INDUSTRY
Fleet: Kreskas Bros Transport
Spotlight: Ryans Bricks and Transport
Showcase: Brisbane Truck Show
Personality Profile: Ross Longmire
INNOVATION
Carrier: DHL Supply Chain Australia
Feature: MRL Global
Technology: Graeme McKay Earthworks
Test Drive: Isuzu F Series
Australia’s leading truck magazine, Prime Mover, continues to invest more in its products and showcases a deep pool of editorial talent with a unique mix of experience and knowledge.
Christine Clancy | COO
With more than two decades of experience as a media professional, Christine has worked in newsrooms across Canada, Vietnam and Australia. She joined the Prime Creative Media team 12 years ago, and today oversees more than 43 titles, including a dozen print and digital transportation titles. She continues to lead a team that focuses on continuous improvement to deliver quality insights that helps the commercial road transport industry grow.
William Craske | Editor
Over the past two decades William has published widely on transport, logistics, politics, agriculture, cinema, music and sports. He has held senior positions in marketing and publicity for multinational businesses in the entertainment industry and is the author of two plays and a book on Australian lm history. Like many based in Melbourne he is in a prolonged transition of either returning or leaving.
Peter Shields | Senior Feature Writer
A seasoned transport industry professional, Peter has spent more than a decade in the media industry. Starting out as a heavy vehicle mechanic, he managed a fuel tanker eet and held a range of senior marketing and management positions in the oil and chemicals industry before becoming a nationally acclaimed transport journalist.
Peter White | Journalist
Since completing a Bachelor of Media and Communication degree at La Trobe University in 2021, Peter has obtained valuable newsroom experience, supplemented by direct industry exposure at Prime Creative Media. As the Editor of Trailer, Peter brings a fresh perspective to Prime Mover. He has a strong interest in commercial road transport and in furthering the magazine’s goal of growing the industry.
Sean Gustini | Journalist
Having completed a Bachelor of Arts majoring in Media and Communications at the University of Melbourne in 2024, Sean looks forward to bringing his passion for writing and journalism to the road freight and transport industries. He previously lived in the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia. In his downtime he enjoys playing the guitar and running.
Ashley Blachford | Business
Development Manager
Handling placements for Prime Mover magazine, Ashley has a unique perspective on the world of truck building both domestically and internationally. Focused on delivering the best results for advertisers, Ashley works closely with the editorial team to ensure the best integration of brand messaging across both print and digital platforms.
CEO John Murphy john.murphy@primecreative.com.au
Editor William Craske william.craske@primecreative.com.au
Managing Editor, Luke Applebee Transport Group luke.applebee@primecreative.com.au
Senior Feature Peter Shields Writer peter.shields@primecreative.com.au
Business Ashley Blachford Development ashley.blachford@primecreative.com.au Manager 0425 699 819
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Articles
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“We only have around 200 or so clients. But these are mostly multinational companies. Even if things slow down a bit, say by five- or even ten per cent, it doesn’t hurt us, and we don’t expect it to, given the type of clients we have.”
26 Wide Open Road
New ownership has revitalised freight carrier, AirRoad, as it enters a particularly productive period of growth and expansion.
32 Deep Cover
Plans are well underway at DHL Supply Chain in Australia to reach an ambitious goal of reducing its emissions in the last mile by 66 per cent.
36 Slot Machine
The constant adoption and implementation of the latest equipment and procedures keeps Kreskas Bros Transport at the leading edge of transporting agricultural products destined for metropolitan and export markets.
40 Out of the Furnace
Having effectively adapted over the journey to ensure it always had work for its trucks, Gippsland specialty fleet Ryan’s Bricks and Transport this year celebrates the occasion of its 75th anniversary.
A trial of the new Rockinger Drawbar Finder begun by Victorian tipper fleet Graeme McKay Earthworks is paving the way for timely improvements in both safety and productivity.
62 Setting the Pace
On the eve of Isuzu’s first public unveiling of its 2025 model range, Prime Mover discovers the class-leading attributes of the new FRR Series during an involved road test west of Melbourne.
William Craske Editor
Periodic corrections in this, the age of disruption, can be made known by the chorus assembled to identify and then disavow the outgroups who make them. It’s an absolute of politics, increasingly economics and centralised modes of delivery. Despite being mostly electronic, concentrations of media noise across the spectrum, especially since 2016, have become predictive, like a text function on a phone that will not be disabled. Industrial noise exists because the demands of activity are such that they burden the machinery created to service it. Grinding gears and fuming exhaust stacks, by way of comparison, a sure sign of equipment labouring in its nal stages. A consequence of heavy noise is that it dominates and deafens. Lessening its impact is not, by way of health, an endurable strategy. One must either escape it or succumb. In earshot to prolonged industrial noise, a human becomes less so. But the average factory these days would have better processes in place for loud outputs than what suf ces at present under the media industrial complex where people thrust into the centre
of a bulletin are reduced to names or subjects to unite against.
Working in B2B publishing might not sound like the place to nd great examples of humanity but it certainly affords ample opportunities. A great privilege of this job is in hearing people tell their stories. The how and why they did what they did or didn’t do. Some tell stories of triumphs. Often, they are tales of survival, a triumph in itself. All of this can be imparted to me following a phone call or a simple handshake. Sometimes the best stories get happened upon by accident. An interview can and will go anywhere, even if there are topics tacitly understood for discussion or agreed upon guidelines imposed from the outset. I once called a wrong number and, by serendipity or dumb luck, got a story from it.
It’s great to talk to people who are at the coalface of where things are happening. These people tend to live outside of the bubble. Then there are those people whose livelihoods are much more than jobs. They are vocations. Labours of love. They know what is important. They have no use for the noise.
It can be humbling to hear about past lives that are being celebrated by those who knew and loved them knowing
the person you are writing about is no long around to see how much they were appreciated. The legacy they leave behind can be found in some of their personal effects. The trucks they restored. The history they created. The things they helped build. The events that shaped them.
People can make important contributions to business and industry and community that there is no way of properly evaluating only until, it becomes clear in the nal analysis, that they can no longer make them.
“Life can only be understood backwards,” as Søren Kierkegaard famously noted, “but it must be lived forwards.”
Preserving in print the memory of good people who have retired or passed on for their families, friends and close colleagues is one of the ongoing rewards of the job.
“What the movers and shakers are doing in the transport industry today is history tomorrow and that all needs to be represented,” Road Transport Hall of Famer Bob McMillan recently told me. “History never stops being made.”
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Wettenhalls has unveiled a commemorative Centennial Truck as part of its 100 year anniversary celebrations. The Kenworth T909 is a tribute to what the company calls “a century of progress and a symbol of our ongoing commitment to excellence.”
It has been paired with a new Freighter refrigerated PBS-approved 26-pallet trailer featuring a collage depicting the chronology of the fleet over the decades. The trailer was officially unveiled during a ceremony held at the company’s depot in Colac.Royans were engaged to complete the standout livery. The 550hp Cummins X15 powerplant is paired with an Eaton UltraShift AMT. Meanwhile, the 36-inch integrated midroof cabin offers a sleek and modern look and is complemented by seven-inch straight cut exhaust
stacks to enhance its low stocky appearance. The interior is adorned with old school white face gauges with gold bezels.
Keeping with Wettenhalls focus on driver and community safety, the Kenworth T909 comes with the latest Kenworth Fusion safety system and includes collision mitigation, lane departure warning, autonomous emergency braking to name a few features. The truck and trailer also features a newly designed logo which was teased by Wettenhalls before Christmas at a 20-year Club dinner it annually holds for long-serving staff. Wettenhalls Managing Director Martin Kelly said the logo on the truck, which would also appear on company uniforms moving forward, had not been made public until now. “There’s no better prime mover to mark such a special occasion,” he
said. “The king of the road — I can’t think of a more appropriate way to celebrate the business.”
Extensive stainless work has gone into headlight surrounds, driveguards, fuel tank trims with LED lights, wrapped fuel tanks, drop visor, elephant ears and swing plate on the front bumper. It also incorporates a newly released state-of-the-art MTData system including cameras. Many of the current staff in Colac could recall drivers who had worked for Wettenhalls previously including some whose fathers had also been part of the organisation.
“We’re very western district focused,” Kelly told Prime Mover. “It was a real treat to hear the stories of our people and their families, many of whom had generational connections working for Wettenhalls at our Colac site.”
The company was officially founded when Reginald Amezdroz began transporting perishable products for Bulla Dairy in Colac back in 1925. His first load was 29 steel cans of cream, around 1500 litres in all.
As Wettenhalls reflected on the past century it was also looking ahead.
“We remain committed to upholding the values that have defined us: integrity, reliability, and a forwardthinking approach to every challenge,” the company said in an online statement.
Commercial freight carrier Hi-Trans Express is expanding its roadtrain offering. The interstate linehaul specialist has in recent months added three Perth express runs to its network it announced. These services will now run dedicated PBS B-double and B-triple combinations.
At present, the company’s Sydney and Melbourne depots are sending and receiving dedicated Perth bound express B-doubles on its
existing Adelaide linehaul legs which are joined with a third trailer. This effectively completes the Adelaide to Perth return route as a B-triple combination with a capacity of 46 pallet spaces.
“Traditionally, all our Perth freight was loaded and unloaded in Adelaide for consolidation and the Perth route was serviced by our fleet partners in B-double trailer combinations,” said the company in a statement.
“We’ve increased our efficiency and east–west service capabilities with less freight handling and downtime in Adelaide and a lowered emissions profile.
“The change is aligned with our company vision to provide our customers with safe, sustainable and reliable logistics solutions.”
In related news, William Grimshaw was appointed by Hi-Trans Express to the role of South Australia State Manager.
ADAPT TO ANY TASK WITH THE VERSATILE HINO HYBRID ELECTRIC. emissions reductions, the Hino Hybrid Electric is ready to deliver from day one. That’s the power of change, that’s the
Wallace International has deployed two new prime movers in Sydney.
The Kenworth T610SARs replace older 2007 models in the fleet that have been recently moved on. A new day cab spec includes fridges installed under the passenger seat to promote driver comfort and an 18-speed manual Eaton RoadRanger transmission paired with a powerful Euro 5 Cummins X15 600hp engine.
“With all that extra power some might say it’s overkill, but we have provision to pull A-doubles if we want to go in that direction down the track rather than having to invest in new gear at a later date,” said Gary Perry, Warehouse & Transport Manager for Wallace International. “There’s a lot of bling, a lot of lights, so we can be seen day and night.”
The T610SAR is adorned with stainless steel external air cleaners and prominent chrome exhaust stacks. Historically, Wallace International usually stipulates an IT bunk, but as these trucks are primarily engaged in metro port cartage work, they have opted for smaller cabs that have nevertheless proven roomier.
“There’s actually quite a bit of space for a larger person and we have tried to optimise driver comfort,” said Perry. “The T610SARs work well for us. The vision is great from the panoramic windshield, and they have a wider door window for peripherals. The turning circle is also good.”
Most of the freight these new Kenworths will be transporting is raw ingredients direct to the client or to Wallace International’s warehouse in
JCT Transport Group has announced a new strategic logistics partner. The tailored transport solutions provider last month confirmed it would be partnering with freight specialist Tas Connect Logistics.
Tas Connect Logistics delivers parcels to a wide range of destinations across the Australian mainland. Its trans-Bass Straight freight services, which caters to customised freight and unusual
loads, are expected to enhance JCT’s current capabilities.
“Together, we are committed to delivering seamless, efficient, and cost-effective logistics solutions across Tasmania and mainland Australia,” said JCT Transport Group in a statement.
The agreement will include new dual branded vehicles.
It’s been a busy start to the year
Milperra. One of the units is already active as a B-double while the other was purchased as a sideloader. They can also be differentiated by the colour of their headlamps — one glows amber while the other is salty white. Each truck is assigned one driver both of whom enjoy driving them so much they go around all day with their parking lights on.
Hy Shyne Customs in Sydney contributed many of the standout cosmetic details. Both trucks received 13-inch stainless steel drop visors, air cleaner panel lights front and rear, load light backing, crushfold steer flares to suit the offset steers and stainless steel under door panels. In addition to the stainless steel Suzi coil box, Luke Field, owner of Hy Shyne Customs, incorporated front and rear deck plates, and the three-piece step trims with lights on the bottom step to complement the tanks.
“These new T610s are built for drivers that are currently onsite, and we ask them what they would like within reason and tailor it to keep them interested because they’re the one who has got to turn up for me at 2.30 in the morning to start their shift,” said Perry. “It’s incumbent on me to give them something to look forward to so with the new prime movers we’re halfway there.
“There’s no point having trucks sitting in the yard with no one wanting to drive them.”
for JCT Transport Group. In March it launched JCT Labour Hire, a new business division that provides skilled driver solutions for long-term and permanent workforce needs.
The company, established in 2016, said rigorous compliance standards and a cutting-edge Driver Training Hub would help to ensure every placement would be proficient, reliable, and ready to perform.
With Cummins integrated power, the pieces fall into place.
By optimising factors like gear and axle ratios, Cummins integrated power maximises fuel economy. Further, the integrated design reduces parts proliferation and simplifies OEM integration, improving the total cost of ownership.
As a leader in emissions technology, Cummins provides integrated power solutions that support compliance with Euro VI emission standards and align with Australia’s emission regulations, benefitting both our customers and the planet.
Cummins engines offer superior horsepower ratings and productivity for their size. Eaton-Cummins transmissions and Meritor drivelines, axles and brakes ensure that power is delivered seamlessly where it’s needed.
With Cummins integrated power, customers can be confident that Cummins supports the entire powertrain. Assistance is never far away, with unrivaled nationwide parts and service availability.
Come see this on display at the Brisbane Truck Show, Stand 94
South Australian interstate trucking company, TML Transport, has recently launched an express linehaul service to Darwin. The strategic expansion follows a period of strong growth for the Adelaide-based firm which sees it become a nationwide service provider to the linehaul sector. Running twice a week initially across multiple assets, the service departs on Wednesday and Friday.
The Wednesday service involves two-up driver pairs that arrive in Darwin on Friday morning. A Friday night service, with a solo driver, will often stop at Alice Springs where a freight forwarder unloads it Saturday morning before it awaits freight loaded from eastern states with consignments destined for Darwin consolidated at TML’s Two Wells depot. It pulls out later that night with a two-up driver team scheduled for Darwin on Monday morning. Both services include warehousing and local distribution capabilities.
As it represents an additional revenue lane for TML Transport, the majority of the dedicated equipment has been purchased new according to Operations Manager Dylan Ellis.
“New mezzanine sets ranging from standard to double drop decks have all been refrigerated along with the van units and open trailers built by
Vawdrey,” he told Prime Mover. Roadtrains and B-triples have been deployed for the 3,000km-plus task with the fleet having landed two new Freightliner Cascadia 126s fitted out with 60-inch bunks, as they are dedicated two-up trucks, plus an additional seven new Kenworth units purchased from CMV Trucks in Adelaide.
There are four Kenworth T909s and three stretch cab K220s in the recently delivered order. The Northern Territory, according to Ellis, gives the fleet extra versatility with which to arrange its high productivity combinations.
“In recent weeks we have already seen growth on this lane that has enabled us to increase these combinations to quad roadtrains utilising a dog runner that takes the extra trailer to Port Augusta to hookup the full combination,” he told Prime Mover. “We have been able to employ more workers for these local runs.”
The expansion has also allowed the company to hire more operations coordinators to assist management in planning and scheduling.
A new service such as this brings with it new considerations as well.
TML Transport has established a breakdown supplier network along
the route to prevent or minimise delays where possible should a breakdown occur.
“As with anything new there is always things to adapt and learn,” said Lewis Magro, TML Transport Managing Director. “This expansion not only strongholds our position as a recognisable national linehaul carrier but provides us an opportunity to grow with our existing carrierpartners with a medium-term view of attracting new clientele.”
