BUSINESS
| VEHICLES | TRENDS
N O 2/2017
WWW.SCANIA.COM.AU
#18
EXPERIENCE UPTIME
Family Friendly Scania’s suite of business solutions helps this regional logistics supplier to become more efficient Tailored solutions
Love at first sight
DELIVERING ON THE SCANIA PROMISE
TONY NESCI’S 1990 113H DAILY-DRIVER
Tailored Finan Solutions Whatever the size of your fleet, whatever the application, Scania Finance Australia can tailor a funding solution that perfectly meets your need and the needs of your business. We offer a full range of funding options for vehicle renewal, to preserve your capital and enhance your cash flow. We can structure an operating lease that includes repair and maintenance so all your running costs, except fuel, are covered by one monthly payment. We have flexible loan terms from 12 to 84 months, and we can offer you no-risk financing where you simply hand back the vehicle at the end of the term, with no residual value worries. Talk to us today to find out how we can swap you out of your existing vehicle into a new, fuel efficient, safe and comfortable Scania, that could cost you less to run, saving you even more.
Scania Finance Australia www.scania.com.au Phone: 1300 695 226
ncial Scania Finance Australia
August 2017
28
CONTENTS Scania Experience No.18 6 News
Sales are strong, new G-series and V8 engines unveiled, S 500 stops the Brisbane Truck Show.
14 Scania adds strength to LINX
A new name in logistics has reason to enjoy Scania's near 50-years' worth of V8 expertise.
18 Cover Story: Family Friendly
Pickering Transport Group tests Scania's mettle and our Optimise monitoring system with positive results.
23 Spreading the word
Low speed stability and comfort ensure fertilizer spreader Cameron Martin is outstanding in his field.
24 Simon says try Scania for service
Queensland customer Simon National Carriers is enjoying First Class service from Scania Richlands.
36
28 Taking a fresh approach
A family-owned and run logistics company continues to benefit from Scania power and performance.
32 Cleaning up in FNQ
Laundry business Alsco finds Scania hard to beat and hard to break.
34 Carrying cars in style
40
Cairns to Townsville daily is no chore for Alf di Salvo and his G 440.
36 Never going to let you down
After millions of km in Scanias, Mark Van Diemen is reluctant to trade-in his prize-winning 2003 124G.
40 Love at first sight
Tony Nesci's long love affair with Scania prompted a detailed restoration of his daily-driver, a 113H.
46 Positive impact
Dyson Bus Service is reaping the benefits of Scania Optimise driver training and follow-up coaching.
48 Power ranger
Australia Wide Coaches adds three new IRIZAR i6s riding on Scania chassis and drivelines.
18
60
Editorial
50 Dependable power
The Eurong Beach Resort on Fraser Island is powered by Scania gensets installed by Shellby Power.
54 Linking service and efficiency
Scania's service agent Country Link is bringing efficient power to Queensland's cotton growers.
57 Growing more profitable
Simon Corish is a third generation farmer now cutting his irrigation water pump fuel bill almost in half.
60 Cottoning on to Scania
Carrington Farms makes some of the worlds finest cotton and benefits from Scania's pumping engine efficiencies.
62 Riding the wave of interest
Maritimo's luxury pleasure craft customers are being seduced by Scania's marine power performance.
64 Service Directory
Where to find all our service and emergency dealers.
66 The Back Page
Scania's V8 muscle monsters Norway's mountains.
Scania Experience Scania Experience is a magazine about business, vehicles and trends, for transport operators and professionals, and is distributed free to all owners of Scania trucks, buses, coaches, and industrial and marine engines.
Managing Editor Alexander Corne Contributing Photographers Charlie Suriano, Mark Horsburgh, Paul Kane, Mark Bean, Stuart Grant, Nicola Rose, Mark Morawitz, Glen Wright, Paul Blake, Naomi Nucifora Graphic Design and Layout Motorink Pty Ltd Scania Experience is printed by PostScript Printing Publishing Agencies Motorink Pty Ltd (Aust) + Appelberg, Stockholm, Sweden www.appelberg.com Scania Experience is published by Scania Australia 212-216 Northbourne Road, Campbellfield, Victoria 3061
No reproduction in whole or in part of this publication is allowed without the permission of the Managing Editor. The publisher does not accept responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts or photographs submitted to this publication. The opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of Scania Australia. This publication is issued for informational purposes. Any use of the information provided is at the user’s sole risk, and the publisher shall not be liable for direct, incidental, consequential or indirect damages of any kind arising out of the use of the information made available in this publication. Scania Australia thanks the owners and operators of Scania vehicles for their time and assistance in the compilation of material for this edition. www.scania.com.au
www.scania.com.au
“ I am focused on ensuring customer satisfaction with our offer and our support.” Mikael Jansson, Managing Director
Focused on supporting you Hello and welcome to this new edition of the Scania Experience Magazine, our showroom for new and exciting products, as well as the many success stories from Australians like you who have found our products and services enhance their business profitability. It is just a few weeks since I took over the role of Managing Director from Roger McCarthy, who for eight years led this business with passion and imagination. No doubt many of you would have met with Roger and would have been impressed with his commitment, knowledge and drive. I am just as focused on ensuring customer satisfaction with our offer and our support. I am looking forward to meeting many of you as I travel around the country over the coming months. I have visited Australia several times in the past, and I was delighted to have been offered the opportunity to come Down Under to take over the role of Managing Director. Most recently, I have been running Scania’s global Parts and Service Division, while also being intimately involved as a board member of many of our sales and services companies globally. Scania is a very future oriented company, with a focus on fuel efficiency, exhaust emission reduction technologies, sustainability, as well as leading the charge towards semi- and fully autonomous vehicles. The task for providers of freight and passenger transport is changing, as legislators demand ever greater reductions in emissions, and operators like you look for ways to reduce running costs and achieve maximum uptime. Scania is ready to deliver this, enabled by new digitised services that can provide vehicles with tailored planned and preventative maintenance programmes to enhance uptime. When vehicles work at peak efficiency this leads to peak profitability. Currently we offer the most successful range of trucks and buses in our history. We have excellent and enviable levels of reliability and durability from the P-, G- and R-series of trucks, many of which are available with Euro 6 compliance. I am pleased see more truck and bus operators seizing the opportunity to experience the fuel consumption and emission reduction benefits of Scania’s Euro 6 technology. This is an exciting time to be part of the Scania family in Australia. The outlook is very bright, and I look forward to helping you all realise your business objectives through the use of our products and services.
MIKAEL JANSSON MANAGING DIRECTOR
N o 2/2017 • SCANIA EXPERIENCE 5
News
Photo: Charlie Suriano
Sales show strength
S
Scania’s appealing product and broad range of operator-friendly transport solutions drew new fleet customers to the brand, while long-time customers saw the benefits of changing out older trucks for more fuel-efficient units.
cania delivered 124 trucks into the market in June, marking a new high-water mark for the first half of the year at 442 vehicles. The June share of market at 10% was the best for some time, and over the first six months Scania accounted for close to 9% of the heavy-duty truck sector. Sales compared with 2016 were up 65%. “We are very pleased to note the continuing strength of our P, G, and R-series trucks in a very competitive market,” said Dean Dal Santo, National Sales Manager Trucks. “We secured a wide range of orders in the first half of the year that sets us up well for the second half. “There is a degree of demand driven by the need for replacement vehicles, but we have been successful in winning more orders from new customers, on the basis of our ability to provide a solid forecast of total operating economy over the life of the vehicle.
“This degree of surety enables operators to plan their cash flows and to understand what their trucks are costing them. Thanks to our very advanced digital systems, from fleet management to driver monitoring, run by our Driver Services department, we are able to put operators in the driving seat when it comes to managing fleet costs,” Dean said. Scania was successful in winning some substantial fleet business in June which helped contribute to the final result for the first half, in addition to on-going fleet sales through the year-to-date. In addition, Scania launched Maintenance with Flexible Plans in January and this has attracted a number of customers, offering a very precise servicing schedule driven by actual vehicle use rather than simply by time or number of km covered. “We are transitioning our business to be a full partner of our customers whereby we not only provide them with the hardware, but also the digital software services that provide greater uptime, reduced running costs and a positive effect on their profitability,” he said.
6 SCANIA EXPERIENCE • N o 2/2017 www.scania.com.au
Moving on and up
A
Long-time Scania customer South West Express, top, debuted the biggest fleet of Euro 6 trucks in WA, giving Scania leadership of the heavy-duty truck market in that state for the first seven months of the year. R 730 sales continue to bloom, above.
www.scania.com.au
fter eight years here, I am handing the reins of Scania Australia to Mikael Jansson, who joins us from the factory in Sweden, from the position of Senior Vice President and Head of Parts and Service. Mikael began his career in Scania in 1984 and he has a broad knowledge of the global Scania business and of course is well known by all of the senior executives. This will ensure Scania Australia continues to enjoy direct access to the most senior people, to ensure our case for products and support get a fair hearing. I am pleased to look back on a succession of changes that have helped to grow the business here, and I leave having forged some excellent relationships both within Scania Australia and with our customers. We claimed fully 10 percent of the Australian Heavy-Duty truck market in June, a far cry from the less than 4% I inherited in 2009, underlining our growing footprint. The Heavy-Duty truck market has moved towards a higher level of focus on whole-of-life costs and total operating economy, with greater recognition of optimised vehicle uptime and the role drivers play in enhancing vehicle operators’ profitability. Scania has led innovation across a number of business areas, with
the introduction in 2010 of the first manufacturer-owned Truck Rental operation, the establishment of a dedicated Mining & Resources Division, the development of an ever-expanding Driver Training & Coaching Team and a Driver Services Division to enhance driver efficiency, as well as most recently the launch of Scania Maintenance with Flexible Plans. Through the over-arching Scania Total Transport Solution product portfolio we have transitioned from being purely the supplier of premium quality vehicle hardware to being a complete transport solutions provider, a genuine partner with our customers. I am now vacating the driving seat in favour of Mikael, and I am very confident we have in place a robust management structure, in both retail sales and services, as well as from the distributor/Dealer Support Centre perspective, that will ensure the business continues to thrive. I will remain a non-executive director of the Scania Australia board, as well as taking on further non-executive board positions across a number of key Scania growth markets in Asia and Oceania as well as some European markets. I wish Mikael, the Scania Australia management team, our existing customers and the ever-growing number of new customers of the Scania brand, every success for the future. Roger McCarthy N o 2/2017 • SCANIA EXPERIENCE 7
News
All-new G-series cab has been revealed in Europe and is set for sale in Australia in due course. It is more spacious than before and uses a version of the modern and ergonomically superior dashboard, as presented in the R and S-series cabs last year. With a range of cab heights on offer, there will be plenty of space for drivers of all sizes.
S
cania has unveiled its new mid-size cab in the attractive form of the allnew G-series. Following on form the reveal and European market introduction of the all-new R-series and all-new S-series last August, the factory recently took the wraps off the all-new G-series. Scania in Australia is planning to launch this new G-series locally in due course. “We’re now rapidly filling out our new range with products and services so that the majority of customers can tailor solutions around Scania’s new generation of trucks, regardless of what application their truck is used for,” says Alexander Vlaskamp, Senior Vice President, Sales & Marketing, Scania Trucks. When in 2016 Scania embarked on its biggest launch ever, the common themes linking the introduction were connected services, products for long-distance operations, and sustainability. Now the journey down this path continues with the introduction of more choices
The all-new all-rounder and solutions as production gets underway. Up until now, Scania has only released a small proportion of all the pending innovations, and only in Europe. “The response to the new generation (R and S-series trucks) has been extremely positive and has included everything from awards to wins in important press tests, along with a strong flow of customers leading to increased sales and new records,” Alexander says. Scania’s latest cab programme for its new truck generation is hitting new heights – quite literally. The new G20 sleeper cab has low, normal and high ceiling options. It’s something that will be of great benefit to customers who for weight, height or cost reasons are looking for an all-round cab that is mounted lower on the chassis to offer lower and more comfortable boarding. The G20 joins the R20 and S20 cab series sleeper cabs, and is aimed at customers who require optimal space and the highest quality of accommodation. Together, the three-cab series live up to
Scania’s promise that the new generation of trucks will have a cab range whose configurations and overall numbers are unsurpassed by anything else on the market. “The G20 Sleeper Cab is being released first, with the Day Cab to come later,” says Björn Fahlström, Vice President, Product Management, Scania Trucks. “The G cabs will make a valuable addition to customers who may want a lower boarding point. The G cab is like a multitool that can undertake lots of different tasks. It’s useful across a wide range of applications and the exterior of the G20 has the aerodynamic characteristics required for long-distance operation.” The G20 cab is being offered with three different ceiling heights: low, normal, and high (Highline). Ceiling heights have been adjusted in two cases out of three when compared to those in the G variants in the current P/G/R series. The low ceiling has been kept at the same height as before for the benefit of operators such as
vehicle transporters or extending ladders and for other vehicles with advanced bodywork where there may be a need to carry goods over the cab. Meanwhile, the internal measurements of the normal ceiling have been increased by 100 mm, while in the Highline configuration internal free headroom is now 160 mm higher than before. The interiors of the new R- and S-series cabs have been praised by customers and media alike. Among the features highlighted are the layout, the quality feel, the choice of materials, the customisation, comfort and, not least, the fact that the entire driving space is so obviously designed around the driver. The G series possesses exactly the same characteristics. “Regardless of how customers choose to specify their G cabs, they will see a substantial quality increase on the previous generation,” says Fahlström. “All the features have been improved, with larger glass surfaces, better line of sight, and more storage, regardless of the basic design.”
8 SCANIA EXPERIENCE • N o 2/2017 www.scania.com.au
W
hen Scania unveiled the 350 hp V8 engine in 1969, it was Europe’s most powerful diesel truck engine, and it has remained so for many years. Scania has been continuously refining this engineering masterpiece ever since. Now Scania in Europe has announced details of a new generation of V8 engines that will be introduced to Australia in due course. The new engines will be available initially in Euro 6 compliance guise, and will be offered in 520, 580 and 650 hp outputs, delivering exceptional fuel efficiency. While 520 and 580 hp outputs were available in the previous V8 generation, the 650 hp is a new Euro 6 engine offering, with 3300 Nm of torque at just 950 rpm. It bridges the horsepower more evenly between the 580 and 730 hp units. The 650 hp’s output makes it possible to choose a fast rear-axle gear and make use of its mighty torque to reduce revs and thus, fuel consumption. Last year Scania introduced a new particularly fast rear-axle variant featuring a 2.35:1 ratio, a gear capable of working perfectly together
Next generation V8s with torque-strong V8 engines that are carrying out long-haul operations. Fuel reduction as high as 10 percent depending on specification and application will be available from the new V8 engine range. The new engine generation is Scania’s response to the growing trend in the European transport industry towards heavier, longer, more productive trucks, an area where Australia has taken the
lead for some time. The new 520, 580 and 650 engines join the 730 horsepower engine in providing customers with the best possible strength, robustness and productivity for maximum performance on the road. Each of the new V8s are characterised by advanced technical solutions that contribute to reduced weight, increased uptime, and the eye-opening 7 to 10 percent reduction in fuel consumption,
depending on application. The company’s focus has been on the lowest possible CO2-per-tonne ratios because fewer trucks are needed to perform the same amount of transport work. Ever since Scania introduced its first V8 close to 50 years ago, the V8 engine family has been a favourite among the most demanding premium-level customers. With this latest new engine generation it is clear that Scania is not resting on its laurels. Scania Australia will continue to offer its V8 engine range when the New Truck Generation launches locally. Full local details regarding specification and availability will be announced closer to launch.
