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IRELAND'S LEADING G COMMERCIA COMMERCIAL VEHICLE MAGAZINE Inside!

Awards Special Edition

Virginia International Logistics Irish Haulier of the Year 2018

OCTOBER 17

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AWARDS

2018

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Contents OCTOBER 17

Fleet Transport Magazine, D’Alton Street, Claremorris, Co. Mayo, Ireland. F12 E7P2 Tel: +353 (0)94 9372819/ 9372826 Fax: +353 (0)94 9373571 Email: enquiries@fleet.ie Subscription Hotline: 094 93 72827 Editor: Jarlath Sweeney - editor@fleet.ie Contributors: Sean Murtagh, Paul White, Cathal Doyle, Jonathan Lawton, Donal Dempsey, Howard Knott, Jerry Kiersey, HSA, Dr. Betty Maguire, Rob Van Dieten, Gerry Murphy Photography: Jarlath Sweeney, Paul White, Cathal Doyle, John Ohle, Howard Knott, Paul Sherwood, Jeremie Lecaudley, Peggy Bergman, Willie Lawrence Administration: Denise Owens, Paula Mullarkey Email: enquiries@fleet.ie Advertising: Mary Morrissey - mary@fleet.ie Sponsorship/Events: Orla Sweeney - orla@fleet.ie

4 News • New head at the Irish Tyre Industry Association • GDP Passport for A&T Transport • HGV sales slowdown as imports rise • New P-series from Scania • Road freight business increases 8 Viewpoint from Anders Lampinen, Scania Trucks 10 LAUNCH PAD New ‘Range Hero’ from Scania 12 NEW FLEET New Mercs and Scanias 14 Milestone 125 years at Schmitz Cargobull 16 Fleeting Shots • Volvo Ocean Race • National Lorry Week • Cannonball Run 18 Safety Volvo Trucks looks to the future

Design: Eamonn Wynne

20 Report IEA event in Limerick

Printed in Ireland

22 Engineering Inside story from Renault Trucks 24 Health Matters Blood donations 26 Fuel Prices/Safety Matters Fleet Transport/ Fleet Car/ Fleet Bus & Coach/ Fleet Van & Utility/ Fleet Trailer & Body Builder/ Fleet Maritime/ Green Fleet Management are published by JJDS Publications Ltd. Registered Office: D’Alton Street, Claremorris, Co. Mayo.

Co. Reg. 368767 Directors: Jarlath Sweeney, Sean Murtagh.

61 Pictorial Tipperary Truck Show 2017 62 Test Mercedes-Benz Actros 1845 LS 64 Shipping & Freight Latest from the maritime sector 66 Profile Graham Sand & Gravel 68 Comment That ‘B’ word again!

69 Opinion Hope beyond reason 70 Showcase Dennison Trailers Fast Parts 72 Legal EU Legislation 74 Finance Warning signs 76 Times Past History of Hino in Ireland 78 Review National Ploughing Championships 2017 80 Materials Handling Latest from Kalmar & Hyster 82 Soapbox The word on ECB’s Draghi

27-59 Fleet Transport Awards 2018 Special report and pictures from the 11th annual Gala Banquet at the Citywest Hotel, Dublin

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Disclaimer: Fleet Transport Magazine management can accept no responsibility for the accuracy of contributed articles or statements appearing in this magazine and any views or opinions expressed are not necessarily those of Fleet Transport management, save where otherwise indicated. No responsibility for loss or distress occasioned to any person acting or refraining from acting as a result of the material in this publication can be accepted by the authors, contributors, Editors or publishers.

The Editor reserves the right to make publishing decisions on any advertisements or editorial article submitted to the magazine and to refuse publication or to edit any editorial material as seems appropriate to him. Professional legal advice should always be sought in relation to any specific matter.

Fleet Transport Official Irish Jury Member of the International Truck of the Year Award

Official Irish Jury Member of the International Forklift Truck Award follow us on twitter.com/fleettransport

www.fleet.ie | 3

AWARDS

2018

TimoCom App now available in TomTom Bridge devices Drivers can log in to Europe's largest transport platform directly from TomTom Bridge The TimoCom app is now included as a standard, as an out of the box feature on TomTom Bridge, the professional driver's terminal from the navigation system manufacturer TomTom. HGV drivers who are TimoCom customers can log into the TimoCom platform directly from their TomTom Bridge device - finding the right load or offering free storage while on the move.

4 | NEWS 1

New Chief Executive at Irish Tyre Industry Association

S

ue O’Neill is the new Chief Executive Officer of the Irish Tyre Industry Association (ITIA), replacing Donal Dempsey who is stepping down due to business commitments.

Ms. O’Neill, has many years’ experience providing bespoke management services to organisations and associations, helping them to remain relevant to members.

Her responsibility will cover strategy and marketing development, business/ membership development and event planning as well as management and administration support. Her experience also extends to working with the academic sector in connecting both SMEs and multinational organisations to drive innovation and collaborative research, and she has also worked as advisor to start-up companies.

Prior to this, Sue founded Generation in 1993, a creative agency offering advertising,

design and marketing services across a broad spectrum of clients. She holds an MBA from Dublin City University, a Diploma in both Digital Marketing & Print Management and is a Graduate of the IMI Business Development Programme. Sue has previously served as a committee member of the Institute of Business Analysis & Consulting. She has been a member of the Small Firms Association since 1993 and has served on the Council since 2004 and is the current Chair of the Association.

On her appointment Sue stated: “I am looking forward to working with and supporting the ITIA members and to helping the association to grow and to develop its position as the national tyre industry representative body within the Irish motor industry.”

Outgoing Chief Executive, Donal Dempsey said that he resigned from the position to concentrate on his accountancy practice

specialising in fi nancial consultancy to Ireland’s transport industry. “In a period of increasing insurance costs, rising labour costs and the uncertainty around Brexit these are challenging times for the haulage sector,” he stated. Donal includes many of Ireland’s top transport fi rms among his clients, and specialises in maximisation of business profitability and development.

A&T Transport awarded GDP Passport accreditation

P

ictured are Andrew Bruton, Director and Tom Roberts, Transport Planner, A&T Transport, receiving their Good Distribution Practice (GDP) Passport from Life Sciences International, a division of the Irish Exporters Association (IEA).

The award was presented by Fiona Luciani, Training Division Manager at the IEA at A&T Transport’s head office in Swords, County Dublin.

The GDP Passport, a training initiative by the IEA, is the fi rst of its kind, and ensures patient safety by compliance throughout all stages of the supply chain which safeguards the quality of medicinal products. By dealing with GDP Passport holders, manufacturers can now ensure that pharmaceutical and medical devices / products are transported, stored and handled according to GDP regulations and guidelines. The GDP Passport provides all those engaged either directly by the manufacturer or indirectly by the service provider in distribution activities with a full suite of standardised and certified training.

On receiving the GDP accreditation, Andrew Bruton, Director, A&T Transport stated: “A&T Transport is delighted to be awarded our GDP Passport for medical and pharma industries, as we feel it confi rms our commitment to reach the highest standards within the transport industry. We are hopeful this will compliment our modern 12,000 square foot warehouse facility and modern fleet of trucks and specialised trailers. We are confident we can offer new and existing customers a complete service that can meet their transport and warehousing needs.”

In complimenting A&T Transport, Simon McKeever, Chief Executive of the Irish Exporters Association added: “Good manufacturing FLEETTRANSPORT | OCTOBER 17

practice and good distribution practice need to work hand in hand and vigilance by all concerned in the supply chain is vital to ensure patient safety. The number of subcontracted companies involved in the supply chain for biopharmaceutical products with different modes of transport and temperature control has increased significantly.

Collaboration between all parties, including manufacturers, logistics service providers, ports and airports, is crucial to ensure anti-theft and anti-counterfeit procedures, product integrity and patient safety."

"The Irish Exporters Association has been at the forefront of informing the Irish pharma supply chain of their GDP requirements through the IEA GDP Passport initiative. The IEA GDP Passport certification has become the gold standard for GDP in Ireland with all leading log istics ser v ice providers in the field now having obtained certification. As the pharma sector has grown in Ireland, the IEA has played a key role in ensuring that companies can reach and exceed the required compliance role in assuring quality of the supply chain and distribution of pharmaceutical and medical device products.”

NEWS II | 5

New HGV sales slowdown as used imports increases

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he slowdown in new car registrations over the fi rst six months of 2017 was also seen in the commercial vehicle sector, according to the Motor Industry Review from the Society of the Irish Motor Industry, written up by economist Jim Power. “Sales of Heavy Commercial Vehicles (HCV) totalled 1,590, which represents a decline of 11% on the fi rst half of 2016,” stated Jim in the Report, sponsored by Done Deal. “Imports of HCVs in the fi rst half reached 1,672 units, which is almost 205 ahead over the same period last year.”

Regarding 171 plates, Volvo Trucks command the HGV market in Ireland with 388 new registrations (down 7.4%) from Q2 2016 while Scania recorded 349 units (down 16.31%). With the arrival of the G-series and P-series in the construction and distribution segments in the coming months, we can expect Scania’s sales numbers will clawback. Mercedes-Benz, DAF Trucks and Renault Trucks complete the top 5.

Together they tied-up almost 80% of the marketplace. Fighting for the remaining slices of the cake are MAN and Iveco. Not making the top ten as yet is Sinotruk, the Chinese construction trucks assembled and distributed by the Harris Group.

RSA’s CVRT annual test with 85,364 failing the fi rst inspection and 3,784 reporting to be in dangerous condition (up 7.8% in Q2 2016).

Test volumes year-on-year have been included in the Review with 78,927 trucks under going the annual CVRT examination, a slight increase of 1.29%. Less trucks failed the inspection, almost 10% at 22,758, but more than 12% of these ‘failed dangerous’ (1,057 trucks). Of the HGVs retested, 1,674 failed again (down 22.3%) with 62 failing dangerous (+19.2%), still a worrying trend that is being addressed by the Road Safety Authority (RSA) through additional resources dedicated to more multi agency roadside checks.

Other interesting figures from the Report includes that 36% of van sales are at the 3.5 tonne GVW mark (36%) while so far in 2017, 143,643 commercials went through the

Scania introduces New Generation P-series

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ontinuing its new model rollout under the Next Generation prog ra m me, Sca n ia has introduced the latest P-series, which will be even more versatile than before with a total of eight different configurations when all are in place. This series covers the national distribution, construction and urban delivery sectors in tractor-unit and rigid chassis/cab forms, with multi-axle configurations.

Initially there will be six different P-cab variants starting with the CP14L featuring a low roof, more comfortable and spacious interior space, and lower boarding steps.

“Of course, there isn’t the same demand for all the versions, but for us at Scania it’s a matter of credibility to be able to offer the right variant for applications and requirements that are not so common as well,” said Anders Lampinen, Product Director, at Scania Trucks.

“Scania’s P-cabs are very versatile and comes in many fashions with different lengths and roof heights. The P-series in Europe is mainly intended for customers who rarely stay overnight in their vehicles but who often climb in and out of them.

Examples of this are regional or city-based distribution traffic and different types of construction operations. A new P-cab with a low roof has the same roof height as a P-cab from the PGR generation, which of course provides compact outer dimensions, so it is good in environments where headroom is limited, whereas a CP17N or CP20N provides a cab that has 10 centimetres more

interior headroom than previous versions.

The fact that all of Scania’s cabs in the new generation are somewhat longer, CP17 rather than CP16, for example, has to do with the fact that the interior spaces have increased lengthwise, measured in decimetres as the distance from the foot-well to the rear wall of the cab, thanks to more efficient packing,” added Anders. www.fleet.ie

6 | NEWS III

All key road freight activities increased substantially in 2016

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he last year has seen more commercial vehicle journeys with trucks and vans carrying more goods. That’s according to figures released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) in its annual Road Freight Transport Survey 2016.

The survey details the number of goods vehicles on the roads, the amount of laden journeys, tonnes carried, and distance travelled. Use of vehicles, business of owner, fleet size and age of fleet are also outlined.

While the number of goods vehicles were up 13.3%, the amount of loaded journeys increased by 17.6%, with tonnes carried increasing by 20%. Vehicle kilometres covered rose by almost 20%.

Vehicles operating in road haulage (hire or reward) performed 76.8% of total road freight activity, amounting to 8.9 billion tonne-km in 2016. These vehicles carried 92.6 million tonnes and travelled a total of 928 million vehicle kilometres during 2016. Vehicles used for own account purposes accounted for 2.7 billion tonne-km (23.2%) of total activity, and travelled a total of 630 million vehicle kilometres, carrying 49.1 million tonnes of goods.

Vehicles owned by transport companies carried 87 million tonnes of goods in 2016 compared with 54.7 million tonnes by all other goods vehicles. Vehicles in the transport sector accounted for 5.163 million journeys representing 42.7% of all laden journeys.

In 2016, seven in ten vehicles (69%) of the total fleet (98,656 vehicles) had an unladen weight of between 2 to 5 tonnes. However, these vehicles were responsible for 3.7% of the total weight of goods transported and 2.7% of total activity in terms of tonne-km. Vehicles with an unladen weight of greater than 10 tonnes accounted for one-fifth (20.1%) of the vehicle fleet but were responsible for 88.4% of total activity in terms of tonne-km. These vehicles carried 122.9 million tonnes of goods, representing 86.7% of the total tonnes carried, and they FLEETTRANSPORT | OCTOBER 17

made over half (54.3%) of all laden journeys.

Vehicles manufactured in the four years to 2016 (2013-2016) accounted for a quarter of the goods vehicle fleet (24%) in 2016. These vehicles carried a quarter (24.5%) of all goods and accounted for 35.1% of overall road freight activity (tonne-km) In 2016, the bulk of road freight activity as measured by tonne-km (84.9%) was carried out over distances greater than 50 kilometres.

A total of 64.8 million tonnes of goods (45.7%) was transported over these longer distances, covering 879 million vehicle kilometres. For distances of 50 km and less, the total amount of goods carried was greater (76.9 million tonnes), but they represented just 15.1% of the overall activity, as measured by tonne-km.

Of the total weight of goods carried, quarry products, metal ores and peat accounted for the largest share (24.7% or 35 million tonnes) in 2016. This was followed by foodstuffs at 16.9% (23.9 million tonnes). However, the contribution of the aforementioned products to the overall road freight activity, in terms of tonne-km, was less than 10%, reflecting heavier loads carried over shorter distances.

In contrast, foodstuffs accounted for a quarter of total tonne-km.

Goods vehicles involved in the delivery of goods to road works or building sites carried 45.5 million tonnes of goods in 2016, representing almost one third of all goods carried. This was followed by those involved in delivery of materials and fuels to factories (17.8 million) and delivery of goods to retail outlets (16.0 million).

In terms of overall road freight activity in 2016 vehicles involved in import/export work (2.4 billion tonne-km) were the largest contributors, representing 20.6% of total tonne-km. This was followed by those involved in delivery of

goods to retail outlets (15.5%).

The vast majority of the 141.7 million tonnes of goods transported by Irish goods vehicles in 2016 was carried out within the Republic of Ireland. National transport accounted for 94.4% (133.8 million tonnes) of the total, with international transport representing the remainder. In terms of overall road freight activity, as expressed by tonne-km, the difference was not quite as significant, with 79.7% of activity carried out within the national territory.

Dublin was the region of origin for 27.6% of all goods carried within the national territory followed by the South-West, Mid-East and Mid-West. In 2016, the United Kingdom (including Northern Ireland) was the major source/destination region for the transport of goods to and from the Republic of Ireland.

In total, 5.6 million tonnes of goods were transported, with a total of 2.1 million tonnes received and 3.5 million tonnes dispatched from the Republic of Ireland to the UK. Comparison with 2015 Results The weight of goods carried by road on Irish registered vehicles increased by a fifth (20%) to 141.7 million tonnes between 2015 and 2016. The weight of goods carried by vehicles owned by transport companies increased by 29.9% to 87 million tonnes, while the share of goods transported by vehicles owned by transport companies increased from 56.7% in 2015 to 61.4% in 2016. Overall road freight activity, as measured by tonne-km, rose by 17.5% to 11.6 billion. The largest increase in the weight of goods (39.8%) occurred for vehicles involved in the delivery of goods to road works or building sites, while the largest decrease occurred for vehicles involved in the carriage of livestock where the weight of goods carried fell by 5.3% in 2016.

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8 | VIEWPOINT

The next step for Scania’s new truck generation Anders Lampinen, Product Director, Construction, Scania Trucks

S

cania continues the introduction of its new, acclaimed truck generation with the launch of products and services with a particular focus on construction vehicles.

The new Scania XT is a robust design that caters mainly, in appearance and function, to those customers who carry out the most challenging tasks with the toughest demands in terms of uptime, productivity and robustness.

“We know that there is a great deal of interest in the new truck generation. It has been well received, and of course construction customers have been longing for the new day cabs, more engine options and the typical 6x4 or 8x4 configurations they need,” explains Anders.

“The Scania XT model is really tailored for construction vehicles in a range of different applications, which often work under demanding conditions both on and off-road. Their challenges involve everything from poor road surfaces to narrow passageways, added to which the vehicle also needs to withstand tough conditions and a few bumps and scrapes without needing a visit to the workshop.

Transport operators in construction do not always have the margins on their side, and unplanned downtime can be devastating both for the building contractor and for the haulier’s fi nances.”

“Scania offers a number of different services to construction oriented transport companies - services of a kind that are crucial to obtaining good total operating economy in a construction vehicle.

The Scania workshop, and a repair and maintenance contract, preferably with Scania’s innovative solution involving Flexible Plans which are tailored to maintenance after operation, is the best start.”

Whereas construction vehicles in different applications are initially the most obvious XT candidates, Scania’s modular systems also provide great potential for tailoring individual solutions.

FLEETTRANSPORT | OCTOBER 17

“We at Scania let the customers themselves define what they regard as a tough challenge and which features they think they need.

As a result, XT type vehicles can carry out a number of different tasks. Many forestry hauliers are likely to be drawn to it, but a typical 4x2 municipal vehicle with a platform and a crane might also be what the buyer chooses to order in the XT version. The point is that it’s up to the customer, not us at Scania, to make that choice,” he emphasized.

package content). The exterior package is characterised by extra robust rearview mirrors, an external sun visor and additional recessed roof lights. The interior package includes, for example, seats in a special XT version, rubber mats with high edges, storage units and a unit that can,

“Construction vehicles are in reality an extremely wide concept, even if we at Scania basically start out from eight different applications. But with all the products and services we now offer in connection with the second phase of the introduction of Sca n ia’s new generation, there is every opportunity for each unique customer to tailor exactly the solution required in dialogue with their Scania representative.”