TML Transport recently acquired a newly built depot in the prime port precinct of East Arm in Darwin. It offers roadtrain access, abundant hardstand and parking. Two driveways provide exceptional access to enter/exit while unloading under canopy to further protect workers from the natural elements.
The 2,200m2 depot on a 9,400m2 site also offers both ambient and dry storage facilities.
“For a long time, we have established ourselves as a major linehaul provider from the eastern states to Perth and this new venture allows us to become a national linehaul supplier to all key regions,” said Magro. “The Darwin lane helps to optimise our operational reach while continuing to build on our strong customer relationships and our brand recognition.”
Light the Way to Trailer Safety
View the working Loc-light on the JOST stand #91 at the 2025 Brisbane Truck Show.
Isuzu Australia Limited (IAL) has formerly named Simon Humphries in the new role of Head of Product Management & Commercial Vehicles Chief Engineer. Humphries, a longserving professional who has held several engineering and product development positions dating back to 1998, most recently worked as IAL’s Senior Product Manager, Commercial Vehicles & Chief Engineer. Now
across all product management, Humphries will oversee vehicle specifications manufactured in Japan for the Australian market, while also exercising overarching management of the broader parts and accessories domain.
According to IAL Chief of Product, Matt Sakhaie, the appointment comes during what is set to be a critical phase in IAL, as it rolls out an all-new model lineup this year.
“The management of this rollout is critical in ensuring we meet the demand of customers, and Simon is a crucial part of this process and its ultimate success,” he said. “Simon has a wealth of experience but also enthusiasm for the Isuzu brand and the new technologies that are coming our way in 2025. He has been deeply entrenched in our product portfolio management strategies for the Australian market, and together with everyone at IAL, I know he’s looking forward to getting our new trucks into the hands of Australian operators very soon.”
Humphries will reportedly bring a
JATEC Transport has brought the pallet transport division of a Brisbane-based business into the fold. The acquisition includes a truck, trailer, and the transfer of the client relationships from Max Waldau Transport, an owner-operator, who is set for retirement.
In February, the New South Wales headquartered JATEC Transport confirmed it had expanded its operations into Brisbane.
The acquisition according to Caitlin Barlow, JATEC Transport General Manager, will strengthen its presence in Queensland while also expanding fleet capacity.
“It allows us to better service our customers and improve our flexibility in meeting demand,” she told Prime Mover. “It also enhances our ability to
provide seamless transport solutions across key routes.”
By increasing its operational footprint, the company will look to improve its ability to service existing clients while opening up opportunities for onboarding new business.
“By integrating Max Waldau’s customer base, we have also extended our reach for many of our current NSW customers,” added Barlow.
A key component of the agreement is a structured handover process, where Waldau is providing training to JATEC’s team to ensure a seamless transition of operations.
In addition to providing revenue avenues outside of its historic FMCG channels such as the construction sector, the acquisition has helped
unique insight into this momentous transition, having worked through Isuzu’s previous full model change back in 2007.
“The technology and future capability of the product that is about to hit Australian shores is a game-changing moment for not just Isuzu but also the heavy vehicle industry,” he said.
“Ramping up to this release has absolutely been a highlight of my career, and I’m excited to see all the planning and hard work bear fruit in bringing the right product to market to meet the needs of our customers.”
The new role has Humphries overseeing both the broader product group and engineers that work within the model teams.
“That means we’ve actually got more people working in product management and given the breadth of models in the MY25 lineup, this is great news for customers,” he said.
“It is a dynamic time for the heavy vehicle industry, and Isuzu is very much at the forefront of providing the best solutions to customers for today and well into the future.”
JATEC Transport immediately increase service capacity.
Barlow said the development wouldn’t include any additional personnel in the short-term but that JATEC Transport was continuously assessing its resource needs and it would invest further in equipment and Queensland based drivers as required.
“This acquisition aligns perfectly with JATEC Transport’s strategic focus on sustainable growth and service excellence,” she said. “By expanding our fleet and client network, we are strengthening our ability to provide flexible, high-quality transport solutions. It’s an exciting step forward in our longterm vision to be the leading empty pallet transport provider across the east coast.”
> Austrans Group bolsters fleet flexibility with big order
The first four Scanias in a tentruck order have been delivered to Queensland-based bulk waste management service provider, Austrans Group. Receiving these first Scania R 590 V8s in late March, Austrans Group wasted no time putting the vehicles to work across its extensive delivery network. The four Scanias join a dangerous goods fleet featuring 38 other vehicles and have been deployed in Brisbane metropolitan services and the surrounding areas. The versatile truck builds bring with them specific hydraulics capabilities, which allow for a range of trailer configurations, weight and cargo to be carried.
These capabilities, along with some built-in safety and comfort features, were the primary motivators behind the order according to Group Operations Manager, Bill Law.
“The main drivers for taking on these trucks was the safety features and fuel efficiencies they offered, first and foremost,” he said. “These trucks will be carrying dangerous goods over long distances, so we had to know they were safe. The hydraulics capabilities also
>
allow the trucks to do a mix of work, which was important to me – whatever road we go down, we need to have a truck that is multi-functional.”
Law said the Scanias were built specifically with ‘versatility’ applications in mind.
“The trucks will carry anything from max-weight B-doubles, tippers and roadtrain-rated fuel and oil tankers out west,” he told Prime Mover
This versatility is matched by the
Scanias’ fuel efficiencies and manoeuvrability, which are crucial features for trucks undertaking deliveries across Queensland to locations with varying road accessibility.
This handling has been a point of praise for Scania drivers, who also lauded the trucks’ comfort and design. Law, who has dealt with Scania in various capacities over many years in the transport industry, extended this praise to the manufacturer’s delivery services.
“Throughout my relationship with Scania, I’ve noticed its ability to listen, to come to the workplace and understand the specific needs of a business, and to deliver a product which fits that business’ purpose.
Scania certainly did that for us,” he said. “We had support from both their local and national sales team, which were able to back up the proposed investment with case studies, statistics and numbers. They did a very thorough job.
“From order through to delivery, Scania was extremely impressive. I can’t say anything more than, ‘well done’.”
A major multi-agency operation has tackled heavy vehicle safety issues in South Australia. The joint operation between the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR), South Australia (SA) Police, the Australian Border Force (ABF) and SafeWork SA in March uncovered a raft of concerning safety issues including faulty brakes, steering issues and exploitation of migrant workers.
NHVR Chief Operations Officer Paul Salvati said more than half of all heavy vehicles stopped by the NHVR as part of Operation Vigilant were found to be non-compliant with offences ranging from self-clearing defects to major violations.
“NHVR Safety and Compliance Officers conducted 75 targeted intercepts over the course of the two days, checking
for compliance with the Heavy Vehicle National Law, including mass and dimension, load restraint and driver fatigue,” said Salvati.
“Unfortunately, there were 38 defect notices issued throughout the operation, three of which were classified as major, with the most prevalent offences being mechanical defects such as faulty brakes, and issues with steering and suspension, and wheels, tyres and hubs.”
Salvati said it was disappointing to see drivers and operators doing the wrong thing, especially with more than 179 lives lost in crashes involving a heavy vehicle last year.
“Operation Vigilant was a significant collaborative effort by the NHVR, SA Police, the ABF and SafeWork SA, with
all agencies working together to ensure the safety of our roads and to protect both drivers and the wider community,” he said. “The operation was undertaken at Monteith Checking Stations and saw 32 cross agency officers conduct indepth compliance checks in relation to heavy vehicle and bus compliance, work conditions and workplace safety.”
The unified approach, according to Salvati, is pivotal to driving meaningful change and delivering improved safety outcomes.
ABF officers from the Department of Home Affairs conducted checks relating to migrant worker exploitation, identifying four individuals of concern. Among them were two unlawful noncitizens and two individuals suspected of breaching visa work conditions.
A co-founder of the National Road Transport Museum has sadly passed.
Kelvin Davis, who co-established the popular Alice Springs-based truck museum, died in early April. He was 82. In 1995 he co-founded the National Road Transport Museum with Liz Martin, to whom he was married later.
Marley’s Transport Owner Frank Marley was acquainted with Davis from the earliest days of the Hall of Fame.
“Kel Davis was there when we had the first meeting about starting a historical society in Alice Springs 40 years ago,” he recalled.
“Kel Davis was there for every step of the way until six years ago. He was instrumental in everything that happened there.”
Marley’s earliest memories of the meetings that involved Davis happened at a disused hangar at an old airfield which the Hall of Fame eventually inherited.
“He restored a lot of the gear including the outback roadtrain and for fundraising he would give people rides in it around the estate in the early days,” said Marley.
Starting out on a farm in Corowa, Davis attended Scots College in Sydney and had, in line with his passion for all
things that moved, wanted to join the Air Force as a pilot. A career ambition his father swiftly talked him out of. He became a coach driver based out of Wangaratta in country Victoria, driving at first for McCafferty’s. He often left Sunday night for Melbourne where he would pick up the passengers and take them across to Perth. Then he would drive the return trip with the Perth passengers back to Melbourne before returning to Wangaratta. He did this for a few years before the company asked him to pilot a Northern Territory leg.
The company eventually folded, and he went on to work for Deluxe Coachlines where he became a manager.
Following this he sold Isuzu trucks in Alice Springs, being recognised for a sales award according to his daughter Tonia Bice.
“It’s been very humbling hearing from people from all walks of life within the transport industry just what a difference Dad has made to their lives,” she told Prime Mover
“Dad was extremely social and being able to talk with people who had the same passion as him made the job a little bit easier to start the Hall of Fame,” said Bice, who noted his passion for trucks and engines extended to trains
— anything diesel related.
Davis was particularly proud of the Kenworth Pavilion at the Hall of Fame and also securing the original Ghan locomotive on display, which wasn’t originally part of the museum.
“He put his whole heart and soul into the transport Hall of Fame,” added Bice. Former owner-operator Bob McMillan met Davis at his first Hall of Fame event in 2005.
A veteran with a 61-year-career in the industry, McMillan, a life member of the Hall of Fame, has only missed two events, 2020 when it was cancelled and 2023 when he was “in the workshop getting a new heart valve put in”, as he put it.
“I got to know Kel well and he got to be a familiar face every year at the reunion,” he said. “His knowledge especially of the trucks and the history behind them was phenomenal.”
McMillan described Davis as someone he greatly respected.
“He was a great ambassador to the Hall of Fame and he put a lot of heart, soul and effort into it for the years that he was involved,” he told Prime Mover. “It’s my mission to see that the Hall of Fame stays there and that all the people who put it there in the first place are duly recognised as time goes by.
“There’s plenty of other good road transport museums around and I’ve been to them all but the National Road Transport Museum in Alice Springs is the pinnacle of them all.
“The Hall of Fame in my book is the prime custodian of all our history and heritage and our stories.”
Nick Prus, the current Chief Executive Officer of the Road Transport Historical Society, which brings the National Road Transport Museum, Old Ghan Train Museum, Kenworth Dealers Hall of Fame and RSL War Museum all under one umbrella, said Davis left behind a wonderful legacy.
“He was truly a great man,” he said.
Davis is survived by his three daughters Tonia, Jacinta and Lisa.
The first prototypes of MercedesBenz’s next generation of fuel cell trucks have undergone a series of demanding winter tests through Simplon Pass in the Swiss Canton of Valais. Braving icy conditions as well as challenging gradient profiles, the drivers of the pair of MercedesBenz GenH2 Trucks provided valuable data on the responsiveness and performance of the new liquid hydrogen-powered vehicles.
The interaction of all essential components was evaluated intensively, including the fuel cell, the high-voltage battery, the e-axle, the tank system, and critical thermal management systems. A particular focus was placed on the use of the Predictive Powertrain Controls system, the topographydependent cruise control.
The objective was to use the battery in combination with the fuel cell efficiently, both with regard to propulsion as well as for recuperation when driving downhill.
“For the further development of our Mercedes-Benz GenH2 Truck, we are seamlessly building on the experiences of the first prototype generation and are therefore able to test the improved technology under extreme conditions
right from the outset,” said Dr Rainer Müller-Finkeldei, Head of MercedesBenz Trucks Product Engineering.
“With a maximum elevation of more than 2,000 metres above sea level and a climb from 600 metres, the route over the Simplon Pass provided good conditions for testing the interplay of the fuel cell system with other enhanced components.
“The successful tests have underlined the potential and reliability of the GenH2 Trucks, even under demanding conditions.”
As part of the extensive and demanding test program, the two hydrogen trucks had a gross vehicle weight of up to 40 tonnes over a 14-day period covering a total of 6,500 kilometres. They managed an accumulated climb of 83,000 metres on mountain roads.
Particularly challenging, according to the report offered by Daimler Truck, were the approximately 20-km-long upand downhill stretches with gradients of 10 to 12 per cent, with a total distance covering 1,600 kilometres.
Refuelling was achieved via a mobile hydrogen refuelling station from Air Products, which was set up at the test base in Valais.
Last autumn, the German Federal Ministry for Digital Affairs and Transport (BMDV) and the federal states of Baden-Württemberg and RhinelandPalatinate approved funding for over AUD$388 million to Daimler Truck.
The funding is intended for the development, small-scale production and customer deployment, mainly in operation and maintenance, of 100 fuel cell trucks.
The funding project, created within the framework of the European Union’s IPCEI (Important Project of Common European Interest) Hydrogen program, covers both vehicle and productionrelated activities.
In addition to the development and build-up of the vehicles, the funding will also be used for feasibility studies with regard to the hydrogen value chain as well as investments in required production facilities and processes in preparation for planned series production.
Final assembly of the next generation fuel cell trucks is set to take place at the Mercedes-Benz plant in Wörth and the trucks are expected to go into operation at various customers from the end of 2026 onwards.
New ownership has revitalised freight carrier, AirRoad, as it enters a particularly productive period of growth and expansion.
Ever since it was purchased by a foreign conglomerate in 2021, the Australian commercial freight specialist, AirRoad, has been proceeding atop a wave of renewal. That’s to say no period prior to this in the company’s four-decade history was arguably as dynamic as the current one. Two new facilities have been approved for construction, drastically increasing its warehouse capacity. A nationwide contract with a cosmetics giant has commenced. The large eet, which operates vehicles on both linehaul and PUD, launched its rst B-triples interstate last month, with more to come.
New ownership in the form of Senko Group Holdings, a Japanese cargo and supply chain management juggernaut with nearly 200 companies in its stable, has helped facilitate the growth mindset and requisite injection of capital with which no strategic expansion can become provable reality. Logistics as well as Trade & Commerce are listed by Senko as two of its ve core business domains. They have duly ambitious growth targets. Part of meeting these goals involves acquisition. Little over 12 months ago it made a second notable purchase in Australia by taking ownership, with little fanfare, of the highly esteemed Simon National Carriers to complement AirRoad’s capabilities.
The Melbourne headquarters in Derrimut where AirRoad currently handles transport and warehousing will see the trucks stationed here moved to a new 13,000m2 facility at Tullamarine. That will give them precious extra space, boosting capacity to 23,000m2, to meet their warehousing demands in Melbourne. The new facility is expected to come online in March next year just after the peak period.
“Our customers have asked us to provide logistics and that’s been a big area of focus in recent years, consistent with industry-wide trends,” says Malcolm Thorpe, AirRoad Managing Director. “Put simply, we’ve outgrown our current facilities.”
Next year a new 30,000m2 site at Kemps Creek is scheduled to open in October. It will handle both transport and logistics. Another major operational advantage this depot gives the eet is direct access for its B-triple program, something the existing site in Lidcombe inhibits. A trial now underway between Melbourne and Sydney requires a trailer, for the meantime to be unhooked off the M7 arterial, a minor pain point that will be overcome in time. It’s not the rst high productivity units in operation for AirRoad. The eet runs AB-triples into Perth and last month began an interstate leg for a B-triple direct into its site at Regency Park in Adelaide. Kenworth T909 and Volvo FH prime movers are the recognised brands chosen for the linehaul segment. Assets are replaced every four years or around one million kilometres. Euro 6 standard powertrains are preferred. In the PUD division AirRoad opts for Isuzu and Hino trucks.