After almost 50 years of continuous rumbling, there’s a new generation of lowrevving, torque-rich Scania V8s soon to arrive. While the 520 hp and 580 hp versions match what is already on offer, a new 650 hp with 3300 Nm of torque joins the undisputed King of the Road, the 730 hp range flagship.
www.scania.com.au
N o 2/2017 • SCANIA EXPERIENCE 9
Photos: Mark Horsburgh
News
Stand-out: The Scania display at the Brisbane Truck Show set a new standard for truck presentation, with the new S 500 the star of the show. The split-cab display detailing the all-new interior was a firm favourite with the crowd, with both young and old marvelling at its luxurious features and high technology functionality.
Show-stopper
S
cania stopped the 2017 Brisbane Truck show with a glamorous stand that had as its centrepiece the stunning all-new S 500 prime mover. The all-new New Generation Truck was making its Southern Hemisphere debut at the show, and was presented in the same specification as used to win the famous 1,000 Point Test undertaken by a collection of senior European truck media. The all-new Scania is also the 2017 International Truck of the Year. The all-white truck fitted in well with the redesigned Scania stand, which drew design elements from the Scania global stand as used at the International Truck Show in Hanover last year. A particular highlight for show visitors was the life-size split-cab display module shipped in from Sweden that allowed
young and old the opportunity to sit (or clamber all over) in the New Generation Truck’s cabin and admire and play with many of the features and functions, including the electric windows (fun, eh, kids?). Alongside the all new truck was an example of each of the P, G, and R-series trucks currently on sale, all of which were finished in a sophisticated shade of silver. The P 310 8x2 rigid was fitted with a new generation GTB curtainsider body with smooth finish rear doors with concealed locking mechanisms, while the G 480 and R 730 6x4 prime movers showed off their most powerful engines respectively. As in previous years, Scania made a great show of demonstrating many of its services to show visitors, with stand space given over to the promotion of truck rental, Scania Finance Australia, as well as aftersales featuring new Flexible
Plans, and Driver Services where details of Scania Optimise efficiency enhancing monitoring were being explained. The show’s largest LED screen constantly scrolled through a series of customer testimonials, while flat panel screens at eye-level showed the latest Scania video material, and the Scania barista was as popular as ever, dispensing restorative cups of coffee non-stop throughout the event. Many visitors voted the new-look Scania stand a stand-out among the various truck brands, and many indepth conversations regarding hardware and software were had. So much so that the Scania Queensland management team declared the show the best yet for reaching out to customers, and soon-to-be customers, as well as informing those with a burning interest in all things good and great in heavy-duty trucking of the wonders that await.
10 SCANIA EXPERIENCE • N o 2/2017 www.scania.com.au
S
cania is now introducing selfdriving trucks and buses for trials on public roads. This follows the successful development of self-driving trucks for closed areas, such as mines, ports and terminals. “Driving in a straight line in a smooth manner at speeds approaching 90 kilometres an hour is more difficult than one would expect.” Scania is thereby taking autonomous transport solutions to a new higher level. “The development of transport automation is occurring much quicker than anyone could have imagined just a couple of years ago,” says Tom Nyström, Expert Engineer at Scania for Autonomous Transport Solutions. Driving in platoons to reduce air drag has long been recognised as an effective means of lowering fuel consumption, and thereby CO2 emissions. The European
Autonomous vehicles hit the road auto industry has outlined needed regulatory changes for the widespread introduction of semi-automated convoys by 2023. Meanwhile, others are taking initiatives to leapfrog development by introducing fully autonomous platoons well ahead of that date. Scania is cooperating with the Singapore Ministry of Transport and the Port of Singapore Authority (PSA Corporation) to design the world’s first full-scale
autonomous truck platooning operations. The platoon will traffic public roads while transporting containers between port terminals in Singapore. In preparation for the Singapore operation, Scania recently deployed a fully autonomous platoon with three trucks travelling at the typical European speed of 80 km/h with a one-half second gap, equal to approximately ten metres. “We’re fine-tuning systems
Digital Services on the rise
W
hether you have one truck or hundreds, the key for Scania’s customers looking to achieve the best possible total operating economy comes down to services. These include services delivered physically, like those
provided in Scania workshops, as well as digital services delivered through connectivity. Scania One is the latest example of how Scania is taking the lead in digitalisation to assist customers in achieving profitability. “Whatever your operating
Scania continues its presence in Supercars, assisting the new Walkinshaw Team with transporting its racecar B-double combination across Australia. Seen here in its new team colours is the 2017-season R 730 as it parades through Darwin in June. www.scania.com.au
conditions, smart services that support operations and ownership are a critical factor in achieving sustained profitability now and in the future,” says Björn Fahlström, V-P, Product Management, at Scania Trucks. “In today’s competitive environment, the transport companies who emerge as winners are those who choose our services because they can expect everything from higher uptime, to increased cost control and a better night’s sleep.” Scania One is a digital sales channel that provides quick and easy access to Scania’s service offering. Scania One is built around Ericsson software that allows for seamless integration and provision of both Scania’s own services and those from other parties, via Android tablets. “Scania One is an indication of what tomorrow’s digitalised transport industry will look like,”
and building experience for coming complex environments such as public roads and especially cities.” The time may not yet be ripe for autonomous buses in cities but that does not deter Scania from pushing the boundaries of coming technology. An autonomous city bus now plies a route at Scania’s R&D facilities in Södertälje. The downloaded timetable triggers the bus to depart autonomously, making planned intermediate stops for embarking and disembarking passengers. Most challenging of all will be urban distribution, according to Tom Nyström. “One of the real benefits will be the opportunities for swift and rational night time deliveries when autonomous trucks can travel unimpeded by traffic congestion.” Find out more here: https://www.scania.com/ group/en/autonomous-publictransport-systems-one-stepcloser/ says Anders Dewoon, Scania’s Head of Advanced Business Solutions, Connected Services. “By making it simple to integrate digitally with Scania, we are increasing the value of the investment made by customers and creating the conditions necessary for sustained profitability.” Scania One will initially include features such as Scania Fleet Management, a system for real-time follow-up and analysis which assists transport companies in areas such as vehicle planning, location data, and service needs. More details regarding the introduction of Scania One to Australia will follow in due course.
N o 2/2017 • SCANIA EXPERIENCE 11
News
More premium service from Cobb & Co
D
yson Group is revving up its Cobb & Co coach business with the addition of 4 new IRIZAR i6 coaches running on Scania K 400 EB 4x2 chassis. The familiar and powerful 400 hp, 13.0-litre, 6-cylinder engine drives through an 8-speed Scania Opticruise transmission, reined in by the Scania Retarder. The fleet will be used for inbound tourism as well as corporate and private charter, with the accent on luxury and premium service, according to Neil Dyson, Joint Managing Director of Dyson Group. “We see Cobb & Co as a 5-star brand, and we’re equipping it with new stock: the IRIZAR i6 on Scania
13 new buses for CDC Ballarat
S
cania has delivered 13 new K 310 4x2 SCR Euro 5 route buses fitted with aluminium Volgren Optimus bodies to CDC Ballarat as part of the city’s public transport expansion programme. The success of a threebus trial evaluation begun in Ballarat in 2015, proved the fuel efficiency and ease of operation of the Scania SCR engine, and led to the order for 13 additional vehicles. High levels of driver acceptance and driveability were also key factors. Scania now powers more than half of the 66 CDC Ballarat route bus fleet.
The new buses are much more powerful than previously supplied Scanias, with 310 hp compared with 230 hp engines that were standard fare in the past. Eleven of the new vehicles were driven in convoy from CDC in Werribee, just outside Melbourne, to Ballarat by a contingent of enthusiastic drivers and CDC staff. On arrival in Ballarat, bus company executives in the
S
TfNSW sales ramp up
cania is growing its footprint in the school and charter bus market in New South Wales following inclusion of attractive Scania chassis and body builder solutions in the new contract programme issued by Transport for NSW. “We have been successful in meeting the requirements of a broad range of customers statewide, many of whom we have not done business with before,” says Robert Lanteri, Scania Account
presence of Geoff Howard, the sitting member of the Victorian Parliament in the seat of Buninyong, and local media and depot staff, met the buses. “It was an extremely exciting day for us at CDC as our bus convoy involving the new Scania vehicles made its maiden journey from Werribee Depot to Ballarat Depot,” said Nick Yap, Chief Executive Officer of CDC Victoria. The buses are now in service.
Manager for Buses and Coaches in NSW. “Many of the new customers have found that they can now access a high-quality Scania chassis and have a 57-seater school bus body of their choice fitted under the contract scheme’s CAT4 provisions. “Several customers have also been able to buy the Scania A30 as a 49-seater in the CAT3 scheme, as well. Then they add a few more seats to give them a higher degree of productivity
from their school/charter bus solution,” he says. “We have also offered Australian-built bodies in the CAT3 segment with the operator co-contributing to the costs, which when teamed up with Scania Finance had a minimum impact on the monthly payments. Not many other suppliers can deliver an operator a true heavy-duty chassis for their CAT3 school bus operation,” Robert says. “Our heavy-duty chassis
12 SCANIA EXPERIENCE • N o 2/2017 www.scania.com.au
chassis, and a couple of smaller mini-coaches, all based at our Bundoora depot,” he said. Cobb & Co has been operating passenger transport services since 1853. “Dyson Group has been running a large number of Scania powered IRIZAR i6 coaches since their arrival in Australia, and the positive experience they have had with them obviously led to this specification being selected for the new Cobb & Co services,” said Jamie Atkinson, Scania Victoria Bus Sales Manager. “With 400 hp in a 4x2 chassis, the drivers will enjoy plenty of Scania’s legendary low-down torque and the passengers will enjoy a smooth ride even over routes that may well date back to preFederation days; on the routes out of Melbourne north and from Sydney to Bathurst,” Jamie said.
Changing of the Guard
A
fter 35 successful years in the Bus Division of Scania Australia, Trevor O’Brien is moving to a more senior role across the entire Scania business, and Julian Gurney is expanding his role from retail sales to include government contracts. Trevor’s new role is General Manager, Vehicle Sales Support, across the Truck, Bus and Engines business divisions, while Julian’s new title is National Bus Sales Manager. The amalgamation of the two former bus sales divisions (retail and government) under
Julian Gurney recognises the growth in strength of the retail sales business within Scania Bus and Coach in Australia over recent years. “After 35 years amassing experience across all aspects of Scania’s bus sales business in Australia, I am excited to be taking on this wider role of General Manager, Vehicle Sales Support,” said Trevor O’Brien. “In this new role, I will be able to support the continued development of the bus and coach product lines for Australia, as we continue to reach out to new customers with our constantly evolving product portfolio,” Trevor said.
“Over the past few years our market share and retail volumes have increased significantly, as we introduced new product to the market that was carefully calibrated to suit the needs of our customers,” Julian Gurney said. “Our K 310 driveline has been particularly successful within the school and charter market, and we are confident this success will continue into the medium term. “Our experienced contract managers, Steven Godbold and Grant Mascord will now handle the bulk of the government contract work, reporting to me,” Julian said.
Sunshine shuttle has an industry reputation for excellent reliability. Backup support from Scania and the service from our Account Managers Jamie Atkinson, Brian Thompson, Warren Young and Dean Cash is high.” “We have done our homework to know what customers want, and we have a very good array of solutions for the market,” he says. “There are now no more excuses for not buying a Scania.” www.scania.com.au
S
cania has secured a new customer in Queensland for its successful K 310/ IRIZAR i6 combination. Two identical 4x2 chassis coaches have begun service with Queensland-based Kangaroo Bus Lines and will be used as an express shuttle service connecting the Moreton Bay region and the University of the Sunshine Coast, each running 6 circuits per day, 5 days a week. These will be the first Scanias in the KBL fleet of 115 vehicles. Darren Webster, General Manager of Kangaroo Bus Lines, says the Scania IRIZARs were the
right solution, at the right time. “We tendered for this contract, and when it was awarded to us we had to secure vehicles right away. Scania had vehicles available to us in the specification we needed,” he says. “I had not bought Scania before, but a bit of research among my colleagues in the industry up here returned positive responses about the product and the support Scania offers, so we moved ahead. “The coaches have seats for 55 with wheelchair access, and they also have Wi-Fi which was one of the contract stipulations.
“I drove the first vehicles and I was very impressed with how smooth and quiet it was on the route,” Darren says. “The performance was very good and it is a very driverfriendly vehicle. We will have Scania Driver Trainers up to the depot to run our drivers through the familiarisation programme to ensure they can get the best out of the vehicles and also to help reduce wear and tear.” N o 2/2017 • SCANIA EXPERIENCE 13
NEW DELIVERY
Photos: Nicola Rose
Scania adds strength to A new name in logistics, backed by more than a century of experience, is switching on to 126-year-old Scania’s strengths.
