Fleet transport july aug17

IRELAND'S LEADING COMMERCIAL VE VEHICLE MAGAZINE Inside!

MY2017 Mercedes-Benz Actros

R E V I E WS

- Setting the Benchmark in Road Efficiency

JUL/AUG 17

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Contents JUL/AUG 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, Orla Sweeney, Anne Marie Grant Photography: Jarlath Sweeney, Paul White, Cathal Doyle, Rob Van Dieten, Howard Knott, Paul Sherwood, Orla Sweeney, Anne Marie Grant, John Sheehan, Alamy, RTE.ie Administration: Denise Owens, Paula Mullarkey Email: enquiries@fleet.ie Advertising: Mary Morrissey - mary@fleet.ie Sponsorship/Events: Orla Sweeney - orla@fleet.ie Design: Eamonn Wynne Printed in Ireland

4 News • Make way for the Tesla Truck • New TISS fuel security App • CNG power funding available • Mike Kelly appointed Scania Service Agent • IVECO reveals X-WAY • Scania introduces new G-series • Self-steering Volvo VM

37 Health Matters Mental Illness

8 Viewpoint From Aidan Flynn, FTA Ireland

44 Legal Supervision

10 Cover Mercedes-Benz Actros – 2nd Generation

46 Shipping & Freight Deep-sea Shipping

12 New Fleet Last of the 171-registered featured

47 Comment Brexit vs Climate Change

14 Pictorial Waterford Truck & Motor Show 2017, Kilkenny

48 Opinion Listen to ourselves

18 Fleeting Shots • Truxx Factor Santa Pod • VB on VW Crafter & MAN TGE • Irish at Tip-ex • Volvo & Krone team-up

38 Innovation Hyundai Truck & Bus Mega Fair, Seoul, South Korea 42 Finance Business Amalgamation

50 Times Past 100 years of Ford Commercials in Ireland 52 Trailer Latest from Carrier, Gray & Adams and Goldhofer

20 Review Tip-ex & Tanx-ex 201, Harrogate, UK

54 Motorsport Truck Racing: on track and off-road

24 Report FTA Ireland Members’ Briefing

56 Tyres A day with a Michelin technician

26 Fuel Prices/Safety Matters

58 Global Test Focus on Transport Truck Test, South Africa

28 Green Fleet Volkswagen sees great future for Natural Gas powered vehicles 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.

www.fleet.ie | 3

30 Fleet Van & Utility News, Interview, Product information, etc.

P4

60 Supply Chain 3rd IEA Supply Chain event, Cork 62 Soapbox The road ahead for European transport

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Transport Barometer: Data from 17/05/2017 - 15/06/2017 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

P20

TimoCom Women in Logistics Interviews Transport platform TimoCom is a future-oriented company that has taken on the mission to give the transport industry a more positive image.

This involves breaking old patterns of thinking and creating room for new ideas.

In a male-dominated industry such as the transport sector, it has initiated a new series entitled “Women in Logistics” to support and recognise their efforts.

Read two recent interviews in Fleet Transport’s sister website www. handling-network.com

4 | NEWS 1

Tesla ‘Semi’ EV Truck en route

T

he 2017 North American Commercial Vehicle Show (NACV) in Atlanta, USA, to be held towards the end of September next, is reported to be hosting the next episode of the revolution in electric commercial vehicles. Enter Tesla, the high-profi le name in the automotive industry as it progresses its product line from cars to heavy duty trucks (with a Pick-up in-between).

The Tesla Semi, as it’s called, is described by Tesla CEO, Elon Musk as having the ‘highest weight capability and with long-range’. “It is a heavy duty, long range, semi-truck. Essentially, it’s meant to alleviate the heavy-duty trucking loads. And this is something which people do not, today, think is possible. They think the truck doesn’t have enough power or it doesn’t have enough range. With those with the Tesla Semi we want to show that an electric truck actually can out-torque any diesel semi, and if you had a tug-of-war competition, the Tesla semi will tug the diesel Semi uphill,” he said.

One issue of concern is how the balance between the payload and the overall weight of the battery pack is achieved. Said to share components from the current Tesla Model 3 passenger car, Mr. Musk said that Tesla Semi will use “a bunch” of Model 3 electric motors.

According to reports, he also confi rmed that Tesla currently has

a prototype in testing and he even got a quick test drive around the parking lot. “The truck “feels like a sports car. I mean it’s quite bizarre to test drive it. You know, when I was driving the test prototype for the fi rst truck, it’s really weird because you’re driving around and you’re just so nimble and you’re in this giant truck,” he claimed.

The Tesla Semi was designed by Jerome Guillen, who has expertise in this area through his creativity in developing trucks, including the Freightliner Cascadia Class 8 tractor-unit on behalf of parent company Daimler.

Production of the Tesla Semi will happen and soon, according to Musk and is expected to include autonomous driving capabilities.

New TISS App launched

T

o a s si st t he transport and logistics industry’s understanding of fuel security and what’s on offer in today’s market, fuel safety specialists TISS Ltd has launched a fully interactive App available for download for both Android and iOS operating systems.

The new TISS App enables customers and distribution partners throughout the world to have instant access to key information for their convenience and benefit including: • Product Animations • Interactive ROI Payback Calculator • Comprehensive TankSafe vehicle fitment list • Key Product Information • Frequently Asked Questions Additionally, the TISS App enables partners and customers to conduct interactive surveys of their vehicle’s fuel tanks, whereby after completing the online survey form, it will immediately be sent to the TISS technical team for an analysis of the most suitable FLEETTRANSPORT | JUL/AUG 17

TankSafe device for that vehicle. Th is interaction will save customers significant time and money, another unique feature of the App. Matthew Rose, Commercial Director of TISS Ltd, commented, “This project has been delivered with the fleet operator at the forefront of our thinking. Therefore, we spoke extensively to our global customer base to understand their requirements. The App provides a simple and intuitive way for people to access information regarding our award-winning fuel security and safety products and epitomises the innovative approach TISS take to ensure we are leading the market in the fuel security industry.”

Michelin Man is back! Win a pair!

M

ichelin Tyres has brought back the famous cab-mounted Michelin Man models which you’ve probably seen on trucks in bygone years.

They became a real collectors item, especially when Michelin stopped producing them around 7 to 8 years ago.

Anyway, Michelin Man is now back, and Fleet Transport has 3 pairs (6 units) to give away with a prize draw competition.

To download the Android App: search for TISS on Google Play https://play.google. com/store/apps/details?id=com.tissltd.

TissMobile

“As some drivers mount them in pairs, others are quite happy with a single unit – so they have the option to mount same on two trucks!” commented Jarlath Sweeney, Group Editor, Fleet Transport.

To download the iOS App: search for ‘TISS’ on App Store - https://itunes.apple.com/gb/ app/tiss-mobile/id1195957571?mt=8

To enter just send your name, address and mobile number by email to enquiries@fleet.ie by 28 July next.

NEWS II | 5

Up to €20,000 available towards purchase of Compressed Natural Gas Vehicle

A

s part of a process to promote natural gas as a viable green alternative road transport fuel, Gas Networks Ireland is offering a Compressed Natural Gas Vehicle Fund making up to €20,000 available to businesses towards the purchase of a new Natural Gas Vehicle (NGV). The Vehicle Fund will have a total of €700,000 in funding available to transport operators.

Th is will support the purchase of a range of commercial vehicles including trucks, buses and vans powered by Compressed Natural Gas (CNG). The Vehicle Fund is supported by the Commission for Energy Regulation (CER) and is co-financed by the European Union’s TEN-T Programme under the Connecting Europe Facility as part of the Causeway Project.

CNG is natural gas which has been compressed to fit into a vehicle’s tank and is particularly suitable for use in commercial vehicles. A proven alternative to diesel or petrol, CNG provides the greatest cost saving (35%) and emission reduction benefits (22%) for transport operators. CNG is an established technology throughout the world.

Globally, there are 19 million NGVs in operation, and of these, 1.9 million are in Europe.

The Compressed Natural Gas Vehicle Fund is part of an overall strategy to provide commercial vehicle operators with a viable

alternative to traditional fuels, both in Ireland and across Europe. Gas Networks Ireland is developing a national 70 station CNG refuelling network to provide nationwide coverage for vehicles operating on Irish roads. This national network will complement the pan European CNG network, which is already under development.

To apply for a Vehicle Fund application form, simply email tenders@ ervia.ie quoting reference “17/029 Vehicle Fund”. Terms and conditions apply with further details available from the Gas Networks Ireland website: www.gasnetworks.ie/vehiclefund

Mike Kelly Commercials (Galway) Scania Aftermarket Specialists

W

ith decades of experience and expertise maintaining Scania trucks and buses, Mike Kelly Commercials, Doughiska, Galway has been officially appointed as service and parts agents for the Swedish brand. This appointment, authorised by national importers Westward Scania, ensures that Scania customers in the regions north and south of Galway will be well looked after by Mike and his staff.

To mark Mike Kelly Commercials becoming part of Scania’s Aftersales programme, a most successful open weekend was held at its Merlin Park Road facility with management and staff meeting and greeting customers and showing them around the workshops.

In addition, Westward Scania provided three versions of the new award winning Scania S-series for demonstration drives which drew keen interest.

Mike Kelly Commercials offers full maintenance and repair services for trucks, buses and vans. “From CVRT and mandatory RSA inspections to regular servicing and maintenance, our fully qualified and dedicated team can maintain, service or repair your vehicle quickly and safely,” advised Mike. The company also provides a 24-hour Breakdown Service and stocks a large selection of Scania parts and specialises in Scania diagnostics.

IRHA congratulates An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar

V

erona Murphy, President of the Irish Road Haulage Association (IRHA) has extended congratulations to Leo Varadkar on his election as Taoiseach. “As Minister for Transport, Mr. Varadkar displayed a deep understanding of the industry and its needs coming as he did from a family involved in the sector on his mother’s side. He supported the Association’s successful lobbying of Minister for Finance, Michael Noonan for both the Essential User Rebate (EUR) and major reduction changes in road tax,” she said.

“Ireland and the industry survived the worst fi nancial crisis in living memory under the leadership of both Enda Kenny, the outgoing Taoiseach and Michael Noonan, and the industry now looks forward to playing its part in our continued growth in this new phase of our history, dealing with the major challenges that lie ahead, particularly that of Brexit under the leadership of An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar,” added Verona.

www.fleet.ie

6 | NEWS III

New IVECO Stralis X-WAY light off-road truck

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VECO is about to extend its Stralis truck line-up with the launch of the X-WAY, a completely new range of light weight construction transport missions. Due to premiere at the Solutrans exhibition in Lyon, France next November, IVECO previewed the new truck at its Madrid manufacturing plant during the ceremony for the award of the World Class Manufacturing Gold Medal.

Th is important event provided the fi rst opportunity to see new vehicles that will arrive in markets across Europe from September, according to Pierre Lahutte, IVECO Brand President, who stated: “The Stralis X-WAY breaks new ground in missions that have very specific requirements. Designed for on-road applications and light off-road mobility, our new X-WAY combines the legendary Trakker chassis strength with all the fuel saving and

conditions of jobsites when making their delivery. High productivity, safety and excellent TCO in light off-road missions: this is what our customers can expect from our brand new truck.”

safety features of the new Stralis. It offers all the performance and comfort benefits of our most advanced long haul on-road trucks like the latest XP, together with the robustness of our toughest off-road vehicle.

With the X-WAY, our customers can have the confidence to tackle with ease the ‘last mile’ on the uneven and sometimes difficult

The Stralis X-WAY with its Super Loader (SL) version on an 8x4 chassis has a kerb weight as low as 9 tonnes – the lowest in the industry. X-WAY offers a choice of artic and rigid versions; different axles, suspensions, vehicle setups, engines (from 9, 11 and 13 litres) and transmissions; Hi-Traction hydrostatic drive; a wide offer of engine and gearbox PTOs; and on-and off-road homologations. A choice of three cabs are specified: the AD (Active Day) short cab with low roof, AT (Active Time) sleeper cab with low or medium roof, and for ultimate comfort, AS (Active Space) sleeper cab.

Scania introduces new G-series, new engines and services

T

he next phase of Scania’s ‘New Generation’ truck range to follow the award-winning S-series and R-series sees the introduction of the new G-series together with new drivelines and more services. The order books are now open on Scania’s new, five-cylinder, inline 9-litre engines, as well as the fi rst variants of the new G20 sleeper cab for long-distance operations.

“Scania has significantly more on its introduction schedule for 2017 than there was during the extremely intense 2016 launch,” explained Alexander Vlaskamp, Senior Vice President, Sales & Marketing, Scania Trucks. “We’re now rapidly fi lling

“We live in an exciting time,” added Alexander. “The response to the new generation has been extremely positive and has included everything from awards to wins in important press tests, along with a strong flow of customers leading to increased sales and new records.”

our new range with products and services so that the majority of customers can tailor solutions around Scania’s new generation of trucks, regardless of what application their truck is used for.”

“The next press and customer events will come after the summer and will be a truly holistic experience together with the Scania family,” said Alexander. “I can reveal that we will then be focusing particularly on those applications operating with the toughest challenges, and also on how Scania’s focus on tailor-made solutions can grow customers’ profitability.”

Self-steering Volvo VM configured for sugar-cane transportation •

• •

•

Volvo Trucks has developed a new self-steering truck that can become a significant productivity booster for Brazilian sugar-cane growers Volvo Trucks’ self-steering truck makes is possible to increase the sugar cane harvest by up to 10 tonnes per hectare per year Gyroscopes ensure that the entire vehicle is steered with great precision so that the truck is prevented from veering more than 25 mm laterally from its set course.

Check out the self-steering truck on YouTube: htt ps://youtu.be/ uOpjtz0Hluo

FLEETTRANSPORT | JUL/AUG 17

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8 | VIEWPOINT

"FTAI Brexit Paper has three priorities:" Aidan Flynn, General Manager, Freight Transport Association Ireland the best outcome for Ireland. Th is will be aided by clear leadership driven by the Government of the day, but supported with a dedicated Minister with responsibility for Brexit and the Supply Chain.

T

he UK is leaving the EU. Contingencies must be agreed and planned for to ensure that there is minimal impact on trade that gives rise to uncertainty on rules and regulations or access to markets. What is certain is that the harder the ‘Brexit’ the more issues that will arise for the transport and logistics sector as a whole.

Brexit brings with it many challenges, not least understanding how the ‘Supply Chain’ will be impacted, and the knock on effect this will have on the efficient flow of goods into and out of the country, and whether or not this will have negative fi nancial consequences for the competitiveness of the country and the consumer.

The world is a different place compared to the 80's and early 90's where Border checks and customs checks were par for the course.

The present marketplace (the consumer) has grown up based on ‘Just in Time Logistics’ and ease of access to products and services, organised and relaxed borders. In the early 90’s we were sending only 37,000 Roll-on/ Roll-off units per annum via the Irish Sea to the UK. Today that figure is in excess of 400,000 units per annum, just from Dublin Port. Ireland as an island nation on the periphery of the EU is reliant on gett ing the majority of its imported and exported goods to and from the EU predominantly using the UK as a land bridge. There is only limited scope to increase volumes by sea and air.

Whilst it is true that Ireland does not rely on the UK market for exports or imports as much as in the past, the Agri-food sector still does (40% of exports in this sector go to the UK), however restrictions to trade will not only have a devastating impact on this sector but on rural Ireland where these products are produced and where farmers and local businesses are linked. An obvious solution is a trade deal with the UK that allows trade to move in a manner we are all FLEETTRANSPORT | JUL/AUG 17

used to at the moment and is something we can all pursue.

FTA Ireland has published a Brexit position paper that makes 3 priorities: • Priority 1: No hard Border with Northern Ireland and no barrier to trade with the UK • Priority 2: Seamless transport links between Ireland and the UK • Priority 3: A seamless transition to the post-Brexit era For ‘frictionless’ trade or ‘No Hard Border’ on the island, it is clear that new standards of compliance and operation are going to be required that are ambitious and technologically inclusive. It is vital for successful implementation that we plan, resource and support this in time (irrespective of the outcomes). FTA Ireland is calling for the appointment of a dedicated Brexit Minister or Logistics Minister to ensure Government continues to put the needs of Irish industry at the heart of Brexit negotiations. Without a Minister operating in this dedicated role, this leaves Ireland at a disadvantage over the course of the negotiations and we must do everything possible to ensure the sustained success of the nation’s trading relationship both with the UK and the EU Member States.

Whilst we recognise the work been done by civil servants both here and in Brussels to date, we would strongly recommend a more focused cross departmental approach that will facilitate the implementation of solutions. Shippers, freight forwarders, consignors and distribution companies' concerns must be listened to in determining

There are concerns over skills shortages.

To be Brexit ready industry must invest in developing skills, and technological competencies to ensure free flow of goods and services. Too often the transport sector has been bypassed in support for training and education. Now is the time to invest in upskilling the workforce and preparing an industry to be world leaders. Bear in mind that the average fleet size of trucks operating internationally is 5 vehicles, making this SME sector very exposed to sudden sharp change. Support must be forthcoming to provide training and supports in Customs processes and also to urgently introduce CPD for Transport Managers. Currently to have an Operator Licence you need a Transport Manager CPC qualification, but there is no follow up to keep a manager up-todate with new legislation or systems. Th ird Level colleges should be encouraged to work closer with the industry on projects that will benefit both the college and the industry in aiding the upskilling requirements.

To aid solutions that are viable to all, including a borderless Northern Ireland and ease of movement of goods into and out of the country via the ports, there must be agreed systems, controls and standards of compliance requirements.

There is a great opportunity for Irish international operators to be prepared to compete in a marketplace that demands compl ia nce, professiona l ism a nd certification. Consideration will of course have to be given to the cost of adaption and the requirement for business to recruit additional staff and invest in technology.

Cognisance must also be given to solutions that are viable and will not leave any Member State in a worse position than it was prior to Brexit.

We remain positive but it is wise to plan for the worst and hope for the best outcome.

The new “low-entry” Arocs is here!

Now available with more configuration possibilities and lower height.

Talk to your local authorised Mercedes-Benz Truck dealer today. www.mercedes-benz.ie

10 | COVER

Mercedes-Benz’ neverending search for efficiency

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l l t he m ajor t r uc k manufacturers produce high horsepower flagships, mainly because they demonstrate what the manufacturer can do, as well as giving customers something to aspire to.

These range-topping models offer some spin-off benefits from the development and technical perspectives, however in the real world the major volume sellers are in the 420hp to 480hp bracket. Operators are increasingly aware that - depending on the nature of their work- this power band is where the most cost-efficient vehicles reside. Not surprisingly then, it’s also the segment of the market where MercedesBenz is focusing its efforts to deliver greater savings for its customers.

