hard and a little more doable through our influence.”

TR Group has invested heavily in low- and zero-emission technologies, operating 60 battery-electric trucks and having 20 hydrogen trucks on order to support the development of refuelling infrastructure by Hiringa Energy.

The company’s Hydrogen Fuel Cell Truck Project Manager, Grant Doull emphasised that “the right solution always begins by working backwards from the operational need.”

TR Group’s fleet includes battery-electric, hydrogen fuel-cell, Euro 6 diesel, and hydrogen-diesel dual-fuel models, which attendees had a chance to view in the carpark after presentations ended. Each are suited to specific performance or range requirements.

Driving the economy

Grant Doull is TR Group’s Hydrogen Fuel Cell Truck Project Manager.

TR’s New Energy & Emissions Reduction Lead Scott Donnelly reported that the company’s low- and zero-emission trucks have already travelled 2.5 million kilometres, preventing more than 1,200 tonnes of CO₂ emissions. The company also operates over 300 Euro 6 trucks, which emit significantly less nitrogen oxides and particulates than earlier models.

“Technology-agnostic” in its approach, TR Group’s focus is to “use the right product in the right place,” Donnelly said.

Political perspectives Each of the four MPs present had a distinct take on how the road freight sector should navigate the low-emission transition.

Labour’s Climate Change spokesperson, Deborah Russell acknowledged both the progress made and the ongoing difficulty of decarbonising freight.

She linked the urgency of emissions reduction to October’s extreme weather events in the South Island. “Drivers are out there navigating these conditions. They’re often the unsung heroes… keeping shelves stocked, businesses running and communities connected,” she said.

Russell highlighted the former Labour government’s National Freight and Supply Chain Strategy, which focused on removing regulatory barriers to clean trucks and supporting low-emission freight infrastructure. Labour also backed the Green Freight Project, which explored the suitability of alternative fuels for road freight in New Zealand including hydrogen, biofuels, and electricity.

Looking ahead, she said Labour’s priorities include a National Freight Decarbonisation Strategy, investment in charging and refuelling hubs, and promoting mode shift where practical. “We need smart investment, clear policy signals, and practical support to help businesses make the transition while maintaining reliability,” she said, adding that further policy details would be released ahead of the next election.

National MP Dan Bidois, deputy-chair of the Transport and Infrastructure Select Committee, took a pragmatic stance – but also added he had a personal connection to the industry as his father was a truck driver for 30 years. Bidois said National’s focus is on growth and productivity as the foundation for decarbonisation. The way to accomplish this, he said, is through investment, infrastructure, and regulatory reform.

Bidois pointed to reforms of the Overseas Investment Act, the Investment Boost introduced in this year’s Budget, and the revived Roads of National Significance programme. He cited the $237 billion National

Infrastructure Pipeline as evidence of long-term planning, while calling for bipartisan agreement to ensure continuity.

On regulation, Bidois said the new Fast-track Approvals Act and Resource Management Act reform were aimed at unlocking potential for growth.

He reaffirmed National’s commitment to net-zero emissions by 2050 under the Climate Change Response Act and expressed strong personal support for the goal. “Decarbonisation really needs to involve the industry and it needs to be led by industry, supported by government,” he said, or in other words: “where the rubber hits the road – it doesn’t happen in Wellington.”

ACT MP Cameron Luxton echoed many of Bidois’ themes but pushed further toward deregulation, saying the most important thing the government can do is “get out of the way.”

He said ACT’s role in the coalition so far had included refreshing public–private partnerships to attract investment and accelerate infrastructure delivery.

He argued that foreign investment and property-rights-based RMA reform were essential to deliver efficient networks and reduce costs. “The RMA is a massive handbrake on this country, but we’re replacing it,” he said, adding that efficiency - from road networks to backloading and fleet selection – should drive policy.

Green MP Julie Anne Genter offered a contrasting perspective focused on systemic change. She argued that “everything we do to decarbonise has co-benefits,” like cleaner air and safer, quieter roads.

While optimistic about battery-electric trucks, Genter was more cautious about green hydrogen due to the associated high infrastructure costs. She stressed the value of partnerships and co-funding to help the private sector invest in cleaner technologies. During her term as Associate Minister of Transport between 2017-2020, she oversaw initiatives such as the Clean Car Discount, which she said provided an effective market signal to shift toward low-emission light vehicles.

A point with which her parliamentary colleague Cameron Luxton may surprisingly agree, she said (although he didn’t confirm either way) was that there’s too much focus on vehicles and the infrastructure they require, rather than what are the most efficient and cost-effective ways to move people and goods. She argued that the Roads of National Significance programme was “unaffordable and unfunded,” and that mode shift and collaboration would yield better long-term productivity and safety outcomes.

Politics aside…

The event wrapped up with updates on Low Emission Freight Certificates and EECA’s Low Emissions Heavy Vehicle Fund (LEHVF).

The LEHVF offers grants covering up to 25% of the cost of purchasing or converting heavy vehicles to approved low- or zero-emission technologies, helping offset early-adoption costs.

Transporting New Zealand Chief Executive Dom Kalasih said the day’s discussions demonstrated the sector’s “shared commitment to practical progress.” While political parties differ on how best to get there, there was broad agreement that decarbonisation must proceed in step with economic growth, infrastructure investment, and technological innovation.

We look forward to these conversations continuing into election year and beyond.

The political perspective was provided by (left to right) MPs Cameron Luxton (ACT), Deborah Russell (Labour), Julie Anne Genter (Greens) and Dan Bidois (National).

Truck & Driver | 47

Driving the economy

Transporting NZ backs tougher license enforcement T RANSPORTING NEW ZEALAND HAS WELCOMED Government moves to tighten transport service license (TSL) rules, but is urging Parliament to go further to raise industry standards, including stopping suspended operators setting up phoenix companies to dodge regulators.

The Regulatory Systems (Transport) Amendment Bill would modernise how TSLs are enforced across freight, passenger, rental and vehicle recovery services, including ensuring that “fit-andproper” assessments were completed for all those controlling transport businesses. These assessments include factors such as criminal history, transport offences, complaints about operations, and failure to pay fines.

A gap in the legislation stops NZTA from preventing unfit persons from joining existing TSLs as a person in control, allowing bad operators to remain in control of transport businesses. This is one reason why there are anecdotal reports of bad operators being able to pop back up in other transport businesses following offending or infringements.

Transporting New Zealand’s Billy Clemens and Mark Stockdale appeared before the Transport and Infrastructure select committee in October to recommend practical changes to the Bill, and encourage Parliament to accelerate a more comprehensive review of the TSL regime.

The changes in the Bill are mostly common-sense reforms that will help ensure all TSL holders meet the appropriate fit-and-proper tests. Transporting New Zealand supports the reforms, subject to some practical caveats, and has offered to work with NZTA and Police on education campaigns, and recommended a sensible lead-in period for implementation.

Transporting New Zealand did raise concerns about the Bill providing NZTA with the power to immediately suspend a TSL on significant health and safety grounds – rather than having to provide 28 days’ notice.

Transporting New Zealand noted that NZTA can already suspend individual drivers on safety grounds, and that immediate suspension of a TSL should only be permitted in cases of systemic, business-wide non-compliance where other remedies will not adequately protect public safety. Transporting New Zealand will be watching progress on this point closely.

Operating a road freight transport business is a serious responsibility, due to the value of cargo being freighted, and the serious safety implications when things go wrong. Bad operators can put lives at risk and damage the reputation of the whole industry. We want the cowboys gone.

While a few rogue operators continue to flout the rules, the wider industry is making strong safety gains. The latest Ministry of Transport data available shows that between 2013 and 2023, truck-related fatal and injury crashes (per 100 million kilometres travelled) fell, and ACC data shows injury claims in road freight transport dropped 35 per cent between 2018 and 2025.

Most operators are running safer, more efficient businesses than ever before. The priority now is to back the good performers and enforce the rules against those who refuse to meet basic standards.

Transporting New Zealand has anecdotal reports of suspended or disqualified TSL holders getting an associate to register a new license and carry on business as usual. There needs to be a more rigorous application process that would catch this.

NZTA should also be assessing the size of the transport business a TSL applicant intends to operate, and whether they have sufficient experience and capability to operate the business safely.

The wide-ranging Amendment Bill would also allow NZTA to declare that powerful electric mobility devices are not motor vehicles. This would allow faster e-scooters and similar vehicles on the roads without registration and ACC contributions required of other registered vehicles.

Tr a n s p o r t i n g N e w Z e a l a n d a l s o recommended that increases to the power Associate Minister of Transport Hon James Meager, is the MP in charge of the Regulatory output of mobility devices that NZTA can Systems (Transport) Amendment Bill. declare not to be motor vehicles should not proceed without complementary policy measures to protect all road users from increasingly powerful e-mobility vehicles.

These vehicles can travel at high speed but are hard to see due to their small size and lack of front or rear lights. These policy measures could include charging a one-off ACC levy at the point of import to cover increasing ACC claims for e-scooters and the like, requiring the manufacturers to set a maximum speed limit, and allowing e-mobility devices to use cycleonly lanes instead of the road.

Transporting New Zealand will keep members updated as the Regulatory Systems (Transport) Amendment Bill progresses.

48 | Truck & Driver

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Another asphalting job in full swing. Note hot box fixed to simple flat deck tipper. Fully insulated, such units can easily keep the material hot for several hours and avoid the need for conventional truck bins.

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CANTERBURY-HEADQUARTERED JCL ASPHALT AND ASSOCIATED Blue Diamond Haulage are somewhat bucking the convention in family-owned fleets of children working for their parents. In this case, Tim Craw works for the companies owned by son James.

That said, Tim and his wife Sue were the primary financial backers when the then 22-year-old James started up on his own in 2004. And it was a pretty modest start – a five-tonne Isuzu tipper, a little roller and associated wheelbarrows and other gear that gave James and handful of his mates their first steps into the asphalt business.

He admits the time since has been an exciting – and at times roller-coaster – ride. JCL is now a respected player in the roadsurfacing segment, sub-contracting to heavyweights like Fulton Hogan and Downers on major construction and maintenance projects and has established an enviable reputation for the quality of its work both on new subdivisions and in the private residential sphere.

The Blue Diamond Haulage brand came into being eight years ago. As James explains: “The main reason for setting up Blue Diamond was to chase external work, while still retaining the flexibility to back up on our own jobs when needed.

“Our main paving crew in Christchurch is based on two JCLbranded trucks. Some days they’re all that will be needed, but when the jobs are bigger and more asphalt is being used the Blue Diamond units will back them up. On the days that Blue Diamond isn’t needed for our own work, they’ll be working for Fulton Hogan, Downers or whoever else needs asphalt carted.”

James didn’t grow up in a transport-related environment, his parents owning a dairy farm at Duvauchelle on Banks Peninsula.

That said, Tim has had a life-long passion for trucks, while Sue’s grandfather was Bill Habgood, who in 1947 set up WA Habgood, the Canterbury rural transport firm that was ultimately swallowed by the Transpac empire – so the genetic seeds, at least, had been sown.

By modern standards the farm was tiny, milking 160 cows. But as James recalls, it was a great environment to grow up in: “You almost automatically developed a good work ethic and quickly became able to turn your hand to a wide range of activities.

“For secondary school, I boarded at St Andrews College in Christchurch. I wasn’t what you would call an enthusiastic student, and I left early in sixth form (Year 12), spending a while on an introductory mechanic’s course before working for six to eight months on a farm in North Canterbury.

“Then Dad got a call from an old mate who was at Fulton Hogan. The company had identified an ageing workforce and was recruiting to get some younger blood into the system. Five or six of us came in under the scheme that year. When I started, I had zero experience in the business and was assigned to an asphalt crew.

“I began on a wheelbarrow and over time progressed to a walk-behind roller, then bigger rollers and eventually to the pavers. Along the way I also picked up my Class 2 heavy licence and for time drove a little tack-coat truck, fitted with a 3000-litre emulsion tank.

“I loved that, because as well as running the dairy farm, Dad had regularly done relief driving for Blackwell’s Transport, who were based nearby in Barry’s Bay. I would often go out with him, which meant that early on I developed a similar passion for trucks as he had.

“The crew we had at Fulton Hogan was one of the best you could find, and I was so lucky to learn from them. Funnily enough, the foreman, supervisor and manager we had at the time are all still associated with the company.

“After five years with Fultons I decided to strike out on my own.

Mum and Dad financed me into buying the Isuzu tipper, which the company still has. Some of my mates joined me, and we set up a five-man crew. Dad still had the farm, but when he had time and we were busy he helped out as well.