B
USINESS MAY CHANGE, BUT
Scania remains steadfast in its commitment to Australian customers, delivering fuelefficient, safe and comfortable trucks that allow drivers to complete their tasks with the minimum of stress. LINX Cargo Care Group (LINX CCG) is a relatively new name in transport logistics, but it hails from an amalgamation of a number of well-known, long-established companies, with more than 100 years of ports and logistics experience. LINX CCG is Australia and New Zealand’s leading diversified logistics infrastructure and solutions provider, employing more than 3,800 highly skilled professionals across the two countries. LINX CCG brings together the capabilities of four market leading operations in LINX,
Autocare Services, C3 and the Geelong Port, delivering services to a diverse range of industries, including Logistics, Automotive, Bulk Handling, Project Cargo, Oil and Gas, Stevedoring, Port Management, Agriculture and Forestry. LINX CCG operates 400 trucks, which is a sizeable fleet. Bill Law, National Asset and Compliance Manager at LINX recently began specifying Scania trucks to replace older units for the company’s Port of Brisbane operations. “We like Scania because they have a strong focus on safety, fuel-efficiency and driver comfort,” Bill says. “There is also a strong network of dealers and a responsive back office at Scania that understands what we want. “We first met up with Scania in the fleet and mining sectors and we were impressed with Jarrod Hegarty (National Fleet Manager)
14 SCANIA EXPERIENCE • N o 2/2017 www.scania.com.au
NEW DELIVERY
LINX CCG’S COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE
T
LINX chain
he LINX Cargo Care Group of brands emerged following the separation from Patrick and the ASX-listed Asciano group of companies. “Our focus is on putting the customer at the heart of everything we do – delivering value by aligning and integrating customised solutions across our service offerings,” says Group CEO Anthony Jones. Owned by global infrastructure asset manager Brookfield and its investment partners, LINX CCG offers a formidable network of ports and logistics expertise, with strategically positioned assets throughout Australia and New Zealand. “Combined with our connection to Brookfield’s immense global network, this enables us to provide tailored supply chain solutions and long-term growth opportunities that can deliver a decisive competitive advantage for our customers,” Anthony says. Every year the Group handles more than 11 million tonnes of bulk products, almost 2 million tonnes of steel and more than 31 million logs. It also transports more than 1 million new vehicles across Australia from shore-to-door, and processes more than 500,000 vehicles for many of the region’s largest fleet operators.
and Robert Taylor (General Manager, Mining Services). “They both showed a lot of industry knowledge and passion for their product. Their enthusiasm was quite infectious, and it gives you confidence to make a purchasing decision,” Bill says. “One of the things that impressed us about Scania was their willingness to talk to us about what we needed and then come up with a specification that suited our application,” he continues. “The Scania team came out to our Brisbane site to see what we were doing. They made us promises about what they could deliver and when, and they kept those promises. Their delivery experience was also great: they set-up meetings for us to meet the dealers who would look after the trucks. So all-in-all, the acquisition phase has been enjoyable and not stressful,” Bill says. www.scania.com.au
N o 2/2017 • SCANIA EXPERIENCE 15
NEW DELIVERY
Scania adds strength to LINX chain
“Of course, price is a key decision maker but we know to look beyond the purchase price and look at suitability for the job and the whole-of-life costs of the vehicle. In our experience, the buy-price is around 20% of the total cost of running the vehicle. Another important factor is resale value as well. Scania seems to have strong residual value which also gave us confidence to make the buying decision,” Bill says. LINX CCG has started off with four R 620 V8s in Brisbane, two of which are pulling Super Bs from the Port of Brisbane, and two are pulling bulk tankers in B-double configuration on long-haul routes out of the Port. “The Super B work is heavy and slow but not across great distances, but fuel-efficiency is important.” Bill says “At LINX Logistics we move a variety of cargo, from containers to bulk goods, general freight and dangerous goods. Today, we have 7 Scanias in LINX Logistics and 30 in our Autocare car carrying business. “The Scanias have proven themselves
over the past six months. Driver feedback has been very positive. We see Scania now as the benchmark, the minimum standard for our future purchasing programs. “We really like the maintenance and repair agreements because they give our management full transparency and predictability of running costs for our fleet. It’s a fixed cost, and the downtime is predictable. Importantly, we can undertake preventative maintenance to ensure we keep our trucks on the road, working as long as possible,” Bill says. “The ability to repair a truck before it fails is a major advantage for our business to prevent unnecessary downtime.” Bill is also enthusiastic about the Scania telematics program, which provides detailed reporting on driver and vehicle performance. “The telematics provide a new level of efficiency. It’s a great feature,” he says. “On the one hand, the data allows us to intervene before there’s a failure, and on the other hand, there’s excellent visibility of how the driver and vehicle are being utilised.
“We like to have one driver allocated to a particular vehicle, or two drivers if they are running two shifts. Around 80-90% of our trucks are run this way. Without question, drivers look after their vehicles better when they feel responsible for them. “We have seen good results from the Scania Driver Training programme and all drivers must undertake the Scania programme. To date, we’ve received good feedback from our drivers after they have been out with the Scania Master Driver Trainers. “Even drivers who thought they had no more to learn have been exposed to tips from the Scania Driver Trainers who have helped them become better, more efficient drivers,” Bill says. “The programme is definitely a benefit to us and to our drivers. Our drivers seem to be quite competitive as well, so there’s always a lot of discussion about the driver efficiency scores. They carefully study the on-board data because they have a desire to be seen to be the ‘best’ among their peers,” Bill says.
16 SCANIA EXPERIENCE • N o 2/2017 www.scania.com.au
NEW DELIVERY
DRIVER’S VIEW
L
INX Cargo Care Group recently acquired a new R 620 for use in Adelaide, and the truck was dispatched with its trailers from Brisbane. The R 620 was attached to a B-double set, with transport supervisor and the truck’s future driver, Raymond Harvie, pictured above right, accompanied by Scania Master Driver Trainer, Lindsay Pollock. The two-and-a-half day drive allowed Raymond, known sometimes as ‘Big Ben’, to get to know the truck and understand how its many efficiency and control systems enable the driver to get the job done. Raymond was quick to figure out how to get the best performance and fuel efficiency from the R 620, with his Scania Driver Support in-dash scores up between 85-95% almost from the start. The truck is used to transport glass cullet for recycling which weighs about 1 tonne per cubic metre, and the R 620 pulls 68.5-tonnes on mass management as a B-double. www.scania.com.au
“We’re seeing around 2.0 km per litre on average,” Raymond says, “not bad for a 620 hp V8. “The truck is good on fuel, it is comfortable, user-friendly and has plenty of headroom. “The R 620 is easy to drive well, and I am on 87% for the day today,” he says of his dashboard driver score display. “Driving with Lindsay showed me how to correctly use the cruise control, which I had never had any training on before. It’s helping to improve efficiency and make the driving easier. Lindsay also explained about uphill braking; lifting off before the crest and using the gullies between the hills to maintain speed, but without using excess fuel,” he says. “The training, and the on board systems can change the way you drive, and I have been driving for 37 years. “I used to drive around 240,000 km to 250,000 km per year, but now I am home each night working in Adelaide, clocking up only around 500 km per day.”
Raymond says he has driven a few Scanias, starting with 144 V8s and enjoying an R 730 operated by earth-moving business S.C. Heinrichs, before ending up at LINX as a result of the absorption of some of the Patrick's businesses. “The electronics today are the biggest change compared with the old trucks. They do make life easier,” he says. According to Lindsay Pollock, Driver Support Scores are regularly traded across the airwaves between Scania drivers from the same companies, and driving in a manner to elicit a five gold star result and high percentage reading is a reflection of a skilled professional. “When you are getting high percentages in driver scores you’re saving fuel, reducing wear and tear on the vehicle and also on yourself,” Lindsay says. “A five-star result and a high score means you know what you’re doing, you’ll be safer on the road and you’ll be less fatigued at the end of the day. “One of the secrets is enhanced awareness of the traffic around you and the road topography, and learning to anticipate what will happen next and getting the truck set up to cope. So, if you see the traffic lights are red from a distance away you can button off early, or if they have been green for a long time you can time your approach to either get through or stop on the red from a long way back. This reduces the need for harsh braking or harsh acceleration. It also saves fuel, and reduces vehicle wear and tear. “Understanding the low rev, high torque nature of the Scania V8 engine helps deliver efficient fuel consumption and reduces on the job fatigue,” Lindsay says. N o 2/2017 • SCANIA EXPERIENCE 17
TESTIMONIAL
Photos: Charlie Suriano
Scania’s suite of business solutions helps this regional logistics supplier to become more efficient. And keep their drivers happy, too.
Family friendly
18 SCANIA EXPERIENCE • N o 2/2017 www.scania.com.au
TESTIMONIAL
R
UNNING A SUCCESSFUL,
sophisticated transport and logistics business is not the sole preserve of large corporate types; a regionally based family business can be just as effective if the people in charge are future-focussed. Meet the Pickering Transport Group. A family-owned and run operation that is as keen to detect and eradicate waste as it is to improve the conditions of its drivers. So the shift to selecting Scanias for the heavy end of the business has ticked both those boxes and provided a good deal of www.scania.com.au
peace-of-mind and efficiency for brothers Daryl and Roger Pickering. “We’re growing,” Daryl says, as he surveys the company’s Sunshine depot, in the heart of Melbourne’s sprawling northern suburbs. “We came here 20 years ago, and we were one of the few logistics businesses in the area; it was just paddocks. When we started we brought in a few other transport companies to help us fill the space, now it is very busy and we’re being squeezed on all sides. “We started in Swan Hill and we have depots in Shepparton, Bendigo, Kerang, N o 2/2017 • SCANIA EXPERIENCE 19
TESTIMONIAL
DRIVER’S VIEW
H
opping out of his recent Scania R 560, driver Darren Fitzmaurice has headed for the wash bay, prior to having his truck photographed. He was happy to pass on some thoughts about being behind the wheel of a PTG Scania. “I have been driving for 28 years, a lot of them in (American) cab-overs. I was offered a Scania and it is easier to get in and out of it. I would do that 10-12 times per shift. It is comfortable to drive and the Opticruise is set-and-forget, which makes things easier than a manual transmission, so there’s less fatigue, and it gives you more time to concentrate on the road. “The radio and Bluetooth hands free are good, too,” he says. “And I am getting good number on the driver (support) score, too. “I’m driving five days a week to Swan Hill on round trips, four hours each way, and home every night for tea. “Comfort wise the Scania sits well on the road. We’re pulling just over 60-tonnes on average every day in a B-double, though often returning empty. It’s cruising at 100 km/h on the freeway and the hills slow it only to about 40 km/h. “This truck is relatively new, and it is the best one I have driven. It’s clocked up about 220,000 km in 14 months,” he says. “Most of the drivers here are keen to get into Scanias. We had Scania driver training and they highlighted a few things like how to use the downhill speed control. The Retarder is brilliant. The Scania V8 has lots of low down torque. The old (American) truck used to run at 1700 rpm, but the Scania is running far lower so it’s much quieter in the cab. And better on fuel too.”
Robinvale, Mildura and Renmark. We run produce from the country into Melbourne overnight and then in the day the trucks are running around delivering locally. We’re typically delivering to markets, while we pick up consolidated loads to head back out north. “We try to handle whatever those country towns need. A general freight carrier is the best way to describe us, delivering refrigerated produce in season, with groceries heading back into the regional areas. We also do a lot of building products, farm supplies and chemicals, and we run a fuel tanker, though only to refuel our fleet,” he says. “We have stayed away from livestock or bulk product like grain, although we do shipping containers of bulk wine, using a bladder in the container. This is shipped out of the South Australian Riverland as well as the Mildura region. There’s also some wine coming out of Griffith and Wagga Wagga, and we do some milk out of Kyabram headed for export markets,” Daryl says. “It is interesting to look back and see how we have grown our customer base. It is diverse, which provides benefits and disadvantages; the loss of one customer won’t bring us down, but being so diverse means we need a wide range of equipment and a flexible back office for the paperwork. An advantage may be that if one industry is down, another may be up,” he says. “We’re in a consolidation phase now, after a period of organic growth. Last year (2016) we commenced doing a lot of beverage distribution to milk bars and take-aways in country New South Wales for a major beverage supplier, so our plan in 2017 is to expand on that area of the business. “We have built strong relationships with our clients and we have shown a willingness to grow with them as they expand their businesses,” Daryl says. “Our customers value the fact that we get the job done. When they have their greatest need, we will do what we can to help them. We are not the flashiest around, probably there are others that are better at self promotion, but we are operationally involved, the management is involved and close to customers. I feel they can rely on us to get the job done,” he says. The conversion to Scania for heavy prime mover duties came about slowly and with deliberation. Daryl was interested in reducing his running costs and Scania’s fuel efficiency was intriguing. But in order to minimise exposure, Daryl proceeded cautiously. “We had no history with Scania until about five years ago. We had supermarket contracts out of Adelaide that were running to the ‘Iron Triangle’; Port Augusta and Port
Pirie, and we were using our regular fleet. They were based in Adelaide and we had no workshop facility. We were forever trying to use suppliers or get them back through the country to service them. “Scania came to us and put up a very good proposal on a maintenance (plan) for some vehicles. We were a little hesitant about European product, having had a poor previous experience (with another brand), where we had driver resistance and reliability issues with that brand. “The Scania proposal on maintenance was very attractive with set costs we knew what we were up for. “The Scania presentation was good, they sold us into believing they could handle it (all). We bought our first four trucks on a four-year programme operated and maintained out of Adelaide. We found we got good fuel, and the drivers were happy, so it was all working well,” Daryl says. “We had some security because Scania would buy the trucks back after four years. Once we found the product was good and
20 SCANIA EXPERIENCE • N o 2/2017 www.scania.com.au
TESTIMONIAL
Family friendly
THE FAMILY BUSINESS
T
ed and George Pickering purchased an ex Army Dodge as teenagers to carry their father’s produce to market. The business is now run by the second generation, with the third generation earning their spurs as well. “One of our strengths is that the guy whose name is on the business is accessible to customers, and our regional customers in particular, really like that,” Daryl says. “In the country, customers are running their own family businesses and they like dealing with other family businesses, and they like stable relationships, and they like businesses that promote the local economy. “As a strategy we work for the long-term. We’re not out to make a quick buck. “My brother Roger and I run the business. Roger is the General Manager and he oversees all the business operations, while I’m the Corporate Manager, responsible for looking after the administration and finance, all the back office functions. We have a cousin, Jamie, who runs maintenance www.scania.com.au
in South Australia. Roger has a daughter working in administration, a son in operations, and Jamie’s son is a mechanic who also drives. I have a daughter in administration and my son is at university but works in the yard over the holidays. “So we are spread through the business looking after different functions,” Daryl says.