There is altogether 220 trucks and trailers in the company-owned eet with an additional 150 permanent sub-contractors making it a major national eet with a presence in every state on the mainland. Nor does this include AirRoad’s huge agent network Australiawide.
The most recent Isuzu, a 14-pallet FVL 240-300, was on this day destined for deliveries on the Mornington Peninsula and would attend sites in Melbourne’s southeastern suburbs before returning back to base. The cabin, mounted to cold rivetted ladder chassis frame with parallel side rails, meets the ECE-R29 cab strength standard. Inside, the multi-information display shows service interval, instantaneous and average fuel consumption, DPD bar chart, hourmeter, voltmeter, time/day/date and includes 40-120 km/h adjustable vehicle speed warning. The eet runs four other 14-pallet Isuzu FVLs, in addition to a 14-pallet tautliner Isuzu FRR600, a 10-pallet Isuzu FRR500, an 8-pallet Isuzu NPR and a 2017 Isuzu single-axle prime mover.
“The Japanese trucks are really good
trucks. They give us great reliability. Isuzu have been present in the eet from the earliest days,” says Malcolm. “There’s nothing wrong with the European trucks, but they are more expensive and not necessarily any better.”
He adds, “For value for money the Japanese trucks are excellent.”
A sub-vertical within the business known as AirRoad Specialised contains the highest concentration of companyowned Isuzus. These trucks don’t amass high kilometres and are turned over every six or seven years. The business unit is well into its second decade of operation, but it continues on a steady growth arc according to Malcolm.
“We do a lot of catering equipment into fast food chains. If you go to a McDonald’s store AirRoad Specialised will take it in there, unpack it, lift it over the counter and put it in,” he says. “Fridges. Ovens. Cookers. We do quite well out of that.”
The model is kept simple. Two men to a truck who facilitate the delivery, unpack and installation on site. Jobs can often take all day.
“Again, this has come about from a
request by our clients,” says Malcolm.
“We go from dedicated transport initially to logistics and now they want us to do Specialised. There is a big focus on doubling, even tripling the logistics side of it. There’s de nitely opportunity for increased revenue there.”
Business acumen is key to longevity.
At AirRoad this mantra has manifested itself around attracting and retaining clients who value service. AirRoad prides itself on optimised freight handling capabilities and renowned on-time performance.
“The goal is never to be the cheapest but to provide value,” says Malcolm.
“Our customers realise there is more to freight than cheap rates. With that can come damages, losses, admin costs and reputational risk. We never compromise on safety and performance.”
Malcolm is in a unique position to judge the changes to have taken place during the transition of ownership having been at AirRoad since 1990. It was established the year prior.
Co-founded by Neville Vale and Tim Paine, it was a pioneer among freight carriers to institute barcoding on the products it moved.
“We were the leaders in barcoding,
something very much taken for granted across the industry these days,” says Malcolm.
Given the brand name and the major recent investments in facilities proximate to international airports in Melbourne and, eventually, Western Sydney, the business generates very little from air freight. The name in fact derives from the air ride suspension common on the latest vehicles these days. AirRoad was an early adopter of this technology.
“That’s how the name came about even though airbags are all just standard nowadays,” says Malcolm. “But back in those days there was a lot of spring suspension in use. At the time, as is still the case today, we always wanted to carry high value goods, offering a premium service and where you need a lot of security. Our security was always beefed up.”
That model has served the company well over the last 36 years. In that time economic tides, like governments, have come and gone. Having a client portfolio consisting of top tier multinationals is vital. For one measure, it protects AirRoad against the vagaries of diminishing economies and recession, at home and abroad.
The majority of the freight the eet transports is categorised as high value goods — computers, electronics, printers, health care.
“We don’t, by current standards, have a lot of customers unlike a lot of other transport companies,” explains Malcolm. “We only have around 200 or so clients. But these are mostly multinational companies. Even if things slow down a bit, say by ve- or even ten per cent, it doesn’t hurt us, and we don’t expect it to given the type of clients we have.”
Should the economy slow, these companies will often have big rollouts to targeted segments in the market embedded, as they are, with cyclical demand in place according to Malcolm.
“It offsets whatever is happening or not happening in the economy,” he says, “We nd it’s also the type of freight that keeps coming.”
While practices and processes are in
place to ensure the fragile goods of this nature are handled as safely and conscientiously as possible. Malcolm also points to another, less noticed standard deviation.
“I think long-term employees is what helps with all that,” he says. “They know what to do and they educate others coming through, so our part of that supply chain is maintained to quality standards through the ef cacy that experienced, knowledgeable staff bring to bear on the logistics and delivery.”
AirRoad is proud of the low turnover of its staff with many current employees having served with the company for over 15 years. There are 380 staff nationally.
The Kenworth af liation was inaugurated by Malcolm himself. He had his own eet of 22 Kenworth B-doubles under the banner of M&M Thorpe which was contracted to AirRoad back in the early days. When AirRoad
purchased the eet, he went from State Manager to Director and eventually Managing Director, a position he has held for the past 12 years.
The partnership with Vawdrey, the main trailer builder, is almost as longstanding.
In Malcolm’s estimation, the trailers from Vawdrey, which are turned over at nine year intervals, is always of premium quality.
“The equipment is so reliable — always on time,” he says. “We’ve been dealing with them for 30 years.”
AirRoad purchases a bre-reinforced plastic (FRP) panel built especially for its use. It features a mezzanine oor in the middle of the box that enables the loading of cartons from either the top or bottom levels therefore eliminating compression damage.
“Without that mezzanine oor you are likely trying to ll the trailers up,”
says Malcolm. “That was one of the innovations that we started with, and it certainly helps us operationally.”
The upcoming period of reinvention underway will also involve the relocation of AirRoad’s warehouses in Queensland. These facilities will be centralised in Willawong. Reduced costs and increased responsiveness are anticipated as immediate byproducts of the resulting activity surrounding these latest developments. Scaling up capacity to process freight also involves investing in larger sortation systems.
“At the moment we’re going from tried and tested manual handling processes to advanced levels in our warehouses,” says Malcolm. “The new depots will be automated with better handling equipment and investments made around technology. With Senko’s investment it just helps us move the needle on these next big steps.”
Plans are well underway at DHL Supply Chain in Australia to reach a goal of reducing its emissions in the last mile by 66 per cent.
Recent feats in battery electric commercial vehicles are starting to be felt, after an indominable period of pre-awareness, on the frontlines of supply chains. DHL in Australia, for its part, has been a forerunner in this area having made initial investments in different zero emission tailpipe commercial vehicle technologies over a cross-section of applications headlined by a new Volvo FM Electric prime mover late last year. It joins a eet of existing Euro 6 European cabovers from Mercedes-Benz, Scania and Volvo.
“Obviously, being a European-based business, a lot of our partnerships are sourced from Europe and that’s where our pricing is negotiated from a procurement perspective,” says Bill Rolfe, DHL Supply
Chain Senior Vice President of Transport for Australia and New Zealand. “We’re running a mixture of European brands. The bulk of the trailering eet are Vawdreys or Freighters. We partner with OEMs for quality of product. That’s been the reason for our purchasing partners in the past.”
Compliant with Strategy 2030, a global DHL corporate roadmap, the company has set out a charter to be the ‘Green Logistics of Choice’ provider. Over the next ve years the stated ambition is to reduce its vehicle emissions across the last mile task by 66 per cent. Naturally, this will require an adaptation in eet management and asset expenditure when procuring vehicles not powered by internal combustion engines.
Future eet updates will incorporate
vehicles powered by electric, hybridelectric or hydrogen drivetrains when they’re capable of performing the same duties as their diesel equivalent.
“The plan is in motion, and here at DHL, we will partner with customers on their green journey toward reduced emissions,” says Bill.
“As we move away from the traditional diesel units that have made up Australia’s truck eets for many years, we’re going through a learning process together with our global teams and our OEM partners to best understand how we can integrate electric vehicles into our eet in the most ef cient and cost-effective manner.”
The role of the newest electric trucks in the eet, which also includes a Volvo FL Electric and two SEA Electric rigids, is to shuttle cargo from its warehouses
in Sydney and Melbourne to DHL’s transport hubs. DHL recently introduced 20 Mercedes-Benz eSprinter vans that take consignments from the transport hubs directly to where its customers require them including retail stores or directly to their customers.
“These vehicles are ful lling these duties while performing the role of reducing emissions from our eet, while requiring less maintenance,” says Bill. “Since its arrival in October, our electric prime mover has prevented over 100 metric tonnes of carbon emissions from entering the atmosphere compared to an equivalent diesel-engine vehicle.”
For DHL, the strongest gains that the BEVs provide are in the advantages it can offer customers while meeting its own sustainability goals.
“It’s important for us to start the journey toward less emissions,” says Bill. “The arrival of our EV eet means we can start to support our customers’ targeted transitions to net zero emissions with our end-to-end transport solutions while providing warehousing services that also
use renewable energy tted with other useful sustainability measures.”
The electric vehicle rollout over the next ve years will honour the global commitments made by DHL including the goal of electrifying a majority of the last mile delivery vehicles by 2030.
The reporting for carbon emissions is self-created through Microsoft Power BI. Data builds off a number of information sources from power bills, fuel consumption and vehicle con gurations that is, in turn, fed back into the system which can be used to forecast transportation emissions. The target will factor in an accumulation of data collected across divisions from many countries.
“It’s very much a global target which we will be supporting regionally,” says Bill. “All countries have been given the target of 66 per cent.”
Renewable fuels like Hydro Treated Vegetable Oil or HVO is another solution, increasingly being sought after by eets who are looking to neutralise their emissions particularly in internal
combustion platforms, that DHL is open to. Much would depend on whether an initiative is led by industry, suppliers or government according to Bill.
“We would have a strong willingness to participate but it’s not provided at scale anywhere yet,” he says. “We’ve got really good business cases and user-examples in the UK but there’s nothing available in Australia.”
Even so, before the year 2030 DHL Supply Chain will replace dozens of assets when their useful life would have already expired.
Bill is cognisant that the middle mile has not yet been solved in electri ed truck transport.
Using BEVs over long distances are, at least in the short-term, is restricted as a prospect.
“Pickup and Delivery eet obviously does a lot of regional work based on the footprint of the country we’re in,” he notes. “Without solving middle mile, we still have a long PUD model where drivers are out in heavy vehicles for ten, 12 or even 14-hour days under BFM
accreditation and so the reality is we need to be able to carry the payload and work the hours.”
Upon reviewing DHL’s customer satisfaction scores, which have trended upwards for sustainability in recent years, Bill and his team can see that customers believe these eet upgrades are important and recognise the inherent challenges. The CXM NPS program was rst introduced locally in 2016. It gives a net promoter score which is monitored globally by the organisation and covers everything from service innovation, continuous improvement (CI), systems and more. DHL Supply Chain conducts the program three times a year.
“Customer satisfaction is one of our key pillars in terms of ultimate deliverables across the organisation,” says Bill. “We see this as part of our partnership with our customers.”
Joining the organisation two-and-half years ago, Bill came on board following the high-pro le acquisition of the Glen Cameron Group.
a period of heightened activity.
“It’s been a very exciting time but also integrations present lots of challenges and opportunities as you work your way through two businesses and what’s the best way to bring them together and support your growth aspirations,” Bill says. “The teams from both organisations have been incredibly supportive and they’ve gelled together really well. It’s gone to plan from a systems, safety and people perspective. Now we’re focused on moving forward and delivering on our growth aspirations.”
The size, scale, and reach of DHL’s Australian operations provides it with several advantages in eet management and vehicle additions. These include
signi cant buying power and the development of strong relationships with suppliers.
DHL now operates over 36,000 electric vehicles globally, and every major DHL region operates electric vehicles in the last mile. To anticipate growth in this area in Australia, DHL has optimised its access to the energy grid with use of solar panels, onsite batteries and zero-emissions offset electricity, an initiative managed by its Property and Infrastructure teams.
“All sites will feature provisions to manage vehicle charging, as more of our truck and van eet is transitioned to electric vehicles,” says Bill.
These Transport Hubs incorporate sustainability features including building management systems, LED lighting and water capture. Energy comes from either rooftop solar arrays or from carbon neutral sources.
To enable rapid and accurate distribution of large volumes of a variety of package types, DHL is planning to roll out advanced automated sortation systems at the Melbourne and Sydney sites.
Last December DHL Supply Chain broke ground on a new transport hub in Derrimut where a substantial doublesided loading area will be incorporated to increase throughput capacity when compared to its current transport facility.
“This will allow us to better serve customers in the retail, technology, automotive, life science, and healthcare sectors,” says Bill. “The Sydney and Adelaide sites will feature the same to help streamline local deliveries and interstate linehaul freight and keep up with the growth expected in the sectors we serve.”
Due for completion next month, the new Derrimut site will help facilitate
the ongoing growth of DHL’s Transport sector, with 16,600m² of additional warehouse and of ce space.
A recent expansion in Tasmania through direct investment in its own premises, vehicles and team, now gives DHL an employee base in every state. Having a presence in the Apple Isle furthers opportunities to build upon their revenue base according to Bill.
“We have certainly seen it as a delivering state as opposed to a sending state,” he says. “So, it’s another addition that allows for us to grow. It then gives us greater control over that last mile performance.”
Considered a gateway for expanding and integrating DHL global initiatives, Tasmania, insofar as the con nes of Australia’s smallest state might offer European-like short haul replication suitable for committing to a commercial electric vehicle network, Bill regards most
metro areas ideal for BEV application. “The biggest challenge is where we will have infrastructure to support the EV journey,” he says. “It’s making sure that you have the infrastructure attached to a building that you know you’re going to be in for the next ten plus years for obvious reasons. If you think your lifespan is only ve years than it doesn’t necessarily make sense to invest in all that infrastructure to only leave it behind.”
Directly operating pallet and carton transport services in Tasmania, DHL covers all traditional retail consumer goods from life science, healthcare and beverages.
“DHL is unique in that we offer a national carton and pallet solution, dedicated 3PL transport and warehousing,” he says. “We feel as though we’ve got all those markets covered and we just want to grow deeper into those markets.”
The constant adoption and implementation of the latest equipment and procedures keeps Kreskas Bros Transport at the leading edge of transporting agricultural products destined for metropolitan and export markets.
The rich alluvial soils around the central-Victorian city of Shepparton combined with the copious amounts of water available via the irrigation schemes in the Goulburn Valley and Riverina regions have been the foundation upon which the district’s industries have been built. The thriving dairy and grain sectors combine with crops such as stone fruit, apples and pears.
The agricultural products need to be transported to market for domestic consumption or to a port if the intention is export, both of which create opportunities for operators such as
Kreskas Bros Transport, which to date has involved three generations of the Kreskas family and has grown to be the dominant road carrier of shipping containers between regional Victoria and the Port of Melbourne, from where the agricultural products sourced in the Goulburn Valley are exported to the world.
Operating even today from the same property the family bought as an orchard farm in 1954, Kreskas Bros Transport was of cially established in 1968 and evolved from carrying fruit produced on the family’s own farm to market in Melbourne, which was soon leveraged into transporting neighbouring farmers’
produce as well. Today, Kreskas Bros Transport is a sophisticated refrigerated and ambient temperature container transport specialist. In the early days the fruit was packed at the farms into wooden cases which were hand loaded onto the trucks and carried to the Melbourne markets. The family company grew to be the biggest carrier of agricultural products in the Goulburn River valley, concentrating on the Melbourne and Sydney destinations, and utilising contractors for the Adelaide and Brisbane routes. Equipment at the time involved converting tautliners to refrigerated capacity and acquiring some chiller van trailers.