Truck & Driver | 53

Kenworth W900L linked to a Trout River live floor asphalt trailer. The highly-polished units offer more than just good looks, for they are fully insulated as well.

Below left and right: A clear contrast can be seen between conventional tipping and live bottom. Tippers have to be wary of overhead lines, plus road camber as a potential tipping hazard, while live floors stay flat while delivering the product.

“We started with little jobs, footpaths and the like, hand-laid and with wheelbarrows, and nearly always as a sub-contractor.

During the first five years we had great support from Road Metals, who leased us space at their Yaldhurst quarry, for little more than the cost of us fixing the potholes on their haul roads.

There was a personal connection, because at secondary school I had been best mates with Dan Francis, now Road Metals general manager. When you’re young and starting out in business it can be pretty hard, so having that level of support really helps.”

After five years at the Road Metals quarry, the young company shifted to a leased section in the Hornby industrial area that was to be its home for the next 13 years. By the time of the Christchurch earthquakes, two years later, the staff had grown to around a dozen, a workshop had been built, and two larger

54 | Truck & Driver

trucks had been added to the original five-tonne tipper.

The first of these was a 6x4 Volvo, a former milk tanker that had been fitted with a tipper body. The 8x4 Isuzu which followed had begun life as a furniture unit and was similarly modified.

Then the earthquakes happened. That led to a totally mad time for everyone, recalls James: “Along with every other company that had any equipment we got stuck into the cleanup. We had a really good year, grew fast and made good money – but the year later inevitably things got out of control, and we crashed and burnt.

“I was trying to handle everything virtually on my own and didn’t have a full support group. I call it one of the first big blips in the roller-coaster ride. In hindsight it was a worthwhile experience, because it taught me a lot about needing to have

From top: The company’s first UD and matching trailer entered service in 2016; asphalting is not simply spreading the black stuff; Father and son Tim (left) and James Craw.

Truck & Driver | 55

Fleet size in 2011 had been boosted by the Christchurch earthquake rebuild. control over what we were doing, to ensure we could deliver the best possible outcome.

“One of the best things to come out of that period was we employed a dedicated estimator, Peter Fisher, who had a lifetime of experience in various companies. Having Peter to look after job pricing allowed me to jump back in and manage more of the dayto-day activities. He’s still with us now.”

In 2011 JCL bought its first paving machine a Vogele 1303-2.

At the time it was quite a bold step for a company of its size, says James: “Back then, there weren’t many machines around.

Naturally you had the likes of Fulton Hogan, Isaacs, Downers and CityCare, but there were probably no more than five or six

machines in Christchurch all up. We were one of the first smaller businesses in the city to buy a paving machine. It probably did rock the cart a bit for a while with the bigger operators, but we were only the first of many. Now the total number of pavers in the region is closer to 20, which is far too many.”

The paver gave JCL the opportunity to broaden the scope of its work. Not, James explains to the point of handling major roading contracts, but ideal for the likes of new residential subdivisions.

A case in point was Pegasus Town to the north of Christchurch, where the company was responsible for some of the road surfacing as well as the footpaths.

The extra work brought in by the paver dictated an expansion

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https:// sconto the truck fleet. For several years the primary big-truck brand was Volvo, generally high-mileage but relatively young previous fuel or milk tankers that wouldn’t be travelling big distances in the asphalt work, so still had plenty of productive work in them.

As big trucks, the Volvos did well for the company until two or three years ago, when they’d got up to around 1.4million kilometres and little reliability niggles were starting to creep in, so they were sold, says James.

“Most of the way through, we stuck with Isuzu for the medium and crew trucks. Then, some years ago we bought our first new UD, a brand that has proved to be as reliable as the Isuzus. One of our latest has been an 8x4 flat deck tipper fitted with an asphalt

hot-box. There’s no point in having a full steel deck when the material is being carted in its own insulated hotbox, which is chained and bolted down.”

The Blue Diamond truck lineup comprises all Internationals, two 9870 model cabover sleepers plus a 6x4 ProStar and an 8x4 RH, both bonneted tractor units. The choice of International was driven partly by fond memories of T-Lines and 3070s his Dad had driven while relief driving for Blackwell Transport back in the day.

Flexibility is the key with Blue Diamond, says James: “With the brand we’re trying to achieve the widest possible variety of trailers we can hook to the tractor units, so we can keep the trucks moving. It doesn’t matter as much that a trailer is sitting up for a

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Blue Diamond Haulage has been set up to service not only JCL but a wider client base. International 9870 8x4 is hooked to a Fulton Hogan quad semi bitumen tanker.

Truck & Driver | 57

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The Kenworth T404S had a million kilometres up when it was bought in 2011 but was just three years old.

Modest distance running since means it’s still in immaculate condition

few days while we don’t have a specific use for it.”

The JCL fleet’s mid-blue primary colour scheme derives from a Mack Mid-Liner James’s Dad had on the farm, he explains: “We’re very lucky that the blue works well with the white signwriting, and even when the trucks are a bit dirty, they manage to still look not bad from a medium distance.”

For their part, the Blue Diamond trucks are primarily white with a (minimal, and lighter than JCL) blue contrast colour. The deceptively simple but elegant signwriting has been looked after until now by Truck Signs Ltd in Mount Maunganui, but the company has recently shifted to Timaru Signs & Graphix, for the convenience of geographical proximity.

JCL’s acquisition of its first paver raised the question of transporting it. To this end, James commissioned a three-axle transporter trailer from TMC and bought a Kenworth 404ST tractor unit. The truck had been used on a milk-bottle run between Christchurch and Nelson and had racked up a million kilometres in just over three years. It was a great buy, he says: “Because of the constant hot running, it was virtually brand new, despite the mileage.”

The trailer, close to the length limit, was custom-designed for JCL and able to carry two rollers and the paver. At the same time, TMC also supplied a two-axle tipulator trailer that was towed by the Kenworth.

A more recent Kenworth buy has been 1999 W900L. It had been stored in a Winton shed for some years, but the owner had decided to pass it on. The unit is in really smart condition, and the plan is to use it for work when really needed, but it’s really just an old school cool toy to have for when James has time to jump behind the wheel.

Looking back on the beginnings of the business, James admits he was “ probably on a bit of a blacklist” after leaving Fulton Hogan: “However, we concentrated on doing quality work and our reputation grew, so after a few years we started getting asked to help out with projects.

“In the early days we bought the majority of our asphalt from the CityCare batching plant in Springs Road, but increasingly we have switched to Fulton Hogan as we have grown as a subcontractor on their projects.”

Nearly ten years ago, when JCL opened a branch in Cromwell, the company leased a yard on the prominent McNulty Road that served very well in establishing a good presence in the region.

“It was quite good timing for us to set up in the Lakes District,” says James. “That said, it was far from an easy ride for the first five years. The further south you go, the more business is based on a handshake backed by established relationships. In that region, they’ve seen many people come and go, so there’s a certain scepticism about newcomers.

For me, that was a primary motivator to hang in and prove ourselves.

“The Cromwell operation now has a permanent team of 10, operating three 6x4 trucks and a mid-sized Vogele paver. This was our first paver and now has around 9000 hours up.

“In 2014 we bought our first full-sized paver, which we put 9000 hours on before selling it to Benchmark Construction in Alexandra. We still have a connection with that one, because when we’re really busy we hire it back from Benchmark. Then in 2022 we bought another full-sized Vogele, an 1803-3 model.”

Soon to arrive in Christchurch is a brand-new Vogele unit, a range-topping SUPER 1803-5 X wheeled model, the first in the country. Though at a glance it looks similar to previous 1803-3 models, the newcomer features a raft of technological innovations, including potential paving widths up to 8.5m, cloud-based remote monitoring of paving depth and material temperature, automated grade and slope control, and advanced operator ergonomics.

In 2019 Tim Craw sold up the farming business and came to work for James. The timing, he says, was ideal: “It was a great opportunity to help in growing the company. And there’s a personal bonus for me. It means I’m involved on a daily basis with Truck & Driver | 59

Top photos: Dad Tim Craw (right) is primarily a driver, and though son James (left) is operations manager for the Southern Lakes, he spends a good deal of time hands-on with the crews.

Below: Late 2000s, and the crew from the young company are ready for work. From the left, they’re Blair Iles, Sam Snelling, Josh Gugich, James Craw, Tim Craw and Zane Grey. trucks and machinery, something which has been a real interest all my life, so it’s a perfect set-up.

“Fulton Hogan has supported James along the way. It has been a great relationship, beneficial to both sides, because while they have been an important factor in the growth of JCL, they have also benefited from the quality of the work we do.”

The explosive growth and subsequent slump triggered by the Christchurch earthquakes was virtually repeated after the Kaikoura earthquake in 2016, recalls James: “Prior to it we had a total staff of around 60. In the aftermath of the shocks with the coastal route on SH1 closed we were detailed to widen the alternative route through SH65/SH6 to reduce the potential for truck rollovers.

“We worked from Springs Junction to St Arnaud, adding half a metre to the seal width to 87km of road. We had an initial team up there working on that project when I got a call from NZTA asking if we could set up a second group. We quickly sourced another paver

and ended up with 50 people in the area and a peak of 99 staff overall.

“That work lasted for just over a year until the funding dried up.

And that was when I made my second big business mistake, by not downsizing quickly enough. We tried to keep people on and find work for them, but it just wasn’t there.

“We’ve now settled on a core permanent staff of around 40 in the winter, rising to 50-55 with extra drivers and temporaries in the summer season. That seems to be about the right numbers to handle the work we get.

“In the office we have our South Island regional manager Simon Currie, whose main role covers our people and our customers, while my job is focused on delivery, ensuring the jobs get done.

Currently I’m looking after operations down in the Southern Lakes region, while we have a dedicated operations manager in Christchurch.

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“We have two full-time estimators – One in Christchurch and one in Cromwell – to price jobs, plus Peter Fisher who still puts his time to many of our bigger projects that need pricing. A four-person office team looks after admin and finance, while the workshop has two technicians – though we also outsource quite a bit of the mechanical work.”

James slotted into the southern operations role two years ago after the previous incumbent left for a similar job with Fulton Hogan. He’s generally in the region four days a week – which means he racks up an impressive amount of air and road miles – but he says it has been beneficial for the company: “I love Queenstown, and it has given me the chance to establish a strong customer base and develop our reputation in the region.

“From a personal perspective, it also means I regularly get the chance for hands-on work, which I really enjoy. And our Christchurch people do a great job without needing to be fussed over.

“That said, this year we are training up one of our supervisors in Cromwell to step up to operations manager.”

Of recent years the company has begun to move to live bottom Trout River trailers which use an internal belt system to move asphalt to the rear and into the paver hopper. The concept offers significant safety advantages over conventional tippers, explains James: “You eliminate the risk of trucks rolling over on side slopes when the deck is up, also the problem with avoiding power lines.

“They’re used extensively in Australia, and we were among the first in New Zealand to use them. We have three semitrailer units that cart 21 tonnes each and are fully insulated for heat retention. They also boast a more consistent delivery rate than the conventional tipper/hotbox approach.”

JCL has been involved from the beginning in the development of the Rodin Cars facility near Mount Lyford in North Canterbury. The complex is the manufacturing base for the Rodin FZED and FZERO single-seater track cars, the latter designed to be faster than a Formula One. The facility boasts three test tracks, up to 2.4km long, all of which have been surfaced by JCL. Post Kaikoura earthquakes there was a full new overlay of the Rodin tracks. James explains it was a really big job, laying nearly 1000t a day consecutively over five days: “We had our whole fleet on site, feeding two pavers, with a fleet of contracted bulk tipper units dropping asphalt on a concrete pad at 15-minute intervals.

Blue Diamond Haulage fleet (top) includes two International ProStars. JCL’s mainstay for many years was Isuzu, but UD (main) is now increasingly in the mix.

Truck & Driver | 63

“What we did up there, for a small company, was pretty cool.

Another big job we handled three years ago was the surfacing of a container yard in Christchurch that involved close to 1000t per day and also called for us to use other carriers for the asphalt.

“While the Southern Lakes area doesn’t offer the huge roading and infrastructure projects of the main centres, it has its share of intriguing challenges plus a variety of fascinating private work.

Surfacing over the newly laid fibre cable from Hawea to Haast was a big project. A lot of it was on the road shoulder, but a good deal was trenched into the road surface and needed asphalting over.

Following that we did Te Anau to Milford Sound. We custom-built a drag box that was towed by the truck moving at a crawl. With it we were able to vary the depth and width a little.