N o 2/2017 • SCANIA EXPERIENCE 21
TESTIMONIAL
Family Friendly
the maintenance was good, and that Scania was good to work with, we expanded and bought more trucks. Now we have 25 Scania trucks, mostly R 560, with a few R 620s and a G 440 pulling a single between Renmark and Adelaide. “We suffer from a driver shortage like everyone, so we really need to keep drivers happy. Five or six years ago the way to keep drivers happy was with American trucks, but now, the quietness and the comfort of the Scanias is doing that job. “The number one comment I get from drivers in Scanias is: ‘I can’t believe how good I feel’ after they have completed a shift. “Depending on where they are based and what runs they are doing, the drivers can be averaging as much as 180,000 km per year. So A DAY IN THE LIFE
Through the course of a typical day in the Pickering Transport Group Sunshine depot, smaller distribution vehicles pour in and out to collect final mile loads or drop off smaller consignments to be consolidated into B-double or single-trailer loads destined for the country. “We run 6 rigids for local pick-up and distribution from this yard and there are 4 prime movers based here that do some local work in the day and longer runs overnight,” Daryl says. The Pickering Transport Group fleet totals 110 prime movers, all of which are fully engaged in delivery duties in the back end of each year ahead of the Christmas rush, and the weaker performers get weeded out come the end of summer in the lead up to Easter. The prime movers are hauling dry tautliner trailers, as well as refrigerated tautliners and van bodies and skels are in use for containerised transport. The business is also dipping into Super B-doubles to boost efficiency further.
comfort is important. “One of the great features introduced with the Scania product is a weekly report from the on-board Communicator that shows each vehicle’s information for the week on distance travelled, fuel economy, idling and harsh braking. This places information at managers’ fingertips without any effort, and builds an information base that we didn’t have previously so promptly,” Daryl says. “The fleet is virtually all B-double although some return trips are lightly loaded. Journeys can be as short as 300 km but up to 3000 km round trip. Fuel economy ranges from 1.6 km per litre to 2.6 km per litre for the singles. Overall, our Scania fleet averages 1.9 km per litre on a monthly basis,” he says. “One of the things that I have been happy
about, has been a number of presentations we have had from Scania on the Optimise programme, and the benefits we would reap if we invested in it. Again, being cautious of sales-speak, we only enrolled five Scania vehicles and their regular drivers into the programme. This saw a Scania driver trainer do a full driver induction into all features of the prime mover, and how to use those features to achieve the safest and most economical performance from the vehicle. “In what we feel is a credit to the Optimise programme, the trainer travelled in our vehicle on a regular trip that our driver would do, with our regular freight. So it was not a test environment but one our drivers do routinely. The training then used the Scania Communicator’s data to prove to the driver the recommended driving techniques produced benefit. The trainer then followed up the drivers with phone contact to discuss how they felt about the improved driving habits. We certainly feel we have recouped our investment,” Daryl says. “Scania are trying to sell us more than a truck, it’s a solution that will ultimately benefit our bottom line, and put dollars in our pocket. That’s one of the things I have been impressed with,” he says. “This non-hardware component of the relationship we have with Scania will be increasingly important. The supplier becomes a de facto employee and they are in there working with you as a business asset,” Daryl says. “In 2016 we had a Super B-double up and running, with a set of trailers being loaded in Melbourne and one set in Swan Hill so when the truck comes in, it just offloads the trailers and picks up the next set and heads out,” Daryl says. An indication of the thinking that goes on at Pickering is the development of 40foot container bodies with ‘soft’ tautliner sides that can ensure the skels are efficiently utilised in times when the work moving around import/export shipping containers is running slow. Almost incongruously, a straddle sits next to the containers, with Daryl explaining that with the relatively constrained space available, the straddle makes it easier to move containerised loads around, as well as load trucks, compared with using a traditional reach stacker. “The straddle also means we don’t have to worry about the weight footprint so much. “With bigger fork-lifters on bigger wheels you start to worry about the wheels starting to dig into your surface,” Daryl says.
22 SCANIA EXPERIENCE • N o 2/2017 www.scania.com.au
Photos: Mark Morawitz
TESTIMONIAL
Spreading the word Scania’s stability on and off road is a winner for fertilizer specialist
N
Cameron Martin.
OT MANY PEOPLE LIST LOW
stability as a keypurchasing factor for a truck. But it was that specific requirement that made Cameron Martin of CM Fertilizers recently select a second Scania P 250 4x4 all-wheel drive truck. Cameron’s fertilizer spreading business has been operating for more than 15 years in the rich dairy and beef cattle region of Walcha, on the mid-north coast of New South Wales. In that time, Cameron has owned many different trucks of both European and Japanese origin, and after purchasing his first Scania, a P 250 4x4, in 2016, its performance impressed him so much that a second was ordered. Most of Cameron’s work is undertaken at less than 20 km/h, as spreaders on the back of his truck disseminate fertilizer. “Our main needs are low speed stability and comfort in a truck,” says Cameron, “plus excellent manoeuvrability.” After a short time behind the wheel of the Scania, Cameron was impressed by its supreme comfort and by how much cooler the Scania engine runs compared to its rivals. “Another reason for choosing the Scania in the first place is it offers AdBlue technology where the others couldn’t. The EGR engines were overheating and only Scania offered AdBlue without the EGR www.scania.com.au
SPEED
system. So far it has proven to be very good, operating at lower temperatures, and it’s pretty good on fuel too,” he says. K&J Trucks Coffs Harbour Sales Manager Butch Quin had been talking with Cameron about a Scania and while interested, he thought the bigger models were too heavy for the fertilizer work. But when the right model to suit Cameron’s requirements became available at the right time and place, a deal was quickly struck. Fertilizer spreading is a unique task, not only for the speed at which the job is done but also in respect of payloads and kilometres travelled each year, neither of which is particularly arduous or extensive. For the record, Cameron’s Scania P 250 4x4 can carry between four and seven tonnes of fertilizer comfortably and still go pretty much anywhere. Although the Scania will travel up to 40,000 km in a bumper year, its real usage
is measured in hours of operation, and Cameron aims for 1,500 to 2,000 hours per year. Dispersing a seven tonne load of fertilizer can take anything from three minutes to four hours, depending on whether it’s manure, lime or granulated fertilizers being dispensed. And the coverage can vary from onetonne of lime across one acre, to one-tonne of granulated fertilizer across up to 40 acres. This is why low speed stability and comfort are vital to Cameron. “The beauty of the Scania is it has the power, comfort and stability to put on a decent size load and go and spread it,” says Cameron. The equipment needed for this application, like most in transportation, is highly specialised. Cameron has been asked about his Scania from industry colleagues and the farmers he visits. “I’ve been positive about the Scania and the fact that I have bought a second one, pretty much tells everyone what I think of the trucks,” he says. And of his dealings with Butch and the team at K&J Trucks he says: “We have a good relationship. Butch and his team have looked after me well and he stays in touch to make sure everything is honking along all right. “I am happy with them, otherwise I wouldn’t be buying another Scania from K&J,” he says. N o 2/2017 • SCANIA EXPERIENCE 23
TESTIMONIAL
Photos: Mark Horsburgh
EFFICIENCY TRAINING
Simon has taken on-board the Scania Peak Efficiency Training concept very strongly with its focus on smoothness and sympathy for driving in the green zone, which result in a high score for drivers. “After his first drive, our driver trainer came back and was very impressed with the truck,” Trevor Kemp said. “He proved that a good driver score could be achieved, right off the bat,” Trevor said, adding that a second run from Brisbane to Sydney secured a Driver Support score of 98% “Some of the drivers may need to change the way they drive the truck to get that score,” he said. “It’s a bit of ‘back to basics’ defensive driving, teaching you to back off early and look at the situation,” he said. “We have found that drivers with the best scores early on are the road train drivers, that’s the way they have been driving up to now, so their good scores reflect this competency. The drivers who spend most of the time in the city are the ones who need to adapt their style, but given the traffic congestion, this is not surprising. “We set the initial 95 percent score as a challenge to the drivers, to try to beat it. Of course there’s a fuel-efficiency benefit as well. They’re all trying to get 100 percent, and this has created a sense of competition between the drivers that we didn’t have before, mainly because we didn’t have the tools to measure individual performance. “We’re taking into account the load carried, and we’re not rewarding guys for speed but smoothness. Drivers have responded by seeking tips on how to get their score up, it’s all about anticipation, lifting off early and working with the traffic flows,” he said. “We saw quite low numbers initially, but the interstate drivers are now up around 92-93 percent all the time, and on the Perth run we’re seeing good numbers in the 80s, up to 89 percent, so we’re happy with the improvement,” he said. “Now we are getting the individual driver electronic tags we’ll be able to differentiate between the drivers in one truck doing interstate work overnight and the driver who takes it through the city traffic in the daytime. We’ll be able to see the personalised results in the system,” he said.
W
First class service HEN SIMON WANTED
replace some prime movers for heavy-duty work, Scania’s track record, fuel efficiency and the service from its Richlands branch, sealed the deal. Simon is well known across Australia as a company at the leading edge of transport and project logistics. It is known for its good equipment that is well maintained, and drivers who are focussed on safety, efficiency and professionalism. TO
Carrying the name of the founding family and overseen by an executive chairman, who happens to be an industry luminary, ensures the trucks set the standard on the road. Committed for many years to purchasing European prime movers, Simon had only a token Scania presence in its fleet, but the performance of this token presence has led to a bigger investment in Scania, one that started to pay off from day one and continues to live up to its promises. Simon recently commissioned six V8 prime movers, but it has bought into the
24 SCANIA EXPERIENCE • N o 2/2017 www.scania.com.au
TESTIMONIAL
Scania Total Transport Solution concept that encompasses a whole-of-life total operating economy programme that goes well beyond the provision of just the hardware. As a result, savings in fuel and servicing, as well as levels of driver contentment have risen, a win-win for supplier and customer, as well as for Simon’s customers along the chain. According to Simon’s National Fleet Manager, Trevor Kemp, the trialling of an R 560 V8 prime mover some years ago led to the purchase of an R 500 V8, which served the www.scania.com.au
company exceptionally well. “We were pretty impressed with the (demonstrator) R 560 on fuel and performance, so we replaced an earlier model Scania with a new R 500 V8. It was a good truck for performance and fuel economy, and the drivers liked the cab and the access to the back for hooking up,” Trevor said. “It had just about everything going for it, and feedback over a couple of years was that next time we were in the market for a truck we should look at getting more of them. “Around 12 months before we needed
new trucks we started looking at the market. We had had such a good run with the R 500, plus the cents per kilometre costing for a fully maintained truck we were offered was outstanding. So David Simon decided we would go with Scania. “We were looking at whole of life costs,” Trevor said. “We hadn’t done a deal like this before, but contract maintenance was a step in the right direction, especially as we had just closed a workshop in Toowoomba. We could therefore see the cost comparison of N o 2/2017 • SCANIA EXPERIENCE 25
TESTIMONIAL Simon's trucks look immaculate despite having clocked up significant kms in a short time. Scania Richland technicians, far right, are tasked with quick turn-arounds to keep the fleet moving.
First class service maintaining trucks ourselves against Scania maintaining them. Also some of our other trucks are older so they were soaking up a lot of the remaining technicians’ time. “We specified two trucks for roadtrain work and the others are on set runs from Queensland; one does New South Wales and Victoria while the others do east coast work and occasionally a trip to Perth. We have been trying to rotate them so the kms stay pretty even,” Trevor said. Simon was one of the early adopters of the Scania Optimise fleet monitoring package that allows Scania to analyse vehicle and driver data and pass this on in easily digestible reports that identify how the assets are performing, as well as identifying any unusual or unexpected issues. “The monitoring is telling us when services are due, and what work needs to be done,” Trevor said. “From a driver perspective we like to keep the same drivers in the one truck. Feedback 26 SCANIA EXPERIENCE • N o 2/2017 www.scania.com.au
TESTIMONIAL
has been positive regarding the driving position, access to the cab, the bed being big enough, and when they are driving two-up there is enough room for two guys to be in the cab together,” Trevor said. “We fitted bull bars to the trucks and Scania relocated the dipstick to inside the door hinge area so we don’t need to drop the bar for daily checks. “Fuel is excellent and compares well with what we have experienced before with our other trucks. We are getting around 2.1-2.2 km/litre on a B-double with 60-tonnes. Those are pretty good figures,” Trevor said. “To be honest we didn’t think Scania would be as good over the distance with the weight, but with the right gearing and driver familiarisation, we are getting good numbers. I think getting above 2.0 km/l is good driving on the Brisbane-Sydney-Melbourne runs. “I didn’t expect fuel in the R 560s to be as good as the R 500. We initially planned to order more R 500s, but the higher torque www.scania.com.au
means the trucks do the work easier. The trucks are always up on their weights, and the greater torque helps them maintain speeds, which reduces trip times, which makes everyone happy. The drivers don’t have to worry about being late,” Trevor said. “The customer service from Scania Richlands has been great. I can’t speak highly enough of the sales guys, and they were very responsive to our needs, and where we identified something we would like to change or fix, they worked on it straight away. “It is easy for us to book a truck in. We try to give 5 days notice, but we have had work done on the spur-of-the-moment if needed, which is good. We had an issue early on of moisture on the dipstick. The Richlands technicians looked into it and came up with a theory that perhaps the dipstick hadn’t been fully pushed in and that humidity and frequent truck washing was the cause. They were very helpful. “The speed of turnaround at Richlands is also impressive,” Trevor said. “Recently, we have been learning about the new Scania Maintenance with Flexible Plans, and this looks like it will be advantageous for our trucks especially the ones that do the Darwin turnaround. They work the hardest and suffer the greatest wear and tear, so keeping them serviced correctly will reduce downtime or potential for unplanned stops. “When we came to the new Scanias’ 50,000 km service, we saw they were ahead of the schedule we had originally mapped out. They had been used more than we expected, but we were able to meet with Scania in Richlands and discuss how to proceed in terms of the maintenance scheduling. The trucks have been doing Darwin return trips and some are 20,000 km ahead of where we thought they’d be,” he said.
“This is exactly where the benefits of Flexible Maintenance come in,” said Ian Taylor, Regional Sales Manager for Scania Richlands. “Through using our communications system and data analysis we are able to track use and predict the exact time for servicing, but also to note which type of service is required at a specific point, using both time and distance, but also the type of work done by the truck and the payload carried. “Additionally, we have 250,000 Scania vehicles connected globally, so there’s a lot of intelligence in the system to be able to draw on user experiences from around the world. This tells us quite accurately when a truck doing a certain type of work is likely to need a turbo replacement, or a new water pump, which means we can preventatively maintain the vehicle to avoid any unplanned stoppage,” Ian said. “Scania’s fleet management programmes will tell us if truck will have to be off road for more than one day,” Trevor said. “This is important as we traded 12 trucks on 6 new Scanias so we don’t have spare trucks sitting around. We’re running more efficiently and the older trucks we used as back-ups are gone. However we know Scania trucks are reliable so we don’t need back up trucks. “The older trucks were more prone to being off road for several days for big repairs but the new ones shouldn’t need that. “We will take a look at the Scanias after four years to see how they are going. The R 500 we traded was still a very nice truck when it was replaced. “We like to keep them nice and tidy and encourage the drivers to assist us. We’re focussed on safety and driving hours, fuel economy and maintenance, but safety is our highest priority,” Trevor said. N o 2/2017 • SCANIA EXPERIENCE 27
TESTIMONIAL
Photos: Mark Bean
Reliability and good fuel keeps Rory Farragher coming back to Scania, that, and a love of the V8's power. Even his Mum likes driving them.
A family-owned and operated line-haul logistics business cuts its running costs switching back to Scania power.
I
N THE 1930S THE FARRAGHER NAME
was synonymous with furniture removals throughout New South Wales. Three generations on, Farragher is now known for interstate refrigerated transport and carting fragile freight. Employing more than 50 staff and a fleet of 24 trucks, Farragher carries fresh produce every day from Griffith in western NSW to supermarket distribution centres in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne, each round trip of between 1900 km to 2750 km. In addition, the fragile freight division moves shop fittings and more than 150 assembled kitchens up and down the length of Australia’s east coast every week for various cabinet manufacturers. The company has enjoyed a longstanding relationship with Scania, as thirdgeneration Rory Farragher, current Chief Executive Officer, explains. “Pop started with Scania rigids in the early 1980s and then Dad went into Scania prime movers and more rigids to service the Coca-Cola contract. “In 2000 we had 12 Scanias on the fleet. Although we went away from Scania for a while, when I took over the business in 2014 we started buying Scanias again and in the past three years, we have bought 10 more, plus one rigid for the shop fitting business.
