Oclife 20180426 yourwheels

wheels COMMUNITY

Stella the Star Statesman We have something a little different for you this week.

Terry and Janelle Davis have owned ‘Stella’ for eight years now. Stella is a 1997 Holden Statesman used as a ‘Cruising Along’ rally car raising money and awareness for Cancer Care Western NSW. Stella has been modified to meet the rough road conditions, with a lift kit, bash plates, flashing lights and a Uhf.

Stella the Star Statesman has been so good to the Davis’.

“Stella has taken us all over, she has been very good to us.

We’ve been places like Hay, Cobar, Broken Hill, the Great Ocean Road, even the Victorian Alps. This year she is taking us to Ayers Rock for two weeks,” said Terry.

Remember, if you’d like to see your pride and joy featured here, please contact us at reception@oclife.com.au or call 6361 3575.

5 MINUTES WITH....

Cheryl & Greg Mitchell

Proprietors of Absolute Auto Body Absolute Auto Body is a new name in the Orange smash repair game, but you’re not a new business?

We purchased William’s Smash Repairs off Karen and Trevor Williams in June last year and just in the last month changed the name to Absolute Auto Body. But we have owned Blayney Smash Repairs for 17 years, since 2001 and we still own that shop.

What is the main work you do?

Basically general smash repairs. The bulk of our job is primarily insurance work anything from small nicks and

bumps to major structural repairs.

What types of vehicles are you equipped to work on?

We do farm utes, right through to Mercedes Benz, and we just had a Lexus last week. There’s not much we actually don’t touch.

What should people look for when choosing a smash repair business to take their vehicle?

Reputation goes a long way. Word of mouth is generally a good way of doing it. But you can always ask plenty of questions and if you don’t feel comfortable with the repairer and the way they are talking about you job or what you’re going to do, choose another one.

Is there anything that you think sets Absolute Auto Body apart?

We’ve got the latest in car aligners and chassis aligner and computer measuring gear so we can do major work.

We have a full Waterborn Paint spray booth here. It has actually got blowers in the corners of the booth and it blows the air around to make it dry quicker basically.

What do you see as the biggest challenge facing your business at the moment?

Our biggest problem is trying to get qualified, trained staff. Panel beaters and a spray painters are very, very hard to come by and I’m not alone. Our next step is to continue growing and once we get to the amount of tradespeople, we want then we will start looking at doing apprentices.

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wheels PROUDORANGEBUSINESS PICTURES BY JONATHAN ROE AND TROY PEARSON

Ron Finemore’s repuation means everything to him P

ick any weekday and you’ll find a Ron Finemore Transport truck carrying food or fuel on the road to Brisbane, Adelaide or Melbourne and regional centres in between.

Founded in 2004, Ron Finemore Transport was Ron’s return to the trucking industry after selling his long-held business Finemore Holdings in 2001.

It was established after he bought the struggling Wodonga-based trucking firm Lewington’s Transport, which was swiftly followed by the 2005 purchase of Smith’s Transport, a local Orange trucking business dating back to the early 1970s.

From a staff of 30 and 15 trucks, today about 110 employees and 55 trucks work out of the Finemore’s Orange depot.

“Turnover wise, we do in a week today what we used to do in a month back then,” said Darren Wood, who was the General Manager of Ron Finemore Transport Orange from the first day of acquisition back in 2005, but 12 months ago turned over the day-to-day operations to current General Manager, Jason Bremner.

“We’ve seen a five-day-a-week business turn into a seven-day-aweek business which has a whole plethora of challenges attached to it, but we’ve been through all that pain — it was a journey I can assure you — but you come out of the other side and it is pretty satisfying to see where the business invests 9 or 10 million dollars into this place and turn it into what it is today.”

The investment he refers to is Ron Finemore Transport’s impressive, purpose-built depot at North Orange.

Opened six years ago, the facility covers 30,000 square metres, with a 2,500 square metre warehouse, state-of-the-art workshop with a 25 metre pit, hydraulic jacks, dedicated welding bays and wash facility.