“During this period, because so many of the jobs were located over a wide area, I bought a campervan and outfitted it with mobile internet so it could serve as an office at the same time as I was looking after these remote jobs.”

Simon Currie explains he had an extensive background in the asphalt business before joining JCL: “I started my career in Southland with SouthRoads in the 1990s, working originally with a cold-mix crew before moving to hot asphalt. In the early 2000s I joined Calcon and shifted to Christchurch, before returning to SouthRoads, this time in Dunedin liaising with other contractors and stakeholders on road maintenance contracts, before returning to Christchurch in 2021 and the job with JCL.” James and Simon had previously run into each other when the latter was with Calcon. Another, almost parallel link had been established via Calcon’s then owner, Nicholas Tyler, who for some time had mentored James.

As James recalls: “It was about eight years ago, when we’d just set up down south, and I was really under the pump. Let’s face it, I was pretty green in business experience, having basically come up from an asphalt barrow. Nicholas was vastly knowledgeable and really helpful and still acts as an advisor to our senior leadership team of myself, Simon and commercial finance Manager Paul Kelly.

Simon sees his role in the company as akin to a snowplough: “If I can clear the road with issues like compliance, pricing, staffing and safety, then the delivery teams can come in and do their work properly and well.”

He is strong on safety: “True safety is what you do when nobody’s watching. Being very conscious of near misses is high on

my priority list. There’s nothing worse, after an accident, than to hear somebody say, ‘Oh, that nearly happened a month ago.’ Then was the time to bring it to people’s attention, become aware of the potential, and take steps to ensure it doesn’t happen.

“One of the great things about this company is the team environment, where everyone is invested in achieving the best possible outcome. From our operations people, who are superstars at planning and preparing jobs to the finest degree, through our estimators, finance and admin staff to the delivery crews, they’re all fully aware it’s a chain, and a weak link anywhere can wreck everything.”

Main photo: Second paver, bought new in 2014, significantly expanded JCL’s capability. Blue fleet colour scheme is ultra-simple, but effective.

Insert: Another load of asphalt is delivered from the batching plant 64 | Truck & Driver

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National Road Carriers

Helping New Entrants Succeed in Road Transport Justin Tighe-Umbers, CEO, National Road Carriers Association

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OAD TRANSPORT IS ONE OF NEW ZEALAND’S MOST DYNAMIC and essential industries – the invisible network that keeps food on our shelves, building materials on site, and exports flowing to the world. Yet for all its importance, it remains one of the easiest industries to enter and, paradoxically, one of the hardest to succeed in.

That’s a problem we need to fix. Because when people fail, it’s rarely due to a lack of effort or passion. It’s often because we’ve made it far too simple to get started, and far too hard to get the right support once you’re in.

At present, it’s astonishingly easy to get a Transport Service Licence (TSL). The process focuses heavily on the mechanics of running vehicles, but not nearly enough on the other half of the job – running a viable business. And that’s what every transport operator is: a business owner.

Operating a truck doesn’t just mean keeping it roadworthy and compliant. It means understanding cash flow, contracts, tax obligations, and the realities of negotiating rates with major customers. Many firsttime operators find that out the hard way – often after buying their first truck on a loan, only to discover that passion and work ethic alone won’t pay the bills.

We owe it to the next generation of operators to set clearer expectations of what “good” looks like. Before a TSL is granted, there should be a meaningful short course – a micro-credential, perhaps in partnership with organisations such as MITO – that teaches the fundamentals of business management and compliance. That’s not about gatekeeping the industry. It’s about protecting people from avoidable failure and lifting the professionalism of road freight overall.

At National Road Carriers, we see this every day. Our members range from one-truck owner-drivers to large national fleets. The conversations we have aren’t just about RUCs or compliance. They’re often about survival – how to navigate a contract renegotiation with a major customer, how to price work sustainably, or how to handle debt during a downturn.

That’s why we developed our Cost Model tool – a practical system that lets operators plug in their own data and see what they really need to charge to stay afloat. It’s not theory; it’s grounded in the real-world costs of tyres, servicing, finance and fuel. And it’s often an eye-opener.

There’s power in truth, and in showing that an unsustainable rate isn’t a reflection of inefficiency, but of real-world economics.

The past two years have been the toughest since the 1980s.

Recessions can be brutal teachers, but they do sharpen capability. The operators who come through this period will be battle-hardened and business-savvy – and they’ll become the mentors of the next generation.

Our job is to make sure that knowledge is passed on, not lost.

We also have to face demographic reality. The era of multigenerational transport families is fading. New Zealand’s birth rate has fallen to 1.52 – well below replacement level – so we can’t rely on the sons and daughters of existing operators to fill the seats. We’ll need to attract and train new entrants, including migrants, who may have the driving skills but not yet the local regulatory or business understanding.

Setting them up for success benefits everyone.

And success, ultimately, is about connection. Ours can be an isolating profession – long hours alone behind the wheel, or the sense that you can’t share challenges with competitors. That’s why associations like NRC matter. Since 1936, we’ve built a culture of trust and support. When someone calls us, it’s confidential, and it’s often deeply personal. We’re here to listen, to advise, and to back our members through the highs and the lows.

Helping new entrants succeed isn’t just good for them – it’s good for the resilience of the entire freight system. A well-trained, well-supported operator is safer on the road, more financially stable, and more likely to stay in business. And when operators succeed, the whole economy benefits – because every product on every shelf got there on the back of a truck driven by someone who believed they could make it work.

We need to make sure they can.

Truck & Driver | 67

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Justin Tighe-Umbers, CEO, National Road Carriers Association

S 2026 DRAWS TO A CLOSE, I’VE BEEN REFLECTING ON some positive shifts – important building blocks that are finally starting to take shape and will, over time, deliver major productivity gains for our sector.

This isn’t about a quick fix; these are not the kind of changes that will suddenly drive-up freight demand before Christmas.

After the longest economic downturn since 1987, recovery remains slow and hard-earned. It took years to get here, and it won’t be fixed overnight.

But what’s being built today are the foundations of a framework that will allow New Zealand to deliver transport infrastructure faster, smarter, and cheaper for years to come.

And while that might sound academic when your balance sheet is under pressure right now, it’s worth remembering that we’re in this position precisely because, as a country, we didn’t make the right long-term decisions a decade ago.

The work underway today can change that trajectory.

Open for Investment Changes to the Overseas Investment Act and the success of the New Zealand Infrastructure Investment Summit sent a clear message: New Zealand is open for business.

These aren’t just headline-grabbing announcements.

They’re laying the groundwork for international capital to flow into infrastructure – investment that can enhance our freight networks and, ultimately, improve productivity. Behind the scenes, we’re already seeing international investors take notice.

Fast-Track Consents and Port Progress The fast-track consenting process is another tangible step forward. Port of Auckland was the first cab off the rank, securing consent to expand a main wharf in just 66 days – and that included consultation with hundreds of stakeholders.

Northport’s extension is now approved, and Tauranga looks set to follow.

This isn’t simply bureaucratic efficiency; it’s about realworld outcomes. Each project approved under this framework represents faster movement of goods, stronger regional economies, and better productivity across the supply chain.

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Strategic Planning and Coordination We’re also beginning to see a more strategic, coordinated approach to infrastructure planning.

The Infrastructure Commission’s work on the National Infrastructure Plan (NIP) and Investment Prioritisation Process (IPP) is providing muchneeded clarity on which projects matter most – and how to keep them on track between election cycles.

Add to that the establishment of the Freight Council, which is bringing government and industry together to align priorities, and you start to see the shape of a more connected, expertise-based system emerging.

International examples prove this model works. Ireland and Singapore show how aligning investment, planning, and regulatory certainty can transform productivity. By signalling that we’re open for business, New Zealand can attract the capital, expertise, and partnerships needed to modernise at pace.

Looking Ahead to 2026 and Beyond We’re seeing coordinated progress – international investment, legislative reform, fast-track approvals, and evidence-based project prioritisation.

If this framework can survive political interference (and I sincerely hope it does), it has the potential to deliver the kind of productivity gains that New Zealand can bank year after year.

The challenge for our industry is to be ready to seize those opportunities – through fleet renewal, skills development, and collaboration across the freight network.

The Signal Is Clear New Zealand is saying: we’re ready to invest, we’re ready to build, and we’re ready to move goods more efficiently.

For road carriers, that’s more than good news – it’s a signal that our sector will play a central role in driving New Zealand’s productivity in the years ahead.

So, keep an eye on the ports. Watch how the Infrastructure Commission’s plans unfold. And think about how your business can position itself to take advantage of what’s coming.

2026 is shaping up to be the year when all this groundwork starts to pay off.

My challenge to the transport community: stay engaged, stay informed, and make the most of what’s ahead.

The fast-track consenting process allowed Port of Auckland to secure consent to expand a Bledisloe North wharf in just 66 days.

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FEATURE

Geraldine was the first scheduled stop on the Bill Richardson Rally. Photo: David Kinch

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Story and photos by David Kinch

e r u t n e v ad

More than 100 trucks made a special journey from Christchurch to Invercargill in mid-October in honour of the late Bill Richardson.

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BILL RICHARDSON’S NAME IS SYNONYMOUS WITH THE trucking industry, and 20 years after his passing his legacy was celebrated with a truck run that started in Christchurch and made its way south to Invercargill – the home of H. W. Richardson Group.

The rally attracted transport operators and truck enthusiasts from all over New Zealand with just over 100 trucks making the trip.

The North Island representation included the Porter Group with its restored Peterbilt loaded with two race trucks from Hamilton while John Hickman and Wayne McCurdy made the trip down from Taranaki in the Hickman Kenworth with Wayne’s Pacific on the transporter.

On the evening of Wednesday October 14 an official welcome was held at McAlpine Street in Christchurch while entrants registered their trucks and enjoyed a sausage sizzle.

Early the next morning the entrants started the first leg of the run leaving the busy roads of Christchurch and heading about an hour and a half south to the amazing Roger Mahan Heritage Centre in Geraldine.

“It was great to be able to host the trucks and the people at the Roger Mahan Heritage Centre,” says John Welsh, one of the heritage centre trustees.

“The Transport World team have done a great job to organise

the memorial run in memory of the late Bill Richardson, who had a vision to save our heritage with the collection of his old trucks showing the names of companies been and gone.

“Roger and Bill had the same dreams to save our history in the way the museums have been set up to allow younger generations to see how this country was developed with the can-do attitude,” says John.

Brendon Johnstone had the newly restored Ford Louisville LTL 9000 on the run. Photo: David Kinch

Truck & Driver | 71

The Roger Mahan Heritage Centre is an impressive place to visit. Photo: David Kinch

Some of the entrants then took the opportunity for a lunch break in the picturesque South Canterbury town of Geraldine before making their way to Timaru where they visited the ever-expanding Kyle Park Transport Museum – which has a fantastic collection of historical items and vehicles including a large shed full of classic trucks.

The final stop for the day was Road Metals yard in Oamaru which had ample room for everyone on the truck run.

Murray Francis (Road Metals Managing Director), was driving a 1968 Leyland Beaver on the run.

“I really enjoyed being part of the truck run and would like to thank the Richardson Family, HWR Group and the Transport World Staff for organising this event in the memory of Bill Richardson and tying it in with what would’ve been his 85th birthday,” Murray says.

“It was a great tribute to the man. I was very impressed that the family, Shona, Jocelyn, Scott and Bill’s grandson Harrison were all part of the whole event, and all travelled the entire journey from Christchurch to Invercargill and were a huge part of it.

“I thought that the Transport World girls did an outstanding job and especially when they all set up early on the south side of

Oamaru with their Transport World flags flying and waving to the 102 trucks leaving Oamaru on their way to Invercargill.

“It was quite emotional for me, this and the drive through the streets of Invercargill with thousands of people lining the footpaths to get a view and waving to all. ”I felt very proud to be a part of it. The event was well planned, well thought out and a huge success. We did host the event on the Thursday night in our new yard in Oamaru where we were able to accommodate the 102 trucks and the participants. It was a relaxed atmosphere where many stories were told. The Road Metals staff did a wonderful job of hosting and showing off their recent artwork on the walls.”

After an action-packed day, the entrants enjoyed dinner and drinks in Oamaru before heading to their accommodation.

Friday morning – which would have been Bill Richardson’s 85th birthday – saw the rally heading towards Dunedin where I joined local photographer, Jordan Cleaver, to capture the trucks on their way south.

Just before lunch the trucks arrived at the McLellan Freight yard in Balclutha to view the late Alex McLellan’s collection.