Fresh approach 28 SCANIA EXPERIENCE • N o 2/2017 www.scania.com.au
TESTIMONIAL
www.scania.com.au
N o 2/2017 • SCANIA EXPERIENCE 29
TESTIMONIAL
The fleet now contains 16 Scania trucks including a 6x4 rigid, above. It wasn't just the love of torque that drew Rory to the Scania R 730 flagship, but great fuel efficiency with his first example drove him to add a second to the fleet. "It made good business sense," he said.
“We currently have 16 Scanias on the fleet with two R 730 at the top of the list, having just taken delivery of our second one. “I bought the R 730 just to say I have one,” he says with a laugh, “and we loved it so much, we bought another one. “But, with the first R 730 proving itself so fuel-efficient for the amount of power, it also made good business sense to buy the second one,” he says. “The R 730s are still considerably more efficient then our new American trucks and their trip times and pulling power are also far superior,” Rory says. As an example, two of his trucks recently filled up at the same time in Yass. Both went out empty and after collecting a load comprising fruit juice, the Scania grossed 62-tonnes and the American truck 55-tonnes. By the time they reached Goondiwindi, the Scania had used $85 less diesel, while carrying an extra 5.5-tonnes. The Scania also arrived 15 minutes earlier, proving the Scania R 730 is more economical and faster on the big hill climbs, despite a 10-percent bigger payload. Though Rory is impressed by the technology in the R 730 that ensures such remarkable fuel efficiency, he acknowledges their Scania R 620 is more economical again, but says the R 730 outshines the latest
American product on their fleet. But it seems that two R 730s are enough for the fleet, with plans to buy more R 620s in the near future. The Scania R 730’s immense power and torque, along with heavy duty gearboxes, differentials and brakes, mean it is suited for the long haul work, pulling B-double trailers of refrigerated meat and juice. Each week Farragher’s distinctive Scanias travel around 6,000 km, which equates to 280,000 - 300,000 km annually per vehicle. Most days now Rory Farragher spends more time driving a laptop than a truck but occasionally he does get out on to the road, and he recently took his mum for a quick (2750 km) round-trip from Newcastle to Griffith, then to Queensland, before returning to Griffith and Newcastle. “Mum loved it,” said Rory, “The cabin is certainly roomy enough for two and we had a bunk each and it was good fun. Although she didn’t drive on this occasion, she has driven Scanias before, when she visited the factory in Sweden,” Rory says. Mum isn’t the only one at Farragher’s who likes the Scanias, with the drivers
30 SCANIA EXPERIENCE • N o 2/2017 www.scania.com.au
TESTIMONIAL
Drive all day and still get out feeling fresh, Rory's drivers say. Giving them more energy to play with the kids, or enjoy other quality time at home rather than falling asleep, exhausted, on the couch.
commenting positively about their excellent comfort and power for effortless overtaking or climbing hills. Two of the company’s most experienced driver’s Paul and John enthuse that the Scania is the only truck you can drive all day and still get out fresh, so they can do some extra work or go home and play with the kids and spend quality time with their families, rather than falling asleep on the couch exhausted. Downtime is one rare commodity for Farragher’s Scania workhorses, with endless loading out of Griffiths, 70 percent of the fleet operates on long distance line-haul work, the majority of it on country roads, not billiard smooth freeways. However, the Scanias have proven to be ultra-reliable and only get seen at Farragher’s Seaham base (near Newcastle NSW) for maintenance work. The rest of the time they are on the road, paying their way. And that reliability will see Rory keep them for at least four years, by which time they will have clocked up around 1,200,000 km. While some of the Scanias will get traded, www.scania.com.au
others will undergo the Scania rebuild pack of a new engine, turbo, compressor and differentials, a thorough refresh of mechanical components, and then it’s back on the road for a couple more years. As an astute businessman, Rory has elected to take the Scania Maintenance agreement that applies to about 80% of his fleet and he says the benefits are getting the trucks serviced at any authorised Scania agent and the programme is constantly updated, so the latest software is always on the trucks. Rory also has his trucks monitored by Scania’s fleet Optimise fleet management system, using the Scania Communicator ‘black box’ technology to log truck and driver data. “Every week we print off the logs and our maintenance guys use it to see how far each truck has travelled so they can schedule in their servicing,” he says. “We also sit down with each driver and go through how they are operating the truck, and it is far easier to get accurate fuel usage through Scania, who gives us weekly reports
for each truck, rather than just relying on the fuel cards. “Another benefit of the monitoring is it has created friendly competition between the drivers, who are constantly trying to beat their own figures but also each other. The result is they are all driving more efficiently, which means less wear and tear on the truck, and themselves and a healthier bottom line, which is all positive.” Rory has nothing but praise for Scania Prestons, and Kaashief Boonzaier, the New Truck Account Manager who Rory says is outstanding. If anything is needed, Kaashief immediately actions it and gets things done. Another advantage of dealing with Scania, according to Rory is that the whole truck is made and backed by Scania, whereas if an issue occurs with his American trucks he has to ring the truck maker who pushes him to the engine supplier, who may then send him to the gearbox provider. This is a potentially frustrating and time-consuming business for the customer. “With the Scania, one call covers everything, it is so much easier,” Rory says. N o 2/2017 • SCANIA EXPERIENCE 31
TESTIMONIAL
E
Photos: Glen Wright
MERALD IN CENTRAL
a region of extreme landscapes, extreme weather and some of the worst roads in the country. It’s also home to a branch of one of the longest running, family-owned businesses in the world, Alsco, founded in Salt Lake City USA, 1889. Established in Australia more than 50 years ago, Alsco commenced hiring and laundering hospital linen, and over the past five decades has expanded to service many other industries. Underground mining is the primary focus for Emerald Centre Manger, Robert Kaye, and his nine staff and two trucks, with their nearest customer a mere 270 km away. For the past year, his new Scania P 250 has been delivering the goods. “We are like the Avis of the textile industry”, says Robert, “We hire and launder all types of garments mainly for the mining industry, including first aid, hygiene, wash rooms, parts washers and floor mats.” Once known for its agriculture, the region then hit lean times due to the mining downturn, but according to Robert there is an air of optimism, with talk of a number of previously shelved coal mining projects being resurrected. Alsco’s P 250 Scania is powered by the smallest five-cylinder turbo diesel engine the brand offers in Australia. Prior to the Scania, Alsco had purchased various trucks, but they weren’t lasting the five years they were programmed for. When searching for a replacement, the aim was to find a single axle truck to carry a large pantech body that could be driven on a regular truck licence and would travel at least 1,000,000 km over five years. “After our research and pricing, we settled QUEENSLAND IS
on a Scania,” Robert says. What has impressed Robert was the Scania P 250’s excellent fuel-efficiency, which aligned with results achieved by an existing Scania owner who is a regular visitor to the industrial area that Alsco operates from. “He had nothing but praise for his bogieaxle Scania, especially the fuel economy,” Robert says. The Scania also got the nod for its overall sturdiness, well-matched engine and gearbox, plus its adjustable airbag suspension that was unavailable on competitor trucks. Central Queensland roads are notorious for their potholes, rough edges, cracks and overall abysmal condition. However, these truck-breaking roads have been travelled daily by the Alsco Scania P 250 with barely a hitch. RSC Diesels of Cairns sold the Scania P 250 and during the 1,000 km journey back to Emerald, Robert learned a lot about the new addition to his fleet. “Firstly, it was like driving my lounge room from Cairns to Emerald,” Robert said, “To be honest, I didn’t know a lot about how the Scania would be on the road, but after I adjusted the airbag suspension and the seat, it was absolutely magic. “I’ve driven competitor trucks on that same journey and felt like I’d gone 15 rounds against Mike Tyson; but I couldn’t fault the Scania. It’s done 80,000 km now and doesn’t feel any different. And I am sure that it will be just as strong in five years when it ticks over 1,000,000 km.” Robert’s drivers are equally as enthusiastic about the Scania, but that wasn’t always the case. “The initial feedback was they wanted more power as the P 250 is limited to 100 km/h and the 12-speed automatic gearbox takes time to get used to.
Some of Queensland’s harshest roads can’t trouble Scania’s reliable rigid. “However, our maintenance is way down by having the auto, as they can’t flog the guts out of it - or continuously run on full turbo - the auto won’t let you do that. What’s more, it is easier on the driver and easier to drive, which is a good thing.” Once Robert’s drivers got used to driving the Scania, they had nothing but praise for its cabin comfort and spaciousness. They all reckon the air conditioning is the best they’ve experienced and it is unlike any truck they have ever driven, feeling more like a luxury car behind the wheel. Robert also believes that the engine retarder will reduce brake replacements considerably and he thinks that several hundred thousand kilometres is possible from a set of brakes. Early on there was an issue of a wiring loom moving, courtesy of the dreadful roads, which caused a warning light to appear on the dash, but after a quick consultation with RSC, it was deemed safe to drive home where a simple repair took place. “I am very happy with the decision we made to purchase it,” Robert said, “and
32 SCANIA EXPERIENCE • N o 2/2017 www.scania.com.au
TESTIMONIAL
Cleaning up dealing with Ross Nucifora of RSC Diesels was very professional. “Ross and I communicated quite a lot and the handover of the vehicle – which included a 20 km drive, so Ross could explain the P 250’s features – was exceptional. And since taking delivery, Ross regularly calls to ensure all is okay.” RSC also added a few extras at Alsco’s request as they only wanted genuine Scania parts and wanted to have them fitted by a Scania dealer. Alsco didn’t take up the Scania fleet monitoring system, being obligated to another system, but so far fuel consumption is considerably reduced, the smaller fuel bills having a positive effect on the business' bottom line. Servicing the Scania isn’t an issue, with local specialist Mitch’s Mechanicals taking care of the P 250. “To minimise downtime we give Mitch plenty of notice regarding servicing, so he orders and procures the parts in advance. Our time off the road is minimal, which once again is good for business,” Robert said. www.scania.com.au
"It's like driving my lounge room from Cairns to Emerald," says Alsco Centre Manager, Robert Kaye. Driver Michael Seagrott, above, is clocking up plenty of cab time with the nearest customer 270 km from the company's base in Emerald. The P 250 was specified for the business by RSC Diesels' Ross Nucifora, Scania's sales and service agent in Cairns.
N o 2/2017 • SCANIA EXPERIENCE 33
TESTIMONIAL
Photos: Naomi Nucifora
Cairns-based car carrier Alf di Salvo is sold on the fuel savings and the comfort and smoothness of his new Scania G 440, not to mention attentive service from RSC Diesels.
I
Carrying cars in style
T HAS TAKEN CAIRNS-BASED ALF DI
over a quarter of a century to reunite with the Scania brand, and this time he is carrying cars rather than soil and landscape supplies. In the early 1990s, Alf owned two Scania tip trucks while working in the construction, landscaping and garden supply industry, and though he has fond memories of those two trucks, it was only recently he found himself behind the wheel of a Scania once again. Today, Alf runs a successful towing and car carrying business he established in 2006, with a fleet of three tilt tray trucks and two car carriers: one, a four-car transporter and the other, a seven-car set up that sits behind his Scania G 440. “I am the CEVA agent in Cairns, which is what led me to buy my own car carriers,” Alf says. “I now do a daily run to and from Townsville for the local auction houses and car yards here in Cairns,” he added. When Alf went to buy a new truck a few things came into play as he explains. “I looked at two other European brands and I thought they were all pretty close, but what got me over the line with the Scania was the service side of it. “Scania has a dealer here in Cairns, RSC Diesels, while the other brands only have agents here and I wanted proper factory back-up for my truck. And the other reason for buying the Scania was the dealer, young SALVO
Ross Nucifora, who is a beaut bloke.” Although Alf had always aimed to have a seven-car carrier, the way it came about certainly wasn’t planned. “I had two drivers who wrote off both my two trucks within a few short months,” Alf explains. “Getting the seven-car rig and new prime mover just happened a bit quicker than I thought.” To haul up to seven cars, the Scania had to be more powerful and bigger than its predecessors and there is no doubt it ticks both those boxes. But what has astounded Alf is the fuel efficiency of the G 440. “The economy is amazing,” he says, “I’m getting the same, if not better mileage out of the fully-loaded seven car rig behind the Scania as I am with the four-car carrier. It’s brilliant.” Although work has been a bit patchy, Alf has still clocked up 100,000 km in his first year and expects the G 440 will crack the 1,000,000 km mark over the 10 years he intends to keep it. “I expected to do a lot more than that in the first year to be honest, and I will do (more) when things pick up. The Scania will
be with me for at least 10 years.” When asked about driving a Scania again, Alf’s immediate response was: “I love the truck. It is so comfy and easy to drive, and has all the features you could want. It’s a bit like driving your lounge chair! It’s unbelievably smooth.” Alf’s driver, Stuart, has been driving car carriers for 15 years. He was also impressed by its quietness, and on road smoothness. But the one factor that has impressed them above all else is its fuel economy. “There’s no doubt the G 440 is making a positive impact on my bottom line due to its low operating costs. “In fact I’m so happy with the Scania I can’t imagine buying anything else in the future”, he said. Not only has the Scania G 440 made Alf one happy customer, his dealings with Ross Nucifora, the owner of RSC Diesels, have been equally as satisfying. “Ross is a great bloke to deal with and he simply can’t do enough for me,” Alf says. Alf has taken out a two-year maintenance contract within the deal and has the Scania Optimise fleet monitoring and management system activated. While he is across the basics, he is looking forward to a solid
34 SCANIA EXPERIENCE • N o 2/2017 www.scania.com.au
TESTIMONIAL
Setting sail on a 10 year voyage in his new Scania. The G 440 will take Alf di Salvo around 1,000,000 km carting passenger cars daily between Cairns and Townsville. Alfi and Ross Nucifora from RSC Diesels, below, at the handover of the new truck.
training session on it, which Scania will provide as part of the deal. What data he has seen so far has slightly changed the way Alf and his driver operate the Scania, and both now use the cruise control more often. The engine retarder operates automatically when the brakes are applied, and this is making a positive difference to the G 440’s fuel consumption. Alf is also a fan of the Scania Opticruise automated gearbox. “The days of me kicking a clutch pedal are gone forever,” he says. “I’d recommend a Scania and RSC Diesels to anyone, and I already have.” RSC Diesels’ owner Ross Nucifora says Alf is representative of a lot of Cairns truck operators who seek the comfort of purchasing a new vehicle from a factory approved, family-owned business. “We have had a lot of enquiry from local operators since we joined the Scania new vehicle sales organisation two years ago. We have factory-trained technicians to service and maintain the Scania product, the correct service and diagnostic tools, and of course access to genuine parts,” Ross said. “Many of our customers are small businesses that are often family-owned www.scania.com.au
concerns and they like dealing with other family-owned companies. We know that to stay in business we need to be efficient, provide good service and be able to make enough money to keep going. At the same time, we understand the necessity of keeping our overheads in check. “Our aim is to offer customers such as Alf di Salvo premium service and back-up for his premium product. Judging by our success to date we are delivering,” Ross said.