Anders is careful to emphasise that the Scania XT range, however good it may be, is only one option among many.

“Scania XT is our range hero, but there are now a number of different axles, gearboxes, frames and various options available, and they naturally work just as well in guises other than the XT version,” he added.

“Th is autumn the leading bodybuilders in Europe are intensively engaged in fi nalising customised solutions for a very diverse clientele using our new truck generation as the starting point.”

“Two XT-unique equipment packages can be added in addition to the basic design: an exterior and an interior package (there may be local differences in the

if required, extend the instrument panel and make room for controls to operate equipment and bodywork.”

“Regardless of the connection in which it appears, a Scania XT will always radiate robustness of the kind that only long experience and a respect for all kinds of challenges creates,” Anders concluded.

10 | LAUNCH PAD

XT is Scania’s new ‘Range Hero’

Scania G410 B 8x4 NZ Mixer 9m3 32 tonne GVW. 9 metres in length.

S

uppose it was inevitable that Scania would introduce its own construction-oriented range of trucks, just like Volvo (FMX) and Mercedes-Benz (Arocs) have done in recent years. Actually, Iveco was the forerunner in this arena with the Eurotrakker. But in fairness to Scania, the new XT range extends across all of its cab types from R to G to P-series, and covers many different configurations, thereby catering for many varied applications.

XT means ‘Xtra Tough’ in Scania-speak and is the second phase of the brand’s ‘New Truck Generation’ to follow the award-winning S-series flagship and new R-series. To come is the full roll-out of the P-series distribution and alternative fuel powered ranges. The Södertäljeheadquartered truck and bus manufacturer is clearly focussed on increasing market share in the growing construction, timber haulage and mining segments of the industry that need a robust, reliable truck for arduous applications/operations.

“Three or four years ago we launched an offensive at European level in which Scania gradually positioned itself as a strong player in the construction sector as well,” stated Anders Lampinen, Product Director, Construction, Scania Trucks at the Truck of the Year Award presentation.

“The Scania XT is characterised by conspicuous attributes such as an extremely robust front, while also being a clear signal of our ambitions for growth in the construction segment,” he added.

“Features such as Day cabs, leaf springs, double-drive bogies; construction hauliers will soon have access to all the configurations they need to deal with the various challenges they face in their assignments on a daily basis. We know that there is a great deal of interest in the new truck generation. It has been well received, and of course construction customers have been longing for the new Day cabs, more engine options and the typical 6x4 or 8x4 configurations they need. Interest is also strengthened by the fact that we at Scania so clearly prioritise a close FLEETTRANSPORT | OCTOBER 17

partnership with our customers, always putting their ability to achieve sustainable profitability foremost. [Our trucks] are tough, sleek and perfectly designed for the most demanding tasks,” according to Erik Ljungberg, Senior Vice President, Corporate Relations.

“Years of development have been invested to design the range for the many applications in the multi-faceted construction industry. Up to 4% in fuel savings have been achieved which was one of the more difficult objectives targeted. One of the others was to assure up-time,” he added.

“XT can be specified for all Scania’s cab versions, P, G, R and S, whatever the drivetrain from V8 to 9-litre diesels with automated or normal gearbox. One of its redeeming features (apart from the distinctive badging) is the heavy-duty bumper that protrudes 150 mm in front of the cab line. Together with a built-in skid plate and headlamp protection mesh, the XT has a robust look. Hidden behind the number plate housing is the 40-tonne towing bolt.”

XT Interior

LAUNCH PAD | 11 “Scania XT is our range hero,” he concluded.

Anders Jensen, Technical Manager, Energy Optimization detailed the 4% fuel consumption reduction gained across the XT range particularly relating to the construction sector. One percent was achieved through air drag improvements, while energy efficiency developments have brought about three percent which included other energy loss reductions such as a more efficient shift programme and driver support systems.

Scaniaone.com is the new all-in-one connectivity portal that covers fleet management and much more. Vehicle and driver performance, tracking, drivers’ hours data and even the truck daily check regime are some of the services provided as well as Sat Nav with ‘Points of Interest’ highlighted. Full reports of all items monitored are available live or in reporting format for the driver or fleet manager to access. All systems are weblinked through various Apps. Among other interesting aspects is the easy to find modules within the driver’s manual. No need for treading through the large phonebook type folder to find out about the workings of the vehicle. Actually Scania goes one better. For example, if there is a switch on the dash that you are unsure about, just place your smartphone over the button and all the info about what it does will be revealed. Scania’s renowned assistance service is obtainable here also.

Test Drives At the test drive launch in Sweden, Scania’s demonstration team laid on 15 different variants of the XT range based on its four cab types – S and R-series along with newly launched G and P-series. With the 8x4 rigid configuration being the most popular for the construction sector in Ireland, the chance to take the G410 8x4 with mixer first off was not missed. And as it happened the demo driver is married to an Irish woman!

The G410 8x4 as a unit seemed well balanced as we went through the off-road (gravel) sections, with the 5-phase exhaust brake used at times. Space within the cabin is better all round with excellent visibility between the A Pillar and wing mirror housing. Its differential lock with two settings can be engaged on the fly. Unusually, it came with a 9-speed manual gearbox.

bunk, offering plenty of room for a lie down. Fitted with skip loader bodywork, it had a 6-speed Allison automatic transmission.

Two versions of the R-series in XT design and striking livery were also tested, the R650 6x4 tractor-unit and the R580 6x4 rigid tipper. Pulling a Doll low loader, the combination of the R650 and an old Caterpillar dozer on board grossed 50 tonnes and with the help of the 3,300 Newton Metres of torque, the challenge was met with ease. The 650 hp V8 rating is now from the revised 16.3 litre SCR only range.

On the downhill sections the all-powerful 4,100 Nm retardation system kicked in once the footbrake was pressed slightly and the speed at that time was fi xed for a safe descent. Additional retardation through the 5-stage stalk on the steering was there if needed. The other R-series, the R580 6x4 had the newly developed ‘clutch on demand’ system which does or does not need to be used at all times, just when shunting, hooking up to a trailer or skip. This tipper had 24 tonnes gross.

Another 8x4 configuration was driven with a high-sided tipper body loaded to 32 tonnes GVW. The G500 with high roof Day cab also had space to specify a rest bunk, which reminded of the days of a similar, if less wide, version in the Hino 8x4 cabs.

Two more runs completed the very interesting day, the S730 6x4 rigid and trailer at 25.25m and 64 tonnes GVW, and the big daddy of them all, the S730 6x4 double drive trailer grossing 104 tonnes with a wide CAT dozer on board the Goldhofer low loader, which measured 28.5 m overall. Not a job for the faint hearted, but a task that Scania is extremely well capable of undertaking with precision, efficiency and safety.

Latest developments from Scania New Generation • Variants of G-series and P-series launched • Electric parking brake with Auto Hold • Two new vertical exhaust outlets • Special focus on short/day/rest cabs for construction sector • P-series to cater for national haulage and excel in urban areas • New G-series cab line well positioned to become favourite among construction hauliers • Full line up of New Truck Generation to be completed by 2019

One of the final vehicles driven on the day at Scania’s vast Demonstration Centre was the new P-series with 410 hp (P410) in 6x6 configuration.

This spacious Day cab had enough room behind the seats for a rest

Scania R650 B 6x4 NB Timber Haulage 64 tonnes GVW. 22 metres in length.

Text & Photos: Jarlath Sweeney - editor@fleet.ie

Scania P410 B 6x6 HZ Hook Lift 26 tonnes GVW. 8.5 metres in length. www.fleet.ie

12 | NEW FLEET I

Mercedes-Benz Actros wins the ‘Great Tip-off’!

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hen it comes to heavy duty road transport operations, the Mercedes-Benz Actros is the truck of choice for Ratcliffe Transport and Molloy Clonmel Waste.

Meanwhile, Tipperary firm Molloy’s Clonmel Waste Disposal has invested further in its fleet of Mercedes-Benz trucks with the recent addition of a new Actros 2545 6x2 2.5m BigSpace tractor-unit.

based tarmacadam contractor has further strengthened its fleet with the recent addition of two new Mercedes-Benz Arocs 3240 8x4 2.3m StreamSpace tipper trucks.

2017 marks 20 years in business at hazardous and non-hazardous waste transport specialists Ratcliffe Transport. Company owner Trevor Ratcliffe is celebrating this milestone in a special way, by buying a limited-edition Mercedes-Benz Actros - one of 200 units produced to mark the 20th anniversary of the launch of Actros.

Supplied by Mercedes-Benz Commercial Vehicles Dealer Suirhaul, Clonmel, of which Clonmel Waste Disposal is a long-standing customer, the new unit brings to five the number of Actros MP4 models now on the company’s fleet, with a sixth on order and scheduled for delivery next January.

Trevor Ratcliffe of Ratcliffe Transport (Rathcoole & St. Margarets, Dublin) takes delivery of a new special edition Mercedes-Benz Actros truck from Gerry McDonnell of Motor Distributors Limited.

As the only model in the anniversary series to be produced in right-hand drive, the Actros 1863, 4x2 GigaSpace unit is driven by the most powerful engine in the Actros portfolio.

Customised and painted in the distinctive Ratcliffe Transport livery, it comes with a host of range-topping fittings and features befitting its status as an anniversary edition.

The specification includes electric tilting/ sliding sunroof, leather driver/passenger seats, LED strip lighting, TopFit set that enables drivers stay active whilst on the road, Active Brake Assist 4, Proximity Control, Lane Keeping Assist, Predictive Powertrain Control, Bi-Xenon headlamps, and multiple exterior chrome elements.

Other distinctive features include a customised registration plate and an Actros anniversary signet on the step and exterior mirrors.

As with the specifications on the previous four trucks, this new Actros was delivered complete with driver’s suspension seat, velour seat covers, ambient lighting, refrigerator, auxiliary hot water heater and chrome light bars on top of the cab and under grille. Other features include high performance engine brake, Mercedes Powershift 3 automated gearbox and a special factory paint job finished in Clonmel Waste Disposal’s distinctive green livery.

Founded in 1989, Clonmel Waste Disposal, run by the Molloy family provides a waste management and recycling service to the community and industry around Tipperary, offering a broad range of services including household waste collection and recycling, skip hire and commercial and industrial waste collection.

Supplied by Surehaul of Clonmel, the new units were delivered with driver’s comfort suspension seat and comfort cab suspension.

Additional features include Fitzgerald built tarmacadam spec bodies complete with three tailgate chutes and roll over cover.

Established in 2002, English Tarmac Limited specialises in the construction of motorways, roads, railways, airfields and sports facilities.

Tierney’s twin Scania S730 V8s

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t the recent Tipperary Truck Show in Dualla, Tierney International (Birr, County Offaly) proudly displayed its two new award-winning Scania S730 V8s, delivered the previous week by Delaney Commercials, Naas.

One of the 6x2 tractor-units is a mid-lift left-hand-drive which will be working on European refrigerated transport, and the other is a 6x2 tag-axle right-hand-drive which will be based in Ireland on livestock transport.

Another Tipperary company, English Tarmac Limited, has a new ‘triple-star-tipper’ - two of them in fact. The Fawnagowan-

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14 | MILESTONE

Schmitz Cargobull – 125 years of progress and innovation

W

onder did A ndreas Schmitz’s forefathers ever envisage that Schmitz Cargobull would become one of the global market leaders in producing semi-trailers and truck bodies?

The fourth generation managing director of the Horstmar headquartered company is now in charge of the family run business that has evolved over three centuries, since the days when Heinrich Schmitz founded a forge in Altenberge in 1892.

With a projected annual turnover of €2.5 billion from manufacturing 57,000 trailers and bodies plus other service provisions, Schmitz Cargobull is literally forging ahead with additional production facilities established recently and new global markets explored. Staff numbers have increased also to the 5,700 mark. In the space of the last five years, Schmitz had increased production by 89.4% and turnover by 7.2% Reorganisation at some of its plants have seen new developments put in place such as V.KO Van Bodies made in Berlin, which will cater for the growing 3.6 tonne GVW light commercial markets, while the facility in Panevezys, Lithuania has now added curtainsider trailer manufacturing to its portfolio. In Zaragoza, Spain, refrigerated trailer building has begun with the new plant in Adapazari, Turkey starting operations in early October. On the downside as Andreas Schmitz, Chairman and CEO of the Management Board (pictured)

admitted on the occasion of the company’s 125th anniversary celebrations at Altenberge, “We just managed to stay alive in Russia during its economic downturn phase while the Chinese joint venture with Dong Feng is not going well with only three units produced per day, mostly for export. We are not happy with this situation and will be taking a long look at this business model in due course,” he said. Regarding Europe, Schmitz has differing market share presence in western and eastern regions with 28% and 20% share respectively.

Despite the economic uncertainty in certain areas, Andreas remains confident and is pro European, strongly believing that trade deals should be above and beyond any conflict. “If you look back at history, nobody benefitted from conflict, it is time therefore to put away any differences,” he added.

The new Smart Trailer concept and numerous product and service innovations premiered at the IAA CV Show last year helped to stimulate demand, which includes consulting with operators, advancing trailer telematics, availability of finance, spare parts and full services through appointed agencies. “We strive to reduce the total cost of ownership at customer level, caring for the lifetime of a trailer.” As Andreas chronicled the history of the company and brought the records up to the present day his focus is very much on the future. The creation of Van Body V.KO as a new business unit looks to the consistent growth of e-commerce deliveries.

Andreas sees a strong potential for the company in the world of digitalisation that is upon us, Schmitz is investing €30 million in this direction termed InnoVision that will cover automisation, sustainability and efficiency as the world becomes more urbanised.

With this in mind Schmitz Cargobull participated in an EU funded future proofed TransFormers Project with a number of

FLEETTRANSPORT | OCTOBER 17

stakeholders including truck and other trailer manufacturers, trade bodies and end users like the IRU, as well as suppliers such as Bosch and Uniresearch plus five research bodies. The combined objective was to demonstrate how to reduce road transport’s carbon footprint by 25%. Th is was achieved by producing innovations on a standard curtainside semitrailer whereby an electric motor/generator was installed and aerodynamic package fitted to include a mechanism to lower the rear end of the trailer’s body (by up to 800 m) when not needed.

The 80 kW electric motor will regenerate energy during downhill driving and braking while the electric propulsion will support the truck with usage of stored energy for traction only. Th is development can save up to 6%, with improvements to the trailer’s aerodynamics such as the side skirts and tail wings, along with the lowering of the back end, contributing to 9% and 4% CO2 reductions respectively. By increasing load efficiency, the remaining 7% environmental benefits is gained.

Next step is E-Mobility with power from the e-motor/generator running the trailers’ refrigeration unit. Before the TransFormer trailer can be operational, legal regulations have to be sorted, according to Bernd Meurer; “The 1-tonne payload difference needs to be subsumed into the overall weight of the truck/ trailer combination,” he said.

Dr. Peter Kess, head of Parts & Services GmbH and of the product line Value Added Services within the Schmitz Cargobull Group continued on to talk about InnoVision and the many challenges and changes ahead for the transport and logistics sectors.

“Increase in customer demands, legal and commercial regulations, the cost situation and competition, more sustainable logistics requests and demand on digital data, processes and interfaces means that Schmitz Cargobull

MILESTONE | 15

will extend the use of digital services and soon will establish a dedicated digital business unit/portal within the company shortly,” he said.

lots of added extras. Available towards the end of the year, the new models feature technology upgrades including a telematics package for a modest fee of an additional €125.

“Digital Transport Management becomes one part of the digital supply chain which can be termed Mobility 4.0 covering Data, Asset, Freight and Personnel mobility and Schmitz Cargobull will increase services in these areas. Digital Transport connectivity is just beginning, within the Data/Asset/ Cargo mobility sectors covering all modes of freight transport and all applications within those fields like road, air, sea and rail,” he emphasised.

Other attractive items on the series production includes Schmitz Cargobull’s own refrigeration unit, and branded tyres (from Hankook) diesel anti-theft protection, compression roller bumper, ROTOS axles, LED rear lights and side railing lights.

In conclusion Peter stated; “The goal of the digital company is to be quick, close to customers and market demands, close to new digital trends and using existing networks for exchanging expertise and knowledge.”

125 Year Limited Edition Trailers To mark Schmitz Cargobull’s 125th anniversary in a special way, 1,250 limited edition S.CS curtainsiders, S.KO reefer semi-trailers and 375 S.KI tipper trailers will be produced with

Timeline = History of Schmitz Cargobull in brief 1892

Blacksmith business set up by Schmitz family in Altenberge, Germany

1935

First semi-trailers and trailer containers produced

1950

First refrigerated bodies designed and produced

1969

Plant in Vreden established

1980

Expansion of production facilities at Altenberge and in Berlin

1982/83

Sales network across Europe begins/Cargobull added to company name

1991

Takeover of York plant in Harlow, England

1997

Sett ing up of the Schmitz plant in Gotha for bulk trailers

1999

Stock exchange launch plan cancelled

2000

Extended services introduced at EU network

2002

Spanish plant in Zaragoza opened

2014/15

JV with Dong Feng in China established, production begins

2017

125th anniversary, new factory opens in Turkey

1959 Schmitz-Anhänger at the IAA Show Text: Jarlath Sweeney - editor@fleet.ie

1989 Introduction of the Elephant as the new brand logo. www.fleet.ie

16 | FLEETING SHOTS

Irish Olympic hero enters new waters on Volvo Ocean Race

I

rish Olympic silver medallist Annalise Murphy is joining the Turn the Tide on Plastic team for the Volvo Ocean Race 2017-18.

The 27 year old Dun Laoghaire native took silver in the Laser Radial class at Rio 2016, and was named Irish Times/Sport Ireland’s Sportswoman of the Year. She brings her sailing technique and talent to a mixed and youth-focused crew after successful trials, and takes the total number of confirmed sailors in Turn the Tide on Plastic squad to 10, ahead of a non-scoring Prologue stage from Lisbon to Alicante ahead of the start of the 83,000 km race.