Left: Road Metals Managing Director Murray Francis took the opportunity to drive the 1968 Leyland Beaver.

Right: Bruce Robertson had the Clinton Waipahi Mack Ultra-Liner loaded up with classics for the trip south. Photos: David Kinch

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Porter Group put a massive effort in travelling south from Hamilton. The Peterbilt looked awesome with two race trucks on the transporter. Photo: David Kinch Alex’s widow, Kim McLellan-Unahi says; “We were very proud to host the Bill Richardson Truck Rally at our Balclutha `J Road’ yard while also showcasing our beloved Alex’s vintage fleet for everyone to enjoy along with hospitality at its best.

“A huge thank you to Jen and her team at The Crescent Bar & Grill for catering the fantastic lunch we put on for the visitors. The whitebait patties were a great treat, and the rest of the food was just as yummy.

“Thanks Isaiah [McLellan] and our staff for getting the yard ready for this event where we welcomed around 104 trucks and over 150 people. What a fantastic lineup of vintage and new trucks from far and wide. We enjoyed catching up with many familiar faces and being a part of such a special day.

“It was also nice to meet Greg Murphy and share a chat about

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my Alex with him. Alex would have been buzzing with excitement and so proud to have all of you truckers and partners at his place.

Thank you.

“Alex was a very proud man that loved the industry. Every part of his being involved family, trucking and the people. It was a privilege to have met Bill Richardson on many occasions all those years ago with Alex and then to be a part of his fantastic celebration for his birthday. Thank you to Shona, Jocelyn & Scott.

We hope you all enjoyed calling at our place as we certainly enjoyed hosting you.”

The rally then continued to Invercargill where they gathered on Otepuni Avenue for the final lap of the city followed by a celebration dinner held at the Bill Richardson Transport World.

The event was organised by Transport World and Nicole Sharp,

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John Hickman and Wayne McCurdy made the trip down from Taranaki with Kenworth and Pacific. Photo: David Kinch

the Head of Marketing and Communications says the rally was a fitting tribute to Bill Richardson’s legacy.

“Sitting in the cab of Snowy Kidd’s 1949 Ford 5-tonner, young Bill’s imagination was ignited – that moment sparked a fascination for trucks that endured through one of the most dynamic periods in New Zealand’s transport history,” Nicole says.

“Bill not only made trucks his life work, but his hobby too, and it was through both work and pleasure that he left a lasting effect on those he crossed paths with and made many lifelong friends.

“Marking 20 years since Bill’s passing, and finishing on his birthday, friends, family, workmates, trucking enthusiasts and

lovers of all things wheels took part in a rally that celebrated one of Bill’s biggest loves – trucks – and the man himself.”

Courtney Russell, the General Manager of Tourism says; “On what would have been Bill’s 85th birthday week, we rallied south from Christchurch, doing what he enjoyed doing, surrounded by people he would have enjoyed being with.

“I have been told Bill was a real people man, he left such an impression on so many people, so coming together to share stories on a truck rally – the wasn’t anything more fitting, really.“ “What better way to toast to Bill than surrounded by his cherished collection – his lasting legacy.”

The Road Metals yard in Oamaru was the final stop on the first day. Photo: David Kinch 74 | Truck & Driver

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FEATURE

This final lap race two collision sidelined Brent Collins (44) and resulted in disqualification for Troy Wheeler (28).

Photo: Geoff Ridder

d e k c a p n o i t Ac

By: Colin Smith

d l i e f n a M

REIGNING NZ TRUCK RACING CHAMPION ALEX LITTLE (Hutt Valley) made a winning start to his title defence by top-scoring at the 2025-25 series opener raced at Manfeild over Labour weekend.

Little drove his title-winning Freightliner Century to a fourth, a race win and a second placing at the first weekend of NAPA Auto Parts New Zealand Super Truck Championship action.

An entry of 10 trucks fronted for the first championship round sponsored by Bryce O’Sullivan Contracting (BOSCO) with most of the attention on the third Boss Racing Freightliner debuting with Malcolm Little at the wheel.

It’s been a busy winter for the Hutt Valley team. Alongside building the new truck the Boss Racing squad has updated the other two and fully revamped the team branding with new blue, red and silver colours.

Alex Little and team-mate Brent Collins (Pareora) remain in the same trucks they have campaigned in the recent years.

The Manfeild grid included a rare North Island visit by Tony Brand in the V8 Detroit powered Bedford and a new addition to the grid with Masterton’s Daniel Thornton having purchased the ex-Team Easy Racing Volvo. An engine problem during Friday testing eliminated Marc King’s International and reduced the race grids to nine trucks.

And there was less familiar name at the top of Saturday’s qualifying time sheets with Hayden Spencer setting the fastest qualifying time at the wheel of Shane Gray’s Quality Racing Kenworth.

Spencer prepares the Kenworth and has previously driven in support races. He stepped into the championship class due to Gray undergoing a recent shoulder reconstruction- which will keep him out of action till later in the season.

Spencer’s first timed lap of 1m 26.112s was good enough to secure pole position by a margin of 0.449s ahead of Alex Little, former champ Troy Wheeler (Freightliner), Collins and Ron Salter who had his Scania

lapping competitively to clock a 1m 27.781s.

For the first race of the weekend a fast-starting Alex Little grabbed the lead on the run to the first corner and pole-sitter Spencer was quickly shuffled back to fourth as the front runners raced through the Esses on the opening lap.

It was close racing between the lead trio of Alex Little, Wheeler – who came through from the second row of the grid – and Collins until Wheeler powered his way into the lead entering the back straight on lap three.

Collins was forced out after a mid-race collision with Spencer – the bumper of the Kenworth locking against right rear wheel of the Freightliner and snapping a tramp rod bolt which caused the diff to move around.

Wheeler’s winning margin was a commanding 11.7secs margin over the Scania of Ron Salter – after a 5secs penalty was applied to Alex Little dropping him to fourth and Malcolm Little was promoted to third.

There were mixed fortunes for Boss Racing in the Sunday morning reverse grid race with a 1-2 finish for Alex and Malcolm Little but a nonfinish for Collins.

Collins had a front row start due to his first race dramas and built a good lead in spite of some boost issues. But he was pushed into Daniel Thornton (Volvo) couldn’t avoid Hayden Spencer who spun in front of him. Photo: Geoff Ridder

Truck & Driver | 77

Above: Alex Little leads the field through the Manfeild Esses.

Left: New to the grid is Daniel Thornton in the ex-Team Easy Racing Volvo.

Photos: Geoff Ridder

a spin and a collision by Troy Wheeler as the pair raced for position through the esses on the final lap. With a blown right front tyre Collins was left stranded on a kerb and the incident also earned Wheeler disqualification from the race.

The amended results saw Alex Little the winner ahead of Malcolm Little while Salter continued his strong weekend with third placing ahead of Dave West’s Freightliner Argosy and Daniel Thornton.

The final reverse grid points race on Sunday afternoon saw an early race stoppage with Collins again sustaining some tyre and rear suspension damage.

2025-26 NAPA Auto Parts NZ Super Truck Championship (after Round 1) 1 Alex Little (Freightliner) 53pts

2025 Gulf Western Oils Development Series (after Round 1)

2= Troy Wheeler (Freightliner) 44pts

1= Tim Wheeler (Freightliner) 26pts

2= Malcolm Little (Freightliner) 44pts

1= Cameron Vernon (Scania) 26pts

4 Ron Salter (Scania) 42pts

3 Ricky West (Freightliner) 24pts

5 Hayden Spencer (Kenworth) 40pts

4 Alex Little (Freightliner) 21pts

6 Dave West (Freightliner) 37pts

5 Hayden Spencer (Kenworth) 20pts

7 Daniel Thornton (Volvo) 30pts

6 Peter Bartlett (Freightliner) 17pts

8 Tony Brand (Bedford) 27pts

7 Kurt Clement (Volvo) 14pts

9 Brent Collins (Freightliner) 16pts

8 Craig Mason (Bedford) 12pts

10 Marc King (International) 1pt

9 Rachael Little (Freightliner) 5pts

78 | Truck & Driver

Main: The new Freightliner built over the winter made its debut with former champion Malcolm Little (insert) behind the wheel. Photos: Geoff Ridder

After a restart, the deciding moments of the race happened at the hairpin. Spencer was heading a three truck breakaway with Alex Little and Wheeler in pursuit when he spun away the lead and dropped to sixth spot.

And Alex Little was holding a narrow lead as the final lap began but he ran wide on the hairpin exit, which gave Wheeler a chance to power past on the next straight and take the win with a margin of just 0.65secs between the pair at the finish.

Malcolm Little was third and West drove to another fourth placing ahead of Spencer and Salter.

After three races Alex Little leads with 53 points while Wheeler and Malcolm Little tied on 44 points and Salter well-placed on 42 points and Spencer with 40.

“It wasn’t an easy weekend,” says Alex.

“The truck wasn’t going 100% and I was having some boost problems. With a lot of perseverance from the team and from myself we pulled off the round win, and we’ve got a small lead in the points.”

The boost problem was requiring Little to drive the truck in a different style and he says it probably cost him the win in the third race.

“There was a safety car in the second race and during that point I had a bit of a revelation about how I could drive around the problem and still have pretty good pace,” he says.

“The truck still had good top-end boost but didn’t have much low-end boost, which is what you need for all of the slow corners at Manfeild.

“I was trying to keep a high line and keep the revs up a bit through the hairpin, and I just ran a bit wide on the last lap.

“It was a crucial mistake. I was gutted to let him [Wheeler] through because I think we had just enough consistent pace to keep him behind me.”

It was Collins who had the toughest weekend of the front-runners.

“The truck is handling really good, but we have a wiring problem which means I’ve got no speed control or wastegate control,” says Collins.

“But the story of my weekend was being in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

Qualifying for the Gulf Western Oils Development Series had seen Cameron Vernon - as a late replacement for Gary Price who had travel issues - at the wheel of the Salter Scania setting the pace ahead of Tim Wheeler and Hayden Spencer.

But that effort only earned Vernon and Wheeler the back row spots of the inverted grid and it was sixth fastest qualifier Ricky West who quickly surged to the front and built a big lead.

He needed it, with Wheeler setting the pace and getting to second spot early on lap three to begin chasing West. There was still a gap of just over 2secs beginning the final lap, but the pair exited the final corner nose-to-tail and at the finish West still held the advantage – by a mere 0.069secs in an incredibly close finish.

Alex Little was third and Vernon was fourth ahead of Spencer with Peter Bartlett – in the repaired Collins truck – as Kurt Clement (in Thornton’s Volvo) and Craig Mason (driving the Bedford) completed the finishers and Rachael Little was a mid-race retirement.

Round two of the NAPA Auto Parts NZ Super Truck Championship is at the South Canterbury Car Club’s popular Trust Aoraki Thunder Down Under meeting at Timaru’s Levels International Raceway over the January 31-February 1 weekend.

Hayden Spencer replaced Shane Gray – who is recovering from shoulder surgery – in the Team Quality Racing Kenworth.

Photo: Geoff Ridder.

Truck & Driver | 79

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FEATURE

The rugged East Coast terrain provided plenty of sheep to transport.

Bygone days Transport

By Rod Simmonds Photos Rod Simmonds and Jim Laird Collection

Wairarapa Ltd - Part 3

The final part (maybe) of the history around Hargreaves Transport and the wider Transport Wairarapa Group continues this month, capturing the essence and old school traits that made the trucking industry what it is today.

THE WILLIAM HENRY HARGREAVES SENIOR WAS A WAR veteran who served in the Boer War and WW1. His brother died on the first day at Gallipoli (April 25, 1915).

William, who settled in Dannevirke, was one of the first Atlantic [petroleum] agents in the country – decanting fuel into drums for customers.

His wife Ivy Hargreaves had a habit of placing a coin in every new truck which was something small but appreciated and showed the empowering culture that was evident over the years.

Ex-driver Keith Hutchinson explains the tradition.

“I’m not sure when this started, but it was in effect in 1957 when I started working there as a tanker driver.

“Mrs Ivy Hargreaves [ Bill’s mother] presented a sixpence to the driver of new truck when it entered the fleet. I got my first sixpence in 1961 when I got the Morris BMC diesel and again in 1966 when I received the KH Bedford.

Dannevirke-based 1961 Morris Atlantic fuel tanker was driven by Keith Hutchison. The Atlantic agency played an important role in the early days of the Hargreaves family business operations.

Truck & Driver | 81

Early D-Series Fords at work on fertilser (left) and hay (right) assignments.