N o 2/2017 • SCANIA EXPERIENCE 35
TESTIMONIAL Photos: Charlie Suriano
Never going to let you down After millions of reliable kms, Mark Van Diemen is sold on Scania
B
EACONSFIELD (VIC) BASED
has been in the tip-truck business for almost 30 years. He has held the one contract for 20 years and has a truck load of kilometres and awards under his belt. With him every step of the way has been his Scania P124G. Originally Mark was in partnership with his father, Martin, but Mark took over the business seven years ago when Martin retired. At one stage, there was a fleet of three trucks in the business but now Mark operates just the one Scania. He transports bulk products for Pakenham Sand and Soil, and 70 percent of his work is local, interspersed with regular trips to Seymour, Torquay, and Bairnsdale in Gippsland to collect various landscaping supplies. Bought new in 2003, Mark’s 420 hp, manual transmission Scania P 124 G has covered more than 1.7 million km. What’s more, it’s a multi-award winner. “We’ve won three awards at the Tooradin Truck show in the past five years,” Mark says. MARK VAN DIEMEN
36 SCANIA EXPERIENCE • N o 2/2017 www.scania.com.au
TESTIMONIAL
“Scanias have been very good to me. They are reliable, I have done very well out of them, and most importantly, they have never let me down,” Mark Van Diemen says. Mark and son Bailey, below, share a love of Scanias that was passed down from Mark's father, Martin. Their 124G is in immaculate condition given it is still a hard-working truck with well over one million kms on the clock.
“In 2014 we won Best Tip-Truck over eight years old, then in 2016 and 2017 we won Best European Truck, and this year placed second for Best-Tipper. The distance Mark has driven the P 124 G, is equivalent to 43 orbits of the earth and his Scania has proven to be totally reliable. “The motor was rebuilt at 1.2 million km, but I have not touched the gearbox. The rear diff hasn’t been touched but I have re-raced the front diff,” declared Mark. “I’ve recently done the kingpins, but it’s still on its original springs. It has been a fantastic truck, in fact I’ve only had to put two clutches in it, with the second one going in just six months ago.” Mark has always driven the P 124 G and it’s his third Scania after switching from a White Road Commander. “When I started with Pakenham Sand and Soil, the contract I bought from a bloke just happened to include his second-hand 700,000 km old ex-Linfox 3-series Scania. It was my first experience with the brand.” After another 500,000 km, Mark’s first Scania was traded for another 3-series, a new one this time, acquired in 1996, and seven years and a tad over 1.0 million km later, he bought his current 4-series. www.scania.com.au
Each of his Scanias has done more than 1.0 million km, before ever needing rebuilding. For many years, a Scania had been a familiar sight in the driveway, with Mark’s father Martin owning a couple of 2-series and a 3-series, which he bought at the launch of the model in 1988.
N o 2/2017 • SCANIA EXPERIENCE 37
TESTIMONIAL
Never going to let you down
Mark and Martin have enjoyed a long and successful relationship with the Scania brand, with every truck bought from Shane Griffin who started at Whitehorse Trucks, but these days is based at Scania Dandenong, and is the company’s National Specialist Vehicle Manager. “We’ve bought all our trucks from Shane,” Mark said, “And he has always done a super job for us. “Scania Dandenong carry out most of the maintenance and my son Bailey is a diesel mechanic, so he also works on it. “In fact, Bailey is the reason we started going to truck shows. He loves them and actually does about 80 percent of the preparation of the truck for the shows,” Mark added. After a long and fruitful partnership with Scania we asked him what it is about them that appeals so strongly. “Well, I did have an American truck for a while, an extra truck at Pakenham. The biggest difference is you get out of the Scania at the end of the day and it feels like you
could go straight back to work. Everything is at your fingertips. They are comfortable, reliable and there’s just something about them. “If I was going to buy a new truck tomorrow I wouldn’t even price other brands, I would simply by another Scania.” As an owner-operator Mark keeps a close eye on operating costs, so we asked about the fuel efficiency and the power of the P 124 G. “Until you learn how to drive a Scania you probably won’t like it because you have to let them work. Most drivers change down the gears too quickly. They are not a highrevving motor, they’re a low-revving one and you gotta just let them pull, and they will keep going. The American stuff likes to rev a bit more, so the Scania takes a bit of getting used to.” Parts are also very durable. Mark says he’s never had to replace the tail-shaft universal joint, only a jackshaft UJ, whereas he has had American trucks that need these components replaced every three or four years. He also commented that Scania parts prices have
come down recently, so he is getting the best of both worlds. And as for fuel economy, when fully loaded with a three-axle dog trailer attached, and a gross of 45-tonnes, Mark gets 2.3 km per litre on a country run, and even in the stop-start of local work, the 420 hp P 124 G still returns 2.0km/litre. Travelling around 150,000 km annually, Mark declares the Scania is an ideal tipper. As his Scania heads toward its 15th birthday, Mark says he’s often asked when is he getting a new truck. “I get asked all the time, but I don’t need a new truck as I still love driving this one as much now as the day I got it. “I will probably get a new tipper body, as the current one is looking a bit worn. I will just fit it to my Scania and just keep going.”
38 SCANIA EXPERIENCE • N o 2/2017 www.scania.com.au
TESTIMONIAL
Mark has recommended Scania to many truckies over the years and only recently a friend bought one on his recommendation, and according to Mark, “he just loves it.” Summing up Mark’s experience with Scania is best left to the man himself. “Scanias have been very good to me. They are reliable, I have done very well out of them, and most importantly, they have never let me down.” www.scania.com.au
N o 2/2017 • SCANIA EXPERIENCE 39
TESTIMONIAL
Photos: Charlie Suriano
Love at first sight
C
LASSIC VEHICLES ARE
covered, cossetted and garaged, only coming out to play on sunny weekends. They’re not used as daily drivers and they are most certainly never used as a workhorse. But Melbourne-based 25-year transport veteran Tony Nesci, has done just that. He used to drive a 2006 Scania R 580 but earlier this year he parted with it for a 1990 Scania 113H. USUALLY KEPT
Tony carts flat pack, palletised furniture for the A-Mart chain from its Melbourne warehouse to stores throughout the metro area and regional centres including Shepparton, Geelong and Ballarat. Tony, a Scania aficionado, started his relationship with the brand in 1981 behind the wheel of a LK 141 V8 model, and has known his recently-bought 3-series truck for many years. “I knew this truck from 20 years ago. It is a 1990 model and a friend, Sam Sicari, bought it in 1993 from the original owner
40 SCANIA EXPERIENCE • N o 2/2017 www.scania.com.au
TESTIMONIAL
Tony is a rusted on Scania fan who has taken a lot of time and effort to bring the 113H back to original condition. The 11-litre powered prime mover has been through a few iterations over its long working life, but looks as good today as it would have done almost three decades ago. Tony has been able to source a wide range of replacement and spare parts for the 113H from Scania's Campbellfield branch, often available immediately over the counter, despite the truck's age.
when it had about 559,000 km on the clock. “The 113H started life hauling grain interstate, but after Sam bought it, it was operated around Melbourne carting products for Visyboard until 2016.” Proving its durability, when Sam sold the Scania 113H, it had racked up 1,550,000 km. A friend of Tony’s bought it in March 2016 and then Tony acquired it from him in February this year. Before Tony put his much-loved 113H into service, he spent three months refurbishing it. “I have always loved these 3-series Scanias,” Tony says, “and when I heard this one was for sale I jumped on it straight away. They are bullet-proof, you service them when they need it, you put diesel in them and you just go - and they go forever.” www.scania.com.au
N o 2/2017 • SCANIA EXPERIENCE 41
TESTIMONIAL
The three-month spruce up Tony gave his new pride and joy involved a complete strip down to the chassis. The tanks were removed and polished, the windscreen and glass was removed, the cab and chassis repainted, new window seals and lights were fitted, and while he had it apart he took the opportunity to go over the driveline. To save costs, but also as he loves doing it, the strip down and reassembly was undertaken by Tony himself. “Stripping it down was a lot easier compared to putting it back together again,” Tony noted. “I used genuine parts when I had to replace any, but most of the original parts were good enough to reuse.” Soft spot aside, there have to be other sound reasons for going from a 2006 truck to a 1990 model. For Tony, the answer is simple.
He says the R 580 was too much truck for what he needed, as the goods he now carts are relatively light. “I had 580 horsepower which was way too much for what I was now doing. “When I bought the 113H people were saying I was going backwards, and in years that is true, but I have actually gone forwards. My registration is halved; I save on a set of drive tyres and I save about $250 a week on diesel.” Tony doesn’t regret the decision one bit as the 113H performs more than well enough for his needs, and for a 1990 model he reckons it is very comfortable. Everything still works perfectly and Tony says he’d have no hesitation in driving the 113H to Darwin or Perth. “That’s how confident I am in this truck. We went over it mechanically while we were doing the refurbishment, and it is 100 per cent tip-top,” he says. While Tony knew the mechanical history of the 113H, he did replace a few items including the rear main seal that had just started to weep, and while the gearbox was out he treated it to a new clutch, just so he didn’t have to worry about that for many years to come. Though they didn’t need it, he replaced the suspension bushes and a slightly leaking power steering pump gasket. While this isn’t Tony’s first 3-series, it is his most cherished, and untouched original trucks like this are hard to find. “I knew this one didn’t need much work and couldn’t bear to let it go to the scrap heap, said Tony. “There is plenty of life left in the old girl yet.” For Tony, the 113H is a good all-round package. “After my first 141, I had a T 143, which
never let me down, at times working day and night for months on end. But the 3-series six-cylinder engines are trouble-free, the performance is excellent and the fuel economy means more money in my pocket.” Tony’s passion for restoring classic Scania’s has seen him become the owner of a 1997 bonneted T-series V8, which is about to undergo a ground up restoration. And once it is finished, like his faithful 113H, Tony intends to put the T-series to work on sunny days delivering to A-Marts country stores. Tony claims that sourcing new parts for the 113H and now the T-series has been quite easy, with Scania branches stocking most parts for the older models. “Some of the harder to get parts are a little more expensive,” says Tony, “as they don’t make many of them, but the more common and consumable parts are readily available through Scania and they are well-priced.”
42 SCANIA EXPERIENCE • N o 2/2017 www.scania.com.au
TESTIMONIAL
And for his next job: Tony has already sourced his next Scania restoration project, a bonneted T-series V8. He vows he'll return this one to as good as new condition as well. "It's a lovely truck," he says. Above right, four faces of the 113H in its previous incarnations. Tony tracked down the pictures from the previous owner. Far right, the new wood dash gives the cab an up-market feel for the era. While times have changed and designs have updated, the visual links from the 113H to the trucks of today are clear.
www.scania.com.au
N o 2/2017 • SCANIA EXPERIENCE 43
NEW DELIVERY
Photos: Charlie Suriano
G DRIVER’S VIEW
Gary Marsden, above, has been driving for McHarry’s Buslines for 27 years and says he is delighted to be behind the wheel of the latest Express Coaches-bodied Scania to join the fleet. “It is a magnificent vehicle to drive,” he said. “It is very smooth and comfortable, and it practically drives itself. “One of the nice new features is the power-operated windscreen blind, which is very handy when you turn into the sun in the afternoons.” Gary does morning and afternoon school runs out to Queenscliff and Ocean Grove bringing school kids into two of Geelong’s Catholic schools, and he does charter work in the middle part of the day. As a result, Gary said he clocks up around 400 km on average each day. He said he still enjoys driving for McHarry’s after all these years. “It really is like being in a family. They are very supportive of their drivers. It’s a pleasure to work for them, which is why I am still here,” he said.
EELONG, VICTORIA-BASED
McHarry’s Buslines now has 100 Scania-powered buses and coaches on its fleet of 197 vehicles, following the delivery of a new K 310 IB 4x2 Express Coaches-bodied school and charter bus, seen at right, acquired as part of a fleet upgrade programme. The new vehicle was welcomed to the McHarry’s fleet by company Chairman, John McHarry and his son and Executive Director, Ash, as well as Company Secretary Greg Graham and Fleet Manager John Van Lith. On hand for the photos was the very first coach that Scania supplied to the company in 1986, an 11-litre, 305 hp Scania K 112, which remains in working order. Also on hand was a strong contingent of Scania Bus and Coach executives comprising National Bus Sales Manager, Julian Gurney, General Manager - Vehicle Sales Support, Trevor O’Brien, Victorian Sales Manager Jamie Atkinson, and former head of Scania Bus Sales, Horst Koerner. “This was the first Scania we acquired for charter and touring use, and we did agonise a bit over buying it at the time,” recalled John McHarry, referring to the 3-axle Vic Coachassembled K 112. “We worked hard to justify the cost to ourselves but we needed a top line coach. The Scania did what we wanted it to do and we still have it in the fleet. It opened our eyes as to what Scania could offer. We expected it to last 20 years, but it lasted 30,” he said. “We were very impressed with the vehicle.” When the K 112 joined the McHarry’s fleet it comprised 70 vehicles, today there are almost 200 on the books, partly due to McHarry’s acquiring bus businesses over the years. The original Scania K 112 was dedicated to senior citizen charter duties initially, running interstate routes, and even served as a policeescorted media transport for journalists following The Queen around Geelong several years ago, driven by John Van Lith. It was also used as Ash McHarry’s wedding transport. For the past 10 years McHarry’s has been buying Scania chassis for its bus operations exclusively, for heavy-duty high-capacity work. Two new Scania-powered IRIZARbodied i6 53-seaters have also just been added to the fleet, for high-end private charter and touring work, in addition to five new K 310 school and charter buses. “Reliability is the key to why we are still buying Scanias,” John McHarry said. “Also, the guys in our workshop love them and say they are very easy to work on. The 100th Scania on the fleet is actually the 102nd purchased by the company, with
With the 100th Scania joining the fleet, McHarry’s Buslines celebrates 30 years of reliable Scania service. two older vehicles; a K 82 and K 93 having been sold on after long and loyal working lives with the company. The new vehicle uses SCR after treatment to achieve Euro 5 emissions compliance. “We have a good partnership with Scania,” Ash McHarry said. “There is good aftersales support, good reliability and drivers enjoy being behind the wheel. As our business has grown we have added more Scania heavy-duty chassis buses to the fleet. “With access to the Scania driver trainers we have experienced good results particularly with the school bus drivers in terms of fuel efficiency increases. We have been able to monitor school bus drivers more readily as the route buses switch drivers through the day. “Overall it would be fair to say we have had a reasonable improvement in individual driver efficiencies as a result of the driver training, perhaps in the region of 4% and we’re soon to offer a refresher course to the drivers,” he said. “Over the past 8 years the business has grown quite considerably, as the government has put more focus on public transport, and we have extended our reach out over the entire Bellarine Peninsula and along the
44 SCANIA EXPERIENCE • N o 2/2017 www.scania.com.au
NEW DELIVERY
McHarry’s 100th
Celebration time: From left, Horst Koerner, formerly head of Scania Bus and Coach, Ash McHarry, Scania's Trevor O'Brien, John McHarry, Scania's Julian Gurney and Jamie Atkinson. Below left, McHarry's John Van Lith sits behind the wheel of the company's first Scania, which he used to drive.
