NZ Truck & Driver March 2021

NZ TRUCK & DRIVER

FREE GIANT TRUCK POSTER LIFTOUT

| March 2021

March 2021 $8.50 incl. GST

FLEET FOC

US

BIG TEST Predictably clever | FLEET FOCUS Smalltime startup…BIGTIME success | FEATURE Brad’s you-beaut beer truck

Smalltim e startup …

BIGTIM E succes s

FEATURE

Brad’s yo u

-beaut beer tru ck

PREDICTABLY

Issue 243

CLEVER

The Official Magazine of the

ISSN 2703-6278

Through all conditions, it’s those who stay ahead of the game that reap the rewards and do well in the New Zealand trucking industry.

So, for those who want to be ready and equipped to seize new opportunities, the all new Freightliner Cascadia has arrived. Built and tested to unprecedented standards, with new levels of safety, comfort and fuel efficiency, the Cascadia is ready and capable for what lies ahead.

FRE10299_NZ Trucking_DPS-11_FA.indd 1

THE ALL NEW CASCADIA

TO FIND OUT MORE PLEASE CONTACT YOUR LOCAL DEALER Authorised North Island Dealers

Authorised South Island Dealers

KEITH ANDREWS TRUCKS LTD Ph: 0800 487 825 www.keithandrews.co.nz

CABLEPRICE LTD Ph: 0800 555 456 www.cableprice.co.nz

FREIGHTLINER.CO.NZ Freightliner is a registered trademark of Daimler Trucks North America LLC. Published by Daimler Truck and Bus Australia Pacific Pty Ltd ACN 86 618 413 282.

14/1/21 4:44 pm

SCAN FOR MORE DETAILS!

NOW TAKING ORDERS. CALL TODAY! FUSO is guided by the three pillars of sustainability – environmental, social and economic. FUSO eCanter delivers on all three. The world’s first series-produced, fully electric light truck, featuring advanced safety systems, is now available to order.

fuso.co.nz

|

0800 ECANTER

CONTENTS Issue 243 – March 2021 4

Aeolus News

The latest in the world of transport, including….

NZ new truck market sees another new make introduced; Scania and CablePrice relationship comes to an early end; electric and hydrogen trucks get Government subsidies

26 Giti Tyres Big Test

Accurately predicting the future is about as difficult as it gets. But when it comes to“seeing” what’s around the next corner, over the next brow, truckie Allan Timms has his Merc’s Predictive Powertrain Control to give him a high-tech hand

43 Transport Forum

Latest news from the Road Transport Forum NZ, including…..driver training must play a bigger role in road safety; no simple solution to our environmental challenge; new micro-credential to kickstart road transport careers

50 Teletrac Navman Fleet Focus

When logtruck company Aztec started up – its three owners given key supplier status by Carter Holt Harvey – there were some in the industry who reckoned they didn’t deserve it….and that their partnership would soon dissolve anyway, like a broken marriage

MANAGEMENT

FEATURES Greg Cochrane reckons he has “the best of both worlds” – the benefits of both being part of a large corporate enterprise…and continuing to run the family business he grew up in

91 National Road Carriers Association

Global supply chain crisis looks likely to continue

80/ NZ Transport Imaging Awardss 81 Recognising NZ’s best-looking truck fleets…. including a giant pullout poster of this month’s finalist

Hayden Woolston 027 448 8768 hayden@trucker.co.nz

EQUIPMENT GUIDE AUCKLAND, NORTHLAND, BOP, WAIKATO, CENTRAL NORTH ISLAND Advertising Trudy Woolston

027 233 0090

trudy@trucker.co.nz

Brian Cowan

The RTA has a busy year ahead of it (COVID allowing)

REGULARS

ART DEPARTMENT Design & Production Luca Bempensante

Zarko Mihic

Associate Editor

89 Road Transport Association NZ

A search by NZ Truck & Driver publisher Trevor Woolston for his old R Model Mack, has ended in some success: Not the truck itself…. but a spectacular artwork, featuring the R600 – painted by Kiwi truck artist Paul Astwood

Trevor Woolston 027 492 5600 trevor@trucker.co.nz

Gerald Shacklock Dave McLeod Olivia Beauchamp Warren Aitken Garry Cooper

AUCKLAND, LOWER NORTH ISLAND, SOUTH ISLAND Advertising Hayden Woolston

COLUMNS

81 Trevor gets Mack back….

in art form

Advertising

PO Box 48 074 AUCKLAND 09 826 0494

New truck and trailer registrations for January

Queensland-based Kiwi truckie Brad Gallagher is living the dream – at the wheel of one of the most-envied Kenworths around

CONTRIBUTORS

Editorial office Phone

93 Vertex Lubricants Recently Registered

70 Brad’s you-beaut beer truck

Trevor Woolston 027 492 5600 trevor@trucker.co.nz

Wayne Munro 021 955 099 waynemunro@xtra.co.nz

New products and services for the road transport industry

68 Southpac Trucks Legends

Publisher

EDITORIAL Editor

87 Truck Shop

027 448 8768 hayden@trucker.co.nz Dion Rout 027 491 1110 dion@trucker.co.nz

ADMINISTRATION Sue Woolston MANAGER accounts@trucker.co.nz SUBSCRIPTIONS

NZ subscription price

ADDRESS Phone Freephone Postal Address Street Address Web

Sue Woolston accounts@trucker.co.nz $80 incl. GST for one year (11 issues) Overseas rates on application +64 9 571 3544 0508 TRUCKER (878 2537) PO Box 112 062, Penrose, AUCKLAND 172B Marua Road, Ellerslie, AUCKLAND www.alliedpublications.co.nz

Contributions: Editorial contributions are welcomed for consideration, but no responsibility is accepted for lost or damaged materials (photographs, graphics, printed material etc).

To mail, ensure return (if required), material must be accompanied by a stamped, addressed envelope. It’s suggested that the editor is contacted by fax or email before submitting material.

Copyright: Articles in New Zealand Truck & Driver are copyright and may not be reproduced in any form – in whole or part – without permission of the publisher. Opinions expressed in the magazine are not necessarily the opinions of, or endorsed by, the publisher.

NZ Truck & Driver Magazine

PRINTING & DISTRIBUTION Printer Bluestar Retail Distribution Ovato Publication: New Zealand Truck & Driver is published monthly, except January,

by Allied Publications Ltd PO Box 112 062, Penrose, Auckland

Net circulation – ended 31/03/2019

11,360

www.nztruckanddriver.co.nz

www.facebook.com/nztruckanddriver

Truck & Driver | 3

NEWS

Shacman, NZ’s 18 HD th

A NEW CHINESE TRUCK HAS BEEN launched in New Zealand – Shacman becoming the 18th make currently offering a heavy-duty model here.

Shacman Trucks NZ showed off three 440-horsepower/328 kilowatt Cummins ISMengined X3000 models at the late January launch.

The tipper and two readymix concrete trucks were, the company confirmed, the only trucks so far in the country – and two of them had already been sold before the launch event.

But Shacman NZ general manager Bobby Khan says that there’s a short lead-time on orders – three to four months.

In addition to the models already here, NZ buyers can order a 660hp/492kW tractor unit version of the X3000…and a medium-duty L3000 12-tonner (with examples of the latter expected to be in NZ by this month).

According to ChinaTrucks.com, Shacman ranked fourth on China’s HD truck market last year – in early December it was on track to sell around 227,000 trucks, in a total market estimated to reach 1.623 million sales for the year.

Shacman is made by Shaanxi Automobile Holding Group, which began commercial heavyduty truck production in 1968. The make is now sold in more than 90 countries, but NZ may be its most sophisticated truck market.

Shacman NZ director Wei Wang says: “I think that Chinese products are improving very

fast and we can now compare with the Japanese – and even with European – because in China labour is cheap.

“Maybe a Euro truck is $400,000, but we pay $200,000 for something that does the same job.

“I saw the issues that FUSO and Sino (Sinotruk) have had in terms of driver comfort and robustness: Our Shacman trucks are wellspecced and well-connected.”

Khan points out that the trucks have “Cummins and Eaton powertrains and good componentry. Shacman has brought the Americans and Europeans together and assembled it all in China.”

He adds: “Definitely, we’re not here to compete with the Europeans or Americans – but there is a place for Chinese vehicles. Why I say that is the rates are coming down and you can’t buy a RollsRoyce if you’re only charging someone $170 to cart a container to Tauranga. So there is a place in the market for cheaper vehicles.”

He says that the make has a variety of benefits: “First and foremost is the price – because, if it’s not cheap, why would anyone buy our product.

“Then we have technologies that are similar or better than the Americans. And lastly there’s the powertrain, which is well-renowned and has great support around the country.”

Khan believes that the Shacman models will compete with fellow-Chinese make Sinotruk – “and the Japanese (makes) to some extent….

Sinotruk have done very well, but they’ve also sold a lot of trucks to themselves.

“We have to be realistic: Shacman is made in China and it’s not a proven product here yet – we have to prove ourselves in everything. Sales, service and parts.”

He says Shacman so far has two dealers in Christchurch and one in Rotorua – and is close to finalising others in Hamilton, Tauranga, Wellington and Palmerston North.

Wei says Shacman NZ flew NZ Transport Agency and VTNZ staff to China to visit the factory – to ensure the trucks comply in NZ. Khan, who says he worked for MAN for 30 years, says the NZ distributor’s small team is “here to sell. We want trucks here, trucks on the water and trucks being manufactured.”

He says the lead times on orders is short – “and there is no problem with supply: They can make the NZ market’s numbers before morning tea!”

An initial supply of spare parts is already in NZ, he says, with the next (expanded) shipment on the way.

Khan says that this year the company hopes to sell “around a minimum of 50 L3000s. The Xs – around, hopefully, 10 or 20. We’d love to sell more but we have to be realistic. We are over the moon for selling two this quickly.”

Next year, he says, that might increase by 5-10% for each model: “We are looking at this long term. We can’t do this overnight.” T&D

Opposite page: Two of the three Shacman X3000 trucks in the country had already been sold before the launch Below, left: Shacman NZ director Wei Wang (left) and GM Bobby Khan

Below right: The trucks have a mix of Chinese and global components, the latter including Cummins engines

4 | Truck & Driver

NEWS

truck make, launched

Early end to Scania, CablePrice relationship SCANIA NEW ZEALAND’S COMMERCIAL relationship with CablePrice – the former longtime Kiwi representative of the Swedish make – is being brought to an early end.

Scania NZ says the two-year notice period for the termination of CablePrice’s status as an approved service dealer – which was to end in August 2022 – is being brought forward to the 19th of this month.

In a press release, Scania NZ MD Mattias Lundholm assures Scania customers of “a seamless transition of service, with Scania maintaining an ongoing service-workshop presence across all of the affected locations.

“Scania’s renowned quality customer service remains our top priority, so it will be business as usual for our customers regarding access to Scania servicing and parts in their local areas.

“We will be making a further announcement very soon regarding plans and timelines around Scania’s future presence in the specific locations of Whangarei, Gisborne and Hastings.”

Scania says Lundholm “thanks Scania customers for their patience as the company continues to build on what he describes as a very exciting growth period for the brand.”

CablePrice issued its own press release on the same day as the Scania announcement – chairman David Harvey also declaring “it’s business as usual” for CablePrice’s equipment divisions and its South Island Daimler dealerships, “following the end of its 30-year partnership with Scania…”

Says Harvey: “Our business is going through a period of change as we exit our Scania agreement, manage impacts from the end of our dealer

agreement with John Deere Forestry and Construction, deal with the ongoing effects from COVID-19 and optimise our operating costs.”

The changes are aimed at positioning the business for a more sustainable future.

CablePrice, he adds, is proposing to close its branches in Whangarei and Gisborne, its North Shore site and its commercial vehicle operations in Auckland, Rotorua, Palmerston North and Hastings.

It’s planning to establish local service agents in Whangarei and Gisborne to support customers there, and “to focus its North Island operations on expanding its construction machinery retail business.

“Our Japanese owners, Hitachi Machinery Construction Company, are supportive of our plans and are backing us to turn the company around and secure new business growth and opportunities.”

Harvey adds: “The company is in a strong position in the South Island, where it has been experiencing significant growth through new agreements with Mercedes-Benz, Freightliner, FUSO and Detroit.”

Meantime, Scania has appointed On Site Mechanical Repairs its new authorised service dealer for Blenheim.

Scania NZ service director Nick Allan says maintaining Scania’s quality customer service was top of mind in the appointment: “On Site Mechanical Repairs directors Ben McMaster and Aaron Parish are all about providing a professional service through technical solutions, expert advice and a proven track record of ensuring their customers succeed.” T&D Truck & Driver | 5

NN EE E D II SS U Z U PP AA R T S ?

New or used we deliver.

New or used we deliver.

CALISUZU.CO.NZ CALISUZU.CO.NZ 0800 266 628 0800 266 628

NEWS

A FUSO eCanter demo unit has already been seen in NZ

Hydrogen, electric trucks get Government funding FIVE HYDROGEN FUEL CELL TRUCKS AND EIGHT electric trucks are to go on the road in New Zealand….with the Government contributing $1.55million towards the cost.

A third of that figure is earmarked for a one-year trial that will see five FUSO eCanter battery electric light-duty trucks put to work by Fuso NZ with “major transport companies” in downtown Auckland.

The eCanters will be used to gain information – with data collected by EROAD – that will help shape policy for implementing a proposed Queen Street Valley Zero Emissions Area.

Fuso NZ will also receive an additional $242,500 to put an eCanter demonstrator on the road for extended customer test driving. It will be made available to customers via FUSO dealers and will be tested with various charging options. It will also be used with FUSO’s eTruck Ready app and for etruck education and training.

And Hyundai Motors NZ has been granted $500,000 to purchase and deploy an initial fleet of five hydrogen fuel cell electric trucks (FCEVs) in “realworld daily logistics operation trials.”

The Korean manufacturer delivered the first of 1600 Xcient hydrogen fuel cell trucks to Swiss customers late last year and plans to scale up annual production of the heavy-duty FCEV to 2000 units by the end of 2021.

Auckland green waste recycling company GreenCycle will get $89,000 to replace a diesel truck and chipper with an etruck and an electric hiab. The unit will also demonstrate to arborists and landscapers its ability to charge electric chainsaws on job sites.

Auckland civil construction company Dempsey Wood Civil is to receive $222,000 to buy a heavy-duty etruck and fit it with an attenuator as a traffic safety vehicle for use on construction and infrastructure projects.

The Government grants have been announced in the latest round of funding from the Low Emission Vehicles Contestable Fund, administered by the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA).

The February grants from the fund totalled $3.7m, with the 22 recipients contributing an additional $9.4m between them to the projects.

Energy and Resources Minister Dr Megan Woods says the Climate Change Commission’s recently-released draft report “rightly points out how crucial reducing transport emissions is to meeting our climate change goals. It shows we are on the right track by supporting the uptake of cleaner technologies.

“Demonstrating and proving the potential for electric and hydrogen heavy vehicles is important, as heavy freight has an outsized impact on transport emissions.”

Woods also noted the continued expansion of the public charging network, with another 11 public chargers (many high-capacity fast chargers, with multiple charging ports) co-funded in the latest subsidies. So far the Fund has co-funded over 600 public EV chargers, of which more than 450 are operational.

Continues on page 8 Hyundai will put five hydrogen FCEVs on the road in NZ

Truck & Driver | 7

NEWS

The separation of Daimler Truck will “accelerate its path towards zero emissions,” Daimler says – continuing developing the likes of the Mercedes-Benz GenH2 hydrogen concept truck

Daimler Truck spinoff confirmed DAIMLER WILL SPIN OFF DAIMLER TRUCK – structuring it to “accelerate its path towards zero emissions as the world’s largest truck and bus producer and technology leader.”

The automotive giant says that this “fundamental change in its structure” is “designed to unlock the full potential of its businesses in a zero-emissions, software-driven future.”

Daimler’s supervisory board and board of management last month confirmed the intention to split the Daimler Truck and Mercedes-Benz businesses – Ola Källenius, Daimler and Merc board of management chairman describing it as “a historic moment for Daimler,” representing “the start of a profound reshaping of the company.”

The two divisions, Mercedes-Benz Cars & Vans and Daimler Trucks & Buses – “are different businesses with specific customer groups, technology paths and capital needs. Mercedes-Benz is the world’s most valuable luxury car brand, offering the most desirable cars to discerning customers.

“Daimler Truck supplies industry-leading transportation solutions and services to customers. Both companies operate in industries that are facing major technological and structural changes. Given this context, we believe they will be able to operate most effectively as independent entities, equipped with strong net liquidity and free from the constraints of a conglomerate

structure.”

Daimler Truck board chairman Martin Daum (who is also a member of the Daimler board) says: “This is a pivotal moment for Daimler Truck. With independence comes greater opportunity, greater visibility and transparency.

“We will grow further and continue our leadership in alternative powertrains and automation. We have already defined the future of our business with battery-electric and fuel-cell trucks, as well as strong positions in autonomous driving. With targeted partnerships we will accelerate the development of key technologies to bring best-in-class products to our customers rapidly.”

Daimler Truck is the world’s largest truck and bus producer, selling around half a million trucks and buses in 2019, via its seven heavy commercial vehicle brands: BharatBenz, Freightliner, FUSO, MercedesBenz, Setra, Thomas Built Buses and Western Star. It generated €44.9billion in revenue.

Daimler Truck will have fully independent management and standalone corporate governance. The proposed spinoff is expected to be confirmed by Daimler shareholders in Q3 this year, with Daimler Truck listed on the Frankfurt stock exchange before the end of the year. Daimler intends to rename itself as Mercedes-Benz. T&D

Continued from page 7 Since the Contestable Fund was launched, EECA has committed $29.4m in Government funding to 180 projects, matched by $62m in applicant funding.

Fuso NZ MD Kurtis Andrews says the eCanter is the world’s first seriesmanufactured etruck built by a major manufacturer and now has over a million kilometres of real-world testing behind it.

“We are delighted to be the first to bring NZ a zero-emissions delivery truck, which includes fully integrated advanced safety systems. This is a project we have focused on for a number of years and we are looking forward to getting these units out to work for our customers.”

The demo unit will be used “to build transport industry awareness and wider acceptance of electric trucks,” while the five in the Queen St ZEA will help 8 | Truck & Driver

develop a clearer understanding of “how the integration of electric trucks will affect transport and delivery systems.”

The eCanter is ideal for inner-city delivery work, Andrews says: “It is easy to drive, produces zero emissions and is virtually silent, which is a huge benefit for inner city residents and workers.”

The eCanter also has a full safety suite to back up its green credentials, including active emergency braking, lane departure warning and electronic stability control. It has an electric motor that’s powered by an 81kWh (420v) lithium-ion, liquid-cooled battery pack, delivering 135kW and 390Nm. It has a 120-150 kilometre range – extendable via its regeneration system, which captures kinetic energy. T&D

YOUR HAMMAR. YOUR WAY

HAMMAR 195:

+ Versatile – PrecisionLeg™ for optimal stabilising + Light – low tare + Strong – 36-tonne Safe Working Load (SWL) or 40-tonne option + Stable – legs extend for firm base and transfer + Weighing – by each crane or total + High lift – ideal for stacking option + Reach – long outreach cranes + Ease – crane/stabiliser side-by-side design + Safety+™ – computer monitored handling as std + SDS – Hammar Soft-Drive System + Flex – Trailer or Truckmounted

HAMMAR 110: + Fast + Narrow + Light + Safe + Reach + Weighing + Strong + Stable + High lift + Ease + Safety+™ + SDS + Flex

– new SledgeLeg™ technology, 50% faster – SledgeLeg™ use for confined spaces – from 8.4-tonne tare – optimal crane geometry – long outreach cranes – by each crane or total – 36-tonne Safe Working Load (SWL) – legs extend for firm base and transfer – ideal for stacking option – crane/stabiliser side-by-side design – computer monitored handling as std – Hammar Soft-Drive System – Trailer or Truckmounted

HAMMAR 130:

+ Versatile – handles two 20’ containers or one 40’ container via 3 cranes + Unique – middle crane folds into chassis to accommodate a single 40’ + Sliding – for maximum payload with a single 20’ option + Light – only 7.5 tonne tare + Strong – 16-tonne Safe Working Load (SWL) + Stable – legs extend for firm base and transfer + Reach – long outreach cranes + Ease – crane/stabiliser side-by-side design + SDS – Hammar Soft-Drive System + Flex – Trailer or Truckmounted

Every freight delivery is different, so our three high-performance HAMMAR models are designed for your needs. Each HAMMAR is constructed from premium grade steel from Swedish and NZ components, to be stable, strong, fast and built to last. Designed for easy operation, service and maintenance in mind. You cannot buy a better sideloader.

With more than 45 years experience in sideloaders and a reputation for quality of manufacturing and service, HAMMAR sets the standard.

Now sold in 115 countries MADE IN NEW ZEALAND

HAMMAR Sideloaders are Made in New Zealand from local and Swedish components to suit YOUR transport needs.

Hammar New Zealand Ltd, 16 Marphona Cres, Takanini, Auckland. 0800 2 HAMMAR sales.nz@hammarlift.com www hammarlift.com

NEWS A new Aussie Anthem A LONG-AWAITED REVAMP OF THE MACK RANGE has begun, with the virtual launch, online, of the Australian-built Mack Anthem.

Mack Trucks Australia has revealed an Anthem range that includes sleeper or day cab models, in 6x4 and 8x4 rigids or 6x4 tractor units.

The Anthem, with its chiselled exterior looks, is powered by the proven 13-litre Euro 5 MP8 engine, rated from 435-535-horsepower/324-398 kilowatts, with 1655-1920 lb ft/2243-2603 Newton metres of peak torque.

Mack reckons that despite its “hard-edged profile,” the Anthem’s “bold new look manages to capture aerodynamic efficiency…

“Aerodynamic gains have been aided by closing gaps between panels and minimising seams. Even the tow hooks in the three-piece bumper have been covered to assist with airflow.”

A single-point bonnet latch makes daily checks safer and easier, reducing the effort needed to tilt the bonnet. Ultra-reliable LEDs now provide all exterior lighting, boosting headlight output by 66% over the previous lights.

An integrated Bendix Wingman Fusion active safety system is standard in the Anthem, providing adaptive cruise control, blind spot alerts, autonomous braking and roll stability.

A 36-inch integrated standup sleeper, with 1.8 metres of headroom in the cab and 2.1m in the sleeper, is an option for the Anthem…..and for the Trident and Super-Liner models. The extra overhead space allows for additional storage in the driver’s compartment and above the bunk.

As well as LED courtesy lighting, 12-volt power outlets and USB charging ports, the new sleepers offer the option of an under-bunk fridge.

A new interior cab design features large, easy-to-read analogue dials, along with tough, well-positioned rocker switches. The mDrive transmission controls remain on the dash panel, but controls for the Powerleash engine brake are now located on a multi-function steering column stalk.

A five-inch digital Co-Pilot colour display makes it easy to navigate various digital menus and functions on the go, with much of the Bendix safety system’s functionality accessed via the display.

In addition to unveiling the Anthem, Mack also launched its new mDrive HD and XHD automated manual transmissions – both with extra-low gearing.

With their deep reduction gearing options, the new mDrives offer safer heavy hauling at high gross weights, with excellent startability/gradeability – eliminating the need for auxiliary transmissions.

The 13-speed mDrive HD has a single reduction gear that helps for heavy liftoffs and allows fuel conscious highway operators to specify taller final drive ratios to optimise fuel efficiency. The 14-speed XHD offers heavy haulage operators safe and flexible handling of big loads with peace of mind.