“Annalise adds strength to the squad and is developing quickly,” said Team Skipper Dee Caffari. “Coming from an Olympic background, Annalise’s strength and racing skills are obvious, but she is still learning about life offshore. The Volvo Ocean Race will certainly offer a challenge, but it’s one that she’s certainly up for.”

“The jump from Olympic inshore sailing to professional offshore sailing

is a big one,” said Annalise. “I am expecting this race to be the toughest thing I have ever done both mentally and physically, but I also can’t wait for it to start.”

Turn the Tide on Plastic will promote UN Environment’s Clean Seas campaign in 2017-18. The race begins from Alicante, Spain on 22 October and will visit a further 11 Host Cities around the world – stopping at Lisbon, Cape Town, Melbourne, Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Auckland, Itajaí, Newport, Cardiff and Gothenburg – before a big finish in The Hague in summer 2018.

UK’s National Lorry Week 2017 – it’s not just about the Truck

T

he UK Road Haulage Association’s third annual National Lorry Week, which successfully ran from 1116 September last, had a busy schedule of events taking place across the UK.

get the message across, RHA members engaged with schoolchildren, students and members of the public at schools, colleges and in town centres.

Events were informative, fun and all with the same goal - to show just how important the industry that transports 90% of all goods by land in the UK is to the country’s economy.

But National Lorry Week wasn’t just about the truck. The theme of this year’s event was focused on ‘The Next Generation’. By 2022, the industry needs to recruit 1.2 million more people including drivers, workshop technicians, warehouse operatives, and management. To

Cannonball Run hits town

I

t’s not all about fast, exotic cars participating in the annual Cannonball Run which stopped off at Claremorris, County Mayo – Fleet Transport’s home town. Part of the convoy included this 1994 Peterbilt, manufactured in the US by PACCAR Inc.

Mullingar, Moneygall and Kilkenny on this year’s route. Now in its ninth year, Cannonball has raised almost €900,000 for Irish Charities and this year, proceeds go to Make-a-Wish Ireland.

Large crowds turned out to see the 190 supercars up close as they passed through the town, with live music performed by Paddy Casey.

Among the big names in the supercar segment were fi ne examples from McLaren, Lamborghini, Ferrari, Aston Martin, Porsche, Maserati, Rolls Royce and Bentley, with the thoroughbreds blazing a trail through Dublin, Kinsale, Limerick, Galway Plaza, Sligo,

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FLEETTRANSPORT | OCTOBER 17

Text: Jarlath Sweeney - editor@fleet.ie

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18 | SAFETY

Volvo Trucks' Future Trends The most important road safety ideas for fifty years

A

t almost every Volvo Truck press conference a speaker will remind the audience that safety is a cornerstone of the company, and has been since the Swedish brand invented the three point seat-belt in 1969.

Volvo Trucks has shown that being a leader in vehicle safety can deliver the benefits such as world-wide brand recognition, which in turn delivers a return on that investment.

Volvo Trucks Traffic & Product Safety Director, Carl Johan Almqvist stated that “in the past decade the number of serious road accidents involving heavy trucks has been almost halved in Europe. However, truck accidents involving vulnerable road users have not been reduced to the same extent.” His figures are drawn from the latest Volvo Truck Safety Report produced by the company’s Accident Research Team (ART) which has been compiling and analysing accident data for almost fift y years.

ART’s 2017 report highlights areas where improvements have been made, and areas that

FLEETTRANSPORT | OCTOBER 17

need to be addressed. Again in the latest ART report, one issue continues to feature. It is also one that could be addressed immediately and that requires no investment - seat belts. Mr. Almqvist added: “The report reveals that far too many truck drivers don’t use their seat belts even though we know that half of the unbelted truck drivers who died in road accidents would have survived, if they had been wearing their belts.” It appears that despite legislation and numerous road safety campaigns, some drivers still choose to ignore best practice on seat-belt use.

cut from 80 to 0 km/h in about 40 metres.”

Importantly five seconds after the vehicle has been brought to a halt by activation of the EBCW, the parking brake is applied automatically to prevent further movement of the vehicle. This occurs if there is no movement of the steering wheel or other controls due to a driver being unable to engage the brake.

However Volvo Trucks Corporation continues to develop additional passive and active vehicle safety systems aimed at reducing the number of road fatalities. Volvo’s ‘Emergency Brake with Collision Warning’ (EBCW) is one such system.

However, Volvo points out that for all its benefits; EBCW is a support system only - it is not a comfort system. It is also essential to note that EBCW will not activate if the vehicle and/or trailer’s Anti-lock Brake System (ABS) is faulty or not engaged. It must also be remembered one limitation of any EB system is that it will only work in relation to the distance from the vehicle directly in front of the radar sensor and cannot as such see past this point.

Volvo claims that its EBCW surpasses all current and future legislative demands by a significant margin, and it is fair to say Volvo’s figures are impressive. It claims that under emergency braking a “truck’s speed can be

The main focus of Volvo’s safety research is if possible to prevent accidents, and if it's not possible to prevent an accident, to minimise any damage. With this in mind it concentrates on the basic principles of road safety - ‘See,

SAFETY | 19

Platooning

Steer, Stop.’ It is generally accepted that if a driver sees a hazard or danger in time, they can react appropriately by steering. If this is not possible they can then stop before an incident occurs.

Volvo’s research has also investigated the limitations of what the human eye can see from the cab, what it calls the extended horizon. By using vehicle connectivity the driver’s horizon can be extended to inform him or her about events or possible hazards taking place further ahead on the road but out of sight. Being pre-warned about events allows the driver to take corrective action and See, Steer or Stop as appropriate. Vehicle connectivity will further enable the formation and safe travel of vehicles in platoons. Volvo’s application of this technology was demonstrated at an event at the Slovakia Ring race track near Bratislava and we can confirm that the systems performed well. However, any mention of vehicle platooning quickly moved towards the topic of autonomous driving and driverless trucks.

The prospect of fully autonomous vehicles taking to the roads has been around for some time. It is something that will happen, although we are not sure exactly when, or how it will work, or how the transition will take place.

While fully autonomous (Level 5) trucks are technically viable today, the vehicles are Mats Franzen

unlikely to make an appearance in everyday commuter traffic. However, they will appear in ever increasing numbers in what Volvo describes as “confined” areas and workplaces.

One example Volvo Trucks highlights is its work in a mine in Sweden, another example, is testing for urban refuse collection where the driver walks behind the truck and the truck follows - not unlike an automated order picker in a warehouse.

Volvo’s brand image of safety lends the company a high degree of trust from consumers, and trust will be a valuable asset in the future, as manufacturers move us towards autonomous vehicles and transport systems. There are three principle factors to be considered, the technology, the infrastructure and public acceptance. The first factor, technology, is as such ready to be applied. The second factor, the infrastructure, is a work in progress and while it is a major task, it is not impossible. Achieving full acceptance by the general public may take a little more time.

What the public will readily accept are Volvo’s efforts in the area of alternative fuels.

Since 2011 Volvo has tried and tested seven different engine types and fuels with varying degrees of success. Diesel remains the most efficient of the various propulsion methods tested including Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil (HVO), Dimethyl ether (DME) and batteryelectric. As Mats Franzen, Product Manager, powertrain components – engines at Volvo Trucks, explained: “We expected the battery industry to develop further and quicker.”

However, Volvo believes the most promising alternative to diesel is methane, and from late 2017 Volvo Trucks will offer LNG versions of its FM and FH models.

The trucks will be available at 420 and 460 hp, with torque ratings of 2100 and 2300 Nm respectively. Volvo will offer the same driveability as diesel, and run on a gas diesel mixture

Text & Photos: Paul White - paul@fleet.ie

of about 90%, using the diesel as an igniter for the LNG Methane. One reason for making the move to methane is “there are significant natural gas reserves, and production of biogas is increasing, and that natural gas is a bridge to biogas,” explained Mats.

A little further along the alternative propulsion timeline is Volvos Concept Truck, which the company claims can deliver a reduction in fuel consumption of around 30 percent. The Concept Truck is based on an D13 powered FH with a hybrid powertrain to recover energy on downhill stretches and when under braking as with a normal Hybrid. Interestingly Volvo says the unit can store the recovered energy and then operate in full electric mode for approximately 10 kilometres. This feature is becoming more important as the number of low noise zones increases.

The Concept Truck and matching trailer uses an improved version of Volvo’s predictive driving programme ‘I-See’ to optimise energy recovery. By combining the Hybrid drivetrain with improved aerodynamics helps to achieve the claimed savings. The aerodynamic enhancements include a reshaped front profile of the FH cab, extended cab and side-skirts, and replacing mirror arms with cameras. Features which will also enhance road safety.

However despite the many benefits of the numerous computerised driver assistance programmes, if we could achieve a wider use of the simple mechanical device Volvo invented almost fift y years ago - we would achieve an immediate reduction in fatalities on the road.

Maybe this is why Volvo Trucks reinforces the seat-belt message at every opportunity.

For all that though, it is interesting that in his closing presentation Carl Johan Almqvist concluded that “An experienced, attentive driver who handles his or her vehicle responsibly is still the best form of accident prevention.” www.fleet.ie

20 | REPORT

Mid-Western exporters meet at IEA Supply Chain event in Limerick

O

n 27 September, the Irish Exporters Association (IEA) hosted its sixth event in the 2017 IEA Supply Chain Series with an Exporters Round Table meeting in Limerick. As with previous round tables the discussion opened with brief contributions from series sponsors, Rhenus Logistics and Irish Rail, followed by a more detailed presentation from Simon Barry, chief economist at main sponsor, Ulster Bank.

Speaking about the current economic environment, Simon Barry said that Ireland’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is likely to grow by about 5% in 2017 and the numbers under employment having risen by 3% in the first half year. Th is jobs growth, which is widely dispersed geographically is unsustainable in his opinion, Simon noting that a 1% growth would be more the norm. Job growth in the West of Ireland has been slower to recover but is now reaching the national average.

Speaking about the UK economy, Barry added that it had been more resilient than had been expected and this has helped to keep sales of Irish goods there more buoyant. Nevertheless, Sterling remains volatile and BREXIT remains as a bad news story. The eurozone is continuing to show a strong recovery, sustained over the last four years with a steady drop in unemployment to a figure now moving below 9%.

While the UK and eurozone central banks have yet to raise interest rates the US has done so, increasing by 1% from the bottom.

The second part of the Round Table was chaired by IEA Council Member and Supply Chain specialist Patrick Daly, and took the form of a closed discussion involving exporters and infrastructure providers.

This small group format facilitated a frank discussion of Supply Chain issues affecting Mid-West domiciled manufacturers.

Mr. Daly opened the discussion by raising some issues that the IEA had included in the Association’s Pre-Budget submission He said that Ireland has an acute shortage of warehousing facilities, particularly those suitable for Bio-pharma and food products at some of the main Airports. The lack of these is forcing freight operators to truck cargo FLEETTRANSPORT | OCTOBER 17

to British and Continental Airports and fly the cargo from there. The submission also said that State Aid should be provided for companies that are overly exposed to the business sectors that are particularly hit by the Sterling devaluation. Companies should also be helped in their efforts to diversify export markets from being overly dependent on the UK. Patrick Edmond, Group Strategy Director at Shannon Airport Authority spoke about the current freight services through the airport.

These include the three times weekly Turkish Airlines Cargo fl ights giving weekly direct shipments to Chicago, Atlanta and New York as well as thrice weekly to Istanbul and onwards. Active discussions are underway with other carriers and the Airport is currently developing specialist warehousing facilities to meet export needs. He also advised the group of some details from the just published draft National Planning strategy document.

Martin Morrissey, Commercial Director at Shannon Foynes Port Company, spoke about the imperative to complete the development of the N69 route linking Foynes and Limerick and to get work underway on the M20 Limerick, Cork route. He welcomed the opening of the M17 which could expedite the development of traffic through Atlantic Coast Ports. Martin also spoke about the successful development of traffic through Limerick Port with some 500,000 tonnes a year of cement being shipped through there to the London market. Shipments of scrap metal are also strong, at about 100,000 tonnes a year.

It was clear from the discussion that followed that the exporters felt that a critical need was for exporters and their carriers to secure “Trusted trader” AEO status without delay, as this could ease the Brexit pain as well as making going into new markets a lot less difficult. The search for carriers willing to operate out of the region was being hampered by a lack of useful data on freight movements. This, and other matters should be addressed at the forthcoming Mid-West Sustainable Freight Partnership workshop to be held in Limerick on 7 November and may also be taken up at the next IEA Exporter Round Table taking place in Cork on 17 October.

Text: Howard Knott - howard@fleet.ie

Managing Driving for Work Seminars Protecting your business and employees, reducing risk and saving money.

The Road Safety Authority (RSA), Health and Safety Authority (HSA) and An Garda Síochána will host a series of free half-day seminars in October on Managing Driving for Work.

Employers, managers and supervisors must, by law, manage the risks that employees face and create when they drive for work. The seminars will: • outline the employers legal obligations in relation to driving for work activities • inform and educate employers about how to implement safe driving for work practices • inform employers on key requirements for managing drivers • launch new guidance and resources to help employers understand and manage driving for work risks effectively • outline key requirements for fleet and vehicle management, and • provide practical ‘best in class’ examples of companies who effectively manage driving for work with multiple business benefits.

Managing driving for work in your business will help to protect your workforce, and your business.

The dates and locations for the seminars are:

Date

Location

Time

Wed 4 Oct

Castletroy Park Hotel, Dublin Road, Limerick

8:30am to 12:30pm

Thurs 5 Oct Rochestown Park Hotel, Douglas, Cork

8:30am to 12:30pm

Wed 18 Oct The Landmark Hotel, Carrick On Shannon, Co Leitrim 8:30am to 12:30pm Thurs 19 Oct The Green Isle Hotel, Naas Road, Dublin

8:30am to 12:30pm

How to Book Places are limited so email drivingforwork@rsa.ie to register your place by Friday 29 September.

Multiple bookings from the same organisation are permitted, subject to availability.

22 | ENGINEERING

The latest technology from Renault Trucks in Lyon

“T

he EU 28 is a very dynamic market and it is doing pretty well,” stated Bruno Blin, Executive Vice President Volvo Group & President Renault Trucks, in his opening address to members of the Truck of the Year jury at the company’s headquarters in Lyon, France. “Renault Trucks is getting better and better, and its market share is growing,” he continued.

Mr. Blin’s claims that Renault Trucks' market share is growing, can be borne out on the assembly lines of the Bourg-en-Bresse plant, where the heavier products of the Renault Trucks range are produced. The plant’s two lines are currently manufacturing 63 units each, giving a combined total of 126 units per day. In 2016, a total of 22,400 units were produced, and orders for 2017 are promising. Especially as Renault Trucks successfully tendered to supply 1,600 rigid 8x8’s for the Canadian Defence Forces.

Including rolling-road, on-road and quality inspections, producing a complete truck from goods inward to parking area takes just 6-hours.

However, approximately 40 percent of vehicles go for some form of special adaptation requested by operators.

The company constantly aims to improve performance, and Bourg-enBresse has won a number of awards for quality and efficient production methods. Interesting because there are no robots working alongside the workforce of 1,800 people. Despite what this might suggest, the 44-year old plant is leading the way in automotive production in many other areas. Especially the use of Augmented Reality (AR) in vehicle production and training.

In the training department, a demonstration was given on what AR can do for the assembly process and its use in up-skilling Renault Trucks' technicians. Using AR goggles an assembly line worker can ‘click in’ to any individual driveline or chassis component to see what tasks he or she must complete, for example, connecting specific block connectors, or assembling components for steel or air suspension. All tasks required to be completed by that worker are outlined with an electric blue line until signed off.

Once we put on the AR goggles we could see a hologram of a full sized 11- litre engine hovering in the room. We were able (virtually) to pick up the image between a thumb and forefinger and move the engine in any direction we wished, and to rotate the image through 360 degrees with incredible precision. The use of AR for technical training linked through wireless conference calls around the world is almost limitless, and will bring immense benefits to the skills of technicians.

On seeing the work being carried out by the research and development team in Bourg-en-Bresse, in the near future it is conceivable we will have AR trained mechanics and assembly workers maintaining Renault Trucks with service parts fabricated by 3D printing. Not too long ago it was thought 3D printing had some potential for the production of relatively unimportant plastic components. However, as Renault FLEETTRANSPORT | OCTOBER 17

Trucks demonstrated we are now long past that.

The R&D team were given 9 months to re-design Renault Trucks’ DTi 5-litre engine. Upfront, the challenge was that the unit must be 30 percent lighter and comprise of 40 percent less parts than the current production model.

What has been achieved is indeed remarkable. The re-worked unit has 200 fewer individual parts and weighs 120 kgs lighter. The process not only reduced weight and components, it improved durability and minimised the time needed to finish the engine block. For example, with traditional casting methods it is necessary to drill oil and coolant galleries. Whereas with 3D printing the galleries are sculpted as the

ENGINEERING | 23 block is being ‘built layer upon layer’. Renault Trucks believes this method of layering improves flow and pressure values as the galleries are an integral part of the block, when compared with a gallery reamed out of the casting.

The weight savings are mostly gained from components which are designed by a software programme able to calculate the exact amount of metal necessary to produce any given part. Further savings are gained by being able to combine production of parts. For example, a metal hose can be produced to include all the necessary clips and retainers in one piece, rather than producing the hose and then producing the brackets in separate castings.

It appears that 3D printing is the future and no doubt printed parts will feature to a large extent on the Renault Trucks' ‘Urban Lab 2.’

Urban Lab 2 is an ‘Efficient Distribution Truck’ which combines the latest innovations from six partner companies including Valeo, Lamberet, Michelin, BeNomad, INSA Lyon and IFSTTAR - all of whom bring their particular expertise to the project. What has been realised by combining the innovations is a 13 percent reduction in fuel consumption in an urban distribution cycle. Interestingly the research discovered that the average speed of trucks on these cycles is 50 kp/h, and at this increased speed the benefits of streamlined bodywork and aerodynamic add-ons begin to make themselves known.

The hybrid powered Urban Lab 2 will be premiered at the Solutrans Trade Show 2017 in Lyon this November. After this we should begin to see individual elements of the project gradually appear on Renault Trucks' production models. At some time in the future it may happen that Urban Lab 2 becomes Urban Lab 2 ‘X-Road’ and enter the Renault Trucks' used vehicle programme.