Great Ocean Road as far as Apollo Bay,” Ash McHarry said. According to Jamie Atkinson, the delivery of the 100th Scania to the McHarry’s fleet is a milestone event for both companies. “McHarry’s have been buying Scania exclusively since 2008 and we have been able to provide them with very reliable and efficient vehicles in that time. We have an excellent working relationship with the management team and we have proven ourselves in terms of delivering support to ensure they have excellent uptime. With the advent of Scania Driver Services, we have been providing driver training to improve their operating efficiency, and now with this latest programme to upgrade the fleet, McHarry’s is putting new, safe, low emission, cost-effective buses into the school bus business, giving the youth of the region a very positive public transport experience through their school days. “It is always pleasing to see significant customers reach milestones, however, irrespective of the number of vehicles in any given fleet we like to treat all our customers as members of the Scania family, and deliver them the best service and support to enable them to focus on what they do best, servicing their customers,” Jamie said. www.scania.com.au
The origins of McHarry’s Buslines date back to 1932, when John McHarry was employed at Ford’s Geelong plant as a coach-builder. He transported his own employees to the plant in his truck, and it wasn’t long before he was inundated with requests from other Ford workers for a ride to work. It currently operates around 100 government route services across the region, and more than to 70 private and government school routes and the department of education and training. The company operates school runs out as far as Altona. Above, the first Scania the company purchased, still running and part of the fleet, though not longer in active service.
N o 2/2017 • SCANIA EXPERIENCE 45
DRIVER SERVICES
Photos: Paul Blake
Positive impact Dyson’s Bus Service now has its second group running Scania Optimise and the benefits in fuel cost reduction, passenger comfort improvement and driver morale are already becoming clear.
D
YSON'S BUS SERVICE IN
Melbourne’s northern suburbs is in the process of running its second, larger Scania Optimise programme following the success of an earlier pilot programme last year. To-date the results have been remarkable. The initial pilot group of 20 drivers has been followed up by a second group of 50 drivers. Benefits already achieved include reduced operating costs and increased driver awareness, improving the passenger experience. The Scania Optimise programme sets a baseline for performance and economy and then uses one-on-one driver engagement and monthly follow-up coaching, over the phone, to ensure drivers continue to utilise the fuel efficiency tips and techniques provided by the Scania Driver Development Team. These tips aim to reduce overall fuel consumption, reduce wasteful idling time and encourage drivers to increase the distance they can drive, allowing the vehicle’s momentum to carry them along. “Another key benefit is to show drivers how smooth acceleration and smooth braking provides a more comfortable ride experience for passengers, and reduces the potential for falls, which every operator would be interested in,” says Richard Bain, Scania Australia Manager of Driver Services.
“We are also looking to discourage drivers from over-revving the Scania engine, focusing their attention on driving within the green band on the rev counter, where the engine operates at its most efficient.” “Our target has been to reduce fuel consumption by around 10%,” says Mick Reynolds, Dyson’s Bus Service’s Technical Training Manager. “While this is an ambitious target the benefit will be a substantial reduction in our carbon footprint. “The Scania Optimise programme and the efficiency training from the Scania’s Driver Development Team has had a significant impact on the fuel consumption results we have seen through the data provided. “We are seeing some very impressive results and some areas are being identified where we still need some work,” Mick says. “Previously we had no transparency of individual driving performance. Now we can see not only who is driving and how they are driving, but we can also match this data with the time of day and routes they are on to get a more complete picture of how the fleet is being used. “There are some times of the year when idling levels will be high, for example over the summer when we had buses on rail replacement, they were waiting at stations to meet train passengers, and they needed to keep the air conditioning running. “We have also seen the effectiveness of
the follow-up coaching Scania has provided to ensure the drivers remain focussed on achieving these benefits. “However, it is fair to say the drivers generally have taken to the efficiency training well and they are competing against each other to see who can be the most efficient and register the best fuel result,” he says. “We are sharing the results with the driving group on a regular basis so they can monitor their own performance, and they are constantly discussing their results in the driver lounges,” Mick says. “The harsh braking data is very useful as well, because we can see how many incidences there are per driver or per 100 km. Harsh acceleration can also be monitored and we can respond to it. Our driver policy is not to drive harshly in order to keep up with the timetable, because there are so many parameters out of the driver’s control, which may make them late. We tell them not to feel pressured to drive hard to avoid running late,
46 SCANIA EXPERIENCE • N o 2/2017 www.scania.com.au
DRIVER SERVICES
Dyson's Reservoir Depot Manager, James Deacon, above far left, and driver Zoran Aleksoski, below, have been impressed by the Scania Optimise programme, with the benefits for both drivers and management becoming quickly apparent.
because the passenger experience is not as good. “Furthermore, we have seen that smooth driving actually helps them make up time as well as improving their efficiency,” Mick says. “The Scania Driver Coach, Alana Mountfield, has a very effective way of showing the drivers how harsh braking and acceleration can ruin the ride, by getting them to sit up the back of the bus and demonstrating to them just how unpleasant it is. She has been very effective in communicating with the drivers especially with the follow-up calls,” Mick says. “We can see that Scania Optimise is helping drivers to keep to the schedule, particularly due to the focus on Green Band driving. “In our second group of 50 drivers we have 11 drivers already meeting our fuel consumption target, whereas at the start we had only two. One driver has improved his fuel consumption by 15%,” Mick says. www.scania.com.au
DRIVER’S VIEW
Z
oran Aleksoski has been driving buses for Dyson’s for three and a half years, having shifted from Ford Motor Company where he worked at the company’s You Yangs proving ground, as a new car test driver. He was a member of the pilot group that has been monitored since February 2016. He says he has been driving most of his life, having started on a farm. His driving skill has been further enhanced by the Scania Optimise programme that has honed his efficiency focus, dropping his fuel consumption by an impressive 20% since the commencement of the programme in February 2016. “One of the tricks we learned is that when people press the next stop buzzer, when you reach 50-60 metres from the stop, just lift off the throttle and coast into the bus stop. This is most beneficial in the middle part of the day when there is less
traffic. “Also, we have learned to keep an eye on our revs. Previously, we would look at the gauges to check the transmission and oil temperature and speed but very rarely look at revs. “After the training we are more relaxed while driving and we feel fresher at the end of the day. “We know that our driving style can save fuel, save the brakes and provide a smoother ride for passengers and therefore less accidents,” Zoran says. N o 2/2017 • SCANIA EXPERIENCE 47
NEW DELIVERIES
Photos: Mark Bean
Power Ranger AWC adds Scania’s most powerful coach engine to its fleet
S Luxury all the way to the captain's chair up front. AWC has specified neat touches such as the wood floor, leather seat facings and impressive interior lighting to go with the additional grunt under the engine cover. Top right, the 490 hp Euro 6 3-axle IRIZAR i6 is already hard at work conveying tourists.
CANIA’S MOST POWERFUL BUS
coach engine has been installed under an IRIZAR i6 3-axle 50-seater just delivered to Sydney-based Australia Wide Coaches. The company, led by Managing Director Richard Dawes, celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2017, and is updating its fleet with several new Scania-powered vehicles, including two K 310 and a K 400 IRIZAR i6, in addition to the new K 490 Euro 6. “Richard is such a strong advocate for Scania, so we are delighted that he is the first to take delivery of the new 490 hp Euro 6 emission compliant engine, our most powerful, and in Euro 6 guise, our cleanest as well,” says Julian Gurney, National Manager Retail Sales, Scania Bus and Coach. “Considering these vehicles spend a lot of time in densely-populated areas it is good to see operators are now giving the Euro 6 emissions compliant engines the opportunity to show how good they are on fuel, as well as reducing emissions,” he said. AND
“The 490 hp 6-cylinder 13.0-litre engine has been very successful in our commercial vehicle applications where operators have reported outstanding performance, efficiency and all-round productivity, and this will undoubtedly provide the same result for Australia Wide Coaches in the new IRIZAR i6 they have just put on the road for extended touring duties,” Julian said. “We have undertaken some expansion of operations recently and we are building up our corporate charter work at present,” said Richard Dawes. “The new 490 Euro 6 will help us continue to develop our reputation for service delivery and customer satisfaction. “Our first impressions of the new 490 hp engine are very positive. A company representative drove the vehicle from Melbourne to Sydney along the winding and sometimes hilly coast road and was absolutely delighted with the fuel economy, even allowing for the engine being brand new and the seats being unoccupied. It is already performing better than our Euro 5 engines.
48 SCANIA EXPERIENCE • N o 2/2017 www.scania.com.au
NEW DELIVERIES
THE NEW COACHES IN DETAIL
T
“Euro 6 is the future and we wanted to be in early to see how it works. Scania has been at the forefront of Euro 6 development in Europe so the technology is bedded down already. We’re really looking forward to running this Euro 6 system. “The new vehicle is very quiet down the back, which is another benefit to our customers. They will love the comfort and the silence. We have configured it for 50 leathercovered seats so there is plenty of legroom. There is a downstairs toilet and a second exit door, and we have USB charge points at every seat and WiFi. “A nice feature is the timber floor which looks impressive and will be easy to clean. And with such a quiet engine there is no NVH trade-off,” Richard said. “No sooner had the new coach arrived into Sydney than it was turned around the next day to head out on extended tour. “We will mainly use this coach for these longer trips but day trips to the Blue Mountains will also figure in its work schedule,” Richard said. www.scania.com.au
he new 12.5 m IRIZAR i6, below, is 3.7 m high and is mounted on a K 400 IB chassis with 400 hp engine. It drives through an 8-speed Opticruise, and will be used on AWC’s Sydney-toOrange express service, and is fitted with 46 McConnell Voyager seats and a wheelchair lift. It is also equipped with Xenon headlamps to provide enhanced illumination on country roads. The longer 13.2 m IRIZAR i6, right, is also 3.7 m high and is powered by Scania’s 310 hp engine driving through a ZF automatic gearbox. It has 57-seats and has been
designed for the Sydney Sights Gray Line Day Tour. It has a second side door to speed loading and unloading at photo stops. The 3-axle vehicle,top, is powered by the Scania Euro 6 490 hp engine and is fitted with a 13.5 m IRIZAR i6 3.9 m high body. The K 490 EB chassis comes with a steerable tag axle and 12-speed Opticruise for luxury touring work. It also has automatic pantograph luggage bin doors on the nearside, and Xenon headlamps, again for superior night-time illumination. There is accommodation for 50-passengers seated in McConnell Executive Recliners fitted with seatbelts.
N o 2/2017 • SCANIA EXPERIENCE 49
GENSETS
Photos: Mark Horsburgh
Dependable Power Scania provides prime power to a famous beach resort on Fraser Island.
C
LEAN, PURE AND PRISTINE,
what everyone likes about Fraser Island, the world’s largest sand bank, located just off the Queensland coast. Just ask any European backpacker; there’s enough of them around. Yet despite the unspoiled beauty, modern life demands electrons to power everything from air conditioning to phone chargers, fuel pumps and fridges. Shellby Power director Nick Ramsay has provided prime power to the Eurong Beach resort for around 12 years, servicing it from Brisbane, a good four hours away by road. But any time the engines went down, Nick or his technician James Park, had to travel up the road. Since installing a dual Scania engine set-up at the resort around 2 years ago, Nick makes fewer unscheduled trips and Scania’s electronic control and telemetry capability THAT’S
mean remote monitoring of the engines, their fuel use and maintenance can be managed in an orderly and efficient way, which benefits the tourists, the resort management, and Nick’s business, as well. There are two 6-cylinder DC 13 72 A fuel optimized 400 kVa engines driving generators providing prime power, one runs for 7 days continuously and then the second fires up, they synchronise and the first hands off to the second. There’s a smaller generator also installed to provide extra grunt over peak seasons. “We always have 100% redundancy up there,” Nick says. “I put that in because access takes time from Brisbane. If a set goes down in the middle of the night we don’t want folks falling over in the dark, or being inconvenienced because there’s no power. “They can have 800 guests on site in peak season. That’s air conditioners running, lights, kitchen, laundry, the bakery, etc. “There is no mains to this resort, and the
50 SCANIA EXPERIENCE • N o 2/2017 www.scania.com.au
GENSETS
demand peaks up to 400 kW. “Since we installed new Scania engines we have not had a blackout in almost 2 years,” Nick says. “Once we had the new system in place and ironed out a few teething issues, the engines have run continuously. It’s been really good.” Nick’s company built the generators that the Scania engines power. He installed them in a Power House, a bunker that was fitted out with noise abatement protection, so from the outside there’s almost no indication that the Besser block shed is the power station for the resort. That means the guests are not inconvenienced by the sound of diesel engines running night and day. And while there are three huge stainless steel exhaust tips protruding from the upper part of the wall, the exhausts are so clean you’d be hard pressed to tell if they were emitting gases or not. Inside the entryway there’s a control www.scania.com.au
panel that links up with Nick’s office back in Brisbane where the remote monitoring is undertaken. Step into the engine room and the efficiency of the sound abatement system is immediately apparent. A relatively unsilenced Scania engine is running at a steady 1500 rpm 50Hz. “What I have built for them is a complete solution,” Nick says. “They pay a fee and for fuel, and they need not expend any management time or labour on their power generation or maintenance. “It’s a closed room, but they have a key to gain access in case there’s a problem that they can eyeball and report back to me, but they have no staff involved in the running of the power generation.” A key benefit to the operator has been a significant reduction in fuel burn due to the efficiency of the Scania engines. Fuel burn has declined from over 280 millilitres per kW/hr to 240 ml per kW/hr.
LIFE’S A BEACH
L
ocated on the eastern beach of Fraser Island, the resort boasts accommodation to suit all budgets. It is only accessible by four-wheel-drive vehicles, and is about one hour’s drive from Hook Point, Wanggoolba Creek and the Kingfisher Bay Resort. Eurong Beach Resort is the hub for day tours, accommodated safaris and a beach-front base for four-wheel-driving adventures, fishing holidays and exploring Fraser Island. Close by are the rainforests around Pile Valley and Central Station and fresh-water lakes with white sandy beaches. It has million dollar views in World Heritage-wilderness and a casual atmosphere that makes it so popular, the resort has a large loyalty rate, which keeps many visitors returning year after year.