“As the firm grew and the staff got bigger this custom died out around 1967. I put the coins on the trucks key ring and when I gave up driving in 1969 I put them on the keyring of my car.

“I still have them on my current car to this day. I’m not sure what the other drivers did with theirs but as you could buy a handle of beer for sixpence in those days I guess that’s where they ended.”

William Junior (Bill) carried on the Atlantic agency which later became part of the Mobil Oil company.

Bill Hargreaves also captained Hawke’s Bay in rugby and played for Canterbury University. He then went on to coach in Dannevirke, and his lifelong passion for rugby incorporated into various depots having local “business house” rugby teams. A great way to socialise and build the overall team philosophy... and of course the post-match was welcomed by all.

Social clubs within businesses are few and far between now (much the pity), but in their day the beer suppliers did well with pallet lots being consumed on a regular basis at the depots.

Rumour has it extra beer was brought in to celebrate the birth of Nigel Hargreaves! Those were the days….

Young Bill used to visit each of the depots at least once a week. He would say he was going “around the world”, heading to Eketahuna, Dannevirke, Feilding, Haulage Parts in Palmerston North and then finishing in Petone, Lower Hutt.

Despite the growing work force, he knew the names of all the

staff and their wives and children!

Many of the TWL drivers I met as a kid racing on a push bike down to the local saleyards after school have become life-long friends with unfortunately many passing on in recent years.

Capturing their experiences and life on the road drives my passion for documenting the history of the trucking industry.

The experiences of working for one of the region’s largest employers has had a lasting effect on many who worked there and their future success in the transport industry as a whole.

In my conversations with former staff, the “family atmosphere” has been mentioned time and time again. Notable because at its peak, TWL had over 200 employees.

With fathers and sons, uncles and nephews all in the mix the group had multiple employees from the same family. Drivers mentored the “newbies” and with relatives holding up the office and administration the family links were never far away.

The drivers I have spoken with all mentioned the huge variety of work they did – no two days were ever the same – and the great camaraderie not only within the TWL Group but with its competitors as well.

When the stock season was in full swing every truck that could carry a stock crate was pressed into service. Trailers used on freight went on to wool and hay as summer was the busiest time for all.

In the mid-1980s Jim Laird drove this Nissan, primarily carting sheep, some cattle and on other days freight with the crates removed.

82 | Truck & Driver

Multi-role Ford D2418 complete with custom cab lights was driven by Jim Laird on livestock, wool, freight and log work.

It was normal to cart an early load into a sale or freezing works, then crate off and a quick clean and onto wool picking up all over the rugged East Coast sheep stations. Trucks would be back at the yard by 5pm to cover if rain was likely. Then early morning it was the tough haul over the Remutakas to the local wool store at Gracefield, round to collect beer, cement, gib board or general freight backload to be delivered by lunch time and out again for the next load of stock or wool…

Helping a fellow driver was just the right thing to do at the big sale days or unloading at the freezing works. From helping by unhooking the heavy A-frame drawbars and opening the crates, the faster you could get going the better all round. Many of today’s drivers just sit in their air-conditioned cabs on mobile phones…

The long summer nights chasing “idiot bales” was one of the least popular jobs, but the drivers always had plenty of help. And of course, plenty of refreshments.

TWL had one of the largest fleets of Fords – ranging from the early D1000 introduced in the late-1960s to the updated D2418s that worked very hard.

“If they did 100,000km before blowing up you did well,” one driver recalls.

Everyone had D1000s in their fleet, sold and serviced by the extensive Ford dealerships around NZ. The Cummins 8.3-litre 504 V8 made a lot of noise and supposedly 170-180hp!

The story goes that UK Ford engineers came all the way to NZ to find out why so many trucks were blowing up. While visiting Truck & Driver | 83

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Nissans were popular in the 1970s-1980s while diesel was cheap!

Transport Wairarapa Masterton their first comment was; “You can’t pull a trailer with that!”

Anyway, the Fords toiled on, and many went to the likes of TRT to be repowered.

Jim Laird was one of the TWL drivers who kept a tally of what he did season-by-season (and a comprehensive photo archive, see page 86).

While a driver at TWL Masterton, Jim started off on the D1000s, moved into a newer D2418, then the big V8 300hp (apparently) 8x4 stockliner and lastly the legendary International T2670-350s.

In one season (June 1, 1984, to May 31, 1985) driving a Nissan he carted the following: 103,178 sheep (including 67,734 lambs), 2867 head of cattle with 50 trips to Whakatu, 23 to Takapau, 51 to Waingawa, 45 to Wellington Abbatoirs and 31 to other works including Imlay,

Feilding and Auckland.

The crates were off for just 19 days on freight work.

Fuel consumption wasn’t flash with 53,041 litres diesel consumed covering 63,202km. The accountant said if Jim was driving one of the Scanias it would have saved at least 10,000 litres of diesel!

Jim Laird loved working on the wool and was the first out every day during the season. The story goes that around 1984 he returned to the Solway yard after the last load to Gracefield for the season. He’d handled over 4500 bales during the season, or around 40 truck and trailer loads.

Jim had just finished clearing the cab when he saw Bill Hargreaves with brown paper bag in hand walking over.

“Great work Jim, here is your bonus……. they’re called ratchet straps, might help you next year but I don’t think they’ll catch on...”

Jim fondly remembers the innovation on the run, the International T Lines were great camaraderie, the social trips, Christmas parties, flagships at all the depots and parades. from the late-1970s.

TWL also had a great workshop team and if something was broken or needed to be made (i.e. log bolsters, ramps, toolboxes) nothing was ever a problem. The necessary parts were usually sourced from the yard down the back, painted and fitted in quick time. That’s the resourcefulness of the era, never throw anything away, re-use and just keep going.

The Hargreaves TWL Group was a true NZ trucking icon. We are all better for the foresight, integrity, and productivity achieved by them and others like them in rural New Zealand.

The Solway yard line-up every weekend.

Truck & Driver | 85

A proud Jim Laird making it through to Riversdale coastline with building intact on his original Ford D Series.

By Rod Simmonds Photos Jim Laird Collection

Jim Laird’s photographic memories WHEN THE FIRST NZ TRUCK & DRIVER FEATURE ON TRANSPORT Wairarapa was first published, past TWL employee and local trucking identity Jim Laird offered to catch up if I wanted any more photos. How can you not?

Jim was well known during his driving career for “stopping for bloody photos” – for which we are now eternally grateful.

A small 35mm camera – and waiting a week for prints to be developed – saw Jim build a great collection over his 50-odd years in the local Wairarapa trucking scene.

From the varied days at TWL to logging, rocks and metal, lime and such for major roading and infrastructure, delivering new Fords for the local Fagan Motors, and then his own long-established Driver Training and SpreadMark Certification training ventures, Jim is intertwined in the fabric of the old school trucking scene.

Ford D2148, TWL 67, freshly painted by Jim.

86 | Truck & Driver

These days owning some “rare as rocking horse poo” Packard limousines keep him active in classic car runs, art deco celebrations, and until recently many weddings. Jim doesn’t have time to retire…

Jim started at TWL driving a Ford D1000, mildly customised with a sun visor and bullet lights, and then stepped up to a D2418 which was customised a bit more. He even painted Transport Wairarapa across the front of the crate – as was the standard.

After the well-known and constant engine problems with the Fords, Jim graduated to the `big time’ with an 8x4 Nissan 300hp (apparently) smoking V8 which made a lot of noise – as twostrokes tended to do.

With a 3-deck overhead crate and a matching 3-axle/3-deck trailer, it was big gear at the time. Wool and stock kept him busy,

Logging for Tony Pye meant more hair-raising tracks.

with occasional general freight duties trying out those new ratchet straps!

The last truck of his tenure at TWL was a near-new International T2670 featuring a 350 Cummins and 15-speed Roadranger – a bullet proof combination and customised a little. It was one of his favourites.

At the time when logging was just starting in the Wairarapa, Jim went to work for Tony Pye of Carterton driving Tony’s new T Lines and the Pink Perfection Transtar with 444. Jim later moved on to the ultra-reliable and comfort CWA Shoguns.

One of the highlights was carting the very first load of export logs for ITT Rayonier from the forests behind Upper Hutt to Centreport Wellington.

Logging work at the time was often on the very steep and rudimentary tracks around the Kapiti, Wellington and Wairarapa coastlines. A stint with Fred Burling Transport in a Mack SuperLiner V8 and early Mitsubishi loggers allowed Jim to see the terrain tucked away few of us even know existed. Photos tell a thousand words and Jim’s collection is the best work diary you could have!

After the tough logging work Jim went to work with Malneek Contracting doing 3-4 trips a day across the Remutakas hauling bulk gravel for motorway and port infrastructure. Timber transport across “the hill” filled in any quiet times and his trucks were again UD Nissans and a V8 Mack Super-Liner.

Long hours wear out the best sometimes, so Jim refocused and established his own successful Driver License Training business (including HIAB, forklift, and 4WD tuition) and the SpreadMark Certification for many professional spreaders NZ-wide.

Whether driving the beloved Packard limos around Napier’s Art Deco scene or steering a Road Train in outback Australia, Jim and his camera are a great combination!

Jim Laird with his beloved 1928 Packard Phaeton.

The big Mack V8 440hp Superliner went like a rocket no matter how heavy.

Tony Pye’s International Transtar unloading at Wellington Port

The Mack Super-Liner on logs went everywhere.

Truck & Driver | 87

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FEATURE

Initially DAF built truck chassis and powertrains which were then delivered to a number of body builders for completion. This VD 60 P from 1950 has an 83hp Perkins diesel engine. Drivers dressed in a greatcoat and goggles delivered the trucks to the outside body builders.

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DAF nears a century of innovation IN LATE 2024 DAF CELEBRATED THE 75TH ANNIVERSARY OF building its first truck.

The history of the Dutch marque stretches back further – and an impressive company museum in the city of Eindhoven shines the spotlight on almost a full century of transport engineering, innovation and manufacturing.

The location in downtown Eindhoven was the site of the De Valk (the Falcon) brewery, built in 1884. After the brewery moved, the building housed a company that produced ice bars, which were used for cooling the beer. The museum was established in 1993 and includes a recreation of the original workshop established by company founder Hub van Doorne.

The DAF connection to the site goes back to 1928 when Hub van Doorne (who was born in 1900) leased a workshop adjacent to the brewery to establish his small machine shop. Part of Hub’s work was to maintain several cars owned by the brewery owner.

In 1932 Hub was joined by his brother Wim in the fledgling business, and the small garage began to expand into trailer manufacturing during the 1930s.

In those first years, the company was known as Van Doorne’s Machine Factory. When the brothers introduced their first trailers to the market in the early 1930s, the chassis were not rivetted but welded, making them a lot lighter than usual for the time.

They were an immediate success and the machine factory switched its focus and became Van Doorne’s Aanhangwagenfabriek, or DAF for short.

When Europe began its recovery from WWII, a production line for trailers and semi-trailers was set up and plans were made for the construction of a truck factory. In 1949, the A30 was launched – a

3-tonne truck aimed primarily at the domestic market with the grill featuring seven characteristic chrome stripes – a design cue that continues today.

A few months later, the first model was rolled out of the factory and it was quickly followed by the A50 (5-tonne) and the A60 (6-tonne) versions. A delivery truck – the 1-tonne A10 – first saw the light of day in 1950, with a spin-off pick-up model – the A107 - following later.

The number of models increased rapidly, including vehicles with a special chassis for tipper and garbage trucks and a series of military vehicles.

DAF founders, the brothers Hub (left) and Wim Van Doorne built their first truck in 1949.

Truck & Driver | 89

Top left: A rare, bonneted DAF truck. In the early-1970s DAF partnered with International Harvester and the DAF N 2506 was an International Paystar 5000 powered by a 230hp 11.6-litre DAF DKA engine. Only 22 trucks were produced.

Top right: Two examples of the original DAF A Series from the 1950s.

The concrete mixer is a 1958 A 1902 DS with a 165hp turbo diesel engine which is fitted with a 4 cubic metre drum.

Above: The DAF P300E was the last in a short series of pick-up models built in 1953-54. Only 413 were built in the A107/117 and then P 300 E versions. Many were used in the oilfields of Dutch overseas territories.

The truck on show in the museum was rebuilt from two donor wrecks, one found in Curacao and the other in Venezuela.

Bottom left: The museum includes a recreation of the original Van Doorne brothers workshop, where new exhibits are prepared and the existing ones are maintained.

Bottom right: The museum layout has multiple floors of truck, car, and technology displays.