Launched earlier this year X-Road has received a warm reception from customers and looks set to expand quite quickly. The principle is based on Renault Trucks sourcing pre-owned trucks from customers and refurbishing them in the Bourg-en-Bresse plant using original parts and in-house expertise. The trucks are primarily Premium Route and Range T s’ with between 250- 400,000 kms on the clock.

The trucks are then adapted to the new customers’ requirements, down rated and certified as Euro 3, and finally renamed as Premium X-Road and T X-Road.

The idea of buying an OEM guaranteed pre-owned vehicle will appeal to many operators in parts of Europe, and in Africa. Already indicators are positive, with the first order of 100 X-Roads due for delivery by the end of November. Renault Trucks feels that many operators would prefer to buy a guaranteed used European truck than a new Chinese model.

Emmanuel Duperray, Senior Vice-President responsible for used trucks at Renault Trucks explained: “Th is conversion workshop enables us to provide tailor-made used trucks for our customers. It provides the flexibility we need to quickly and efficiently meet the requirements of our customers.” Throughput for 2017 is estimated at around 300 units with a target of 500 set for 2018. Certainly X-Road will help to strengthen residual values of pre-owned Renault Trucks, and indirectly the in-depth examination of trucks for X-Road has provided valuable information regarding component wear and tear rates. Renault Trucks is quite sure that selling refurbished and guaranteed used trucks will not affect new vehicle sales in the various Text & Photos: Paul White - paul@fleet.ie

Emmanuel Duperray, Senior Vice-President, Renault Trucks

markets. In fact, the company continues to develop and expand with new factories planned for Algeria and Iran. Both countries are expected to be important markets over the next few years.

Bruno Blin feels that despite the recent bad press; “20 years from now we will still be talking about diesel.” He noted that developing new vehicles is “becoming more complex and more expensive.” That said, Mr. Blin is “comfortable being part of a bigger organization.

We have an advantage as part of the Volvo Group, sharing research and development, and also the combined purchasing power of the Volvo Truck Corporation, Renault Trucks, Mack, and UD brands not forgetting Volvo Bus and Penta, all of which delivers important synergies especially for developing new vehicles.”

Which may not be too far away according to Bruno: “Our trucks are designed for our customers, and we are already preparing the next generation.”

www.fleet.ie

24 | HEALTH MATTERS

Blood Donors and Blood Recipients

I

t is a very laudable thing to donate some of one’s life blood to help someone in need.After major disasters, earthquakes, f loods, and during wars there are always calls for the various blood banks to be stocked.

Undoubtedly, receiving a blood transfusion in a crisis situation can make the difference between life and death for the recipient.

Blood donors are to be commended for their selflessness in allowing upwards of a pint of blood to be taken from them at any time. Although the quantity of the blood of the donor will replenish quickly due to correction of body fluids, the actual quality of the blood will take further time. Th is may impinge on the general energy and wellbeing of the donor. But if he or she is healthy, it will be almost imperceptible.

Blood which is circulating through the body transporting an immense variety of substances to the tissues can also carry disease, and donated blood must be analysed to make sure that it is disease free.

The transmission of disease in blood and blood products in the 1980s in France caused a Prime Minister to be charged with manslaughter. The blood, which had been given to haemophiliacs, had been part of some old stocks. Although there was testing available for AIDS at the time it was not used on this batch, probably for economic reasons. Some of this blood had been acquired from people without too much screening of the donors.

We had our own blood scandal in the 1990s, when blood products that had been contaminated with hepatitis C were given to women after birth, causing them to be permanently infected with this peculiarly insidious form of liver disease that had only been identified properly in the early 1990s.

It had previously been called “non A non B” hepatitis, and was a fatal disease not only for the patient herself but also could be transmitted to her spouse.

A more appalling scenario emerged with bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or BSE, where the human form of this disease was transmitted by eating contaminated

FLEETTRANSPORT | OCTOBER 17

meat, and entered the patient’s system forever. Th is disease, which had been rare, emerged as an epidemic in Britain twenty years ago or so, thought to have been the result of feeding catt le with infected sheep parts. As it was of slow onset and presented initially as a mild form of dementia or early Alzheimer’s disease, it would not have been easily diagnosable for what it was – a transmissible blood borne disease. It is possible that some of those affected with this disease donated blood, and it would consequently have entered the system.

With all this knowledge now available, the Blood Transfusion Service is understandably cautious about accepting blood from well meaning people. Fairly recently we have been aware of emerging diseases in the northern hemisphere, possibly due to global warming.

The Zika virus, which is transmitted by mosquitoes to humans and enters the blood stream, can cause catastrophic brain damage to the unborn child. Ireland is now malariafree, but it is present in other jurisdictions and can affect people who travel to countries which have endemic problems with malaria.

If they are infected by a mosquito bite, they will be permanently infected by malaria, and their blood donation will pass on to the

recipient. Malaria used to be widespread in this country – it is thought that Oliver Cromwell contracted malaria in Cork while on his travels. Being a fervent non-papist he refused to take the “Jesuits Bark” – (quinine) which was a cure even then – he later died from the disease.

With widespread travel it is becoming almost impossible to halt the spread of transmissible diseases. Blood donors, who are always needed, will fi nd that only about 5% of them are eligible to give blood, as the Blood Transfusion Service is very conscious of the geographic spread of blood borne diseases. Th is changes frequently and some of the usual holiday destinations such as Spain and Greece will present problems for the blood donor who may fi nd his blood refused on the grounds that he has visited some of these countries within the previous few years.

Text: Dr. Betty Maguire - contributor@fleet.ie

Brexit - future implications for Ireland UK trade Join us on Monday 20 November at Croke Park, Dublin for our half day event ‘Brexit - future implications for Ireland UK trade’. Our early bird rate applies until 20 October - so hurry, space is limited!

What’s included?

• • •

PLUS each delegate will recieve a copy of Tony Connelly’s new book ‘Brexit & Ireland’

•

Key Note address from Deirdre Clune MEP, on Ireland UK business relations - key considerations for future trading Session on Brexit and Ireland from Tony Connelly, Europe Editor for RTE Discover how the Irish government are preparing for Brexit from Ray O'Leary, Assistant Secretary General at the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport Lunch and refreshments

Prices: • •

Member: €155.00 / €140.00 early bird (10% discount for 3 or more delegates) Non members: €170 / €155 early bird.

For more information and bookings please call us on 01-8447516 or email bmarkey@ftai.ie

Awards 2018 Special thanks to all our Sponsors

26 | FUEL PRICES (WEEK 39) Country

Currency

95 Lead Free

98 Lead Free

Diesel

Country

Currency

95 Lead Free

98 Lead Free

Diesel

Albania

ALL

172.00

-

169.00

Lithuania

EUR

1.149

1.218

1.049

Andorra

EUR

1.078

1.138

0.918

Luxemburg

EUR

1.184

1.243

0.985

Austria

EUR

1.196

1.392

1.103

Macedonia

MKD

63.00

64.50

48.00

Belarus

EUR

0.542

-

0.559

Moldova

MDL

17.27

17.80

14.75

Belgium

EUR

1.421

1.500

1.326

Montenegro

EUR

1.220

1.290

1.090

Bosnia-Herzegovina

BAM

2.15

2.25

2.10

Netherlands

EUR

1.664

1.745

1.308

Bulgaria

BGN

2.09

2.35

2.10

Norway

NOK

16.27

17.26

14.95

Croatia

HRK

9.39

9.93

8.75

Poland

PLN

4.63

4.94

4.36

Czech Republic

CZK

29.51

31.85

27.89

Portugal

EUR

1.526

1.555

1.344

Denmark

DKK

10.49

10.52

8.59

Romania

RON

4.53

4.78

4.42

Estonia

EUR

1.199

1.248

1.159

Russia

RUB

40.78

-

38.44

Finland

EUR

1.487

1.562

1.290

Serbia

RSD

142.40

-

146.90

France

EUR

1.467

1.467

1.250

Slovakia

EUR

1.120

-

0.997

Georgia

GEL

2.19

2.29

1.99

Slovenia

EUR

1.279

1.475

1.195

Germany

EUR

1.347

1.471

1.120

Spain

EUR

1.210

1.350

1.101

Greece

EUR

1.475

1.598

1.221

Sweden

SEK

13.82

14.42

13.55

Hungary

HUF

343.00

-

380.00

Switzerland

CHF

1.432

1.530

1.570

Ireland

EUR

1.369

-

1.199

Turkey

TRY

5.29

5.31

4.63

Italy

EUR

1.559

-

1.399

Ukraine

UAH

24.80

25.96

22.14

Kazakhstan

KZT

150.00

164.00

129.00

UK

GBP

1.196

1.299

1.203

Latvia

EUR

1.038

1.087

0.919

USA

USD

0.709

-

0.740

Safety Matters . . . Safety Matters . . .

Driving for Work October Seminars - Book Now!

T

he Road Safety Authority (RSA), Health & Safety Authority (HSA) and An Garda Siochána will host a series of free half-day seminars in October on Managing Driving for Work.

Employers, managers and supervisors must, by law, manage the risks that employees face and create when they drive for work.

The seminars will: • outline the employer’s legal obligations in relation to driving for work activities • inform and educate employers about how to implement safe driving for work practices • inform employers on key requirements for managing drivers launch new guidance and resources to help employers understand and manage driving for work risks effectively • outline key requirements for fleet and vehicle management, and • provide practical ‘best in class’ examples of companies who effectively manage driving for work with multiple business benefits Managing driving for work in your business will help to protect your workforce, and your business.

The dates and locations for the seminars are: Date

Location

Wed 4 Oct

C a s t l e t r o y Pa r k 8:30am – 12:00pm Hotel, Dublin Road, Limerick

Thurs 5 Oct

Rochestow n Pa rk 8:30am – 12:00pm Hotel, Douglas, Cork

FLEETTRANSPORT | OCTOBER 17

Time

Wed 18 Oct

The Landmark Hotel, 8:30am – 12:00pm Carrick on Shannon, Co. Leitrim

Thurs 19 Oct

The Green Isle Hotel, 8:30am – 12:00pm Naas Road, Dublin

Full details and how to book can be found at: http://www.hsa.ie/eng/Vehicles at Work/Driving for Work/ Managing Driving for Work Seminars 2017/ New online resource for managing vehicle risks Vehicle-related accidents account for 29% of all fatal occupational accidents. EU-OSHA and the European Commission offer an interactive guide to vehicle safety #VeSafe. The HSA has played a central role in the development of this new resource for employers, employees and safety professionals. It provides examples of good vehicle risk management practices for vehicle related activities in the workplace and on the road. Check out htt p://bit.ly/2tt BT4a Want to stay safe while driving for work?

EU-OSHA has launched a new short fi lm dealing with some of the key safety and health risks facing processional drivers.

The film takes a light-hearted look at topics including maintenance, adverse weather and using alternatives to driving when appropriate.

It highlights the importance of good planning and preparation, including safe loading and load security, route and journey planning.

Watch the new fi lm Napo in on the road to safety. Watch also Napo in safe moves about workplace transport.

TRANSPORT w w w. fl e e t t r a n s p o r t a w a rd s . c o m

AWARDS

2018

F LEET T RANSPORT A WARDS 2018 GOES FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH

The Who's Who of the road transport industry gathered at the Citywest Hotel, Dublin on 28 September to celebrate excellence in the industry

www.fleettransportawards.com

Trucks

Extended Warranties

Up to 5 years/ 750,000km*

Mercedes-Benz Trucks Extended Warranties.

At Mercedes-Benz we are committed to keeping your business moving. Therefore all new Actros tractor units, Atego and Antos distribution vehicles, and Arocs vehicles used for on-road construction can avail of optional warranty up to 5 years or 750,000km*.

7R FHOHEUDWH WKLV QHZ RɆHU DOO VWRFN WUXFNV ZLOO UHFHLYH D year warranty free of charge for a limited time only. *For further information and terms and conditions contact your local authorised Mercedes-Benz Truck Sales Dealer.

Authorised Dealers: www.mercedes-benz.ie

NEWS I - IRISH HAULIER OF THE YEAR | 29

Two top titles for Virginia International Logistics at 11th Fleet Transport Awards 2018 fuel for transport.”

Marty began proceedings by listing the winners for the various categories. Pamela Dennison (W.S. Dennison, Antrim & Limerick) was warmly received as the Women in Transport award winner, with Colm O’Regan (Musgrave Retail Partners, Cork) winning the Fleet/Transport Manager of the Year. Martin Convey representing ESB Fleet & Equipment (Dublin) was voted top Technician of the Year with Tommy Graham (Kildare) elected as Owner Driver of the Year, fitt ingly as he records 35 years in the sand and gravel business.

V

irginia International Logistics, the well-known transport company that operates in Ireland and abroad hauled home two major prizes at the 11th annual Fleet Transport Awards Gala Banquet at the Citywest Hotel, Dublin on Thursday 28 September. It marked a successful two years for the second generation business established in the 1960’s by the Cole family. Having secured back-to-back Fleet Transport International Haulier of the Year awards for 2017 and 2018, the Cavan based company followed it up by taking the biggest prize on Thursday night by winning the title of Fleet Transport Irish Haulier of the Year 2018, sponsored by Rosslare Europort.

The 1,000 attendees at the Gala Banquet gave Virginia a standing ovation on its achievement following the announcement by event compère Marty Whelan (pictured), who was ably supported by the Camembert Quartet, aka The Late Late Show band.

In complimenting Virginia International Logistics on receiving this prestigious accolade, Jarlath Sweeney, Group Editor, Fleet Transport (pictured), on behalf of the organisers of the event said: “Congratulations to Virginia International in scooping the main prize tonight. Well deserved as it runs a very efficient business. Virginia is also noted as being an early advocate of alternative fuels in its fleet. To date, it has a number of its tractor-units running on Natural Gas and sees great potential as a viable, cleaner

The other prize recipients included Zellwood (Dublin) chosen as the National Haulier of the Year 2018, while BWG Foods (Dublin) collected the Own-Account Transport Operator of the Year. Costello & McDermott (Mayo) were declared as Regional Transport Operator, with Autoglass (Dublin) running the Best Van Fleet. The Best Safety Practice award went to Musgrave Retail Partners. Keelings Retail (Dublin) eye-catching corporate identity was deemed to have the Best Livery on its vehicles, while McCulla Ireland (Antrim & Dublin) impressed the judging panel with its work and investment to win the Environment Award.

The Innovation title went to Tranzaura (Limerick) with Ballinlough Refrigeration (Dublin & Roscommon) winning the Customer Service Excellence award, while DJ Downey (Cork) performed supremely in the Excellence in Warehousing & Product Handling category. Long standing road haulage campaigner Pat O’Donovan (Cork) received lengthy applause on being presented with the Services to the Transport Industry award.

www.fleet.ie

30 | NEWS II - IRISH TRUCK OF THE YEAR

Top honours for Volvo & Renault Trucks in Fleet Transport Irish Truck of the Year Awards 2018 • Rotarail & BMI win Truck & Trailer Innovation Awards

T

he honours list keeps getting longer for Volvo Trucks and its multi-award-winning FH Series. Following on from its success in scooping Irish Truck of the Year for 2017 with the FM.540 6x2 Globetrotter XL, another version, the FH.500 6x2 Globetrotter, (with Dual Clutch) has carried off the Fleet Transport Best Fleet Truck and Irish Truck of the Year Award for 2018. In the Construction Truck of the Year category, Renault Trucks’ Range K.480 8x4 took away the top prize while in the Truck & Trailer Innovation Awards, Rotarail and BMI Trailers received most marks from the expert judging panel.

Volvo’s FH.500 impressed the adjudicators following an appraisal exercise where tractor-units from five other brand’s were in contention for the prize, namely Iveco, MAN, Mercedes-Benz, Renault and Scania.

The judges noted the smoothness of the Volvo’s drivetrain and efficient ergonomics, together with good all-round visibility.

Eight tipper trucks contested the Irish Construction Truck of the Year 2018 Award with prime examples from DAF Trucks, MAN, Mercedes-Benz, Iveco and two each from Renault and Volvo Trucks.

Renault’s K480 was described as a great all rounder, best suitable for off-road and onroad applications.

Scania’s Compressed Natural Gas powered truck, the G340LA 6x2A CNG tag-axle tractor-unit, to give the vehicle its full title, impressed the judging panel with its specification and its green credentials to win the Irish Green Commercial of the Year award. Boasting 22% less carbon emission FLEETTRANSPORTAWARDS | OCTOBER 17

Volvo FH Series

levels – 99% less particulate matter but also a fuel cost saving of up to 30% per vehicle compared to conventional diesel equivalent, it can also be fuelled by renewable biogas.

Meanwhile the Iveco Daily Natural Power

(NP) CNG van range was recognised and rewarded as Irish Green Light Commercial of the Year 2018.

NEWS II - IRISH TRUCK OF THE YEAR | 31 Rotarail is an Irish designed safety sideguard frame attachment for trucks that is already being fitted by a number of major fleet owners. Thoroughly tested by independent bodies in Ireland and UK, Rotarail is a unique rotating arm, which allows the fitting of an additional safety rail to existing truck and trailer sideguards systems, known as Lateral Protection Devices (LPDs), reducing the risk of injury to pedestrians, cyclists and other vulnerable road users.

Th rough the encouragement of the West Cork Enterprize Board, Rotarail was entered in the Irish Times Innovation of the Year Awards 2017 and has been nominated as one of the three fi nalists in the ‘New Frontier’s' categories.

Rotarail

BMI Trailers’ Rock Pusher Ejector tipping trailer performs the same task as a conventional tipper but with discharge control and a high level of safety. Featuring the same hydraulic system as the proven BMI waste ejector trailer the developments with the Rock Pusher reduces the risk of the tipper body falling over when tipping.

BMI Trailers’ Rock Pusher Ejector

Observations from the Irish Truck of the Year Award jury in voting Volvo FH.500 6x2 Globetrotter as Best Fleet Truck and overall winner Irish Truck of the Year 2018 include:“I was very impressed with the Volvo drivetrain in particular. The seamless, efficient I-Shift gear changing almost went unnoticed and this was a distinct advantage. The 500hp unit felt it had ample power and torque pulling the 40tonne gross load on the test trailer. Although the cab design is over four years old now, it is still a very impressive looking vehicle both inside and out. The ease of use and ergonomic design of all the driving controls was also a bonus in my opinion.”