The new mDrives also add features such as a rock-free mode to regain traction offroad, a power launch function for offroad low-traction starts, and heavy-duty and maxi-duty modes for high GCM operation. Both AMTs can be specced behind either the 13-litre MP8 or 16-litre MP10 engines.

Mack says that new electrical architecture across its range “not only provides a smarter truck – it’s also more connected. Optional predictive cruise control, for instance, can now be specced – using GPS and 3D topographic data to optimise engine and transmission performance and thus save fuel. T&D

T610/T610SAR *TRP assist 0508 22 55 77 EMAIL: info@spt.co.nz

www.spt.co.nz 10 | Truck & Driver

NORTHLAND Mark Tucker

021 276 6428

AUCKLAND Steve Willcocks 027 525 0015 Mitchell Redington 021 555 326 WAIKATO Adam McIntosh 027 603 1023 Andrew Haberfield 027 4798 588 BAY OF PLENTY - GISBORNE Andrew Haberfield 027 4798 588

TARANAKI Adam McIntosh 027 603 1023 HAWKE’S BAY – MANAWATU – WANGANUI – WELLINGTON Mark O’Hara 027 2466 954 SOUTH ISLAND Mike Gillespie 027 4322 491 Chris Gray 027 2816 840 Steve Herring 021 377 661

FIND OUT MORE

WWW.SPT.CO.NZ

TD31345

96-98 Wiri Station Road PO Box 76463 Manukau City, Auckland, NZ PHONE (09) 262 3181 FAX (09) 278 5643

NEWS

Above: The new Anthem, with the optional 36-inch standup sleeper Inset left: Mack’s new interior cab design

Inset right: The standup sleeper offers 2.1m headroom in the sleeper, with oodles of storage

Authorised ZF Service Partner Authorised BOSCH Common Rail Repairer TURBO CHARGERS

FUEL PUMP & INJECTOR

REPAIR OR REPLACEMENT

REPAIR OR REPLACEMENT – ALL BRANDS

AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSIONS ECOMAT 1-4, ECOLIFE Fitted in truck & bus applications

ALL MAKES AND SIZES

TD31345

GTON

ECOSPLIT, ECOMID, ECOLITE, AS-TRONIC DIESEL SERVICES AUCKLAND

09 525 0830 www.dieselservices.co.nz

DEISEL SERVICES CHRISTCHURCH

03 348 8825 www.dsldiesel.co.nz

TD31357

DPF & CAT CLEANING

MANUAL & AUTO-SHIFT TRANSMISSIONS

This is Japan’s most advanced truck.

It’s part of a commitment from FUSO to use innovative technologies to save lives and save money by avoiding or reducing the cost of accidents. These advanced safety features, based on world-class Daimler technology, really set Shogun apart.

— Active Attention Assist

— Lane Departure Warning

This monitors a number of different inputs, including an infrared camera which monitors the driver’s face and eye closure.

A camera detects lane markings and warns the driver when the vehicle moves out of its lane.

— Active Emergency Braking

— 7” Touchscreen Media Unit with Reversing Camera

Avoids or mitigates collisions with pedestrians and other vehicles by using a radar to monitor the road ahead.

With Apple CarPlay and Android Audio compatibility. Enables hands-free talking and text to speech.

SCAN HERE TO SEE SHOGUN IN ACTION! POINT YOUR CAMERA AT THE CODE TO ACCESS THE VIDEO. NO APP REQUIRED!

— Adaptive Cruise Control Automatically adjusts the vehicle’s speed to maintain a safe distance to the vehicle in front.

The FUSO Shogun is a game-changer designed to get you home safely, night after night. Check it out at fuso.co.nz/shogun

We look after our own

NEWS An HPMV unit on the Desert Road – a publicity still from the upcoming tv doco on the history and development of trucking in NZ

TV doco aims to put the public right on trucks A TV DOCUMENTARY SERIES TELLING THE STORY of the evolution of trucking in New Zealand – aimed at righting a wrong in which the industry is cast as a villain – is set to begin screening on Prime this month.

The Truck Files – a NZ Story is a three-part series that is NOT an Outback Truckers-style piece of reality tv, showing hard-case truckies in dramatic fashion.

It’s a bid by Christchurch trucking journalist and videographer Bryce Baird “to educate the public about an industry that is so essential to the running of the country.”

To correct the situation in which “people have lost sight of the importance of road transport.”

The 63-year-old Baird – a former truck driver with a passion for the industry that he’s written about, photographed and videoed for over 30 years – says: “The essence of the programme is really about addressing the biased media coverage our industry gets.

“All we hear is why there shouldn’t be trucks on the road.”

Addressing this situation triggered the initial support and inspiration for the series – from Christchurch crane company owner Daniel Smith: “He kicked this project off. He was passionate about the public being made aware of our industry’s contribution to the running of the country.

“He came to me and said: ‘Listen, we’ve got to do something about how our industry’s portrayed. I want to tell the public how much I spend on RUCs – while all we get is criticism from the public of us being on the road! People don’t realise how important it is that we are on the road.’ ”

Other industry heavyweights Sime Darby and HWR Group “were equally passionate” and also lent their financial support to the project – along with many other road transport industry players, Baird says.

The programme sets out to explain why rail is not able to meet NZ’s freight task, the spectacular evolution of the industry, how sophisticated and high-tech trucks and trailers are now and how professional its drivers are – plus the difficulties it’s facing with its ageing workforce.

Says Baird: “Trucking has really transformed from what it was in the ‘70s and the ‘80s: It was a bit of a rough and ready profession. And there were cowboys out there….

“But it has evolved, out of necessity, to be a safe, highly-professional industry.”

The series, he adds, “attempts to explain why we have the need for 50MAX units on the road, how professional a driver has to be to be on the road, the investment that’s needed to keep the freight moving, the logs turning up at the port…your courier freight arriving the next day.

“We are an essential player in keeping this country functioning. And most people lose sight of that – they only see the inconvenience. They don’t see the passion and the investment and just how difficult moving freight around this country can be.”

The series calls heavily on archival footage and interviews to trace the development of the road transport industry from its horse and cart start to today’s high-tech, sophisticated HPMV units.

“The hope is that the public can look at us with a fresh perspective, rather than as a nuisance on the road.” T&D Truck & Driver | 13

NEWS Truck parts biz aims to be No. 1

The Parts Hub carries OE, aftermarket and salvage parts NEW AFTERMARKET TRUCK PARTS SPECIALIST THE Parts Hub – offering new original equipment and aftermarket parts, plus salvage parts – aims to be the industry’s “first-choice” supplier.

The Whangarei-based business says its “OE and quality aftermarket parts” business runs “alongside a highly-professional dismantling operation.”

The company describes itself as “an experienced team of parts professionals with expertise across leading Japanese truck brands.”

And it says: “The Parts Hub represents a fresh addition to the commercial parts market – with a seasoned understanding of the industry.”

Parts manager Kurt Dowson says that its goal “is to be the number one go-to for reliable, expert parts supply for commercial operators across the country.

“We have a highly knowledgeable, professional team and the operational know-how to make that goal a reality.”

To complement its new parts range, the business “also specialises in dismantling late-model, low-kilometre FUSO commercial vehicles. All parts are removed, cleaned and catalogued – ready to go, right off the shelf, ensuring a fast response and the right part, first time.”

It stocks a wide range of high-demand parts across reputable brands including Denso, Bosch, WABCO, GME, TBK, MHI (Mitsubishi Heavy Industries) and IHI (Isuzu Heavy Industries). Any part, it adds, can be sourced on request.

All orders are picked and packed same day, with any orders under 25 kilograms delivered overnight anywhere in NZ. T&D

Dealers key to lead status ISUZU TRUCKS’ ACHIEVEMENT IN clinching No. 1 status in the New Zealand new truck market for the 21st consecutive year is largely down to its network of dealers and service centres, general manager David Ballantyne says.

“We could never achieve what we do without the support and involvement of our partners,” says Ballanytne.

“They’re at the forefront of our operation and are a huge support for our brand and our many customers. They really are key to our unprecedented run as Number One.” Despite NZ’s COVID-19-ravaged market last year, Isuzu managed what it terms “a healthy overall share across light, medium and heavy segments – 14 | Truck & Driver

achieving a combined total of 22.4%.”

Says Ballantyne: “This result was an improvement of 0.2% compared with what we achieved in 2019, which is remarkable considering the general uncertainty present for a good portion of 2020.”

He says that “during challenging times, such as we’ve all experienced last year due largely to COVID-19, qualities relating to trust and dependability become so important.

“Isuzu Trucks has earned a reputation based on such attributes, and the ongoing success of the brand is evidence of this.”

Sales of light duty N-Series trucks to fast moving consumer goods suppliers and home delivery

operators were a factor in the make’s result, he adds – “complemented by strong sales of medium-duty F-Series models in the general freight sector and healthy demand from fleet customers.

That surge, he says, is attributable in part to changes in consumer buying patterns as a result of COVID-19 lockdowns, “where people were doing supermarket shopping from home as well as ordering parcel delivery online.”

Ballantyne reckons that his team and their customers will have more to smile about this year, with a new N-Series light-duty model expected to arrive here late in the year. It will, he says, deliver “enhanced safety, improved technology and increased specification levels.” T&D

Newvale & Ohai Coal use & recommend Vertex Lubricants

OEM Approved Products from a NZ Owned Brand • Oils • Grease • Coolant • Chemicals Approved by major engine manufacturers and 100% NZ owned and operated, we provide you with the partnership you deserve. For a first class product with a range second to none, Vertex is the smart choice.

TD31377

Freephone 0800 353 645 info@lubenz.co.nz www.lubenz.co.nz

Transport Trailers is a licensed ‘Hardox In My Body’ manufacturer. This elite accreditation ensures that you get an outstanding steel structure made to the highest standards with genuine Hardox.

Quality doesn't cost. It pays.

Advanced steel. Tailored design. Unbeatable service life.

“Transport & General Engineering is at the leading edge of tipper body development in New Zealand with their Transport Trailers product. Their constant innovation and the quality of their finished product is second-to-none.”

LUKE MATHIESON | MANAGING DIRECTOR, REAL STEEL

With 65 years of heavy transport experience and a passion for the industry, we'll manufacture your new Hardox tipping body to withstand the harshest and toughest environments — from sea walls to demolition — and finished to the highest possible standard.

www.tandg.co.nz . sales@tandg.co.nz .

TransportTrailers

Transport & General Engineering

NEWS

Apprentices aplenty applied This year’s intake of Transport Repairs apprentices – pictured here with training manager Andy Reid (far left) – were selected from more than 350 applicants

AN APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAMME launched by South Island-wide transport parts and service operation Transport Repairs, was swamped with applicants for this year.

The company received over 350 applications for seven places on the programme – the successful applicants having now begun their apprenticeships at some of Transport Repairs’ 10 branches.

Training manager Andy Reid says the apprenticeship programme will have an annual intake of a similar number next year – “which should see the company contributing a significant number of trained people to the heavy transport repairs industry.”

And he adds: “We would support and encourage all companies in the industry to do the same.”

The company’s comprehensive apprentice training programme first put the new recruits through a one-week induction course at Transport Repairs’ purposebuilt training centre in Gore.

The programme included an introduction to the company’s history and culture and the HW Richardson Group’s ownership and support of the business…through to more practical areas like forklift training, first aid, uniforms and how to complete basic paperwork.

Says Reid: “We felt it was important to not drop these guys into our environment without first understanding more about the company.

“We set high standards for our staff and managers and as such we felt it important to have them arrive at the workplace with more than a set of overalls and boots.”

The programme also included training from experienced staff on Transport Repairs’ role as a Southpac Trucks dealer – including a background on how warranties and technical support work. To complete the induction, the apprentices were taken to the Bill Richardson Transport World truck and car museum in Invercargill.

Since then they have been placed in various branches, where they’ll specialise in either heavy automotive engineering (road transport), engineering fabrication (steel construction) or automotive electrical.

The three to four-year apprenticeship programme will have ongoing support from the Otago Polytech, which was selected as Transport Repairs’ apprenticeship training partner. T&D

Keith Andrews all go in Palmy, Napier THE EXPANSION OF KEITH ANDREWS’ DAIMLER Trucks’ representation in the North Island – with its appointment late last year as the sales, parts and service dealer in the lower half for Freightliner and Mercedes-Benz – has now taken on concrete form.

Following Keith Andrews’ purchase of First Commercials’ operations in Palmerston North and Napier, KAT says the Manawatu business has now become a sales, parts and service dealership for Merc, Freightliner and FUSO trucks.

The Hawke’s Bay operation will continue to be a FUSO sales, parts and service dealership.

The two new Keith Andrews dealerships follow on from the addition of Seaview and Porirua operations in Wellington late last year, as the business consolidates its new status – which added to its existing Daimler Trucks’

representation in the upper half of the North Island.

Keith Andrews MD Aaron Smith says that First Commercials “is a widelyrespected business in the lower North Island and we are looking forward to working with Ben Tacon (sales manager), Andrew John (operations manager) and the team to build on the strong relationships in the region.

“Keith Andrews has a long association with Daimler truck and light commercial vehicle brands, and with FUSO in particular. We are very proud of the opportunity to represent these highly respected marques across the North Island.

“We look forward to combining our skills and knowledge with those of the First Commercials team to support transport operators through Taranaki, Whanganui, Manawatu and Hawke’s Bay, and the remainder of the lower North Island.” T&D Truck & Driver | 17

NEWS

From sandpits... to Scania EXPAT KIWI HAMISH BENNETT RECKONS THAT AS “a young fella” at home in the Waikato, he used to play in the sandpit with his toy trucks.

And his Dad Maurice, who worked for FUSO dealer Keith Andrews, was always “a role model for me.”

So a future in trucks was maybe on the cards – but he could never have dreamt-up exactly where he is now: Heading a team shaping the future of truck design and development for Scania.

As he acknowledges: “I probably didn’t think I’d graduate from the sandpits of Huntly and Hamilton to go on to play a role (in some capacity) in every new Scania truck design for the last 20 years.”

After completing engineering and commerce degrees at Auckland University, Bennett was awarded a “dream” three-month scholarship with Scania’s product development team, in vehicle dynamics.

At the end of that he was offered a three-year employment contract by Scania. And he cemented a new life in Stockholm when he married his Swedish girlfriend.

From “living his dream,” testing state-of-the-art prototype trucks, in two

Hamish Bennett and his favourite Scania – a 770hp S-Line – at Scania HQ

decades Bennett’s role has developed into product strategy and design for the truckmaker.

“My responsibilities included everything from identifying and setting trends in R&D, customer/market demand as well as vehicle technology.”

The results of some of his more recent work are being seen in Europe now – with a new V8 engine range “that doesn’t only feature a record level of power, but vastly improved fuel efficiency too.

“Total fuel savings can reach up to 6% or more – presenting a massive difference, both for operators and the climate.”

Hamish’s alltime favourite Scania is the range-topping 770-horsepower V8: “It’s the most powerful, factory-built truck engine in production today.”

Electric trucks are also high on Scania’s agenda and Hamish has had a hand in its new E-range that’s rolling out in Europe this year as well.

Bennett still keeps an eye on what’s happening back home: “It’s quite cool that I also get to hear on a regular basis about the impressive journey Scania NZ is on. I know Scania HQ has made significant longterm investments there to grow our relationships with Kiwi customers even further and develop additional business opportunities.” T&D

ISUZU IS GOING TO INSTALL CUMMINS ENGINES IN its medium-duty trucks, starting this year.

The two trucking industry heavyweights, who have had a partnership since mid-2019 to evaluate and carry out opportunities to jointly develop and bring new diesel and alternative powertrains to global markets, will launch the Cummins B6.7-engined trucks in North America this year.

Japan will follow, then Southeast Asia and other markets globally.

Cummins CEO and chairman Tom Linebarger says it’s “another step forward in the partnership,” which he describes as “a terrific opportunity for both companies to harness our respective strengths and drive 18 | Truck & Driver

innovation in advanced diesel and other technology solutions.”

Isuzu Motors president and representative director Masanori Katayama says that the engine deal is “our first step in this collaboration.

We will accelerate holistic collaboration in joint research for advanced engineering capabilities and further developments in advanced diesel technologies to deliver optimum trucks and powertrains to customers all over the world.”

Isuzu and Cummins have also entered into an advanced technology agreement, to conduct joint research for various powertrain technologies using their respective advanced engineering capabilities. T&D

TD31354

Medium-duty Isuzus get Cummins engines

World Leaders in Automotive Finishes AUCKLAND Fleet Image Auckland (09) 263 6696 Transvisual/Royans Group NZ Operations (09) 279 7351

TAURANGA Shape & Spray (07) 578 5933 Brokers United (07) 578 3434

HAMILTON Fleet Image NZ Ltd (07) 850 1100 MORRINSVILLE Greenville Auto Painters Ltd (07) 889 3655

TE PUKE Peak Panel & Paint (07) 573 7551 WHAKATANE Haddock Spraypainters (07) 308 8317

TE AWAMUTU Fleet Image NZ Ltd (07) 871 6780

WAITARA Brokers United (06) 754 7145

ROTORUA Brokers United (07) 346 2089

PALMERSTON NTH Alro Truck & Trailer Repairs (06) 357 4100

n Advice ig s e D • ork oved Netw r p p A • ty • Warranated CT Product • Dedic ated People • Dedic

HASTINGS Hastings Panel Repair & Spraypainters (06) 876 7297 MASTERTON Rob Walker Spraypainters (06) 377 3739

CHRISTCHURCH Reliance Panel Repairs (03) 348 3758 Wilcock Truck Painters (O3) 343 2001

DUNEDIN Bridgman Street Panelbeaters Ltd (03) 455 3276

INVERCARGILL Sievwright Auto Painting (03) 215 8584

TD31354

PPG Industries New Zealand Pty Ltd, 5 Vestey Drive, Mt Wellington, Auckland. Call 0800 4 PPG CT (0800 4 774 28)

Web: www.ppgfleetpool.co.nz

The optimal combination of world-leading Comfort, Safety & Productivity tailored to your needs.

Global Innovation. New Zealand Solutions. Learn more at volvotrucks.co.nz

INTRODUCING THE New Volvo FM

NEWS

Climate change clarity – but not for trucks Whether the right future technology for NZ’s truck fleet is battery electric – like this Volta metro delivery truck – hydrogen fuel cell.....or something else altogether, is as yet unknown THE CLIMATE CHANGE COMMISSION’S RECENTLYreleased report “lays out our nation’s challenges clearly” – but for road transport, “things aren’t that clear,” says Road Transport Forum chief executive Nick Leggett.

He acknowledges “the absolute need to reduce our emissions over the next few decades” and congratulates the commission for “holding to its clarity and purpose.”

But, as he says: “Policy should be about the possible – not the probable.

And frankly, too much is unknown about the kinds of future energy that will power heavy vehicles.

“Our industry cannot accept the development of policy on a wing and a prayer. We can’t proceed into a future where the technology that powers our vehicles is imagined, rather than real.”

Leggett says it’s pleasing that the commission has acknowledged “that the vast majority of the freight task will remain on the road,” which currently fulfils 93% of the freight task in New Zealand.

“The path the commission has recommended includes a modal shift of freight from road to rail and coastal shipping. However, their assumptions are that around only 4% of freight tonne kilometres can switch by 2030.

“That is a far more realistic position than what we hear from many political commentators and anti-road lobbyists…”

Leggett says he’s impressed with the commission’s acknowledgement that in the push for the decarbonisation of transport, medium and heavy trucks will be slower to electrify than our light vehicle fleet.

“Commissioners obviously recognise that current battery technology does not provide the range to deal with long-haul road transport. Their recommendation is that of the heavy vehicles imported in 2030, 15% of medium trucks and 8% of heavy trucks would be electric. By 2035, this would increase to a much more ambitious 84% and 69% respectively.

“The commission accepts that they can’t predict what the eventual solution for powering heavy transport will be. That won’t stop some others though, and we must guard against people who think they can lock in a

solution for us so far in advance.

“The means to the end we seek have not totally revealed themselves for the heavy transport industry. We must assist road transport businesses to be more sustainable and efficient in their business practices and preparing for the technology – whether it be hydrogen, electric, or some as yet unknown energy source.” T&D

Brit CV build drops to 1930s level THE DOUBLE-WHAMMY IMPACT OF COVID-19 AND a potential no-deal Brexit last year left Britain’s commercial vehicle production slumping to its lowest level in 87 years.

With 66,116 trucks, vans, buses, coaches and taxis rolling off Brit production lines in 2020, the output was down more than 12,000 vehicles on 2019. It amounted to a 15.5% reduction.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), which released the figures, pinned the blame on COVID-19 and Brexit: “Social distancing measures and multiple lockdowns throughout the year badly affected manufacturing capabilities and demand, while uncertainty right up until the end of the Brexit transition period dented business confidence.”

The number of CVs built for export dropped 17.8% to 37,893 vehicles, while the domestic market build was down 12.2% (at 28,223).

Nevertheless, almost six out of every 10 commercial vehicles built in the UK in 2020 were exported, with the EU the biggest single market, taking almost 95% of the total.

SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes says that 2020 “challenged commercial vehicle manufacturers beyond belief and, as the final figures show, reflect what has been the worst year in a lifetime for the sector.” T&D Truck & Driver | 21

NEWS

Obesity, psychological distress dog many Aussie truckies

Australia’s biggest-ever survey of truckies’ health has resulted in some worrying statistics MORE THAN HALF OF AUSTRALIA’S TRUCK DRIVERS (who are mostly men) are obese – compared to a national average of one in three….

And they are experiencing widespread medical problems and psychological distress. These are key findings from the country’s biggest-ever national survey of truckies’ health.

And there are more worrying statistics revealed by the Monash University survey: About 30% of drivers who participated had three or more diagnosed health conditions, such as back pain, high blood pressure and mental health conditions. That’s four times greater than the national average.

One in three drivers reported lower back pain and one in four said they’d been diagnosed with high blood pressure.

Chronic pain was identified as a key health issue among the drivers, with two in three participants experiencing pain that lasted more than three months.

The survey found that drivers with more than two chronic medical conditions were more likely to have severe psychological distress, have worse general health and lower work ability.

More than half of those surveyed reported psychological distress. Mental health is a particular concern for younger drivers, says the survey report – with one in five suffering from severe psychological distress (almost double that of Australian men of the same age).

Many surveyed drivers said that public perceptions of them contribute to the daily stresses of their work environments: “We get blamed for the accident whether it’s our fault or not,” as one driver summed up.

Lead researcher Dr Ross Iles says: “Truck drivers are mostly men, and we know men generally don’t talk about mental health.

“What this research shows is the real size of the issue, especially for 22 | Truck & Driver

younger drivers. While there is an opportunity to help drivers to cope with the pressure of the job, longterm solutions have to address the conditions drivers are operating under.”

The survey identified seven key areas that impacted a truck driver’s physical and mental health – including access to healthy food, exercise and sleep; the stresses of being on the road; the quality of personal relationships; and conditions in the workplace.

They also cited the regulations and policies drivers have to follow, access to parking and rest facilities and the attitudes of people to truck drivers.

On the obesity issue, drivers surveyed said a lack of availability to healthy food on the road, strict regulations, irregular shift-work and rigid time constraints often impede their ability to manage their exercise, diet and sleep.

Researcher Dr Elizabeth Pritchard says: “It’s incredibly difficult for individual truck drivers to influence these seven factors. We need to understand the barriers and enablers here, and make changes to how we as a society value our truck drivers.

“The demands that they have to deliver loads on time – regardless of delays – and the consequences that entails are huge. We need to support them more for a better future.”

Says Iles: “This year has shown us the critical role that truck drivers have in keeping Australia moving. They frequently experience isolation and separation from loved ones, and the nature of long-haul work in particular offers limited opportunities for incidental physical activity and good nutrition. This reveals a need for additional supports to ensure they can do their work safely – it’s our turn to keep them moving.”