The interstate side of the business was sold in the 1990s and the Melbourne fresh produce sector was sold in 2000 to allow the company to concentrate on container transport, as well as dairy products.
The rst Kreskas truck was a venerable Chev Maple Leaf, followed by a Dodge with a, for then, innovative lazy rear axle which allowed for a higher payload. As more neighbouring farms turned to the Kreskas family for reliable transport of their own perishable freight, the eet grew with the acquisition of such iconic trucks as the 1968 Mercedes-Benz 1418 and International S-Line models. Currently the dominant brand in the 48-strong truck eet is Kenworth, supported by several Mercedes-Benz Actros prime movers. Freightliner Coronado’s were also successfully utilised prior to the local availability of the Freightliner Cascadia.
The Kreskas Brothers relationship with the Freightliner Cascadia goes back to the time before North America’s biggest selling heavy-duty truck was even available in Australia in a right hand drive con guration. Commencing in July 2018, Daimler Trucks industry veteran and good friend of the Kreskas Brothers’ team, the late John “Johno” McCarroll, drove one of the two assessment Cascadia’s in B-double tanker combination ve days per week for 18 months based out of the Kreskas Brothers’ Shepparton depot. The original “winter soldier” camou aged Cascadias must have made an impression and it was no surprise that a Freightliner Cascadia 126 in Kreskas Bros livery
joined the eet just a few months after the Cascadia was of cially launched in Australia in late 2019, mainly operating as an A-double between Shepparton and Melbourne. That initial truck with its spacious and well-appointed 48-inch sleeper cab has since been joined by six more Cascadias powered by 16-litre Detroit DD16 engines rated at 600hp and 2050lb/ft of torque. The Cascadia 126s are ideal for the Kreskas Bros Transport’s PBS A-double skel trailer con gurations transporting shipping containers. The Cascadias’ suite of standard safety features, such as the radar and camerabased Advanced Emergency Braking System (AEBS) are an important factor
Freightliner Cascadia 126 A-double.
in the Kreskas buying decision process of these Freightliner models. The Cascadias are on ve year management contracts through the local Tristar Daimler truck dealership.
The Cascadia’s use GPS and topographical data to maximise fuel ef ciency and minimise trip times, making them the most fuel ef cient trucks in the Kreskas Bros eet. A major contributing factor in the fuel ef ciency of the Cascadia is its ability to manage the Detroit DT12 automated manual transmissions’ gear selections according to the load and
upcoming terrain. This can include disengaging the driveline and allowing the truck to coast in appropriate circumstances.
Integrated safety systems including radarbased Adaptive Cruise Control and the Lane Departure Warning System add to the inherent safety and Electronic Stability Program and the driver airbag also help to make the Cascadias among the safest trucks in the eet.
Kreskas Bros Transport operates its own very well equipped workshop with three quali ed mechanics, as well as a
machine shop with two tters. The team can handle most requirements from minor smash repairs to comprehensive driveline rebuilds.
Operating across its multiple container handling sites throughout the Goulburn Valley, Kreskas Bros Transport utilises the latest in transport and warehousing management software to maximise logistics ef ciency and provide the highest possible level of customer service.
Transporting chilled fresh and potentially perishable produce has its own unique challenges so the refrigerated containers
are temperature-monitored 24/7. The Kreskas Shepparton depot is equipped with 120 three-phase electrical outlets to ensure every trailer and container maintains the correct temperature while being held prior to sending to the Port in Melbourne where the company is classi ed as an A-class carrier and provided with priority time slots. This makes the reliability of the truck eet even more important as these valuable ‘slots’ cannot be missed.
The Kreskas operation also provides local heavy container lifting and loading equipment as well as containerbased services including pack, unpack, warehousing and container storage for both general and refrigerated units. Kreskas Bros’ AQIS-registered facility offers both ambient and refrigerated LCL storage.
Although the local fruit cannery may not be as strong as it was many years ago, the Kreskas operation has grown signi cantly over the past three or four years as other
customers have grown including in the dairy sector. Kreskas Bros Transport has also secured additional work associated with the expansion of the solar electricity sector in the region as many new solar ‘farms’ are constructed. The use of refrigerated shipping containers revolutionised the transport of agricultural products and Kreskas Bros Transport continues to be at the forefront of this extremely ef cient method, currently moving at least 50,000 TEUs per year, which translates to the equivalent of 50,000 twenty foot shipping containers per year. Containerisation also lends itself to bulk items such as grain or even potatoes and Kreskas Bros Transport is widely acknowledged as the largest road carrier of shipping containers between the Port of Melbourne and regional Victoria.
The Kreskas family commenced trucking in 1967, and the underlying strength of the company established in 1968 by Greek immigrant brothers George (deceased) and Arthur Kreskas (who
turned 90 in early 2025) was always about integrity and service as well as contributing robustly to the wider community, whether it be supporting local charities or being one of the driving forces behind Shepparton’s Museum of Vehicle Evolution (MOVE) where the family was inducted into the exclusive Avenue of Legends in 2022. Arthur and George are also both recognised in the Shell Rimula Hall of Fame at the National Transport Museum in Alice Springs. “Just give good service and get along with people,” is Arthur’s philosophy which has been instilled into his sons John and Les, and now his grandsons Josh and Bayley who have been assuming the overall management of the company’s operations since 2023. Cousins Josh and Bayley have grown up in the family business and have experience in most sectors of the multi-faceted operations, providing them with a comprehensive understanding of what will continue to make it a successful business long into the future.
Having e ectively adapted over the journey to ensure it always had work for its trucks, Gippsland specialty eet Ryan’s Bricks and Transport this year celebrates the occasion of its 75th anniversary.
Now in its diamond jubilee, the third-generation family business Ryan’s Bricks and Transport though certain of its customers, has very much moved in accordance with the times. The company uses a modern eet for speciality transport of building and landscape materials, namely bricks and pavers, but also carts stockfeed. Back in 1950, the business was carting sh from Port Welshpool to market. But a bottoming out industry prompted a pivot with a mobile crane put to use on carrying SEC poles for railways in regional areas of Victoria.
“While we were doing that, we got a job to cart some bricks down to Wilson’s Promontory,” recalls Dennis Ryan.
“They were building a power station in those days. We got the job of carting the bricks down there.”
At the time bricks were all hand stacked on the tray and unloaded the same way. Dennis got to know the yard foreman who encouraged him to sell some bricks in Leongatha, where the company is headquartered, and, for added value, threw in some sample packs. Not soon after they secured a distributorship. The year was 1970. Dennis was 22 at the time.
“That’s been a big change in the consolidation of the manufacturing plants. They had a lot of coal- red kilns back in those days probably up until just 15 years ago. Then they were all changed to gas,” says Dennis.
Other trends in brick production have been largely contingent on the tastes of architects. These days, according to Dennis, they more or less decide what the customer will be using.
“We’ve gone from the old days when brown bricks were everywhere. Nowadays it’s all light colours, pastel colours,” he says. “The manufacturing has altered a lot particularly in concrete products, concrete bricks and blocks. They now come polished, honed and shot blasted for a modern look.. The same with paving which was a big thing many years ago. You would have seen brick paving around most streets and shopping centres. That’s all gone now and been replaced by large format stuff. Metre-by-metre pavers and that type of
thing. That’s been a big change. Brick paving is not even made in Melbourne anymore.”
Ryan’s transports bricks across South Gippsland, from Yarram to Phillip Island and intrastate from Bendigo to Ballarat. The eet also subcontracts for Austral.
Despite the housing shortage, the market has not eased up.
“They are putting them up pretty much as fast as they can open up the parcels of land,” says Dennis. “It’s just exploded in recent years. Virtually it demands of us two B-doubles everyday loaded with bricks. Each B-double has up to 12,000 bricks on it. So, it covers about two house lots.”
The arrival in town of the Murray Goulburn Co-operative as the new owner of the local dairy factory was perhaps the next opportune time for
the business. Ryan’s was furnished with plenty of work, at rst carrying containers of milk powder, as it provided the eet a freight avenue into Melbourne. A long-life milk factory was subsequently built in Leongatha that the eet services still to this day.
Ryan’s originally did that job in conjunction with another transport company for 20 years. However, when a new transport manager was appointed by Murray Goulburn he opted, under a new strategic direction, to have his own eet do it.
“That put an end to that for a little while,” recalls Dennis. “They eventually found out it wasn’t cheaper to do it themselves and then they gave the contract to Dyers in Sale. So, we still do the milk but now we subcontract for Dyers.”
He adds, “That’s how the wheel turns.”
Other building and landscaping products were added over the years as were trucks. The rst new prime mover wasn’t purchased until 1982. That was a Kenworth K125. They remained with Kenworth for the next three decades before Dennis’ son, Tom Ryan, the third generation of the immediate family, chose to go in a different direction and aligned with Scania.
“Scania came in with a demo truck for us to evaluate and I tried it one day and ordered one the next day,” recalls Tom, who is a company Director along with his sister Melanie. “Probably, the biggest thing that stood out from that decision was we were dealing with one company from bumper to bumper. We only needed to make one call to get things looked at. It doesn’t really matter what equipment you have. Stuff always breaks down. When you’re doing the
miles that we’re doing everything eventually wears out.”
For Tom, that’s the big bene t of having the one brand and why he pushed so hard for it at the time.
“Because you’re only dealing with one person rather than Kenworth, Cummins, Eaton and that was where we started to run into some problems,” he says. “Times are a lot different. When I rst started in the business virtually 80 per cent of the mechanical work was done in-house. All the servicing, a large amount of the minor and major mechanical work as well. Now, basically everything apart from very minor, general maintenance servicing is done by us while the rest is all outsourced.”
Ryan’s continues to run a workshop, limited to very basic maintenance.
There are presently four prime movers in the eet in addition to two tray trucks, a Scania P360 6x4 and one Kenworth, a T350 — the last Kenworth in the eet. There are a pair of Scania R 730s and new Scania 770s, one is spec’d with a big cab, of which there is only a handful available in Australia.
“The larger cabin is built at a different plant which will be a real gamechanger. That’s been the biggest issue with Scania — that cabin has been too small for the guys that are spending a large amount of time in it,” says Tom.
“It has got a full bed in it, a microwave, climate control and plenty of horsepower plus great comfort levels and safety levels for the driver.”
The service package better suits their current needs, adds Tom, who is of course thrilled by the fuel economy gures these new prime movers are delivering their bottom line.
“Compared to what we were getting previously, all of our Scanias have been at least 20 per cent better,” says Tom.
“Obviously with fuel cost the way it is it makes a huge difference. But you do have to have guys who buy into the system. It does get dictated by the driver. They’ve got huge horsepower. If you’re using it the right way, you will reap the rewards and Scania is good
offering driver training.”
While bricks represent close to 70 per cent of the business, Ryan’s moves stone out of Gosford, a service it has provided for the better part of 30 years. One of the biggest recent jobs was for the refurbishments made to the front of Parliament House in Melbourne. Finished sandstone is expensive and requires appropriate handling. Ryan’s moves it in one- and two-tonne blocks, along with nished pavers, landscaping logs and columns. Most of that is ready to go into housing or paving and retaining walls according to Tom.
“That’s moved on B-doubles. All our interstate stuff is all achieved on B-doubles. We’ll deliver to the yards and then they will organise their own metro deliveries,” he says. “Some of the stuff we will take direct to site because they have customers all over Victoria and into South Australia. Pretty much wherever the stone has got to go we’ll be doing the transport of it. With our own bricks we do everything from the plant direct to the site.”
A specialised forklift transported on a tray truck is utilised for brick haulage. The forklift truck usually handles the last mile after the B-double unloads close to site. The Scania tray truck has short hydraulic sides that open and shut the heavy gates.
“It’s a really good system that reduces manual labour for the driver,” says Tom. “It restrains all the bricks quite well. The tray body is built as normal. But instead of having springs there is a mechanical hydraulic Auto Mate Gate. They have come up with a system that is user-friendly and a lot safer.”
He adds, “Big gates catch a lot of wind and they can come down at a fair rate of knots if the weather is not friendly.”
Dennis Ryan won the state operator of the year for the Victorian Transport Association in 2003 and again in 2004. He now serves as President of the VTA, replacing Mike Lean last November, having been an active member previously on the Executive Council.
The Leongatha mainstay moved in the early 1990s to an industrial estate
featuring a large transport yard with an extensive brick and landscaping display. Local B-double deliveries are capped to 62.5 tonnes. This is more for access, according to Tom, factoring in the need otherwise to split up the combination to unload.
“When we have to run to the yard here in Leongatha, we’ll run right up to our mass management which equates to 67 and 68.5 tonne,” he says. “All the stockfeed stuff we run right up there at concessional mass in New South Wales and higher mass through Victoria.”
An ongoing partnership with Vawdrey Australia for over 15 years, the supplier of their trailers, is indeed a fertile one. It transpired when Ryan’s needed different design features to suit stockfeed loads.
“Bricks are heavy and low and can pretty much go on any style of trailer,” says Tom. “But for our stockfeed we had a few different places we were carting and different sized bags that we wanted to get on and speci c racking was needed to get made. Vawdrey really helped us come up with the solutions for that and that’s why we have stayed with their product.”
When the move to Scania happened, it brought with it different con gurations and considerations. Suddenly, there was an onus to get 17-tonnes on the drive axle which meant a weight increase at the front of the ‘A’ trailer.
The nature of stockfeed, however, prohibits double stacking of the product.
Bespoke racking was built to accommodate one-tonne bulk bags loaded ush against the walls of the trailer to ensure axle weights are correct. Ryan’s opted for something similar in a standard height B-double with the ‘B’ trailer using the same type of racking.
“It kept our tare weight down and gave us the options to get higher volume of product on,” says Tom.
Dennis adds, “It had to be light weight and of course strong enough to carry the one-tonne pallets and carry them safely. That’s where their designers came up with the right product.”
Born from technology, MRL Global is a fast growing transport business which o ers freight services bolstered by the latest in software development.
Bulk palletised freight specialist and logistics company, MRL Global, is the brainchild of software engineer Reza Laghaei.
The emergence of the business, displayed in a bold yoke and azure livery on its newest curtainsiders, comes after something of an unusual inception. Its presence in the market seemingly born overnight despite a methodical ascent 20 years in the making.
With 20 prime movers in the eet and another 20 at its beck and call, MRL Global is an express carrier beholden to the motto “superior quality, superior service” where the only complaints they receive from customers tend to result not from being slow, but rather too fast.
“Just this morning I had a customer ask me how we do it so quickly,” says Managing Director Reza Laghaei. “He wanted to make a change overnight to the consignment and suggested when it arrived this morning at 8.30am that we consider actually slowing down our speed of service.”
It’s fair to say that won’t happen — it’s a point of pride for Reza.
The company owns six depots nationwide with a head of ce in Milperra, within the greater Canterbury-Bankstown region.
MRL Global offers comprehensive supply chain management solutions including logistics, warehousing, international freight forwarding, and specialised contract logistics freight services. Clients come from various industries
mainly for the forward-thinking, technology-enabled ef ciencies MRL Global has embedded in its objective to become a dependable shipping partner. The foundations for this represent a dramatic break with industry customs. It was after achieving an advanced diploma in software development and coding that Reza, age 20, was drawn to road transport where he found his talents were soon to ourish. For his rst trick he wrote software that exported data from eBay into an excel that then converted it into an Australia Post format pre-API (Application Programming Interfaces). In a world of dial up internet technology that effectively made it proprietary software. Reza shared the technology with a friend who soon suddenly had no use for ve staff whose jobs previously were to manually enter data for Australia Post. “Whereas my software did all that work,” he recalls. “It took approximately ve seconds from that point.”
