DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA FEBRUARY 2022
36 // MACHINERY & PRODUCTS
Driving electric trucks forward THE TRUCKING industry has made a decision
about its future: electric needs to happen. On January 18 the Australian Trucking Association and Electric Vehicle Council revealed they’d worked together to create the policies desperately needed to make electric freight vehicles take off. EVC chief executive Behyad Jafari said the AdBlue shortage crisis was a potential warning about Australia’s extreme fuel insecurity. “Why should Australia be dependent on China and the Middle East to keep itself moving when we could be using homegrown power?” Mr Jafari said. ATA association chair David Smith said it cost $177 to fuel a diesel truck for 300km, but just $18 for an electric truck. “If Australia gets left behind on the transition to electric and zero emission trucks, we risk our supply chains and exporters getting stuck with high, globally uncompetitive per km freight costs,” Mr Smith said. The ATA and EVC also say electric adoption will end volatile diesel costs, reduce maintenance costs, improve urban efficiency and deliver better conditions for truck drivers. Right now Australia is lagging behind the developed world when it comes to electric truck adoption. Of the 58 electric truck models being manufactured, only 14 are available to the Australian
Key recommendations from the ATA and EVC policy agreement include: ■ exempting electric trucks from urban curfews; ■ changing Australian weight and width limits to accommodate batteries; ■ increasing Australia’s steer axle mass limit by one tonne so larger electric truck models can be deployed (currently the weight of the batteries is keeping them from meeting the 6.5 tonne limit); ■ exempting electric trucks from stamp duty; ■ mandating Euro VI emissions standards for all new heavy vehicle models from 2024; and ■ investment in public charging infrastructure to support on-route electric truck charging.
SEA Electric began in Melbourne 10 years ago and has gone on to have success in faster adoption markets such as the EU and North America.
market, signalling to the ATA and EVC that reform is urgently needed domestically. Founded in Melbourne but now headquartered in California, SEA Electric was one of the
stakeholders ATA and EVC worked closely with while drafting the policy agreement. SEA Electric Asia-Pacific region president Bill Gillespie said the Australian industry would need
INTRODUCING EZFEED
“encouragement and leadership” to create a viable pathway towards zero-emissions truck adoption. SEA Electric started producing all-electric trucks and truck components in Australia in 2021, becoming the first manufacturer in the world to release a comprehensive range of EV solutions. In December the business announced an agreement to supply Midwest Transit Equipment with 10,000 systems for use in North American school buses, showing how the technology is taking off faster outside Australia.
UNIBODY DESIGN Our all steel, welded Unibody design combines strength with simplicity thanks to clever engineering that provides a greater stength to weight ratio and less fatigue than other wagon designs.
Hustler’s brand new Silage Wagon Range... has silage feeding sorted!
REASONS WHY
EZFEED IS BEST-IN-CLASS INDUSTRY
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INDUSTRY
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INDUSTRY
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1 100% Roller Chains >> With EzFeed, gone are the days of troublesome link
PUCKBOARD FLOORS Proven on our Combi RX range, the massive impact resistance of our ultra high-density 15mm thick Puckboard floors never corrode, handle the heaviest root-crops with ease, and out last any other floor system on the market.
chains and conveyor belts which require constant adjustment, fine-tuning and are often slipping or breaking, disrupting your feeding program. EzFeed is the first wagon on the market to run a 100% roller-chain design to overcome this. And the chains are covered to prevent feed material building up in chains, sprockets and driver, ensuring longer life and less wear or stretch.
2 Hungry Boards >> Virtually indestructable, our replacable roto-moulded
hungry boards can take a beating from your front-loader without turning to splinters or dinging up your nice new EzFeed silage wagon. Another industry first from Hustler.
3 TwinFeed >> The first silage wagon to feature left or right hand feed
discharge for more feeding versatility. And with 5 positions for the discharge floor allows for easy setup when feeding into troughs. Coming soon is an electric in-cab controller option for on the fly feed direction change and hydraulic side-shift.
4 Simple operation >> As the name suggests EzFeed makes feeding
silage easier than ever before. As standard, only one set of hydraulics is all it takes to connect and power the whole machine and our clever adjustable load-sensing hydraulics take care of the rest, making EzFeed the ideal wagon for low-skilled staff.
5 Proven Platform >> Built utilising our proven Combi wagon
platform EzFeed has the toughest axle design on the market by a country mile, large suspension travel, comes scale ready for our industry first FeedLink feed management system which weighs on both the jack/skid and drawbar, impact resistant puck-board floors, toughest bars and more.
For more information Contact your local Hustler rep 0435 371 311 or visit hustlerequipment.com/ezfeed
100% ROLLER CHAINS Say good-bye to troublesome link chains and conveyor belts! EzFeed utilises 12,000lb roller chains on all floors, combined with the toughest bars on the market to reduce maintenance and downtime. We’ve also covered the main chains to prevent feed material from getting in sprockets or chains for even longer life.
TWIN FEED The first silage wagon to feature left or right hand feed discharge for more feeding versatility. And with 5 positions for the discharge floor allows for easy setup when feeding into troughs.