“The reason I chose the FH.500 is its ease of access to the cab and the ergonomics are excellent. It has great traction, the power and torque made for excellent journey progress. It had the best view with least amount of blind spots.”

“The FH.500 was by far the best unit in the fleet category. This was confirmed when road tested, with ample power and the smooth gear change. The styling and practicality of both inside and out was perfect. This Volvo is a drivers’ first choice.”

Irish Construction Truck Of The Year - Renault K480 www.fleet.ie

32 | NEWS III - HALL OF FAME

Mercedes-Benz, Schmitz Cargobull & Ford Ireland inducted to the Fleet Transport Hall of Fame

F

leet Transport magazine, in marking landmark periods in the history of the commercial vehicle industry, inducts individuals or companies into the Fleet Transport Hall of Fame. At the 11th annual Fleet Transport Awards Gala Banquet on 28 September, three companies that have made a big impact on the commercial vehicle industry were honoured at the Citywest Hotel, Dublin.

The fi rst presentation on this occasion was to Mercedes-Benz Commercial Vehicles which has now recorded five decades in Ireland.

Motor Distributors Limited (MDL), the company that represents the three-pointed-star brand in Ireland has made great progress over the years, culminating in the recent opening of MUTEC's new Mercedes-Benz Commercial Vehicle Sales Centre on the Naas Road in Dublin. Fergus Conheady, Sales Manager at MercedesBenz Commercial Vehicles in Ireland received the commissioned ‘Laurels’ Magpie Art stained glass picture.

David MacDonald, International Key Account Manager, Schmitz Cargobull and Denise Owens, Fleet Transport.

The fi rst 100 years of Ford in Ireland was also acknowledged, with Ciaran McMahon, Chairman & Managing Director, Ford Ireland accepting this honour. To mark this memorable time in automotive history, a special video, produced to chronicle the establishment of the fi rst factory by Henry Ford & Son outside US in Cork, 100 years ago, was shown at the event, which was attended by more than 1,000 representatives from the road transport industry.

Fergus Conheady, Sales Manager, MercedesBenz Commercial Vehicles and Orla Sweeney, Fleet Transport.

The next recipient to the Fleet Transport Hall of Fame on the night was Schmitz Cargobull, Europe’s largest trailer builder which celebrates 125 years of trailer and truck body building. The German headquartered family owned company now in its fourth generation is expanding across the world with production facilities in Europe, Russia and China. The company is due to open a new factory in Turkey later this year. Schmitz Cargobull’s David McDonald, the company’s well-known Sales Executive for Ireland, was presented with the art work.

FLEETTRANSPORTAWARDS | OCTOBER 17

Ciarán McMahon, Managing Director, Ford Motor Company pictured with Denise Owens and Orla Sweeney Fleet Transport.

Previous inductees to the Fleet Transport Hall of Fame include Mark C. Pigott , PACCAR Inc. (2013), and the Ford Transit’s 50th Anniversary (2015).

DISCOVER OUR DIAMONDS RETHINK WHAT YOU THINK YOU KNOW.

#PROUDPROFESSIONALS Quality assurance with a friendly face and a positive, can-do attitude.”

We’re inspired by the diamond in our logo, so you can rely on us to keep your business moving.

Setanta Vehicle Importers, Long Mile Road, Dublin 12.

CALL: (01) 403 4500

renault-trucks.ie

34 | AWARD WINNERS - TRUCKS

FLEET TRANSPORT IRISH TRUCK OF THE YEAR 2018

TRANSPORT w w w. fl e e t t r a n s p o r t a w a rd s . c o m

AWARDS

2018

Fleet Transport Best Fleet Tractor Unit of the Year 2018 (sponsored by CC Lubricants and Emo)

Winner: Volvo FH.500 6×2 Globetrotter Jarlath Sweeney, Fleet Transport; Andrew Clarke, CC Lubricants; Martin Tomlinson, Volvo Trucks and Marty Whelan, M.C.

Fleet Transport Irish Construction Truck of the Year 2018 (sponsored by CC Lubricants and Emo)

Winner: Renault Range K 8×4 Jarlath Sweeney, Fleet Transport; Richard Voigt, Renault Trucks; Gerry Mallee, Emo; Harry Nash, Setanta Vehicle Sales and Marty Whelan, M.C.

Fleet Transport Trailer Innovation Award 2018 (sponsored by Mike Murphy Insurance)

Winner: BMI Trailers’ Rock Pusher Ejector trailer Johnathan McKeever, The BMI Group; Jarlath Sweeney, Fleet Transport; David Kidd, The BMI Group; Mike Murphy, Mike Murphy Insurance; Brendan McIlvanna, Managing Director, The BMI Group and Marty Whelan, M.C. FLEETTRANSPORTAWARDS | OCTOBER 17

The new MAN TGX.

EfÄciency in long-haul transport.

Call to your nearest MAN Dealer for further details: MAN Importers Irl, Dublin 12. Tel: 01 419 1300 Dennehy Commercials, Limerick. Tel: 061 229900 Cork. Tel: 021 488 3344 MS Commercials, New Ross. Tel: 051 422277

MAN kann

O’Reilly Commercials, Ballinalack. Tel: 044 93 71360 Newtown Trucks, Newtowncunningham. Tel: 074 91 56666 Athenry Truck Centre Ltd., Galway. Tel: 091 849 375 Walker Commercials, Rathcormac, Cork. Tel: 025 87770

36 | AWARD CATEGORY WINNERS

NATIONAL HAULIER

OF THE

YEAR 2018

Sponsored by Volvo Trucks Winner: Zellwood (Dublin)

Jarlath Sweeney, Fleet Transport; Joe Roddy, Network Truck Sales Director North and Ireland, Volvo Trucks; William Flanagan, Zellwood and Marty Whelan, M.C.

The full list of category winners of the Fleet Transport Awards 2018 are: National Haulier of the Year 2018 (sponsored by Volvo Trucks) Winner: Zellwood (Dublin) International Haulier of the Year 2018 (sponsored by Thermo King) Winner: Virginia International Logistics (Cavan) Own Account Transport Operator of the Year 2018 (sponsored by Mercedes-Benz Commercials) Winner: BWG Foods (Dublin) Regional Transport Operator of the Year 2018 (sponsored by FUSO Trucks) Winner: Costello & McDermott (Ballinrobe) Owner Driver Haulier of the Year 2018 (sponsored by MAN Truck & Bus) Winner: Thomas Graham Sand & Gravel Ltd (Kildare) Best Van Fleet Award 2018 (sponsored by Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles) Winner: Autoglass (Dublin)

FLEETTRANSPORTAWARDS | OCTOBER 17

Women in Transport Award 2018 (sponsored by FTA Ireland) Winner: Pamela Dennison – W.S. Dennison (Antrim & Limerick)

Best Safety Practice Award 2018 (sponsored by Health & Safety Authority) Winner: Musgrave Retail Partners Ireland (Cork)

Best Livery Award 2018 (sponsored by Blue Tree Systems) Winner: Keelings Retail Ireland (Dublin)

Customer Service Excellence Award 2018 (sponsored by FIAT Professional) Winner: Ballinlough Refrigeration Ltd (Dublin)

Environment Award 2018 (sponsored by Gas Networks Ireland) Winner: McCulla Ireland Ltd (Antrim & Dublin)

Excellence in Warehousing & Product Handling 2018 (sponsored by Cold Move) Winner: DJ Downey (Cork)

Innovation Award 2018 (sponsored by easytrip) Winner: Tranzaura (Limerick) Fleet/Transport Manager of the Year 2018 (sponsored by Iveco) Winner: Colm O’Regan – Musgrave Retail Partners (Cork) Technician of the Year 2018 (sponsored by Renault Trucks) Winner: Martin Convey, ESB Fleet & Equipment (Dublin)

Services to the Transport Industry Award 2018 (sponsored by Close Brothers Commercial Finance) Winner: Pat O’Donovan (Cork) Fleet Transport Irish Haulier of the Year 2018 (sponsored by Rosslare Europort) Winner: Virginia International Logistics (Cavan)

06:30 06.30‌ For CSRs Andrew Butler and Shaun Weston the shift won’t start for another hour, but it’s dedication to keeping their customers informed, with good news or bad that gets them on the phone early doors; that’s fantastic service in action – whatever the time.

Discover more www.volvotrucks.ie/volvo24

www.volvotrucks.co.uk

Search: VolvoTrucksUK

Volvo Trucks. Driving Progress

55867

Thorough and complete service at a fraction of the cost of a new filter

DPF Cleaning Service

DPF’s are emission devices installed in ‘on the road’ Euro 6 diesel engines (introduced in 2014). DPFs are designed to burn soot. Unburnable ash gradually collects in the filter causing excessive back pressure and regenerations.

When to Clean

Failure to service your DPF can cause: • • •

•

DPF Failure (Requiring replacement) Down time Lower fuel economy

BEFORE

•

Ash begins hardening in filter at 100,000 km which causes permanent damage and cracking.

Engine manufacturers recommend DPF cleaning at various different intervals depending on the engine type and vehicle operation.

STAGE 1& 2

â‚Ź

330.00

DPF returned free of charge within 24 hours (weekends may take longer).

Return free of charge within 48 hours (weekends may take longer). Due to the effectiveness of our pneumatic cleaning programme, only 1 in every 8 filters will require a thermal regeneration to burn off any remaining soot deeply set in the ceramic cell walls (stage 3).

STAGE 1,2 & 3

â‚Ź

390

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AFTER

Call us to ďŹ nd our more information or book in your ďŹ lter for cleaning

"" $$ )# &! ' % " & "

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38 | AWARD CATEGORY WINNERS

INTERNATIONAL HAULIER OF THE YEAR 2018 Sponsored by Thermo King Winner: Virginia International Logistics (Cavan)

Jarlath Sweeney, Fleet Transport; Bryan Dolan, Virginia International Logistics; Fred Rogers, Thermo King Sales & Service Manager Ireland; Johnny Cole, Virginia International Logistics and Marty Whelan, M.C.

FLEET/TRANSPORT MANAGER

OF THE

YEAR 2018

Sponsored by Iveco Winner: Colm O’Regan – Musgrave Retail Partners (Cork)

Colm O'Regan was unable to attend the Awards ceremony and his award was received on his behalf by Vince O'Sullivan.

Orla Sweeney, Fleet Transport; Stuart Webster, Managing Director, Iveco; Vince O'Sullivan, Musgrave Retail Partners and Denise Owens, Fleet Transport.

FLEETTRANSPORTAWARDS | OCTOBER 17

AWARD CATEGORY WINNERS | 39

OWN ACCOUNT TRANSPORT OPERATOR OF THE YEAR 2018 Sponsored by Mercedes-Benz Commercial Vehicles Winner: BWG Foods (Dublin)

Jarlath Sweeney, Fleet Transport; David Duggan, Kevin French, BWG Foods; Fergus Conheady, Sales Manager, Mercedes-Benz Commercial Vehicles; Mark Crowe, Gerry Behan, Ken Leahy BWG Foods and Marty Whelan, M.C.

OWNER DRIVER HAULIER

OF THE

YEAR 2018

Sponsored by MAN Truck & Bus Winner: Thomas Graham Sand & Gravel Ltd (Kildare)

Denise Owens, Fleet Transport; Dara Sullivan, Technical Service Manager, MAN Importers Ireland; Tommy Graham, Thomas Graham Sand & Gravel Limited; Orla Sweeney, Fleet Transport and Marty Whelan, M.C. www.fleet.ie

40 | AWARD CATEGORY WINNERS

WOMEN

IN

TRANSPORT 2018

Sponsored by Freight Transport Association Ireland (FTAI) Winner: Pamela Dennison - W.S. Dennison (Antrim & Limerick)

Orla Sweeney, Fleet Transport; Pamela Dennison, W.S. Dennison; Aidan Flynn, General Manager, Freight Transport Association Ireland and Denise Owens, Fleet Transport.

REGIONAL TRANSPORT OPERATOR Sponsored by FUSO Canter Trucks Winner: Costello & McDermott (Mayo)

Jarlath Sweeney, Fleet Transport; David McDermott and Sean Higgins, Costello & McDermott; Andrew Johnson, FUSO Ireland Sales Manager and Marty Whelan, M.C. FLEETTRANSPORTAWARDS | OCTOBER 17

OF THE

YEAR 2018

AWARD CATEGORY WINNERS | 41

BEST VAN FLEET AWARD 2018 Sponsored by Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles Winner: Autoglass (Dublin)

Jarlath Sweeney, Fleet Transport; Billy McGregor, Autoglass; Alan Bateson, Brand Manager, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles and Marty Whelan, M.C.

INNOVATION AWARD 2018 Sponsored by easytrip Winner: Tranzaura (Limerick)

Jarlath Sweeney, Fleet Transport; John McConnell, Commercial Fleet Manager, easytrip; Shane Mann and Eoin Shanahan, Tranzaura and Marty Whelan, M.C. www.fleet.ie

42 | AWARD MARITIME CATEGORY II WINNERS

TECHNICIAN

OF THE

YEAR 2018

Sponsored by Renault Trucks Winner: Martin Convey ESB Fleet & Equipment (Dublin)

Denise Owens, Fleet Transport; Martin Convey, ESB Fleet & Equipment; Peter Murray, Network Truck and LCV Sales Director; Orla Sweeney, Fleet Transport and Marty Whelan, M.C.

BEST LIVERY AWARD 2018 Sponsored by Blue Tree Systems Winner: Keelings Retail Ireland (Dublin)

Jarlath Sweeney, Fleet Transport; Dermot Byrne, Mark Appleby, Keelings Retail; Trevor Durnin, Sales Manager, Ireland, Blue Tree Systems; Michael Murphy and Ann-Marie Collins, Keelings Retail Ireland and Marty Whelan, M.C. FLEETTRANSPORTAWARDS | OCTOBER 17

AWARD CATEGORY WINNERS | 43

BEST SAFETY PRACTICE AWARD 2018 Sponsored by Health & Safety Authority (HSA) Winner: Musgrave Retail Partners Ireland (Cork)

Jarlath Sweeney, Fleet Transport; Deirdre Sinnott, Senior Policy Inspector, Health & Safety Authority; Steve Young and Michael Drinan, Musgrave Retail Partners and Marty Whelan, M.C.

ENVIRONMENT AWARD 2018 Sponsored by Gas Networks Ireland Winner: McCulla Ireland Ltd (Antrim & Dublin)

Jarlath Sweeney, Fleet Transport; Roger O’Connor, Project Manager – Causeway Project, Gas Networks Ireland; Brian Beattie, McCulla Ireland and Marty Whelan, M.C. www.fleet.ie

44 | AWARD CATEGORY WINNERS

CUSTOMER SERVICE EXCELLENCE AWARD 2018 Sponsored by FIAT Professional Winner: Ballinlough Refrigeration Ltd (Dublin)

Jarlath Sweeney, Fleet Transport; Paul Hunt, Managing Director, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Ireland; Joe Jordan, Aidan Mulvey and Joe Malone, Ballinlough Refrigeration Ltd and Marty Whelan, M.C.

EXCELLENCE

IN

WAREHOUSING & PRODUCT HANDLING 2018

Sponsored by Cold Move Winner: D.J Downey Ltd (Cork)

Jarlath Sweeney, Fleet Transport; Mark Boulton, Strategic Development & Shared Services Director, Cold Move Ltd; Leonard Downey, D.J. Downey Ltd and Marty Whelan, M.C. FLEETTRANSPORTAWARDS | OCTOBER 17

AWARD CATEGORY WINNERS | 45

SERVICES

TO THE

TRANSPORT INDUSTRY AWARD 2018

Sponsored by Close Brothers Commercial Finance Winner: Pat O'Donovan O'Donovan Transport

Sean Murtagh, Fleet Transport; Pat O’Donovan, O’Donovan Transport; Adrian Madden, Close Brothers Commercial Finance and Marty Whelan, M.C.

Awards 2018 Special thanks to all our Sponsors

www.fleet.ie

WINNERS

TRANSPORT w w w. fl e e t t r a n s p o r t a w a rd s . c o m

FLEETTRANSPORTAWARDS | OCTOBER 17

RT

com

WINNERS 'R' US | 47

'R' US

AWARDS

2018

48 | AWARDS CATEGORY WINNERS

Irish Green Commercial Truck of the Year 2018 Sponsored by Gas Alliance Group Winner: Scania G340 6x2 CNG

Jarlath Sweeney, Fleet Transport; Nick Harboard, Gas Alliance Group; Joe Crann, Westward Scania and Marty Whelan, M.C.

Irish Green Light Commercial of the Year 2018 Sponsored by Gas Alliance Group Winner: Iveco Daily Natural Power (NP) CNG

Jarlath Sweeney, Fleet Transport; Stuart Webster, Iveco; Nick Harboard, Gas Alliance Group and Marty Whelan, M.C. FLEETTRANSPORTAWARDS | OCTOBER 17

Refinancing for fast release of funds We offer a suite of tailored asset and invoice finance products from refinancing to asset based lending (ABL); enabling you to release vital working capital back into your business.

Refinancing is a quick way to access the value of assets on your balance sheet.

Based on an asset’s value, our experienced asset finance specialists will work with you to get the most from your refinance facility.

Our team has extensive coverage throughout Ireland, with offices in Cork, Dublin, Galway and Belfast. For more information or to discuss your funding requirements, contact your local expert today.

Call us on +353 (0)1 699 4382 or visit closecommercialfinance.ie

Close Brothers Limited (being a UK registered private limited company and its Irish registered branch of the same name having registration number 907899), trading as (and having as registered business names) Close Brothers Asset Finance, Close Brothers Commercial Finance, Close Brothers Premium Finance Ireland, Close Brothers Motor Finance and Braemar Finance, is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority in the United Kingdom and is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority in the United Kingdom and is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland for conduct of business rules. UK registered address: 10 Crown Place, London, EC2A 4FT, registered at Companies House, Number 00195626. Directors: M. Morgan (UK), P. Prebensen (UK), A. Sainsbury (UK), P. S. S. Macpherson (UK), S. Bishop (UK), F. Pennal (UK), M. Hook (UK) and J. Howell (UK). Close Brothers Invoice Finance and Close Brothers Commercial Finance are registered business names of Close Invoice Finance Limited, a UK registered private limited company (and its Irish registered branch of the same name having registration number 908024).