90 | Truck & Driver

At the time, all of the trucks were rolled off the line as a chassis with an engine and grill. The building of cabs was still in the hands of body builders. This all changed in 1953 when DAF began to manufacture its own cabs.

In 1955, the factory celebrated the production of its 10,000th chassis – an occasion that was made extra special thanks to an order from the Dutch Army for 3,600 vehicles. Shortly afterwards, DAF also began developing and building its own (diesel) engines. DAF would become the first to add a turbocharger to its trucks’ power source for extra horsepower and greater efficiency.

In 1957, DAF presented the DO, a truck with a characteristic design and a 10-tonne rear axle developed specially for this series. It made the DO particularly suitable for heavy and international transport, which was gradually becoming more popular. The cab of the second generation of the DO even featured a rudimentary bed – a novelty at the time.

At the start of the `sixties, the Dutch truck builder surprised everyone again, this time with the DAF 2600, a truck that was aimed even more directly at international transport than the DO. The cab was revolutionary. Its square shape maximised the living space – and comfort – for the driver, who was sometimes away from home for weeks at a time. The cab had room for a bed and even a bunkbed if required. The large windows provided plenty of light and an unparalleled allround view, which improved safety. The 2600 series became known as ‘the mother of international transport’.

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DAF set out to prove its Variomatic continuously variable transmission with several motorsport programmes. Two DAFs contested the original 1968 London to Sydney Marathon and this 1108cc DAF 55 (right) took part in the 1993 celebration of the rally. On the race circuits the Variomatic was used in a variety of small capacity Formula 3 cars, starting with the Brabham team and then switching to the Tecno marque (above). The cars were powered by a 997cc Cosworth engine.

In 1970, DAF launched the F1600 – F2200 series. These vehicles featured a tilt cab, making DAF one of the first to introduce it. The advantages of the tilt cab were huge. It made it easier for mechanics to carry out maintenance, and offered the driver a much quieter work space because the engine was encased in the cab.

The revolutionary 2600 made way in 1973 for the completely new 2800 (and later the 3300 and 3600). The 2800 had not one but two beds and, thanks to the incredible comfort, it became the number one truck for long distances. DAF was also the first manufacturer to launch the turbo intercooler for more torque, more power and lower fuel consumption.

In the 1980s the DAF 95 was introduced, which could be fitted with an extra high roof SpaceCab for unrivalled driver comfort. It was even followed by a Super SpaceCab, the ultimate in space and luxury. For regional and national transport, DAF introduced the DAF 65/75/85.

In the following years, this series of vehicles – and their successors, the CF and XF – made a name for themselves in Europe and also became increasingly popular further afield.

The museum not only houses examples of these milestone DAF trucks, but also many of the small cars the company produced between 1958 and 1976. DAF’s significance to automotive development is that it pioneered the continuously variable transmissions which are becoming increasingly common today.

The museum displays also showcases past DAFs motorsport programmes – both with cars and trucks – which were used to prove and promote the marque’s innovative technologies.

The DAF Museum is open Tuesday-Sunday (closed Mondays) from 10am-5pm and is also closed on most major public holidays.

More information: www.dafmuseum.nl Left: Forty years ago, DAF engineers created the FAZ 3600 DKZ Turbo Twin for rally raid competition. Powered by twin 11.6-litre engines each developing 495hp, the legendary Dutch driver Jan de Rooy drove the Turbo Twin to victory in the 1987 Paris-Dakar Rally. It remains DAFs only Dakar win.

Below: In the mid-1990s DAF developed a truck to compete in the FIA European Truck Racing Championship. The 11.6-litre engine was enlarged to 12-litres with a four-valve per-cylinder head and twin turbos to develop in excess of 1000hp.

Truck & Driver | 93

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FEATURE

The first secret location on the route was at Parks Towing.

Photo: David Kinch

e d a c e d a g n i t a r Celeb Story and photos by David Kinch

n u r e on th

DAVE CARR MEMORIAL RUN 10TH ANNIVERSARY For a decade, the Dave Carr Memorial Run has been visiting sheds, collections and businesses across the Canterbury region.

The event, which raises money for the Tramway Historical Society (which was an organisation close to Dave), has continued to grow in popularity attracting enthusiasts and trucks from around the country and even overseas.

Organisers Dave ‘Skoda’ Ching and Cam Lill were hopeful of reaching 100 trucks for the 10th anniversary, and were blown away when over 130 trucks turned up to support this awesome event.

As per usual the participants were given the day’s run sheet just before they departed the Highway Inn Truckstop at 9am.

This year the route began heading East before the direction

After leaving Parks Towing the trucks headed to the next destination. Photo: David Kinch Truck & Driver | 95

SML’s Mack Superliner and restored K104 Kenworth making their way through Gebbies Pass.

Photo: David Kinch

changed taking the trucks towards the Lyttelton tunnel. Once they emerged on the other side the run continued around the picturesque bays before heading over Gebbies Pass and back towards Christchurch – eventually ending up at the “mystery” location which turned out to be the Parks Towing & Garage headquarters.

After everyone was parked up, there was a brief talk before everyone had a look around the yard at the great displays put together by the crew at Parks Towing & Garage.

Then it was off to mystery location number two – which turned

out to be Smith Crane and Construction – where everyone took the chance to have a look in the sheds and grab a bite to eat from the BBQ which was kindly provided by Tim Smith.

Afterwards, it was back to the Highway Inn Truckstop for a few beverages and the charity auction which raised just over $9,000 – of which $2,000 was raised by Rod Ching after he put his mullet up for auction!

The organisers are already looking forward to Saturday November 7, 2026, so if you’ve never been to this event get the old truck out of the shed and come along. You won’t regret it.

Left: The run has trucks of all shapes and sizes taking part including 1936 Plymouth and STL Linehaul Kenworth T950.

Right: Bryan ‘Stalky’ Roberts had his 1980 International 3070 hitting all the right notes. Photos: David Kinch

96 | Truck & Driver

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LEGENDS

The McKay Way Kevin McKay, McKay Cartage

I

N THE WORLD OF TRANSPORT, WHERE DEADLINES ARE TIGHT and the road is long, a company’s true horsepower is often found not in its engines, but in its people and its principles. For Kevin McKay, 36 years in transport and founder of thriving Gisborne-based cartage company, McKay Cartage, this philosophy is the bedrock of their success – and that’s why he’s a Southpac Legend.

Kevin’s story is not just one of business growth, but a deeply personal narrative of family legacy, an unbreakable partnership with his wife Megan, and a profound commitment to treating their team as an extension of their own family.

It’s a journey that began with the humble rumble of a truck engine in a small town and has grown into a fleet of gleaming Kenworths, a showcase of what can be achieved when passion, hard work, and respect lead the way.

For some, a career path is a choice made after years of deliberation.

For Kevin McKay, it was more like an inheritance. Growing up in Katikati, a town nestled between Tauranga and Waihi, the sound of a diesel engine wasn’t just background noise; it was the family soundtrack.

“My father was driving trucks when I was quite young, and then all my three older brothers have driven trucks,” Kevin recalls, reflecting on the environment that shaped his future.

It was a world of steel, horsepower, and hard-earned miles, with conversations around the dinner table revolving around road conditions, challenging loads, and the unique camaraderie of the transport industry.

For a young Kevin, watching his father and brothers, a life outside of trucking seemed almost unimaginable. His path, he admits, was “sort of semi-inevitable” and it was only a matter of time. School, by his own admission, wasn’t for him. The call of the open road and the promise of practical, hands-on work were far more appealing than the classroom.

98 | Truck & Driver

He left at 15, but not without a plan. His parents’ rule was simple: he wasn’t allowed to leave school until he had a job secured.

He found that opportunity at a local building supply company, starting at the bottom by stacking timber shelves. Soon, he was making deliveries, his first “rig” being an “old Bedford van”.

The progression was swift. He graduated to a small two-tonne tipper truck, then to a larger, Perkins-powered Dodge. Each step up was a step closer to his destiny. It was during this time that he earned his Heavy Transport (HT) license, the key that would unlock his future in the transport industry.

His first official industry job was with Robert Monk Transport, working under the local manager, John Thomas. Here, he cut his teeth hauling fruit, vegetables, and general freight across the Bay of Plenty and into Auckland. Behind the wheel of an “N series Ford or a Mack Mid-liner,” he learned the rhythms of the road, the discipline of logistics, and the responsibility that comes with piloting a heavy vehicle. From there, he moved to Weatherall Transport driving a Scania on a daily run to Gisborne, further cementing his experience and knowledge of the region that would one day become his home base.

The entrepreneurial spirit, perhaps another inherited trait, began to stir. In 2004, Kevin took his first major step towards independence, becoming an owner-driver with a single truck, working in partnership

with a friend who had started his own transport company. This period was a crucial training ground for business ownership, teaching him the intricacies of managing his own vehicle, finances, and time.

But the truly pivotal moment, the one that would set the course for the McKay enterprise as it exists today, came in 2006. The opportunity arrived through family.

“My wife’s cousin, Craig Needham, was working in forestry, building roads down in Gisborne on the East Coast and he was offered a job to cart all of his own metal, and he rung me up to help,” Kevin explains.

It was a significant risk and a major life change, but one that he would never regret.

Kevin and Megan evaluated the opportunity, took a leap of faith, and relocated to Gisborne to take on the contract. With that decision, their business was born, rooted in forestry and built on a foundation of trust and family connection.

From that single truck and a bold move to a new town, the McKay business has flourished into an impressive operation. The fleet has expanded significantly to include nine of their own truck and trailer units, complemented by four heavy machines operating in the forest.

Central to the identity of this fleet is a deep and abiding loyalty to one iconic brand. Kevin is, in his own words, a “Kenworth person through, and through”.

This isn’t just a preference; it’s a passion for the reliability, performance, and driver prestige associated with the name. The McKay yard is a showcase of Kenworth excellence, with the notable exception of a “little 6-wheeler Scania,” a specialised tool chosen for its suitability for farm and forest work.

Among the polished chrome and distinctive grills are some true crown jewels. The fleet boasts not one, but two limited-edition Legend models: a T900 Legend and a W900 SAR Legend. These trucks are more than just workhorses; they are symbols of achievement and pride.

The story behind the T900 Legend beautifully illustrates the fusion of business and family that defines the McKays. The one-day-only ordering

Truck & Driver | 99

window for the highly sought-after T900 model happened to fall on his wife Megan’s birthday. With a smile, Kevin jokes, “So I keep telling my wife, it’s your truck”. It’s a light-hearted comment that speaks volumes about their partnership. She doesn’t drive it.

This partnership is, without a doubt, the central pillar of the company. Kevin and Megan, who have been together for over 25 years, operate as a seamless team, their individual strengths combining to create a formidable whole. While Kevin is the face of the operation on the road, managing the fleet and the hands-on logistics, Megan is the anchor in the office.

“She looks after the office and the finances,” Kevin states simply, a modest summary of a role that is integral to their stability and growth.

Megan’s influence, however, extends far beyond the balance sheets.

She is the driving force behind the company’s exceptional safety culture and its commitment to employee welfare.

Kevin proudly says: “She’s quite passionate about safety and giving everything we can give to our staff, and she works hard in that space.”

Megan’s diligent efforts have resulted in the company achieving numerous prestigious accreditations, including EROAD 5-star driver status and ACC Fleet Saver Gold recognition. They are tangible proof of a deep-seated commitment to creating a safe and supportive work environment, a factor that helps them attract and retain top-quality staff.

This focus on people is where the heart of the McKay philosophy truly lies. In an industry that can often be transient and impersonal, the McKay’s have cultivated a culture where every employee feels valued. They see their team not as a list of payroll numbers, but as an “extended family”. Their guiding principle is simple yet powerful: “treating people the way that you want to be treated. Which is with respect.”

This respect is demonstrated through open communication, genuine care, and by providing the best possible tools for the job.

Investing in high-quality, well-maintained Kenworth trucks isn’t just about efficiency; it’s about showing their drivers that they are valued professionals. This approach fosters immense pride within the team.

Their drivers are proud of the rigs they command and, more importantly, what those rigs represent: “reliability, professionalism, that’s what McKays are all about.”

While their business is a prominent fixture in the Gisborne community, the McKays themselves are quietly humble. They are “very community minded” but have no interest in broadcasting their contributions, preferring to “fly under the radar” and let their actions speak for themselves.

The team at McKay Cartage was instrumental in the recovery efforts following multiple storms in the Gisborne area, including Cyclone Gabrielle. They played a crucial role by carting rock for essential repairs to a washed-out bridge abutment in Tokomaru Bay, working with other contractors to reopen roads and restore access for supplies and residents.