In 2015, Mercedes-Benz’ parent Daimler launched its Top Torque range of engines based on its successful six-cylinder OM471.

While the new OM471 featured re-engineered components such as injectors, and turbos, Daimler also introduced upgrades to the transmission and a new rear axle ratio. Now the project has been taken a step further coinciding with the launch of the second-

FLEETTRANSPORT | JUL/AUG 17

generation Mercedes-Benz Actros, and with results based on independent testing, Daimler claims to have achieved a 6% saving for operators. If true, what black magic was conjured up to achieve these results?

The magic involved turns out to be a reworking of individual components to enhance performance and then combining the improvements to achieve an overall result. Importantly, because Daimler makes its own components it can set performance criteria and alter parameters without having to refer to a third party. In principle, many of the parts updated had already been tweaked back in 2015. Yet Daimler felt that everything can be improved. On re-looking at the transmission, it decided to polish the synchros to reduce friction, and opted for a dog clutch on the range gears. These changes and upgrades have produced minor though tangible improvements. However, a lot of effort was focused on possible improvements to the fi nal drive.

In many ways, the final drive and differential have changed little in decades. Nevertheless, Mercedes-Benz was brave enough to make

changes which appear to have paid dividends by delivering a significant 0.5 percent fuel saving. The saving was achieved in two ways. Firstly, the way the crown wheel is manufactured was changed. Instead of bolting the crown wheel parts together it decided to weld the assembly. The result of this is that the heads of the bolts that would normally protrude are no longer visible, which means that friction is reduced. The other intriguing feature is that depending on work load, the volume of oil available in the bath/sump is increased or reduced as demand requires. When not needed the oil is channeled away, thereby lowering resistance and as a result, fuel consumption. The level is managed using an air switch that monitors load and road speed demand on the axle, and adjusts the oil level accordingly.

This is the second generation of the MercedesBenz Actros (MP4) launched in 2012, and features a number of design innovations.

These include reducing the power required to operate the Power Steering system, and an improved and optimised alternator that can charge at 24V or 30V as required. Other features include some small aerodynamic

COVER | 11 sculpting under the front bumper, plus a revised and updated shift pattern for the transmission.

While any manufacturer can claim to achieve these savings, proving it in the real world may not always be that easy. However, Mercedes-Benz was confident enough to invite a team of independent transport journalists from different countries to test the Actros 1845 over six days on a 200-km route between Tavira and Lagos in Portugal.

The results were impressive, with the highest saving recorded of 10.6 percent - which was achieved running in Eco mode at a speed of 85 kp/h. The lowest figure of 5.9 percent was recorded on day one of the trials. Across the six days the average saving realised was a significant figure of 8.3 percent - with all the test data independently checked and verified.

The tests were carried out in reasonable temperatures and average weather conditions in April, and regular traffic volumes. To ensure accurate fuel measuring it was decided to weigh the tank and fuel rather than gauging fuel consumed by refilling. This would also account for any discrepancies due to temperature variations. The tests were run in Auto (A) Eco mode and Auto (A) Standard mode with the air conditioning set to 21 degrees and road speed set at 80/85 km/h.

At the end of each test day the vehicle tanks were weighed. Consumption figures show that Generation 1 consumed 132.7 kg, whereas Generation 2 consumed 123.2 kg.

Th is equates to figures of 30.5 l/100 kms and 28.8 l/100 kms respectively. With full use of Eco mode and PPC over the same test route the reductions were even more significant. In this case the differential figure for Generation 2 Actros was 10.6 percent.

Mercedes-Benz confi rmed that “AdBlue consumption is still moderate and on a par with earlier Euro 5 engines.”

Our drives in Actros Generation 2 took us from central Lisbon out onto the A8 in the

Text & Photos: PaulWhite - paul@fleet.ie

direction of Peniche/Leiria. Immediately, noticeable improvements were found in driveline performance. The hilly topography quickly demonstrated how the new version develops its maximum torque of 2400 Nm at 1100 rpm and will hold maximum torque down to 800 rpm. At a cruising speed of 85 km/h Generation 2 benefits from an engine speed of 1161rpm. The output/torque at 65 km/h is increased by 24hp and 205 Nm to 300hp and 2371 Nm respectively, resulting in a significant effect on the drivability of the Actros, especially with automated gear shift ing where the selection pattern has changed from the previous 2-5-8-10-11-12 to 2-5-7-9-10-11-12.

Th is pattern allows a more efficient use of the lower-end of the rpm range. When hill climbing with Predictive Powertrain Control (PPC) engaged, Generation 2 changes down to 11th earlier, and climbs the gradient in this gear. The previous version will hold 12th gear for longer on the climb before dropping to 10th cog. A reduction in the number of double shifts also contributes to saving fuel, which is clearly what the exercise is all about, and the results are equally as clear.

Mercedes-Benz selected the same event in Portugal to introduce some important new safety features, namely ‘Sideguard Assist’ and the fourth version of its ‘Active Brake Assist’ system ABA 4. Currently Sideguard Assist is only available for order with Left

Hand Drive 4x2 tractors or 6x2 rigids and drawbars, though it is expected that a version for Right Hand Drive and 6x2 tractors will follow soon. These systems bring important advances to road safety. The company also took the opportunity to give an update of the ‘Mercedes-Benz Uptime’ tele-diagnostics programme which is being gradually rolled out to all European markets.

Speaking at the event, Stefan Buchner (Head of Trucks at Mercedes-Benz) gave an interesting update regarding the performance of Daimler Trucks within global markets.

Lauding the Actros as “the European Truck Champion”, Mr. Buchner noted; “With over 3,100 individual Fuel Duel comparison tests completed so far, we have won over 90% and by an average margin of 11%.”

Speaking about the new safety features, Stefan added: “Ten years ago things would have been different, but now companies are interested in safety and this is a unique selling point for Mercedes-Benz.”

While some may be a touch disappointed that apart from the small change to the under bumper air dam, there is litt le to distinguish Generation 2 from its predecessor, Mr. Buchner closed his address by saying: “Generation 2 is evolution not revolution - real revolution you will see at next year’s IAA in Hannover.”

Summary of New Features for Second Generation Actros Low friction rear axle ‘oil on demand’ New fi nal drive ratios – 2.533:1 or 2.43:1 Reshaped under bumper air dam Optimised alternator 24v/30v Increased rail and injection pressure Active Brake Assist (ABA 4)

Day

Team

Speed

Reduced friction in transmission New transmission shift pattern Reduced demand from power steering 8 hole injectors & reshaped piston bowl Gearbox oil capacity reduced by 3 litres Sideguard Assistance

Driving Mode

1 1 85 km/h A - Standard 2 1 85 km/h A - Eco 3 2 80 km/h A - Eco 4 2 85 km/h A - Standard 5 3 85 km/h A - Eco 6 3 85 km/h A - Standard Overall average reduction Second Generation compared to First

Differential of 2nd Gen over 1st Gen 5.9 percent 10.6 percent 10.5 percent 6.7 percent 9.7 percent 6.5 percent 8.3 percent

www.fleet.ie

12 | NEW FLEET

Air Products adds to its Mercedes-Benz truck fleet

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eading industrial gases company Air Products has made further investments in its Irish transport fleet with the recent addition of four new Mercedes-Benz Actros 2545LS ClassicSpace 6x2 tractor units.

Bringing to six the number of Actros trucks now in operation by the Dublin based company, the new additions replace four Mercedes-Benz Axors which have served the company well over a number of years. They come fully equipped with Stability Control Assist (ESP), Lane Keeping Assist, Attention Assist & Active Brake Assist.

Supplied by Mercedes-Benz Commercial Vehicles Dublin dealership MUTEC, the new Actros units are finished in Air Products' white and green livery and can be seen operating from its Dublin 12 base in Western Industrial Estate.

Stobart moves to moving fuel with Scania

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change of contract and product distribution for one of the big names in road transport on these islands has seen Eddie Stobart invest in a new fleet of ADR spec Scania G450 6x2 tractor-units with Cobo fuel tanker trailers attached.

The new units will serve Topaz service stations.

Here-to-fore Stobart distributed goods to all of the Tesco stores nationwide, but this contract has since been awarded to DHL, which operates a new Volvo Truck fleet.

Founded over 75 years ago and employing some 17,000 people throughout 50 countries, Air Products provides atmospheric and process gases and related equipment to a wide range of industries from food and beverage to medical, energy and transportation.

McGuire goes DAF!

S

ite excavation specialists McGuire Haulage (Callan, County Kilkenny) which runs a broad and mixed fleet of multi-wheeler rigids and tractor-units has added a brace of new DAF CF Construction series 8x4 trucks, purchased from DAF Distributors Ireland Ltd., (Dublin).

Powere d b y PACCAR’s 13-litre MX-13 Euro 6 engines delivering 410hp, the tipper bodies were supplied

by Gleeson Truck Bodies (Thurles, County Tipperary).

First Volvo FH for PRM Group

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RM Group, one of Ireland’s largest independent Chilled & Frozen Food Sales and Distribution companies, has invested in a new Volvo FH16.500. Supplied by Dennison Commercials Ltd, the specification of the 6x2 tractor-unit includes a 500hp engine, I-Shift automated gearbox, Dynaf leet telematics, fridge freezer and an airsuspended, electronic driver’s seat and a Globetrotter XL cab, complete with a Volvo light bar.

Commenting on introducing a new Volvo into the business for the fi rst time, PRM Group Managing Director, Philip Morrow stated: “We are delighted to have purchased

a new Volvo FH16. As a business, it is important that we continue to invest in our haulage service to ensure that we are meeting the growing demands of the Irish food industry and that our customers are given the highest level of service that we can deliver.”

“We were impressed with the efficiency of the new Volvo, along with the comfort and safety for the driver, which complements the commitment to quality and service that is at the heart of our business,” he added.

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MIKE MURPHY INSURANCE

or Log onto www.mikemurphyinsurance.ie TODAY! CELEBRATING 40 YEARS IN INSURANCE Haulage: • Single Vehicles • Motor Fleet for Hauliers • Haulage Risks • Carriers Liability • Warehouse Risks • Public Liability • Employers Liability Mike Murphy Insurance is a trade name of New Sure Life Ltd. and is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.

FLEETTRANSPORT | JUL/AUG 17

Text: Jarlath Sweeney - editor@fleet.ie

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14 | PICTORIAL

6th Waterford Truck & Motor Show

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The ‘Hub’ Cillín Hill, Kilkenny

nother record year for the Waterford Truck & Motor Show 2017, with the event moving from Tramore to The Hub at Cillín Hill, close to Kilkenny City. The Hub was indeed an ideal venue for exhibitors, offering indoor and outdoor exhibition areas, with the two-day weekend event att racting exhibitors and attendees from all over Ireland and the UK. As a non-profit organization, the organisers of the Waterford Truck and Motor Show once again committed proceeds from the event to a selection of charities both national and South-East region based,

including Pieta House, Mental Health Awareness, and Alzheimer’s Ireland.

Title Sponsors: Topaz, Bridgestone and Dennison Trailers.

BlueCat: Pictured with Henry Nash, BlueCat (centre) are Michael Murphy, Kilkenny (left) and Benny Hamm (Kilkenny).

Topaz/Miles: Sharon Butler, Nina Byrne and Andrew Sarratt were on hand.

Triace (Pressure Cleaning Systems)

Transway Spares Ltd.: John McCann and Niall Ivers.

FLEETTRANSPORT | JUL/AUG 17

Dennison Trailers

Bridgestone: Ger McNamara, Conor Curran and Ger Cusack on the Bridgestone stand with Estelle and Becky from the Bridgestone Promo Team.

PICTORIAL | 15

Clean Machines: Eddie Doolan.

P2 Stainless:Peter Hastings and Adam Lewis.

Bridgestone: Conor Curran, Bridgestone with Thomas Kiely, Cappoquinn Logistics.

Grant Engineering: Thomas Grant.

ETS: Alan Nugent - Euro Tachograph Solutions.

APR: Kathleen and Tom Patten – APR Fibreglass Laminating Specialists.

Southeast CPC: Walter Pisarnik, Pat Maher, Brian Carroll and John Carroll.

Transpec: Richard Sheehan and his team. www.fleet.ie

16 | PICTORIAL

Scania/Delaney Commercials: Sinead Moore, John Delaney and Ruaidhri Carew.

Volvo Trucks/McCarthy Commercials: Joe Baker and Ger Sheehan.

Vanfit Solutions: Charlie Bergin and Donal O'Sullivan.

Truck Tag.ie: Kealan Fitzgerald and Ronan Fitzgerald.

Sinotruk/ Harris Group

Wright Insurance Brokers: Sharyn Doyle and Pat Wright.

Walker Vehicle Rentals: Dave McCormack and Arthur Walsh.

DAF Trucks (Cork Truck Services) FLEETTRANSPORT | JUL/AUG 17

Mercedes-Benz & Renault Trucks: (Surehaul Commercials)

Road Safety Authority: Darragh Brogan, Transport Officer and Tommy Wright, Vehicle Inspector.

PICTORIAL | 17

Manitou

Kilkenny Truck Centre: Sean O’Neill

Q8 Oils (Topaz)

Autochem

IRHA: Verona Murphy, President, IRHA pictured with Colin Hegarty and Kevin Mulqueen (Full of the Pipe) and Shane Murphy.

IVECO (Emerald Truck & Van)

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18 | FLEETING SHOTS

Truxx Factor shakes Santa Pod!

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ruxx Factor 2017 got off to a roaring start when it moved its truck festival type event to Santa Pod Raceway, the fastest race track in the UK. Race trucks and standard trucks ran the famous quarter mile as the feature of the all action weekend.

With the organiser’s success of the previous two Truck Festivals held at Silverstone, the recipe for combining a race event with a festival of trucking clearly marked out Truxx Factor’s future going forward.

While the racing took centre stage on the track, a full day of activities took place in

the Live Arena to entertain the thousands of families that visited the event.

and vintage tractors with a fine display of Steam Engines and Rollers to add a certain flavour normally found at a country fair.

“The mix was great with everyone getting into the spirit to create a friendly atmosphere of something just that litt le bit different from the norm making it an event for all the family,” explained Steve Horne, Truxx Factor organiser.

Part of a Truxx Factor event is the Truck Show and the vehicles exhibited certainly did not disappoint with a range of Light Commercial, Working Rigids, Working Artics, Customised, plus Restored and Vintage category entries.

The Show Truck Village was joined by modern

“Our next event is “Truxx Factor at Rockingham Motor Speedway”, scheduled for 30 September/1 October which is another new venue for 2017 to host this unique trucking weekend.” Further details can be found at www.truxxfactor.co.uk

VB Air suspension solution for Volkswagen Crafter & MAN TGE

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B-Air Suspension can now supply a full air suspension solution for the new Volkswagen Crafter and sister model the MAN TGE, fully authorized by Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles and MAN Truck & Bus. The new air suspension system was first introduced at the recent RETTmobil trade fair in Fulda (Germany).

The Dutch specialist company began

developing various air suspension kits for these vehicles even before their official launch. Among the benefits of the new VBFullAir 2C system are a constant ride height, increased comfort, optimum driveability,

Renault Trucks’ Irish customers at Tip-ex 2017

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ictured while taking a short break from viewing all the stands at the recent Tip-ex & Tank-ex 2017 exhibition at the Harrogate International Exhibition Centre in Yorkshire, England were prominent Renault Trucks' f leet customers Mark Cowley; Cowleys Haulage & Civil Engineering (Ashbourne), John Kelly; Aran Transport (Moyglare), Kilcock and Jim Toner, Sales Executive, Setanta Vehicle Sales, Dublin, Renault Trucks importers and distributors in Ireland.

increased stability, reduced wear of tyres/ brakes and lower CO2 emissions. The system also provides the option to lower the rear end of the vehicle: the so-called “kneeling function”. By adding air suspension systems and suspension applications from VBAirsuspension to an ambulance, for example, the vehicle remains stable and manoeuvrable under all conditions. Th is results in a safer ride and reduces the time it takes to get to the hospital.

Volvo & Krone couple-up for anniversary truck trials

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new Krone Profi Liner curtainsider has been specially produced to mark the five decades since Volvo Trucks’ entry into the UK.

The Profi Liner is branded with Volvo’s distinctive 50th Anniversary livery, and as standard features a sliding roof for easy over-head loading. For maximum load security, there are up to 130 lashing points along each trailer side rave which enables Volvo to securely strap its concrete cargo anywhere a l o n g t he t ra i ler bed and to achieve optimum weight distribution.

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or Log onto www.mikemurphyinsurance.ie TODAY! CELEBRATING 40 YEARS IN INSURANCE Haulage: • Single Vehicles • Motor Fleet for Hauliers • Haulage Risks • Carriers Liability • Warehouse Risks • Public Liability • Employers Liability Mike Murphy Insurance is a trade name of New Sure Life Ltd. and is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.

FLEETTRANSPORT | JUL/AUG 17

Text: Jarlath Sweeney - editor@fleet.ie

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20 | REVIEW Gleeson Truck Bodies

TIP-ex and TANK-ex 2017 1-3 June, Harrogate International Centre, Yorkshire

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FRUHAUF

Muldoon

Montracon

Crick Trailer Sales

BMI

FLEETTRANSPORT | JUL/AUG 17

ore than ever there was keen interest from Ireland at this year’s Tip-ex and Tank-ex 2017 exhibition at the Harrogate International Centre (HIC).

It’s the only event of its type dedicated to the tipper and bulk haulage and road tanker sectors. Of the 100 exhibitors, 10 percent had Irish connections, with the majority providing trailer products, the notable exception being LDV vans from Harris Group dealer North East Truck & Van. Over the three days, visitors were pleased to see so many trucks on display inside and around the Harrogate Centre - more than 70 units in all.

One of the more progressive companies to enter the British market recently is Tipperary’s Gleeson Truck Bodies. Having established a base in Stockport, Gleeson’s returned to Tip-ex following its successful debut at this show last year. To indicate the significance of the business cross-channel, Gleeson’s Italian tipper body supplier Drago had representatives attending. Pictured are Matteo Bellotto, Drago; Michele Flora, Drago; P.J. Gleeson, Gleeson’s Truck Bodies and David O’Brien, Gleeson’s.

rigid bodies, a segment that the Lincolnshire company is enjoying growing sales in.

Muldoon Transport Systems Ltd, Dungannon proudly displayed this new Tri-axle bulk feed blower trailer sold to John Kiernan (Kiernan Transport), which is one of two units sold to the Granard, County Longford firm. Last year Muldoon’s marked 40 years in business.