Along with office space and training rooms, there are also two motel 50

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units for drivers to stay overnight if needed, along with shower and kitchen facilities.

“It has worked very well, we haven’t moved a single power point, so that is the sort of level of detail that Ron went down the mine with to get right in the planning stage. It was just executed the way he does business,” said Mr Wood.

“And the facility lends itself to being expanded in the future... we have plenty of land there to triple the size of our warehousing if we wanted to.

We’ve made it nice and high so we can put racking in it and do some smart stuff in the future if we so choose to do that.

“It is probably not the business we are into so much today, but when you build a facility for the future, you have to think about the long-term, not just what activities you have today.”

When people see one of Ron Finemore’s red trucks, it is either carrying food or fuel, said Mark Barry, Ron Finemore Transport Managing Director — the ‘vital needs of life’ for a regional city like Orange.

But Orange’s location makes the city just as important to their company.

“We operate very much in the food area, both ambient and temperature controlled and we move liquid fuels. We do that for customers like Manildra and Woolies and a whole range of others — OilsPlus in terms of Orange Businesses,” said Mr Barry.

“We try to operate loops and shuttles, so having a depot and a facility that’s based here gives us good access in and out of Sydney, good access in and out of the Central West. It was a very conscious decision to put this business here and grow the revenue and the footprint around it.”

Finemore’s 200-strong prime mover fleet is made up of a mix of Volvo and Daimler trucks as they have found the European machines meet their needs when it comes to performance, fuel efficiency and safety.

Ron Finemore has been in the trucking game for more than 50 years and hundreds of the distinctive red trucks bearing his name can be seen on roads right across Eastern Australia.

FAST FACTS Ron Finemore Transport employs 450plus people nation-wide and has a fleet of more than 200 prime movers and 400 pieces of trailing equipment.

Combined, their trucks average around a million kilometres a week.

Finemore’s Orange presence began in 2005 after they purchased Smith’s Transport, a local trucking business dating back to early 1970s.

Jason Bremner—Managing Director at Orange.

The purpose-built $9 million North Orange depot, covers 30,000 square metres, with 2,500 square metres of warehouse space, a state-of-theart workshop, wash bay and office facilities.

From a staff of 30 and 15 trucks, today about 110 employees and 55 trucks work out of the Orange depot.

Orange-based trucks have carted more than 85,000 loads for Woolworths, their largest customer, over the past 12 years.

Ron Finemore Transport’s Orange business now generates more revenue each week than they did in a month a decade ago.

Nationally, the company’s annual revenue is about $140 million.

The prime movers are flipped every three or four years and at the moment most of the fleet is less than 18-months old.

Safety is a key focus of the company, said Mr Barry, and they are constantly pursuing new technology and looking at ways they can improve.

“All the safety features that sit in a Volvo car or a Mercedes Benz car are in our trucks,” said Mr Barry. “We want to be safe on arrival and we really want to set the standard in transport.

Ron doesn’t buy equipment unless it comes with all the latest safety features and then, on top of that, we put in some of our own technology and further risk management systems.”

All Finemore trucks are fitted with a fatigue management system that can alert drivers when their attention drifts, he said.

“We now have a joint project going with Monash University, Seeing Machines, Volvo and ourselves to try and improve that technology further so you don’t even get to the fatigue event itself,” said Mr Barry.

And not only can Finemore’s tell you where all their trucks are and how fast they are going at anytime, but they are using that data to further improve driver behavior to minimise risks on the road.

“We now have the ability to check and monitor speed in each speed zone, so we are now starting to understand patterns of behaviour there. Where a truck driver might be too slow slowing down coming into a slower zone or too fast speeding up. We are trying to find

where our heat map or problem zones area and trying to change people’s behaviour.

“The difference with being at Ron Finemore’s, which is a family-based business with a man’s name on the side of a truck versus ‘ABC Transport’ or whatever else is if we do something wrong it impacts on Ron and his reputation. And you know we tend to guard that jealously, because we know how important that is to our customers and to our business.”