The whole transport component came into being when Reza developed the software for two of his friends. But they each charged on different price structures. Friend ‘A’ was spending a million dollars and Friend ‘B’ outlaid half that. But Friend ‘B’s’ prices were 30 per cent cheaper than Friend ‘A’ despite both, at the time, having the same account
manager at Australia Post. Reza became close with the account manager. Over dinner he enquired about starting up his own transport company intrigued by how one friend had managed cheaper rates despite spending much less in overheads. “In life transport and business generally is about relationships is what the account manager told me,” Reza recalls. “It’s about who you know, not what you know. That stuck with me.”
Reza, buoyed perhaps by the precocity of youth, then proceeded to ask if he could get cheaper rates if he started up his own company. He was promptly told he was insane having no prior experience in running a transport business. This didn’t deter him. Because the Australia Post account manager was on the verge of retirement he eventually agreed to help out Reza, who would at rst begin as a broker. He approached Friend ‘B’ to have his freight transferred to his account. Before long Friend ‘A’ followed suit. Not long after Reza launched EziShipping™, an online portal with a rate calculator — the rst of its kind for freight.
“Once I had more money to invest in technology I did so as fast I could,” he says. “It was really the rst online platform to make the consignment, calculate the freight costs and have the inputs available online
with API integration.”
He was an outlier as the only provider, what’s more, with that capability. There was no paper billing.
“It was all online,” he says. “For the entirety of my business life I have not sent out one invoice in the postal mail.”
Inherent in the strategy to bring everything online from the rst day was knowing it would lead to better payment outcomes during those crucial early days. Most businesses go bust in the rst ve years.
“By me emailing customers I was assured 100 per cent they were going to get it,” says Reza. “Therefore I was also going to get paid earlier.”
He soon put a levy on snail mail which would incur a $50 surcharge. That was in 2010. The following year MRL Global opened its rst warehouse in Bella Vista. A major turning point came in 2016 when Reza bought out Bill Sampson who had successfully owned and operated Sampson Transport for the last 35 years.
Reza had previously made an offer for the business, but it wasn’t until he learned of its imminent demise that Reza hopped on the rst available ight to Melbourne.
“After eight hours of going over his books and negotiations on the Monday we had a deal done,” recalls Reza. “That company was all pen and paper — literally. No
computer. No nothing. We moved all of that into our technology.”
He adds, “I think I lost 30 years in that one year to genuinely convince customers given the amount of abuse I got from the older generations.”
Yet for all the pressure heaped on it, MRL Global continued to grow. Sampson Transport, which had a single semitrailer operating Melbourne to Adelaide, departing on alternating days and two semis running between Sydney and Melbourne, became Sampson Express.
“Bill did an amazing job. I was very impressed by him,” says Reza. “He somehow had customers with him for 25 years with no technology. You must be doing something right to be able to command that level of loyalty.”
The eet composition has been given a dramatic makeover since then. Today
MRL Global predominantly runs 42-pallet B-doubles pulled by either a Volvo, Mercedes-Benz or Kenworth cabover prime mover. The freight is in the main ambient, non-refrigerated and nondangerous goods on an express service.
“Everything is carried on double dropdeck mezzanine B-double trailers manufactured by Vawdrey,” says Reza.
“When I started looking at buying trailers I spoke to Vawdrey and another competitor. I found Vawdrey a lot more experienced, ready to implement new technology and engineering practices and they handled customers the right way.”
Being able to provide an end-to-end solution has made Vawdrey a premier partner especially for the roadtrain con gurations the eet requires. That
includes the design, the build and, just as critically, the permits.
“Vawdrey gets all the permits for all the different routes that we need and gives us the key once the permit is approved and we start driving on it,” he says. “That made all the difference for us.”
That means MRL Global can concentrate more on the things it wants to focus on as a business.
And while there might be cheaper options in the market, Reza states safety for MRL Global was of paramount importance.
“The fee they charge is very reasonable and the money I save where I don’t need to get my national operational manager to spend all that time with all of the bureaucracies at different government levels and different state borders is nothing in comparison to the investment it would require of us,” says Reza. “This is what Vawdrey does for a living. They know all the loopholes. They know all the contacts and the many other intricacies involved in the process.”
The company drivers certainly make their preference of truck known.
“I like the Kenworths,” says Reza. “They’re built tough, and you really have to know your stuff to work with a Kenworth.”
The Volvos are, however, the most well represented brand in the eet and along with Mercedes-Benz bring a touch of luxury to the job according to Reza.
“The Volvos and Mercedes are a much different experience. Flip this switch, hit this button, cushiony seats and air suspension,” he says. “The internal safety systems can’t be taken for granted. Adaptive cruise control is a massive game-
changer for industry. A prime mover with close to 36 tonnes in carrying load that can pre-determine the distance between the vehicle in front of it with radar and sensor technology — it’s a marvel.”
One of the advantages the business boasts is its ability to connect to Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) whether its TMS or FMS software which enables customer data to come into the MRL system without need for a log-in.
“What happens is, once we deliver all the tracking stages and the POD goes back to your system, you don’t need to leave your system. It’s all in your system,” he explains. “What that means is as my client your staff are trained to use the software that they have that your company has spent thousands of dollars on. You’re used to that software, but you get all the bene ts of all the tracking and all the POD and status updates as if you’re using our software.”
The software offers preselection choices for customers if they want to stipulate a tailgate. That consignment is automatically allocated a tailgate in MRL’s back end. It also rewalls loads so that the right truck with the tailgate capacity for the load is selected. The same goes for any weight or height restrictions according to the set route. Forklift cubic weight requirements are also factored in.
“Once it’s approved it goes into the driver’s PDA and the driver basically just follows the runs and gets to deliver it and scanning at every stage,” says Reza.
“There’s a lot of these measures in place to ensure it’s a smooth transaction and there’s no hiccups.”
It’s certainly advantageous to have consignments logged in the back end of the system automatically allocated the right truck that ts with the pro le of freight. When MRL Global acquired Sampson Transport, that business employed four customer service people for three semi-trailers. Today there are 20 B-doubles.
“You can imagine the increase in freight volumes,” says Reza. “We’re at three staff for customer service. We’ve got one less staff in that area, but the volume is 13,000 per cent more.”
A
trial of the new Rockinger Drawbar Finder begun by Victorian tipper eet Graeme McKay Earthworks is paving the way for timely improvements in both safety and productivity.
Second generation family manufacturer and tipper specialist, Chris’s Body Builders (CBB), is the premier partner for a Central Highlands business in Victoria. That business, Graeme McKay Earthworks reached the milestone of a quarter century of operations last year having been founded in 1999.
Armed initially with a bobcat and a sixmetre single-axle Hino truck, Graeme is, all these years on, still astounded by how his business has expanded during which time he’s kept adding personnel, equipment and trucks. Even now, it’s hard for Graeme to fathom.
“I hadn’t given it too much thought really, it just sort of happened,” he says. “I made it happen though with the help of a lot of good people.”
He currently employs 45 staff although at one stage there were over 90 people on the books.
Based in Ararat, Graeme McKay Earthworks provides excavation and
transport services utilising a eet primarily of truck and dogs for sand and gravel cartage with some Drake oats employed for moving the heavier equipment to site.
For a time, the company also worked on interstate infrastructure projects mainly in Newcastle and Sydney. Nowadays the tasks are more localised, and the business works regularly with the likes of Western Quarries and local councils venturing into Melbourne occasionally. There is 13 units in the truck and dog eet and nine twin-steer agitators servicing a concrete plant the business also runs. The earthmoving assets include nine bulldozers, as well as graders and excavators. First principles come to the fore. Brand loyalty is one.
For bulldozers that’s clearly Caterpillar. “I’ve always stuck with Caterpillar,” notes Graeme. “They’re the best.”
On the truck front the brand of choice is Kenworth. And for tippers and trailers it’s Chris’s Body Builders, an association that
runs the entire history of the business. The tippers include three- and ve-axle dog trailers and more standard quad dogs CBB maintains a strong af liation with JOST whose signi cant range of products it uses across its tipper bodies. Customers like Graeme McKay Earthmovers can expect to receive another layer to the many tangible advantages of the partnership.
“There’s expertise and deep knowledge of the JOST product,” says Graeme. “Chris’s Body Builders have been brilliant for me. We’ve always used their gear. We’ve had an excellent relationship. They’re easy to talk to and always very helpful.”
Turnaround times on new tipper orders, to cite another bene t, are prompt when measured against industry norms. Having such a good fortune, especially during the frenzy of the infrastructure and housing boom, supply chain disruptions and COVID lockdowns, isn’t lost on Graeme.
“I always seem to jump the queue,” he says. “I’m good mates with the team and that goes back to Chris Debono Senior and now his son who has been in charge for a while. They’ve never held me up.
You know, when COVID was on everyone wanted something built yesterday. They certainly looked after me during that period as they do now.”
The eet has always been spearheaded by Kenworth T909s. It also features some Kenworth T410s and T610s, one of which just arrived as part of a renewal program. Powered by a 600hp Cummins X15, it also has another unique function as the rst unit in the eet installed with a Rockinger Drawbar Finder. Graeme McKay Earthworks is trialling the technology with a view to rolling it out long-term across other trucks in the eet. The camera system incorporates guides
for expediting the coupling process safely by ensuring the position and orientation of the drawbar are always in view. Given coupling happens at any time of day and often early in the morning when low light conditions are in effect the Rockinger Drawbar Finder helps avoid damage that can be incurred on the towing vehicle and trailer during this event, not to mention saves crucial time for drivers who are expected to perform this task operating longer combinations where visibility is often limited if not entirely obscured.
The product is compatible with common remote controls and JOST offers upgrade kits for Rockinger towing hitches.
“We’ve always had the Rockinger hitches and moving forward we will look to convert the rest of the eet,” says Graeme.
“We’ve just initiated use of the camera setup on the recommendation of CBB as part of their close partnership with JOST.”
Tipper eets won’t be the only bene ciaries of the newfound ef ciencies enabled by use of the Rockinger Drawbar Finder. According to Graeme the camera function is a signi cant safety feature that will ameliorate the challenges of reversing into dog trailers multiple times a day.
“It’s still early days but it seems just about right in our application, and I foresee it being a handy inclusion across others like roadtrains,” he says. “It’s just a matter
of getting it out there and validating its usefulness. I think it’s going to save a lot of time especially for people running truck and dogs and A-doubles.”
Asked if he thinks it will save him time, Graeme is adamant.
“It will for sure,” he adds. “You can back up to it no problems, adjust to the height if need be and clearly see what’s going on and you can see if anyone is around you. If you’re doing a lot of unhooking and hooking up it’s a good idea. It’s like anything when you start, the rst one – a job, starting a new service, using a new bit of kit – is always the hardest to master.”
By this token, the Rockinger Drawbar Finder deployed across multiple units is only going to increase productivity for eets as they look to scale up its use.
“The JOST product is pretty much bulletproof and there’s been no trouble with warranty claims. If there’s ever been an issue they’ve xed it straight away,” says Graeme. “Chris uses them. Whatever Chris uses I use.”
CBB has a long-standing supplier relationship with JOST going back 25 plus years, sourcing a range of ancillary components like tipping cylinders, double row ball races, tow eyes, tow couplings, alloy wheels, landing legs, fth wheels, RAZOR tarp drives and oil tanks. The eet cycles through prime movers every four years, give or take a few months, and moves a new Kenworth into
the breach when the time is up on an older unit. That works out somewhere between 500,000 and 600,000 kilometres. Along with the impressive reserve of trucks, trailers and plant equipment, Graeme points to his employees as his most important asset.
“Without them none of this is possible,” he says. “I can have a great business but without my workers it’s going to be a useless proposition.”
Graeme said it was possible to single out half a dozen staff for their important contributions to the business. Operations Manager, Byron Day, who came across from the railways 13 years ago, is one.
“Byron has been a really good asset,” says Graeme. “He does the bulk of the day-today stuff nowadays. I’m still with him but you’ve eventually got to let go a bit, don’t you?”
On that topic, Graeme believes any senior manager or owner is as good as the workers at their disposal.
“You’re only as good as your team and you’re only as good as your suppliers,” he says. “That’s why I’ve stuck with Chris and their tippers. JOST is well known for their national aftersales support, and I can’t fault it, it’s secondto-none. Part of the aftersales is workshop or driver training to ensure our business gets longevity out of products and we specify products that best suit our applications.”
Geotab Connect o ered OEMs, eets, government organisations and media from around the world a rsthand look at the future of telematics and vehicle connectivity.
Connected vehicle and asset solutions telematics leader, Geotab, has held its annual conference, known as Geotab Connect in Orlando, Florida. Launched under the theme ‘De ning the Future of Connected Vehicles’, the three-day event balanced several transport industry keynote presentations with sessions that covered safety, compliance, database mastery, maximising uptime, vehicle utilisation, hardware, data access and future initiatives. A headline appearance was made by entertainer and mentalist Oz Pearlman.
To help eets better control rising operational costs, Geotab announced the launch of new maintenance tools to assist managers predict vehicle issues and streamline repairs.
These latest products, Work Order Management and Fault Code Enrichment, offered within the Geotab Maintenance Center, would, according to Geotab, have particular relevance for Australian eet managers, with 57 per cent of those surveyed last year identifying running costs reductions as their top priority, a seismic increase from 42 per cent of respondents in 2022. Indeed, reducing downtime and managing maintenance costs more effectively has placed added emphasis on regular vehicle maintenance and the adoption of predictive maintenance technologies.
“Fleet maintenance is a major cost
driver, and unexpected breakdowns can signi cantly impact operations,” says Sabina Martin, Geotab Vice President of Product Management.
Geotab has around 4.7 million connected vehicles globally. Not unlike North America, compliance was presently recognised as one the biggest considerations for customers working in Australia.
In an interview he gave during Geotab Connect, David Brown APAC Associate Vice President Sales at Geotab, cited government, resources and heavy commercial transport as the three verticals it was primarily focused on locally this year and moving forward.
“There are strong similarities between what we have done in North America and what we are implementing in Australia,” he told Ashley Grogan. “We approach heavy trucking from multiple angles—enhancing ease of use from a consumer perspective, ensuring compliance with fatigue management and electronic work diaries, and driving productivity and cost savings through technology.”
For the moment there are some barriers to what Geotab is trying to achieve in Australia mainly from independent businesses more resistant to change. But adoption among major eets, according to David, is strong.
“Implementing the technology is one thing, but knowing how to use it effectively and make actionable decisions
is another challenge,” he says. “In my opinion, there is a grey area in telematics where a huge amount of data is collected, but the real question is: how can it be used quickly and effectively?”
Speaking at a media scrum at the event, Neil Cawse, Founder, President and CEO of Geotab pointed to what he described as a revolution occurring in risk analytics and product integration.
“It’s actually starting in commercial, and I think it’s going to spread to [the] consumer,” he says. “Really, what the revolution does is show you do not get accurate enough data from an app on a phone or from basic telematics in a regular consumer’s vehicle. But in a commercial vehicle, there is a high incentive to deploy advanced telematics like Geotab and so, the quality and level of data that we have to feed the models that allow us to do the benchmarking around safety are gamechanging. There is no other area where we can get it, that anybody can get access to this high level and high quality of data.”
There was now scienti c proof, according to Neil, from data Geotab was able to glean across categories such as speeds exceeding the legal limit and narrow vehicle proximity in acceptable safe following distances that the risk for operators was increased exponentially. “I can now take real steps towards reducing risk, as opposed to hypothetical, because we can test it on all the data,” he says. “It’s exciting.”
MTData’s growing line of AI-integrated telematics and safety products are the latest form of a value proposition that has been central to the company since its inception.
Since 2003, MTData has worked to service Australia’s transport operators and logistics providers with telematics and safety services, adapting to the myriad waves of technological change that have come over the last two decades by incorporating them into the company’s own product line. The arrival of Arti cial Intelligence (AI) may be the biggest wave yet.