Montracon, another Northern Ireland based trailer manufacturer, also has a manufacturing plant in Doncaster, which is currently undergoing a major revamp with new production equipment and paint shop being installed. At the show, company MD, Paul Avery demonstrated the new MT45 45-tonne machine carrier trailer with 20o access slope, which he said is capturing the volume market.

To emphasise the diversity of the Montracon product range, a waste management ejector trailer with 84 cu.m capacity and steel half pipe steel tipper trailer, built in Mallusk, are also good sellers. When the refurbished factory opens in Doncaster next September, one shift will turn out over 80 units per year.

Pat Grant at Granco, the Irish sales and service agent for Fruehauf, the long established tipping trailer manufacturer was on hand to meet and greet the many Irish customers visiting the Yorkshire venue. In all, Fruehauf had 8 vehicles sporting its products at the HIC, including an aluminium aggregate tipping trailer and a bulk sloper bulk tipper, as well as examples of its

Crick Trailer Sales is a new stocking sales outlet located in Rugby for Dennison Trailers.

Situated just three minutes drive from J18 on the M1 or 2 miles from J1 on the M6, the new fully equipped, sales outlet at Europark is ideally positioned for convenient access.

“We have a core stock of tipping trailers, machinery carriers and tractor/plant carriers to serve the construction industry,” explained Scott Pagano, Crick Trailers Ltd. Parked at the lawns of the Majestic Hotel at the Tip-ex outdoor display area was a new fixed 35 yd3 tubbodied tipper trailer alongside one of the most innovative trailers on the market, the sliding bogie trailer, designed to compete against the 8-wheeler rigid. “It shortens by 1.2 metres for better manoeuvrability and greater stability while tipping,” explained David Dennison, Innovation & Design Director at Dennison

Fitzgeralds

LDV

Added to its now broader range are half-pipe tipper bodies and a new G100 lightweight grab tipper, while weigh systems, electric front to back covers, tool boxes and other options are available as optional extras on the E100 body range.

REVIEW | 21

Trailers. “In the extended position it meets the requirements to carry a payload of up to 29.5 tonnes, up to 9.5 tonnes more than your average 8-wheeler,” he added.

Also outdoors at Crescent Gardens was a selection from the BMI Group’s product range, including the BMI Half Pipe Ejector, Half Pipe Tipper and aggregate walking floor trailer.

Since exhibiting at last year’s event, David Kidd has been appointed by the Dungannon company as the new Regional Sales Manager for Ireland. Fleet sales were conducted recently with Mar-Train (Lisburn) and Macroom Haulage (Cork).

Mentioning Cork, one of Ireland’s longest established commercial vehicle bodybuilders, Fitzgeralds Vehicle Body Builders is based in Mallow. For the construction sector it had a few of its tipper bodies mounted on light and heavyduty trucks and associated applications.

Then at the lighter end, two LDV vans, one with a dropside body were displayed across the road from the HIC by North East Truck & Van Ltd, which is also a dealer for Iveco, Fiat Professional, MAN & Hino at a number of locations, seven in all in Northern England.

TC Trailers, the Irish agent for STAS, the Belgian manufacturer will benefit from the establishment of the factory-owned sales subsidiary in Great Britain. For three generations, STAS has continued to evolve the moving floor and tipping trailer concept to become a leader in its field. Showcased was the new aggregatestar 38m3 aluminium moving floor trailer, catering for sand, gravel and rock transport. Its dimensions include: Internal length – 10.645mm; Internal height – 1.450mm and Internal width – 2,475mm.

Outside the Ecostar ALU moving floor bulk trailer was on show, with a load volume between 72 - 94m3 catering for the recycling sector.

STAS

Trucks & Trailers at TIP-ex and TANK-ex 2017

DAF Trucks New products all round at the DAF Trucks’ outdoor display with the latest generation XF and CF Series making their debuts alongside the new Showtrekker mobile exhibition unit.

What was more significant about the shining rich blue coloured tractor-units was the fact that they’re the first right-hand drive versions produced by the Dutch company. Boasting 7% lower fuel consumption all round, the new XF comes with a mere luxurious SuperSpace Cab and range-topping 530hp PACCAR MX-13 diesel mated to a new ZF TraXon automated gearbox.

Although the new DAF CF construction range has not been launched yet, a special 60th anniversary special edition construction CF400 8x4 tipper-grab was showcased in LC Vehicle Hire colours, one of fift y new DAF eight-wheelers bought by the high profile rental fleet firm this year.

Dennis-Eagle The Warwich based, Dutch owned specialist truck builder has found a new lease of life as its Elite cab, used mainly in the waste management sector, is now most suitable for urban construction applications.

Following its successful debut at the recent CV Show, the new Dennis Eagle/Terberg Urban Safe Logistics Vehicle was also showcased here.

Iveco Iveco had examples of its three-model strong truck range both inside and outside the HIC. The Trakker 8x4, its dedicated construction truck, was shown in tipper grab form with Kel-Berg bodywork. This 32-tonne GVW Hardox steel-bodied Trakker AD340T41 rigid is purpose built for demanding demolition and muck away operations.

Joining the Trakker was a 7.5 tonne Eurocargo, equipped with a Thompsons’ body, while outside, the new Stralis XP 6x2 Hi-Way 480hp tractor-unit was displayed. Also featured from its award winning Daily van range was a 7.2 tonne GVW tipper with Thompsons’ supplied body.

www.fleet.ie

22 | REVIEW Kel-Berg Following extensive test trials in Denmark, Kel-Berg’s T109 Belt Trailer caught many eyes on entering/ exiting Hall M. This horizontal discharge trailer offers greater stability on uneven sites than traditional tipper trailers. The company believes it can be a volume seller in the UK and Ireland for the construction, quarrying and aggregate sectors.

Mercedes-Benz/ Fuso Trucks The two main truck brands in Europe u nder Da i m ler parentage shared a stand in Hall A, with Mercedes-Benz showcasing an urban friendly Econic 8x4 tipper and Arocs 3240 8x4 tipper with lower height cab. Meanwhile a factory fitted tipper body was fitted on the 3.5 tonne FUSO canter.

Renault Trucks Déjà vu for Renault Trucks as it took up the same stand space as on last year’s event.

This time around, the French brand returned to Hall M with three trucks – two were 32-tonne 8x4 tippers – a 13-litre C520 and an 11-litre C430 Tridem with steering axle. Version III was a lightweight T460 6x2 tractor-unit with mini-mid-lift, suitable for aggregate or liquid applications.

Scania Strong signage and a large line-up of trucks indicated the Swedish brand’s strength in the construction sector.

At the front door of the exhibition hall the new S-series (International Truck of the Year 2017) took centre stage with two customer vehicles – a currently working P450 8x4 tipper in the livery of the Ardula Group and the other tipper, a P370 8x4 which will enter service with John Owen Aggregates. Completing the Scania showFLEETTRANSPORT | JUL/AUG 17

stoppers was a 4x2 rigid with skip loader chassis.

TankQuip As UK and Ireland agents for Wielton Trailers, TankQuip’s Managing Director, David Stanley is pleased with the increasing interest in the Polish brand’s construction orientated trailers.

This 42 cu.m Alubody Strongmaster tipper weighs in at 5.5 tonne unladen (without cover sheet) and was sold to an operator in Scotland. Another product from the Weightmaster family on display was the 68 cu.yard conventional bulk construction trailer (6.0 tonnes unladen). Wielton spends over €1 million per annum on Research & Development.

Volvo Trucks Renault Trucks’ sister brand within the Volvo Group (AB Volvo) is Volvo Tr uc k s, w h ich demonstrated two vibrant orange highspec construction vehicles. The FM.500 8x4 Tipper Grab and the FM.450 6x2 Globetrotter tractors were equipped with the recently introduced, factory-fitted Lite Pusher Axle and both featured Euro 6 Step-C engine emission control levels.

The 5100mm wheel-based FM 8x4 Tipper Grab comes with airsuspension on all four axles together with Volvo’s Tandem Axle Lift.

Both trucks are also fitted with Dynamic Steering along with 12-speed I-Shift automated gearbox as Volvo has said the last goodbye to the manual shift once and for all. Volvo Trucks celebrates 50 years in Britain this year. It will be 2020 before Ireland marks the half century. *Other news from Tip-ex was that Boweld Truck Bodies has been acquired by F.X. Meiller, one of the leading construction body builders and materials handling manufacturers in Europe, headquartered in Germany.

While Meiller expands its reach onto the UK market, Boweld gains access to new products such as tipping trailers, hook lifts and skip handlers. Its Holywell, Flintshire, headquarters will be retained and fully integrated into the Meiller network. Commenting on the acquisition, Dr. Daniel Böhmer, CEO of Meiller said: “With their excellent know how, reputation and loyal customer base, Boweld provides us with excellent access to the UK’s strong rigid tipper market. It will serve as a strategic platform to expand our business and consolidate our position as European market leader. Boweld’s products are a great fit with our portfolio.”

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

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

New Faymonville Heavy Duty 4 axle step frame low loader, extendable, trough, rear steer, front lift axle, double flip ramps, 13” out riggers, hydraulic legs under rear.

New Faymonville MAX Trailers in stock at all times, available immediately, 3/4/5 axle step frames.

New Unused 5 axle Faymonville MAX step frame trailers, payload 65tons, extendable, option for hydraulic ramps.

New Faymonville 4 axle step frame, heavy duty build, 7m extendable, double flip ramps, hydraulic legs under rear, 13” out riggers, 9ft wide, 70ton ramps, 30ton gooseneck.

New Faymonville MAX Flat trailers in stock, fixed bed and extendable, rear steer axle option, low ride, travel 6” lower than standard flat, high tensile steel spine bed build, only 6.2ton empty, payload of 39tons.

Large selection of second hand trailers also in stock, ready for work, DoE’d and serviced.

24 | REPORT

FTAI briefs members on Brexit at DIT

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or a number of reasons, the Freight Transport Association Ireland (FTAI) held its Annual General Meeting, Council Meeting and Members’ Briefing at the DIT, Aungier Street. The higher education institution’s Faculty of Business situated in the heart of the city which facilitates over 5,500 students currently accommodates degrees in logistics and transport and has plans to add further modules in these sectors in the near future.

Aidan Flynn, General Manager, FTA Ireland welcomed delegates and invited guests to the briefing which covered the possible implications of Brexit from the DIT, Customs & Revenue, CBRE and KPMG. “We are grateful and delighted to be here, most notably that DIT are new members of our association,” he began.

“FTAI Ireland and our members have always been committed to the highest levels of operational compliance and professionalism and this is evidenced by our accreditation programme. This ethos within the association is vital for making the logistics and transport sector appealing for young people, where they can look at all the opportunities within the industry and decide to pursue a career in logistics, be it as an operator in a warehouse, a truck driver, manager, planner, etc.”

successful and viable Supply Chain that can be dynamic, profitable and professional.”

“It is essential that all elements of the Supply Chain adapts quickly with solutions to prepare and support this. Through education we can embrace upskilling of the industry, promote skillnets and college courses and follow on with apprenticeships.”

“On FTA Ireland’s Brexit policy, Aidan mentioned that for borderless regions to work and to help ‘frictionless trade’ it makes sense that there are registered schemes to help build trust, that review compliance requirements and reduce the risk of cowboy operators getting away with it. The FTAI Accreditation certainly helps prepare for this eventuality.”

Relating to Border crossings and the much talked about ‘Hard Border’, Aidan added; “The delays to movement of goods on the island of Ireland is encongable and for all political problems it inevitably will raise. Again, for this to work, all parts of the Supply Chain and particularly transport companies must buy into the new future of be compliant registered and professional and registered.”

“I can think of nowhere better to be than in a college committed to helping young people get the best of education and be prepared for their (hopefully) successful transport and logistics career. It is up to us and to the industry to support this 100% - why? The future of the industry requires it, look at the average age of a driver and Brexit demands it. It is about time we value the importance of promoting the image of our industry as being professional and compliant.”

Declan Allen, Assistant Head of School at DIT, Aungier Street, discussed Risk Management within the Supply Chain sector covering potential losses, the likelihood of losses and global trends and happenings outside of the control of the segment, with Brexit being one of the real life situations that is not like a national weather disaster, ‘it is happening, going to happen and we as in Ireland needs to prepare, due to its vulnerable geographical location’. “A resilient and robust Supply Chain system must be in place,” he said.

“Today’s briefing has a Brexit theme, but it also highlights our policy position on Brexit to promote the upskilling of the industry, to call on more recognition for accreditation programmes like the FTAI Accreditation and to encourage all of us that value high standards in all aspects of the Supply Chain to work closer together to shape a

“Contingency strategies are required such as rerouting, order transfers, situation awareness and agility, collaboration with other related parties is essential,” added Declan. “Look at past scenarios, know your business and have a Brexit plan in place,” he advised. “Trade will continue but not as we know it,” quipped Declan (with apologies to Star Trek!)

Guest Speakers at the FTAI Briefing from L/R: Collett e Callanan, Road Safety Authority; Fionn Uibh Eachach, KPMG; Garreth McClean, CBRE; Aidan Flynn, FTAI; Carol-Ann O’Keeffe, Customs and Declan Allen, DIT. FLEETTRANSPORT | JUL/AUG 17

REPORT | 25

Flynn Transport receives FTAI Silver Accreditation Award

In relating to the latest instalments of the Ireland Logistics Supply Chain industrial market overview, Garreth McClean, Executive Director, CBRE briefly relayed details of the recent Logistics & Supply Chain Confidence Index 2017, produced with KPMG (as featured in sister publication, Handling Network - Summer 2017). He then outlined developments in the Dublin industrial and logistics market, breaking down investments and trends relating to prime industrial take-up by location across Dublin with the north-east region adjacent to the N7 in biggest consistently in heavy demand. Sites in north Dublin close to the airport continue to generate much interest from developers too. With this demand leads to increased costs with rent/leasing rate bumping up 25% since the recession.

Take up by size of the warehousing/logistics units sees the majority uptake between 1,858–4,645m2 (47% - Q1 2017) with 24% looking for sizes between 4,645–9290m2 in space volume. Garreth noted the changing trends in sales versus letting, with the latter overtaking sales by 3:1 compared to 3:2 in the last 6 months. Due to the lack of availability of finished units, there is an actual decline in the marketplace with a projected take-up of 247,889 sq.m forecast for 2017, compared to the almost 290,000 sq.m secured during 2016. Peak levels reached 426,641 sq.m in 2015. Notably, pre-recession, that figure peaked at 308,233 in 2007. At that time, rates topped €130 per square metre and dropped below €60 during the recovery years, but are now reaching €94 (€8.75 per sq. ft.) and continuing to rise. “By 2021, we forecast that threshold to reach €122 per sq.m,” predicted Garreth.

When all elements are factored in, Ireland is the second most expensive location, rent wise in Europe, next to central London. Denmark, Germany and Spain lie next on the European Prime Industrial & Logistics Rents Rankings. “Expect to see an increase in the number of new planning applications with build-to-suit projects catering for logistics, e-commerce, data centres, bio-pharma, med-tech and food sectors,” suggested Garreth. “The development cycle is emerging in prime Dublin regions but few speculative schemes are likely to commence construction until such time as rents rise to a level where development is viable,” he concluded.

Fionn Uibh Eachach, Director at KPMG covered the tax implications of Brexit with the topic “Navigating the UK exit.” The implications of the projected two-year timeline were outlined and what might result in no agreement before the March 2019 deadline. “What may change as a result of Brexit include four fundamental freedoms, such as the free movement of people, services, capital and goods … and many other Text & Photos: Jarlath Sweeney - editor@fleet.ie

Sandyford, County Dublin based Flynn Transport has become the latest company to achieve FTA Ireland’s Best Practice and Compliance Silver Accreditation following an extensive auditing process. Flynn Transport specialises in waste and recycling as well as abnormal loads and refrigerated transport for over 25 years.

Pictured at the presentation were Aidan Flynn, General Manager FTAI; Paul Flynn, Flynn Transport; Tracy Moran, Flynn Transport and Collette Callanan, Road Safety Authority. regulatory, economic, employment law, and other legal and tax aspects too,” emphasised Fionn.

With reference to the Ireland Logistics & Supply Chain Confidence Index 2017 with CBRE, Fionn looked at the UK’s options as to which of the options to follow such as Switzerland, Norway, Turkey or Canada, when it comes to the trade-off between access to the EU single market and UK sovereignty. In charting the Indirect tax, VAT, Customs and Excise Duty implications, one thing for sure, claimed Fionn, is that consumers will pay more for products sourced in the UK and for exporters - expect external tariffs with variable import duty rates into Britain.

The final speaker, Carol-Ann O’Keeffe from the Customs Brexit division at Revenue answered many questions and concerns of interested parties caught up in the whole Brexit issue, especially the resources available at Government Departments. “What we know and don’t know,” CarolAnn said, “is that we have a clear indication that the UK is out of the Customs Union and that we have no information on safety and security.”

She discussed the transit regime and the safety and security protocols and what Customs/Revenue is currently undertaking in preparation of Brexit. “Our focus is on trade facilitation with the creation of an outreach programme and upgrades to our IT systems.”

Offering words of advice and caution, Carol-Ann said; “You need to be Brexit ready,” making the following points; • Examine current workflows and quantify your exposure • What is your Customs knowledge/expertise?

• Engage in Revenue’s Customs outreach programme • Research option of AEO or one of the Customs simplifications • Register for Customs (EORI) • Engage with your trade representative bodies Also during the presentation sequence, Conor Molloy from Authentic Solutions promoted the Green Certificate funded by Enprova.

www.fleet.ie

26 | FUEL PRICES (WEEK 26) / SAFETY MATTERS 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

1.125

1.194

1.026

Andorra

EUR

1.079

1.139

0.919

Luxemburg

EUR

1.118

1.180

0.936

Austria

EUR

1.157

1.314

1.069

Macedonia

MKD

62.50

64.50

48.00

Belarus

EUR

0.581

-

0.599

Moldova

MDL

16.47

16.99

13.96

Belgium

EUR

1.358

1.437

1.276

Montenegro

EUR

1.220

1.320

1.070

Bosnia-Herzegovina

BAM

2.15

-

2.10

Netherlands

EUR

1.609

1.745

1.237

Bulgaria

BGN

2.08

2.34

2.06

Norway

NOK

15.99

16.98

14.72

Croatia

HRK

8.96

9.49

8.32

Poland

PLN

4.37

4.73

4.15

Czech Republic

CZK

27.90

31.07

28.31

Portugal

EUR

1.469

1.518

1.238

Denmark

DKK

10.90

10.42

8.09

Romania

RON

4.27

4.75

4.19

Estonia

EUR

1.120

1.170

1.090

Russia

RUB

40.54

-

38.34

Finland

EUR

1.438

1.509

1.230

Serbia

RSD

143.40

-

147.90

France

EUR

1.383

1.424

1.192

Slovakia

EUR

1.080

-

1.004

Georgia

GEL

2.14

2.24

1.89

Slovenia

EUR

1.216

1.345

1.110

Germany

EUR

1.301

1.486

1.092

Spain

EUR

1.170

1.312

1.056

Greece

EUR

1.427

1.665

1.188

Sweden

SEK

13.32

13.92

12.85

Hungary

HUF

354.00

-

393.00

Switzerland

CHF

1.450

1.570

1.470

Ireland

EUR

1.339

-

1.179

Turkey

TRY

4.95

4.97

4.36

Italy

EUR

1.534

-

1.375

Ukraine

UAH

24.63

25.70

22.35

Kazakhstan

KZT

150.00

164.00

129.00

UK

GBP

1.115

1.249

1.116

Latvia

EUR

1.094

1.149

1.019

USA

USD

0.612

-

0.658

Safety Matters . . . Safety Matters . . .