UK registered address: 10 Crown Place, London, EC2A 4FT, registered at Companies House, Number 00935949. Directors: J. Brown (UK), C. McAreavey (UK), A. Sainsbury (UK), I. Steward (UK), D. Thomson, (UK).

t Trucks

t Enforcement

t Vans

t Ferries

t Trailers

EXHIBITION ARENA

t Truck Maintenance

t Telematics

t Accessories

t Vehicle Finance

t Driver Training

t Safety Equipment

t Lubricants

t Parts & Components

t Fuel Efficiencies Fleet Transport Awards | Exhibition & Networking Event Thursday 28 September | Citywest Hotel, Dublin

Connecting people with people, ideas and opportunities Exhibitors in alphabetical order - showcasing the latest products, services and equipment specifically designed to assist all those involved in increasing efficiencies, reducing costs and looking at ways to minimise their environmental footprint.

• Ashbourne Truck Centre www.ashbournetruckcentre.com

• Capital Flow Commercial Finance www.capitalflow.ie

• Close Brothers Commercial Finance www.closecommercialfinance.ie

• DAF Trucks www.daf.ie

• Dennison Trailers www.dennisontrailers.com

• Derry Bros www.derrybros.com

• easytrip www.easytrip.ie

• Emo/CC Lubricants www.cclubricants.ie

• FIAT Professional www.fiatprofessional.ie

• Ford Ireland www.ford.ie

• Freight Transport Association Ireland www.ftai.ie

• FUSO www.fuso.ie

• Gleeson Truck Bodies www.gleesontruckbodies.co.uk

• Health & Safety Authority www.hsa.ie

• International Trailers www. internationaltrailers.ie

• Iveco www.emeraldtruckandvan.ie

• Krone www.krone-trailer.com

• MAN Trucks www.mantrucks.ie

• Mercedes-Benz Commercial Vehicles www.mercedes-benz.ie

• Mitsubishi Motors www.mitsubishi-motors.ie

• M.J. Quinn Ltd www.quinnrv.com

• MPM Specialist Vehicles Ltd www.mpmsales.com

• ProVision www.provisioncameramatics.com

• Renault Trucks www.renault-trucks.ie

• Road Safety Authority www.rsa.ie

• Saoirse Foundation www.saoirsefoundation.com

• Scania www.scania.ie

• Schmitz Cargobull www.cargobull.com

• SDC Trailers www.sdctrailers.com

• Seatruck Ferries Limited www.seatruckferries.com

• Sinotruk 01 4194500

• TC Trailers www.tctrailers.com

• The BMI Group www.thebmigroup.com

• Trailco www.trailco.ie

• Transway Fleet Solutions www.transway.ie

• Truck & Trailer Works Ltd www.truckandtrailerworks.com

• TSS Ltd www.tssltd.ie

• Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles www.volkswagenvans.ie

• Volvo Trucks www.volvotrucks.ie

• Whiting Systems www.whitingsystems.com

EXHIBITION ARENA | 51 Ashbourne Truck Centre

BUMBLEance

Dennison Trailers

Emerald Truck & Van

Emo

FIAT

www.fleet.ie

52 | EXHIBITION ARENA Ford

FTAI VanSafe

FUSO

Gleeson Trucks Bodies

Hireco

FLEETTRANSPORTAWARDS | OCTOBER 17

Krone

EXHIBITION ARENA | 53 Mercedes-Benz Vito

Mitsubishi

MJ Quinn Ltd

MPM Specialist Vehicles Ltd

Schmitz Cargobull

Sinotruk

TC Trailers

www.fleet.ie

54 | EXHIBITION ARENA The BMI Group

Transway Fleet Solutions/Legras

Trailco

Truck & Trailer Works

Truck of the Year Shortlisted Vehicles

TSS Ltd

FLEETTRANSPORTAWARDS | OCTOBER 17

Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles

INDOOR EXHIBITION ARENA

56 | PICTORIAL - NETWORKING I - SPONSORED BY PROVISION

Paul O’Donnell, Gavin Power, Aurimas Bajorunas - Transportzone

Gemma Byrne, Yvonne Hargroves, Laura McDermot and Gerry Malee - Emo

Gary Green, FTAI and Jarlath Sweeney, Fleet Transport

Philip Nolan, Journalist and Marty Whelan

Mark Appleby, Michael Murphy - Keelings Retail

Conor Halloran, Brendan Ryan, Susan Ryan, Trevor Durnin - Blue Tree Systems & Martin Ryan Haulage

Orla Sweeney, Anne Marie Grant - Fleet Transport

Denise Owens, Anne Marie Grant, Sean Murtagh, Una Monaghan – Fleet Transport

Gerard Rice and Andrew Johnson - FUSO

Joanne Barlow and Sean Cunningham Technician of Year Finalist

Rebecca Fitzgerald – Govern Low Loader Transport and Marty Whelan

Barry Murray and Ciaran Murphy – ProVision with Marty Whelan

FLEETTRANSPORTAWARDS | OCTOBER 17

PICTORIAL - NETWORKING I - SPONSORED BY PROVISION | 57

PROVISION - SPONSOR OF PRE-AWARDS DRINKS RECEPTION Siobhan & Robert McCormack - RNS Haulage

Jarlath and Orla Sweeney with the Camembert Quartet aka The Late Late Show Band and Marty Whelan M.C.

David Breen, Noel Needham - Ervia

Sean Clarke – Emerald Truck & Van and Maurice Johnston - C&C Gleeson

Verona Murphy – President IRHA and Jarlath Sweeney, Fleet Transport

Dermot O’Byrne and David Maloney – DAF Distributors Ireland Ltd

Thomas & Ann Kiely - Cappoquin Logistics with Noel Brennan - Noel Brennan Transport

Emily Walsh, Caoimhe Lynch - SDC

Ford Ireland (Stage Sponsors)– Michael Ring, Ciarán McMahon and Paul O’Sullivan

Jenny McLoughlin, Fionnuala Daniels CVRT

The Fleet Team www.fleet.ie

BUYING A USED COMMERCIAL VEHICLE BEFORE YOU BUY A USED COMMERCIAL VEHICLE YOU SHOULD: •

•

•

•

• •

Have the vehicle INDEPENDENTLY checked by a qualified mechanic.

This should provide some assurance that it is roadworthy at the time of purchase. Alternatively buy from an authorised dealer with a warranty.

While a Certificate or Roadworthiness (CRW) is proof that a vehicle met basic safety requirements on the day it was tested, only components that are visible and accessible can be assessed at the CVR Test. It is not a warranty as to the condition of a vehicle The Commercial Vehicle Roadworthiness (CVR) test history remains with the vehicle regardless of change of ownership. Therefore, if the vehicle has not been tested on time in the past, you will get a CRW with a shorter expiry date when it is next tested Check for a valid CRW and confirm the next test due date on CVRT.IE If a commercial vehicle does not have a CRW disc displayed it may mean that the vehicle has not passed its annual Commercial Vehicle Roadworthiness (CVR) test Check the vehicle’s history – Checking for odometer fraud, outstanding finance and that the vehicle hasn’t previously been written off Follow the competition and consumer protection commission guidelines on www.ccpc.ie

TIP ONE Have the vehicle independently checked by a qualified mechanic before purchase.

TIP TWO Check that the vehicle has a valid Certificate of Roadworthiness (CRW).

You can find out more about Commercial Vehicle Roadworthiness, including checking whether or not a used vehicle has a valid Certificate of Roadworthiness, at www.cvrt.ie

Diary Date Fleet Transport Awards 2019 Date: Thursday 11 October 2018 Venue: Citywest Hotel Dublin

TRANSPORT w w w. fl e e t t r a n s p o r t a w a rd s . c o m

AWARDS

SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES Orla Sweeney Tel: +353 94 9372826 / +353 86 2439239 Email: orla@fleet.ie ADVERTISING Mary Morrissey Tel: +353 94 9372819 / +353 87 2178495 Email: mary@fleet.ie ALL OTHER ENQUIRIES Denise Owens Tel: +353 94 9372827 Email: enquiries@fleet.ie www.fleettransportawards.com

follow us on twitter.com/fleettransport

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ANNOUNCEMENT Fleet Bus & Coach Awards 2018 …

Gala Evening Event Date: Thursday 16 November 2017 Venue: Killashee Hotel, Naas, County Kildare Please contact: Mary Morrissey | mary@fleet.ie | +353 87 2178495 or Orla Sweeney | orla@fleet.ie | +353 86 2439239 for more details.

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brigade-electronics.com Call on 01322 420300 or visit your stockist

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PICTORIAL | 61

Another successful Tipperary Truck Show at Dualla

T

he annual Dualla Show 2017 once again proudly hosted the 4th Tipperary Truck Show, sponsored

by Surehaul Commercials (Urlingford, Waterford & Clonmel). The show included

a broad variety of commercial vehicles featuring custom, vintage and working trucks.

A great family fun day was enjoyed by all,

with livestock and equestrian events, tractor pulling and much more.

Surehaul’s Willie Lawrence was behind the lens for these photographs.

www.fleet.ie

62 | TEST

Mercedes-Benz Actros 1845 LS StreamSpace 4x2

I

f we may paraphrase the famous Grammy Award winning song, “What a difference an engine makes”. It’s an apt representation of the new generation engine developments carried out by Mercedes-Benz for its heavy-duty truck

range.

We’re talking here about the OM471 in its latest Euro 6 ‘C’ or phase three form, which boasts a 6% overall reduction in fuel consumption compared to previous editions, thanks to some tweaking and shared drivetrain developments.

The power output from the 12.8 litre 6-cylinder diesel equates to 450hp or 330kW, with maximum torque at 2,200Nm @ 9001250rpm. Providing the gear linkage is the Mercedes PowerShift 3 automated transmission. Both the engine and gearbox have been re-engineered to bring about this projected customer saving. The injection system and turbo performance have been modified and the synchros on the transmission have reduced friction, while the axle ratio changed to increase fuel efficiency. Also helping the cause is the way the Predictive Powertrain Control works, provided it is engaged properly.

FLEETTRANSPORT | OCTOBER 17

All these changes to the powertrain fitted to the latest Mercedes-Benz Actros (MP4 Step 2) lead up to the arrival of the all new Actros, set for its global reveal at the IAA CV Show in Hannover, Germany next September. Until then, we’ve got this version, which is causing quite a stir in the road transport industry thanks to the ongoing Fuel Duel comparison test campaign, which is more than a public relations exercise. Hauliers are invited to trial the Actros with the OM471 in their fleet and compare the fuel consumption in like-forlike daily duties. More than 3,200 Fuel Duel Comparison tests have been conducted, with the Mercedes-Benz winning over 90% of the contests with an average fuel usage margin reduction of 11%.

Despite not having a truck in our fleet to compare with, we undertook a cross-country long distance test run covering over 523.4 kms, accompanied by Gerry McDonnell from the Mercedes-Benz CV technical team. Loaded to 35 tonnes gross, the overall fuel return over the five-leg journey was very satisfactory at 9.65 mpg, particularly as the route was not all motorway. Peak fuel economy levels reached 25.69 L/100 km or a fraction off 11 mpg while on the motorway back from Enfield to the Naas Road in Dublin. When under pressure down the country but still on primary roads, the

TEST | 63 Chart 1 Distance Driving Time Average Speed Average Fuel Consumption

Leg 1 – Route: 258.3 km 3h.58m 68 km/h 30.01L/100 (9.41 mpg)

Leg 2 – Route: 221.5 km 3 h.04m 73.8 km/h 30.3L/100 (9.32 mpg)

poorest return was at 8.94 mpg (31.60L/100 km).

For the east to west return trip, Mercedes-Benz Commercial Vehicles Ireland specified an Actros 1845 LS 4x2 tractor-unit with StreamSpace cab (offering a flat floor) with Style Line trim level.

Hooked up was the company’s Dennison 4.2m high curtainside test semi-trailer loaded to 35,740 kgs.

Leg 1 began on leaving the new MUTEC Mercedes-Benz sales showroom on the Naas Road onto the M50 and taking the M4 as far as the Enfield Junction then on to the old Dublin Road to Kinnegad, a path well travelled every day by truck drivers, to avoid the toll bridge. Coming off the R148 to the M6 motorway, the three-hour trek west was broken with a stop-off at Supermacs’ Galway Plaza. Th is new service station is proving so popular with the HGV and coach sectors that parking at the main facility is inadequate for the number of vehicles aiming to visit there. With the HGV diesel pumps between fields, the walk to the amenities is a bit far, particularly if it rains!

After a quick sandwich, we travelled further west before turning towards the N17 at Claregalway. Soon that section of road will be unnecessary as the new motorway from Athenry to Tuam will cut out much of the enduring congestion, as well as speeding up the journey time to Limerick/Shannon Airport as the motorway link to Gort is fi nally completed. Although against a strong headwind the cruise control was set at 85 km/h and rev band needle centred around 1,100 rpm in 12th gear. Upon arriving at the McWilliam Hotel in Claremorris, a quick fl ick of a few buttons calculated the day’s data to be fully endorsed by the brand’s FleetBoard telematics system. See Chart 1 for details.

Leg 2 headed us north towards Sligo, with the road to Charlestown taking in the long climb towards Ireland West Airport Knock. Here the Predictive Cruise Control (PPC) in Eco mode came into its own.

With a sett ing of plus 5 km/h on the set 85 km/h and minus 3 km/h below, this reading allowed the predetermined mapping see the road

Leg 3 – Route: 44 km 43m 67 km/h 23.69L/100 km (11.00 mpg)

Totals 523.4 km 7.45 hrs 71 km/h 29.27L/100 (9.65 mpg)

ahead, allocate the appropriate gear and rev band. When the peak of the hill is within radar sighting, the engine brake revs are lowered and sometimes a gear is knocked down and revs are lowered slightly to bring the truck over the hill, with the speed and weight carrying the momentum. As the unit passes over the crest and the speed goes beyond 85 kp/h to 90 kp/h, the multi-phase engine brake engages and if necessary applies a lower gear to help control and reduce the overall speed. No need to press the footbrake, all the driver has to do is steer! N17 traffic still has to traverse through Charlestown while the N5 driver avails of the town bypass put in place a few years ago. Once in County Sligo, the road narrows considerably and twists and turns before opening up again towards Collooney.

At the roundabout there, we hung a right and indicated east onto the N4. The long descent down along the Curlews brought the PPC into action in a trustworthy controlled fashion. From there it was steady running along the N4 and to the M6 to the stop-off point at the Applegreen Services at Enfield East. After 221.5 kms, the fuel gauge registered 9.41 mpg.

The fi nal leg back to base was much shorter, but ironically produced the best figures all day – 11 mpg over the 44 kms. When parked up, we let the horses cool and totted up the fi nal figures from the breakdown via the FleetBoard system. Gerry was pleased with the overall result – 9.65 mpg (29.27L/100 km) over the 523.4 kms driven.

Comfort levels on the journey were second-to-none, with easy crosscab access, thanks to the flat floor. Visibility all round is excellent and the low engine revs and good soundproofi ng made it easy to converse. The current Actros may be over five years old now, but it still can compare and contrast well with its opposition. We wait in anticipation of what the new model brings in terms of even more advanced technology and innovation.

Spec Check Make/Model

Mercedes-Benz Actros 1845 LS 4x2 tractorunit 2.5m StreamSpace Engine OM471 12.8 litre 6-cylinder Euro 6 ‘C’ Power 330 kW/449 hp Torque 2,200 Nm @ 900-1250 rpm Transmission Mercedes PowerShift 3 automated Suspension Front: Parabolic Springs Rear: Air Axle Ratio 2.533:1 Brakes ABS/ASR/ESP/ABA on Discs Wheelbase 3,850mm Tanks 630 litres (diesel) 75 litres (AdBlue) Fitt ings Style Line interior design. Leather steering wheel.

Lane keeping Assist. Predictive Powertrain Control. Driver and co-driver suspended leather seats. Air-con.

Text & Photos: Jarlath Sweeney - editor@fleet.ie

www.fleet.ie

64 | SHIPPING & FREIGHT

Changing of the Guard at Northern Irish Ports

B

y the end of the first quarter of 2018 both Belfast Harbour and Warrenpoint Port will be under the management of new Chief Executive Officers. The changes come as both ports report strong business growth and have substantial development plans.

At Belfast, Roy Adair CBE will retire after a successful twelve-year tenure as CEO with increases in revenue and profits each year. He will be succeeded by Joe O’Neill (pictured) who joined Belfast Harbour Company in 1997 and is currently Commercial Director, a position that he has held since 2005.

The Belfast Harbour estate extends to over 3,000 acres, and operations and activities there encompass many non-port related businesses which include office and hotel developments.

2016 cargo throughput exceeded 23 million tonnes in 2016, while ferry passenger numbers rose by 9% in the last year to top 1.5 million, the highest number since 2004.

Warrenpoint Harbour Authority, which is now chaired by former Waterford Port CEO Stan McIlvenny, has announced the retirement of its CEO, Peter Conway. He has been at the helm for the past twelve years and has overseen substantial changes at what is Northern Ireland’s second busiest port.

Seatruck ferries operate a twice daily Ro-Ro service to Heysham, while Cronus Logistics operate a container service into the Bristol Channel area. A new grain store and conveyor system has recently been completed, while the export of bulk cement increased to over 200,000 tonnes in 2016. The Port has now entered into a ten-year handling deal for this material with Quinn Industrial Holdings.

Warrenpoint Harbour has indicated its concerns about the impact of Brexit. Some 50% of the traffic through the Port is en route to or from the Irish Republic. The Port faces active competition in the bulk traffic area, from Greenore Port, located on the south side of Carlingford Lough, while the

newly launched Greencastle/Greenore ferry service has yet to prove itself as an alternative routing for traffic to and from the South to the current road through Newry. The service, introduced in July 2017, uses a ferry that had previously been operated by Shannon Ferries on the Tarbert/Killimer route. It operates hourly in each direction with a passage time of twenty minutes.

CLdN will sail Mega-vessel on Dublin Route

C

LdN plans to introduce the 8,000 lane metres Celine into its Dublin services immediately on her arrival from the shipyard in China.

She will operate a three-port rotation, Rotterdam - Zeebrugge - Dublin, and will displace two smaller Con-Ro vessels.