The Driving Health Study is run by Monash University’s School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, in partnership with Linfox, the Transport Workers Union and the Centre for Work Health and Safety. T&D

LEADERS IN TRAILER MANUFACTURING Fruehauf is a name that has been associated with quality, craftsmanship and dedication to excellence since its establishment in the United States in the late 1800s.

As a market leader in NZ Transport Manufacturing, Fruehauf NZ offers excellence in ongoing after Sales Customer Support within New Zealand Fruehauf NZ Ltd is extremely proud to support the New Zealand Transport Industry with Manufacturing, Servicing and Repairs of Truck and Trailer products for all NZ Transport businesses and will work to do so well into the Future.

During the past 10-year management of Fruehauf NZ Ltd by Phil Watchorn and Jeff Mear, Fruehauf NZ has become a New Zealand leader in the manufacture of road transport equipment for both truck trailers and truck bodies.

With an innovative approach to the industry and by working closely with its Customers and the NZTA, Fruehauf NZ has continued to support the Transport Industry. Fruehauf NZ has introduced some highly successful products giving higher payload options and enabling transport companies’ greater revenue with ongoing sustainability in the marketplace.

Keep on Trucking New Zealand, we are behind you all the way!

AUCKLAND BRANCH AND HEAD OFFICE 21 Hobill Ave, Manukau, Auckland, Phone +64 9 267 3679

FEILDING MANUFACTURING PLANT

10 Mahinui Street, Feilding, New Zealand, Telephone +64 6 323 4299 TD31361

www.fruehauf.co.nz

THANK YOU www.cummins.com www.bigfoot.co.nz

www.isuzu.co.nz www.fruehauf.co.nz

www.bridgestonetyres.co.nz

www.iveco.co.nz www.fuso.co.nz

www.cableprice.co.nz

www.keithandrews.co.nz

www.hella.co.nz www.mills-tui.co.nz

www.calisuzu.co.nz www.hendrickson-intl.com

www.castrol.com

www.mytrucking.com

Thank you to all these incredible companies for their generous support of Truck Driver appreciation week, it was all made possible thanks to you! www.rtf.nz

www.patchell.co.nz www.trgroup.co.nz

E J BRENAN TRUST

www.roadmaster.co.nz www.twlnz.co.nz www.transpecs.co.nz

www.silodec.co.nz

EJ Brenan Trust www.rtanz.co.nz

www.valvoline.com

www.spt.co.nz

www.natroad.co.nz

www.eastlandwood.co.nz www.teletracnavman.co.nz

www.nztruckanddriver.co.nz

www.macvalves.co.nz

PREDICTABLY

CLEVER Story Dave McLeod Photos Gerald Shacklock

A tight, steep farm road isn’t exactly where you’d expect to find a high-tech linehaul unit like the predictive cruise controlequipped Merc....but it is part of its regular delivery route

26 | Truck & Driver

BIG TEST

Truck & Driver | 27

Bobby Khan P: 09 264 1666 M: (64) 027 2661233

Shacman New Zealand Limited Distributor for SHACMAN Truck 264 Roscommon Road, Wiri, Auckland 2104

TD31383

www.shacmantruck.co.nz

The PPC system is able to “see” the road ahead – using 3D mapping and GPS technology to manage the adaptive cruise control system...slowing the truck for corners, coasting whenever possible and selecting the right gear for hills

ET’S FACE IT: WHETHER IT’S LIFE, THE STOCKMARKET…. hell, even the weather, predicting the future is about as easy to do as nailing the Lotto numbers.

But these days more and more truckmakers are prepared to give it a go – trying their hand at an electronic, digital (and helpful) version of looking into a crystal ball.

And yes, even in New Zealand, truckies are getting the benefit of this future-seeing, seemingly mystical and magical thing.

Truckies like Allan Timms, who we’re spending time with today – primarily to get first-hand experience in his B&D Doors’ Actros FHS 2663 LS GigaSpace, with what Merc terms Predictive Powertrain Control (PPC).

Pity we’re not better at this predictive stuff ourselves: The sunny, midsummer day we were hoping for turns out instead to be a rainy, gloomy Bay of Plenty morning.

And any hopes of a decent load on board the handsome, postal red tractor unit and its three-axle curtainsider trailer also disappear, with the news that we’ve only got a mere two or three tonnes of cargo onboard for the trip ahead – from Bay of Plenty Garage Doors in Mount Maunganui, up to Auckland, via delivery stops at Waikino (near the Karangahake Gorge) and Kopu.

Never mind: Given that, as Allan points out, this unit’s load doesn’t ever even come close to its maximum permissible weights, this Giti Big Test was never going to be about how the Merc’s OM473 engine performs.

It puts out 460 kilowatts/625 horsepower and 3000 Newton metres/2213 lb ft of peak torque.

And carting heavy loads is definitively NOT this truck’s purpose in life, B&D Doors director Paul Cochrane explains: “We’re not a

freight company – we’re a door manufacturer, so we look at things differently.”

Take the truck’s typical working week, for example: Foxton-based Allan and the Actros leave the B&D Doors depot in Levin on a Monday morning, with a five-day trip ahead.

During it, they deliver nine to 13 tonnes of Dominator garage doors, frames and parts along a route that takes them 2500 kilometres, through Hawke’s Bay, Rotorua and Whakatane to Mount Maunganui – and on to Auckland via Waihi.

After reloading in Auckland, they head south to Taupo, Hawke’s Bay and the Wairarapa, then on to Wellington…and across the Strait and down to Christchurch for a “turn and burn” – swapping the now-empty semi-trailer for a loaded replacement destined for Levin.

As Allan explains: “We’re never near max weight for this.

It’s volume we take.” The 12-metre, 23-year-old TMC tri-axle curtainsider semi (which has a 7400kg tare weight) is well-suited to ensuring that the garage doors are transported without damage.

Garage doors, says Allan, don’t “mix well with other freight.”

With the tractor’s tare weight at 9680kg, “when it’s fully loaded we’re running somewhere around 30t all-up. No more.”

When he started out on this trip the trailer was carrying around nine tonnes of doors and parts. But, as he adds: “I’ve done a day’s amount of unloading since then. So right now payload is in the two to three tonnes range. So all-up I’d be doing 20-21t….with 625hp.” He smiles.

The Actros Generation 5 is one of three identical tractor units put on the road last year by B&D. Cochrane says that B&D Doors’ choice of the high-tech Mercs is partly “a bit historic: The guys were driving Mercedes trucks when Truck & Driver | 29

Above, both pictures: The Mercedes dash is all-digital – and as futuristic as it gets. When PPC is controlling the powertrain (top) it works to optimise fuel saving

Opposite page: The good-looking B&D Doors unit – one of three 2020 Mercs on the fleet – pulls out of a Mount Maunganui garage door dealership

I got here a couple of years ago, plus the gear always works very well and the guys like driving them.

“It’s home away from home.” They come with a much better climate control system than most trucks, he says – so are better to sleep in, for instance.

And about that 625-horse spec for a truck that always runs light: He says it has achieved a reduction in the fuel bill.

And Theo Ferreira, Mercedes-Benz brand manager for new Daimler Trucks South Island dealer CablePrice, confirms that the concept works: “It seems like a ridiculous amount of horsepower for such a light load, but it’s actually very efficient.”

The Predictive Powertrain Control system, of course, has a part to play in that – taking the benefits of radar and cameraassisted adaptive cruise control to a new level by utilising global positioning system data and high-precision 3D satellite mapping to “see” the road ahead.

It also learns a route’s turns and topography when the truck’s being driven in cruise control. Then, when driven over the same route again – in cruise, with the PPC engaged – will autonomously slow down for tight corners, select the appropriate gear for hill climbs and descents….and button-off on the last part of a climb, to cruise over the crest. It will also use the truck’s kinetic energy to coast whenever possible, with minimal loss of speed.

This intelligent management of the Merc PowerShift 3 automated 30 | Truck & Driver

manual transmission – and therefore the Merc’s 15.6-litre inline six engine and its engine brake – is intended to optimise the operation of the cruise control, the proximity control assist system, transmission and engine, to save as much fuel as possible….

While also improving safety by reducing driver stress and fatigue and avoiding unnecessary braking, accelerating and gearshifting.

Mercedes-Benz reckons that on cross-country roads it can save up to 5% in diesel use.

The NZ version of PPC so far doesn’t have the road sign assist feature that’s part of the system in Europe and elsewhere – an extra that will see it recognise and adapt to speed limit signs…. even slow for signposted roundabouts, major intersections and the like.

Ferreira points out that in NZ the Actros does also have autonomous emergency braking and says that new models on their way here will have steering assist to keep the truck in its correct lane – an advancement of the current lane keeping alert system: “It also tells you if you need to take a break because you’re drifting over the lines too much.”

Not everybody likes all this high-tech stuff. Paul Cochrane says that some of the company’s drivers are still trying to get used to the MirrorCam system, for instance – which sees rear-vision mirrors replaced by mini cameras inside streamlined winglets, their images displayed on monitors on the A-pillars.

“It’s as if they’ve built the truck for me!”

Some report difficulty with sunlight on the cameras and Cochrane says the next Mercs “will probably have conventional mirrors.”

But Allan pretty much likes all of it – the MirrorCam system included. And yes, he likes the PPC – the way, for instance, the Actros will follow the vehicle ahead at a set distance, like any other adaptive cruise control….

But The PPC will also slow the truck for a corner – and “then it will take off ” up to the selected speed: “Because I do these roads all the time it remembers the road, or the speed that I took it before.”

Of his usual 2500km round trip, probably about 1000km is done in PPC mode, particularly the long-haul, open-road stretches like Christchurch to Picton, Wellington to Levin, Taupo to Rotorua and Auckland to Napier.

“Definitely the south side of Kaikoura, the trucks are backed up, so no need to overtake, so I use PPC. I drive down to Christchurch mainly using my thumbs – as the controls are on the steering wheel.”

NZ Truck & Driver tester Hayden Woolston is behind the wheel as we head away from Tauranga to Waihi and sets the adaptive cruise to 90km/h. The system gets little chance to run at anything like that speed though, as we encounter one roadworks job after

another….and another.

Thus the Merc takes its speed guidance from the vehicle in front, which it follows at a safe distance thanks to the adaptive cruise system’s radar and cameras.

Even so, the PPC makes its presence felt a couple of times – showing off its tendency to go into freewheeling mode whenever possible. In case you hadn’t noticed anyway, it signals what it’s up to by turning the cruise control icon on the dash display from blue to green.

But it’s when we’re clear of the roadworks that the PPC really gets into gear, so to speak: Coasting along a straight, approaching a small incline, Woolston expects the PPC to flick the truck out of coasting mode to maintain the speed up and over the small hill.

But it doesn’t. The PPC, apparently aware that the hill doesn’t amount to much, continues to coast – dropping only 4km/h before the crest. Woolston estimates that the Actros has just covered 8001000 “free metres” as Daimler Trucks terms the distance coasted in the AMT’s EcoRoll mode.

On another hill, the truck’s approaching the crest when the revs drop! Yep, the PPC system has figured that the truck can easily coast over the crest and quickly regain any lost speed on the downhill that follows.

Says an impressed Woolston: “There’s no way that any driver

Truck & Driver | 31

Clockwise, from top left: The GigaSpace cab is as big as they come from Mercedes-Benz....tall enough for driver Allan Timms to stretch out and still not touch the roof....it is a bit of a climb to get up the four steps, but they offer good grip and the grabhandles are well-positioned....Allan sleeps in the Merc four nights a week and reckons the bunk is super-comfy.....there’s oodles of room and storage space in the towering cab

would think to lift their foot off the throttle there. It’s truly surreal to feel the revs drop away at that moment.”

Allan gets back behind the wheel at Waikino, just short of the Karangahake Gorge (between Waihi and Paeroa). We’re heading a few kilometres off the main road to the rural property of the local Dominator dealer – on a tight, narrow road that’s also currently wet.

That means, in Allan’s opinion, it’s time for human intervention with the 12-speed G330 AMT. It’s not like it’s any great hardship, ordering-up shifts – skipshifting through to eighth and then taking one at a time: “That was so simple,” Allan confirms.

32 | Truck & Driver

He knows this road gets slippery when it’s wet, it’s got a steep hill and a concrete bridge at the bottom that’s on a bend and gets “pretty slippery.” There’s also a quarry along the route, so there could be other trucks on the road.

As the road gets tighter, our speed gets slower as Allan gets to use the second and third stage of the engine brake. Roads and terrain like this, he says, are best managed in manual mode.

Through a series of tight bends we’re down to 50k, cruising along in ninth and 10th gear, ready for dealing with any oncoming traffic. The M-B High Performance Engine Brake now stays on its third (maximum) stage.

We turn off onto a more minor road, which is even more slippery

Total Truck and Trailer Solutions From

TRAILER TYRE INFLATION SYSTEMS

TRAILER AXLES AND AIR SUSPENSIONS

EBS SYSTEMS AND BRAKE CHAMBERS

FORGED ALLOY WHEELS

HYDRAULIC HOISTS, VALVES & CONTROLS

TRUCK – TRAILER COUPLINGS

5 AXLE ALLOY TIPPER TRAILER, manufactured by Transport & General Engineering Co.Ltd, for Ian Spedding Ltd, axles and suspension ROR SL9 Series,19.5 disc braked axles with cartridge bearing hubs.

Also fitted with, PSI tyre pressure adjustment, Hyva hoists and valves, Haldex EBS system and Alex A Shine alloy wheels.

TD29623 TD27300

NZ DISTRIBUTORS

– sufficiently so to trigger the ASR system. For a steep descent, in seventh, at 23km/h, Allan goes for the diff locks.

They stay in when we turn onto a gravel farm road and crawl up a hill at less than 10km/h, in third gear. It’s quite weird seeing such a big, sophisticated linehaul unit negotiating a steep, tight farm track. But it is brief and we’re soon at the shed where the next delivery has to be unloaded.

Before backing in, Allan pulls up the control screen menu and switches off the audible reversing alert and adjusts the Mirrorcam monitors slightly, explaining: “When the end of those yellow lines (on the monitor) meet the trailer, it’s backing straight.”

The load delivered, we’re soon on our way back down the farm road – in manual mode, in second gear and with the engine brake on its third stage…with the diff locks in: “The marbles on the gravel can cause plenty of slip,” Allan explains.

As we turn back onto State Highway 2, heading for the tight and twisty Karangahake Gorge, an alert pops up on the dashboard’s digital screen, advising that the proximity control system has is a dirty distance sensor.

“It won’t do any of the PPC now, so it won’t pick up the car in front. But it will right itself,” Allan advises. Sure enough, a few minutes later, the alert clears.

PPC becomes active in the background without actually being selected by the driver, whenever the cruise control is activated.

But for tricky stretches of road – like today’s run through the Gorge, with its roadworks and heavy traffic – rather than have the predictive system trying to maintain a set speed, he’d rather control the speed with his right foot.

The driver can override the system by touching the brake or

With a Bigfoot onboard With a you’ll Bigfoot monster any onboard you’ll surface

throttle pedals, or engaging the engine brake. Or, for that matter, by simply disengaging cruise and driving the PowerShift in manual mode.

He does try it today with the cruise control engaged, but with the engine brake on its first stage, “so I can then go back to manual application with the Predictive still set in the background.

It won’t do its own thing until I take the exhaust brake off.”

But whenever he lifts off the throttle, the Merc drops down a gear….before then upshifting again, back to 12th.

“And that’s why I don’t like being in auto (mode) going through this windy bit. If you put it in manual it stays in the gear I require – to have enough revs for the exhaust brake to work and for the right speed.”

From here we’re heading for Allan’s last delivery on the way to Auckland, at Kopu. With the Gorge behind us he puts the PPC back to work managing the cruise control, engine and AMT. It’s a relaxed ride and Allan is able to chat as he explains that he’s not exactly been a career truckie – having first spent 25 years as a panelbeater/spray painter, then 16 years building houses. During that time he got his Class 5 licence and did a bit of concrete truck driving.

Then, seven years ago, he started driving for the company previously doing B&D Doors’ delivery work, initially driving Isuzus.

Two years ago, when B&D began running its own trucks, he transferred to them – and soon found himself in a Mercedes-Benz Actros leased from TR Group: “It was a new model but didn’t have the new tech. A year later they bought three new Merc trucks, specced to the max. We all got one.”

This truck, put on the road in mid-2020, surely is high-specced:

BRENT GRAHAM GROUNDSPREAD

monster any surface Make light work of any surface using the OptiTraction footprint with a Bigfoot Central

TM

Make light work of any surface using the OptiTraction footprint with a Bigfoot Central

Features of the Bigfoot Central Inflation Tyre System ●

Designed and tested in some of the worlds harshest conditions

●

Easy to use in-cab control unit in safety features prevent operating outside safe emlimits for selected tyre pressure ● Precision manufactured in New Zealand using only ipsu Lore ● Full after sales service and parts network m ● Full manufacturers warranty

TD31382

●

●Lor Built

T. 07 347 7066 / info@bigfoot.co.nz

34 | Truck & Driver

The brain behind the Bigfoot system is the Bigfoot OptiTraction control module. and makes monitoring and adjusting tyre pressures simple. The display also provides visual and audible alarms.

www.bigfoot.co.nz

The fuel-saving PPC pulls a surprise or two, including going into EcoRoll mode....while still climbing one hill. Mind you, the crest wasn’t far away – and it was followed by a nice downhill

The World’s Leading On-Road Load Handling Equipment

PROUDLY NZ

OWNED & OPERATED

Address: 48 Maui Street, Te Rapa, Hamilton

07 849 4839 www.trt.co.nz

hiab@trt.co.nz

ENGINEERED, DESIGNED, INNOVATION. ROADMASTER LTD

Contact 0800 THE BULL www.roadmaster.co.nz

TD31352

Is customer focused with a nation wide service agent network coupled with our Company Service facilities in Manukau and Rotorua. We produce the best Truck Trailers in New Zealand.

Allan Timms (above right) reckons he’s got plenty to be happy about with the clever Actros. Unsurprisingly too, seeing as the semi-trailer is now empty and there’s a 625hp/2213 lb ft donk under the flat floor, the Actros takes the Bombay Hills in the fast lane

Looking across the dash it’s like a NASA control centre – with an EROAD electronic RUC system, the Merc’s GPS navigation gear, two mobile phones, a dashcam and the two digital display screens that come with the new Actros.

Says Allan: “I’m watching five screens at a time. And you’d think that it would be too glarey at night-time, but because this truck has ambient night lights in the cab it doesn’t.”

His tally of five monitors doesn’t even include the two monitors for the MirrorCam system. So there a lot of information available here, but he reckons it’s not too much.

“When you first get in you’re inundated: You’ve probably come from analogue dials and switches that turn off and on. These things are touch-programmed so there’s no switches.

“It’s a “search and ok” manoeuvre. So you need to go into the correct menu and find what you’re after. After a little while you do get used to it. The information on here is absolutely perfect. Do you need more? At the touch of a button you can find it and the menus do become easier. Soon you can do it without looking.”

It is, he adds, all pretty intuitive: “When I swapped the truck over they gave me a small introduction to the truck and the tech, which I believe was adequate. I got used to it as I went. I’m still picking things up now but it’s not daunting.”

He has found a few little issues though: “It’s the fussiness about it. To turn the lights on I’ve got to go into the screen menu and find different areas to switch them on. Same with turning them off.

I’ve found that there’s a switch down by my knee, used for when you’re outside and want to check the lights – so I use that. The radio station is difficult to tune in too….it’s hard to programme.”

Unlike some of his colleagues, Allan’s a bit of a MirrorCam fan: “The video mirrors have their advantages. I find that the TV screens themselves are a bit grainy – they’re not as smooth as your photos or cameras can be.

“But they are handy – very good positioning, because you don’t have to move your head to get to see everything. I like what they’re showing – you can see a lot. The old mirrors, you had a monsoon to look through plus a dirty mirror most of the time and Truck & Driver | 37

Driver Allan Timms has seven screens (including a MirrorCam monitor on each A-pillar). Yes, he concedes, the amount of technology onboard can be daunting when you first hop into the new Actros....but he loves it. And that includes the MirrorCam system (above)

if you needed to see something you had to duck down.

“With these, there’s no ducking ‘cos you can’t see any more than what’s on the screen. They’re brilliant at night, even with all the lights on, on my truck, or water splash on a wet road, I can still see where my wheels are, where the white line is.

“I know where my truck is at any stage with these mirrors. The vision I have the whole time is absolutely fantastic. With normal standard mirrors you can miss the car that’s coming around the roundabout, but with this one you see everything.”

They do though have one flaw: “Sometimes the lights on the cars behind flicker on the camera view. That’s annoying at night. I don’t know if they’re indicating or flashing at me. It only seems to happen with LEDs.” The Actros comes with a whole suite of driver aids and safety features – from its electronic braking system with ABS and anti-skid reduction, to Active Brake Assist 5, electronic stability control, the proximity control and Attention Assist.

Allan does admit that he switches off the Lane Keeping Assist: The likes of ghost lines left from roadworks or other old road markings sets off the alert too often.

On the other hand, he really likes that the park brake can be engaged by pulling a lever, pushing a button or merely opening the door – so it will always go into park, one way or another.

Also, to deactivate the park brake, you just have to engage the AMT, wait….and the park brake puts the truck in a hold mode, takes the brakes off the trailer… “and when you want to go you just push down on the accelerator. It takes the guesswork out of it.”

Allan says that it’s way, way different from the Isuzus he used to drive – “in everything. In ride height…gear changes was a big thing: It’s a lot quicker and smoother in this, only 12 versus 14 (gears).

“The exhaust brake is wonderful, the ride is superb. I thought I’d 38 | Truck & Driver

be worried about the five steps getting in, instead of the three – but I think the workout is good. It’s chalk and cheese: These things are nice-riding trucks.”

The GigaSpace cab – 2.13 metres tall and 2.5m wide, with a level floor – is also a big hit with Allan: “I’m 1.67m and I can stand with my arms up and just touch the roof, it’s absolutely wonderful. The other Mercedes we had was the day cab and you had to stoop to get into the back.

“And the amount of cubbyholes in here is superb. I have a place for my PPE gear, my personal gear, a cooker and one for my food…plus food in the fridge and spaces for other stuff all over.

So the storage is excellent. I love the pullout table in front of the passenger seat: I eat my breakfast there.”

The bed gets the Allan thumbs-up as well: “I sleep in the truck four nights (a week). It’s absolutely comfortable. It’s warm when needed and it’s got a cooling system that keeps the cab cool when you shut the truck down. If I hear any noises outside in the night, I can turn the mirrors on and look down the side of the truck, I can open the sunroof and play with the ambient lights – all from my bed.”

The steering on the Actros Gen 5 is excellent, Allan says – except for a small issue when reversing slowly and putting on full lock: “Whether the pump can’t keep up, or the revs…. it just gets a little bit heavy at the end of the stroke.” Other than that, it’s weighted well and the truck sits on the road well.

“We’ve got (385/55 R 22.5) anti-splash Michelin X MULTI Z super singles on the front (7.5t axle) and (275/70 R 22.5) Michelin X MULTI Ds on the M-B rear axles. With the Isuzu you had to drive it into the corner, but with these things you wait for the corner…and it goes around it. You don’t have to pre-empt, you don’t have to pre-load – you just go around it.”

He says that the big Euro is ultra-comfortable: “I’ve got so many adjustments on the seats – double lumbars, backwards

and forwards movement, it’s aerated, has head and arm support, air-operated kidney support. Even with the air out of it, it’s still comfortable.”