Watch Your Step: Preventing vehicle related Slips, Trips and Falls

V

ehicle related slips, trips and falls (STFs) are a leading cause of worker injury in Ireland. Workers who drive or work with trucks and vans are most affected. Drivers and transport workers climb in and out of their cabs hundreds of times a week, and routinely access the rear and sides of their vehicles using platforms and tail lifts. Transport operations often involve substances that can lead to slippery surfaces. Oil, grease, diesel, rain, snow and ice can make the conditions even more dangerous.

Transport managers, drivers and operatives need to be aware of the main causes of vehicle STFs, understand how they happen and what you can do to prevent them. According to injury reports to the HSA, trucks, vans and trailers are most commonly associated with vehicle related STFs. 40% happen between the hours of 9am and 1pm. Victims are predominantly male and aged between 25 and 54. Exiting vehicles was a factor in 45% of vehicle STF injuries. 24% of vehicle related slips, trips and falls lead to an absence from work of over one month. This can have a profound impact on the individual concerned and also a negative impact on business operating costs. The average employer liability claim cost for a vehicle related STF is €25,000.

Where do vehicle STFs happen?

• Entering and exiting vehicles, particularly HGVs and vans, • Load platforms and load area of trucks and vans, • Trailer platforms, • 5th wheel area of HGVs, • Vehicle steps and ladders, • Vehicle tail lifts, • Road tanker platforms, • Uneven ground and damaged surfaces where vehicles are parked.

What causes vehicle STFs? • Unsafe methods of exiting or entering vehicles and load FLEETTRANSPORT | JUL/AUG 17

• • • •

platforms; Unsuitable, damaged or missing steps to access vehicle areas; Poor housekeeping leading to material lying around that is a trip hazard; Using footwear that does not protect against injury or provide slip-resistance; Poor vehicle and platform design and materials, in particular unsuitable steps, ladders and walk-on vehicle surfaces.

What does the law say?

• A vehicle is a workplace and, like all other workplaces, requires a written risk assessment to identify the relevant hazards and associated controls to achieve safe systems of work. Safe systems of work must include safe ways of entering and exiting a vehicle; • Designers, manufacturers, importers or suppliers of vehicles, tankers and trailers must make sure they are designed and constructed safely and provide relevant information to customers; • Suitable instruction and training must be provided to those who work in, on and around vehicles; and • Where the risk assessment identifies a need for Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) such as safety footwear, then it must be provided by the employer.

There are also additional specific legal requirements for certain classes of vehicles, such as specific slip-resistant surfaces for small and large public service vehicles.

Further information and guidance HSA factsheet can be found at http://www.hsa.ie/eng/Publications_ and_Forms/Publications/Information_ Sheets/Watch_Your_Step_Infosheet.pdf A full suite of HSA resources on preventing vehicle related injuries at work can be found at www.vehiclesatwork.ie

28 | GREEN FLEET

Volkswagen sees great future for Natural Gas powered vehicles

T

he Volkswagen Group is looking to Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) in both its natural and regenerated forms as one of the alternative fuels of the future.

Along with electric mobility Volkswagen aims to invest heavily in developing CNG technology for car and commercial vehicles (from vans, trucks and buses).

Over the years, much R&D time has been spent on introducing versions from its line-up with CNG power alongside diesel and petrol counterparts – 19 to date – with many more models to come.

As highlighted during the recent Green Fleet Management with Natural Gas Power Conference, among the benefits of CNG is that it is cleaner (offering a significantly lower carbon footprint) and the drivetrain

FLEETTRANSPORT | JUL/AUG 17

is smoother and less noisy than diesel engines.

Today in Germany there is 500,000 km of natural gas pipeline, supplying 1,000 fi lling stations, which in turn services 100,000 CNG powered vehicles. By 2025 the Volkswagen Group’s objective is to increase that vehicle parc ten fold to 1 million units and double the station infrastructure.

Dependence will not be all from the fossil source as recycled bio-gas (methane) will become the preferred choice regenerated from landfi ll or from agriculture. Andreas Gottwald, Press Manager, Production Communications Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles at Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles headquarters in Hanover, Germany presented an interesting fi nding from the company’s research into gas from straw technology. From

seven round bales of straw with an average weight of 1800 kg overall, can produce 300 kg of CNG which in turn can power the average motorist to the tune of 10,000 km annually. Tillage farmers in Ireland will be able to avail of the added value of the straw when dedicated to this use, particularly when they hear of the constant growth of natural gas powered vehicles worldwide.

Since 2000 – 2016 the numbers involved has grown hugely from 1.3 million vehicles to 23.047 million units. The Asia-Pacific and African regions lead the way with Europe catching up quickly. From 2002 Volkswagen has achieved consistent sales growth with an increased product line from the Golf MPI Bi-Fuel to the Passat 1.4 TSI EcoFuel and the up! 1.0 litre MPI EcoFuel. Today, there are four Volkswagen CNG cars, three Audi g-trons (A3, A4 and A5), three Skodas, four Seats and three Volkswagen Commercial

GREEN FLEET | 29

vehicles together with examples from sister brands MAN Truck & Bus (Lion’s City Bus) and Scania Ecolution tractor-unit.

The Volkswagen Caddy TGI has been developed alongside the Model Year 2017 Series which includes 25 model variants from panel vans to people carriers. Among the new features include enhancements to the rear end with new tail-lights and spoiler with newly designed exterior mirrors and front headlights. Overall, air drag has been significantly improved. Under the new generation by BlueMotion Euro 6 engines comes the 1.4 litre TGI that can run on compressed natural gas or bio-methane and now available with a six-speed manual gearbox and now for the fi rst time, the renowned DSG automated transmission.

As the CNG is measured in kilogrammes per kilometre instead of litres (as in internal combustion engines), Volkswagen’s combined fuel consumption figures of 4.1 kg per 100 km or 4.3 kg/100km for the LWB MAXI version, the Caddy driver can cover a computer estimated range distance of up to 630 km or 860 km. CO2 emissions are at 116 g/km for the Maxi. These figures increase slightly if the DSG is specified. A modified TSI petrol engine with 110 PS/200 NM serves as the

basis for powering the Caddy with CNG. For start-up and in case the CNG tanks run dry, a small (13 litre) on-board petrol tank provides a ‘bring me home’ assurance. On the SWB Caddy TGI, four under-floor steer tanks are mounted holding 25/26 kg CNG each. Caddy Maxi TGI gets bigger tanks and an additional one for longer range distance.

Usable cargo space remains unchanged as does the loading sill height compared to its 2.0 litre EcoFuel (SWB) predecessor, the power output is the same but range distance extends from 440 km to 630 km with fuel consumption improving by 28% and CO2 emissions reduce from 156 g/km to 112 g/km.

“Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles continues to drive forward the development of its own CNG vehicles,” stated Andreas. “Apart from the Caddy TGI in commercial and passenger car variants, the eco load up! is now available with its 1.0 litre 50 kW (68hp) and a range of 380 km. Look out for another addition to the model line soon.”

By this he may mean a TGI version of the Transport T6?

Andreas discussed obstacles and actions (or reasons customers do not buy) on the further promotion of CNG based on current market research.

Insufficient CNG fuel station infrastructure was the top point which is being addressed across Europe as is the concern about the driving range which is comparable to petrol.

The model line-up choice is broadening too and the business case has strengthened with the pricing structure, now more in line with diesel vehicle costs, with the added bonus of fi nancial subsidy from Europe.

In Germany CNG costs between €1.03/kg €1.08/kg and exempt from high rates of excise duty and from in-house analysis, comparable petrol, diesel and CNG powered Caddys trialed, saw the latter emerge the cheapest to run. Both van and passenger versions were driven in and around Volkswagen Commercial Vehicle’s home city of Hannover.

Accompanied by Andreas, the fi rst port of call was to Erdgas CNG fi lling station near the airport. With the fuel gauge down in the red, it took only €28.61 to fi ll 27.60 kg of fuel; taking no more time than diesel or petrol engine tanks. On chalking up the miles the smooth, quiet drivetrain was most comforting, aided by the slickness of the dual clutch DSG gearbox. There was ample power and torque from the 110 PS TGI 1.4 litre engine. Caddy TGI is also available as a Beach Camper, taxi or combi (crew cab) version, which broadens the appeal and scope in terms of sales potential. At present it is only available in left hand drive form. Alas.

CNG will assist greatly in reducing overall CO2 footprint from road transport in general as required by the EU. Today cars average rating is at 130 g/km CO2 with a target set at 95 g/km by 2020. Similarly, LCVs current emission levels are at 175 g/ km CO2 and this has to be reduced to 147 g/km by 2020. Th is can be achieved by further technological developments in Alternative Fuels, Hybrid Drives and E(Electric) Traction and with an annual growth of 24% in natural gas vehicles worldwide, CNG is recognised as a viable alternative fuel for the future.

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

www.fleet.ie

30 | LCV I

Mullingar Autos appointed Fiat Professional Dealers

F

iat Professional now has a strong representation across the Midland counties, following the appointment of Mullingar Autos to its dealer network, its newest sales and aftersales partner.

Mullingar Autos will stock a range of Fiat Professional vehicles such as the multi-award winning Fiorino, Doblo, Talento and Ducato vans, plus the recently launched Fiat Fullback Pick-up.

Established in the 1970s, Mullingar Autos has grown to include a fully equipped car service and accident repair department as well as VTN LCV Test Centre. It also operates a 24-hour recovery sevice. Paul Hunt, Managing Director of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Ireland, said: “The appointment of Mullingar Autos represents a first and significant step in our plans to expand and strengthen the Fiat Professional dealer network across Ireland. The location and accessibility will ensure customers in the counties of the midlands can now sample the Fiat Professional range.”

Mullingar Autos Dealer Principal Jim Bourke, added: “This is a very exciting period for Mullingar Autos. The Fiat Professional range offers one of the most competitive and practical LCV line-ups in the marketplace.

We are confident that the modern styling and value offered in the Fiat Professional range will attract existing and new customers alike. We

Shane Dunne (Mullingar Autos); Jim Bourke (Dealer Principal, Mullingar Autos); Paul Hunt (FCA Ireland) & Tim Cronin (FCA Ireland)

have a full range of back up services, including service, parts and VTN testing. We are confident that Mullingar Autos and Fiat Professional will be a strong match into the future.”

Warranty extended Fiat Ireland is increasing the warranty on its commercial vehicle range, (including the new Fiat Fullback Pick-up and the Talento van), from three years to five for all Fiat Professional models ordered by 31 July.

Business and fleet owners can now get increased peace of mind after taking advantage of a five-year or 200,000km warranty on all Fiat Professional models sold in Ireland.

FTA Ireland appoints VanSafe Manager

T

he Freight Transport Association Ireland (FTAI) has appointed Ronan Monaghan to head up its new VanSafe programme, an industry driven programme designed to raise operational standards and recognise excellence in the light commercial vehicle sector.

SMEs and fleet operators seeking VanSafe accreditation are required to pass a systems audit which includes vehicle and equipment maintenance, maintenance cycles, vehicle standards, vehicle administration, driver licensing and competence, driver behaviour and sustainable operations.

FTAI General Manager, Aidan Flynn, said: “We are delighted to welcome Ronan, whose FLEETTRANSPORT | JUL/AUG 17

sole purpose will be to engage with the sizeable Irish van fleet sector. With signs coming from the European Commission in its recently published Mobility Package that van fleets used for ‘hire and reward’ may come under a new licensing regime, the time is right to engage the van fleet sector in an industry-driven road safety initiative that will improve standards of compliance on our roads and enable safe and compliant van operators to gain deserved recognition.”

“The van sector is growing steadily in Ireland and VanSafe will be the new term for compliant operators. We offer an auditing programme which independently verifies the compliance levels of van fleet operators in line with their operational obligations under safety legislation.

This will become the standard for the sector, enabling operators to demonstrate their commitment to road safety, driver safety and vehicle roadworthiness, allowing businesses to expand and giving owners and managers peace of mind that they are meeting their legal obligations.”

Mayo native Ronan has extensive experience in the transport, warehousing and logistics industry having worked as Transport Manager for Elverys Sports for a number of years.

LCV II | 31

LCVs come under ELV Environmental Services (ELVES) compliance scheme

L

ight Commercial Vehicles now come under the new ELV Environmental Services (ELVES) compliance scheme that has been set up by vehicle manufacturers to improve the recycling of scrap vehicles and to help encourage compliance with the End-of-Life Vehicles (ELV) Regulations.

The ELV Regulations oblige owners of vehicles that are no longer roadworthy, such as passenger cars and small vans, to use a permitted scrapyard and have their vehicle recycled. One of the ELVES objectives is to generate awareness of its national network of permitted scrapyards, officially known as Authorised Treatment Facilities (ATFs). These ATFs will provide a free drop off service to the public for scrap vehicles. Similar to recycling at a bring bank or civic amenity site, ATFs will enable people to easily hand over their vehicles for recycling and recovery.

Fiacra Quinn and Brian Cooke speaking at ELVES launch

When a consumer or a garage scraps a vehicle at an ATF, they should ask for a receipt of the transaction, (called a Certificate of Destruction (CoD)), from that facility to show that they have handed over their vehicle to be recycled and recovered. The CoD will confi rm that the vehicle has been accepted as an ELV and this then ends the fi nal owner’s responsibility for it. The ATF will look after the requirements of the process. Th is will include recycling of fuel and other fluids, dismantling and reuse of component parts, and the recycling of metal and materials.

Around 90,000 vehicles are scrapped annually in Ireland. ELVES’ also aims to improve the reuse of parts and recycling of ELVs in order to help Ireland meet national targets. In 2014, Ireland reused, recycled and recovered 91% of its ELVs. Th is needs to increase and a rate to 95% is the target. Since 2015, 95% of the vehicle must be reused, recycled or recovered, with a minimum of 85% from reuse (components) or recycling.

ELVES is establishing a nationwide network of ATFs around Ireland.

Th is network has a good geographical spread with nearly 40 ATFs currently within the scheme. The network is still growing with ELVES regularly recruiting new ATFs, according to Fiacra Quinn of ELVES: “ELVES is committed to raising public awareness of why, where and how to scrap a vehicle. We want consumers to check the ELVES website for a list of authorised treatment facilities (ATFs), which are permitted scrapyards, and to make sure that they are informed about gett ing a Certificate of Destruction (CoD). Th is ends their relationship with the vehicle. We are currently building a nationwide network of ATFs, which will enable the public to easily fi nd a scrapyard near them. Our funding comes from vehicle manufacturers, who are members of ELVES, and they have shown commitment to achieving national targets in a collective manner.

Promoting reuse of parts and recycling is key to this.”

Visit www.elves.ie for more information

New 3-on-3 Service Package Deal on Mercedes-Benz vans

A

s the company celebrates its 50th Anniversary, Mercedes-Benz Commercial Vehicles Ireland has rolled out an attractive 3 Year/3 Service Package for all Vito and Sprinter vans registered in Ireland as and from 1 July 2017.

management, parking monitoring, location and timer reminder, and information on fuel level and mileages driven. In addition, clients can benefit from MobiloVan assistance services, which comes as standard with all new Mercedes-Benz vans.

Describing the package as one that “combines a highly-affordable service package with the latest van-connectivity technology,’ Mercedes-Benz Commercial Vehicles AfterSales Manager, David Smith said: “Taken together, it’s an offer that will put Vito and Sprinter in the forefront of customer’s minds when choosing their next vehicle.”

With prices starting from €279, these service offers are available throughout the MercedesBenz Commercial Vehicle dealer network.

In addition, customers signing up for the new package get the connectivity benefits of the new ‘Mercedes me Adapter’ plus Smartphone app. Using this technology, customers can gather a host of information

about their van directly to their smartphone.

Typically, this includes vehicle maintenance www.fleet.ie

32 | INTERVIEW

In Ireland, SsangYong is distributed by Harris Commercial Vehicles, with Joe Harris as the Managing Director and John Keogh, Dealer Development Manager. Fleet Transport caught up with them recently for a chat.

Can we begin by explaining about SsangYong, its origins and current ownership and strengths of the brand?

Founded in 1954, SsangYong is one of South Korea’s most respected automotive manufacturers. Quality engineering was at the forefront of SsangYong’s development into four-wheel drive vehicles in the 1980s and its fi rst brands in this market included Musso and Korando. Then in 2000, SsangYong completed its full range of SUVs that included Rexton, Kyron, Actyon, Korando and Actyon Sports.

More recently, the new crossover Tivoli and its ‘big brother’, the Tivoli XLV, were launched.

The compact SUV Korando is SsangYong Motors’ fi rst front wheel drive vehicle, which is a milestone for the company’s long-term product line-up, as Korando is Korea’s longest known car brand in the global SUV market.

Globally, SsangYong Motors continue to expand its presence in world markets, exporting its SUV’s through 1,645 sales outlets in 126 countries. To strengthen its foothold in Europe – the region that leads the way in the automotive industry, SsangYong Motors has opened some regional head offices, in strategic European cities.

To secure sustainable growth, SsangYong Motors will not only focus on existing and mature markets but also develop emerging regions such as Central America, Eastern Europe and even target India and China, the world’s largest automobile market.

SsangYong Korando Sport FLEETTRANSPORT | JUL/AUG 17

SsangYong continues to strengthen its dominance of the SUV market through close technical cooperation with major shareholders Mahindra & Mahindra, global specialists of SUV development.

Safe to say that the current generation models bear litt le resemblance to the brand when fi rst introduced here well over two decades ago?