In advance of the new vessel arrival, Pat Brennan, Director of Terminal Operator, Doyle Shipping, has advised that significant preparation work is underway at the terminal, including the purchase of additional handling equipment, most of which is manufactured in Ireland by Liebherr to facilitate the loading and discharge of the new vessel. Dublin Port has also developed a new ramp for the vessel.

The previously announced strategy to prepare for expansion in the Port of Zeebrugge, with the development of a new 36-hectare port facility at Albert II Dock, will be delivered prior to the Celine and her five sister vessels entering service. Similarly, and in parallel, the Britannia Haven Rotterdam Terminal is being expanded and enhanced and will also integrate a new 4 x 700m rail facility, to be ready by the end of the year.

Export container volumes continue to grow strongly

T

he IMDO has issued figures indicating that Irish shipping volumes rose by 1% in the second quarter of 2017. While the number of Roll-on/Roll-off units shipped through Republic of Ireland ports increased by 3% over the 2016 second quarter figures to 287,688, the Lo-lo container export volumes showed a particularly strong 7% growth, reaching 81,268 TEU during the quarter. The growth in import volumes slowed, with a 1% increase reaching 103,406 TEU. IMDO comments that the Ro-Ro figures and trends very much indicate trading activity with Great Britain, while the Lo-Lo volumes are mainly on trading with continental and deep-sea locations.

The new vessels will, like the other vessels currently under construction for the company, be LNG ready, allowing for adaption to dual fuel propulsion.

> Your gateway into Europe FLEETTRANSPORT | OCTOBER 17

www.samskip.com Text: Howard Knott - howard@fleet.ie

Ashbourne Truck Centre, Ballymadun, Ashbourne, Co. Meath, Ireland Tel: 00353 18350573 Josef: 0035387 255 66 77 Sarah J: 0035386 255 66 77

21m power steered extendable flat in stock, all 3 axles hydraulically steer, 37 tonne payload, twistlocks, post sockets, extra lashing rings for load securing, XL Rated. In stock, available now.

9.6m Aluminium Schmitz tipping trailer, Rear steer axle, auto dump on suspension, front lift axle, galvanised steel chassis. In stock, available now.

New 48ton Gross Faymonville 3 axle fixed bed low loader, rear steer axle, double flip ramps, out riggers, ramps to neck, storage trays, auto greaser. In stock, available now.

New 58 tonne gross Faymonville 4 axle step frame, fixed bed and extendable version, two rear steer axles, front lift axle, Double flip ramps, out riggers, ramps to neck, auto greaser. In stock, available now.

www.ashbournetruckcentre.com

66 | PROFILE

Graham Sand & Gravel – Serving the Industry 1982-2017 … and beyond!

T

en years further down the road and hundreds and thousands of kilometres on the clock, Graham Sand & Gravel is as happy as ever, as his company Thomas J. Graham celebrates thirty-five years in business. It was in the December 2007 edition that Fleet Transport marked the company’s silver anniversary, just months before the Irish economy came crashing down.

With the construction sector hit hard, those involved in the industry from the supply side like Tommy Graham suffered most, which meant restructuring in terms of fleet size, staff and debt management. Back in 2007, Tommy operated a dozen strong fleet of trucks and a broad selection of quarry plant and equipment. A decade on, the Prosperous, County Kildare firm owner has the numbers back up to six as the construction trade has begun to find its feet again.

Taking pride of place in the distinctive red and white liveried fleet is 171 KE 727, Tommy’s new Volvo FM13.410 8x4 Globetrotter. Th is multi-axle tipper is rather special. It could be termed a 35-year commemorative truck as the cab’s high roofline features the origins of the business. On the driver’s side, his late father is pictured alongside his brother Tommy’s Volvo F86, while on the off-side his mother is standing beside the AEC Mandater that her husband, Tommy’s father drove/worked.

Frank Dunne, Mayfield Body Repairs, Kilmeague did the impressive paint job, while Nick Purdy completed the airbrushing.

Noteworthy too is the registration number which reflects back to when Tommy bought his own truck, a Volvo F727, bearing the FLEETTRANSPORT | OCTOBER 17

registration 727 ZW, after spending a year driving his uncle Tommy’s F86.

In recent years Tommy has undertaken a fleet renewal process, which is continuing, with a new Renault Range C 8x4 ordered and on its way from Setanta Vehicle Sales, Dublin to County Kildare. This 8-wheeler will also come fitted with an E100 Half Pipe tipper body built by Gleeson Truck Bodies, Tipperary as Tommy is very pleased with the high quality of the versions in operation with the FM13.410 and the Volvo FMX11.410. Thompsons and Loobys manufactured the bodies on the other two Volvos, the ‘08 FM.380 and 161 FM.410 and the Renault C430 8x4 that’s operated by Tommy’s nephew.

Chatting with Tommy, he reminisced on the days of driving the 180 hp Volvo F727

and how over 400 hp is the norm for today’s applications, primarily doing the same loads.

Th roughout all the ups and downs, Tommy has remained positive, with the glass always half full in his eyes. It is his hands-on approach, good customer service and an ever-increasing list of contacts that saw his business through the lean periods. Th is time around he is more cautious and can pick and choose his customers without having to rely on the construction sector too much. Diversity is key, he maintains. “We cover all aspects of the equestrian construction and sports pitch construction sectors, as well as supplying sand and stone to builders, many who have been loyal customers for 35 years.”

Tommy is certainly one of the ‘early riser

PROFILE | 67

brigade’ as each morning he starts up the FH Globetrotter at 6.30 am.

Graham Sand & Gravel has for decades operated business out of three quarries namely, Blessington, Broadford and Rathangan, with the latter now being converted into a massive landfi ll site with a capacity of 1.5 million tonnes. The Broadford site which was dormant for a while has now reopened and is co-owned with Christy O’Neill from Moyglare Sand & Gravel and trading as Kildare Sand & Gravel.

Another unusual contract gained recently is transporting the sod from Croke Park when major concerts come around.

Although the order book is getting increasingly busier, margins are still tight as operational and running costs are on the rise and these, along with labour costs, affect the bottom line. Keeping an updated and fresh fleet helps to lower maintenance costs, according to Tommy, but modestly he omitted the fact that he and his driver team keep their trucks in pristine condition at all times. “The truck wash rarely gets time to cool off,” he emphasised.

That pristine presentation together with the strong livery certainly make the Graham trucks stand out when on the road.

When not behind the wheel of Volvo FM, Tommy switches off by driving even faster in his specially prepared 400bhp turbo charged RallyCross Ford Escort MKII. He

STOP PRESS! Tommy Graham wins Fleet Transport Owner Driver Haulier of the Year 2018 Award. Pictured at the 11th annual Fleet Transport Awards 2018 Gala Banquet at the City west Hotel, Dublin are Denise Owens, Fleet Transport; Dara Sullivan, Technical Service Manager, MAN Importers Ireland; Tommy Graham, Thomas Graham Sand & Gravel; Orla Sweeney, Fleet Transport and Marty Whelan, M.C.

has been campaigning in this on-track/offroad series with great success both in Irish and UK National Championships. There is a photograph hanging in his office with Tommy driving his Ford Fiesta RallyX car to overall victory in the Irish RallyCross Championship for the 2009/10 season. Tommy did try his hand at stages rallying during the ‘90s but his heart has always been with the rough stuff.

Maybe it’s the nature of the beast, not being too far from the gravel underfoot. To keep the

Text & Photos: Jarlath Sweeney - editor@fleet.ie

reflexes sharp Tommy regularly takes out his Space-framed RWB Peugeot 206 to Hot Rod races around the country.

Established in 1982 and after 35 years in the business, Tommy still has the passion and enthusiasm to continue on, for another 15 years at least, until the half-century comes around in 2032. Roll-on Graham Sand & Gravel!

www.fleet.ie

68 | COMMENT

Ah, sure it’s only Brexit; No big worries!

A

s you read this, we are now approaching the halfway point between the UK vote to exit the EU and Brexit actually happening. How ready are we all for what is politically, at least, one of the major events so far of the twenty-fi rst century?

The normal immediate response to that question would be to the effect that this is a silly question given that we don’t know what Brexit actually means. Well, I would feel that we should look at Brexit in a similar way to how we look ahead to taking part in a sporting event; sure, there’s lots we don’t know in advance about the match or race but there’s a great deal that can be done in planning and training that can put yourself and your team in a good place to meet the challenges of the event.

Brexit is very similar. We don’t know the fi nal details of the exit deal, but that should not stop everybody involved preparing for it.

Even if, by some chance Brexit were not to happen at all, the very threat should shake exporters and importers, along with the providers of services to them, to seek out ways in which they can be more competitive and to seek out markets and supply sources outside the UK. This month the Revenue Commissioners will launch a campaign to inform traders and all of those involved in the import or export of goods about the potential value of securing Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) status. Being an AEO Company means that you are an Authorised Economic Operator or trusted trader, meeting standards in FLEETTRANSPORT | OCTOBER 17

the operation of your business as well as being financially sound. AEO trusted trader standards are not only accepted throughout the EU but are also recognised under Joint Customs Co-Operation Agreements in North America, China, Japan and a range of other countries. The AEO certification can be secured not only by shippers of goods but also by freight forwarders, carriers, warehouse keepers, port and airport operators and others in the Supply Chain.

Up to now certified bodies have, in the main, been large manufacturers and forwarders, but for carriers and smaller shippers the benefits would far outweigh the difficulties in securing certification. AEO facilitates the streamlining of Customs procedures, reduces data set for clearance, and facilitates reduced document checks especially at third country borders; where physical controls are in place AEO’s are given priority treatment.

Once a fi rm has secured AEO certification it does not have to be renewed unless there have been material changes in the firm and its operations. The most important plus of AEO - and this applies to carriers and forwarders as much as to exporting manufacturers - is that an AEO company is recognised globally as a “secure and compliant business in international trade.”

From where I'm sitting - Howard Knott Road rail services to Asian destinations? … the list goes on.

Coming back closer to home, systems have to be developed that will enable smaller exporters to the British market consolidate loads so as to reduce the volume of customs entries, otherwise the exporter will face significant costs and the carrier runs the risk of delays en route.

As we have discussed in previous articles, a series of factors have combined to shift the shipping of trailers out of Ireland to Britain and even the Continent from a driver accompanied model to unaccompanied.

Investments such as that made by CLdN in new Con-Ro vessels and by Neptune Line opening their Rosslare-Santander link, could give hauliers greater opportunities to avoid the British Landbridge, but will require them to develop strong partnerships with destination port based hauliers.

A fi nal thought; Brexit or no Brexit, have a look at “Blockchain”. It may solve a lot of problems.

With developments such as taking part in pallet networks becoming much more of a feature of international hauliers’ business, the whole Brexit issue throws up some further questions. Could networks operate to and from Continental Europe using direct shipping services? How could they build up their IT systems to operate such services reliably and cost effectively, could such services link in with some of the Silk Text: Howard Knott - howard@fleet.ie

OPINION | 69

Brexit - Back to the Future with Deep Impact View from the Operators Desk by Sean Murtagh sean@fleet.ie

I

n the late nineties, a fi lm was released called “Deep Impact”, starring Morgan Freeman, Robert Duvall and Téa Leoni.

In this big hit fi lm, the plot was simple, a scientist had discovered a comet that was on a collision course with Earth. It was estimated that it would collide with the planet in two years’ time and probably wipe out all human life. There was much debate as to what action should be taken to avoid such a collision, the American Government was confident that it could nuke the comet and avoid any harm.

Others were a litt le less confident and were concerned as to the severity any impact would be, what plans should be put in place to reduce the physical damage that would likely arise, and of course what the Earth would look like when this catastrophe occurred.

Scientists disagreed as did politicians. Sound familiar? Somewhat a bit like the current Brexit debate it seems to me.

People should be thinking about their own business now, because if the impact of Brexit is not ‘nuked’ by somebody – the Irish or British Governments, the EU or anybody else, it could put our country back to the 1950s in economic terms.

I have to accept the Government’s word when it said everything possible is being done to avert any harm to the Irish economy. We are hearing similar platitudes from Europe. I believe both our own Government and the EU have our best interests at heart, but can they be fully trusted to do the right thing? There have been some hiccups in the past where best intentions led to terrible consequences.

Make no mistake, civil servants and politicians do not think like owners of small and medium road transport companies.

Unfortunately, most of what might happen in economic terms, postBrexit, cannot be predicted, just as in the fi lm the outcome is far from certain. One thing is certain though, it will not be long until we hear the Government say that “as a precaution and in the event that there is a requirement to patrol a hard border, we are putt ing contingency plans in place to cover such an event”.

So a new quango will be established, another State sponsored cottage industry that will be paid for by the private sector. Back to Customs agents, requests and an unnecessary layer of bureaucracy that creates unproductive jobs and cost that does not add value. Make no mistake about it, when the time comes whatever Government is in power, border controls will be in place and all of the associated cost will be passed on. I don’t think it will matter, soft or hard border, there will be a costly administration in place. For hauliers, this must be seen as a pass-through charge to exporters or importers.

If you remember from the fi lm “Deep Impact” you will know that it took some brave actions on the part of five astronauts to save the world. We need some brave people now to deal with the potential effects of Brexit, it would be risky to leave the decisions to the establishment and I fear we have no choice, I hope it is not the case of - Back to the Future?

www.fleet.ie

70 | SHOWCASE

Dennison Trailers Fast Parts Key official partner for IMS/SAF - Holland products in Ireland

S

ignificant news from Dennison Fast Parts is that the Naas, County Kildare based spare parts supplier has become a key official partner for IMS/SAF-Holland products in Ireland!

In order to meet customer demand due to the increased application of SAF axles in Ireland, Dennison Fast Parts has become a major partner to IMS/SAF-Holland and now have Ireland’s largest stock of genuine SAF-Holland products.

SAF-Holland is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of premium quality axles and suspension systems, fifth wheels, landing gear and kingpins.

When compared with the competition, SAF-Holland customers are assured of superlative quality, reliability and cost-efficiency throughout extended product life.

Speed of response and availability of stock are critical to operators. That is why Dennison Fast Parts offers a single source of high quality, approved parts by reputable manufacturers for all makes of trailer - fast! Whether for a fleet or a single trailer, Dennison Fast Parts products are available throughout Ireland and the UK via its highly responsive Fast Parts operation, designed to get parts to the client/road transport operator whenever and wherever required.

a range of manufacturer accredited training programmes in support of all of the products the company distributes.

In addition to the standard product maintenance modules it makes available to customers and service partners, IMS also creates bespoke training packages to suit very specific requirements.

IMS can be flexible with regard to the delivery of training.

This can be at customers’ premises or alternatively, IMS and Fast Parts will find and organise a venue at a location of their choosing.

With these values in mind, Dennison Fast Parts is constantly adding new product ranges to meet changing market demands, and is in a position to offer its customers an unrivalled availability of products.

Alongside this fantastic milestone and following the acquisition of Daimler Axles by JOST, Dennison Trailers Fast Parts (Naas) now also carries the largest stock of genuine Daimler parts which have now been rebranded JOST.

John Browne, Dennison Fast Parts Manager, Naas said of the recent news: “We are delighted to be able to say we are now a key official partner for IMS/SAF-Holland products in Ireland.

This partnership ensures we can continue to offer a wide range of products from leading manufacturers such as IMS SAF- Holland, JOST, Haldex and many more.”

Prior to this, Daimler trailer axle parts were only available through the main Mercedes-Benz Commercial Vehicle dealer network. With the transition to JOST ownership, the axle parts are available from a wider network throughout Europe and Dennison Fast Parts is the new authorized supplier in Ireland.

James Coyne, IMS Aftermarket Manager also commented on the appointment: “As SAF official partner in Ireland and the UK, our commitment to service and parts availability is paramount.

Partnering with Dennison Fast Parts is a significant milestone in the continual improvement of IMS/SAF -Holland service within the Irish Market.”

Dennison Fast Parts now also stock a range of DAKEN Tool boxes as well as BAWER stainless steel tool boxes.

As well as the unrivalled access to official IMS/SAF-Holland products, there is also the opportunity for customers to have hands on training conducted by IMS/ SAF-Holland personnel, on a purposebuilt training vehicle in Ireland.

IMS Limited is a specialist importer and distributor of premium products for the commercial vehicle market and runs FLEETTRANSPORT | OCTOBER 17

“Dennison Fast Parts really is the ‘one-stop-shop’ for all your parts and accessory needs,” concluded John.

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Opportunity for Fast Parts customers to have hands on training conducted by SAF personnel on a purpose built training vehicle in Ireland. Contact us for more details.

We also have an unrivalled stock of DAKEN tool boxes and BAWER stainless steel tool boxes.

Following the acquisition of Daimler axles by JOST we now carry an unrivalled stock in Ireland of genuine Daimler parts which have now been rebranded JOST.

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E fastpartsnaas@dennisontrailers.com www.dennisontrailers.com/fast-parts

72 | LEGAL

The continuing and daily impact of EU Legislation

O

n 16 August 2017 the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Shane Ross TD, signed yet another EU Directive which has the effect of bringing it into the law of Ireland. Th is is the E.U. Cross-Border Exchange Directive (2015/413/EU) which, if it is implemented with enthusiasm by the various Member States, will affect drivers of both private and commercial vehicles who habitually cross national borders.

There has been increasing concern about those drivers who clearly believe that, if they commit a Road Traffic offence in one country, they can avoid a penalty by crossing the border into a neighbouring country thereby achieving anonymity.

The Directive now gives the necessary authority to enforcement officers in a situation in which one of the seven offences listed below has taken place involving a vehicle registered in another Member State, to identify the owner of that vehicle by searching the relevant vehicle registration data in the records of that other Member State.

The seven listed offences are:1. Failing to use a seat-belt 2. Failing to stop at a red traffic-light 3. Drink driving 4. Driving whilst under the influence of drugs 5. Failing to wear a safety helmet 6. The use of a forbidden lane 7. Illegally using a mobile telephone or any other communication devices while driving It appears that these offences were chosen as being the most common of the offences recognised by each of the Member States as involving a real and immediate risk to life.