The introduction of AI products has received something of a mixed bag of responses from the commercial road transport industry, with much of the apprehension from various operators and customers stemming from uncertainty as to what the application of this technology would look like.
MTData, on the other hand, was quick to recognise this technology as the latest conduit for the delivery of driver safety and monitoring to its customer base, according to Chief Product and Marketing Of cer, Lauren Demarchi.
“We know from our customers that safety is their most important concern,”
she says. “We want to be aligned on this. This technology offers an extra way to monitor safety both for truck drivers and those around them. Initially, it wasn’t essential for us to be leading this industry charge into AI, but as soon as we understood how it could serve our mission, we were immediately involved.”
This point is further reinforced by Chief Technology Of cer, Neil Dando, who explains that AI has further enabled MTData to perform what it has always done.
“Our company purpose is enhancing productivity, while protecting lives,” he says. “AI is a new means to help us achieve that purpose. AI is only one tool in our toolbelt and we are using it where we feel it can bring the most impact to deliver improved safety to drivers and other road users in turn”.
In order to take advantage of AI MTData rst needed to build a device that could run AI models in the vehicle.
“With the challenges of intermittent
network coverage there could be no reliance on continuous network connectivity and cloud services in order to deliver the new safety features we wanted” Neil explains.
“We are very proud of our tradition of building devices and solutions that are speci cally designed to operate in the harsh environment of Australian eet operations and the 7000AI is our latest device that takes our solution to a new level of capability”.
The 7000AI was released at the beginning of this nancial year.
Designed as an all-in-one hub and touch-screen within the truck cab, the device monitors driver behaviour and vehicle data, streamlining communications between drivers and their eet managers during transport journeys.
Promoting safety and ef ciency, the 7000AI features a text-to-speech function which can relay important information to drivers without them needing to look away from the road. Cameras in the truck cab monitor signs of fatigue and distraction in the drivers themselves, while a device embedded in the driver’s seat can refocus attention with vibrations and other movements.
This product, and its plethora of AI safety applications, had been years in the making, long before customers in the industry were even using the technology.
“Our customers rst started using our AI products last July,” Lauren recalls. “But we at MTData had been working on this integration in the background for years leading up to that. This kind of work can’t be rushed — when we’re talking about driver safety, we’re talking about people’s lives.”
Driver fatigue and distraction has been MTData’s market for many years, with a push into AI more recently. There are expectations from the customers who have already been exposed to competitors’ AI solutions and the company is driven to meet and exceed these expectations.
“The 7000AI has provided drivers with situational awareness from the perspective of the truck cab,” Neil
says. “But what it also does from an operational perspective, is to provide a view of the risk present across an entire eet of vehicles and drivers.”
Not all of the new features are reliant on AI, these include ‘rollover risk protection’ and ‘preventative maintenance’. MTData’s rollover risk protection monitoring works speci cally to maximise a driver’s awareness of the safety and security of the terrain it travels.
This technology, currently being used by a mining customer for MTData, provides safety warnings on any present threats to drivers or the truck in real-time.
“The risk of vehicle rollover is especially present in the mining space,” Lauren says. “These vehicles work with terrain that isn’t necessarily even, in dif cult areas. Our technologies are looking to maximise the driver’s understanding of risk around them as they travel.”
MTData, per Lauren, is measuring vehicle tilt and roll, and can use these to inform drivers of what these values are and when they approach or exceed a safe threshold and risk a roll-over.
“We are now turning our focus to how we can extend our driver monitoring using video based AI to understand what is happening around the vehicle and assist driver awareness of dangers with improved real-time situational awareness,” she says. “This all without adding to their already complex and distracting working environment”
This next level of AI application for truck
eets, Neil believes is just as essential for ensuring safety on the road. These capabilities can also alert drivers of other vulnerable people around the truck at any given time to prevent accidents.
A major concern for any eet as Neil points out.
“Organisations aren’t just thinking about the safety of the drivers, but the safety of those around the vehicle, too,” he says. “Their safety is of paramount importance, and it’s something we can take great care of with the implementation of this technology, with the AI we provide within the vehicle.”
Pairing the advent of AI devices with the tried-and-true value proposition of driver safety through technology, MTData’s growing product line looks to embrace the future with the creation of the 7000AI and more products to come, in a time where the industry doesn’t seem as quick to do so.
This growing product range helps to cement MTData’s role as a trailblazer of this new technology in the industry, setting the standard for how to implement these devices effectively.
“Across the industry, the adoption of AI has been slow,” says Neil. “Not everyone knows what to make of it and some are afraid of how it will be used. We understand that fear and our approach is to respect a driver’s privacy and use any data responsibly. Ultimately we are using technology to reduce risk and improve safety, an outcome that bene ts everyone.”
After achieving improved results in 2024, IVECO is looking to build upon its recent successes with a strong model line-up for 2025.
After dealing with the disruptions of COVID and a ‘spin off’ from parent company CHH Industrial, which has allowed it to concentrate more closely on meeting the needs of on-highway customers, IVECO is now on a growth trajectory, particularly in the Heavy Duty category. According to the full year sales data compiled by the Truck Industry Council, in 2024 IVECO recorded its highest sales in the Heavy Duty segment since 2019, increasing its volume by 20.8 per cent to 389 new units. Much of this has been due to strong demand for the IVECO S-Way range, which continues to appeal to a broad range of customers, from ownerdrivers to medium and large eets. Buyers were attracted to the S-Way’s model range and impressive capabilities plus the availability of IVECO’s support services. Additional model variants will be added to the S-Way range in 2025, including a 90-tonne GVM rating which will suit PBS applications such as A-doubles.
IVECO is making it more attractive than ever to choose an S-Way AS 550 6x4 prime mover following the announcement of its latest ‘Serious Value’ campaign, which is designed to boost value and support for owners. Until 30 June 2025, those in the market for a B-double prime mover can put an IVECO S-Way AS 550 to work and enjoy the added bene ts of
a 5 year/1,000,000 kilometre extended driveline warranty, along with the rst ve services free, plus ve years of ‘IVECO On’ telematics.
The AS 550 is the agship of IVECO’s on-road range and features a 550hp/2500Nm Euro 6 (Step E) engine, 16-speed Hi-Tronix Automated Manual Transmission and 70,000kg GVM, making the platform ideal for a range of intra and interstate single and B-double applications. Other bene ts include a suite of active and passive safety features and driver aids including GPS Predictive Driving, Advanced Emergency Braking System, Adaptive Cruise Control and Lane Departure Warning system.
The IVECO ON telematics package offers a range of measures to help improve productivity while reducing operating costs. Using the S-Way’s
connected on-board Driving Style Evaluation (DSE) system, regular reports are available to owners and eet managers. The reports include detailed fuel consumption and driving style data, allowing changes to be made to improve fuel ef ciency. The system can also provide live tips to further promote fuel ef cient driving en route. For added safety, the system can also monitor and provide alerts on events such as harsh braking and acceleration. Detailed reports can be downloaded for further analysis and consultation to cover areas of concern. Additionally, IVECO ON can assist to minimise eet downtime, by providing a proactive approach to vehicle maintenance as well as detailed insights into vehicle operating data.
During the 2024 sales year, the reintroduction of the ACCO to the
IVECO line-up saw steady adoption of the latest generation range from both existing and new customers, particularly within the waste industry. The uptake of ACCO is expected to increase this year as earlier models are replaced as part of eet renewal programs. The ACCO has a heritage of being one of Australia’s most successful vocational trucks, particularly in the waste industry.
The highly anticipated new IVECO Eurocargo will have its rst Australian public display at the Brisbane Truck Show and this truck builds on the many bene ts of its predecessor, introducing even higher levels of safety, comfort, technology and automation, all wrapped in a strikingly revised cabin.
The Eurocargo is one of Europe’s bestselling Medium Duty trucks. IVECO will showcase its wellcredentialled alternative fuel
capabilities at the Brisbane Truck Show including an example of the eDaily, several of which are currently participating in real-work operator trials with leading Australian eets.
Another key highlight for IVECO in 2024 was higher sales of the IVECO Daily Cab Chassis, which continues to be the country’s most popular European manufactured light truck, with a market share of 9.38 per cent and volume of 1,353 units, 154 units higher than the previous year.
The Daily Cab Chassis is a viable choice in its segment, providing owners with a more sophisticated, comfortable and car-like driving experience compared to some traditional entrants in the category, surpassing many of its rivals when it comes to driving experience, safety equipment and cabin appointments. It’s also a hardworking
and productive platform, offering drivelines with up to 155kW/470Nm of power and torque (matched to an 8-speed fully automatic transmission) and payloads of up to 4 tonnes, with the 70C variant having a 7-tonne GVM which is unique among European competitors, with no others offering this weight classi cation currently in the Australian market.
Other bene ts of the Daily range include a wide choice of options including variants with rear airbag suspension and rear differential lock. Daily is also available in several workready models including ‘Tradie-Made’ variants which are ready for work complete with factory tted tray bodies. Overall, across all segments, IVECO’s volume grew by 13.7 per cent or 284 units in 2024 for total volume of 2357 units for a market share of 4.88 per cent.
Casuarina ‘CJ’ Smith’s online trucking journey has turned her into a respected industry gure, with the help of industry partners like HELLA Australia and the Brisbane Truck Show.
CJ Smith is a truck driver and industry advocate, connecting current and next generations.
Her career in the commercial transport industry started nine years ago when she began driving concrete trucks before quickly rising through the ranks of heavy vehicle licensing. It was only two years ago that CJ began lming her life on the road and in this short time she has amassed an impressive audience – over 100,000 followers on Instagram, joined by 35,000 followers on Facebook, and more than 2,800 subscribers on YouTube. CJ takes great pride in building an online community around the industry.
“I just share snippets of the industry that I wish I could have been aware of when I started,” she says. “I wanted someone to show me these things when I was new. I couldn’t nd a mentor online when I needed it, so trying to ll that role is really special to me.”
Her inclusive-natured content and positive messaging has attracted support from a variety of like-minded industry brands, notably automotive supplier, HELLA Australia. Approaching CJ at the end of 2023, HELLA Australia has now been collaborating with her for over a year, naming her a brand ambassador.
“The interesting thing about HELLA is that when they approached me, they were really supportive of what I was doing,” CJ says. “HELLA wasn’t looking to advertise or monetise me. The company was just a big fan of my positivity and the energy and insights I was bringing to the industry. They agreed with the community I was trying to build, and the conversation I was trying to have with industry members. That has been the foundation of our relationship.”
CJ, according to HELLA Australia General Manager, Glareh Kayhoor, has built a fantastic platform and has a unique voice
within the industry.
“For us safety is at the core of everything we do — from product design to customer education,” she says. “CJ’s commitment to showcasing safe practices and her willingness to mentor others online aligns perfectly with our values. She’s not only helping to build awareness around road safety, but also encouraging continuous learning and proper training within the industry.”
Through this journey with HELLA, CJ has received an even greater amount of exposure to and appreciation for the industry that she’s devoted nearly a decade of her life to. One such experience, the HELLA-sponsored tour of trailer builder Vawdrey’s factory in Melbourne, particularly broadened the scope of commercial transport for CJ and allowed her to share these insights with her followers.
“When you’re a truck driver, you’re in this bubble of moving freight in one way,” she says. “You don’t really think of the other sides of the industry, and how personalised freight can be for each
customer. The sheer size of Vawdrey’s facilities and operations, and their continued growth really showed me this.”
A recent tour of the HELLA New Zealand manufacturing facility in Auckland provided her with an inside look at the company’s manufacturing process. Some 80 per cent of heavy vehicle trailers on Australian roads are equipped with HELLA lighting, a majority of which comes from the New Zealand factory. Some of these products will be showcased at this year’s Brisbane Truck Show, including the newest DuraLED rear combination lamps (DuraLED Prime) which CJ got to see rst-hand in New Zealand.
“It was amazing to see the precision and technology that goes into manufacturing,” CJ recalls of her visit. “This gave me a much better understanding of the intricacies of the products and the knowledge HELLA has on the industry and their customers.”
HELLA, Glareh says, is proud of its longstanding history and the reliability and quality of the solutions and products
it supplies customers.
“But it’s more than that. To keep the industry moving forward we have a responsibility to contribute to the community, invest in innovation and support the next generation of drivers, technicians and industry professionals who will shape a more sustainable, resilient future,” she says. “Talents like CJ have the power to inspire a new generation who will drive the industry forward.”
And inspiring a new generation she is. CJ’s passion for the industry and drive for knowledge-sharing has also seen her engaged in motivational presentations on her trucking career to students at the Kangan Institute of TAFE, and a speech on International Women’s Day at the New Zealand Truck Show.
“TAFEs are a gateway for young talent to enter the industry and offer quality training that sets the foundation for long and successful careers in transport,”
Glareh says. “We’re excited to see how we can support CJ in these types of activities
— to encourage new entrants, and help create a more diverse, inclusive industry that re ects the communities it serves.”
Similar events will be held at this year’s Brisbane Truck Show, which CJ has also been chosen to represent as an event ambassador.
“I’ll be doing a lot of meet-and-greets, and I’ll de nitely be at the HELLA stand at points of the event,” says CJ. “Being at Truck Week in Brisbane, there will be quite a lot of educational programs being hosted, which look at different trade pathways, so I understand I’ll be playing a role in that, too.”
For CJ, the ability to connect with her audience is a top priority.
“I just love meeting people,” she adds. “It’s one thing to see a username leave a comment under a video of mine. But seeing someone in-person, it makes all those numbers and usernames a bit more tangible. They’re real people. Hearing their feedback on my content, what I’m doing well or what I could do better, it’s so great.”
In addition to these meet-and-greet opportunities, CJ is also excited to see the new technology which will be shown at the Truck Show, including the HELLA Antares driving lights which she played a pivotal role in launching – even driving the Antares 9-inch lights over an epic eastto-west trip and back prior to the launch.
“Being trusted by HELLA as the rst person to truly put these lights to the test and having the team eager to listen to my experience is a testament to our relationship,” she says.
The company is soon to release the 7-inch version of the Antares (showcasing at the Truck Show), which CJ will also have a chance to try.
“Getting to see some of the new technology at the Brisbane Truck Show is a great opportunity to get some insight into where the industry is at the moment,” CJ says. “Before being a show ambassador, when I went by myself a couple of years back, I learned so much. So, I can’t imagine how much I’ll be learning this time around.”
Celebrating 50 years of service within the transport industry, Tramanco will attend this year’s Brisbane Truck Show to show o its latest breakthroughs and celebrate its milestone with loyal customers.
In an industry rife with competition from producers of all shapes and sizes, Tramanco has long enjoyed great success by offering consistently innovative manufacturing solutions to transport operators. The Brisbane-based company is a family operation which was started in 1975 by Roger Sack and his wife, Judith, who have worked tirelessly to pioneer
numerous technologies across a variety of applications.
Tramanco has gradually grown over ve decades of quality manufacturing. Currently boasting 15 staff members and several full-time subcontractors, the business’ weighing systems and on-board scales including CHEK-WAY, KWIK-CHEK and WAY-Bridges are greatly ampli ed by connections with
dealers across Australia, New Zealand and South East Asia.
While having effectively operated Tramanco’s larger operations and product lines for some time, Roger still takes immense pride in the company’s local origins which have greatly informed its quality assurance, attention to detail and customer service.
“Just like its products, Tramanco is also Australian made,” he says. “When dealing with Tramanco, customers are dealing with the one company that designs and makes its own products from the ground up.
“We also write our own software inhouse, so customer data is not only unique but it also allows us to remove and reinstall and/or relocate existing systems to new vehicles and locations at any time.Customers are our singular focus and responsibility.”
Roger is looking forward to showcasing the latest improvements to the CHEKWAY range at this year’s Brisbane Truck show, an event which he says is strongly embedded into the company’s history.