Even the sunvisor is electric and can be preset to perfectly suit Allan’s eye height and the side shades can be brought right down to block out the sun, without blocking the view of the MirrorCam’s monitor.

Allan says that two-leaf parabolic spring suspension on the front and the eight-bag air suspension on the rear handles the road well and allows the truck to corner extremely well. Its handling, he explains, gives you “a lot of confidence…. If you get it wrong, don’t back off or speed up – just hold and the truck will go around, it won’t punish you.”

The Mercedes PowerShift 3 transmission is quick and smooth, with no hunting – another thing that impresses the driver.

In fact, Allan reckons that it’s hard to pick one best feature: “I like the quietness, the power, the vision, the comfort….the ergonomics are excellent. It’s as if they’ve built the truck for me!

The steering wheel is the right size and right position and I do get a nice sleep.”

On the move, a little bit of wind noise can be heard in the cab, but Allan says there’s no draughts from any of the door seals, or anywhere else he can find. And, as far as engine noise goes, there’s a faint whistle from the turbo – but that’s about it. And that doesn’t bother Allan at all.

“I’ve got enough instruments and dials to tell me what the engine is doing. I don’t have to listen to it – I’d rather listen to the radio.”

As we leave Turua, Allan sets the PPC to 90km/h. However, as the AMT is in Eco mode, the maximum speed it’ll go to is 85k.

When we approach a corner signposted at 85km/h, a warning light comes up on the screen….but the big Merc still takes it at 85k.

Although economy isn’t at the forefront of Allan’s mind, he says

that he can get the Actros’ fuel use down to 30 litres per 100kms – although right now it’s doing 36 l. /100km. It still means there’s plenty of range allowed by the two 290 l. diesel and the 60 l.

AdBlue tanks.

At a T-junction, Allan goes back to manual mode: “I find that it pulls away from things like junctions too slow in PPC, even on power, which I feel annoys the cars behind.”

Our last delivery is in Kopu, just beside the Waihou River bridge.

It’s an easy one and we’re soon back on the road, heading for Auckland.

As he usually does, as we go through small settlements, Allan puts the engine brake on, which cancels the PPC, and drives it on the throttle. Once clear of the urban area, he switches off the engine brake and the PPC returns to the pre-set speed.

“I really don’t get tired in this. Even doing my longest stint, from Auckland to Napier, which is about five and a half hours, I get to the other end and I’m still fit as a fiddle.”

As you’d expect given that the trailer behind us is now empty, we almost “fly” up the Bombay Hills, with the PPC managing things – even though we do lose speed at the foot of it for a slow truck.

Allan has set the speed at 90km/h and that’s what we’re doing as we get up the last half of the hill – the Merc having picked up speed steadily. He says it would have accelerated more quickly if he’d kept the PowerShift 3 in manual mode.

When we stop at Dominator in Highbrook, Allan jumps out of the cab as bright and breezy as when we set off this morning.

The sun has come out too – as per our original expectations.

Maybe we’re not so rubbish at predicting things, after all.

Allan knows that his Merc is very, very good at it – and is very happy to have its Predictive Powertrain Control helping him all it can: “We are just delivery men – we deliver this to that. You’ve got to get there as safely as possible for you and for the goods. This PPC really does help.” T&D Truck & Driver | 39

Test

HTAYDEN REVOR

THIS IS A TEST THAT’S MOSTLY ABOUT THE latest of the high-tech features that Kiwi Mercedes-Benz buyers can now spec in a new Actros.

Top-of-the-line models like B&D Doors’ Mercedes-Benz Actros 2663 GigaSpace (which I’m test-driving today) now offer what other truckmakers term predictive cruise control, but in Merc language is Predictive Powertrain Control.

Basically, it’s the next step on from adaptive cruise control, which uses radar and onboard cameras to maintain a safe distance between the host truck and the vehicle ahead.

The PPC system adds in highly-accurate 3D mapping and GPS to look ahead of the truck and “see” how steep the next hill is, check the radius of the next corner, know precisely how far it is to the crest of the hill you’re climbing.

The aim is to save fuel and make life easier for the driver.

The first of two deliveries en route to Auckland sees garage doors dropped off at a B&D Doors’ distributor in the Waihi district

40 | Truck & Driver

This truck also has the MirrorCam system on it, which I’ve tested before (and thoroughly enjoyed) and which I’m really looking forward to using again, to see if I missed anything on my first experience.

We catch the B&D Doors unit and regular driver Allan in Mount Maunganui, on the second day of his five-day, 2500 kilometre weekly run.

What that means for me is getting to drive from the Mount to Waihi, as he heads for Auckland, with a couple of garage door deliveries en route.

The cab door on the new Actros is a long way up, but entry is easily achieved thanks to four well placed, wide and deep steps, plus full-length grabhandles on each side.

There is a comfy driver’s seat that has plenty of adjustment to get any driver comfortable, assisted by a steering wheel that has plenty of adjustments as well. Once you’re seated

there’s a futuristic looking dash in front of you with a full digital display and a touchscreen infotainment and systems menu screen to the left – both screens controlled from the steering wheel.

Transmission functions and engine brake controls are on the right-hand stalk and windscreen wipers and indicators are on the left stalk.

Being a GigaSpace cab there’s plenty of room, with a big bed and a flat floor right across the cab. I’m just under 6ft tall and I can stand and move around easily in here.

Before takeoff I need to set my mirrors up – easily done by aligning the blue line blinking on the MirrorCam monitor (on the A-pillar) with the rear of the semi-trailer. This is done with controls that look like the usual mirror controls on the driver’s door.

Heading away from the Mount through increasing traffic the mirrors work a treat,

• SPECIFICATIONS •

Hayden Woolston

Mercedes-Benz Actros 5 L FHS 2663 GigaSpace 6x4, with MirrorCam and Predictive Powertrain Control Engine: Mercedes-Benz OM473 Euro 6 inline-six Capacity: 15.6 litres Maximum power: 460kW (625hp) @ 1600rpm Maximum torque: 3000Nm (2213 lb ft) @ 1100rpm Fuel capacity: 580 litres Transmission: Mercedes PowerShift 3 G330-12 automated

showing crisp, clear vision down both sides through the roundabouts heading through and out of Tauranga.

Once I get onto the open highway, it’s time to put the PPC to the test, so I set the speed to 90km/h and let it do its thing. But along this route there are a multitude of roadworks going on – taking you down from 90k to 30k, back up to 90…then down to 50km/h and so on. It’s enough to piss off any driver.

But at least with the PPC managing the adaptive cruise control, the roadworks experience is much less annoying. Almost enjoyable.

Through most of the roadworks I leave the PPC setting at 90k, allowing the traffic in front of me to set the speed – the Merc’s proximity control system making sure it’s maintaining a safe distance to the vehicle in front.

Even in this situation the PPC manages to get in the odd bit of coasting to help with fuel saving. If you don’t feel it, you can see when it’s happening – with the cruise control emblem on the dash display turning from blue to green.

But it’s only when we’re clear of the roadworks that the PPC really struts its stuff. In my relatively brief amount of open road driving that’s not hampered by roadworks, I still get to experience a couple of eye-opening moments when the PPC really makes an impression.

The PPC has the transmission in Eco Roll mode – where the truck is freewheeling, with minimal engine revs – and we’re coasting along a straight with a small incline at the end of it. I’m waiting for the system to recognise the hill and get on the gas – but it doesn’t!

Because there’s a descent immediately after the climb, it continues to coast over the crest…. and only loses 4km/h in doing it. And after the descent, it continues coasting for another 300

metres or so. In total then, it would have been maybe 1km with the truck using a tiny amount of fuel. “Free metres,” as Daimler puts it.

The other PPC surprise is when we’re running up a hill, nearing the crest, when it goes into Eco Roll mode….before the summit! Human nature dictates that no-one would lift off the throttle in that situation – but, again, the system knows that there’s a nice downhill after the hill and so it can carry on coasting. It’s a truly surreal moment.

In case you’re wondering, even with all the onboard technology on this Actros, you are still the driver – and you do still need to be on the case.

Going around tight corners, the proximity control system can fail to pick up a car ahead momentarily.

And one thing even the PPC doesn’t necessarily get is the need to slow down on smooth, slippery tarmac in the rain. I find that out when we get a little traction loss on one corner. In the dry our set speed would have been fine – but in the wet it’s borderline ok.

Something I’ve experienced with other adaptive cruise systems is that when a vehicle ahead is turning off, the system kicks in the emergency braking. Luckily, it is easily sorted – by making sure you give turning traffic ahead a wider berth.

I get out of the truck impressed with the PPC – particularly considering it’s probably not working to its full potential, as it does on European roads….due to poor NZ road conditions.

When you get into a high-tech truck like this for the first time it can be pretty daunting, with so many buttons and screens to get to know. But it doesn’t actually take long to familiarise yourself with it all – even on a relatively short drive.

And I am still a huge fan of the Merc MirrorCam system, by the way. T&D

manual Ratios: 1st – 11.64 2nd – 9.02 3rd – 7.03 4th – 5.45 5th – 4.40 6th – 3.41 7th – 2.65 8th – 2.05 9th – 1.60 10th – 1.24 11th – 1.00 12th – 0.77 Front axles: Mercedes, rated at 7500kg/16,535 lb Rear axles: Mercedes, rated at 13,000kg/28,660 lb Auxiliary brakes: Three-stage High Performance Engine Brake Front suspension: Two-leaf parabolic springs Rear suspension: Eight-bag air suspension, with stabiliser bar GVW: 26,000kg GCM: 80,000kg

Truck & Driver | 41

Keep on trucking...

Keep the show on the road with NationalMap’s new HPMV Routing Solution.

NationalMap’s new HPMV Routing Solution digitises your paper-based HPMV permits to create “turn by turn” HPMV navigation for your entire fleet.

• • • • • •

All your HPMV routes instantly visualised - in either desktop or mobile view True “turn by turn” HPMV navigation (voice-assisted) on your drivers’ devices New Zealand’s most efficient HPMV routing solution - just select prime mover/trailer combination & destination 50MAX “return” routing - route return via non-HPMV routes, via the 50MAX network (if applicable) to save time, resources & fuel Offline routing capability - no need for mobile network coverage Reduce the overheads associated with HPMV compliance.

Getting Started With NationalMap’s HPMV Routing Solution NationalMap are experts in making complex HPMV permits simple to operate for our clients.

We just need to understand your specific permit situation and then we can get our data experts to start digitising and presenting these back to you in a web viewer or on any current Android or iOS device.

Making complex navigation & routing simple.

Get in touch with NationalMap today for your free HPMV routing consultation. +64 4 213 8490

scott.kennedy@nationalmap.co.nz

https://www.nationalmap.co.nz/

Proudly NZ owned & operated

THE DRIVING FORCE OF NEW ZEALAND TRUCKING

As a truck driver wouldn’t it be good to know that those you share the road with have the same experience and skills as Finnish licence holders?

Driver training should play bigger role in road safety A

by Nick Leggett Chief Executive Road Transport Forum NZ

COMMON TOPIC OF CONVERSATION with truck drivers and road transport operators is the poor standard of driving they witness among other road users.

Most of the time our professional drivers just shake their heads and laugh it off, but it’s impossible not to notice their anxiety at the daily exposure they have to substandard driving.

For those of us who don’t spend our working lives on the road, the Christmas holiday period once again laid out in stark detail just what an ongoing issue road safety is in New Zealand.

Eleven people were killed on the roads between Christmas Eve and January 5. It’s the highest holiday road toll since 2017 and adds to NZ’s pretty poor recent record on road safety.

Not for the first time, I find myself in agreement with motorsport legend and Street Smart Ambassador Greg Murphy, who is a strong advocate for an overhaul of NZ’s driver training and testing regime.

What Greg wants to see is much more thorough training and testing that ensures young drivers have a far greater understanding of the road rules, vehicle physics, and how to drive themselves out of difficult situations – by the time they gain their full driver’s licence.

I think if we’re being honest, most NZers would agree that driver licence testing is a fairly cursory affair. It has always been treated as little more than a rite of passage, driven by the necessity of Kiwi kids having to get around in what was traditionally a rural-based society.

Well, like it or not, those days are over. We are now one of the most urbanised countries in the world, yet we continue to persevere with a driver licence testing system rooted firmly in the past.

By comparison, Finland – a similar-sized country to ours, famous for its disproportionately high number of world champion racing or rally drivers – has a driver licence testing regime that is far more rigorous.

Initial licence training in Finland involves having to take a mandatory 18 hours of practical instruction, including lessons on how to regain control of a vehicle on a slippery surface. As well as this, a further 19 separate theory lessons, a theory test and an urban driving test are required. If drivers pass, they are then given a two-year interim licence and required to complete further advanced driving classes, including some night-time driving. Only at the end of all of this can a Finnish driver achieve a full licence.

I’d argue that the results of this far more thorough process Truck & Driver | 43

THE DRIVING FORCE OF NEW ZEALAND TRUCKING

go a long way to proving my point. In 2019, just 210 people died on Finland’s roads, compared with 350 here.

Unfortunately, Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency doesn’t quite see it the same way: Recent commentary from the agency has focused on the Government’s commitment to the Vision Zero road safety strategy…that does not include any changes to driver licence training or testing.

The Vision Zero action plan that Waka Kotahi is currently implementing involves further investment in roading improvements (including more median and side barriers), improving vehicle safety, a greater focus on road policing and a new approach to speed management. Now, I don’t disagree with most of that – however, why not add improving and modernising our training and testing regime to the Government’s matrix of initiatives?

Waka Kotahi likes to compare us to Sweden, Norway and Australia – all countries with much lower road death rates than ours and that have also invested in a “safe system” approach to their roading networks.

As readers will know, roads, weather and topography in Australia are not comparable with what we have here. Sweden and Norway are interesting examples however – because, (like Finland) both countries have far more demanding driver training and testing and require licence holders to have a broader range of practical skills than what we do.

We know that the vast majority of accidents in NZ are caused by human error and I agree that you can never entirely eliminate that. However, if we can prevent some of it by assisting new drivers to gain the skills that will help them avoid an accident, doesn’t that make sense?

There will never be a silver bullet when it comes to road safety and we will never get to zero, but as Greg Murphy advocates, dealing with driver

Greg Murphy’s motorsport success and staunch advocacy of driver skills training has helped raise the profile of the issue in NZ Attribution – “Greg Murphy” by Jon Baldock nz is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 behaviour and giving drivers the tools and experience to be able to drive themselves out of trouble should be top of the list if we want to get serious about reducing our road toll.

I know that is something our professional truck drivers would wholeheartedly agree with. T&D

FULL SAFETY SYSTEMS STANDARD ACROSS THE RANGE

EURO 6 DAF XF *TRP assist 0508 22 55 77 EMAIL: info@spt.co.nz

www.spt.co.nz

NORTHLAND Mark Tucker

021 276 6428

AUCKLAND Steve Willcocks 027 525 0015 Mitchell Redington 021 555 326 WAIKATO Adam McIntosh 027 603 1023 Andrew Haberfield 027 4798 588 BAY OF PLENTY - GISBORNE Andrew Haberfield 027 4798 588

TARANAKI Adam McIntosh 027 603 1023 HAWKE’S BAY – MANAWATU – WANGANUI – WELLINGTON Mark O’Hara 027 2466 954 SOUTH ISLAND Mike Gillespie 027 4322 491 Chris Gray 027 2816 840 Steve Herring 021 377 661

FIND OUT MORE

WWW.SPT.CO.NZ

TD31345

96-98 Wiri Station Road PO Box 76463 Manukau City, Auckland, NZ PHONE (09) 262 3181 FAX (09) 278 5643

THE DRIVING FORCE OF NEW ZEALAND TRUCKING

A coal train alongside the Waimakariri River on its way to the West Coast Attribution – “KiwiRail DXC class Cass” by Kabelleger/ David Gubler is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0

No simple solution to our environmental challenge

I

TD31345

GTON

F YOU LISTENED EXCLUSIV ELY TO A NUMBER of media commentators you would think that the solution to transport’s environmental challenges was as straightforward as putting all freight on the train and switching our heavy vehicle f leet from the diesel-driven combustion engine to emissions-free electric power.

“Unfortunately, it is just not that simple,” says Road Transport Forum Chief Executive Nick Leggett.

“Neither the requirements of the freight task nor currently available vehicle technology make a move away from diesel-powered road freight likely in the short-term.”

To put some context around it, New Zealand’s transport sector currently contributes around 20% of our total greenhouse gas emissions.

Around 3.6 million tonnes or 25% of this comes from the freight sector.

Domestic freight in NZ, as in almost every other developed nation, is dominated by road freight.

“This is not because, as some like to suggest, we have a regulatory

framework that promotes the road over other modes,” says Leggett.

“It is because, for the majority of the freight task and the majority of customer requirements, the road is the mode that most effectively and efficiently gets the job done.”

“That is not to say there isn’t a place for rail in our domestic freight network. However, it is critical that rail, like road or coastal shipping, is left alone to compete based on its natural market strengths and the service it provides to its customers.”

Rail is ideal for transporting large quantities of non-time-sensitive freight from a single source to a single destination. Coal from the West Coast’s Stockton Mine to Lyttelton is a great example of this. Timber and cement are other commodities that play to rail’s strengths when it comes to bulk freight.

Most other goods are just not suitable for rail and this is ref lected in the fact that rail’s share of the freight market is less than 7%. A lot of freight is either too small in quantity, too diverse in origin and destination, or too time-sensitive to put it on the train.

Truck & Driver | 45

THE DRIVING FORCE OF NEW ZEALAND TRUCKING

“The problem is, politicians see rail as a panacea to a number of perceived problems,” says Leggett.

“Not only do they think that moving freight onto trains will reduce NZ’s emissions, but they also see it as an answer to both traffic congestion and this country’s poor road safety record.”

As economist David Greig noted in dispelling myths about rail in a BusinessDesk piece in late 2020, “one line is financially sustainable – Tauranga-Hamilton-Auckland – and cases can be made for the urban and West Coast lines. Many of the other lines do not even cover their operating and maintenance costs and rely on political rather than commercial arguments for support.”

“It is an inconvenient truth that NZ’s geography and low population means trucks are the most suitable for many freight tasks such as farm delivery, access to forests, urban freight and short hauls generally, and most regional freight,” he said.

So, if rail is not the answer to reducing emissions in the freight sector, what about electric vehicles or hydrogen?

Unfortunately, the reality is that current EV battery technology just isn’t suitable for road freight in NZ. “The size and weight of the batteries needed to provide the power to drag HPMVs up and down our undulating terrain with anywhere near the range required just makes EVs impractical for anything but shorter metro-style runs,” says Leggett.

“Technology is, of course, constantly improving and there are things like inductive charging that could in the more distant future be incorporated into our roading infrastructure to assist EVs with the range issue, but that will require massive government investment.”

Also counting against EVs is their high upfront cost and growing concerns over the ecological impacts and exploitative labour practices associated with the mining of cobalt and lithium, two specialist metals critical to the production of EV batteries.

“Every technology has its price,” says Leggett: “The problems with the production of EVs doesn’t mean we should New Zealand’s mountainous terrain poses a major challenge for long-haul electric heavy vehicles rule them out, but we must consider their downsides alongside their benefits.

“The current Government has placed a lot of hope in hydrogen fuel cells and while there are certain advantages they have sector with the necessary support to assist with this transition. While over EVs, including vehicle range and quick fill-ups, there are also some not emissions-free, biofuels have the advantage that they can be fed into fundamental problems, not the least being the infrastructure required, existing vehicles with little modification,” says Leggett. the storage issues and the massive amount of electricity needed to RTF is also quick to remind politicians that road transport has made produce useable hydrogen in large quantities.” massive strides in environmental performance over the last 20-30 years All-in-all there are no easy solutions, Leggett says, but when it comes and that it is not the pariah it is often made out to be. to making tangible improvements to transport’s emissions profile RTF From 1990 to 2013 advances in heavy vehicle engine technology believes the Government can do more to provide incentives to assist have seen an 88% reduction in CO2 (carbon dioxide) emissions, a 97% reduction in NOx (nitrogen oxides), a 98% reduction in particulate with the uptake of technology that already exists.

An accelerated depreciation scheme where capital investment costs matter and a 95% reduction in hydrocarbons.

“Policymakers must recognise that NZ does not manufacture heavy in new trucks could be written off over one year would enable more trucking operators to purchase the most energy efficient Euro 6-engined trucks and our operators rely on global manufacturers to come up with trucks as an initial step toward reducing emissions. It would also allow vehicles that use alternative fuels or powertrains that are affordable, trucking operators to explore the benefits of zero emission technology reliable and appropriate for NZ roads,” says Leggett.

“The Government must also refrain from the temptation to create a when that becomes available.

“It would also be prudent, in the wake of the Prime Minister’s recent regulatory regime that sets out to disadvantage road transport, because announcement that the Government is to mandate a lower-emitting to do so would have serious consequences for the domestic freight biofuel blend, that consideration is given to providing the transport system and our export-led economy.” T&D 46 | Truck & Driver

THE DRIVING FORCE OF NEW ZEALAND TRUCKING

Getting more women and young people into the industry is an important aspect of the new micro-credential

New micro-credential to kickstart careers in road transport

A

N EW MICRO - CR EDEN T I A L PROV IDI NG A comprehensive introduction to the commercial road transport industry was launched by industry training provider MITO and the Road Transport Forum over the summer.

The Introduction to Commercial Road Transport is designed for individuals who have left secondary school and are interested in a career in the road transport industry.

“Encouraging young people, particularly young women, to join our industry has been a major challenge for road transport for quite some time,” says RTF’s Nick Leggett.

“However, it’s not just about getting people into the industry – it is making sure that we provide those people with a reason to stay.

“The employment market is incredibly competitive and young people have plenty of choice when it comes to careers. We know there are certain things that our industry has to do better and one of those is to offer more professional and career development opportunities.”

From vehicle systems and documentation through to driver roles and customer service, the Introduction to Commercial Road Transport will help those leaving school or new to road transport gain a foothold in the industry.

“We’ve worked closely with industry to ensure this micro-credential 48 | Truck & Driver

meets their specific training requirements,” MITO chief executive Janet Lane said when the micro-credential was announced.

“It provides an exciting career pathway for both school leavers and those considering a career change, as well providing foundation knowledge for those already working in the industry.

Adds Leggett: “Jobs in road freight transport are skilled jobs, and we need people in them with recognised qualifications.

“The great thing with this micro-credential is that it can be completed while trainees are on the job and at their own pace.”

Research undertaken by RTF indicated that over 80% of operators support greater on-the-job training opportunities.

“We are working with MITO to develop a further five microcredentials that will mean students can progressively increase their knowledge in skills directly relevant to advancement within the industry.

We also believe operators will see real value in promoting these microcredentials with their staff – developing their range of skills and therefore making them more valuable to the business,” says Leggett.

Enrolment for the Introduction to Commercial Road Transport (Level 3) can be done either by joining RTF’s Te ara ki tua Road to success traineeship programme or through MITO, the only condition being that you have left secondary school. T&D

THE DRIVING FORCE OF NEW ZEALAND TRUCKING

The RTF Conference provides an opportunity for suppliers to engage directly with the industry

Save the dates!

T

HE ROA D TR A NSPORT FORU M IS PLE A SED to announce that the RTF Conference is back for 2021 (Covid-19 restrictions permitting) – and this time we are heading to our southernmost city, Invercargill.

After a tumultuous 2020 that once again illustrated the strength and adaptability of New Zealand’s road transport sector, RTF looks forward to gathering the industry together to ref lect on our recent

challenges and discuss the opportunities we have to shape NZ’s transport future.