Certainly. At the very core of its production, SsangYong was manufacturing 4WD vehicles suitable for the Korean Army, as is the case with the Korando. The brand, and its vehicles, was portrayed as both reliable and functional. With the shift of customer needs, from a military and practical side to an end-user customer, SsangYong evolved, specifically on the design front. Th is materialised in 2015, when the India headquartered Mahindra Group (which owns 70% of SsangYong Motors) acquired the iconic Italian automotive design company Pininfarina. The Italian company has designed vehicles for high profi le automobile manufacturers such as Ferrari, Alfa Romeo, Peugeot, Maserati, and Rolls Royce. The biggest change regarding design to date is seen with the Tivoli, and consequently with the Tivoli XLV and indeed with the new Rexton, that arrives to the Irish market later this year.

At International Motor Shows, SsangYong regularly introduces new concepts and prototypes which indicate that the company is incredibly innovative and forward thinking. Agree?

New SsangYong Rexton presented at Seoul Motor Show

INTERVIEW | 33 Totally agree. The company goal is to present a new concept every year, and they are accomplishing it, we see it at every big Motor Show. At the same time, SsangYong Motors is dipping into new technologies and trends, such as electric vehicles. I look forward to seeing what the future will look like for SsangYong globally! Real exciting, I think.

What’s in the pipeline for introduction shortly?

We have the new facelifted Korando arriving to the Irish market in June and an entirely renewed Rexton by the end of this year. The Korando ES model will now come with rear parking sensors roof rails and rear spoiler in addition to the well specced previous model.

The El version will benefit from newly designed leather seats with quilting and perforation for extra comfort, as well as front parking sensors, in addition to the rear parking sensors and rear view camera.

Both models will have the following upgrades: distinctive new grille and headlights, that also includes new fog lights; daytime running lights using 11 high-luminescent LED lamps with separate lenses to improve visibility; and a newly designed steering wheel. So, a really ‘extra’ packed Korando range on the way.

Having acquired the distribution franchise for Ireland in 2012, how has the business progressed regarding dealer representation and sales?

Regarding aftermarket care, what is the warranty and roadside assistance package provided?

Warranty varies slightly depending on model and variant; all warranty starts on the date of fi rst registration.

The passenger vehicles - Korando, Tivoli and Tivoli XLV - have five years unlimited mileage warranty and five years’ roadside assistance.

The Rodius and Rexton have five years or 150,000 km warranty with five years’ roadside assistance.

On all commercial vehicles - Korando, Tivoli, Tivoli XLV, Korando Sports and Rexton - there’s a five years or 150,000 Km warranty and five years’ roadside assistance.

All Taxi vehicles have three years or 150,000 km with three years’ roadside assistance.

W hat about parts and accessories – available at all dealerships?

All of our dealers in the network have access to our full range of Genuine SsangYong Parts and Accessories, while whatever they may not have in stock is only a few hours away from our central storage distribution centre here in Dublin.

We have grown our national dealer network to 14, some of which includes dealers who have added additional locations and were insisting on adding SsangYong to their other location which is very encouraging. In some cases where we reside in a multi-franchised location, SsangYong accounts for almost half of their new car sales.

Are there further dealership territories to be fi nalised?

Yes. Th ree areas we are working on at the moment are Galway, the Midlands and the Cavan & Monaghan region. We are in advanced talks with a few dealers in these areas. So expect some exciting announcements over the coming months.

Looking at your Commercial SUV & 4x4 line-up, SsangYong covers all sectors, more than most, is this an area you plan to target most for additional sales growth?

SsangYong’s DNA is for sure SUV and 4x4 based, therefore our expertise and sales are mainly in that area: creating great SUV vehicles, with new technologies and adapted to modern times, the new Rexton is a good example of it. Nonetheless, SsangYong is testing the passenger segment, with the Tivoli and Tivoli XLV, keeping the 4x4 knowledge.

How are residual values on the new generation models or is it too early to ascertain as yet?

One thing you can be assured of is that through the dealer network there is a strong demand for quality used SsangYong vehicles that simply are very hard to come by, and this is driving up secondhand values. Part of the reason is our unlimited five-year mileage warranty and 5-year roadside assistance programme. Th is makes fresh second-hand versions very att ractive to both dealers and potential customers.

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

Tivoli Commercial fleet sale to Mercury Engineering Ltd. (Dublin)

SsangYong Ireland Dealer Network – Bill Cullen Premier Cars, Dublin – Cashman Car Sales, Midleton – Cassidy Motors Ltd, Ballina – Cassidy Motors Ltd, Charlestown – Fahy & Ryan, Templemore – Hinchys, Limerick – Hinchys, Garryspillane – Jimmy Barry Motors, Bantry – Lynn Motors, Dundalk – Noel Whelan Car Sales, Portlaoise – O’Sullivan Auto, Gorey – Ryans Garage, Blanchardstown – Sutton Cars, Sutton – Waterford Motor Village, Waterford www.fleet.ie

34 | LCV III

Renault demonstrates dynamic wireless electric vehicle charging (DEVC)

R

enault has participated with Qualcomm Technologies and Vedecom in designing a dynamic wireless electric vehicle charging (DEVC) system capable of charging an electric vehicle dynamically with a charge of up to 20 kilowatt s at speeds up to, and in excess of 100km/h. The DEVC system has been designed to support real-world implementation of dynamic charging. The two Renault Kangoo Z.E. vehicles picked up charge in both directions along the track.

The dynamic charging demonstrations took place at the 100-metre test track, built by Vedecom at Satory, Versailles, near Paris. The tests evaluated the operation and efficiency of energy transfer to the vehicles for a wide range of practical scenarios including vehicle identification and authorization on entering track, power level agreement between track and vehicle, speed and alignment of vehicle along track.

“Contributing to this exciting project has enabled us to test and further research dynamic charging on our Kangoo Z.E. vehicles,” said Eric Feunteun, Electric Vehicle Program Director, Groupe Renault. “Our research engineers have worked very closely with the Qualcomm Technologies and Vedecom teams to complete the DEVC system integration demonstration as part of FABRIC. (FABRIC is a €9 million project, partly-funded by the European Union) We

see dynamic charging as a great vision to further enhance the ease of use of EVs, and the accessibility of EVs for all.”

“We are inventors. We are wireless electric vehicle charging. Th is dynamic charging demonstration is the embodiment of this,” said Steve Pazol, VP & GM, Wireless Charging, Qualcomm Incorporated.

“I am immensely proud of what we have achieved. The combination of a global team of expert engineers and Qualcomm Halo technology, which covers all aspects of WEVC systems, irrespective of the magnetics used, has enabled us to really push the boundaries of the possible and outline our vision for future urban mobility.”

Frank Keane Volkswagen: Commercial Vehicle Dealer of the Year 2016

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t the recent Volkswagen Gold Pin Awards ceremony held in Carton House, Maynooth, Frank Keane Volkswagen was honoured with the Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles Dealer of the Year 2016 title. The award, which celebrates excellence within the Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles Retail network, recognises the retailer’s contribution in a number of areas including sales performance, local market share and overall customer experience and is the highest accolade that a Volkswagen Commercial Vehicle retailer can achieve.

Since opening in January 2012, with a team of 14 staff members, Frank Keane Volkswagen has grown significantly, resulting in two new dealership locations in five years: Liffey Valley Motor Mall and Deansgrange, County Dublin. Frank Keane Volkswagen now boasts a strong workforce of over 120 people.

In 2016, Frank Keane Volkswagen acquired MSL Motor Group Volkswagen in Deansgrange, Ballsbridge, and Pottery Road. It also merged with the MSL Volkswagen Showroom in Deansgrange and opened up an all new state of the art service centre. With this extensive expansion, the Commercial Vehicles department, successfully managed by Ger Colwell has developed into one of Ireland’s leading Van Centres.

Commenting on the award, Ger Colwell said he was delighted to achieve such an accolade: “Winning retailer of the year for Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles is a great honour. Our objective at Frank Keane Volkswagen for 2016 was to become the number one FLEETTRANSPORT | JUL/AUG 17

Alan Bateson, Managing Director of Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles Ireland and Ger Colwell, Commercial Vehicle Manager of Frank Keane Volkswagen

destination for Commercial Vehicles in Ireland and that is exactly what we have achieved. It is always nice to win, as it gives the whole team a real lift and recognises the team effort put in by all.”

Congratulating the team at Frank Keane Volkswagen, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles Director, Alan Bateson said, “2016 has seen continued growth in Ireland for Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles with strong results delivered through the recovering Irish economy.

It was also a great year for Frank Keane Volkswagen and I would like to thank everyone involved for their hard work and determination.

The great news is that we have carried this strong performance and phenomenal momentum into 2017 and with the recent launch of the all new Crafter, International Van of the Year 2017 we are focused on continued growth in the Irish market.”

LCV IV | 35

Football vs Rugby in the Fiat Professional Fullback 4x4 Challenge

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porting bragging rights was up for grabs literally as Fiat Professional gave Lee Byrne and Geordan Murphy the chance to redeem rugby’s pride in part two of the Fiat Fullback Challenge – The Fiat Professional 4x4 Challenge.

Once again famous fullbacks Danny Mills (England) and Jackie McNamara (Scotland) made up Team Football, while ex-Lions fullbacks Geordan Murphy (Ireland) and Lee Byrne (Wales) represented Team Rugby and put the new Fiat Fullback Pick-up to the test.

The task for each of the players was to complete a lap of the speciallydesigned 4x4 course, with their other team member reaching out of the Pick-up’s window to touch two flags laid out around the track.

Each team would then swap drivers, and touch the remaining two flags. The team who completed the course with the best driving technique, ability, skill and control would be crowned the winner, as judged by a professional driving instructor.

While it seemed that Team Football appeared to make their way around the course fastest, the superior driving technique and lack of fouls for missing flags by Team Rugby meant they walked away as winners of the inaugural Fiat Professional 4x4 Challenge Champions.

enjoyable test of driving skills - though they may have been quicker around the course, particularly Danny who drove like a maniac, I’m glad the judges recognised our superior technique.”

Former Celtic and Scotland defender Jackie McNamara added: “We’re obviously disappointed to have lost out today after our earlier victory in the Fullback Challenge. Whilst the challenge was great fun and very different to a usual day at work, maybe going full thrott le round the course wasn’t the best idea!”

Commenting on the challenge, the victorious former Welsh and British & Irish Lions fullback Lee Byrne said: “We were prett y chuffed to beat the football boys in the 4x4 driving challenge. It was a really

SsangYong takes to the tracks with Korando Sport

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dozen SsangYong Pick-ups have taken to Snetterton race track in the UK in an all-inclusive one-make series following the highly successful format running in New Zealand.

at Snetterton, and with what we have learnt, bodes well for a great season. It’s a highly competitive format, and clear that drivers and supporters are already extremely enthusiastic.”

The single make series is based on the production SsangYong Korando (Musso) 1-tonne Pick-up sold at dealerships, sporting a sealed 2.2 litre turbo diesel engine and running gear. Changes to the vehicle are limited to full safety equipment in compliance with RACMSA regulations, specially developed suspension dampers by Proflex, and wheels from Speedline Corse with AVON control tyres.

The fi rst weekend of three 15-minute races was held in mixed weather conditions, and led to some exciting close-quarter racing for competitors in this brand-new manufacturer supported series. After qualifying, racing got underway on a rolling start, and concluded after three races of thrills and spills.

Paul Williams, CEO of SsangYong Motor UK commenting on the fi rst event said: “As a relatively new brand in the UK, we like to be different and try new initiatives. Pick-ups aren’t noted for their ability on a race track, but we had seen the success enjoyed in New Zealand, so thought we’d give it a go.

“Despite a few inevitable teething issues from turning Pick-ups into racing cars, the cars ran remarkably smoothly on their fi rst outing Text: Jarlath Sweeney - editor@fleet.ie

www.fleet.ie

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HEALTH MATTERS | 37

Psychiatric illnesses and the Professional Driver

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henissuingaprofessionaldriver’s licence, (Group 2 licence) the psychiatric conditions to be considered will range from mild cognitive impairment to acute psychotic disorders.

period of stability after recovery, and it must be ascertained that he/she is educated as to the progress of the illness and can self-diagnose a deterioration in his/her mental state and driving performance.

For the doctor evaluating the applicant for the licence, these conditions are difficult to evaluate, because they are fluctuating disorders, and the bottom line is always – will the illness or indeed the treatment for it, affect driving skills?

As all treatments which act on the brain can impair alertness, concentration, and driving performance, driving must cease until the treatment has worked to its optimal effect.

With many drugs for mental illness this can take some weeks - and during that time the drugs will show their maximal side effects, such as drowsiness and lack of concentration, and occasionally headaches. If the patient persists with the treatment these side effects wear off and after due consideration the patient who is stabilised may resume his/her driving occupation.

As well as obvious psychiatric illnesses such as florid depression or chronic schizophrenia, there are elements to these category of illnesses that must be considered. The driver with any psychiatric condition treated or untreated may have impaired awareness of his condition, may be more liable to distraction or lack of concentration, or may have other symptoms which affect the safe operation of the vehicle.

Of course the standard for drivers of trucks and buses are particularly stringent owing to the size of the vehicle and the greater time spent on solitary driving during the working day.

Many psychiatric illnesses do not preclude a driver from obtaining a Group 2 licence.

Anxiety and depression can be adequately treated, and if the driver is assessed by a consultant psychiatrist, and is found to be in good mental health, he/she will obtain a Group 2 licence. Chronic schizophrenia and other related chronic diseases necessitate cessation of driving until evaluated by a psychiatrist rather than a general practitioner.

If the applicant has an awareness of his/her condition, and has been well for some time, providing his/her medication does not interfere with driving ability, he/she will obtain the Group 2 licence.

Some people are given a depot injection for their psychiatric condition which lasts several weeks and is generally excellent treatment, but can cause muscular jerking or sedation (as side effects). As the injection is a slow release form of medication, lasting for some time, the driver must be constantly on the alert for an occasional side effect to occur.

Usually doctors or pharmacists will inform the patient about unwanted side effects of their medication, but in fact patients stabilised on their regular psychotropic medication are often safer drivers than when they are ill.

Patients with behavioural disorders and personality disorders will not be issued with a licence, and the National Driver Licensing Authority must be notified if they have been advised to cease driving for six months or longer, as these persons will be considered to be dangerous drivers.

If the driver who suffers from a psychiatric disease is treated then he/she must have a Text: Dr. Betty Maguire - contributor@fleet.ie

Because the type of medication used in mental illness takes so long to work adequately, and so long to wear off, many patients become complacent and declare that they are no longer depressed/elated/whatever. They then decide to stop their medication or reduce the dose which of course will see a return of their original illness as well as causing them to drive unsafely.

Drivers must be made aware that although they may be safer drivers when adequately treated for their psychiatric illness than when they are ill, inadequate treatment and irregular compliance with a medication regime is likely to make them impaired by either the illness or the intermittent form of treatment.

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38 | INNOVATION

Hyundai Motor Company targets Europe for its Commercial Vehicle expansion programme

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ew people in Europe appreciate or understand the scale of the Hyundai Group and the Motor Company within it. There is much more to the South Korean company than the range of cars it produces. A recent trip to Seoul demonstrated the enormity of what the progressive group is all about through its commercial vehicle division, its vast steel manufacturing plant, large R&D Centre and newly created Motor Studios.

Here in Europe we are about to hear a lot more about Hyundai as its portfolio expands, particularly with its commercial vehicles from vans, trucks and buses. Significant investment is underway to completely renew its commercial vehicle range, reaching modern standards as expected by today’s road transport companies.

The objective for Hyundai Motor Company in Europe is to replicate the remarkable progress of its car division where the South Korean brand has bypassed a number of traditional top ranking brands as its climbs the worldwide sales league table. Here in Ireland, Hyundai reached the pinnacle, claiming the number one spot in the fi rst quarter of 2016, for the fi rst time ever. A significant achievement.

Hyundai’s car divisions’ success in Europe has helped to elevate the brand into the Top 5 global automotive makers and the challenge for Mr. Edward Lee, Commercial Vehicle Export Division, Senior Vice President, Hyundai Motor Company is to establish a sales and aftermarket network across Europe for its broad range of commercial vehicles and fulfi l the company’s objective in due time. In speaking with Mr. Lee on the task ahead, there is a lot going through his mind on how this can be achieved. Collaborations with various partners will have to be negotiated for sure on the retail and service ends.

These will be undertaken alongside the final redevelopment elements of its commercial vehicle product line-up, comprising the medium truck range and a revamp to the 1-tonne H1 van. We also heard about the future plans for new pick-up trucks, a large one for the North American market and the other, the more standard 1-tonne version for global markets. These vehicles however will be handled by the passenger car side. That whole process should take about two years, which could result in perfect timing for the full Hyundai Commercial Vehicles Division to enter the European market. Mr. Lee is clear in his objective that Hyundai CVs becomes one of the Top 5 global players in its sector too!

Leading the road ahead are a number of key products such as the H350 light commercial, the Xcient heavy-duty truck range and the all-new Elec City commuter bus. While the former two were launched in recent years, the all-electric bus was recently introduced at the Truck & Bus Mega Fair. A fleet of Elec Citys capable of 290km in range distance will be used as official transport vehicles at the

FLEETTRANSPORT | JUL/AUG 17

INNOVATION | 39

Hyundai Steel Iron making plant

Winter Olympics in South Korea next February.

After these inaugural trial runs, markets will be targeted that are looking to reduce city smog and air pollution. Seoul would seem to be a good starting place, as blue skies are a rarity in the capital.

To date, the Chinese, as in BYD, have made great strides in this direction, securing electric bus contracts with 52 cities across Europe along with a big supply deal at Schiphol Airport. London and other British cities as well as Dublin could be the fi rst opportunities for the Hyundai Elec City to make its zero-emission mark. Natural gas powered buses are currently available.

From a corporate outlook, HMC wishes to become a main player in reducing road traffic accidents and deaths on roads by 2025.

Th is will be accomplished through connectivity between vehicles, autonomous driving and truck platooning. Dovetailing this strategy is Hyundai’s three-way investment in alternative sources of power for its vehicles – hybrid, electric and fuel cell technology. According to Mr. Lee, all three systems have their merits and advantages for a wider range of customers.

The might of Hyundai CV’s wide choice of models were proudly displayed at its fi rst ever Truck & Bus Mega Fair at the Kintex Exhibition Centre, outside Seoul. Of the 170 or so commercials on show, there were many special versions with differing configurations spread around the 90,000 sq.m plot. A number of premieres awaited visitors with the Elec City zero-emission commuter bus taking centre stage with specially adapted passenger versions of the new H350 called the Solati.

Hyundai Steel Cold Rolled Coil

Asking about when RHD versions of the H350 would come available, the latest news is that a joint venture is about to be formed in North Western India, with a converter to supply complying light commercials for markets in UK, Ireland, India, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. Then there is the H350 Fuel Cell version which will go into production next year and will be sold alongside the new Hyundai Fuel Cell car to be launched at the same time.