“I was there for the rst show in 1968 which was held in Haulmark Trailers’ yard,” he says. “We then attended in our own right in 1975 and we have been to every one since. I believe in road transport and know how critical it
“The last 50 years have been an adventure. Tramanco has faced challenges, disappointments and rewards together with its customers, and we would not be here without each and every one of them.”
Roger Sack Tramanco Co-Founder
is, and these events show that well.”
In addition to displaying Tramanco’s latest product offering at the Brisbane Truck show this month, Roger is also excited to celebrate the company’s 50th anniversary. Tramanco postponed commemorating the milestone earlier this year so that it could be recognised alongside the company’s loyal customers, all of whom have been integral to the company’s long journey.
“Instead of us having a birthday party and receiving presents from family
and friends, we’ve decided to give our customers a present instead in a meaningful way,” he says.
Re ecting on how far Tramanco has come in this time, Roger is grateful to have had a strong customer base by the business’ side every step of the way.
“The last 50 years have been an adventure,” he says. “Tramanco has faced challenges, disappointments and rewards together with its customers, and we would not be here without each and every one of them.”
Cummins X15 powertrain.
Cummins’ new generation 15-litre engine rated at 660hp will be a top talking point at the Brisbane Truck Show.
The X15D – or PX-15 as it is known in PACCAR’s newlyreleased DAF XG cabover
– is an entirely new 15-litre Cummins platform, available only with Euro 6 emissions compliance.
“Cummins has taken internal combustion to the next level with the X15D,” says Sean McLean, Director and General Manager of On-Highway Business for Cummins Asia Paci c. “It delivers the highest-ever outputs for a Cummins truck engine while setting new standards for fuel ef ciency at ultra-low emissions levels.”
The top rating is 660hp at 1800rpm backed up by massive peak torque of 2360 lb/ft which extends from 1400rpm all the way back to 900rpm.
This rating eclipses the existing X15 peak outputs of 625hp/2050lb/ ft and enhances Cummins’ engine downspeeding strategy for improved fuel economy.
This strategy is aimed at lowering cruise rpm for fuel ef ciency gains while at the same time providing the performance to meet both driver and trip time expectations.
Another key feature is the X15D’s dry weight reduction of 225kg compared with the existing X15.
A sculpted iron block and composite oil pan are among the weight saving features that result in the X15D having the highest power-to-weight density in the industry. The lighter engine is also a big advantage in cabover applications, providing signi cantly reduced front axle tare weight.
The latest evolution of Cummins’ XPI (Extreme Pressure Injection) fuel system is used on the X15D as is a standard wastegate turbocharger.
Euro 6 emissions compliance is achieved with single module aftertreatment technology that integrates both the diesel particulate lter (DPF) and AdBlue SCR system.
The rst example of the new 15-litre platform is already underway with the PX-15 branded engine in Paccar’s
new DAF XG cabover. ZF’s automated 16-speed TraXon transmission harnesses the high torque of the PX-15 and drives through to Cummins-Meritor MT21165 rears.
Gross combination mass (GCM) rating of the DAF XG is 97 tonnes.
The X15D will be available for other truck brands to meet Euro 6 requirements into the future, with higher GCM applications in Australia following further eld testing and validation.
Eagerly awaited will be an Eaton Cummins automated 18-speed Endurant transmission to handle the 2360 lb/ft torque rating.
“Initial eld testing of the engine has focused on B-double type applications.” says Sean. “Eighteen units rated at 660hp have been involved in the validation program with customers, accumulating around six million kilometres.”
The program has since met the primary objectives of Cummins.
“That was to gain feedback on fuel economy, performance and durability,” Sean says. “We’ve had great feedback, especially on driveability and torque.”
He points out that Cummins will continue to eld test in higher gross weight combinations to ensure durability and performance of the X15D prior to release in these applications.
The X15D is part of Cummins ‘fuel agnostic’ platform known as HELM – Higher Ef ciency, Lower emissions, Multiple fuels – which comprises diesel, natural gas and hydrogen internal combustion engines derived from a common base with high parts commonality. A HELM display will be featured at the Brisbane Truck Show.
The remarkable transformation of Cummins in recent years to become a genuine powertrain supplier – from engine to transmission to axles and brakes – will also be in evidence for the rst time in Australia at the show.
A world- rst display showing the integration of Cummins X15 engine, Eaton Cummins 18-speed Endurant speed transmission, and Meritor driveline, axles and brakes – will be in the spotlight at Brisbane.
This year will see the biggest launch in Isuzu’s history with changes made to virtually every component across the entire range.
After 36 years as number one in Australian truck sales, Isuzu is showing that it isn’t at all complacent as it rolls out its most comprehensive collection of updates since 2008. Isuzu has used the positioning statement “reliability is everything” for a number of years and to maintain its position of strength in the markets in which it operates, Isuzu has formed global strategic alliances which will deliver bene ts resulting from the jointly-developed and shared technologies. As Isuzu’s acquisition of UD Trucks continues to transition, development in the autonomous vehicle space will be jointly carried out with the Volvo Group, while electri cation and hydrogen fuel cell technology will be a co-operation between Isuzu and Honda. Future diesel engine developments will be bolstered by the relationships with UD Trucks (now owned by Isuzu) and engine manufacturer Cummins. Isuzu is also an active member of the CJPT (Japan Joint Partnership Technologies) which involves both truck and car manufacturers based in Japan.
The suite of safety features in the
MY25 Isuzu range goes far beyond the mandatory Australian Design Rules coming into effect during 2025. ADR 35/07 requiring Stability Control and ADR 97/00 requiring Autonomous Emergency Braking both came into effect in February 2025, while the latest emission standard known here as ADR 80/04 (equivalent to EURO VI, Japan’s pPNLT and US EPA10 regulations) is needed by new trucks from November this year.
Isuzu’s latest Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) has plenty of acronyms to try and understand and there may be some models such as 4x4s and the few models left available with manual transmissions which don’t get all of them. A key element of the safety and driver support systems is a new stereo camera combined with a radar emitter/receiver. Safety features include Attention Alert System (AAS) which monitors driver behaviour, Intersection Warning System (IWS) and Intersection Autonomous Emergency Braking, Full Speed Adaptive Cruise Control (F-ACC) and Front Cross Traf c Alert (FCTA) which is great when trying to join a main road at an
intersection with a side street. The Miss Acceleration Mitigation (MAM) feature helps prevent rear ending incidents when driving in slow traf c and the accelerator is pressed at the same time as the vehicle in front stops unexpectantly. The combination of Traf c Sign Recognition (TSR) and the Intelligent Speed Limiter (ISL) will help with safety and for drivers to avoid speeding penalties. Should a driver inadvertently miss a reduction in the currently posted speed limit, a warning is displayed on the instrument display and the driver also receives an audible alert.
All of the safety features are in default activation and as one Isuzu executive quipped: “The driver has to deliberately push a button to make the truck less safe and more dangerous.”
A change that is immediately noticeable is the passive entry and start system which is quite similar to what is becoming the norm in passenger cars. An electronic proximity fob can be used to unlock the doors (with a conventional key for backup if the fob’s battery is at) and a small button switch is located on the door handle that operates the same as
keyless entry on a car. The fob must be within 50cm of the truck and the engine can be started by turning a rotary switch located on the steering column similar to the operation of a conventional ignition key.
Isuzu has embraced the latest in LED lighting technologies, with all lights front and rear being LED as well as the cab interior illumination. The signature front lamps feature adaptive driving beams and cornering lamps which are activated by the indicator stalk switch and illuminate the kerbside as a safety measure. For this initial exercise we are provided an NLR 45 150 Traypack which is loaded with an Isuzu electric generator, and a ballasted NHR 45 150 pantech van which represents the typical spec for the rental eet market as well as the burgeoning ‘to your door’ grocery delivery sector. The Traypack is an example of the Isuzu models targeting the ‘truck versus ute’ market and some models can be had with independent coil front suspension instead of the harsher riding leaf spring setups.
The MY25 N Series has 153 models, 38 (45 per cent) of which are sub-4,500kg GVM allowing them to be operated by
holders of standard car licences. The nal test unit we are provided with for this exercise is a FRD 110 240 equipped with a Pantech body which typi es the type of vehicle popular in urban delivery applications. With such an expansive range of trucks on offer it can be expected that there will be plenty more opportunities to conduct further driving
assessments over the next while in order to appreciate the differentiation between models.
High technology electronics aside, we are keen to nd what the new Isuzu’s are like on the road. Due to time constraints, we only get to spend less than an hour in each model during this initial opportunity yet we are able to experience
driving in a variety of circumstances ranging from major highways, congested built up areas and typical industrial suburbs. The comfort in the cabs is rst class, not just for the driver but for the passengers as well — even the poor sods who occupied the central jump seat on a couple of legs, thankfully in the wide cab version of the N Series which can easily accommodate three adults without their elbows knocking together.
The latest in air suspended ISRI seating is tted for the drivers of the new F Series. The wide range of seat adjustments and for the steering wheels in both the N and F Series combined with the smaller diameter steering wheels allow every driver to nd their optimum driving positions. The steering wheels are tted with thumb switches for functions such as audio and the various cruise controls. Automatic climate control is now standard across all models, as is the all new specialised glass which results in cooler cabins, lessening demand on the air conditioning, even resulting in a small reduction in fuel usage as the engine doesn’t have to drive the air conditioning
compressor as much. The glass used in the doors and rear windows cuts ultra-violet rays by 90 per cent and infra-red by 50 to 55 per cent. The front windscreen cuts ultra-violet by 99 per cent and infra-red emission by 57 to 59 per cent. These results are without any aftermarket tinting being applied.
For the latest N Series, a new ninespeed dual clutch Automated Manual Transmission replaces the previous sixspeed AMT and is connected to the engine by a uid clutch not dissimilar to a torque convertor. Referred to as the MRY9S, this is a terri c transmission and is available with the 4JZ1 engine rated at 150 to 175PS. The existing MZZ6 six-speed AMT continues to be available with the more powerful 190PS 4HK1 engine. Dual clutch AMTs have been tried before by other light truck manufacturers but are no comparison with this latest Isuzu gearbox. It defaults to second gear for most startoffs and the upshifts occur seamlessly, even skipping gears if the situation warrants it. The ratios are well spaced and there is never any suggestion of it being unsure which gear should be selected
next, on either up-shifts or down shifts. It is very impressive and actually has a form of machine learning and quickly adapts to the operator’s individual driving style. Eighth and ninth gears are overdrives, contributing to fuel ef ciency.
The N Series trucks now have electronic parking brakes, which will be welcomed by all drivers and particularly those local government bodies which require such features.
The new engine line up across the ranges includes the four cylinder 4HK1 which develops 240PS (177kW) and 765Nm of torque. The EURO VI DB6A six cylinder is available in two versions — the TCN rated at 260PS (191kW) and 883Nm of maximum torque which is available across the wide band between 1,000 and 2,070 rpm, or the TCC which is also EURO VI compliant and has 300PS (221kW) available with 981Nm of maximum torque across the slightly wider 1,000 to 2,100rpm range.
The new FR Series will be available in Day, ‘Rest’ and Crew cab con gurations and will be powered by the four cylinder 4HK1 engine backed by either an automated manual transmission or the familiar Allison full automatic. The FR cab chassis has eight wheelbases available, while the FS has seven.
Buyers of the FS can have the option of the FR driveline or the DB6A EURO VI six-cylinder engine which is only available with the Allison. This engine features an engine compression brake. The frame is stronger (620MPa) which will make it very suitable to applications that put lots of load on the chassis mid-wheelbase such as tilt trays.
The MY25 Isuzu range provides a signi cant opportunity for buyers large and small to tailor their truck to their own requirements. Isuzu has done a great job from the applications of the latest technologies and drivelines, to relocating their own front badge onto the grille to free up the panel beneath the windscreen for the owner’s use for signwriting and promoting their business.
It’s less signi cant, yet still thoughtful, details such as this which help keep Isuzu as the market leader.
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New Followmont Transport CEO, Ross Longmire, talks natural disasters, sta retention, life at Toll and the generosity of spirit shown across the industry when it comes to banding together in troubled times.
After 20 years with Toll, Ross Longmire joined Followmont Transport in late 2021 and was appointed CEO in late 2024.
Prime Mover: You transitioned from a big corporate entity to what is essentially a familyrun company. From a senior management perspective is there a lot of difference?
Ross Longmire: I didn’t come from a transport family, and it’s been almost 24 years since I got into transport. During my rst 20 years at Toll, I moved around Australia in numerous state roles. I think the biggest difference
now is probably the speed in which a decision can become an action. The large corporate structure probably wasn’t for me in the longer term, and having known Followmont for 15 years, and a couple of those years as a customer, the opportunity came up with Mark Tobin to join Followmont. I thoroughly enjoy the family feel and the culture inside the Followmont team.
PM: The Australian road transport industry has a lot of challenges anyway, but particularly with what the industry has had to deal with during recent weather events on the East Coast. What things
does the industry do well in such circumstances?
RL: The industry support and relationships were clearly evidenced through any of the recent natural disasters, including support from the Queensland Trucking Association and other industry bodies which have the right level of engagement to understand what the road network is like and the importance of freight getting through. At those times the industry works really well together in the way they communicate with one another, and the way they’ll work together to get the most important items to their destinations, whether it’s pharmaceuticals, health care products,
generators, food or even items for the clean-up. They engage very well to make those things happen. There’s enough freight moving around Australia for everyone to do their own little bit and to see any differences put aside at those times is just amazing. I’m certain there aren’t too many other industries which would do it as well as road transport.
PM: Does that spirit of cooperation at the corporate level ow throughout the entire organisation?
RL: It’s at a driver level as well. You’ll see the older experienced drivers who’ve been through this sort of thing before supporting the younger drivers, not just inside Followmont. We’ve also had some other carriers ask if they could run up through Queensland with some of our drivers to be able to know the right way to handle the
circumstances. And it’s just the right thing to do. It’s not questioned and it’s not seen as a competitive advantage for our business. I’m sure similar things happen right throughout the industry. At a time when drivers for many operators were incredibly uncomfortable, we looked at how to go about making them more comfortable.
PM: Is enough being done to address the shortage of a skilled workforce, including drivers?
RL: I see this as the most signi cant challenge we have inside the business that we can in uence. We want to make sure we continue to grow a career pathway and provide progression opportunities for people. Followmont has a heavy investment in our internal training and also the leadership development of our people. We love seeing people come into the business and progress through. It’s going to be critical for the overall industry across the next few years to look at how we can actually do better than what we are doing at the moment.
PM: Recruitment is one step but is getting people to stay in the industry a bigger challenge?
RL: It certainly is. When you go through events like we’ve had during the last couple of months it’s really hard on them. They can plan to be away for one day and end up being away for three, and that disrupts not just the drivers, but it disrupts their families as well. At a family company like Followmont you can really see the focus on the impacts on families. It’s important for us to support our people and have them for the long haul. Retention isn’t just about pay or bene ts, it’s about making sure our people know they’re a part of something. We’ve got multiple generations of families working here, and it’s almost a competition to see who has the most relatives in the business. That sense of connection is what makes Followmont different.
PM: Can technology be implemented to play a part in attracting and retaining people?
RL: It’s essentially about improving comfort. As the new models come out you can see the increased focus on creating the right environment for the drivers. It’s a lot more prevalent than it was 20 years ago. At Followmont all of our vehicles used in linehaul have camera technology installed in them. We’re also looking at how we can further utilise that vision for driver training and understanding factors such as the impact of other road users’ behaviour on them. When we look at the fatigue technology we want to utilise the lead-up before the eyes are seen closing and how we can start to recognise the patterns prior to that point in order to alert people to a potential fatigue event. I absolutely think such technology is going to be even more critical as we move forward. I think we’ll start to see signi cant change in that space during the next three to ve years. Hopefully sooner if it makes the roads safer. I think there’s an exciting time ahead with the potential for use of Arti cial Intelligence in transport given the amount of data we capture.