Just last year, Ron Finemore Transport entered into a contract with familyowned Griffith poultry company Baiada to transport chilled and frozen poultry products, which meant the purchase of more prime movers and refrigerated trailers, further expanding their refrigerated transport capabilities.

Mr Barry said they are always looking at new opportunities and ways to grow their business in the Central West.

“Orange is very important for us; it is a significant investment and what we’d like to do is to continue to grow the business in and around this region.”

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wheels MANAGER’SFAVOURITES

Roger Rangott, Sales Manager at Central West Prestige, likes the BMW X2 20i auto transmission is smooth, and the car has terrific fuel economy. Like I said, it feels more It’s a great sports activity vehicle, ideal like a sedan or coupe but has the versatility for buzzing around town but still big enough Top Wash - Logo Concepts V1 of a SUV. to be comfortable on a long trip. It’s easy This car is fun to drive, it packs all the BMW to park and manoeuvre in tight spaces and technology and it’s nice to drive something a combines the ride and height of an SUV with bit different to everything else on the roads the sportiness and style of a coupe. at the moment. As cars go, this BMW is a bit of For me, I like that it’s unique and sporty and an extrovert! will turn heads where ever it goes. Its 8 speed

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Anthony Simmonds, General Manager of John Davis Motors likes the all new Volvo XC40.

This is a Mid SUV, not too big or small, and is at home in all situations, round town, on long trips, city orambercreative country driving.

Even at the entry level, it’s feature packed with rear reversing camera, front and rear sensors, intelligent key, Blue tooth auto streaming, lane change warning, forward collision warning, 5 Star ANCAP rating and

more, too many to mention.

Customers like it too saying it’s good on fuel, it delivers a smooth ride and at $29,990 drive away, they just love it!

My wife has a Series 1 Qashqai and the Series 2 goes to the next level with added safety features, interior changes, a great ride and ease of getting in and out of the vehicle.

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White

Orange Charcoal

Michael Radnedge, Sales Manager at Tony Leahey Nissan, likes the Nissan Qashqai Series 2 Available in Twin Turbo Diesel or Turbo Petrol the Volvo XC40 is a true SUV with great ground clearance. Not too big, not too small, it has loads of room inside — very practical and usable space.

It is a car with true All-Wheel-Drive capabilities that will suit all demographics that are looking for a 5 seat SUV. And it is packed full of features including 54

APRIL 26–MAY 2, 2018

satellite navigation, cameras, leather interior and all the safety options that Volvo cars are renown for like collision mitigation, lane keeping aid, blind spot monitors and sensors from and rear.

Launched in April 2018 it is the newest SUV in the Volvo range alongside the Volvo XC60 and Volvo XC90 and can be yours from $54,990 driveaway.

LDV has arrived in Orange

THE NEW THE NEW LDV T60DUAL CA NEW LDV T60 DUAL CAB UTE. THETHE NEW LDV T60 THE NEW LDV T60 DUAL CAB UTE. DUAL CAB UTE. DUAL CAB UTE.

EVERYTHING YOU’VE B LOOKING FOR IN A UTE

2.8 LITRE TURBO DIESEL ENGINE 3 TONNE BRAKED TOWING CAPA 5 STAR ANCAP SAFETY RATING 10” TOUCH SCREEN WITH SMART 5 YEAR/130,000KM WARRANTY & (WHICHEVER COMES FIRST)^

EVERYTHING YOU’VE EVERYTHING YOU’VEYOU’VE BEEN BEEN EVERYTHING BEEN EVERYTHING YOU’VE BEEN LOOKING FOR IN A UTE. LOOKING FOR INFOR A UTE. LOOKING IN A UTE. LOOKING FOR IN A UTE. 2.8 LITRE TURBO DIESEL ENGINE