In the tented areas, the associated component suppliers had trade stands and although these companies sell primarily to Asian markets, some expressed interest in expanding into Europe.

Hyundai’s Xcient heavy-duty truck was launched in 2013 and having seen it at CV Shows in Moscow and Hannover, the opportunity to drive it was appreciated. On the short off-road quarry type circuit created at the Kintex site, the P540 8x4 Euro 6 was brought for a fi rst drive.

Unloaded, the high horsepower short wheel based 4-axle rigid took off at a fast pace and remained in low 4th from the ZF gearbox (manual). Steering felt a litt le light while the suspension sett ing was a touch solid.

During the successful live Active Brake test demonstration with the Xcient 6x2 tractor unit, special emphasis was made on Hyundai’s Hyundai Xcient & H350

The site was strategically divided into zones such as the Grand Experience and Driving Experience, Joyful Experience and Special Experience with the driving part concentrating solely on 8x4 variants of the Xcient heavy-duty truck range. Within these categories Hyundai’s authorised component and auxiliary suppliers geared up an impressive selection of vehicles for the 32,000 interested attendees.

Every application was catered for whether it be construction, refrigerated freight, car transporter, refuse collection, hospitality and emergency services sectors. Two special versions of the H350 panel van, which is on sale in selected European countries and made in Turkey are dedicated to the passenger transport. Called Solati, the Limousine and Tour specifications have been converted by a local specialist, as have the food trucks, some of which were show vehicles, while others provided hospitality. The Campervan also att racted much interest. www.fleet.ie

40 | INNOVATION effort to reduce road accidents from driver fatigue.

Another show of sorts is held everyday at the newly built Hyundai Motor Studios, one of two complete vehicle range showrooms that not only displayed the Hyundai car and commercial line-ups, but offers family entertainment and showcases various elements of car production demonstrated at booths spread around the vast halls. Sales are conducted here, as are service and repairs.

A rollercoaster ride in the Hyundai WRC rally car simulator was memorable.

Hyundai Elec City Bus

Hyundai Xcient Multi-Axle Rigids

Hyundai Xcient 8x4 FLEETTRANSPORT | JUL/AUG 17

The Hyundai Motor Company is the only automotive manufacturer that has its own supply of steel. Through Hyundai Steel located north of Seoul and close to the North Korean border and on the Chinese Yellow Sea, over 24 million tonnes of fi nished steel in coils is produced here annually. Twelve million tonnes are made from melted iron ore (imported from Australia and Brazil) through a blast furnace process while the other 12m are processed from recyclable steel processed through Electric Art Furnace (EAF) making the giant facility equally eco-friendly, as gases piped from the plants are used to power the electricity generation station on site.

Since the fi rst plant was instilled in 1953, the manufacturing base has expanded enormously on land reclaimed from the sea. 60% of what is produced is used by the Hyundai Group.

Each steel coil manufactured weighs around 25 tonnes and costs in the region of $16,000.

From this, 16-18 medium sized family cars can be created. Witnessing the manufacturing procedure was a fascinating experience.

From the boiling iron ore that turned into processed steel as it cooled, the extreme heat (over 1,200oC) along the walkway bellowing high above the closed corner system was almost overwhelming. Raw iron ore stones are taken from the ships at the nearby port, passed along closed convert belts to protect the environment and stored in vast dome shaped 60m high warehouses before the blending process begins. What looks like oceans of water is needed to cool the orange glowing large chocolate bar shaped blocks, but again all is recycled.

Hyundai Motor Company’s Research & Development Centres located around the world share some facilities with sister brand Kia Motors. Over 10,000 people are employed in this department alone. At its Commercial Vehicle Unit in Namyong, 805 employees

INNOVATION | 41 design and create prototypes and pre and post-production models, testing current and new models constantly. To an exhausting extent. Over $110m has been invested in the facility since it opened in 2012. Its main purpose is to ensure high quality products that are also safe and durable and to satisfy global customers needs. Bench tests and scientific labs are to be seen all around the centre with white-coated technicians and experts beavering away. To signify the significance of its growing CV division, its R&D facility has moved to larger premises three times and now employs 805 staff.

South Koreans are a driven race, totally focused on education and work. Additional afterschool tuition is the norm for young pupils as their parents work hard, enduring many extra hours to cover the cost to ensure their children reach third level education.

As Seoul continues to grow, housing accommodation is scarce and expensive with most families living in high-rise apartments.

On average, a 3 bedroom apartment costs €500,000. Notable when out and about Seoul, all directional and public transport signage is in Korean and English, with the latter their second language.

Samples from the Hyundai LCV & Car ranges

South Korea emerged from Civil War in 1957 as a poor nation. Following a military takeover, and without natural resources, the concentration was on human resources focused on manufacturing, with fi nancial assistance mainly from the United States and Japan. They also live a very healthy lifestyle as their low calorie diet lends to slim figures.

Hyundai Green City CNG Bus

Hyundai Group Facts • • • •

Annual turnover €208b Produces 8m cars/CVs 51 Affi liated companies 262,000 employees

Hyundai Commercial Vehicles Timeline 1967 Hyundai Motor Company (HMC) founded 1969 Assembling of Ford D750 truck in CKD begins 1978 MARU-H truck developed with Mitsubishi Fuso Bus production and sales started 1987 Commercial Vehicle Research & Development Centre established 1995 Jeonju plant constructed (for trucks) 1997 Super - Korea’s fi rst truck developed 1998 Mighty II (Light-Duty truck & County Bus developed) 2000 Powertec engine production begins 2006 Trajo (Heavy-Duty truck) and Universe coach produced 2008 New F (3.96) G (6.32) and H (10.0/12.7) litre diesels launched 2nd generation Universe (for export) 2011 CNG Hybrid electric bus developed Text: Jarlath Sweeney - editor@fleet.ie

2012 2013 2014 2015

Sichuan Hyundai JV created with CHMC Xcient Heavy-Duty truck range launched Sichuan Hyundai factory completed in China Introduction of new Mighty and H350

Hyundai’s Commercial Vehicle range extends from 1.9 tonnes to 40 tonnes GVW. In Brief: HMC CVS sold in 130 countries 3 production plants: Korea, China and Turkey CVs:

Mighty: 5.5/6.5/7.2/7.8/8.2 tonne GVW - 120/170PS HD: 3.5/4.5/5.5/6.5/7.2/7.8 tonne GVW - 80/170PS HDi 20: 12 tonne - 185-225PS Xcient: Tractor/Rigid/Construction - 340/540PS

Buses:

County 6.3/7.0m - 100/150PS Aero Town 8.5/9.0m - 225PS Super Aero City/Intercity 11m - 230-300/290PS Unicity 11m - 280/300PS Universe 11.8/12m - 300-380/340-410PS www.fleet.ie

42 | FINANCE MARITIME II

Business Amalgamation

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any transport fi rms are again experiencing increased pressure on profit margins. It's accepted that transport fi rms are increasing in size to retain competitiveness and are faced with the choice of growing or reducing overhead costs. A simple solution (but difficult to implement in practice) is to strip away all excess overheads and capacity.

A transport business owner who places himself/herself back at transport routing, driving and maintenance along with all the other business responsibilities has to be admired, but many business owners do not want, or cannot step back into the boots they once wore.

For transport fi rms that are well funded and well run, opportunities will exist to take over competitors businesses. They will have the business capacity to absorb additional volume, and will also have the business sense to realise that amalgamation is the only realistic route available for profit and survival.

determine how best to strategically plan for volumes and competition from dominant international logistics giants that have the fi nancial capacity to control the market.

The value of a business for amalgamation may only be the market value of assets, with no surplus for goodwill, unless the amalgamation would deliver clear cost savings and increase in profits for a defi nite period into the future. The issue of transfer of undertaking and the retention of staff may be an issue, as the amalgamated entity will require a combined customer base to benefit most from the deal but with an overall reduction in overheads and operating costs.

Otherwise, the new business is not at its most efficient.

Many transport operators believe that business amalgamations are not necessary, believing that additional volume will be gained over time as unprofitable businesses leave the market. Unfortunately, this may be the case, but normally as a business declines customers and rates decrease steadily and business flows to a number of different competitors. The secret of a successful amalgamation is to assess a suitable business, look at its strengths and weaknesses and fi nancially and operationally ascertain how the combined businesses will develop.

If you have support from your fi nancial institution and are keen to develop the size and bottom line of your business then an amalgamation with a like minded competitor may bring additional business, margin and abilities that you cannot achieve on your own.

The amalgamation may result in a new business being formed (new trading entity) or it may simply be absorbed into your business, but in either case a new clear management structure is formed with one boss. If the new entity is managed by a combination of staff from both companies, then clear roles and authority must be outlined or else resentment and complacency will set in.

Many business amalgamations will take place in the next number of years, a prime example will be in our fi nancial lending institutions.

The aim is to cut costs and be cost effective in a changing market.

Transport and logistics fi rms will have to assess their business and FLEETTRANSPORT | JUL/AUG 17

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44 | LEGAL

How much supervision should a driver need?

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Remember that an employer who employs an unlicensed driver will always be at fault, and, additionally, may have no insurance cover in the event of a claim. Secondly, even when an applicant produces a current licence his, or her, driving ability should always be tested.

The cumulative damage done to a vehicle by continuous bad driving can lead to an expensive repair bill, and of course excessive fuel use. It should be standard practice to ask an applicant for a position as a driver to undertake a driving test.

ecently, BBC television broadcast a programme looking at the work of Enforcement Authorities responsible for the movement of traffic on the longest road in Britain, the A1. On a road which varies between Motorway status and the standards of an ordinary dual carriageway, those Authorities have to deal with every type of incident that might be anticipated on an extremely busy road.

Finally, but no less importantly, the employer needs to be certain that the applicant, whether he or she comes from within the Republic of Ireland or not, has sufficient literacy to understand and deal with the various documents that a driver will encounter during a routine working day.

Inevitably many of these incidents, for a variety of reasons, involve HGV’s and, sadly, on too many occasions, checking the tachograph records exposed drivers who had simply ignored or avoided, the drivers’ hours regulations. One response by the Enforcement Authorities is to park the vehicle until the driver has had sufficient rest, although, on other occasions, there will be a prosecution.

Even when an employer has an adequate recruitment procedure the employer’s responsibility for the employees should not end there. There should be continuing supervision, unobtrusive, but constant. Given that each driver is necessarily an ambassador for the employer it may be worthwhile occasionally asking a customer if they have any problem with a driver. The printout from the tachograph should be carefully checked, and vehicles should be examined periodically to see if there are any indications of bad driving.

Self-employed drivers, of course, must accept personal responsibility for any problem that arises as a result of their use of the vehicle. That includes technical offences such as overloading or using a vehicle with defective tyres, and offences that are directly within the control of the driver, such as drivers’ hours offences.

Drivers working for a road haulage company, whether large or small, have the same responsibilities as the self-employed driver but have an overriding responsibility to their employer. It is important to remember that, as soon as the vehicle is driven out of the yard, the employer can have no direct control over either the driver or the vehicle even if every electronic device is available. In the result the relationship between the employer and the driver is critical, the driver must feel that he or she is part of a team.

In a time when recruiting drivers is far from easy, employers are understandably reluctant to make the recruitment process too arduous.

Issues such as driving ability, literacy, and knowledge of the law in relation to a drivers’ hours of work, are barely touched on. On the increasingly rare occasions that references are required they are not taken up. An applicant’s driving licence may be looked at (hopefully, never a copy!) and that will be the end of the selection process. The driver will then carry the employer’s reputation, with a vehicle worth thousands of euro.

‘Expediency’ is usually the worst possible justification for any action and it should never explain the employment of a driver. Every company, whether large or small, should have an established recruitment procedure which is always followed.

In the first instance an original, valid, driving licence must always be produced. No excuse, however persuasive, should ever be accepted.

FLEETTRANSPORT | JUL/AUG 17

Careful and open supervision can only improve the relationship between employer and employee.

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46 | SHIPPING & FREIGHT

Slight easing in pressure on Deep-sea Shipping services

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hroughout this Spring the Shipping Lines serving Asia, Europe and North America have been involved in a period of major re-organisation. This arises from two factors, an overall prett y disastrous 2016 in which, despite low oil prices, most of the major lines including Maersk lost significant amounts of money. Th is downturn led to major cost reduction programmes and also the planned realignment of the Carriers into new vessel sharing Alliances.

Operating within the new Alliances means that individual Lines will fi nd that some of the ports of call for the Ocean vessels will change leading to a knock-on re-organisation of feeder vessel services and schedules. In some cases, the schedule changes led to Lines cancelling sailings thus allowing cargo and containers to build up. Th is has led to delays of up to six weeks in some cargoes being shipped and to the rates that are being charged to those shippers that were not protected by their long-term contracts escalating to up to five times more than the average rates. Irish exporters have been particularly badly hit as the local offices for the Ocean carriers have been unable to secure a sufficient supply of the right container equipment to meet Irish needs.

In order to discourage the practice of double booking of space by some cargo shippers a number of Lines have recently introduced 'no-show' penalty payments where a container booking is cancelled with less than one week’s notice. In the cases of export shipments from Ireland this has not been a major problem as the Shipping Line offices and agents here keep closely in touch with shippers to ensure that all available “slots” on both feeder and ocean vessels are used.

Fleet Transport discussed the situation with one major operator. They reported that, for the June period pressure has reduced a litt le and that Ocean vessels are now full four weeks prior to departure from European Ports instead of the six to eight weeks as was the case in the March to May period. The Alliances do expect more steady services from now on without any dropped sailings

FLEETTRANSPORT | JUL/AUG 17

as the Alliances are now established and schedules are sett ling down.

•

The situation on freight rates remains difficult, though no further increases from those running through May are now expected. However, bunker fuel prices are still creeping higher leading to increased BAF (Bunker Adjustment Factor) on most rates. The Lines do not expect any significant drop in rates over the coming months.

No let-up in the pace of Mergers & Acquisitions • Zeebrugge based ECS European Containers has announced its agreement to join forces with fellow Belgian 2XL warehousing and logistics group. ECS has since its foundation in 1995, focused on pallet transport by container to and from Ireland, Britain and the European mainland while 2XL specialises in the provision of warehousing and integrated logistics services for companies throughout the EU. •

Hapag-Lloyd and United Arab Shipping Company (UASC) have completed their merger having secured all necessary regulatory approvals. The ‘new’ HapagLloyd will be one of the top 5 global carriers with a significantly enhanced presence in the Middle Eastern

•

markets.

The three major Japanese container carriers, KKK, Mitsui OSK Lines and NYK have announced that their merged operation will be launched in April 2018 and will operate under the “Ocean Network Express” brand. The merger will include the combination of their shipping assets and their worldwide terminal operation businesses excluding those located in Japan.

Maersk Line’s $4 billion takeover of Hamburg Süd included some concessions in certain trades. On 28th of April the boards of Maersk Line and the Oetker Group approved the sale of North-South trades specialist Hamburg Süd to the former for a sum of €3.7 billion. Under the terms of the agreement, which is still subject to regulatory approvals, the two brands will continue to be run separately with Hamburg Süd staying in Germany and keeping its existing management. When complete, the transaction will see the combined entity control approximately 19% of the world’s container f leet capacity, based on today’s shares, putt ing further distance between the Maersk Group of carriers and MSC in second place (15%).

Text: Howard Knott - howard@fleet.ie

COMMENT | 47

Which is more important, BREXIT or Climate Change? systems would not only reduce the figures for the power generation sector but would also enhance the cleanliness figures for electric powered vehicles.

From where I'm sitting - Howard Knott

I

t seems that if you are the US President, Donald Trump, the answer to this one is easy, BREXIT is the bigger worry as it will affect American jobs while Climate Change is, perhaps, best described as an alternative fact. While he may be the only person articulating this point of view, he is not alone in thinking that acceptance of the reality of Climate Change could make things tough for certain industries and interests.

that matched that from the transport sector.

The interesting thing in these figures is that, while in the last 25 years the share of GHG from the agricultural sector had dropped from 37% and that from energy production had remained fairly stable, the share from transport had more than doubled from 9.2% in 1990 to 19.8% in 2015. Between 2014 and 2015, emissions from vehicles increased by 4.2% coinciding with the renewal of growth in economic activity.

I was speaking recently with a Canadian cattle farmer who expressed himself as being conflicted by all of this Climate Change stuff.

Yes, he could see that farming, specifically cattle farming was responsible for serious levels of Greenhouse Gas Emissions and that the volume here may be greater than vehicle emissions. But any moves to manage the animal diets or reduce catt le numbers would deprive consumers of the meat and dairy products of the high quality that they desire. As a result he began to find himself in the Trump mindset that wished to deny that there was anything wrong.

It really does not seem likely that the agricultural sector is going to be able to do anything other than make small improvements in emission reduction and that the spotlight will be on the energy and transport sectors to make in-roads into the 160,000 tonnes of GHG that Irish economic activity adds to the atmosphere every day. The planned switch away from power generation through burning peat and coal over the next eight years, combined with the installation of wind turbine and other renewable energy

While private cars accounts for over half the road transport sector’s GHG emissions it could be argued that much is already being done to reduce this figure with new vehicle technology as well as walking, cycling and other initiatives that attack the 53% of car journeys that are of 15 minutes duration or less. 25% of the total national GHG emissions are accounted for by the freight sector, two thirds of that by HGVs. Again it could be argued that, though the Sustainable Energy Authority Ireland figures show these emissions to be on the rise, this increase is easily explained by innovative activity in the sector, through technology, vehicle scheduling and enhanced driving efficiency - all bringing about positive change. Rail freight does remain as an environmentally friendly way to reduce the national dependence of truck transport and Iarnród Éireann has recently started to introduce longer, faster trains that will meet market needs. However, progress remains slow in a Governmental environment that would appear to be somewhat ‘Trumpian’ in its commitment to use of road development as the solution to all transport problems.

It is in the Public Transport area, even if it does only account for 4% of GHG emissions, that significant progress could be made by, for example, insisting that the National Transport Authority only grants PSV licences to bus and taxi operators who can demonstrate that they have a significant programme to switch to use of low emission vehicles over a short period.

As most of these vehicles operate within the more densely populated areas the impact of national health could be quite significant.

Speaking at the Limerick Chambers’ Greater Mid-West Freight Forum held in April, Dr. Faye Carroll of the Climate Change unit at the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport confirmed that agricultural production is now responsible for 33% of Irish Greenhouse Gas Emissions (GHG), and that energy production is responsible for 20%, a figure Text: Howard Knott - howard@fleet.ie

www.fleet.ie

48 | OPINION

Time to heed our own advice?