The Directive makes no distinction between private and commercial vehicles, certainly the offences specified in the Directive are not vehicle specific. In practice it may be some time before the real impact of this Directive is felt even if it clearly fi lls a gap in the enforcement of standards of driving throughout the EC. FLEETTRANSPORT | OCTOBER 17

To enable the Directive to work effectively there will have to be co-operation between the enforcement agents in each of the countries involved in an enquiry. Following an incident in one Member State, involving a vehicle from another Member State, (let us say that a French Police Officer sees the driver of a vehicle from the Republic driving without a seatbelt), gett ing the ownership of that vehicle checked in the Republic may simply be too much trouble. Equally an enforcement officer in one Member State might suggest to the driver of a vehicle from another Member State that the payment of a small sum of money might avoid the hassle of checking with officials in the State of the vehicle’s owner.

Those drivers from the Republic who habitually drive in the UK might have anticipated that the UK enforcement agencies would welcome the Directive with enthusiasm, but of course it is necessary to consider Brexit. On 23 August 2017, the British Prime Minister announced that the UK would no longer be subject to EC laws, but only subject to UK legislation. On the face of it therefore, the form of the Directive

could only be effective if the UK negotiated a similar deal with each member of the EC, an exercise which, even if it is possible, may prove to be very lengthy. Conversely, if the UK Government is reluctant to introduce similar legislation, enforcement agents in the UK might make it difficult for the drivers of offending vehicles to leave the country.

We now have a clear confl ict between the clear determinations in the EC to standardise legislation controlling the use of vehicles of all sorts throughout the Member State, and the Government of the UK’s expressed determination not to allow any EC legislation to impinge on the lives of UK citizens. The obvious problem with the stance of the UK Government arises from the reality which is that a large number of vehicles from the Member State use UK roads.

Notwithstanding the mist of Brexit, it seems inevitable that the UK Government will have to reach some form of compromise to ease the movement of UK vehicles into the EC, and the movement of EC vehicles into the UK. As to the form of that compromise, only time will tell.

Text: Jonathan Lawton - jonathan@fleet.ie

74 | FINANCE

The Enemy Within

O

n average Irish companies are losing 20% of margin each year from the bottom line due to internal theft and misappropriation. There is no reason to believe that transport fi rms are below average in these stakes and it’s frightening to believe that hard earned profit is disappearing before operators’ eyes due to employee activities. Many fi rms choose to ignore this threat, bury heads in the sand and bemoan the low profit left at the end of the year.

Other business owners look to control and reduce internal slipping and this is how they go about it:

There are two elements to look at; 1) staff recruitment, training and monitoring and 2) internal control procedures and culture within the business.

We now operate in a culture where right and wrong seems to be an old fashioned sentiment, employees live transient lives, one no longer knows the history and background of employees and a job for life is a thing of the past. Careful employee selection, especially for high risk areas where staff have direct access to funds, materials or company confidential information is an absolute necessity. Double check references, can you get real data to make your decision? Use all sources of information to substantiate what is shown as fact in their resumé. Please remember that 10% of employees are strictly honest, 80% can be swayed and 10% no matter what controls are in place will rob you blind! It’s not uncommon for the security staff to be robbing the plants from the company property so what hope has the business of controlling any other theft .

No matter who you employ you must have procedures and controls in place that monitor staff; if you don’t you will lose out. Clearly defi ned roles, and a number of people involved in each step of the process rules out the risk of one individual with all power and authority ripping the business off. Controls have to make sense and be implemented and monitored by someone that has common business sense. We are well aware that if you have vehicles on the road, fuelling externally is fraught with risk.

Technology and monitoring reduces this risk but we have all been in service stations where you see the van and the spouse’s vehicle being fi lled simultaneously. If your business has a culture of poor control that may have suited your business style when the company was small, this may be very difficult to stamp out. Remember a revenue audit may not see you as the victim but as complicit, and add a further tax and penalty charge to your lax control of your business.

If you monitor and control your business, do not have any one individual with total control. Reallocating duties on a revolving basis and monitoring staff loss will reveal a lot about your business.

Honest staff will leave rather than become part of a dishonest process, but as a rule they never explain why they are leaving. Look at staff holidays and those that keep their duties and roles totally to themselves; is it an ultra-dedicated staff member or someone that has something to hide?

control accountants and correct format of expenses.

While employees, if recruited and managed correctly can be a fi rm's greatest asset, the opposite is also the case if business ethics and standards are not adhered to.

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No system or procedures are fool proof, and while you may think your annual account process will root out any wrongdoing, it’s more likely the external accountant is more interested in simply reconciling FLEETTRANSPORT | OCTOBER 17

Text: Donal Dempsey - donal@fleet.ie

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76 | TIMES PAST 1

HINO - Entrenc h market fo r

B

eing totally ignorant about the genesis and early days of the Japanese truck brand Hino, a renowned name in the Irish road transport industry for almost five decades, I consulted Peter Davies’ magisterial World Encyclopedia of Trucks, to which I am indebted for much historical information.

2

3

In 1917 the motor vehicles division of the Tokyo Gas & Electric Company began building TGE lorries, the fi rst appearing in 1918.

Production continued until Hino Heavy Industries was formed in 1941, adopting the Hino radiator badge. Several more re-organisations and name tweaks followed, ever heavier vehicles being built from the 1940s onwards. Toyota, builders of increasingly bigger lorries since 1935, took control of Hino in 1966, phasing out its own heavier models in the following years. Hino, which became a subsidiary of Toyota in 2001, replaced all but the lightest of Toyota’s commercial models with its own designs.

Hino has produced several new models since the 1960s, when it began expanding globally. The name became especially well known and respected in New Zealand and Australia, these being countries where assembly plants were established. Sales grew to rival the largest manufacturers, being second only to Daimler-Benz for a time in the 1980s. However, it has since been overtaken by, among others, Volvo.

Ireland has been particularly important in the Hino story. A Dublin assembly plant was set up at Cloghran in the mid-1960s by the late Pino Harris, which began to supply both the UK and Irish markets.

Mr. Harris, who oversaw extremely strong sales growth, later moved to new premises on the Naas Road from where Harris Distributors still operates. Over the past fi ft y years, the marque has entrenched itself in the Irish market.

4

5

It would be dangerous for me to try identifying the various Hino vehicles that have worked in Ireland since the 1960s and would be utterly boring to quote a list of model types. I would therefore like to explain why a large selection of images accompanies this offering. The earliest images in my collection of vehicle pictures are monochrome negatives, which have recently been scanned by my friend Des Willis; they still need to be re-catalogued. There are also several thousand slides which are currently being tackled.

The scanned images, most of them my own work, have been taking up much time. I have placed them in fi les carrying the names of the various chassis makers, and this of course includes Hino, the number and variety of which astonished me when choosing pictures for this piece. Except for the fi rst two, dates are still awaiting verification, so I hope that what follows will be a suitable tribute to Hino, serving many users during the past half century.

The first two pictures are from my monochrome days. The earlier one is from 1971 when, on a bright Spring Saturday morning, I found this Hino artic belonging to Gilbert of Clonsilla waiting outside St Joseph’s CBS to have the span of the Fairview pedestrian bridge unloaded; this bridge was replaced in 2012 and it was some time before then

FLEETTRANSPORT | OCTOBER 17

c hed in the Irish o r 50 years

TIMES PAST | 77 7

that I photographed the remains of a Gilbert Hino in a compound near the Docks which I think may have been the same vehicle. The second monochrome shows Chinese Six LZU 620 hurrying down the Malahide Road at Artane in 1976. (Pictures 1 and 2) Th ree vehicles make up the next group of commercials. First is van 93 D 3001 belonging to Beverly Smith, the old established fi rm of furniture removers. Then come two tractor-units. The tanker, pictured at Artane (again! - Ardlea Road) is in the bright Castrol livery, while the contrasting long vehicle 91 D 5998 seen in Howth operated for Van Trans owned by Paddy O’Donovan, an active supporter of the Transport Museum. (Pictures 3, 4, 5)

8

Few industries require as many heavy three-and four-axle vehicles as does construction. The carefully selected pair here show 94 KE 2032, a tri-axle mixer working for Roadstone, whose name has been synonymous with building for more than 70 years. 98 D 58264, the four-axled tipper (with crane) is owned by another well-known contractor, Clonmel Enterprises; four-axle tippers are probably among the most imposing of Hinos. (Pictures 6, 7) 9 The next pair of images show two contrasting municipals. The light tipper 87 D 4947 belonged to Dublin County Council, a body which became defunct with Local Government re-organisation in 1986. The owner of the hydraulic platform has also changed, Dublin Corporation being the City Council since the beginning of this century. The picture is also of note in that the building being demolished, one of many blots on the urban streetscape, is already been supported by a raking shore. (Pictures 8, 9) Finally, two more contrasts. The heavy haulage tractor VLI 559 is barely making it around a corner while exiting the Whesssoe factory at Finglas, where the giant cylindrical vessel had been manufactured.

Th is is one of a series of pictures I took on that day. Last of all, a Hino recovery vehicle belonging to Harris towing a failed (Hino) bin lorry through Upper O’Connell Street. (Pictures 10, 11).

10

So there go several slices of transport history. The sad part was having to leave out so much more of a very large loaf. Whew!

6

Text & Photos: Michael Corcoran - contributor@fleet.ie

11

www.fleet.ie

78 | REVIEW

86th National Ploughing Championships, Screggan, Tullamore

P

art one of a two part series of reports on yet another successful annual showcase event, despite the weather! See the Fleet Van & Utility supplement insert in this edition for another pictorial.

BC Forklifts Based in County Meath and servicing a wide customer base, especially around the Midland counties, BC Forklifts offers new and used sales, forklift hire services and repair and maintenance for forklift operators all over the area and beyond. Its stand provided a full explanation of all business activities to a wide selection of visitors.

Bridgestone The rain, mud and soft underfoot conditions experienced by the throngs at this year’s Ploughing Championships would hold no fear for the Bridgestone tyres that were displayed at the show. Concentrating on agricultural tyres, the Japanese global tyre giant received its fair share of attention from farm and plant operators.

Jungheinrich Jungheinrich’s Irish HQ is located in Maynooth, County Kildare, a direct subsidiary of Jungheinrich GmbH. Currently ranking among the world’s top two companies in the material handling equipment, warehousing and material flow engineering sectors, it is renowned as a leading manufacturer of over 600 different types of forklift trucks.

Manitou Up front on the Manitou area was its MT 420 H which arrived in Ireland this year. Despite its compact size and ease of manoeuvrability it is capable of lift ing up to 2 tonnes to a maximum height of just over 4 metres. The cab comes from a bigger Manitou unit; the 49hp engine from Kubota and the transmission is a hydrostatic unit.

Modern Tyres In July this year, Modern Tyres opened two new depots, one in Sligo and the other in Nenagh, Tipperary, taking the total number of branches to 42. Football and fun where the centres of att raction alongside a vast array of the tyre products supplied.

Moffett At the National Ploughing Championships, Moffett had its home from home, demonstrating a wide selection of award winning products that have made the Dundalk based truck mounted forklift manufacturer a global player in the materials handling world.

FLEETTRANSPORT | OCTOBER 17

Text & Photos: Gerry Murphy - gerrym@fleet.ie

WE DON’T SELL TRAILERS This seems to be an extraordinary statement for a trailer manufacturer to make - and it is. But our customers don’t choose us because of our excellent trailers. We go deeper than that. Because the best ideas are born from close cooperation. By really listening to each other, starting a proper dialogue and thereby reaching the best solutions together. Partnership may be a cliché, but if we combine our knowledge and talents with those of our customers, extremely beautiful things are created.

In this way we make one another stronger and we help to fulfill each other’s ambitions. Of course to do so we also need top-quality trailers.

Nooteboom. Gets you there.

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80 | MATERIALS HANDLING

Kalmar shares insight on Port automation

‘E

xplore Automation’ was the theme of the Kalmar Automation Technology Days, held last month at the company’s Technology & Competence Centre in Tampere, Finland. The event gathered key industry stakeholders to share knowledge, learn about the latest technologies and discuss experiences and recent developments in terminal automation.

“We call for industry-wide collaboration around terminal automation.

The megatrends such as bigger vessel sizes, sustainability demands, industry consolidation and digitalisation are driving port terminals towards automated operations. However, the discussion around automation tends to focus on the technical aspects of the change.

We want the industry to explore automation from different angles and make it more accessible to port terminals by sharing knowledge and best practices, demonstrating automation technology solutions and discussing experiences from the past deployment projects,” stated Tero Kokko, Senior Vice President, Automation and Projects, Kalmar.

The agenda comprised of keynote speeches about autonomous shipping, automation deployment projects and shipping industry transformation, as well as interactive sessions with Kalmar experts, live demonstrations and showcases on leading automation solutions.

Kalmar’s impressive Technology & Competence centre includes the industry’s largest port automation test field, new visitor centre called “The Edge” and hi-tech facilities and laboratories for soft ware development, prototyping, simulation, testing, monitoring and optimisation.

The Cargotec owned company’s unique setup makes it possible to test and demonstrate fully automated end-to-end container handling operations at the test field, which speeds up product development and automation deployment in customer projects significantly.

Additionally, automated solutions can be tested 24/7 with live equipment in Tampere and via remote connection, even when the customer is located on the other side of the world.

More powerful and efficient LPG engines from Hyster

H

yster has introduced new engines on several of its LPG forklift models for the European market. The new Power Solutions International (PSI) engines, as they are called, are more powerful and fuel efficient, helping to increase customer’s productivity and further reduce the total cost of ownership.

Following stringent testing by Hyster engineers in several challenging applications, the new powerplants are said to be more robust, reliable and quieter. The engines are also reported to deliver increased performance with lower fuel consumption on intensive drive cycles, compared with previous models.

“Several Hyster models now lift full capacity faster than any other brand in their class. They provide excellent power and strength for general logistics operations through to tough manufacturing applications,” explained Robbert Wijnandts, Counterbalance Product Manager EMEA at Hyster Europe.

The purpose-built LPG industrial engines were first introduced on the Hyster S2.0-3.5FT space-saving series in January 2015, with great success. The premium H2.0-3.5FT together with the new H2.0-3.0XT trucks for everyday applications will now leave the factory in Northern Ireland with the 2.4L PSI engine. The smaller H1.6-2.0FTS models will also now feature the 2.0L PSI engine.

In addition to the increase in performance, the new engines have reduced noise levels to enhance operator comfort and reduce overall workplace noise levels. Noise levels on some models have been reduced to as low as 73 dB(A) (driver’s ear measurement to EN12053) in ECO-eLo mode.

FLEETTRANSPORT | OCTOBER 17

All trucks can be switched between a choice of operating modes. “These modes allow the truck performance to be tailored to the application and give flexibility for the same truck to do more, in peak demands, for example,” added Robbert.

Additional benefits on the Fortens models include a more sophisticated cooling system with an anti-clog radiator as standard, and the added option to include an even higher capacity anti-clog part for applications where there is a high ambient temperature, or dust and debris fi lled operating environments. Serviceability is also improved and camshaft belts replacement intervals have been extended from 3500 to 5000 hours.

Power Solutions International (PSI) is a US based manufacturer which has been supplying engine systems since 1985. PSI has been a Hyster qualified supplier for a number of years, supplying and supporting high quality and class leading engine systems.

Text: Rob Van Dieten - rob@fleet.ie

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82 | SOAPBOX

Who is Right - Draghi or me?

“W

anted – Fourteenyear-old SelfStarter.” That was usually the opening to the employment advertisements I perused as a young lad. I am not advocating that young people should go into full time employment today at fourteen but I see absolutely nothing wrong with full time employment at sixteen, especially through an apprenticeship. Nor is there anything wrong with summer jobs for under sixteens. For me work was a continuum of my education, the University of Life.

Th roughout Europe, while young people make up the largest cohort of unemployed at 19%, arguably they are “better” educated than any unemployed group in history.

I don’t see any reason why the European youth is any different from Irish and UK educational experience, that of peer pressure pushing parents into paying to keep their children, who should be in a workforce in education, to get an education they will not use.

Germany appears to be the one exception with far more emphasis on Apprenticeships than University; German figures are in fact the reverse of Ireland's.

Social legislation is another factor in youth unemployment. It's aimed at protecting the young, but is it protecting them or destroying the futures of a great many? The raising of the school leaving age and youth unemployment dole-outs even if you have never worked once you reach eighteen, is in my view wrong.

It is also my observation as an employer that if those young people, who having left school at the earliest opportunity reach eighteen without having had a job, they will never have gainful employment.

Some are fortunate enough to have a parent who will push them along the road of a job but far too many don’t.

What’s all this got to do with the road transport industry? We are a sector that is crying out for drivers and yet cannot fi nd them. How so with so many unemployed? Many of us in this industry entered it via the back door of sitt ing with our lorry driver father during holidays, driving a tractor at fourteen for the local farmer, or in my case an electric bread van. All of these routes are now blocked by a combination of the EU’s driving license requirements, the health and safety authorities, social legislation and the legal profession.

Why the latter? Because employers are afraid to let young people onto their premises or trucks because they will be sued if something happens.

There has to be cause and effect, why are so many of Ireland's and Europe’s young people remaining unemployed? In Ireland the Irish Road Haulage Association (IRHA) has been trying to get an apprenticeship programme off the ground. The biggest obstacle to its arrival has been the educational establishment who are only interested in creating obstacles. It is almost impossible for family run road transport companies to get insurance for young family members to start driving. The cost of learning to drive a truck is prohibitive for anyone that does not have ready access to a truck.

Today more than ever, trucks are luxurious work places compared to those I started driving in, yet, it appears less and less people want to drive them. The resolution of this conundrum has to rest around the point of entry of young people. Mario Draghi in a speech in Trinity College on 22 September talked of the crisis in Youth Unemployment in the EU and referred to the fact that Germany was the country with the lowest unemployment. He then gave the opinion that the only way to cure the problem was the enlargement of the EU. My opinion is that with current legislation, it will have the exact opposite effect.

Seven out of every ten people in Ireland are employed by SME’s.

If each small to medium enterprise could take on an unemployed young person of sixteen there would be no young people unemployed in Ireland. The same applies in Europe, so who’s right, Draghi or me?

I am not saying that ours is an industry that does not need an educated workforce, but education comes in many forms. Today’s children are computer literate from age one or two, as is apparent by watching them happily playing with their parent's mobile phones.

FLEETTRANSPORT | OCTOBER 17

Text: Jerry Kiersey - jerry@fleet.ie

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