This year we are coordinating with the NZ Road Transport Hall of Fame – giving delegates the chance to attend both events during the one trip.

So, gather your team together and join us in the deep south on September 24, 25 and 26, 2021. We look forward to seeing you there. T&D

Road Transport Forum was established in 1997 to represent the combined interests of all members as a single organisation at a national level.

Members of Road Transport Forum’s regionally focused member associations are automatically affiliated to the Forum.

Road Transport Forum NZ PO Box 1778, Wellington 04 472 3877 forum@rtf.nz www.rtfnz.co.nz Nick Leggett, Chief Executive 04 472 3877 021 248 2175 nick@rtf.nz National Road Carriers (NRC) PO Box 12-100, Penrose, Auckland 0800 686 777 09 622 2529 (Fax) enquiries@natroad.nz www.natroad.co.nz David Aitken, Chief Executive 09 636 2951 021 771 911 david.aitken@natroad.nz Paula Rogers, Commercial Transport Specialist 09 636 2957 021 771 951 paula.rogers@natroad.nz Jason Heather, Commercial Transport Specialist 09 636 2950 021 771 946 jason.heather@natroad.nz Richie Arber, Commercial Transport Specialist 021 193 3555 richie.arber@natroad.nz

Road Transport Association of NZ (RTANZ) National Office, PO Box 7392, Christchurch 8240 03 366 9854 admin@rtanz.co.nz www.rtanz.co.nz Simon Carson, Chief Operating Officer scarson@rtanz.co.nz Northland/Auckland/Waikato/ Thames-Coromandel/Bay of Plenty/ North Taupo/King Country Simon Vincent, Senior Industry Advisor 027 445 5785 svincent@rtanz.co.nz South Taupo/Turangi/Gisborne/ Taranaki/Manawatu/Horowhenua/ Wellington Sandy Walker, Senior Industry Advisor 027 485 6038 swalker@rtanz.co.nz Northern West Coast/Nelson/ Marlborough/North Canterbury/West Coast John Bond, Senior Industry Advisor 027 444 8136 jbond@rtanz.co.nz

Otago Southland, South Canterbury , Mid Canterbury Lisa Shaw, Senior Industry Advisor 027 231 0953 lshaw@rtanz.co.nz NZ Trucking Association (NZTA) PO Box 16905, Hornby, Christchurch 8441 0800 338 338 03 349 0135 (Fax) info@nztruckingassn.co.nz www.nztruckingassn.co.nz David Boyce, Chief Executive 03 344 6257 021 754 137 dave.boyce@nztruckingassn.co.nz Carol McGeady, Executive Officer 03 349 8070 021 252 7252 carol.mcgeady@nztruckingassn.co.nz Women in Road Transport (WiRT) www.rtfnz.co.nz/womeninroadtransport wirtnz@gmail.com

Truck & Driver | 49

E M I T IG s r

unro lock & M e ack ayn y W erald Sh r o t S os G t o h P

e Coop y r r Ga

e m llti

a m S

. . . up

t r a st

Bsucces

le fi o r p t r a p o w t a f o 1 t r Pa

Kenworth T659 is one of Aztec co-owner Steve Segetin’s six trucks in the current fleet. His lineup includes another two T659s....with one more arriving soon

GPS Tracking – eRUC – Job Management – eLogbook 0800 447 735 50 | Truck & Driver

TeletracNavman.co.nz

FLEET FOCUS

GPS Tracking – eRUC – Job Management – eLogbook 0800 447 735

TeletracNavman.co.nz

Truck & Driver | 51

Aztec founders and owners (from left) Peter Phillips, Ken Angus and Steve Segetin HEN NOW MAJOR-LEAGUE NORTH ISLAND LOGTRUCK company Aztec started up, there were some in the industry who didn’t give it much hope.

The thing is, the three drivers who created Aztec Forestry Transport Developments were not exactly in a big way back in 1997: Between them, Peter Phillips, Ken Angus and Steve Segetin owned just four trucks.

They were modest owner-operators….rather than bigtime operators.

But – apparently to the annoyance of others in the industry – these guys together had something that timber manufacturing supplier (and then forest owner) Carter Holt Harvey liked…

And so it made the three-way partnership one of an exclusive group – given the status of one of just a dozen or so log transport “key suppliers.”

Says Peter Phillips of that milestone (which made the formation of Aztec possible): “I think from the bigger players, there was resentment. They didn’t think three little owner-operators should get that opportunity.

“A certain operator was heard to say we’d be like a broken marriage – and, well, we wouldn’t last five minutes!”

In the meeting room at Aztec’s admin HQ, on the outskirts of Rotorua, co-director Steve Segetin laughs hard: “I think if we were living in the same house Pete, that would have been right!”

Ken Angus, the third man in the partnership, says there was a lot of talk among other operators about how they’d be gone in a year: “We used to hear stories all the time. But they’d never front us and tell us to our faces.”

For Pete, “it was like red rag to a bull to me: You back me in a corner, I’ll come out fighting.

“I said, ‘Well, that ain’t going to happen as long as my arse

points to the ground.’ And so…it just made us more determined.”

Interestingly, until the CHH key supplier opportunity arose, this trio of truckies had never once thought about getting together to form a company.

If it was a marriage – as their rivals reckoned – it was a marriage of convenience. A coming-together of three very different characters – all with great trucking pedigrees, each with modest owner-operator logtruck businesses, each with something valuable to offer to CHH’s new, simplified and rationalised system of log transport contractors.

Happy circumstance turned out to be the perfect match – a combo with the first-hand knowledge of trucking (and, specifically, log transport) in three key CHH regions: Hauraki, central North Island and Northland.

Ken Angus grew up in Rotorua, living next door to logging contractor Sandy Caulfield. So, as he puts it: “I pretty much grew into trucks.” He spent all his spare time in Caulfield’s yard – and in his trucks.

In fact, he was still a kid really when he first experienced the joy of driving a truck. He’d gone with Sandy on a run to the port at the Mount one night, and on the way home Caulfield told him he could drive the Leyland Hippo home.

As far as he was concerned, he was always going to be a truckie – so when he left school “I had to go and work on a farm and settle for driving tractors until I could obtain my HT (heavy traffic licence) at 18.” That was, he adds, “very simple compared to what you’ve got to do today.

“And I was very lucky that I got offered a job with Geoff Perfect, who had a contract to cart thinnings out of Tarawera Forest into the Kawerau pulp mill.

“It was all new-generation forest. That was well before the Truck & Driver | 53

Above: Bought new in 1993, this ERF E14 was the first truck Aztec director Ken Angus owned – after 19 years behind the wheel Opposite page: Scania R650, which joined the Aztec fleet last year, is run by Bay of Plenty-based contractor Triple S Transport

Million Dollar Highway, so we used to come out through the Kawerau township.”

So in 1974, while still (just) a teenager, Ken happily found himself behind the wheel of a 250-horsepower, ex-Freightways Foden, running at 39 tons.

To say he was chuffed is probably an understatement – because even now he shakes his head at his good fortune: “I’d be pretty nervous about putting a 19-year-old onto a logging truck these days.”

He did that for a couple of years – until he got an offer that he couldn’t refuse: Sandy Caulfield, the man who’d inspired his love of trucks, “offered me a job. I ended up on a 903 stubby nose Kenworth (a 903 Cummins-powered W9325). We were carting logs – two loads a day – from Tauhara Forest (near Taupo) to the Mount.”

Two years on, the lure of driving a near-new 350hp Canadianbuilt Kenworth K100E sleeper saw him shift camps to Rerewhakaitu operator John Ramsey: “Yeah it was 12 months old when I hopped on it.” It was one of the first B-trains in New Zealand, put to work carting posts and poles around the North Island.

He was doing well for a young bloke (he was 24) – and another couple of years on came more recognition that he was a good steerer: “Colin Sargison (Rotorua Forest Haulage owner) put an offer in front of me that I couldn’t refuse.” The deal was that he’d straight away hop into a brand-new International S-Line logger.

54 | Truck & Driver

“When I started with Colin he only had four trucks….and I hopped off 12 years later at truck number 28. And I was lucky enough to get six of those trucks, new, in my time there.” The list ran to a T-Line, two more S-Lines, a Canadian T602 Kenworth and a 4864 Western Star.

Although still based in Rotorua, for a couple of years he was working for RFH in Carter Holt Harvey’s Northern region – taking-in the Tairua and Woodhill forests.

Clearly, the CHH regional managers liked the way he worked and, in 1993, one “came to me and said: ‘Would you like to put a truck on?’ So it started from there.”

He duly bought a brand-new ERF E14 405 6x4, plus a brand-new Kraft trailer and logging gear for the truck, shifted to Whangamata and started work as a CHH owner-driver.

The work was additional to RFH’s work in the area – not pinching part of it – and once that was clear, he reckons, Sargison “bent over backwards to help me get started: He offered me tyres at his price and fuel at his price.”

Going out on his own was a big moment in Ken’s life: Becoming an owner-driver was a longtime ambition – “but too nervous to try and combat the likes of Colin Sargison and Lamberts and all the big boys.

“But I thought, at 38 years of age, if I don’t do something now I’m still gonna be driving 70 hours a week when I’m 65. And I didn’t

“That was big money back then.” want to be doing that.”

The reality matched the dream: “Oh it was pretty exciting! I thought I was the duck’s nuts. Back in 1993 the rates were very, very good and yeah…I just couldn’t believe it. I should have been in business 10 years prior.”

Ken’s new stamping ground, the northern Bay of Plenty, Hauraki and Coromandel regions, was actually Steve Segetin’s original home area: He’d grown up in Coromandel, where his Dad was a commercial fisherman.

In fact, his first job – as a 15-year-old – was crayfishing at The Blackjack, on the east coast of the Coromandel. That was both good and bad: He and his workmates lived in a caravan parked in the sand dunes in the middle of winter.

“We were pulling the pots up by hand – and no gloves!” On the other hand, “we ate crayfish for breakfast, crayfish for lunch and crayfish for tea,” the jovial Segetin laughs.

But he soon moved to Auckland for a job with a car and truck engine reconditioner. He was still 18 when he married Kathy Revell, who came from Matakana – and the newlyweds soon moved north to her home area, where Steve got a job as a mechanic with quarry owner and truck and earthmoving machinery operator Mate Franicevich.

After getting his HT licence, he drove trucks, bulldozers and loaders (and even learnt how to set explosive charges in the

quarry) for about three years – until “one day we all got the sack, so I was down the road.”

He got a job driving a 1965 Albion Leyland for R&O Transport in Warkworth, doing freight to and from Whangarei and around town – then moved to Wellsford for them, driving a TS3 Commer carting cheese to Auckland and backloading sacks of dairy ration.

He used to load 23 tons of the stuff at Westfield – the bags brought by forklift to the back of the semi…“and you’d carry them on and stack them all. You didn’t have any straps – we roped it all.

You’d bring it home and then you had to deliver it all.”

And then, when necessary, he’d be expected to help out with the stock trucks: If it was five o’clock and a truck needed to go to Moerewa with a load, “you got on it and off you went… If you had to go to the Kaikohe saleyards…you’d go.

“You’d get home at one o’clock in the morning – and you’d start work again at four. Never had logbooks back then.”

In 1980, under new owners at R&O Livestock, Steve bought his first truck – a new International ACCO 3072 – and went to work as an owner-driver for the company: “I used to turn over 12 grand a month. That was big money back then.”

But slow payments forced him out: “I couldn’t handle it anymore.” He sold the truck and trailer and went back on wages, driving a variety of trucks (freight, metal, livestock) for Somners Transport in Waipu for about six years.

Truck & Driver | 55

Clockwise, from top: Peter Phillips’ first brand-new truck was this 1987 CAT-engined Foden 8x4, named English Rose....International ACCO 3072 was the first truck Steve owned – buying it new in 1980..... although Pete had long been tempted to switch careers from diesel automotive engineer to logtruck driver, the first trucks he owned were waste wood bin trucks – namely this 160hp early-60s Dodge Kew and a TS3 Commer

When United Carriers bought the company, “they walked in there and sat down and said if we didn’t join them they would just run us into the ground.” Steve and four other livestock drivers didn’t like the attitude, “so we just went off and bought our own trucks. All of the livestock business went with the locals.”

And for “quite a few years” life was good – Steve progressing from an old 3070 Inter and secondhand trailer, to a T-Line and a brand-new trailer.

It was all good – “until I got lepto: Leptospirosis. I think it was back in ‘91. It f***ing near killed me. I was off work for a month – couldn’t even get out of bed! A joker accused me of being pissed the day I got crook – I was walkin’ all over the place eh. I couldn’t even stand up…couldn’t stand the pain in your back and your head eh.”

He had to employ a driver until he got over it – “but we survived.” Him and the business, that is: “Yeah, we’ve had some ups and downs over the years…!”

56 | Truck & Driver

The after-effects of the leptospirosis forced him out of livestock work and, when a “a joker I knew” – in management with a forestry company – suggested he get a logger and he’d find work for him, Steve sold the trailer and stock crates and put logging gear on the T-Line, with a new “state of the art” four-axle log trailer to go behind it.

But when he got in touch with his contact – “f***! He had no work!”

Luckily, Carter Holt Harvey was looking for trucks to cart logs out of Woodhill Forest and South Head (Kaipara). It was a life-saver…. but only lasted about six months.

When he couldn’t find any replacement work, Steve took the logging gear off the Inter, “sold the truck and freeholded the gear.

I parked it in the paddock and I painted houses and dug drains for six months.”

Then, out of the blue, he was offered work carting for CHH out of Riverhead Forest – providing he could start pretty much straight

FOTON AUMARK S

READY FOR ANYTHING

FOTON AUMARK S With the Cummins-powered Aumark S, Foton have re-defined what a light-duty truck should be. Starting with a clean sheet of paper, Foton set out to raise the benchmark for light-duty trucks. Available in a range of Job Ready™ solutions, call your Foton truck dealer now for a demonstration of the Cummins powered Aumark S.

Powered by Cummins, driven by Foton.

foton.co.nz

Steve Segetin bought this ‘82 Mack R688 in 1991 for $50k for his second shot at carting logs for Carter Holt Harvey away.

Three weeks later he found an old six-wheeler R Model Mack in Whangarei: “I bought it for 50 grand, put the new log gear on it and the new trailer behind it…and we’re off.”

When the Riverhead job finished, CHH replaced it with work down in the Coromandel area. Four years later, the old R Model was replaced with a brand-new Mack CH Elite: “Yeah, it was going well,” he confirms.

He put on a new Evans trailer “with the first of the air foldup bolsters. You’d push a button and whsshh, whssshh….and we were away.”

Steve is a great storyteller and those foldup bolsters lead to another yarn – one involving big “hungry-pins” so long they were a pain in the butt to climb up and install. So when a bush inspector challenged him on whether they went “as far down in the bolsters as they are sticking up out of them, “I says: ‘You wanna hop up and pull one out?’ He says: ‘I’ll take your word for it.’ ” Working for CHH in Coromandel brought him into occasional contact with local Ken Angus….and not-so-local Peter Phillips – a CHH contractor, based in Atiamuri.

The Wellington-born Peter had started his working life as an apprentice diesel mechanic with the NZ Motor Corporation – where he got his first taste of trucks by repowering Leyland Crusaders, Lynx, Hippos and the like, mostly with more powerful Detroit Diesels.

At 18 he got a job with Engines & Transmissions/Clyde Engineering in Rotorua, as an engineer: “We repowered anything and everything. Towards the end, we specialised in Ford 1418 cabovers. And we were putting 6V92s in them…

“One of the other ones that we did a lot of were Leyland Crusaders. So we would take the 8V71 out and put an 8V92 in it, put a bigger Roadranger gearbox in. Guys were chasing bigger horsepower, you know.”

But what happened, he reckons, is that “truck manufacturers caught up with the horsepower….” And then “there was no longer

the need to repower your truck to get the horsepower. You could just go and buy a new truck…”

As the repowering business faded, he moved on to other mechanic jobs – the first running the workshop for Eric Pedersen’s sawmilling operation in Rotorua, then another fixing roading machinery, loaders and trucks for Landon & Brown.

And through each job there was a common thread – a constant exposure to logging trucks….and a growing interest in them.

He got to road-test repowered log trucks – and “I’d go out now and again into the forest with the guys. I always found that appealing.” Working for Pedersen, he spent time at his Kinleith workshop: “So once again, I’m watching all these logging trucks go past… So I was getting keener and keener.”

But his entry into truck ownership wasn’t with a logger. The opportunity came via Eric Pedersen, whose mechanic had left midway through the repowering of a TS3 Commer bin truck.

Pedersen’s mill was producing fence posts and needed the Commer to be working alongside its Dodge Kew 6x4 to cart away the peeled-off bark and other wood waste.

He offered to employ Peter on wages to finish the repower job – then “ ‘once it’s finished, you can buy the two trucks off me and become an owner-operator to me.’ He knew that was the carrot that would get me…”

And indeed it did: In 1981 Peter duly bought the two trucks: “I used to put one under the hopper and then one would be full, so I’d jump in that, drive down the off-highway road to a big gully they were filling in, and I’d unload that – come back and swap ‘em over and just go on like that.”

Because the work was all off-highway, he didn’t keep up to date with CoFs – but that didn’t stop him working weekends carting bark to a garden centre in Waikanae or shifting machines around forests for a log harvesting crew.

On one bark run he got stopped by a cop in Hunterville: “He said: ‘I’m just looking at your truck. Looking a bit scruffy.’ The old CoF was still on the screen but noticeably faded. He said: ‘When did Truck & Driver | 59

Clockwise, from top: Peter Phillips’ first two trucks in Aztec colours – a new ‘98 Foden S108 and ‘91 S108 – pictured at the Paeroa Truck Show.... the very first Phillips logger – a 440hp 1982 Mack SuperLiner....the so-called Aztec “Bible” includes Pete’s 49-page handwritten proposal that helped win the company its Carter Holt Harvey key supplier status

that CoF expire? I said ‘no, no – it’s current. It’s just that the bloody windscreen leaks and there’s a bit of moisture and it’s rooted.’ ” Luckily, the cop was wearing rugby gear – “so I distracted him by asking him how the rugby was going. Well once we got started on the rugby, that was the end of it.

“Imagine – a six-wheeler loaded with wet bark! It was pretty heavy. He said: ‘It looks like she’s a bit heavy.’ I said ‘oh no – she’s an old truck. The springs are a bit tired, you know.’ Anyway, I managed to talk my way out of it and off I went.

“Anyway…long story short: I amassed a bit of money. Meantime, I’m seeing these logging trucks going back and forth and I’m thinking it’d be pretty cool to own one of those.”

After a couple of unsuccessful attempts to do just that, out of the blue, in ’83 he was offered the opportunity by NZ Forest Products to buy a truck “from a contractor who was finishing up.

“So I sold the two trucks back to Eric – which was really good of him, to buy them back and give me a hand up once again. I mortgaged my house and bought a 1982 Mack SuperLiner. So I went from a 160hp Dodge Kew, having never towed a trailer in my life, to a 440hp Mack SuperLiner, (running at 42 tons), towing a three-axle trailer on springs, with a short wheelbase.”

If that wasn’t challenge enough…he was also plunged into a pretty unfriendly environment. Borderline hostile even: “In those days…the old-school guys were real tough – or they were at Forest Products. I was Forest Products’ youngest owner-operator. They didn’t like that at all.

“Nowadays, there’s plenty of help out there in terms of training and assistance and people riding in the cabs with you. In those days, unless you had a relation or a mate who drove loggers, there wasn’t any real training.”

Before he bought the truck, he told the owner the deal was conditional: “I said… ‘right, you’ve gotta give me a couple of weeks’ training, because I’ve never towed a trailer, or done logging or 60 | Truck & Driver

anything.

“He said ‘yeah, yeah yeah – all good.’ On day two or three, we’re at Maroa and he says: ‘Pull the truck over here. I’m hopping out… you know what you’re doing.’

“I said ‘hang on mate – that wasn’t the deal!’ And he just got out of the truck, his wife picked him up and he left me to it. With two days’ training on logs, that was it: I was on me own!”

The thing was though, Peter HAD to make it work: “My house was invested in the truck. I couldn’t afford to tip it over or do anything wrong. I just used to put me head down and bum up, turn the RT down and try to not let it get at me, you know.”

It probably didn’t endear him to anyone, laughs Ken Angus, that the Mack he’d bought “was like a f***ing racing car! We’re all on 250 and 320hp and here’s this f***ing 440 Mack with a three-axle trailer!”

Pete points out that it’s one thing having that horsepower… it’s another thing having the skill to use it all: “I knew I had more horsepower than any of them – but I would have flipped it if I’d used the horsepower!”

The contract with NZFP was for a permanent run, carting thinnings out of Lake Taupo Forest – a job that saw him regularly running just ahead of a particularly high-geared International “which was fast.”

The driver “would sit on my arse and push and push and push.

I’d pull over and let him go past and he’d get on the RT and he’d go: ‘Hey, boy. What’s it like to look up the arse of a Bulldog all day?’ I’d get all embarrassed and wouldn’t say anything.

“Anyway, it took me about a couple of months until I started to get the hang of it.” And until he had the nerve to let the Inter go by one day – then immediately overtook it, climbing a three-lane hill.

This time Pete was the one on the RT: “It looks like you’re going to be looking up the arse of a Bulldog all day. Because that’s where you’re going to f***ing stay from now on!’ The RT went mental. And

IT’S WHAT WE ARE AND WHAT WE DO. KEEP KIWI BUSINESS MOVING. KEEP YOU AND YOUR DRIVERS SAFE. GO THE EXTRA KILOMETRE WITHOUT CUTTING CORNERS. THINK SMARTER AND WORK HARDER. TO SAVE YOU MONEY ON EVERY TYRE IN YOUR FLEET.

0800 4 CARTERS

enquiry@carterstyres.co.nz

carterstyres.co.nz

We are Mack.

This is our Anthem.

The all new Mack Anthem is a truck that will make you rethink what’s possible on the highway, at the port or on the construction site. Boldly designed and engineered tough, the Anthem is born ready for whatever the road demands.

To learn more talk to our team 0800 683 683

BORN READY.

1

The very early days of Aztec’s existence. Ken’s now-repainted ERF shows off the new company’s branding that was the end of it.”

In 1987 he bought his first brand-new truck – an eight-wheeler Foden, dubbed English Rose: “It was the 100th Foden into NZ so South Pacific Trucks made a bit of a fuss over it.”

A few years on he put a wage driver on the Foden and left them doing the Forest Products contract work, and bought an International T-Line – “and I went off all around the countryside doing woodlots.”

By the mid-1990s he was also carting logs up to Kopu for Carter Holt Harvey’s central region operation – and backloading logs from the Coromandel for CHH’s northern division.

It brought him into regular contact with Ken Angus and Steve Segetin – and also put him in a good situation when Carter Holt decided to rationalise its log cartage contractors in the central region, with its key supplier concept.

“Because I was working for both divisions of CHH and circuit loading, I had this connection with both areas – so I put together a proposal to be a key supplier for central, but linking in the northern region. There were all these synergies and backloads….and money to be saved for them.”

He needed other central region CHH contractors to join him to make it viable – but the guys he approached to work with him turned down his idea.

So he had to tell CHH: “I’ve got a vision, but I can’t make it come together because I can’t get the right people.”

So he missed this first shot at becoming a key supplier – continuing instead to work on in the central region as a subcontractor.

And then, about a year on, he was invited to put in a proposal to become a key supplier for CHH’s northern region.

“I knew I needed people around me – so that’s when I got hold of Ken and Steve… asked would they be interested, which they were. Which was great, because they were in strategic areas – Ken in Hauraki and Steve in Northland.”