PM: Followmont has always been an early adopter of technology. You’ve also got a couple of electric trucks. Is this a serious ‘toe in the water’ or is it about being seen to be ‘green’?
RL: We’ve got two electric Volvos working inside the network at the moment. For us it is a serious move. We like to be early adopters and that’s why we made the decision to go with a rigid and a prime mover because we wanted to understand where the right opportunity would be for those vehicles going forward. We wanted to make sure we were understanding early-on what the potential downsides and upsides were. When we see the sustainability changes become more ef cient, whether hydrogen or electric, and able to be used more widely inside networks, then we will know what we need to do and where we need to be.
LAuthor and transport pioneer Lynette Gray.
Transport operator, coach driver, mentor and author, Lynette Gray has had a remarkable career.
ynette Gray’s plan when she left school was to study wedding dress design and work in a bridal and fabric shop. However, that didn’t last very long. She took a very different career path and instead worked in the of ce at Simon National Carriers for three years.
“I came off the land and my family always had trucks, so I’ve been around them all my life,” Lynette says. “The grain farm morphed into grain and cattle cartage using roadtrains and I can still recall going in the truck with Dad to the grain dump as a young girl.”
Those three years at Simon National Carriers were the beginning of Lynette’s passion for the transport industry. In 1997 she and her then-husband started their own transport business Kwik ‘n’ Kool Refrigerated Couriers.
“I was six months pregnant with our third baby,” Lynette recalls. “It sounds insane now, but you did what you had to do. It was just the two of us at rst and the baby was born on a Friday, by the following Tuesday I was back in the vehicle.”
Over the next 18 years the business grew, expanding to ve refrigerated vehicles operating from Toowoomba and servicing southeast Queensland, Brisbane and as far as Byron Bay, Bundaberg, Charleville and Quilpie.
Eventually, the business was sold and Lynette felt ready for a change which led her to coach driving where she experienced something of an epiphany. “When you drive around the streets, how many times do you actually notice the bus driver? You see the bus, but you never really look at the driver,” Lynette says. “When I was driving a coach, I would always wave at every truck driver who went past. My theory was, if I wave, I might help alter their concentration and keep them awake.”
After the relentless demands of the refrigerated transport business, coach driving gave Lynette the opportunity to step back, regroup, and determine her next direction. This involved further study and training to be a heavy vehicle driver trainer.
“I wanted to stay in transport in some way because when you’re on the road, you see many things that shouldn’t happen,” she says. “You ask yourself ‘what can I do to improve this?’”
Coach driving shares many similarities with truck driving including pre-start checks, schedules, timetables and the added responsibility of passengers. Like truck drivers, coach drivers handle loading and unloading except, instead of freight, it’s luggage by hand. They also clean the vehicles regularly and undergo inspections by NHVR safety compliance
of cers, ensuring both driver and passenger safety at all times.
By 2014 Lynette felt compelled to raise awareness of the presence of women in Australia’s blue-collar industries. The result was her rst book, a collection of stories about inspirational Australian women who had broken through barriers in male-dominated elds.
“I was at a Queensland Trucking Association breakfast and decided we needed to do something about raising the percentage of women driving in the transport industry. That’s what led me to write Women in Workboots, which highlights women in male-dominated industries, whether they’re plumbers, carpenters or other tradespeople,” recalls Lynette. “I wanted to encourage schoolleaving girls to know they could pursue hands-on careers rather than being pushed into roles like hairdressing or reception work because they weren’t going to university.”
She adds, “I wanted to let them know they had options and support.”
Lynette recognises the nancial challenges faced by many small, familyowned, single operator transport businesses. The support needed for truck drivers led to her next book Your Roadmap to Pro t, aimed primarily at the various people who support truck drivers.
“Initially, I thought I’d do something for owner-drivers from a business perspective,” she says. “I looked to my brother who has been a truck driver all his life and thought: ‘If Paul nds this valuable, then it’s worth doing’. Wives, partners, business owners, suppliers and supporters all need to know what the drivers are going through and need to understand what drivers go through. That’s who this book is for.”
In early 2025, Lynette stepped away from coach driving, and along with another experienced coach driver, Shane Adamson, founded a consultancy business. Shane, who has extensive experience in caravan park management, sales and marketing, and various media brings a diverse skill set to their venture. Together, they now provide support to
those operating within the transport industry, drawing from their combined knowledge and hands-on experience. “I didn’t go through all the pain and tribulations of 19 years in business just to keep that knowledge to myself. If someone else can bene t from my experiences, then I want to share it,” she says. “Being in business can be the loneliest place in the world. There are certain things you just can’t talk about with your family. They may try to understand, but sometimes they simply don’t. There can even be a sense of shame: you worry about what they’ll think. And you can’t share everything with your employees, except maybe your accountant and solicitor. Sometimes you just need someone to con de in, someone to talk to, or even a round table
discussion. Most people have the answers within them, they just need con rmation they are making the right decisions.”
Lynette is an active member of a number of industry associations including Transport Women Australia Limited (TWAL) and values the support such groups can provide.
“They know who to refer you to for a chat,” she says.
Lynette is greatly encouraged by what she sees happening in the transport industry at the minute, with what she views as being emerging opportunities for inclusivity. She offers some pragmatic advice:
“Don’t let what you nd hard control your mind,” she says. “Confront what you fear head-on and turn those struggles into the building blocks of the future.”
BOB EDWARDS
The National Heavy Vehicle Law applies to Queensland, New South Wales, Australian Capital Territory, Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia. This article refers to the NHVR States and the ACT. Western Australia and Northern Territory operate under their respective laws and are not covered in this article. However, WA and NT use VSB 6 as their primary guide to vehicle modi cations and is commonly used by approved persons in those locations. Heavy Vehicles are motor vehicles and trailers with a manufacturer’s GVM or ATM exceeding 4500 kg.
Section 85 of the National Heavy Vehicle Law states that a person must not modify a heavy vehicle unless the modi cation has been approved by an approved vehicle examiner (AVE) under Section 86 or the Regulator under Section 87. A modi cation is a safety- or compliancechange from the manufacturer’s speci cation.
Approved vehicle examiner means a person approved as a vehicle examiner under the national regulations. The various states use different terminologies for their AVEs. Victorian AVEs are called VASS and South Australian AVEs are called RES Tasmania’s are AVCs). The individual states authorise resident AVEs, except for Queensland where AVEs are now managed by the Regulator. Ultimately the Regulator will manage all AVEs if and when the states transfer
the responsibilities to the NHVR, but that has been a long time coming. All Certi cates and Approval/Modi cation Plates or labels issued under Section 86 of the National Law are accepted in all NHVR jurisdictions. Western Australia and the NT have an approved examiner list. Certi cates issued in these jurisdictions are not nationally recognised.
Section 87 of the National Law provides for the NHVR to issue approvals for alterations that are not covered by, or do not meet the requirements of VSB6. This is not the usual process but is available where required. Applications for Section 87 approval are submitted direct to the Regulator. Using an AVE to help with this process is advisable.
Vehicle Ratings (Section S) and Tow Trucks (Section T). All modi ers should read the relevant sections when planning the work.
Vehicle Standards Bulletin 6 (VSB6) V3.2: National Code of Practice Heavy Vehicle Modi cations is the national standard for the most common modi cations made to heavy vehicles. Under the NHVR Code of Practice for the Approval of Heavy Vehicle Modi cations (PDF, 506KB) the NHVR has set VSB6 as the primary standard used by Approved Vehicle Examiners (AVEs) to approve modi cations to heavy vehicles. The Code is freely available on the NHVR website.
The Code includes all administrative and technical requirements for modi cation approval VSB 6 and includes Inspection Checklists and Reports to be completed by the AVE. These are retained by the AVE and may be requested to be supplied to the Regulator or accrediting authority.
The technical requirements in VSB 6 include requirements for Engines (Section A), Transmissions (Section B), Tail Shafts (Section C), Rear Axles and wheels (Section D), Front Axles, steering and wheels (Section E), Suspension (Section F), Brakes (Section G), Chassis (Section H), Body Mounting (Section J), Cabin (Section K), Fuel Systems (Section M), Tow Couplings (Section P), Vehicle Mounted Lifting Systems (Section R),
The above is a simpli cation of the requirements. Full details, including breaking each VSB 6 section into subsections, need to be read to understand the various requirements. VSB 6 is available online via the NHVR Web Site. VSB 6 provides guidance for AVEs and is a useful document for vehicle modi ers. However, there is a risk of rework or component replacement if modi ers use VSB 6 without consulting an AVE prior to commencing any alterations. The AVE will understand the intricacies of the requirements and will give guidance above and beyond what is in VSB 6.
The rule does not address the higherlevel modelling assessments required in some cases that need an AVE with the education and training required to determine that compliance is achieved.
The Tow Truck Design (Section T2) and Tipper Body Design (Section J4) requirements are sections that need a higher engineering knowledge than some other sections and as a consequence, not all AVEs will be granted accreditation for these two codes. Other codes may also not be granted to all AVEs.
Bob Edwards ARTSA-I Life Member
Over the past couple of years in this column I have discussed the dif culties of decarbonising the heavy vehicle road freight sector, an issue not just facing Australia, but a global problem. I have also detailed that the Truck Industry Council (TIC) remains open to all forms of decarbonisation in the road freight sector, including new more fuel ef cient trucks, hybrids, battery electric vehicles, freight productivity (moving more freight with fewer trucks), eTrailers, modal shift, hydrogen and any other decarbonising solution that may eventuate over the coming years. In my column last month, I detailed the global headwinds that hydrogen was facing in the immediate term, suggesting that, while hydrogen will likely play a role in decarbonising transport over time, the immediate case for hydrogen trucks is selected trials to determine viable use cases and highlight any issues and problems that arise from the fuel and the technology. In my October 2024 column I discussed the issue of sustainable, or renewable, or low carbon, fuels. A brief recap of that piece; to start with, the term low carbon fuel is not technically correct, as these fuels have about the same carbon content as mineral diesel, that is where the energy of the fuel is derived. Sustainable, or renewable fuel, is a more appropriate term, as
these fuels are typically derived from plants that have captured CO2 from the atmosphere whilst growing and that CO2 is released again when the fuel is burnt in an internal combustion engine (ICE). The result is no net gain in CO2 released into the atmosphere. There are some caveats that need to be applied to this process. Energy will be required to grow, harvest, transport and process the plant crops to produce sustainable fuels and depending on how ‘green’ these processes are, will determine the level of CO2 intensity of the fuel. There are international carbon accounting measures that are used to calculate how sustainable a speci c batch of fuel manufactured by this process is. Currently, R100 (100 per cent renewable diesel) being used for truck and machinery trials in Australia, supplied from Singapore, offsets just over 90 per cent of CO2 emissions when compared with mineral diesel.
Another issue that gets raised in sustainable fuel discussions is that of land use, food versus fuel crops, etc. Currently Australia exports approximately 60 per cent of its canola crop to Europe and Asia for sustainable fuel production, whilst the majority of our used cooking oil is exported to the USA for their sustainable fuel manufacturing. Were Australia to keep and process those feedstocks here, we would go close to providing enough renewable diesel to run our truck eet on a R20 renewable diesel blend, without land use change, nor effecting the canola supply for food products. An important part of the Albanese Government’s Future Made in Australia Innovation Fund is a Guarantee of Origin (GoO) scheme. The intent of the GoO scheme is to track and verify
emissions associated with low emissions products and provide an enduring mechanism to certify renewable electricity, green hydrogen, sustainable fuels, etc. The scheme will help unlock economic opportunities for Australian industry to meet growing domestic and international demand for veri ed renewable power, fuels and other “clean” (green) products.
Sustainable fuels are proven technologies that are already being produced and adopted globally. These products are immediately compatible with existing infrastructure and the Australian truck eet. They can serve as drop-in replacements for current mineral diesel. With increasing demand for these products both domestically and internationally and with sustainable fuel projects in active development in Australia, these low carbon fuels will be key contributors to Australia’s decarbonisation pathway. Given the widespread recognition of the readiness, availability, and feasibility of sustainable fuels, the missing piece is a GoO scheme that will allow these fuels to have veri ed renewable carbon intensity and permit users of these fuels to claim con rmed carbon abatement. As you are reading this column, the Australian federal election, scheduled for early May, has probably been run and won and TIC cautions whoever has secured government to look and learn from global decarbonisation efforts and develop realistic policy settings that can work for the Australian road freight sector in the short- to mid-term. This must include sustainable transport fuels with a Guarantee of Origin.
Tony McMullan CEO, Truck Industry Council
As we re ect on the discussions and insights shared at the March VTA State Conference, it is worth re ecting on the future of freight movement in Australia. The theme of this year’s conference, ‘Safety First: Empowering People, Boosting Productivity, Shaping Transport’s Future,’ underscored the importance of a holistic approach to our industry. Our discussions extended beyond road freight to include a comprehensive intermodal strategy that integrates road, rail, air, and sea transport.
The necessity for intermodal connectivity cannot be overstated.
In my role as VTA CEO, and in over 40 years working in the transport industry, I have seen rsthand the challenges and opportunities within our industry. The future of freight movement hinges on our ability to seamlessly connect various modes of transport. This integration is vital to maintaining and improving the standard of living for all Australians. Heavy vehicles play a unique and irreplaceable role in the delivery process. While ships, trains, and planes are essential for transporting goods over long distances, it is the trucks that ensure these goods reach their nal destinations. The volumes of freight are not going to decrease, and the physical handling of goods remains indispensable. We must strive to move these goods in the most productive,
ef cient, and safe manner possible. However, the current infrastructure is insuf cient to meet future logistics demands. Building more roads alone will not solve the problem. We need to explore and invest in other modes of transport to handle the increasing freight volumes. This requires a concerted effort from all stakeholders, including government agencies, industry operators, and associations.
Productivity gains and continuous improvement are essential for the future of our industry and were a focus of much discussion at the conference. By adopting innovative technologies and optimising our logistics processes, we can enhance ef ciency and reduce operational costs. Embracing automation, data analytics, and advanced supply chain management practices will enable us to meet the growing demands of our customers while maintaining high standards of safety and service. These improvements are not just bene cial but necessary to stay competitive in a rapidly evolving market. Unfortunately, support from some Federal Government agencies has been lacking.
The focus on autonomous vehicles and the competition between different modes of transport is regressive. We need policies that promote intermodal harmonisation and support the entire transport and logistics industry. Agencies like Austroads and the National Transport Commission must step up their game. They need to engage with the industry and develop policies that improve the working environment for all stakeholders.
The slow progress of the national heavy vehicle driver licensing framework and the Heavy Vehicle National Law review is another area of concern. We need welltrained and competent heavy vehicle
drivers from the start of their careers. The ongoing review, which began in 2017, has yet to produce signi cant changes or a clear pathway for improvement. This delay hampers our industry’s ability to operate ef ciently and safely.
The Victorian Government, on the other hand, has shown strong support for our industry. Major infrastructure projects like the West Gate Tunnel Project and the North East Link are set to transform freight movement in the state. These projects will signi cantly improve productivity and reduce travel times, bene ting the entire industry.
The government’s commitment to road maintenance and stakeholder engagement is also commendable.
Investing an average of $2.6 million daily in road maintenance ensures that our roads can support the heavy vehicle movements essential for our economy. The future of freight movement in Australia depends on our ability to embrace intermodal connectivity and develop robust logistics policies. We must work together to create an environment that supports the ef cient and safe movement of goods.
The VTA will continue to advocate for our industry, calling out those who hold us back and push for the necessary changes.
With the right support and understanding from government agencies, we can boost productivity, enhance safety, and shape a prosperous future for the transport and logistics industry. The collaboration between public and private sectors is essential to achieving these goals and ensuring a resilient and ef cient freight system for the years to come.
Peter Anderson CEO, VTA
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