During the challenging cleanup after Cyclone Gabrielle, they were fully involved despite a complete loss of communications, resorting to driving to relay messages and even flying people between the coast and Gisborne to coordinate their efforts.

Their deep-seated support for the grassroots rugby community is also a reflection of their core values. On the East Coast, the passion for rugby mirrors the fanaticism of English football, a phenomenon rooted in community and family. This fervent support aligns perfectly with McKay Cartage’s own ethos, as the company considers family (both their immediate family and their business “family”) to be the most integral and interwoven thread of their operation.

That being said, their focus remains squarely on service, professionalism, and leading by example. This forward-thinking vision is articulated perfectly by Megan, who encapsulates their competitive drive and commitment to excellence.

“We firmly believe that we’re the number one specialist down here for bulk cartage, and so we like to lead from the front,” she says.

“We like to be the first with innovation... and just have everyone else follow.

“Alongside the gear, our greatest asset is our team who do an incredibly hard job, in incredibly tough conditions. If you want to test your driving ability and that of the gear, then come down the East Coast – it has some of the harshest roading in the country and our business is a testament to our team.”

This is the McKay Way. From Kevin’s first delivery in a small Bedford van to a fleet of legendary Kenworths, the journey has been one of relentless hard work, strategic growth, and an unwavering belief in their people. It’s a story written in diesel and steel, but its most enduring chapters are about loyalty, respect, and the remarkable power of building a business that feels like home.

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100 | Truck & Driver

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FEATURE

A & L Coombs won Best Kenworth with the K220 and best 300-600,000 kms with the Scania.

S E D I R D N A L H SOUT inch tos by David K

Story and pho

M R O T S E H T

MANY YEARS AGO I WAS ADVISED NOT TO BEGIN AN ARTICLE by mentioning the weather – but somehow it seems fitting to mention it this time.

This year was the first time in several years I had visited the deep south for the Southland Transport Invercargill Truck Show, so I decided to go a few days early and photograph some trucks working in the area.

After spending the morning in Bluff with my friend Murray Beck, we decided to head back to Invercargill as the incoming weather was looking rather ominous. What happened in the following hours will be something I will remember for a very long time.

Near hurricane force winds combined with heavy rain ripped trees, 102 | Truck & Driver

buildings and Southland’s infrastructure apart and we had to pull off the road and take shelter.

Truck Show organiser Mark Purdue was then faced with the difficult decision of whether to go ahead with the show.

After seeking advice Mark decided to go ahead with the show in very testing circumstances.

Considering that some areas of Southland were without power and water, I thought it was fantastic how the transport industry turned out with more than 80 vehicles of all shapes and sizes, taking part in the parade and making their way through Invercargill where the public were waving to the drivers who tooted in return.

The Kings Rural Transport Scania R620 and driver David King took out the top prize of King Rig and also Best Scania.

McNeill Distribution won the hotly contested Best Fleet Award.

The King Rig and Best Scania prizes went to the Kings Rural Transport Scania R620 stock truck driven by David King. Competition for the top prize would have been a hard choice for the judges as the standards were extremely high.

This is likely to be the last year the show is held at the current location due to an increase in local businesses requiring access to this

area. A new venue is already in the works for 2026.

Next year will be an interesting one in the south with two of the three annual truck shows needing to find a new venue.

Personally, I believe these shows need more promotion, atmosphere and industry involvement. This will encourage drivers and their families to stay and the public to come along for a look.

Truck & Driver | 103

2025 Southland Transport Invercargill Truck Parade – prize winners: Above: Derek Milne won the award for Best Classic with the Detroit powered Commer.

Below: The Eden Haulage crew put the work in to get the trucks looking sharp.

Bottom pic: Luke Hayward had the honour of driving the restored Ryal Bush International and won the Best Stock Truck prize.

King Rig: David King (Kings Rural Transport) Runner-up: Hamish Boyte (Wilkins Farming Co) Best New Truck (0-20,000km): Natasha Tawera (Transport Services Ltd) Best Truck (20,000-100,000km): Sam Howden (McNeill Distribution) Best Truck (100,000-300,000km): Mark Robertson (PTS Auto Logistics)\ Best Truck (300,000-600,000km): Liam Patterson (A&L Coombs Contracting) Best Truck (600,000-1,000,000km) Jake Willis (King House Removals) Best Truck (over 1,000,000km): Phil Collinson (Eden Haulage Ltd) Best Fleet (3 or more trucks): McNeill Distribution Best Paint: Kody Dennison (A&L Coombs Contracting) Best Linehaul: Stoney Ratema (Eden Haulage) Best Logger: Gareth Bewley (McNeill Distribution) Best Fert Spreader: Rayna Sobels (Kings Rural Transport) Best Livestock: Luke Hayward (Ryal Bush Transport) Best Bulk Tipper: Nick Young (Southern Transport) Best DAF: Coltin Manson (Hilton Haulage) Best Freightliner: Alastair Capil (King House Removals) Best Hino: Gordon Henderson (Southern Transport) Best International: warren Willis (King House Removals) Best Kenworth: Kody Dennison (A&L Coombs Contracting) Best Mack: Reece (King House Removals) Best MAN: Troy Templer (Winton Stockfood) Best Mercedes-Benz: Shane Bragg (Kings Rural Transport) Best UD Trucks: Byron MacGregor (Kings Rural Transport) Best Scania: David King (Kings Rural Transport) Best Volvo: Kurt Smith (Upper Clutha Transport) Best Western Star: Leon McElhinney (McNeill Distribution) Best Shed Truck: Jason Nimo (Jersey Moos Linehaul) Best Classic: Derek Milne (J.R. Milne & Son) Furthest Travelled: John Baillie (Baillie Transport, Auckland)

104 | Truck & Driver

A new Kenworth K220 custom built for Richmond Heavy Haulage Limited in Taupo is hauling bin wood for chipping into bio mass. Driven by Grant Higgot, the 8x4 has a 600.615hp Euro 5 Cummins X15 with 2050 lb-ft of torque, an Eaton Endurant 18-speed AMT, and Meritor 46-160 rear axles with full X-locks and 4.3:1 ratio. It rides on load share front suspension and Primaax rear suspension. Features include twin cab-mounted air intakes with precleaners and eagle style snorkels, Dura-bright alloys, stainless sun visor, 10 grill bars fitted to black grill mesh, lower grill stainless trim with markers, stainless kick panel steps, and painted fuel tanks. The Patchell 8.1m steel tipping bin with twin underbody rams fitted has an internal winch to haul trailer inside while empty. It tows a Patchell 5-axle tipping trailer with a front of body hoist. Cab stripes and paint by Fleet Image Te Awamutu. Sold by Adam McIntosh.

A small lift in truck registrations BOTH NEW TRUCK AND TRAILER REGISTRATIONS AS reported by NZ Transport Agency data for October show a marginal increase month on month, and potentially an early sign of recovery for the market.

There were 350 registrations of new trucks with a GVM above 4.5 tonnes (compared to 341 for the previous month). It’s still a long way behind last October’s 525 registrations and the year-to-date (YTD) total has now reached 3,174 units in the first ten months of 2025 (down from 4,719 units registered in the same period last year).

The trailer market YTD total stands at 794 – again a long way behind last year’s October YTD of 1,232…and still a long way behind 2018’s all-time best 1458.

In the overall truck market (4.5t-maximum GVM), Isuzu with 55 registrations led the October market and maintains its YTD lead with 584 new units registered. There’s now a tie for second-place with Fuso registering an impressive 46 units in October for a YTD total of 452 registrations, equal with Hino (452/37).

Scania (299/25) retains fourth place ahead of Iveco (238/42). Kenworth (181/14) remains in sixth, while Mercedes-Benz (173/46) had a strong month to move ahead of Volvo (170/7). DAF (119/6) retains ninth ahead of UD (112/15) to round out the top-10 brands.

In the 3.5-4.5t GVM crossover segment, leader Fiat (313/84) continues to extend its lead and LDV (278/74) moves ahead of Mercedes-Benz (258/35).

Registrations in the 4.5-7.5t category saw Isuzu (207/21) retain its lead over Fuso (189/24), with Iveco (154/30) holding third followed by Mercedes-Benz (125/41) who were the standout for the month with 41 registrations.

In the 7.5-15t class, Isuzu (258/20) is extending its lead over Hino (158/11), while Fuso (126/6) stays in third. Foton (33/2) and Hyundai (33/3) are tied in fourth, well behind the top-three. Isuzu’s share in this class currently sits at 38.6%.

In the 15-20.5t GVM category, Hino (53/8) continues to lead ahead of Fuso (21/2) while UD (17/4) retains third ahead of Iveco (11/2) and Volvo (8/0) in fifth.

In the tiny 20.5-23t GVM division there were only two registrations during October. Hino (14/1) retains the top spot ahead of Scania (9/1) and Isuzu (2/0).

In the premium 23t-maximum GVM category, Scania (281/22) is pushing further ahead with its lead, registering 22 for the month to take its YTD total to 281.

Kenworth (181/14) remains in second YTD ahead of Volvo (162/7), followed by Hino (128/5), DAF (119/6), Fuso (115/14), Isuzu (110/13), UD (92/910, Iveco (55/9) and Mercedes-Benz (40/5) to round out the top-10, with all brands retaining the same positions as last month.

Market leader Fruehauf remains comfortably ahead in YTD trailer sales, with 135 registrations YTD. Its 21 regos in October were the highest for the month, and Fruehauf is now sitting 52 registrations ahead with a strong 18.7% market share.

Patchell (83/18) had a good month with 18 registrations and retains second while the rest of the top-10 retained their positions headed by Transport Trailers (60/2), Roadmaster (51/10), Domett (48/9), TMC (38/2), M.T.E (36/4), TES (35/3) and Transfleet (31/3) and Fairfax (26/2).

Truck & Driver | 105

23,001kg-max GVM 4501kg-max GVM Brand ISUZU HINO FUSO SCANIA IVECO KENWORTH MERCEDES-BENZ VOLVO DAF UD FOTON HYUNDAI MAN VOLKSWAGEN FIAT JAC MACK SINOTRUK FREIGHTLINER INTERNATIONAL SHACMAN SANY FAW OTHER Total

Vol 584 452 452 299 238 181 173 170 119 112 108 82 56 47 18 13 13 12 12 12 6 1 1 13 3174

2025

% 18.4 14.2 14.2 9.4 7.5 5.7 5.5 5.4 3.7 3.5 3.4 2.6 1.8 1.5 0.6 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.4 100

3501-4500kg GVM Brand FIAT LDV MERCEDES-BENZ FORD IVECO VOLKSWAGEN RENAULT RAM PEUGEOT CHEVROLET Total

Vol 313 278 258 80 78 40 13 11 1 1 1073

2025

% 29.2 25.9 24.0 7.5 7.3 3.7 1.2 1.0 0.1 0.1 100

4501-7500kg GVM Brand ISUZU FUSO IVECO MERCEDES-BENZ HINO FOTON HYUNDAI VOLKSWAGEN FIAT JAC RAM OTHER Total 106 | Truck & Driver

Vol 207 189 154 125 99 74 48 47 18 11 8 3 983

2025

% 21.1 19.2 15.7 12.7 10.1 7.5 4.9 4.8 1.8 1.1 0.8 0.3 100.0

October Vol % 15.7 55 37 10.6 46 13.1 25 7.1 42 12.0 14 4.0 46 13.1 7 2.0 1.7 6 15 4.3 16 4.6 9 2.6 2.9 10 0.9 3 2 0.6 1.1 4 1.4 5 0.0 0 1 0.3 1 0.3 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0.0 1.7 6 350 100 October Vol % 84 40.4 74 35.6 35 16.8 10 4.8 2 1.0 2 1.0 0 0.0 1 0.5 0 0.0 0 0.0 208 100 October Vol % 21 13.0 24 14.9 30 18.6 41 25.5 12 7.5 13 8.1 6 3.7 3 1.9 2 1.2 4 2.5 2 1.2 3 1.9 161 100

A new Kenworth T610 6x4 tractor unit towing a new B-Train built by Tanker Engineering has joined the RD Petroleum fleet. RD Petroleum is celebrating 20 years in business this year and this new truck has a few extras touches to mark the milestone. Sold by Chris Gray.