Ken had been among others told by CHH: “ ‘We’re going key supplier.’ No one knew what that meant, but they did say ‘some

of you will come along for the ride and some of you will fall by the wayside.’ ” That statement had been a bit of a worry – particularly since he’d only just placed an order for a new Western Star cabover 8x4 (a rebadged ERF), to join the ERF: “So I cancelled the truck – because I was nervous.”

Steve had also known what was going on with CHH’s rationalisation plan: “They had 16 suppliers there at one stage and they wanted to get them down. A whole swag of owner-drivers – too many.”

Ken recalls that there was a lot of talk….and then a meeting, for CHH “to explain to us what was going to happen.” He’d already been approached by one group of four or five ODs about joining them before “Peter came to us and said: ‘Would you be interested in the three of us getting together.”

In some ways, Pete, Ken and Steve were far from your most obvious business partners: They weren’t close mates – at best they were friendly fellow-truckies who might have a chat every now and then, when their paths crossed on the job.

And they appear to be three very different personalities: Ken – calm and quiet, more likely to just get on with it, rather than make a fuss. Steve a hard-case bloke who calls it exactly as he sees it – but also spends a lot of time laughing. While Pete is a talker and a thinker…and clearly a man prepared to take the lead.

But, as they each immediately recognised, they all had proven good relationships with Carter Holt Harvey and they were immensely experienced in the trucking industry – boasting a combined 61 years of transport experience (including 37 years of combined self-employed history).

In addition, they each brought to the table experience in the design and development of transport equipment, ranging from thoughtfully speccing their own gear to Phillips’ 21 years as a certified automotive diesel engineer and Segetin’s time as a mechanic.

They each had a commitment to succeed that was reinforced by the stake they had in their own businesses. They were, as Pete Truck & Driver | 63

says, “self-made, self-motivated people.”

And, best of all in this instance, between them they had trucks operating in CHH northern’s three main areas – the central North Island, Hauraki and Northland. Together, as Peter pitched to Ken and Steve, “we can cover the whole central to the north of the North Island.”

The partnership was quickly agreed on and Peter “said ‘right: I’ll put the proposal together. You guys give us some input.’

“I put a driver on my truck and I locked myself in the office for a week. But I was on the phone to these boys all the time – and they would give their input…giving me ideas… But yeah, that was the foundation of it all.”

What he came up with is what’s long since become known within Aztec as The Bible – a pretty remarkable document for the times: Peter’s handwritten 49-page proposal set out, with great detail, to answer the question: “What would a new key supplier bring to Carter Holt Harvey Forests?”

In a proposal that reads like something prepared by a 2021era business analyst, he presented Aztec’s vision, its strategy for achieving it – and its policies on everything from quality assurance and health and safety….to environmentally-friendly systems, vehicle

Clockwise from top left: Northland contractor Liam Hawthorn’s Northern Log Haulage K200 heads to a forest near Tutukaka.....

Mercedes-Benz Arocs 3263L is run by Tauranga-based Aztec contractor C4 Carriers.....the current fleet lineup boasts almost every make of heavy-duty truck sold in NZ. This is some of them, parked up at the Mount Truck Show last year.....Steve’s second truck as an owner-driver was this secondhand Inter 3070

64 | Truck & Driver

development policies and how it would manage sub-contractors.

Phillips talked about what he termed “the S.W.O.T. analysis” – as in Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats.

The strengths were those already outlined – that the trio fully understood were valuable attributes in their proposed deal. The weaknesses detailed were around them being stand-alone owneroperators (which they still were at that point): As individuals they “couldn’t supply our customers with all their requirements, couldn’t generate enough cashflow to allow us to carry out the development and innovations that we’d like to….”

Nor be as accessible to customers as a company with a manager (a role Phillips proposed that he would fill), “or have enough trucks available to carry out extra cartage jobs for our customers.”

The opportunities, he said, lay in CHH’s huge expansion plans for its northern region forest harvesting over the next five years, the key supplier project’s ability to assist that expansion….even the Aztec directors’ contacts with other forest owners/agents providing the potential for money-saving backloads. And, last but not least, the directors’ good relationships with CHH management.

Threats he acknowledged included outside haulage contractors offering reduced haulage rates – which, he added, could be

Photo: Patchell Group dealt with by offering “quality and quantity.” Fluctuations in the international and domestic log markets could be met “by not overcapitalising – so we can weather the storm…”

The threat of climactic conditions negatively impacting forest road could be reduced by “units designed to cope with these conditions – eg central tyre inflation.” While driver training, ongoing H&S measures and having a permanent relief driver were his ways of addressing improved driver safety and health.

Aztec also pledged to apply what Peter Phillips termed the SAFER formula – Safety, Attitude, Forward Thinking, Economy and Roadfriendly transport equipment design.

Said Phillips: In the 10 years since the increase in gross weights, from 39 tonnes to 44t, increased truck horsepower meant that the log transport industry had also seen higher loaded truck speeds – and an “increase of truck and trailer rollovers, resulting in reduced public safety and a poor attitude of the public towards log transport vehicles.

“We believe that in order to survive in the log transport industry, operators have been forced to think firstly of tonnes across weighbridges, before any other factor.

“This has, in our opinion, created the present unsafe road

environment,” he said – and went on to target load height, which “due to the reduced length of logs….the load must be as high as possible to achieve a payback. This automatically increases instability and leaves no buffer zone for error. If a loaded truck and trailer has to take evasive action, it is far more likely to tip over if it is carting a high load.”

He targeted replacement of the “older suspensions in many logging units, which may become unsafe with increased weights and load heights and may also be non-road friendly.” (He’d already put his ideas into practice – getting Patchell Engineering to improve stability on his three-axle trailer by installing heavy-duty shock absorbers…which he believes was a first for log trailers on springs).

In the proposal, he pinpointed the need for onboard weigh systems to avoid overloading – of the entire combination or any part of it – and the potential for causing instability. And he suggested a need for a higher standard of truck maintenance – with operators achieving that standard given preferred status over those who didn’t – and who thus “jeopardise public safety and the transport industry image, by being unable to operate correctly maintained or designed equipment, because they have offered nonsustainable haulage rates.”

Truck & Driver | 65

Above: Classy Kenworth T909 belongs to Tauranga Aztec contractor Bennett Log Haulage

Far left: A youthful Peter Phillips, daughter Libby and son Mat pose in front of his ‘87 Foden, around 30 years ago Left: Steve replaced his R Model with this Mack CH Elite in ‘95

The Phillips view of what was necessary was for professional transport operators to “lead the way” in changing a situation in which some drivers carried an overly-competitive attitude towards each other while behind the wheel.

An acceptance that log prices – and therefore log cartage rates – were unlikely to increase, meant that “logging units need to be designed to cart greater loads more safely and economically.

“We must get wise and develop equipment and operators now that will do more than just carry logs. We must become SAFER.” Thus the details included, as Aztec policy, that all seatbelts fitted in its trucks must be worn – and all new additions to the fleet must have seatbelts installed. Aircon systems in trucks must be operational to help reduce driver fatigue – and all drivers would have to wear high-vis work clothing…and comply with all H&S requirements.

The trucks would, he said, be fitted with powered sliding bolsters and their equipment designed so that all setup for loading logs or piggybacking trailers must be achievable with the driver standing on the ground.

They’d also be eight-axle combinations “to improve stability and thus public safety” and the company would put in place strict controls and monitoring of drivers for speed, H&S requirements and attitude.

The company would train its drivers to be more professional and encourage them to take pride in their appearance (with uniforms issued) and their vehicles. Aztec would also explore the installation of advanced communications equipment, more accurate onboard weigh systems and improved suspensions for 66 | Truck & Driver

better stability and reduced road damage.

The Aztec spec would include air suspension, central tyre inflation plus engines with low-emissions electronic engine management systems.

Peter also detailed a proposed driver incentive scheme in which the driver who generated the highest number of positive 0800 calls from members of the public responding to the 0800 signage on the trucks would win prizes…and a suggestion that people calling 0800 to complain be offered the opportunity to ride in a log truck to better understand the drivers’ perspective.

And then….there was the company name. A lot of thought went into that too: “The Forestry Transport Developments part of it came from our philosophy of wanting to transport logs in a safer, smarter way.

“When I was trying to come up with a name for the company, I wanted something fresh…..

“And, in those days, communication was all about using the telephone and phone books. There wasn’t the internet. And so I said: ‘Well, how are we going to get to be first in the queue when someone wants to find themselves a company to cart logs? When you open the phone book, the first letter is the letter A. So, whatever we come up with, it’s got to start with A.’ That was that part of it.

“Then the Aztec – that came from the Aztecs, a very successful civilisation that built an empire. And I said to these guys: ‘We’re going to create an empire. That’s what we’re going to do. So, we’re going to be Aztec.’ ” Next month: The evolution of Aztec from a four-truck operation to a fleet of around 100 – in just 23 years. T&D

PATCH HE ELLLL PATC GROUP OF COMPANIES

TRANSPORT PRODUCTS PROVEN

BY OVER 48 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE

LEADING TRAILER MANUFACTURER IN NEW ZEALAND FOR

YEARS

NEW ZEALANDS' LEADING TRAILER MANUFACTURER Contact us for further information

ALL ENQUIRIES: Peter Rickard 021 490 353 | peterrickard@patchell.co.nz Glenn Heybourn 021 301 274 | glennheybourn@patchell.co.nz Paul Bristol 021 328 619 | paulbristol@patchell.co.nz HEAD OFFICE: 150 View Road, ROTORUA 07 348 7746 enquiries@patchell.co.nz

PATCH HE ELLLL PATC GROUP OF COMPANIES

www.patchell.co.nz

LEGENDS

- Greg Cochrane

Best of Both Worlds

W

ITHOUT LEAVING HIS OWN BACKYARD GREG COCHRANE has gone from the rock bottom of his family’s business to becoming Executive General Manager of NZ’s arm of ASX’s biggest publicly listed freight company. He now has both the support of the large corporate enterprise yet also retains the personal-touch ethos of the family business he grew up in. It’s the ‘best of both worlds’ Greg’s grandfather Eddie Cochrane started the family business Cochrane Transport in 1949, they milled their own logs and Eddie started the transport business to cart them. It then grew to include Cambridge and Tirau depots and have four shareholders, Eddie’s three sons (Barry, John and Bruce - Bruce being the middle son and Greg’s father) and the family trust.

Greg recalls, “When we moved to Tirau, I had just started Primary School. Cambridge was a huge farming sector and the company majored in fertilizer, livestock and metal. This was back when you had to buy a rail licence to cart against rail.”

He says, “often, instead of going to school I used to ride around in trucks and that’s what got me motivated and interested in what was going on. There’s still a few guys out there today that I used to drive around with, Gary Leonard from Leonard’s Transport for one, he was one of our first owner drivers.”

‘Born into it’, Greg spent as much time as he could down in the workshop, saying that he used to go down and clean the benches and sweep the floors two or three times a week, and drive the trucks in the Hay paddocks.

“I was kind of thinking at one stage I’d become a draughtsman which would have got me into the building trade but it doesn’t move Original Cambridge workshop

68 | Truck & Driver

fast enough. I don’t do repetitive stuff. The transport industry is so ‘live’ you never know what’s going to happen at any minute - the phones never stop.”

Greg got his HT licence at the age of 17 so he could take the trucks to the testing station in Putaruru and started a diesel mechanics course shortly after that, this was in 1982.

“Mum said if you’re going to leave school and become part of the business, you need to make sure you’ve got a trade behind you. So I served an apprenticeship as a diesel mechanic.”

He started in the Cambridge branch under Colin Myers and finished off between the Cambridge and Tirau branch. He says that there was no special treatment for being the boss’s son either.

“I always remember the story before I’d got my licence, the boys down at the workshop used to give me bit of shit, ‘hey Greg go and hook my truck to the trailer down there and bring it up,’ I’d get all excited, back up to the trailer and race round to put the pin up and there was no ringfeder on the truck to hook up to. They’d all be pissing themselves laughing” He says that it was cool camaraderie back then, “that’s why you stayed in the industry. You were always having a laugh and a joke with someone. These days you’d have to discipline them because it’s not PC.” Greg reckons that despite the family ties, his pathway wasn’t decided, ‘it just naturally evolved.’

“The only tipping point (and one of my regrets) was all my mates were travelling overseas coz they’d left school, and the old man said ‘yes you can travel overseas if you want but when you come back

lightweight Foden 500hp N14 cummins

lightweight skelly KW M11 cummins 330 hp

you’ll have to start at the bottom again’ I said, well I’m at the bottom now so that’s ok. But I stayed on and kept working and didn’t travel.”

A lot happened next. In 1990, Alan Scott bought a substantial shareholding in Cochrane Transport which enabled Barry and John to exit the business. Greg got married and started to move into the head office in Cambridge and In 1991 Greg was made Cochranes Transport Operations Manager. In 1992, Alan Scott sold his shareholding back to Cochrane Transport making Greg’s Dad 100% owner and in 1996, Greg was made Group General Manager and a Director.”

He says “But the big change was when Cochrane Transport sold to K&S Freighters in 2003. Mum and Dad cashed out but I stayed on. I was given a two year contract, but I said to Leigh Winser [maybe not so coincidentally Alan Scott’s son in law] who bought us, if we don’t like each other then we’re never going to get on and I’ll get another job - Eighteen years later, I’m still here.”

Greg says that in between then, the Cochrane family got out of their Cambridge yard and bought the property that K&S now lease a portion of, the old Weddel Crown freezing works in Leamington. “So we’ve got 10 acres of land with 6,000 tonnes of cold storage space here, which K&S leases a portion of and land in Mt Maunganui.”

According to Greg, business hasn’t been a walk in the park though, saying it was very tough around the time that K&S bought the business.

“We were going well and then all of a sudden the Dairy Company had a change of heart and started dissolving the contract and the work. This meant that we weren’t producing good returns back to the Aussie shareholders, they thought we were asleep at the wheel.

They’re good guys to work for but geez they can get aggressive if you’re not doing it right (in their eyes).”

Greg said that things were so rough that he wondered ‘what the hell he was doing this for’.

“But at the end of the day you’re doing it for the 200+ staff. There’s probably 25-30 guys that have done 10-years plus with me and some that have done up to 43 years, so you put on a brave face, don’t let on what’s going on and keep working. And get it back the best way you can - grind it out.”

He says that his boss Leigh’s idea was to get into logging, however it didn’t go so well. “one thing about him, he rode us hard but freely admitted that he buggered that up. Either way, it didn’t solve the problem that needed fixing. We stayed in there for 5 years and got out, then the business started coming right. It’s good times at the moment.”

Greg says that he’s now got a good team around him and they’re ‘making hay while the sun shines,’ “K&S give me a big leash. It’s the best of both worlds, having all that family history and heritage and now being part of a publicly listed corporation. My wife Nicola says I’m pretty lucky, as I get to network Original Stockliners

with the Australian guys and some pretty top transport related people, shipping companies and big businesses and I enjoy it. If you’re a small transport operator life’s hard because you can’t share anything with anyone. You never share your fuel price, your tyre price or your girlfriend.”

They do share their success with the staff and the community though.

“With Cochranes transport we always put back into the community, Ag days and we put a lot of time back into the road transport association. We petitioned against road user charges down the main street of Hamilton. Now we support the surf life saving club and as we’ve got people travelling the roads all the time North and South Island, we look after the Rescue Helicopter and NZ Police Guild.”

Greg says it’s hard to get staff rewards right. “I try to treat the people the same. But you always see the people in the office so that’s ok but you never see the guys that are out there doing the job for us.

The best drivers are the ones we never see, they never turn up for the BBQs, they’re plastered all over New Zealand. So we’ve done Xmas hampers for the last 5-6 years to reach everyone and it seems to be reasonably successful.”

He says that he always lends a hand if people put their hand up and ask for help. “I always make sure they’ve got the right gear and equipment, We create a culture where people want to work and right now, we’ve got a great team.”

Especially the drivers. “We’re a premium line haul business, work is pretty clean, our gear’s good, our fleet average is four and half years old. We used to buy Fodens back in the day because of the fibreglass cabs as fertiliser killed the old metal cabs,. We used to have ‘component built’ trucks, Cummins engines, Rockwell Diffs and gearboxes so it didn’t really matter if it came in a Kenworth, International or Argosy, then we got into some DAFs but our 150 fleet is now a bit of a mixture, the taste of the European stuff isn’t all that bad.

In the hard end of the country and 24hour stuff we put on the Kenworths, softer end the DAFs and Argosys. We’ve also got a fleet of small trucks so we can now look to sponsor young drivers into the industry. And that’s been quite successful.”

Greg says that he’s in a great space right now. “My mates say that I should leave and do something for myself but it’s taken me seven years to get things right here and I’m really happy with the way things are. It would be hard to pull out.

I did regret not travelling back then but travel now later in life is brilliant, I’ve been to some great places and not had to stay in a backpackers.” T&D

Commer parked outside Eddies House with workshop in background

K&S Freighters K200

Truck & Driver | 69

Brad’s

you-beaut beer truck 70 | Truck & Driver

OVER THE DITCH

Brad Gallagher’s job has him at the wheel of this Kenworth T909 stunner

A Kiwi truckie in Aussie, writes about... another Kiwi truckie in Aussie Story & photos Warren Aitken Truck & Driver | 71

OFFER EXTENDED

BIG PRESENCE WITH A BIG PRESENT

GET A $3,500 PREZZY® CARD WITH ANY NEW HEAVY-DUTY ISUZU TRUCK PURCHASE

BUY ANY HEAVY-DUTY TRUCK BEFORE THE END OF MARCH 2021 AND NOT ONLY WILL YOU GET A REVERSING CAMERA, HANDS-FREE BLUETOOTH AND A TRUCK BUILT TO LAST, YOU’LL ALSO GET A $3,500 PREZZY® CARD. OFFER ONLY AVAILABLE ON HEAVY-DUTY VEHICLES AND FOR A LIMITED TIME ONLY. TERMS AND CONDITIONS APPLY TO THE USE OF PREZZY® CARDS AND CAN BE FOUND AT WWW.PREZZYCARD.CO.NZ OFFER AVAILABLE 01/01/21 – 31/03/21. STRICT ELIGIBILITY AND PURCHASE REQUIREMENTS APPLY. SEE ISUZU.CO.NZ FOR FULL T&CS.

ISZ17321_Q1_2021_Retail_Big_Present_NZTD_FP_R01.indd 1

16/12/20 12:20 PM

Above: Brad Gallagher (keeping it Kiwi with his Speights singlet) stands proud in front of the customised T909 and its Vawrdrey B-double set

Left: Brisbane customiser Bling HQ put a lot of work into the Kenworth, including the fueltanks and the custommade rear bar

SPENT A FAIR BIT OF TIME CONTEMPLATING WHERE I should focus for my first story for New Zealand Truck & Driver: Who to feature, what kind of truck I wanted to shoot.

My original plan was more of an autobiography. I did, after all, learn my craft with the boys at McLarens Transport in Ranfurly, before stepping up to a few of Warren Good’s Scanias out of Dunedin….and then polishing my technique under the tutelage of Blair Welsford at NZ Post.

Then it suddenly dawned on me: I really am the least interesting person I know!

So I went hunting for the best possible story to open my innings with. Ideally, I wanted the story of a fellow NZer who come over to the Land of the Long Weekend and toughed it out.

Persevering through tough working conditions. Doing a job that exacts a huge toll on both their mental and physical abilities – a job that illustrates the intense working environment of Australia.

Instead….I settled on a young bloke who’s basically retired before 40, drives a truck that’s the envy of most Kenworth-loving Aussies.

And, to top it all off, his run involves delivering to one of Australia’s most picturesque holiday spots.

Yeah, young Bradley Gallagher is doing it REAL TOUGH over here in Australia.

Let’s look back, for instance, at just how Brad got the keys to his amazing truck – a Kenworth T909 tractor unit, with a B-double

curtainsider behind it. His wife and kids really are the only ones who believe he got them on looks alone – so he must have earned his stripes somewhere.

Truth is, Brad learned his trade at R&L Main Transport in Thames, way back in the Nineties. It was during that period where, as kids, we could ride along in the passenger seat and learn all the oldschool skills – the good and bad.

Brad’s Dad was a contractor – not heavily involved in transport.

But family friends owned R&L Main. By the time Brad was in his teenage years his afterschool programme consisted of helping out around the Main depot as No.1 yard boy and sneaking behind the wheel of anything available.

He admits: “I was there nearly every day after school – and some days instead of school!” In the weekends he was the company cleaner – spending a good 12 hours or more up at the yard, cleaning the fleet.

As he grew, so did his responsibilities. Often he was allowed to practice his driving and reversing skills around the yard.

By the time he got his car licence he also become the company sober driver and became what would these days be the equivalent of an Uber Eats driver! Specifically, he was the KFC Go-Get Guy for the weekend crew.

Before the ink on his heavy vehicle licence had dried, he was behind the wheel of a little four-wheeler Nissan, doing local pickups and deliveries.

Truck & Driver | 73

Two kids and he wanted to be home more!

After a childhood that may or may not have involved driving the old T-Lines on the Desert Road without a licence, getting into legit driving in the Nissan was a breeze.

A year or so into his legal driving, R&L Main was bought out by Provincial Freightlines. Then, for nearly an entire decade, Brad wore the Provincial colours – behind the wheel of a variety of trucks. From an eight-wheeler Hino to the polar opposite – an ex-Keith Church Car Haulaways CH Mack.

Next on his curriculum vitae was a job with Paul Rudd and a pretty cool FLB Freightliner. This move was driven by Brad’s desire to get out and see a bit more of the country: With Provincial he’d mainly covered the Thames, Tauranga, Auckland and Hamilton local area.

But once he joined up with Paul he started to get further and further from home. He soon swapped the FLB keys for Paul’s Argosy and found himself doing Auckland to Dunedin runs.

I realise Brad’s starting to sound a bit loose with the truck keys – as the Argosy keys then got swapped for the keys to a Kenworth 104B….and there really isn’t any way to sugar coat it: If he’d been a smoker you’d assume he changed trucks every time the ashtray was full!

Truth be told he already had a reputation for meticulous attention to detail and looking after his gear. The promotion opportunities were earned.

After seven years working for Paul, the birth of Brad’s second child had him wanting to spend more time at home. Yes, you read that right! Two kids and he wanted to be home more! Trust me I double checked that info.

Brad took up a job with his mate BJ Chapman and began carting onions in a stunning 389 Peterbilt – covering everywhere from Hawke’s Bay to Auckland.

As his boys grew up, Brad found that several of his mates were taking the opportunity to jump the ditch and show the Aussies how to get the job done right.

So, in 2012, Brad and the family decided to do likewise. One of his longtime mates was already well ensconced in the SRV Road Freight team, based at Ormeau – about halfway between Brisbane and Gold Coast, and he arranged an interview before Brad jumped on the plane.

For those unaware of SRV, or who don’t have a social media life, SRV is one of the more eyecatching fleets in Australia: From the

Technology with Vision

ENHANCE YOUR VEHICLE

U o t a t

with front position light

F

W

LED Light Bar 470

F

S For the first time, striking LED light pipe technology has been used to create an innovative position light integrated with a powerful high beam light bar.

➔ High beam with integrated front position light

Must be mounted according to local installation regulations for high beam and position lamps

➔ 5 year warranty

0800 4 HELLA (0800 443 552) for your nearest HELLA stockist

Hella NZT LIGHT BAR PO 210X147 2021.indd 1

➔ Approved for use in New Zealand and Australia with ECE compliance (Two Lamps) ➔ Maximum luminous intensity of 113,000 candela

www.hella.co.nz 10-Feb-21 9:11:09 AM

s

G

M T

Mills-Tu

1:09 AM

When Brad’s staying-over at the Airlie Beach resort, the Kenworth takes pride of place outfront, beside The Pub restaurant

mills-tui.co.nz/x-treme

Unloading bulk materials horizontally in less than a minute, this trailer will get you down the road and unloaded safer, and faster than ever before.