2.8 LITRE TURBO DIESEL ENGINE 2.8 LITRE TURBO DIESEL ENGINE 2.8 LITRE TURBO DIESEL ENGINE 3 TONNE BRAKED TOWING CAPACITY 3 TONNE BRAKED TOWING CAPACITY 3 TONNE BRAKED TOWING CAPACITY T60 PRO FROM 3 TONNE BRAKED TOWING CAPACITY 5 STAR ANCAP SAFETY RATING 5 STAR ANCAP SAFETY RATING 5 STAR ANCAP SAFETY RATING 10” TOUCH SCREEN WITH SMART PHONE INTEGRATION 5 STAR ANCAP SAFETY 10” TOUCH SCREEN WITH SMART RATING PHONE INTEGRATION 10” TOUCH SCREEN WARRANTY WITH SMART INTEGRATION 5 YEAR/130,000KM & PHONE ROADSIDE ASSIST 10” TOUCH SCREEN WITH SMART PHONE INTEGRATION 5 YEAR/130,000KM WARRANTY & ROADSIDE ASSIST DRIVEAWAY. MANUAL FOR ABN HOLDERS ONLY. ^ (WHICHEVER COMES FIRST) FULL DETAILS OF THE WARRANTY T’S & C’S AVAILABLE ^ 5 YEAR/130,000KM WARRANTY & ROADSIDE ASSIST (WHICHEVER COMES FIRST) 5 YEAR/130,000KM WARRANTY & ROADSIDE ASSIST WITH THE VEHICLE. ROADSIDE ASSIST T’S & C (WHICHEVER COMES FIRST)^

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T60 PRO FROM (WHICHEVER COMES T60 PRO FROM T60 PRO FROM

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DRIVEAWAY. MANUAL FOR ABN HOLDERS ONLY. NO ADDED OPTIONS. TOW BAR NOT INCLUDED. ^ DRIVEAWAY. MANUAL FOR ABN ONLY. NO OPTIONS.IN TOW NOT INCLUDED. FULL DETAILS OFHOLDERS THE WARRANTY T’S ADDED & C’S AVAILABLE THEBAR WARRANTY AND SERVICE MANUAL SUPPLIED ^ FULL DETAILS OF THE WARRANTY & C’S AVAILABLE IN HOLDERS THEASSIST WARRANTY AND SERVICE MANUAL SUPPLIED WITHT’S THE VEHICLE. ROADSIDE T’S & C’S AT LDVAUTOMOTIVE.COM.AU DRIVEAWAY. MANUAL FOR ABN ONLY. NOAVAILABLE ADDED OPTIONS. TOW BAR NOT INCLUDED. WITH THE VEHICLE. ROADSIDE ASSIST T’S & C’S AVAILABLE AT LDVAUTOMOTIVE.COM.AU ^ FULL DETAILS OF THE WARRANTY T’S & C’S AVAILABLE IN THE WARRANTY AND SERVICE MANUAL SUPPLIED WITH THE VEHICLE. ROADSIDE ASSIST T’S & C’S AVAILABLE AT LDVAUTOMOTIVE.COM.AU

DRIVEAWAY. MANUAL FOR ABN HOLDERS ONLY. NO ADDED OPTIONS. TOW BAR NOT INCLUDED. [ INSERT DEALER NAME ] ^ INSERT DEALER AND NAME ] ADDRESS DEALER FULL DETAILS OF THE WARRANTY T’S & C’S AVAILABLE [IN THE WARRANTY SERVICE MANUAL SUPPLIED er one in DEALERAT ADDRESS D/L OR LMCT: XXXXX [ INSERT DEALER NAME ]Numb WITH THE VEHICLE. ROADSIDE ASSIST T’S & C’S AVAILABLE LDVAUTOMOTIVE.COM.AU Place!

D/L OR LMCT: XXXXX

TEL.

6369 1858

A/Hrs David McAlpine 0421 913 722 Ben Sainsbury 0410 997 087

DEALER ADDRESS OR LMCT: XXXXX 1AD/L Cameron Place

Cameron

[ORANGE INSERT DEALER NAME ] ABN 95 604 817 094

DEALER ADDRESS D/L OR LMCT: XXXXX

D/L No. MD058209

www.orangeauto.com.au

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