7501-15,000kg GVM Brand ISUZU HINO FUSO FOTON HYUNDAI MAN IVECO MERCEDES-BENZ SHACMAN UD SCANIA JAC CHEVROLET Total

Vol 258 158 126 33 33 28 17 4 3 3 2 2 1 668

2025

% 38.6 23.7 18.9 4.9 4.9 4.2 2.5 0.6 0.4 0.4 0.3 0.3 0.1 100

October Vol % 20 39.2 11 21.6 6 11.8 2 3.9 3 5.9 7 13.7 2.0 1 0 0.0 0 0.0 1 2.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 51 100

15,001-20,500kg GVM Brand HINO FUSO UD IVECO VOLVO ISUZU SCANIA MERCEDES-BENZ MAN FREIGHTLINER SHACMAN Total

Vol 53 21 17 11 8 7 7 4 3 1 1 133

2025

% 39.8 15.8 12.8 8.3 6.0 5.3 5.3 3.0 2.3 0.8 0.8 100

October Vol % 8 40.0 2 10.0 4 20.0 2 10.0 0.0 0 5.0 1 2 10.0 0 0.0 5.0 1 0 0.0 0 0.0 20 100

20,501-23,000kg GVM Brand HINO SCANIA ISUZU FUSO IVECO Total

Vol 14 9 2 1 1 27

2025

% 51.9 33.3 7.4 3.7 3.7 100

October Vol % 50.0 1 1 50.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 2 100

Brand SCANIA KENWORTH VOLVO HINO DAF FUSO ISUZU UD IVECO MERCEDES-BENZ MAN MACK SINOTRUK INTERNATIONAL FREIGHTLINER SHACMAN SANY FAW HYUNDAI WESTERN STAR FOTON Total

Vol 281 181 162 128 119 115 110 92 55 40 25 13 12 12 11 2 1 1 1 1 1 1363

2025

% 20.6 13.3 11.9 9.4 8.7 8.4 8.1 6.7 4.0 2.9 1.8 1.0 0.9 0.9 0.8 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 100

Trailers Vol Brand FRUEHAUF 135 PATCHELL 83 TRANSPORT TRAILERS 60 ROADMASTER 51 DOMETT 48 TMC 38 36 M.T.E. TES 35 31 TRANSFLEET FAIRFAX 26 LOWES 22 JACKSON 17 KRAFT 15 CWS 15 14 TANKER MILLS TUI 9 WARREN 8 MD ENGINEERING 7 SEC 7 MTC EQUIPMENT 7 STEELBRO 7 PTE 7 LUSK 6 TRT 6 HAMMAR 5 5 FREIGHTER COWAN 5 TEO 5 EVANS 4 3 MAKARANUI 3 TROUT RIVER 2 LILLEY OTHER 72 Total 794

2025

% 17.0 10.5 7.6 6.4 6.0 4.8 4.5 4.4 3.9 3.3 2.8 2.1 1.9 1.9 1.8 1.1 1.0 0.9 0.9 0.9 1.0 0.9 0.8 0.8 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.4 0.3 9.1 100

October Vol % 22 19.0 14 12.1 7 6.0 5 4.3 6 5.2 14 12.1 13 11.2 10 8.6 9 7.8 5 4.3 2 1.7 5 4.3 0 0.0 1 0.9 0.9 1 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 1 0.9 1 0.9 116 100

October Vol % 21 21.4 18 18.4 2 2.0 10 10.2 9 9.2 2 2.0 4 4.1 3 3.1 3.1 3 2 2.0 1 1.0 0 0.0 1 1.0 3 3.1 0 0.0 2 2.0 1.0 1 0 0.0 0 0.0 1 1.0 1 1.0 2.0 2 1 1.0 1.0 1 0.0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 1 1.0 0 0.0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0.0 9.2 9 100 98

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Main Road Transport at Otorohanga is the first NZ operator to put a 17-litre Volvo on the road. The new FH16 780 is being driven by Terry White on a North Island general freight run. The D17 engine produces 780hp and 3800Nm of torque with a Volvo I-Shift 12-speed transmission, RTS2370B rear axles, 8-bag rear air suspension and disc brakes. The Volvo advanced safety suite includes LCS, LKA, DAS, ACC and EBA plus passenger side view camera. Domett built the 14-pallet curtain sider body and 22-pallet 5-axle trailer. The Globetrotter cab features a microwave and TV and exterior extras include a BBQ and factory bull bar. Factory paint with signage by Truck Signs, Mt Maunganui. Sold by Mark Ellerington.

Tauranga’s Taylor Bros. Transport has a new Hino 8x4 tipper to support its hot mix roading projects around the Bay of Plenty region. Number 116 in the fleet is a 700 Series FY 3248 with a 480hp Euro 6 engine driving to a 16-speed TraXon AMT, with inter-axle differential and cross locks. It rides on spring suspension front and rear and is fitted with a Cambridge Welding Services tipper body.

108 | Truck & Driver

Williams & Wilshier Transport has a new Scania R 660 B8x4NA logger on the road, driven by Mark Chapman. A 660hp Euro 6 spec DC16 with 3300Nm of torque is teamed with an Opticruise G33 14-speed AMT with 4700D retarder and RB735 hub reduction rear end. Spring suspension at the front, rear air suspension and ABS/EBS disc brakes are fitted with ABS, ESP, AEB, and ACC safety package. Patchells built the new shorts setup and 5-axle multi trailer and the features include scales, a fridge, Dura-brights all round, CTI, and EXTE chain tensioners. Factory paint and signs by Haddock Spray Painters. Sold by Callan Short.

Ray and Louise Beale from R & L Beale Log Transport Ltd have added some big horsepower to their logger fleet with a new Scania S 770 B8x4NA. The Euro 6 DC16 with 770hp and 3700Nm of torque drives to an Opticruise GRSO926R 12-speed AMT with 4100D retarder and RB735 hub reduction rear end. The S 770 rides on spring suspension at the front and airbags at the rear with ABS/EBS disc brakes. The spec includes scales, CTI, V8 leather trim, fridge, microwave, coffee machine, offset steerers, LED light bar, Dura-brights all round, plus Broshmik stone guard and visor. A new Kraft shorts set up on the truck pairs up with a new 5-axle layover multi bolster Kraft trailer with EXTE winches.

Cab paint by Truck Chief Painters and signs by HRPP Hastings. Sold by Callan Short.

Linfox Logistics (NZ) has added two new UD Quon 8x4s to its refrigerated fleet. The CD 25-360 duo feature the 360hp GH8 engine and ESCOT-VI 12-speed AMT with 8-bag electronically controlled rear air suspension. Safety features include ABS/EBS disc brakes and the UD Trucks Advanced Safety System including Traffic Eye Brake, Traffic Eye Cruise Control, Lane Departure Warning, Electronic Stability Control, Automated Hill Start Assist, Lane Change Support and Blind Spot Information System. Freighter NZ built the insulated box bodies equipped with Carrier fridge units. Cab paint by Auckland Truck Spray and signage by Admark.

Truck & Driver | 109

A new Kenworth K220 for Tokoroa-based Sheldrake Haulage is hauling logs in the central North Island, driven by J.B., whose previous truck was a K200 with 2.3m sleeper. The K220 has a 600.615hp Euro 5 Cummins X15 with 2050 lb-ft of torque, Eaton Endurant 18-speed AMT and rides on non-load share front suspension and Airglide 460 rear suspension. Features include a painted sun visor, stainless step inserts, offset front rims, mirror cover marker lights, and 570-litre 725mm round fuel tank. The 2.3m sleeper cab with Natural Sand trim features a fridge. Kraft built the log bolsters and trailer. Sold by Adam McIntosh.

Satherley Logging 2016 Ltd (Bevan and Tania Satherley) have taken delivery of a new Scania R 620 B8x4NA for their central Hawke’s Bay log work. The 16-litre DC16 with 620hp is paired with an Opticruise GRSO905R 12-speed AMT with 4100D retarder and RB735 hub reduction rear end riding on a front spring and rear air suspension set-up.

ABS/EBS disc brakes along with ACC and AEB are fitted and the R 620 has a new Kraft shorts unit with a refurbished Kraft 5-axle trailer. Extras include CTI, fridge, Dura-brights all round, and toolboxes. Signs by Cliff at Truck Signs and sold by Callan Short.

110 | Truck & Driver

Central Machine Hire of Wanaka have just been handed the keys to their new Kenworth T909 6x4 tractor unit.

Named Lone Wolf, the T909 will predominantly be towing a transporter around the South Island but will also be seen working with a tipulator and bottom dumper at various times. Driver Carl Davis is one happy man behind the wheel. Sold by Chris Gray.

Rotorua Forest Haulage has added to its Scania fleet with a new R 620 B8x4NZ logger. Driver Quinton Traynor is working in the central North Island forests, and the R 620 is powered by a 620hp DC16 with Opticruise G33CM 14-speed AMT, 4700D retarder, RB735 hub reduction rear end, and spring suspension front and rear. ABS/EBS disc brakes are fitted along with an XT bumper, drop visor, scales, fridge, and Dura-bright alloys among the extras. The new RFH shorts unit truck set up and 5-axle multi trailer is equipped with EXTE winches. Paint by Vaughan Road Panel & Paint, graphics

by Caulfield Signs, and sold by Callan Short.

LOGBOOKS

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A5 Logbooks Price per unit 1 box (50 units) or more.......... $7.00 +GST Less than 50 units ................. $8.10 +GST

A4 Logbooks Price per unit 1 box (35 units) or more.......... $17.50 +GST Less than 35 units ................. $19.00 +GST

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Truck & Driver | 111

BENEFACTORS

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The second NZ-built International RH-T8 for KAM Transport is based at the Blenheim depot and is carting containers driven by Julian Cuff.

The 8x4 tractor unit in RH-T8 LX+ specification is powered by a 530hp Euro 5 Cummins X15 producing 1850 lb-ft of torque with an Eaton MXP Ultrashift transmission, Meritor rear axles, and drum brakes. Sold by Hugh Green.

Max and Grant Cooper’s Zeeland Logistics based at Morrinsville has a new Kenworth T610 8x4 tractor unit powered a 600hp Euro 5 Cummins X15 developing 2050 lb-ft of torque. The Eaton Endurant XD Pro EXDP 20F118D automated 18-speed transmission drives to Meritor axles with disc brakes and Airglide 400 rear air suspension. The cab features the Red Garnet interior with black leather seats, and CB and UHF factory fitted radios.

All stainless and extra lighting, guards and rigging completed in house at Southpac Auckland. Signage by Truck Signs Mt Maunganui and sold by Tim Finlay.

The latest addition to the McFall Fuels Volvo fleet is a Tauranga-based FM 540 8x4 fuel delivery truck. The 540hp FM has an I-Shift transmission, RTH2180C rear axles, rear air suspension and ABS/EBS disc brakes. The safety roster features Adaptive Cruise Control, LDWS (Lane Departure Warning System), Electronic Stability Control, Automatic Hill Start Assist (HSA), Lane Change Support and LHS passenger camera. Tanker spec and build

by Tanker Solutions. Sold by Blair Stapleton.

Truck & Driver | 113

Preston Pre-Cut Ltd of Invercargill have purchased this new Fuso MY21 FS3146V as the preferred chassis for a new Palfinger PK37 TEC crane. Truck and crane were matched together by TL Maclean Engineering of Mosgiel. Driver Dion McLean is very impressed by the Fuso’s torque, steering lock, and comfort. The Preston’s Fuso will be found between Southland and Central Otago delivering and standing structural frames and trusses. Truck sold and supported by Keith Andrews Trucks Invercargill (salesman, Tristan Duffell).

Ricky and Ashley Rodgers of Cromwell-based Melx Linehaul have just taken delivery of a new Kenworth T909 36-inch Aerodyne. The truck is named Guilty By Association and is driven by Josh Peterson. Sold by Chris Gray.

114 | Truck & Driver

A new DAF 8x4 XF 530 Space Cab is on the road for Sandford Transport. Driver Luke Niethe is based in Napier and can be seen anywhere between Gisborne and New Plymouth. The bulk cartage unit has a Transfleet alloy bin and 5-axle trailer with a pneumatic blowing system installed so truck and trailer can pump vertically into storage tanks as well as tip bulk product. The 530hp Paccar MX-13 produces 1920 lb-ft of torque and has a single vertical exhaust stack. A 16-speed TraXon AMT is fitted and the rear axles feature X-locks with the Dura-bright alloys are shod with 11R tyres. The cab has a fridge and heated seats, Sold by Adam McIntosh.

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mills-tui.co.nz Mills-Tui Limited 16–38 Pururu Street, Mangakakahi, Rotorua 3015 P 07 348 8039 T 0800 MILLS -TUI (645 578) SALES Garth Paton 027 289 0300

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