Wood chip

Feed Seed Grain

Fertiliser

Sawdust soil metal Gravel sand Mills-Tui Limited T 0800 MILLS -TUI (645 578)

Mills-Tui A5 XTREME Advert 2020-12.indd 1

22/12/20 3:00 PM

head of the corporate ladder all the way down to the wash-bay crew, they all live and breathe Kenworths.

The company has actually just celebrated its 150th Kenworth. And every one of them could clean up at any truck show.

So no sooner had Brad and the family landed in the humidity of Queensland, and he was grabbing the keys to a big-cab 108 and heading for Sydney. He recalls: “Justin from SRV was good enough to send me with Squeak (his mate who’d gotten him the job) for the first couple of weeks.”

On that first interstate trip, he remembers “driving down and thinking, ‘man, we must be almost there now.’ Then he (Squeak) yelled out: ‘We’re halfway now bro.’ Jesus!”

In the beginning, that was the toughest part – the distances involved and not really knowing where in the hell he was: “When you did Auckland to Dunedin you’d break it up with the ferry in the middle. Here you’re doing 1200 kilometres one way!”

But, he says, the great team at SRV took him under their wing – fellow drivers always there to help him find depots and customers.

It’s the kind of support that’s vital when you’re trying not to get lost in the horrible rabbit warren of streets that is Sydney, in particular.

How about the feel of the size and weight of the trucks compared 76 | Truck & Driver

to NZ? “Didn’t find it too bad really. Even the weight: You didn’t feel like you were carting 64 tonnes.” When he left NZ he was already running 23-metre units, so the 26m units over here never really affected him much either.

For five years Brad progressed through several trucks as he mainly stuck to the classic Aussie interstate loop – Brisbane-SydneyMelbourne-Adelaide.

Before, once again, the call of the living room couch got him. He picked up a job with another successful Kiwi expat, Greg McDonald from Hawke’s Bay. Some truckies might remember Greg’s RoadAir Superliner from back in the day. He’s been over here for a couple of decades now – working for family before starting Greg McDonald Transport.

Brad became Greg’s local driver and relief interstate driver – getting a few days’ local work, then maybe a short run down to Sydney. It was the best of both worlds.

Good timing is one of those things I’ve never had – it’s what makes me a terrible cricketer and why I never made a fortune in the real estate market.

Brad however seems blessed with good timing: Just as Greg decided to scale back his fleet, a vacancy occurred on a legendary Queensland job – driving “The Airlie Beach Kenworth.”

Top (both pictures): “The Airlie Beach Kenworth” is renowned in Queensland trucking as a showpiece unit that’s a rolling billboard for the Airlie Beach Hotel

Bottom, from left to right: Brad’s path to T909 glory started out with R&L Main in Thames – on a Nissan, then a T-Line...he stayed on when Provincial took over Main’s....then went nationwide with Paul Rudd, on an Argosy and a K104B....drove a Peterbilt 389 for the Chapman Group.... and started in Aussie with legendary Kenworth outfit SRV The new position would involve driving (and looking after) a Kenworth T909 B-double unit that runs twice a week from Brisbane to tourist destination Airlie Beach, 1100 kilometres north – keeping the Airlie Beach Hotel and its bottle store constantly stocked.

You will have gathered by now how quickly Brad will snap up a new set of truck keys….so, no surprise, it didn’t take much convincing him.

Now, I have to be careful what I say, from here, as I’m aware Brad still has a lot of Kiwi mates who will most likely read this. And the last thing I want to portray is that Brad has landed himself the dream driving job.

Sure he has one of the most expensive trucks on Australian roads. Sure he’s paid well to load it with tonnes of alcohol and supplies.

Sure he only has a 12-14-hour drive to get to his location….where a team of workers helps him unload and rewash. And sure – he does

unload in one of Australia’s most pristine holiday resorts.

And yes, he is technically employed as a logistics manager: Michael McFie, who owns both the truck and the pub, has entrusted Brad with almost the entire operation.

But that’s not everything! It may seem like the job of a lifetime – but, believe me, it’s not all daffodils and unicorn farts!

To start with, the stunning Kenworth T909 only has a 50-inch sleeper cab – and a lot of its valuable storage area is taken up with the aftermarket subwoofers and amps that power a stageworthy stereo.

You’ll also find that there are super-chrome rims around the entire truck and B-double unit, so poor Brad is denied the pleasure of polishing his own rims!

And let’s not forget that his boss is super-appreciative of the work he does and makes him sleep at the resort when he’s up in Airlie Beach.

Truck & Driver | 77

Airlie Beach Hotel owner Michael McFie’s grandfather was a truckie, so he has a love of nice trucks. But mostly he wanted to have his own dedicated beer delivery unit....that’s also a spectacular showpiece for his business Okay. In case you hadn’t picked up on it, there’s a bit of sarcastic jealousy showing in all of that: Truth be told, Brad’s reputation for looking after his gear and getting the job done is actually what got him the opportunity to drive the Airlie Beach Kenworth, I guess hard work does pay off.

Brad takes care of all the loading and checking the orders, he’s responsible for all the Cummins X15-engined T909’s maintenance – from servicing to tyres…basically anything related to the truck. And the successful completion of its tasks is on Brad’s shoulders. Not that he’s complaining (I can assure you, he definitely isn’t!).

“You have more respect for all aspects of the job when you’re in control of everything,” Brad says of his added responsibilities.

“You also have more respect for the freight you’re carting. You’re invested in it.”

Brad’s very aware of how fortunate he is and he takes an extremely serious approach to his job. Professionalism on the

78 | Truck & Driver

road is one of his key targets. The big unit is a massive mobile billboard that’s out there, advertising the hotel all week. Keeping his cool and driving professionally – surrounded by North Queensland’s lunatic drivers – is probably the most challenging aspect of Brad’s job.

“Definitely the hardest part of the job,” he reckons, reflecting on the high level of holiday traffic: “In NZ I think we’re just taught to drive under tougher conditions.”

I agree: His cool, calm demeanour is where I think his Kiwi roots show through. Staying chill behind the wheel.

All in all, Brad’s now been in the Land of the Long Cold Beer for almost 10 years and has made himself right at home: He’s found a job that gives him the perfect work/life balance.

He gets to drive a truck he’s immensely proud of….and really, he’s semi-retired before he’s even hit 40! What more could a Kiwi truckie in Australia want. T&D

“Shockless”

Air Suspension Technology Never Change a Shock Absorber Again ZMD™

ZERO MAINTENANCE DAMPING™ Technology

• Eliminates conventional shock absorbers by integrating the damping function into the air springs • As the axle moves up and down, pressurised air is exchanged between the bellows and the piston, meaning there are no moving parts or hydraulic fluid • Ideal for general freight applications • Available as a premium option on selected INTRAAX® integrated air suspension models • Tare weights as low as 370 kg

Benefits of ZMD™ • Reduced maintenance costs • Great driver comfort • Increased cargo protection

HXL5®

Extended-life wheel bearing package

TIREMAAX PRO

with a five-year 800,000 km on-highway warranty*

™

Advanced tyre pressure control system

that automatically inflates and deflates tyres using the trailer air supply

*Contact your local Hendrickson representative for complete warranty terms, conditions and limitations.

Check out: www.SHOCKLESS-ZMD.com.au

For more information, email: nz-sales@hendrickson.co.nz Hendrickson Asia Pacific Pty Ltd 24/P Allright Place Mt Wellington, Auckland, NZ Tel: +64 9 570 4721 www.hendrickson.com.au Actual product performance may vary depending upon vehicle configuration, operation, service and other factors. ©2021 Hendrickson USA, L.L.C. All Rights Reserved. All trademarks shown are owned by Hendrickson USA, L.L.C., or one of its affiliates, in one or more countries.

WIN YOUR ULTIMATE 4WD KIT

ALL THE ESSENTIALS YOU NEED FOR YOUR NEXT ADVENTURE. Purchase a Donaldson Filter Kit with a 5L oil pack, get a free Total cap and go in the draw for 4WD Accessories to the value of $5000 of your choice*.

Offer available through CablePrice – 0800 555 456 | sales@cableprice.co.nz | cableprice.co.nz *Terms and Conditions apply. Promotion Dates: 1 March – 31 May 2021.

FEATURE

Trevor gets Mack back... in art form Trevor Woolston with Paul Astwood’s painting of his Mack

I

T BEGAN SEVEN YEARS AGO AS A HUNT FOR A 1984 MACK R Model that New Zealand Truck & Driver publisher Trevor Woolston used to own.

The search, inspired by a sentimental urge to buy the old 350-horsepower R600 Mack – nicknamed the Torquing Bulldog – and restore it, ended in disappointment.

As far as he was able to determine, it seemed that his much-loved Mack was probably scrapped 10 to 15 years ago.

But now, remarkably, he has his Mack back – not in cold, hard metal terms….but in a dramatic work of art.

The delighted Woolston has been presented with a painting of the old tipper, resplendent in its Dibble Independent colours, created by Kiwi truck artist Paul Astwood.

The Woolston family commissioned the art work for Trevor’s 65th birthday – tracking down Astwood in Australia to recreate in paint a photo taken 36 years ago by well-known truck photographer and historian Ed Mansell.

Fittingly, Woolston published a story about Astwood’s truck artwork in 1988 – “when he was a young painter who was making a name for himself around New Zealand with his great artistry – painting many NZ

trucks of that time.

“His paintings were adorning the walls of many fleet offices, depots, cafes and truck stops around NZ.” Astwood had started painting trucks as a teenager in 1982 – when he was still in high school.

Recalls Woolston: “One of his favourites at the time of the article was a 50-metre-long mural done for Nelson quarryman and contractor the late Rex Krammer. Paul crammed 20 machines and vehicles based around Rex’s interests in farm machinery, trucks, vintage gear and aircraft.”

The Nelson-born Astwood moved to Taupo, simply to feed his passion for painting trucks: “He’d taken a job at Stag Park, where many of his paintings adorned the walls and he was in regular contact with truckies.

“He was living in a small room at the De Bretts Hotel next door, where one of his giant paintings – of the DB Clydesdales, painted on velvet – was hanging in pride of place.

“At that time Paul was doing his truck paintings and truck signwriting on a part-time basis, while holding down a fulltime job.

Demand was so great for his work he could have done it as a fulltime Truck & Driver | 81

Weighing Equipment Proven Weigh Systems In NZ For Over 20 Years With: • Dedicated Personnel For Technical Support • Full Back-Up Parts Inventory

• Technical Support & Suppliers Of An Extensive Parts Range For Most Brands • Weigh Systems For Most Applications

Aztec Contractor Bennett Log Haulage – Built by Koromiko Engineering

Jacksons Extreme Heavy Haulage Limited

Steve Martin Contracting – Set up by HDPS Engineering Christchurch

Greens Transport (Peter & Charlotte Hughes) – Manufactured by KRAFT Engineering

Weighing Equipment Is Our Business!!

150 View Road, Rotorua, New Zealand • Ph: 07 349 4700 • Fax: 07 349 4800

SI Lodec South Island Ltd

www.silodec.co.nz

TD31418

Sales and Service - Contact Mike Long 021 651 965

Top: Paul Astwood with his painting of the late Storm Hema’s Mack SuperLiner Above: Trevor Woolson’s R Model Mack, bought new in 1984

job but preferred not to.”

Trevor and Paul’s paths have now crossed again, thanks to Woolston’s son Hayden finding the ’88 story about Paul’s artistic talent in an old magazine. Through Facebook, he found Paul living in Sydney, “but still very much in touch with the NZ truck scene and regularly doing paintings for Kiwi truckies as well as Australians,” says Trevor.

“Paul was more than helpful and in fact was enthusiastic to do the painting for my family.”

An appreciative Trevor says the painting of his Mack is “an amazing work – with so much detail and realism that at first glance you could mistake it for a photo.

“It is by far one of the best truck paintings I have ever seen.”

Woolston says that Astwood “balanced painting Torquing Bulldog in between doing a major signwriting job at a hotel in Port Macquarie – completing painting it in time so that it arrived in NZ just two days before my birthday.”

It was accompanied by a book featuring “some of his other amazing

paintings from over the years.

“Many well-known Kiwi trucks appear in the book, such as both of the late Storm Hema’s trucks, several TD Haulage trucks, Lamberts, PanPac and KLC (Kaingaroa Logging Company) trucks, the L&P Kenworth, the Concord V12 Kenworth of the late Alf Quaife, and many more.

“It really shows the progression of his skill over the years. He is without doubt one of the best realist truck painters I have seen.”

Astwood’s truck art has featured in Australian truck magazines and he now splits his work time between signwriting trucks, hotels and cafes and the like and creating truck art.

Says Woolston: “He regularly travels all over Australia to service his many clients, regularly staying for long periods of time to complete numerous commissions for hotels – everything from menu boards to large exterior murals.

“His work on trucks ranges from signwriting, scrollwork and small murals, through to large murals on sleeper cabs and complete colour Truck & Driver | 83

A small sample of Paul Astwood’s art includes (clockwise, from top left) one of his commercial murals....the renowned Concord Kenworth....the L&P KW....a highly-detailed locomotive....an Aussie roadtrain....and a TD Haulage Mack

scheme designs such as the one he did for the late Storm Hema for his Mack SuperLiner.

“One unusual job he did was to paint fuel tanks to look like beer cans – complete with ring pulls on the ends.”

Astwood also loves painting trains, planes, ships and cars, some of which have also seen his artistic talents featured in a variety of other magazines.

Owing to his busy working and travelling schedule any other Kiwi truckers wanting to commission a painting should contact him via Facebook, Woolston advises.

It has been, he says appreciatively, “great to catch up once again with such a talented Kiwi.”

The R600 Mack was Woolston’s last truck: He sold it about a year after starting NZ Trucking magazine in 1985.

He’d driven it fulltime for about a year – having bought it to replace a troublesome previous R Model.

84 | Truck & Driver

He and the truck survived a rollover in late ‘84, when a Kawhia farm road up to an airstrip gave way under the Mack: “It went over the bank – rolled two and a half times.

“We had to put a new body on it, did the cab up, straightened the chassis and it went back on the road again.”

Woolston did find that it was at one stage a logger for L.F. Cox and was later owned by Bowman Contracting in Morrinsville.

It was then owned, he believes, by a property developer in Karaka.

Its registration lapsed around 2006.

“Apparently it was wrecked. The motor and gearbox were probably pulled out and sent to the Middle East, we were told.”

Woolston reckons that having the Torquing Bulldog back with him in the form of a painting rather than the real thing is probably for the best: The idea of finding it and restoring it was, he says now, “probably a moment of madness. If I listen to all my mates who have restored trucks, it could have cost me a fortune!” T&D

II SS I T TT II M E ?

Now that confidence is returning, if you’re in the market for a new truck, Now thathere confidence is returning, if you’re in help the market new truck, we are – as strong as ever and ready to you findfor thea perfect deal. we are here – as strong as ever and ready to help you find the perfect deal.

CALISUZU.CO.NZ CALISUZU.CO.NZ 0800 266 628 0800 266 628

Westland Engineering Supplies

K & L Distributors BOP Ltd

Auckland Oil Shop

Westland Engineering Supplies is a locally owned and operated company and is proud to be the Caltex Distributor for the West Coast from Karamea to Haast.

We pride ourselves on being able to offer and supply the best product backed by the best service and technical back up in the industry. We can offer overnight delivery to virtually anywhere on the West Coast.

Just give Danny, Deane or Kate a call and we will be pleased to assist.

AND HAWKES BAY

Westland Engineering Supplies 03-768 5720

TD31095

Westland Engineering Supplies 10 Boundary Street Greymouth 03 768 5720

Caltex Westport 197 Palmerston St Westport 03 789 7819

TRUCK SHOP

NationalMap's HPMV routing solution converts text-based HPMV permits into digital map form, for computers and mobile devices

New HPMV routing solution C

OMPLEX HIGH PRODUCTIVITY MOTOR vehicle routing and navigation is simplified by a new solution developed for New Zealand transport operators by NationalMap. Its solution converts text-based HPMV permits into routes that can be presented digitally on a map (for desktop computers or mobile devices).

The company says that the solution “provides truck operators with turn-by-turn navigation that will keep drivers on permitted routes and effectively eliminate the risk of fines and the potential removal of HPMV status.”

The 30-year-old company says that its routing solution provides “instant visualisation” of all HPMV routes on devices – with voiceassisted turn-by-turn navigation on truck drivers’ devices.

It reckons that the tool is “NZ’s most efficient HPMV routing solution – drivers simply select their prime mover/trailer combination and the destination they’re travelling to.

“The NationalMap HPMV Routing Solution then determines instantly which HPMV permits are accessible to the chosen combination, and routes the driver to their destination giving voice assisted, turn-byturn navigation for the entire journey (whether they are within mobile network coverage or not).”

The system “not only ensures that…‘heavy runs’ comply with permit conditions, but also enables drivers to route their return via non-HPMV routes (if their return weight allows) – taking into account the 50MAX network, to ensure your drivers don't miss any weight restrictions that might get them into trouble.”

Thus the solution will help operators “to save time, resources and fuel.”

NationalMap says the system offers operators a “significant reduction in the overheads associated with HPMV compliance.”

Company GM Andrew Smith says that the new solution is underpinned by the quality of NationalMap’s data.

“Our new HPMV Routing Solution is a game-changer for transport operators with HPMV permits – removing all the complexity and simplifying driver compliance.

“However, even the smartest technology and incredible user experience can all be undone by poor data, which is why, at NationalMap, we believe that for great outcomes you need great data.

“With that always front of mind, we ensure that the roads and transport data that underpins our new HPMV solution is always current, complete and comprehensive. It’s the solid foundation upon which our HPMV Routing Solution is built,” adds Smith.

NationalMap says it has been “the market leader in road and transport data for decades,” and points out that its data “also powers many other innovative solutions, such as Critchlow Geospatial’s Smart Routing for Small Business (SR4SB) product.”

Critchlow GM Mary Sue Critchlow describes SR4SB as an easy to use, but powerful online route optimisation solution – specifically designed so SME businesses are able to offer delivery as a service.

“It’s the unmatchable quality of the NationalMap roading data that gives us a competitive advantage and really helps our SR4SB product stand out from the competition,” says Critchlow. T&D Truck & Driver | 87

BUY NOW

PAY LATER!

140121_Daimler_Summer

3 MONTHS DEFERRED PAYMENTS NO DEPOSIT Mercedes-Benz is a leader in the field of innovation, reliability and safety. The brand stands not only for efficiency, but also for first-class product and service quality.

Freightliner trucks are geared for harsh driving conditions and have been developed with the driver in mind.

Fuso has a long-standing reputation for producing reliable and durable vehicles.

Our comprehensive range of truck models covers all three truck market segments; light, medium and heavy duty.

Maximise your business this summer. Buy your new truck from a CablePrice South Island Branch and take advantage of our no deposit and 3 months deferred payments special*

*Terms and conditions apply, See online for details.

0800 555 456 sales@cableprice.co.nz www.cableprice.co.nz

Road Transport Association NZ

Activities gearing up again for 2021

By Simon Carson, RTANZ chief operating officer

A

S WE ALL SETTLE BACK INTO OUR BUSINESSES, I WOULD like to take this opportunity to wish each of you a happy, safe, and productive new year.

2020 is a year that dealt us its fair share of challenges, the likes of which, hopefully, we won’t ever see again. COVID hasn’t been eradicated in New Zealand, but in its current form it seems to be managed to avoid a recurrence, which has sent other countries into further lockdown. Either way, the COVID experience has had a significant effect on all parts of the supply chain.

Although 2021 is only just two months old, everything already seems to be back in full swing.

Committees have been working on putting together two quality seminars for members around mid-year. It’s encouraging to hear from members keen to see RTANZ seminars return after COVID restrictions last year meant these could not go ahead.

Please keep a look out for more details.

The announcement that mining conglomerate Rio Tinto intends to keep the Tiwai smelter open until December 2024 came as welcome news for the Southland economy. When it was announced last year that Tiwai would be closing due to high energy and transmission costs, this was a serious blow to Southland.

Commitment now from Rio Tinto gives security for most jobs within the business. The overall demand on the supply chain will keep transport operators busy, providing consistency for power supply to a large catchment of the South Island until late 2024.

We have been asked what we are doing to support the submission for roadside drug testing: RTA and Road Transport Forum are working to back proposed change to the Drug Driving Amendment Bill.

A comprehensive submission will have been lodged by now by

Simon Carson

the RTF and will reinforce the Roadside Drug Testing submission RTF has already completed on the Road to Zero. While businesses are still expected to manage their personnel through policy, the new bill, if successful, will place a legal obligation on the authorities to better manage the network. The submission will be available on the RTF website.

National Truck Driver Appreciation Week also returned for 2021.

Supported by RTA, RTF, and NZ Truck & Driver magazine, the RTA team of senior industry advisers were present at various locations around the country at the end of last month.

Delayed due to COVID, the week was the perfect opportunity to acknowledge the critical role played by truck driving professionals in keeping our economy moving. The dedicated men and women of the road transport industry very rarely ask for anything, so this week gave us a chance to finally say thanks for all they do – especially over the past 12 months. Truck drivers really are the driving force of our economy.

Many drivers have contacted RTA seeking work in various regions and sectors across NZ. The communication from drivers is often lacking information such as where the person is seeking work and the type of work sought, however we do our best to match employers with employees.

Keeping an active eye on employment website Seek over the past six to eight months, the average number of driving roles available around the county, across all classes, is often in excess of 1000 at any one time – so the demand for truck driving professionals is not going away.

The reopening of borders to migrant workers is still a long way off, and while we cannot look to the migrant workforce to provide a permanent solution to the industry shortage, it may provide some relief to filling roles associated with the increasing freight task. T&D Truck & Driver | 89

NEW PRODUCT | EXCLUSIVE TO ETL

THE LIGHT KING THE KING OF WORKSITE LIGHTING Exclusive to ETL, The Light King has been designed and built by Modern Transport Engineers to provide a new, effective solution for lighting worksites at night.

Mounted on a Lonking CDM6225H excavator, this light bar has an impressive light output, and can fully illuminate large worksites with ease.

It features 3 LED stadium panel lights with outputs of 162,000 lumens each!

EQUIPMENT & TRANSPORT LEASING

To learn more, contact Robbie Pasley: 027 566 3025 robbie@modtrans.co.nz

Graders

Excavators

Loaders

Bulldozers

Rollers

Compactors

Dump Trucks

Tractors

Tippers

Trucks

Trailers

Water Carts

THE MODERN TRANSPORT GROUP

National Road Carriers Photo – Ports of Auckland

Global supply crisis looks likely to continue

By David Aitken, CEO of National Road Carriers Associationn

T

HE SUPPLY CHAIN CRISIS CONTINUES TO CAUSE ALL SORTS of challenges for the road freight sector as we see the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has put supply chains into disarray worldwide. We expect these supply chain issues will extend well into 2021.

We are seeing lead times of up to six months for imported items, such as vehicles, machinery parts and household furniture – and some gaps are appearing on retailers’ shelves as they wait for stock to be unloaded at Ports of Auckland, the country’s main gateway for sea freight.

Ports of Auckland and Port of Tauranga face some major challenges of their own. Ports of Auckland has experienced COVID problems and has some skilled staff shortages, plus an unfinished automation project.

Ongoing berthing and congestion difficulties at Ports of Auckland in recent months have resulted in ships being diverted to Northport and Port of Tauranga.