R

ecently Verona Murphy President of the Irish Road Haulage Association (IRHA) was a panellist on RTÉ TV’s Claire Byrne Live which was broadcast from Dundalk. The show was predominantly a discussion on the potential problems associated w ith Brexit.

During one of the ad breaks from the broadcast a discussion developed around Road User Charges, which encompassed Irish and non-Irish registered haulage trucks transiting through the UK, and including Northern Ireland. Not one of the members of the guest panel, other than Verona, had heard of the charge, let alone understood the implications of it.

If ever there was a lesson needed for the road transport industry to get out there and have its message heard, this was it. Of course, this is nothing new, it has always been a problem. Far too many people are speaking with an air of authority about our industry, when they should be keeping their mouths shut, listening and asking more questions instead.

I am reminded of a story, which may or may not be true, about a Parish Priest, who, having just delivered a sermon about the joys of having a big family, was standing at the back of the Church to greet his congregation. Just as two women, both mothers of large families were approaching him, the Priest asked them did they like his sermon. Not inclined to upset the Reverend, they exchanged a bit of small talk and moved on, where upon, one turned to the other and said: “I wish I knew as litt le about it as he does”.

Sounds a bit familiar? In the same way, we are hearing positions being taken on subjects, that we know are wrong. What about information we are given and taken in good faith? In the past few months and weeks, the media, politicians and other general experts have been very wrong about the result of the American Presidential Election, the outcome of the Brexit Referendum, the French Presidential Election and most recently the British General Election. So why should we believe anything we are told?

Here at home, there has been a big question mark about information coming from the Garda Press Office. It is reasonable to question all statistics and information any Government Agency gives us.

Any statement of fact from any Agency, Irish or European that does not tally with your gut instinct should be questioned for its accuracy, because if you think it is inaccurate, the likelihood it is that it probably is.

FLEETTRANSPORT | JUL/AUG 17

View from the Operators Desk by Sean Murtagh sean@fleet.ie Recently I was in the company of a senior politician who was being questioned about the reluctance of the Department of Transport to allow the reintroduction of the 42 tonne gross weight limit on 5-axle truck and trailer combinations. He said that the officials informed him that there was a problem with damage to the roads.

I did not get involved in the discussion, but given the tripe we have been listening to as a nation over the past few years, you could not accept a statement like this. Are these engineers involved with the decision basing their fi ndings on what they learned in college 30 years ago? Have they kept up to pace with vehicle design in that period and how good are their qualifications in a modern world? If you look at some of the drawings produced and phraseology used, they are certainly dated. In the past, we accused our parents of having blind respect for the clergy, bank managers and politicians, maybe we should be adding to that list.

We advise our children to question anything they are unsure of. Is it time therefore that we took our own advice?

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50 | TIMES PAST

Ford Model T at a 2016 Rally

Model BB Bus operating for Hanlon’s of Longford, late 1940s

Tri-axle Ford, mid-1930s, Great Southern Railways

Kenny’s Ford F Series Coach at George’s Quay, Dublin, 27 September 1953 FLEETTRANSPORT | JUL/AUG 17

Marking the Ford Century in Ireland

M

uch celebration has accompanied Ford’s hundred years in Ireland. But a notable feature has been the almost total exclusion of commercial vehicles from the many articles that have appeared in the media.

Th is is most unfortunate, especially when one reflects on the huge contribution that Ford commercials have made to our history and economy. However, to even list the full Ford commercial story would fi ll a book. So, this somewhat selective and deficient offering seeks to partly redress that omission.

The most famous Ford lorry or van of the early days was the Model T, manufactured at Old Trafford in Manchester from 1911 to handle loads of up to 15cwt (circa 750kg). Th is was uprated in 1917 to become the “Tonner” and remained in production until 1927. A number of the uses to which Ts were put included ambulances which in some instances replaced horse-drawn vehicles. Many Model Ts had long working lives, wrong-footing the detractors whose disparaging jokes and put-downs about its stamina were seen for what they were. Some Ts even survived World War II; many have been restored and draw much admiration at the many vintage rallies at which they appear.

The Tonner was replaced by a much more advanced vehicle, the AA, initially intended for loads of 1.5 tons. The spoked wheels of the TT gave way on the AA to discs with twins at the rear on the heavier models – and a far more comfortable cab, something which all manufacturers have striven to achieve over the years with every new range. In 1933, the AA was joined by the BB which for the fi rst time offered the famous V8 engine as an option. Large numbers of AA and BB types were sold in this country, and Ford also offered both what today are called light commercials (up to a ton capacity) and car-derived light vans. Ford lorries’ most serious competitors were probably Morris-Commercial and Bedford. Several other marques were also available, including some right-hand drive American and European ones. Some AA-BB types that were comparative rarities were buses and tri-axle lorries.

In 1931, Ford had moved manufacturing to a new works at Dagenham in Essex which supplied vehicle components for building up in the Cork factory, an arrangement that continued for many years.

The years 1939-45 saw the Dagenham plant turned over to War production with vehicles for this country virtually cut off, but one notable exception was a version of the V8-powered forward control 7V, which came here as a highly regarded fi re appliance - which will hopefully feature in a later contribution. For people in these islands, as is well-known, forward control signifies a vehicle with the engine

TIMES PAST | 51 in or under the cab. Americans call these cab-overs, describing normal control (bonneted) types as ‘Conventionals’. Reverting to the 7V, this was badged as Fordson, a title introduced in 1933 and later to become Fordson Thames and later again, Ford Thames.

During the later War years American Fords were imported into Ireland and Britain, such as the F series, with its elegant bonnet and grill being a favourite with many owners and fleet operators.

Vehicles of this type were operated by, among others, St Kevin’s Bus Service and Keogh’s of Arklow in the 1950s. And here, momentarily jumping forward about four decades, this was a worthy fore-runner of the many excellent Ford coaches which became part of the private operators’ fleets from the 1960s to the eighties. But back in the post-war 1940s, the 7V soldiered on until 1949, being familiar on our roads for several years afterwards.

Thames Trader Tipper - also a preserved vehicle

The next Ford commercial to emerge from Cork was the ET series, a normal-control range which remained in production until 1957.

The American overview of Ford overseas was signalled in the type designation – ET stood for English Truck. Th is range again became a popular choice and two facts are noteworthy. First was the cab, a Briggs product which was also used by Dodge and by Leyland for its Comet; this type of component sharing was to become commonplace throughout the industry in later years. But the second development with the ET – and far more important - was the introduction on the ET range of the Ford 3.6 litre Costcutter diesel engine which was to be developed and featured on many subsequent British Ford commercials. Meanwhile, the ET improved on the increasing capacity of the 5 tons of the 7V, which could also haul 8 tons as an artic tractor.

Ford Coach about to leave Kilkenny for Callan, 1980s

The next Ford – simply known as Thames – was something special.

The Thames Trader, with its eye-catching and distinctive cab, was very successful, its production run coinciding with long awaited economic and industrial development in Ireland. It was claimed to have been in most street scenes and could be found in a wide range of uses, but was especially liked as a tipper. The Trader gave way in 1965 to the D series, which had a tilt cab and became a market leader capable of carrying 8 tons. In 1981, the D series was replaced by the even more successful Cargo which brought Ford into the heavy vehicle market where it competed with very famous and long-established names. But British Ford production ceased in 1986 when it was merged with a European producer to become Iveco Ford. There were many more Ford commercials but, with one exception, space and time prevent their inclusion here.

The Ford Transit – just one standard van

And I conclude with what is arguably one of the most famous and long-lived commercials of all time. It fi rst appeared over fi ft y years ago and through the decades since it competed for a long time with other makes, and almost head-to-head with Bedford. It is of course the Transit, a name that has become a generic description for similar vehicles of all marques. Whole books have been written about the Transit and it has many one-model only fan clubs. It has been regularly updated over the years and has been adapted for almost any possible purpose. Vans, platform trucks, buses, ambulances, Garda, Fire and Army transport – the list is endless.

What a vehicle to end with!

An unusual Transit – Spokesman Mobile Bicycle Repair Service!

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

www.fleet.ie

52 | TRAILER

Kuehne + Nagel chose Carrier Transicold’s Engineless Refrigeration System

T

o prepare its f leet to be in compliance with upcoming urban emissions initiatives, including the first ultra-low emission zone (ULEZ) in London and the proposed Clean Air Zones around Britain, logistics provider Kuehne + Nagel is trialling two new Carrier Transicold engineless refrigeration systems on vehicles operating under a contract with Whitbread.

Carrier Transicold’s PIEK-compliant multitemperature Iceland units are mounted to a unique city safety orientated 18-tonne lowentry Mercedes-Benz Econic and a 26-tonne

and improving fuel efficiency, in addition to reducing maintenance costs.

Both vehicles are in daily operation in a busy urban environment, transporting a mix of ambient, chilled, and frozen produce to the Whitbread-owned Premier Inn chain.

DAF CF, both on contract from Petit Forestier.

The units were selected for their ability to run entirely on hydro-electric power generated by the trucks’ Euro 6 engines – removing the need for a separate diesel engine, which helps reduce environmental impact by cutting emissions

The DAF CF is based in Wellingborough and delivers into Birmingham and Nottingham, both of which will include a Clean Air Zone by 2020. The Econic, which allows the driver to sit much lower than in a conventional distribution truck, operates in London, which will enforce the country’s first ULEZ, also by 2020.

Gray & Adams (Ireland) honoured at NI Business Awards

N

ewtownabbey-basedmanufacturer of temperature-controlled and dry freight semi-trailers and rigid vehicle bodies Gray & Adams (Ireland) has been acknowledged for its contribution to the success of Northern Ireland’s economy.

Gray & Adams (Ireland) was the only representative from the transport industry to make the finals of the first ‘Made in Northern Ireland Awards’ achieving recognition and being rewarded as a locally-based manufacturing company that has demonstrated

success in innovation, product development and growth.

that his company’s many successes had been noticed.

The company was shortlisted in the Manufacturer of the Year (under £25m) category.

Although the winner’s prize in its category ultimately went to architectural mouldings specialist SAM Mouldings, of Antrim, Gray & Adams (Ireland) Managing Director, Billy Dougan was delighted

“We have enjoyed significant growth over the years, and now supply premium quality transport equipment to many of the biggest names on Ireland’s roads,” said Billy.

Goldhofer meets needs of the US market

F

various Federal States. Optionally, the trailers can also be operated with a special THP/DC gooseneck and such THP/SL accessories as dropdeck and turntable bolster.

With its THP/DC, Goldhofer has developed a trailer to meet the broad range of different vehicle registration requirements in the individual states of the USA. From a basic width of 4260mm, the modules can be widened

The STZ P9 highway semitrailer also meets the needs of the US transport industry. It has 3 x 3 twin-axle bogies with pendular axle technology and a maximum steering angle of 60 degrees for excellent manoeuvrability. The low running height of STZ-P9 makes for easy loading and unloading with a wide range of loads.

Also, axle spacing between the bogies can be adjusted to meet the various US regulations.

Another attractive feature of the STZ-P9 is the rear bogie, which can be retracted under load for greater flexibility when negotiating tight bends and roundabouts. On completion of the manoeuvre, the tractor-unit is used to return the vehicle to the original extension.

That means time savings and reduced transport costs, with just one tractor needed for even the most challenging journeys.

or Goldhofer Aktiengesellschaft, the recent CONEXPO 2017 in Las Vegas was like playing to a home crowd – because the German manufacturer of heavy-duty and abnormal load trailers is one of the industry leaders on the North American continent, too. Orders were placed at its stand for a total of 70 of the company’s new THP/DC dual-lane modular trailers and for two STZ-P9 semi-trailers. “For the new modules, we placed a special R&D focus on maximum flexibility for compliance with the various US traffic regulations. As a result, our customers can now handle their various transport operations much more easily than in the past,” stated Stefan Kohler, Regional Director of Sales North America.

FLEETTRANSPORT | JUL/AUG 17

step by step up to a maximum of 6100mm while the vehicle is on the move and under load (max. 24t axle load at 40kp/h), with the hydraulics operated by remote control. The standard running height of 1300mm can also be adjusted by using its hydraulic axle stroke of up to 700mm. In the past, it has often been necessary to completely unload the vehicles in order to adjust the width manually for certain sections of the route or at border crossings, but the hydraulic system developed for the THP/ DC by Goldhofer offers impressive levels of flexibility. In addition to the savings in time, trasit costs are also reduced as no additional tools are needed to adjust the vehicles to comply with the different regulations in force in the

Text: Rob Van Dieten - rob@fleet.ie

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54 | MOTORSPORT

IVECO Magirus continues winning trail at Italian Truck Racing GP

Team IVECO Magirus at Misano Truck Race

T

he coming together of Hahn Racing and Team Schwabentruck to form Team IVECO Magirus continues to pay dividends taking the chequered flag at the recent Grand Prix of Italy 2017 in Misano for the second rounds of the FIA European Truck Racing Championship.

Th is victory follows a brace of wins in the season opener at the Red Bull Ring in Austria by Hahn.

Defending Driver’s Champion, Jochen Hahn recorded another victory in the second race of the first day at the track named after the late MotoGP rider Marco Simonceilli, with his new IVECO Stralis 440 E 56 XP-R race truck.

Gerd Körber - Team Schwabentruck

Misano, located in the Provence of Rimini, hosted the Italian rounds, with four races over the two days of the weekend, two on Saturday and two on Sunday. The first of the four races turned out to be particularly difficult for the drivers running on the legendary circuit due to the high temperatures, which put the engines to the test.

German Gerd Körber, Team Schwabentruck, was not discouraged by starting last on the grid and succeeded in making an impressive recovery in the IVECO Cursor 13 powered truck, specially prepared by FPT Industrial, overtaking five competitors and finishing in seventh position. Fellow countryman Jochen Hahn drove a steady race, finishing fifth. The second race of the day saw Jochen triumph,

with Gerd starting in first position, taking the lead in the second lap, and soon gave way to the faster Hahn, who was close behind him.

Körber’s chosen strategy was to control the competitors who posed the biggest threat to Johen’s lead, allowing him to race ahead to victory. Gerd strategically stayed ahead of the strongest drivers in the category for several laps, slowing their pace, and finished in fi fth place.

Sunday’s first round was very demanding.

Gerd Körber started in eighth position on the grid and drove a good race, finishing sixth as Jochen Hahn ended in eighth position. In the overall Driver’s Championship, Hahn is in third position on 72 points with Steffi Halm (Reinert Racing MAN TGS) ahead on 80 points and Adam Lacko (Buggyra International Racing System Freightliner) heading the table on 92 points.

As with the openness of the FIA European Truck Racing Championship the IVECO paddock welcomed visitors of the Truck Driver’s Weekend special event held during the two days of the Misano Truck Race. They were able to test drive the vehicles, speak with specialized personnel and meet the drivers of Team IVECO Magirus.

At its home country, IVECO showcased its now famous Stralis Emotional Trucks sporting a special tribute to the world of motorsport, now with the addition of the new Hahn Racing Emotional Truck with its

FLEETTRANSPORT | JUL/AUG 17

MOTORSPORT | 55 that celebrates the successes De Rooy’s team had at the Dakar Rally. The other Emotional Trucks in the line-up promotes IVECO’s long association with Scuderia Ferrari Formula One and World Rugby Champions, the All Blacks.

IVECO Emotional Trucks - Team Schwabentruck - Team Hahn Racing

vibrant blue and white colours and the current Team Schwabentruck Stralis version were

on display alongside the PETRONAS De Rooy IVECO PowerStar Emotional Truck

“For IVECO, these two days were also a valuable opportunity to be in direct contact with its customers and with all the Stralis drivers who are everyday on the roads across Europe – and who share a great passion for Truck Racing,” commented Pierre Lahutte, President, IVECO, who is a big fan of truck racing, on track and off-road.

The next Grand Prix of the FIA European Truck Racing Championship 2017 takes place at the Nürburgring circuit in Germany.

Petronas Team De Rooy Iveco to compete on two Continents in 2018

I

n a dramatic change of strategy Petronas Team De Rooy Iveco will compete on two continents during the 2018 CrossCountry Rally Raid series. Former Dakar winner Gerard de Rooy will not return to Dakar for next year’s off-road marathon but will take part in the competing Africa Eco Race which takes in past routes used on the Dakar Rally when held in Africa. He will have a brand-new Iveco PowerStar race truck built for the event.

The Dutch driver will use the famous Silk Way Rally in July to test the latest challenger. Argentine Federico Villagra will carry the team’s colours in the 2018 Dakar Rally in South America.

The Africa Eco Race will take off from Monaco at the end of December to finish in the Senegalese capital Dakar on the 16 January, after passing through Morocco and Mauretania. Gerard de Rooy’s new Iveco Powerstar will looks quite similar as the current one but will be completely different underneath the surface.

“We started testing in Morocco in May and will continue testing the next few months,” said Gerard. “The Silk Way Rally, from Moscow to the Chinese city Xi’an in July will be the biggest test to prepare for next January. We’ll enter with three trucks: Ton van Genugten, Artur Ardavichus and myself. I’m really looking forward to both these races,” he continued.

“The team will split up in January with one part in Africa and one part in South America. At least Federico Villagra will race with his Iveco Powerstar in the 40th edition of the Dakar that starts on the 6th of January in Lima, and crosses the dunes of Peru and the Altiplana of Bolivia, and will finish in Córdoba, Argentina, two weeks later. In the coming weeks we will decide how to split up the team, and see which service crews will go to Africa and which to South America to back up both me and Villagra. Details will be presented over the summer,” concluded Gerard de Rooy.

Text: Jarlath Sweeney - editor@fleet.ie

www.fleet.ie

56 | TYRES

A Day in the Life ….. with a Michelin Tyre Technician and warranty offering.”

The detail of the fleet audit, plus the attention and action on accidental damage claims were brought to the fore during the customer visits.

E

very road transport operator knows about the high quality and long-life attributes of Michelin tyres. A premium product at a premium price. But while fleet managers are well aware of the slightly higher price of the French brand’s tyres, those signed up to the Michelin tyre management programme consider the additional cost as an investment. Especially with the extra mileage available from each one, together with the multi-life care package, not to mention the on-site back-up provided by its expert technical team. A recent ‘Day in the Life’ exercise with Rob Blurton, Michelin’s Technical Manager along with Trevor Burns, Michelin’s Irish based Truck Sales Account Manager brought home these attributes as we visited a number of Dublin based customers.

Dublin Fire Service units inspected FLEETTRANSPORT | JUL/AUG 17

Did you know that each year, Michelin representatives undertake more than 200,000 visits to its European truck and bus tyre clients, inspect over 265,000 vehicles and conduct around 1.5 million tyre inspections?