New Zealand’s cargo problems are related to a global surge in demand for goods and factory supply issues due to COVID. This has been compounded by booming exports from North Asia and not enough vessels.

As a result, shipping lines have been changing tack to meet demand and address the issue of shipping containers ending up in the wrong places around the globe.

In January, major shipping line Maersk announced that one of its regular services to Auckland, the OC1, which links NZ with the United States east coast, will skip Auckland through to mid-April.

Simon Beale, of the Council of Cargo Owners, said Maersk’s decision would keep it on schedule, and might give Ports of Auckland a chance to get back on target.

The transport sector is (and has always had to be) adaptable when moving freight. National Road Carriers members have again adapted to these new challenges associated with the supply chain crisis.

NRC and individual freight companies worked with Northport

to ensure that it is running as smoothly as possible and by all reports it is. Lessons were learnt after the first vessel and improvements have been made.

The real issue is the congestion across the entire supply chain – from when the container arrives in the country, through to when it is returned to an empty container depot. This is adding significant pressure, time and cost on transport companies and their people.

A key pain point is the road transport industry’s ability to return empty containers when the empty container depots are full. This means that carriers are not always able to return containers and, in turn, importers are charged late charges. It’s a vicious circle.

We are all working as hard as we can to keep things moving. There are additional costs for all parties and no quick fix to the congestion.

However, it is not reasonable to charge late fees when carriers are not able to return containers.

A big challenge for the sector has been to ensure there are enough shipping containers in the right place in time for the export season.

Meat and dairy exports were into their high season in January and the fruit season began in February.

Freight companies have been giving established customers priority with containers, and two shipping lines with their own cranes have sent ships expressly to pick up containers. Everyone is trying to find new ways to operate but there is a limited number of levers to pull.

We are talking to parties across the supply chain to request relief for late charges that are beyond an importer’s control, and in turn a carrier’s control, during this crisis.

All of this puts a significant amount of cost and stress across all of industry, whether it’s the shipping companies, the ports, the transport companies or freight forwarders. It costs everybody more to do the same job.

In our view, the supply chain industry – the ports, the empty container yards and the freight industry – need to work together to understand each other’s issues and communicate better. There needs to be more clarity around roles and responsibilities. T&D Truck & Driver | 91

YOU HANDLE THE LOAD

LET PETERSON TAKE CARE OF YOUR LED LIGHTING

Be Sure to spec Peterson lights

PETERSON LUMENX LIGHTING FEATURES Designed by Peterson USA | Manufactured by Peterson USA | International sell brand Peterson USA Limited lifetime warranty, rated life 100,000 hours.

Mounting orientation, superior optics allow 360 degree compliance.

Heavy duty plug n play harness, insert moulded plug terminals, wire gauge 18 awg. Integral mounting flange with skirt welded lens eliminates leakage points.

Trusted lighting manufacturer since 1945, LED lights introduced in 1995.

Proven in heavy duty applications, major usage by OE manufacturers and fleet operators. Accredited supplier to Caterpillar and Harley Davidson.

www.cdlautoparts.co.nz ☎ 09 262 1417 sales@cdlautoparts.co.nz

by

Brighter, Safer, Better Looking & Made in America

TD31351 TD30811

CDL AUTOPARTS LTD

Tolaga Bay operator Manuel Haulage has put this new Western Star 4884 FXC on logging duties around the East Coast. Tutu and Raywyn Manuel specced the 8x4 with a 109-inch BBC day cab, a 600-horsepower Cummins ISX, an 18-speed Eaton Roadranger manual gearbox and Meritor RT46160GP diffs on Airliner suspension. It has Patchell logging gear and a matching five-axle EV04 trailer with disc brakes and Hendrickson air suspension.

Market weak…

N

EW ZEALAND’S NEW TRUCK market had a weak start to 2021 – not unexpectedly in the ongoing COVID climate of uncertainty….

But FUSO, on the other hand, had a very strong January – edging out Isuzu, the longtime New Zealand No. 1 in the overall market (trucks with a 4.5 tonnes-plus GVM), to top the registration statistics for the month.

Official NZ Transport Agency data shows that there were 295 trucks registered for the month – 23.1% down on the 384 sales in January last year.

FUSO, which was second to Isuzu in the overall market last year (but well behind – 622 sales to 978), notched up 60 registrations in January.

That was four more than it sold in the same month last year – and just five more than Isuzu’s 2021 start….with 2020’s third-placed Hino holding its rank, on 36 sales.

Kenworth had 25 registrations for fourth, ahead of Mercedes-Benz (18), followed by Volvo (14) and Foton (13). DAF, Iveco and Scania tied for eighth-equal, with 12 registrations apiece.

FUSO strong

Trailer registrations were also down year on year – January’s 101 sales lagging 12.9% behind the 116 registered in the same month last year.

Patchell continued where it left off in 2020 – still out in front.

In the 3.5-4.5t GVM crossover segment, Fiat (28) easily led Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen (6 each), who tied for second, with Renault (3) and Peugeot (2) the only other brands to feature in this segment.

In the 4.5-7.5t GVM division FUSO (30) improved significantly year-on-year to clearly lead from Isuzu (23), Mercedes-Benz (11), Foton (8) and Hino and Hyundai (7 each). Completing the top 10 were Iveco (5), Fiat (3) and Volkswagen (1).

In the 7.5-15t GVM segment Isuzu registered 21 trucks in January, ahead of Hino (15), and FUSO (14)…who were well up on Foton (5), Iveco (3), UD (2) and Hyundai (1).

The small 15-20.5t category was led by Hino (5), ahead of FUSO (4), Mercedes-Benz (2), MAN (2) and DAF, Iveco and Scania, each with one.

In the tiny 20.5-23t segment, there was just one registration – from FUSO. All of Kenworth’s 25 trucks registered in January were in the premium 23t to maximum GVM category – making it the clear leader in that top end of the market.

The January performances scrambled the order from last year – when Kenworth was fourth for the 12 months, behind Scania, Volvo and Isuzu, in that order.

In January, Volvo (14) was second – while DAF, FUSO, Isuzu and Scania all made 11 sales to tie for third position. Hino and UD (both 9) also tied (in seventh), while Mercedes-Benz (5) and International (4) rounded out the top 10.

Patchell’s quest to be market leader for the 12th consecutive year got off to a good start, with 16 sales – comfortably ahead of Fruehauf (10), Domett (9), Roadmaster (8) and Freighter, MTE and TMC (with 6 sales apiece).

Following them, each with three registrations, were Cowan, newcomer Lilley, Transfleet and Transport Trailers. T&D Truck & Driver | 93

Christchurch construction contractor CCL has put this new DAF FAT CF 6x4 tipper to work on its projects. Allan Boyd drives the truck, which has a 530hp PACCAR engine and 12-speed TraXon automated manual transmission.

23,001kg-max GVM

4501kg-max GVM

Brand FUSO ISUZU HINO KENWORTH MERCEDES-BENZ VOLVO FOTON DAF IVECO SCANIA UD HYUNDAI INTERNATIONAL FIAT MAN WESTERN STAR FREIGHTLINER MACK SINOTRUK VOLKSWAGEN Total

2021 Vol 60 55 36 25 18 14 13 12 12 12 11 8 4 3 3 3 2 2 1 1 295

% 20.3 18.6 12.2 8.5 6.1 4.7 4.4 4.1 4.1 4.1 3.7 2.7 1.4 1.0 1.0 1.0 0.7 0.7 0.3 0.3 100.0

January Vol % 60 20.3 55 18.6 36 12.2 25 8.5 18 6.1 14 4.7 13 4.4 12 4.1 12 4.1 12 4.1 11 3.7 8 2.7 4 1.4 3 1.0 3 1.0 3 1.0 2 0.7 2 0.7 1 0.3 1 0.3 295 100.0

3501-4500kg GVM

Brand FIAT MERCEDES-BENZ VOLKSWAGEN RENAULT PEUGEOT Total

2021 Vol 28 6 6 3 2 45

% 62.2 13.3 13.3 6.7 4.4 100.0

January Vol % 28 62.2 6 13.3 6 13.3 3 6.7 2 4.4 45 100.0

4501-7500kg GVM

Brand FUSO ISUZU MERCEDES-BENZ FOTON HINO HYUNDAI IVECO FIAT VOLKSWAGEN Total

94 | Truck & Driver

2021 Vol 30 23 11 8 7 7 5 3 1 95

% 31.6 24.2 11.6 8.4 7.4 7.4 5.3 3.2 1.1 100.0

January Vol % 30 31.6 23 24.2 11 11.6 8 8.4 7 7.4 7 7.4 5 5.3 3 3.2 1 1.1 95 100.0

But FUSO, on the other hand, had a very strong January....

7501-15,000kg GVM

Brand ISUZU HINO FUSO FOTON IVECO UD HYUNDAI Total

2021 Vol 21 15 14 5 3 2 1 61

% 34.4 24.6 23.0 8.2 4.9 3.3 1.6 100.0

January Vol % 21 34.4 15 24.6 14 23.0 5 8.2 3 4.9 2 3.3 1 1.6 61 100.0

15,001-20,500kg GVM

Brand HINO FUSO MAN MERCEDES-BENZ DAF IVECO SCANIA Total

2021 Vol 5 4 2 2 1 1 1 16

% 31.3 25.0 12.5 12.5 6.3 6.3 6.3 100.0

January Vol % 5 31.3 4 25.0 2 12.5 2 12.5 1 6.3 1 6.3 1 6.3 16 100.0

20,501-23,000kg GVM

Brand FUSO Total

2021 Vol 1 1

% 100.0 100.0

January Vol % 1 100.0 1 100.0

Brand KENWORTH VOLVO DAF FUSO ISUZU SCANIA HINO UD MERCEDES-BENZ INTERNATIONAL IVECO WESTERN STAR FREIGHTLINER MACK MAN SINOTRUK Total

2021 Vol 25 14 11 11 11 11 9 9 5 4 3 3 2 2 1 1 122

% 20.5 11.5 9.0 9.0 9.0 9.0 7.4 7.4 4.1 3.3 2.5 2.5 1.6 1.6 0.8 0.8 100.0

January Vol % 25 20.5 14 11.5 11 9.0 11 9.0 11 9.0 11 9.0 9 7.4 9 7.4 5 4.1 4 3.3 3 2.5 3 2.5 2 1.6 2 1.6 1 0.8 1 0.8 122 100.0

Trailers

2021 Brand Vol % PATCHELL 16 15.8 10 9.9 FRUEHAUF DOMETT 9 8.9 ROADMASTER 8 7.9 FREIGHTER 6 5.9 MTE 6 5.9 TMC 6 5.9 3 3.0 COWAN LILLEY 3 3.0 TRANSFLEET 3 3.0 TRANSPORT TRAILERS 3 3.0 EVANS 2 2.0 FAIRFAX 2 2.0 JACKSON 2 2.0 KRAFT 2 2.0 MILLS-TUI 2 2.0 TES 2 2.0 TIDD 2 2.0 CWS 1 1.0 HAMMAR 1 1.0 LUSK 1 1.0 MAKARANUI 1 1.0 MAXICUBE 1 1.0 1 1.0 SEC OTHER 8 7.9 Total 101 100.0

January Vol % 16 15.8 10 9.9 9 8.9 8 7.9 6 5.9 6 5.9 6 5.9 3 3.0 3 3.0 3 3.0 3 3.0 2 2.0 2 2.0 2 2.0 2 2.0 2 2.0 2 2.0 2 2.0 1 1.0 1 1.0 1 1.0 1 1.0 1 1.0 1 1.0 8 7.9 101 100.0

TN360 AI-powered telematics platform

Turn data into decisions with an intelligent multicamera solution Delivers real-time data, visibility and impact for any operation Data Reimagined

HD Footage

Integrated Analytics

Ability to find out the information you need as you need it. Get proactive with real-time alerts backed up with real-time footage.

With up to four cameras directly integrated, get instant access to rolling footage of what happened as it’s happened.

Complete mapping and visualised data available alongside the footage, you get a clear picture of what the telematics is telling you.

0800 447 735 TeletracNavman.co.nz

Two Kenworth K200 2.3 Aerodynes have gone on the road in Bascik Transport colours for Taupo’s Hog Haulage. Kyle Parkinson and Nigel (Buff ) Armstrong drive the nine-axle Roadmaster curtainsider truck and trailer units, which cart general freight nationwide. They both have 600hp Cummins X15 engines, Meritor 46-160 diffs on Airglide 460 suspension and Alcoa Dura-Bright alloys, but one has an 18-speed Roadranger manual transmission, the other an Eaton UltraShift AMT.

Pokeno’s Brent Graham Groundspread has added its third MAN spreader – this TGM 18.320 4x4, which is now working around the north Waikato and south Auckland regions. It has a 320hp engine, a ZF nine-speed transmission, HP-1333 diffs and a Mid Island Spreading bin.

96 | Truck & Driver

Carting containers around the Auckland region is this new Top Tranz DAF CF’s purpose in life. The 6x4 tractor unit has a 510hp MX13 engine, an 18-speed Roadranger manual gearbox and Meritor 46160 diffs on Airglide 400 suspension. Extras include a leather steering wheel, Alcoa DuraBright alloys and an under-bunk fridge.

General freight is transported nationwide by this new Freightliner Coronado 114 put on the road by Ngaruawahia-based Transport Solutions & Management Services. The 6x4 sleeper cab tractor unit has a 560hp engine, an 18-speed automated manual transmission and a Meritor rear end.

New Zealand’s first Euro 6 Iveco ACCO is now on waste collection duties in Wellington for Low Cost Bins. The 6x4 rigid has a factory dual control system, a 310hp Iveco engine and a Bucher Gen6 22 cubic metre side-loader. Iveco NZ says that the dual control system has been hailed by NZ waste industry operators as “the best in the market.”

Truck & Driver | 97

Register your interest for Exhibitor space at bombaytruckshow@gmail.com

TD31374

February 12th 2022 Bombay Rugby Club

Gisborne-based Freshways Transport has put this new International ProStar T8 8x4 tractor unit to work carting containers nationwide. It has a 615hp Cummins X15 engine, an Eaton UltraShift MXP AMT, Meritor 46,000 lb diffs, ECAS suspension and disc brakes.

Northchill has added this new Kenworth K200 2.3 Aerodyne 8x4 tractor unit to its operation, running out of Palmerston North and carting chilled and frozen goods between Palmy and Auckland. It has a 600hp Cummins X15 engine, an 18-speed Roadranger manual transmission and Meritor RT46-160GP diffs on Airglide 460 suspension. Stephen Gunning drives the unit, which pulls a four-axle Fairfax hardside refrigerated trailer.

Flour and grain is transported around the South Island by this new Kenworth T610 tractor unit recently put to work by Dunedin’s Steve Martin Contracting, in front of a sixaxle Convair tanker B-train. Reece Martin and Matt Brown share the driving duties on the 6x4, which has a 615hp Cummins X15 engine, an 18-speed Roadranger manual gearbox, Meritor RT46-160 diffs on Airglide 460 suspension and a 600mm aero sleeper cab.

Truck & Driver | 99

TRANSPORT, DIESEL & MARINE

THE RIGHT PARTS…THE RIGHT PRICES…RIGHT HERE! GENUINE PARTS

RECONDITIONED EXCHANGE TRANSMISSIONS + GENUINE PARTS

STEMCO HUBO’S

AIR SUZI COILS

FIVE YEAR/500,000KM WARRANTY

4M EXTENDED RED/BLUE $58.52+GST PER PAIR

$POA

CAB BLOWER KIT WITH FITTINGS $41.80+GST

HINO 500 FILTER KIT CONTAINS: FS36212 FF5732 LF16110 $75.00+GST

CLUTCHES

NATIONAL SEATS HI & LOW BASE

$POA

EATON 6109, 8209, 8309

FACTORY REMAN TRANSMISSIONS AND PARTS AVAILABLE

AUTO AIR CONDITIONING

AUTO ELECTRICAL

MECHANICAL SERVICE & REPAIRS

EG31371

AVAILABLE AT OUR PENROSE & PAPAKURA LOCATIONS

Ph: 0800 501 133 www.tdm.co.nz

Specials valid while stocks last.

8 Prescott Street, Penrose, Auckland Fax: 09 525 6161 l Email: ray@tdm.co.nz

TRAILER PARTS PROUDLY NZ

GENUINE TSB CALIPERS AND PADS!

OWNED & OPERATED

850

$

.00

EA

199

$

.00

TSB Genuine Calipers

TSB Genuine Pads

BW0936272131 Left BW0936272141 Right

BW0980107940

HUGE DEALS & SAVINGS!

2020 Stock Clearout

For all our 2020 stock clearout deals, scan here to download the latest In Gear magazine!

ATS

ASE

RS

HIS GET T DEAL T GREA DAY! O T

SAVE 26%

Reconditioned Kenworth Truck Seats Designed for original fitment into Kenworth trucks and International trucks, KAB 554B Reconditioned Kenworth Truck Seats are exclusive from TRT.

2,295

$

.00

KAB GSX Truck

150 KG RATED

Maximum comfort for professional drivers for Kenworth, Mack, Volvo, Isuzu, and Hino trucks. If your ride is less comfortable than it has been, its time to look at better comfort and support.

CALL US TODAY to talk with our parts team!

Prices shown exclude GST and freight and are valid to 31 Mar 2021. *Contact us for terms and conditions.

Ham: 07 849 4839 Akl: 09 262 0683 Chch: 03 741 2261 www.trt.co.nz

CLASSIFIED TRUCK & DRIVER

NEED SPRINGS?

MERCEDES PARTS SPECIALISTS

LOOKING FOR PARTS FOR MERCEDES TRUCKS OR VANS? www.4mercs.co.nz Ph. 0800 423 697 Mob. 021 370 656

WE HAVE SPRINGS

Parabolic springs & leaves, multi leaf springs & leaves, coil springs, shackle pins, bushes and U/bolts

0+ ye6ar s in business

Rotorua:

35-37 Sunset Rd, Ph: (07) 348 0169

Auckland:

39 Tironui Rd, Takanini, Ph: (09) 298 4162

LO M

We supply parts for Mercedes Trucks and Commercial Vans, imported directly from the parts manufacturers in Germany. In stock are OEM (original manufacturer), aftermarket and used parts. With a large inventory and weekly shipments from our suppliers we can offer any parts you may require for your Mercedes Truck. With over 30 years personal experience in parts for Mercedes, we supply the right parts at the right price!”

Hamilton:

EG28872

116 Colombo St, Frankton, Ph: (07) 847 9343

sales@autosprings.co.nz www.autosprings.co.nz

Ge in an no an

We we

G

BU Offering: ❏ ❏ ❏ ❏ ❏ ❏ ❏

Heavy Commercial Vehicle Collision Repairs Sandblasting Fiberglass Repairs Plastic Welding Automotive Refinishing Industrial Painting & Protective Coatings Rust Repairs for COF

Three sites across the central North Island Waitara Rotorua Tauranga www.brokersunited.co.nz 102 | Truck & Driver

TD30926

Please contact our Sales Manager Anna on 027 369 9254, anna@brokersnz.co.nz

OFF

NEW ZEALANDS ONLY LICENSED DISTRIBUTOR LOOKING FOR THE SAFEST AND BEST SEAT FOR YOUR TRUCK? MAKE SURE THAT IT’S AN ISRI FROM GEEMAC TRADING. Geemac Trading (NZ) Limitedhas been the only official Isringhausen (ISRI) distributor in New Zealand since 1995. ISRI are renowned as the best drivers seat in the world and are OEM in the majority of vehicles out of Europe, America and Asia. Including but not limited to - Kenworth, DAF/Foden, Isuzu, Mercedes, Mack, MAN, Hino, Freightliner and a large portion of off highway machinery brands.

We carry the full range of ISRI seats for all vehicles, including OEM replacements, as well as any ISRI spare parts needed to get your vehicle back on the road safely.

GET IN TOUCH TODAY! BUYER CHECKLIST HAS THIS ISRI SEAT COME FROM GEEMAC TRADING?

6860/880 NTS

6860/875 NTS PRO

IF CONVERTING, IS THERE AN ISRI BRACKET CERTIFIED FOR YOUR SPECIFIC VEHICLE? IF SEAT IS A DIRECT OEM REPLACEMENT, WHAT IS THE SEATS’ PART NUMBER? DOES IT MATCH THE ORIGINAL OEM SPEC SHEET. AFTER THE DRIVER, THE SEAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PIECE OF EQUIPMENT IN THE VEHICLE... BUY QUALITY AND LONG LASTING, RATHER THAN CHEAP ALTERNATIVES.

OFFICIAL ISRINGHAUSEN DISTRIBUTOR

Office: + 64 9 630 1856 Mobile: +64 21 577 542 Sales: callum@geemac.co.nz www.geemac.co.nz I www.isringhausen.co.nz

Truckers & Loggers

2021

25th - 27thMarch 2021, Paihia, Bay Of Islands

E NOW: IN L N O R E REGIST www.nztruckanddriver.co.nz/truckers-loggers.html

-

-

TEAM NAME:______________________________________________________________

BOAT NAME: ____________________________________________

MOB NO:

VHF RADIO:

______________________________________________________________

YES

NO

ANGLER: 1. _________________________________________________________

4. _________________________________________________

2. _________________________________________________________

5. _________________________________________________

3. _________________________________________________________

6. _________________________________________________

IF MEMBERS OF YOUR CREW ARE NOT MEMBERS OF A CLUB AFFILIATED TO NZ SPORT FISHING INCORPORATED A TOURNAMENT MEMBERSHIP OF $25 PER ANGLER IS REQUIRED. PLEASE TICK BOX IF TOURNAMENT MEMBERSHIP REQUIRED FOR ANGLERS.

TOURNAMENT MEMBERSHIPS REQUIRED No: __________________ @ $25, TOTAL: $ _________________ (Tick Box Alongside Anglers Name) $125 PER ANGLER, No: ___________________________________________ TOTAL: $ _________________ GUEST ENTRY (non anglers) $50 each, No: ___________________________

TOTAL: $ _________________

WE WILL BE FISHING FROM ANOTHER AREA ON THURSDAY MORNING:

YES

NON-REFUNDABLE 25% DEPOSIT with entry to Tournament. Balance payable no later than Wednesday night briefing. Cheques payable to: Truckers & Loggers Fishing Tournament.

DEPOSIT: $ ____________________________

NO

TEAM CONTACT NAME: ______________________________________________________________________

PH:________________________________________

ADDRESS: ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ EMAIL:___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

TD30953

VISA

MASTERCARD

CARD HOLDER NAME: _______________________________________________________

EXPIRY DATE ________/ _________ AMOUNT: $ _______________

SIGNATURE: _______________________________________________________________

SECURITY CODE ________________

BE IN QUICK

SAVES YOU TIME AND MONEY - Maximizes tyre life by decreasing tyre wear - Cuts maintenance time due to single-point inflation and the visual pressure gauge - Decreases rolling resistance for increased fuel mileage - Improves stability, braking and overall safety

LAST REMAINING STOCK NOW ONLY

$45 + GST EACH

Contact Transport Repairs for more details and to order: www.transportrepairs.co.nz

Due to our ever growing business, we are looking for experienced professional Diesel Mechanics for our branches in:

BLENHEIM

CROMWELL

GORE

Looking for a sunny place to live for you and your family that offers fishing and outdoor activities all year around?

The gateway to Central Otago, with stunning mountains just minutes away.

Looking to get on the property ladder?

You can still buy a 3 Bedroom home for under $350K and you can be home in less than 10 minutes… Quality of life!

Email your interest to james.wood@transportrepairs.co.nz or call 0800 875 747 and ask for James.

TRUCK AND TRAILER PARTS FOR ALL MAKES AND MODELS