With more than 1,000 experts out in the field, its dedicated team has the knowledge and undertaking to offer the most suitable product and service offering for individual road transport operators. “As an Account Manager, it is my job to optimise operating costs by suggesting a tyre policy to help reduce running costs,” explained Trevor, the man on the ground for Michelin in Ireland. With the technical back-up, Trevor’s sales pitch to customers is what is offered as a complete package. “Together, we provide advice on the best tyre fitment based on operators’ vehicles and applications. Following the sale, ongoing fleet audits help to analyse running costs through advice on tyre maintenance

Perhaps more so than other transport operations, Fire and Emergency Services depend so much on having the condition of their vehicles' tyres in top order at all times. Dublin Fire Rescue and Emergency Ambulance Services allocates over 900 personnel through its Dublin Fire Brigade division. It provides a fire and emergency response service to protect the people, industry and property throughout the city and county of Dublin. Each fire station is staffed 24/7 by officers and fire-fighters with a number of fire tenders based on each site. On the day of our visit an initial call was made to the maintenance section at Grangegorman in the heart of the Capital, to sign on for an official visit to one of the fire stations nearby.

Here, four units were on site, three fire tenders and a water tanker.

Bearing in mind the speedy stop/start activity, often from cold starts, as well as relatively short distances involved on the call outs, not to mention the age profile of the fire tenders, tyre usage is different to other applications.

Therefore, regular inspections of the tyres on the fleet is paramount, and while the Michelin technical team carries out this role in checking for wear and tear, it goes a step further in not only measuring the

Rob checking tyre tread depth and axle weights

TYRES | 57 Side impact damage

Michelin Client/User Visit Report Make/Model: Each axle is weighted separately

Tyre Specification Axle 1: Tyre Specification Axle 2: Tyre Specification Axle 2: Odometer: Axle

Tyre Size

DAF CF 6x2 tractor-unit + Schmitz Cargobull Tri-axle Trailer 315/80 R 22.5 156/150L 315/80 R 22.5 156/150L 315/80 R 22.5 156/150L 418090km

Plated Axle

Measured Axle Suggested Tyre

Weight (kg) Weight (kg)

Inflation Pressure

Tractor Axle 1

315/80 R 22.5 8,000

5,400

125 psi

Axle 2

315/80 R 22.5 7,500

4,500

100 psi

Axle 3

315/80 R 22.5 11,500

6,950

80 psi

Axle 1

385/65 R 22.5 8,000

3,930

130 psi

Axle 2

385/65 R 22.5 8,000

3,850

130 psi

Axle 3

385/65 R 22.5 8,000

3,770

130 psi

Total

28,400kg

Trailer

Trevor taking the tyre pressures

tyre pressure of each and every tyre but weighing each axle separately to calculate the correct and most efficient tyre pressure for the application involved. Historical data as well as having a bird’s eye view of tyre pressures recorded during the day revealed the average inflation tended to be too high, a trait to be found throughout the majority of Irish road transport operators. It was a simple yet precise process.

Interestingly, the weight test had to be taken with at least five fire service personnel on board to give a fully loaded vehicle projection. First up was a Michelin XZE2+ shod (275/70R22.5) 2003 Dennis Sabre fire tender which showed a different wheel/ tyre weight on axles, as did the 2009 Scania P270 (which had 10.599 kms on the clock) and ran on Michelin X-Multi 275/70R22.5.

Rob jotted down all the numbers and with a quick tapping of the pocket calculator, totted-up the recommended tyre pressures to match the vehicle’s specification. Seeing that each wheel had Checkpoint Safety Dustite Wheel Nut covers indicates that the Dublin Fire Service does not compromise on safety in any aspect of its operations.

From city centre we travelled to the south Dublin townland of Sandyford where a prominent specialist in temperaturecontrolled, refrigerated transport is based. It specifies Michelin tyres on its fresh Volvo FH 4x2 and 6x2 tractor-unit fleet and avails of the aftersales programme. Recently it had an issue with a set of front tyres that showed up some tiny cracks within the grooves of the steering rubber. Both Rob and Trevor spoke to the fleet manager about the matter, with the result that the said damaged goods had gone back to Michelin UK’s HQ in Stoke for analysis. This is the initial stage of Michelin Tyre Damage guarantee which, as Rob explained, was first introduced on its construction orientated X-Works tyre range and is now extended to Michelin’s X-Multi-range. Once the analysis is concluded and provided that the tyre has still over 50% of its tread depth, the tyre will be replaced or a credit note issued relating to the wear and accidental damage caused. “The Michelin Tyre Damage guarantee reinforces confidence in the brand for the customer and the robustness of the tyres,” said Rob. A kind of insurance policy of sorts, justifying the additional cost of the tyres at the outset.

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

Over to West Dublin then to visit a national haulier that operates a number of refrigerated and general haulage units. To give an indication of the size of the business, it has 750 tyres rolling on Irish roads each day.

Trevor, through his ongoing relationship and advice offering has saved over €24,000 on fuel savings and extra tyre life through the Michelin Tyre Management System. The benefits were achieved in the main through correct tyre pressures. The company’s transport manager presented a Michelin X-MultiWay 3D 315/80R 22.5 (made in week 41. 2015) with a deep, yet short cut through on its sidewall. Rob described it as impact sidewall damage and again this punctured tyre would go through the investigation process before the claim would be paid out.

A part-loaded tractor-unit and trailer had all of its wheels/tyres weighed while on site, and again both parts of the combination had different weight measurements. Rob noted the 100kg difference between the foremost and rearmost axles on the trailer (the front being heavier) verifying the importance of spreading the palleted load properly.

www.fleet.ie

58 | GLOBAL TEST

n one of the biggest truck test programmes in recent times, South Africa’s FOCUS in Transport magazine recently assessed 11 tractor-units from all corners of the globe backto-back – with some fascinating results …

Truck testing is often controversial - because it can deliver some surprises.

This was also the case with the 2017 FOCUS Truck Test; some of the established manufacturers didn’t perform as well as expected while others performed beyond expectation.

The event is organised by Martin Dammann, Director of TruckScience, while FOCUS magazine, Engen (which provides the diesel) and CTrack (which provides the telematics) also assist with the organisation of the event, which is a highlight of the South African truck industry’s calendar.

TruckScience has its Irish headquarters in Westport.

A total of 11 extra-heavy truck tractors were tested, with some manufacturers entering more than one derivative. Afrit, one of South Africa’s largest trailer manufacturers, provided entrants with an interlink tautliner or tridem flat-deck trailer. The trailers were loaded with cement, provided by Sephaku Cement. Each vehicle was loaded to 1.5-tonne less than its legal payload, to allow for an even playing field.

Naturally, Mercedes-Benz, the market leader in South Africa, was there with its Actros 2646LS/33 6x4 truck tractor. Iveco entered two of its key models: the Stralis 480 Hi-Way (AS750S48TZP), which pulled an interlink tautliner, and the Trakker 440SR (AT440T44TH SR), which drew a tridem flat-deck trailer.

Sinotruk South Africa put forward a HOWO V7G 320 kW (430hp) tractor-unit while MAN Truck & Bus South Africa had two contenders - a TGX (Euro 5) and a TGS model. Undoubtedly a force to be reckoned with in the local 6x4 long-haul market (if its rising sales performance is anything to go by), Scania South Africa entered the G460 CA 6x4 “fleet tractor”, and the R500 LA 6x4 “long-haul V8”.

Truck Test has never served solely as a test bed for vehicles available in showrooms, but also includes concepts that are not yet available to the market. This is why, in 2017, Hyundai Commercial Vehicles opted to run its Xcient 6x4 tractor – a truck currently under consideration for the local market.

DAF Trucks entered its XF105.460 FTT, which was hooked to a flat-deck tridem trailer. Finally, a South African aerodynamic solutions company, FLEETTRANSPORT | JUL/AUG 17

Aero Truck, entered its very own truck this year, which happened to be the MAN TGS 26.440 6x4 BLS (LX).

The route this year was the extremely busy N3 highway, which runs from Johannesburg to Durban. It was selected because of the undulating terrain; one of the major features of the N3 is the infamous Van Reenen’s Pass. The trucks left from the Engen Blockhouse truck stop south of Johannesburg. From there, it was a short 5.5-km drive north on the R59 to the Heidelberg Road off-ramp before heading east for about 21 km through the Midvaal district to the on-ramp to the N3. Once on the N3, competitors had to stop at the Heidelberg South weighbridge, where each vehicle had to pass through the weigh-in-motion scanners before continuing. At the bottom of the pass, the competitors turned around and headed back to the Engen Blockhouse, passing through the weighbridge station en route back once again.

Back at the same pumps of the northbound facility, the test team refuelled the vehicles and recorded the raw data at the pumps. The total distance covered was 640 km. Full results of the test were then calculated.

Truck Test 2017 set out to level the playing field by testing truck tractors with identical trailers and loads. However, the test showed, yet again, that the performance of a vehicle is not limited to its metal and plastic components, but is heavily influenced by a number of factors, including the preparation of the vehicle, knowledge of the route and - of course, the driver.

TruckScience analyses average speed and fuel consumption to calculate the payload productivity for each unit. “There was a surprising 13 percent variance in overall productivity of the tautliner interlink combinations tested. Results simulated by TruckScience in advance of the test had predicted a variance of only three percent,” commented Martin Dammann.

Actual results and feedback from drivers and product managers suggest that the three most influential factors on productivity were the technical specifications of the vehicle, the mileage on the vehicle, and the driver’s technique for managing the momentum of the truck.

The technical specifications of the vehicles accounted for a productivity difference of about three percent (or 1.5 litres/100 km), with advantages gained by selecting a Euro 2 over a Euro 3 engine, a transmission with a direct-drive top gear, and an engine output of roughly 480hp (358 kW) or 2,300 Nm. A further three percent was gained by entering a vehicle

GLOBAL TEST | 59

IVECO Trakker

with at least 50,000 km on the clock; the engine having been properly run in, thereby having to overcome less internal friction.

The biggest difference of all came from the momentum management applied by some of the drivers. “Referred to as ‘predictive cruise control’ in the global truck industry, this is where the topography of the route is used to optimise the vehicle’s momentum,” Martin explained.

Mercedes-Benz Actros

The trick is to minimise gear changes when climbing, and to delay the point at which the engine brake or retarder is applied on the downhill sections. “This technique resulted in a substantial fuel saving of about 4 litres/100 km (or eight percent), and a compromise of about 3 km/h (or four percent) in average speed, with the net effect being an advantage of four percent in overall productivity,” added Martin. He said that the results pose a strong argument for the introduction of predictive cruise control in South Africa. “The undulating nature of the topography, especially the section from Johannesburg to the top of Van Reenen’s Pass, provided a perfect opportunity to put the concept of predictive cruise control to the test. It takes a dedicated and patient driver to manually apply this technique, but it certainly makes a strong argument for bringing this technology to South Africa.”

With only one Euro 5 vehicle, it was not possible to draw any conclusions about this technology. “Although the vehicle achieved a reasonably good fuel consumption, the AdBlue consumption of 3 litres/100 km, at a cost of R15 per litre, somewhat negated this benefit, resulting in a net loss of about three percent in productivity. Perhaps in future the productivity formula should be tweaked to take into account the environmental benefits of this technology.”

Scania G460

On the subject of aerodynamics, he noted that the prototype unit - fitted with advanced aerodynamics, achieved a reasonably good productivity factor. “However, since there was hardly any wind to speak of on the day, it is difficult to quantify the full potential in fuel saving,” Martin pointed out. “But, with improved aerodynamics receiving a huge amount of attention and investment in advanced economies, it is encouraging to see designs for local vehicle configurations being developed and tested,” concluded Martin.

In the overall context, the DAF XF 105.460 recorded the lowest fuel consumption in the test relating to actual payload and average speed on the journey, with the MAN TGS 26.480 next followed by the Iveco Trakker AT440, in its unusual tractor-unit configuration.

Sinotruk HOWO

Text: Rob Van Dieten - rob@fleet.ie

MAN TGX

www.fleet.ie

60 | SUPPLY CHAIN

Regional Supply Chain issues to the fore at IEA Cork event

T

he third of a series of Supply Chain focussed seminars for 2017, organised by the Irish Exporters Association (IEA) took place at the Radisson Hotel on Little Island, Cork on 15 June. The format of the event was similar to that of the earlier seminars held in Dundalk and Galway with speakers from Ulster Bank leading off the discussions with focus on financial planning for exporters and other traders. They were followed by Tony Buckley, Assistant Secretary & Deputy DG of Customs with the Revenue Commissioners, before giving way to a number of industry speakers and an open forum. The attendance of over 100 people then split into three subgroups to focus on more specific themes: Multimodal Freight, Skills Development and Regulatory matters, plus Treasury Policy in action.

Tony Buckley opened by advising the attendance that BREXIT will happen and that it will be disruptive. He instanced the fact that currently twenty million items are bought and delivered from the UK each year and that these will become subject to controls and possible tariffs. A transit system for goods moving across any part of the UK will have to be developed in advance of the break-up and he urged Irish companies to make serious planning moves to minimise the disruption to their business with all markets.

In order to assist exporters, the Revenue will launch a formal BREXIT information campaign in the Autumn. Traders will

then be required to register as “Economic Operators” or “Trusted Traders” and urged to become AEO compliant.

Paul Wickham, General Manager at the Midleton Distillery cautioned that the burgeoning global demand for Irish Whiskey extending to 130 markets, had to be protected. “Irish whiskey comprises 28% of Ireland’s beverage exports, making it one of Ireland’s fastest-growing export sectors.

Ensuring that we maintain access to existing markets and open up access to new markets, particularly in the BREXIT context, should be a priority in furthering the global Irish whiskey renaissance,” he said.

John Forde, Global Supply Planning Manager of GE Healthcare, who is based at the Carrigtwohill Plant, detailed the vast range of product shipped from that location. It has an average of 60 shipments a week sending to 90 countries and using all modes of transport to ensure delivery that is cost effective while meeting the customers’ needs.

Capt. Michael McCarthy, Commercial Manager at the Port of Cork advised that within the last week the company had passed two significant milestones; the acquisition of the former IFI site at Marino Point for use in further Port development and confirmation of final planning permission for a 360-metrelong berth at the new Ringaskiddy Terminal.

The planned development there will cost in the order of €80 million and will more than double Cork’s container handling capacity. The Marino Point location will be re-connected to the rail network and

development there will focus on bulk traffic.

He went on to discuss the growing dominance of Dublin Port at the expense of regional ports particularly in the area of Unit Load traffic, and felt that the primary blame for this situation lay with the exporters and importers. Michael stated that major supermarket chains, and other multinationals were ignoring the benefits of regional ports. They preferred the traditional method of driving to Dublin or Belfast and ferrying goods to the UK and Europe.

“Logistics are most efficient in a direct straight line - the shortest route. There are major opportunities for ferries from Cork bypassing the UK and direct to continental Europe. Why is this not being debated by the IEA? Why is this not being debated by Irish business interests? Why is this not being debated by multinational companies, who are facing major compliance issues with environmental footprint? Why is this not being debated by the Irish Government, who are not pressuring industry to have a regional balance for our imports-exports?

Th is un-balancing of regional distribution is undermining the viability of our Irish ports, with the exception of Dublin and Belfast.”

Capt. McCarthy’s contribution opened up a lively debate on these, along with planning and other regional issues, providing a full agenda for the working group on Intermodal Transport Group discussion.

The fi nal IEA Supply Chain seminar in this series for 2017 will be held on 7 December in Dublin.

Representatives from Irish Expotors A ssociation and guest speakers from the event.

FLEETTRANSPORT | JUL/AUG 17

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62 | SOAPBOX

The Future of Road Transport in Europe: Full of Challenges

T

he European Commission’s “Mobility Package” is the revision of all that transport operators have worked under for the last twenty years or so, covering tachograph hours, in-cab rest breaks, Cabotage, posted workers – minimum wage, etc. Is it what we want?

The proposed changes to the tacho hours sees the opportunity to take two short breaks on consecutive weekends and then a long break joined to the compensating time giving an overall 88-hour rest poriod. The major drawback at the moment is that commencement of the working week must be 00.00 hours on the Sunday night. The Irish Road Haulage Association (IRHA) will be lobbying to see that changed to commencement on any day. Aligned to that is the requirement for all long breaks to be taken outside of the cab, again the IRHA will be looking for that to be a matter of driver choice.

On the subject of Cabotage, it is proposed to change from three jobs in seven days to unlimited in five. Given that the current rules were supposed to be a precursor to unlimited access as proposed

by Commissioner Kallas, there is almost unanimous opposition to this, opposition of those opposed to any form of Cabotage, and those opposed to any restrictions.

On the Posted Workers Directive; the initiatives of Germany, newly elected French President, Emmanual Macron and others to impose minimum wages is a complete denial of one of the fundamental four freedoms of the European Union and is being opposed by many Member States. The IRHA will be campaigning against both it as it exists and the Commission’s proposal that drivers are classified as “Posted Workers”.

dire shortage of secure parking spaces.

As if the “Mobility Package” was not enough, there are now proposals to change the Working Time Directive (WTD) and the Drivers’ CPC (DCPC).

The IRHA is working with the Road Safety Authority to achieve a relevant and practical DCPC and that appears to be the aim at least in part of the Commission, despite that the much-disparaged seven hours rule remains, no matter the protests. The changes to the WTD have yet to become clear but one would wish for an alignment of rules to the transport sector. Then of course we have Brexit, difficulties are opportunities but it takes a long time for them to become clear!

ST

There are also proposals to enforce some form of regulation on vans (LCVs) and tackling “Letter Box” companies. The position now is that these proposals will have to be presented to both the European Council and Parliament and this is where the membership of the IRHA will come into play.

The French and German associations have full time staff in Brussels and their national capitals who will be lobbying for exactly what they want. What they want though is not what Ireland wants.

However, while we might not have their resources, we have a dynamic membership which has proven itself on the Essential User Rebate and Road tax reduction lobbies.

Once the IRHA has agreed its position, members will have to lobby their respective TDs and MEPs. I don’t think the IRHA has ever been able to lobby for changes to European legislation in the past with any strength, but it is now uniquely in a position with its Brussels’ Representative, Tom Antonissen and our close communications with other member associations that we know share our views. We will need to make our voice heard in Brussels and already meetings have been arranged to put our voice forward. The International Road Transport Union (IRU) of which the IRHA is a member will find the most common positions of its twenty-eight Member States, which will not necessarily suit Ireland. However, we are in agreement on the need for all documentation to be held electronically and on the FLEETTRANSPORT | JUL/AUG 17

Text: Jerry Kiersey - jerry@fleet.ie

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