N o 2/2017 • SCANIA EXPERIENCE 51
GENSETS
OPERATOR’S VIEW
J
ohn Harvey is the General Manager of Property and Assets, at the KingFisher Bay Resort and Village Group which owns and operates the Eurong Beach Resort, John has played an important role in supporting Nick Ramsay’s project to provide uninterrupted prime power for the resort. “We have had an excellent relationship with Nick over the years and have received fantastic service, he is very responsive,” he says. “We have had excellent results with Scania, particularly on fuel, and also the very quiet running engines. These are key benefits over the previous units. “We seem to have had fuel savings of as much as 15% in some cases, which is a huge improvement, a huge difference, as fuel is our biggest cost,” he says. “The plan is to turn the engines over after 4-5 years. “We didn’t know much about Scania until Nick recommended them to us. Low emissions and clean running is important to us at the resort and the new engines meet all our requirements. “When the resort is full we have 800 people on site and 60 staff. On average we run around 70% occupancy. We have hotel room and apartments a central complex, conference and restaurant facilities, bakery, shops in the village bars and a service station all of which reply on the generators for prime power. We are usually full in the school holidays,” he says “Scania has delivered on the promise. It is fuel efficient and dependable, we have had so few problems,” John Harvey says.
“It is a substantial saving,” Nick says. “We’re seeing an 11% improvement in fuel burn (around 100 -120 litres per day). That adds up to around $43,000 a year saving after fuel rebates. It’s huge. “I keep in close contact with the management here and they say they are way in front of their budget on fuel. I sell them the power, but they finance the fuel, so they are very pleased to be seeing this level of savings,” he says. “They have to truck the fuel across from the mainland, and since the switch to the more fuel efficient Scania engines they have fewer fuel deliveries so their carbon footprint is smaller, and guests see fewer tankers coming across, so there’s a visual eco bonus as well. As for routine maintenance, there’s another major advantage to Scania power. “We’re running the engines for around 1500 hours between oil changes,” Nick says. “The old engines needed servicing at 500 hours because they had used so much oil. We even put in replenishment tanks. That’s why their servicing costs were so high because we had to go up so often to check on the oil.
“The Scanias are hardly using any oil. I can monitor the oil levels remotely on my phone, and the Scania tanks have never gone below 95% full at any time. At 750 hours we change the change filters but not the oil, and I might put 5-litres in, to be generous, but it’s nothing. In the past, the old units were using 3-5 litres per day. The Scania’s barely use 5 litres in one month. “As the engine operator, I am saving on service times and consumables. Filter costs are small, and the parts pricing is competitive from Scania. I am running extra fuel filtration given the environment, but the Scania system allows a hot filter change, so it takes only 10 minutes to change the filters on both engines. “The new engines have about 9,500 hours on them now, and my own schedule would be at 8,000 hours to do all the pulleys, water pump and fan hub, with a major look at 16,000 hours where we might pull a head off just to have a look and through some injectors in. But I wouldn’t expect to pull the sump off and look at the bearings until about 30,000 hours,” Nick says. According to Scania National Manger, Engines, André Arm, the servicing strategy is
52 SCANIA EXPERIENCE • N o 2/2017 www.scania.com.au
GENSETS
Nick Ramsay from Shellby Power and André Arm fom Scania's Engines Division inspect the installation at the Resort.
in line with Scania’s expectations for engines running continuously under load. Shellby Power is able to monitor the engines remotely, start and stop them remotely and remotely diagnose any issues thanks to a full data link that also provides reports on a monthly basis on fuel consumed per kW/hr, and can also monitor fuel tank capacity. “We have a lot of protections built in,” Nick says. “If the engines run hot, we get a warning, and we could start up the second engine to be able to take the first off line to diagnose the issue, or we could run the two together to bring the temperature down. Servicing is more efficient and fuel savings are impressive, it’s a win-win,” he says. “I have been dealing with the management here for 12 years, looking after their equipment. I proposed to them that they should let me do it all for them. “A big supporter has been the General Manager for the property and assets, John Harvey. He is very happy that this arrangement has saved the resort operators time, money, and heartache.” www.scania.com.au
Nick has been looking at installing Scania engines to run generators at other similar types of resorts on the Queensland coast. “There’s one job where I think a batch of 6 Scania engines could potentially save the operators up to $200,000 a year in fuel, based on the experience we have had with Eurong Beach Resort. There’s at least a 10% fuel saving possible for them, plus the reliability factor as well,” he says. Nick has quickly taken to Scania to provide engines for his generators. In addition to the Eurong project, he has also installed two engine powering generators at a Gold Coast resort and has built 5 x 500 kVa mobile power trailers for the energy provider in South East Queensland. “These were full stainless steel canopies mounted on tri axle trailers weighing in at 16 ton and moved around by truck. They provide mains plug-in for emergency or remote power. We showed the operator that we could provide impressive fuel efficiency and servicing intervals with the Scania engines. So far the results have been as good as we promised, so they are very pleased,” Nick says.
ALL ABOUT SHELLBY POWER
S
hellby Power is a family-owned business that is proud to be Australian made. It supplies Australian industries with the best power solution tailored for their needs. Shellby Power is a specialist genset dealer for any business or application, such as communications, power, tourism, oil and gas, drilling and production. As a well-established power generation company, Shellby Power has the equipment operators need to get the job done: offering diesel and gas engines, diesel generators, gas generators, duel fuel and a variety of components and ancillary equipment. Shellby Power caters for all power generation requirements: continuous power, stand by, prime power and remote power statics. http://www. shellbypower.com.au/ N o 2/2017 • SCANIA EXPERIENCE 53
DEALER FEATURE
Photos: Mark Horsburgh
Linking service and efficiency Justin Rowe knows what drives his customers’ profitability: highly reliable and fuelefficient Scania irrigation pump engines.
G
ROWING COTTON IN
an expensive, water-intensive business that requires the use of advanced technology, access to licences, and reliable infrastructure. Australia provides only 2% of the world’s cotton production but 80% of the world’s premium cotton basestock once it has been ginned (which gives it a longer shelf life). This means our cotton is the most valuable in the world. Justin and Vikki Rowe’s Goondiwindibased Country Link Mobile Mechanical Service has been servicing the needs of cotton irrigators and other agribusinesses since 1994, and has an intimate understanding AUSTRALIA IS
of the inputs and efforts required for success. It’s a small, family run business that includes son Nick as well as technician Clint Roberts. The Scania agent is well-known and respected by the cotton irrigating community throughout the region. He monitors and maintains a diverse array of between 140160 irrigation engines across several farm properties that draw the all-important water from the Macintyre River in strict accordance with the allocated licences. “It is important to irrigate the cotton crop at the right time,” Justin says. “Moisture content is constantly monitored by sensors which indicate the need for irrigation. Cotton fields are laser levelled to allow the water to flow across the crops at the exact rate required, and excess or tail drain water is collected at the bottom of the field and pumped to the next field. Water is too expensive to waste. “Reliability of engines and pumps is vital. We keep a close eye on all our engines,
54 SCANIA EXPERIENCE • N o 2/2017 www.scania.com.au
DEALER FEATURE
clutches, pulleys and belts to ensure they are serviced on time, and we stagger the servicing so that we don’t have to do them all at once,” he says. Justin came to Scania after a farming conglomerate for whom he was performing service and maintenance work, asked him to look into gas-powered engines as they were keen to reduce their fuel bills. “I had seen Scania’s gas buses in Brisbane and I contacted André Arm, Scania’s National Manager for Engines. “We talked about the logistics of refuelling gas engines and then we talked about Scania’s fuel efficient diesel engines. In the valley where we are based, the water pump engines have been in use for about 30 years, and they were commissioned when fuel was a lot cheaper,” Justin says. “At 15c per litre you can cope with an inefficient engine, but with the price of fuel today, efficiency is paramount. “My client did calculations based on www.scania.com.au
The Country Link team of Justin and Vikki Rowe, son Nick, and technician Clint Roberts, pose outside the spacious premises in Goondiwindi's industrial zone.
N o 2/2017 • SCANIA EXPERIENCE 55
DEALER FEATURE
TECHNICIAN’S VIEW
C
lint Roberts, pictured below with Justin, works for Country Link Mobile Mechanical Service as a technician. He’s been in the business for almost 4 years, having shifted from a job as a fitter working on coal mines. When he’s not servicing irrigation engines there are plenty of other motorised implements to work on. “We service and repair a lot of earthmoving equipment, scrapers and dozers, mainly through the winter as the irrigation engines aren’t working, unless there’s rain. In the summer months we‘re on the farms a lot,” he says. “The furthest away we travel to look after Scania engines would be at Mungindi, about 180-200km away, on the Queensland/New South Wales border. “Scania sales are being driven by fuel economy, and reliability. They are key selling points,” Clint says. “We look after one Scania engine with 10,000 hours on it and we’ve never had to touch it. When we perform a regular service we like to check the clutch as they often need adjustment, and we change the fuel and air filters, as well as the oil from the 42-litre sump. “One of the farm managers here, Thomas Papp, is good at sequentially running his engines to keep the hours fairly even. “Working on Scania engines is good. Their serviceability is second to none. A lot of thought has gone into the design and layout. You only have to look at the plastic cap on the oil filter, it doesn’t burn your hand if you’re spinning the top off to change the filter inside if the engine’s just been turned off. Attention to detail, that is. Another impressive feature is a single wiring harness, which makes diagnosis easier. “We have had Scania technical trainers come out a few times, and if we have any engine dramas we can just call Scania. There’s always someone there to help you out,” Clint says.
Scania's André Arm and Justin Rowe examine a soon-to-be-installed Scania GenSet.
André’s fuel numbers from a Scania engine and reckoned if all their engines were Scanias they could save up to 1 million litres of fuel a year (from total consumption of 5 m litres). They operate 94 engines in all, of which more than half are high use engines. “To date we have replaced about 20 of their high use engines with Scania units, and a further bonus beyond the improved fuel economy is that Scania engines are easier to work on, which cuts servicing time, and we get good support from Scania in Australia and via André, from the factory,” Justin says. “Our biggest customer is very proactive and wanted a preventative maintenance programme initiated, underlining their focus on reliability. They just can’t afford breakdowns. “In total we have placed around 50 Scania engines in the Macintyre Valley and a few in the Condamine Valley and the Scania fuel economy saving predictions have absolutely been born out in practice, as has the service ability,” Justin says. “I have been in the valley for 30 years. In the 1980s when pumps started going in there were a lot of issues, and the engines were blamed for everything. I spent untold days with engines but quite often problems were caused by design issues or drive belt ratios, connections or fuelling. It was early days for irrigation. “I soon worked out that engines needed full rpm to deliver full hp, but the engines were mechanical, and the fuel pump was struggling and the motor was overheating. “When we brought the Scania engines in we had different issues, because these engines make their torque at low revs so we had to alter the ratios. Of course, now there is more horsepower, owners wanted to run
the pumps harder, but my aim was to run the pumps to push the same amount of water as before, but at a cheaper rate. “The old 275 hp engines that ran to 2000 rpm, typically made 240 hp at 1800 rpm and then overheated, so we had to change the ratios to compensate. “Today we use 350 hp with no overheating. We have specified the engine to maximise water at minimal fuel burn with the least exposure to damage. Scania’s engine monitoring system can help with this, giving an accurate picture of how the engine has been running. “You can accurately predict fuel rates, engine loading, you know the horsepower output, heat soak, and thus you can enhance reliability and tailor service intervals. As a result you get repeat purchases,” he says. “Into the future it will be good to have the engines talking to each other so if one has a problem the others can share the load rather than have one breakdown. “Our Scania customers have been happy with reliability and happy with the back-up we provide. Parts supply from Scania is very good, and Scania is efficient at bringing in parts if they don’t have in stock. “In fact, Scania has a stock holding allocation for preventative maintenance, as well as providing access to survival parts in case an engine goes down, but we rarely need to delve into it. “Into the future there will be an opportunity to repower existing irrigation systems, with a few more growth engines to increase capacity for farmers who have sufficient water licences,” Justin says. “And with Scania providing good product and back-up, they’ll be the engines we’ll be recommending.”
56 SCANIA EXPERIENCE • N o 2/2017 www.scania.com.au
Photos: Mark Horsburgh
IRRIGATION
Growing more profitable Simon Corish cut his fuel bill in half when he switched to Scania power for some of his cotton farms’ irrigation pumps.
I
T’S DUSTY, FLAT AND DRY OUT
Corish’s cotton farm, on the outskirts of Goondiwindi, in the western downs of central Queensland. There’s a wind blowing and a familiar diesel rumble wafts across the paddock from a neat installation on the edge of a decently sized man-made channel that’s part-filled with water. Behind the channel and the engine installation is a large, bunded fuel tank, and up the nearby bank is another, more sizeable channel, one that stretches well into the distance. At the head of that channel is an outflow, gushing water from a pipe of a meaty diameter. The Scania engines that are moving the life-giving flow of water from the river to the BY SIMON
www.scania.com.au
cotton fields push out up to 6 million (mega) litres an hour, or 120 million litres a day if run round the clock. It’s a lot of water but it does have a large surface area of the farmer's field to cover. Water costs money, and there’s a limit to how much any farmer can draw from the river system, based on a stringent licencing system. So preservation of the resource, and
managing down all costs associated with growing cotton are the primary foci of the farmers out here. Simon Corish, pictured above, is a third generation farmer. His grandparents started off in wool near Dubbo, NSW. His parents, Peter and Kerry moved to the Goondiwindi area in 1979, where Peter founded the rural land company PrimeAg, and took on the leadership of the National Farmers Federation and chairmanship of Cotton Australia (the peak representative body for the Australian cotton growing industry). Simon, with brothers Brett and Nigel are all farmers in the region; Nigel was awarded Australian young famer of the year in 2013, and Simon is currently the chairman of Cotton Australia, underlining the depth of commitment the family has to the industry. N o 2/2017 • SCANIA EXPERIENCE 57
IRRIGATION
Simon Corrish and the very efficient Scania engines that are making a significant impact in his irrigation fuel bills.
Simon farms two properties located close to Goondiwindi, comprising in total 4500 hectares of cotton crop under irrigation, with a staff of five mostly dedicated to running the engines. At harvest time, itinerant labour or back-packers help with the elevated workload. Simon operates 20 diesel engines across the farms to pump water from the river onto his fields. The water travels several kilometres in these irrigation channels, and is lifted between six and 12 m up from the riverbed to the cotton crops. To date Simon has invested in four Scania engines for his operations – two per farm – though that number will grow as he replaces older engines. His motivation for switching to Scania might at first glance seem simple: the fuel-efficiency of his Scania industrial engines provide a stark benefit he doesn’t need a spreadsheet to identify. “Pumping costs are huge,” he says. “Generally we spend around $1.0-1.5 million per year on fuel, so if you can save 50 percent on your fuel costs, it is a big saving.” However despite the size of the saving on fuel, that wasn’t his key motivator, rather it was the service he has received from the Scania independent authorised service agent, Country Link Mobile Mechanical Service, operated by Justin and Vikki Rowe, based in Goondiwindi. “I did a fair bit of work when we were looking at changing over our old motors. A lot of new engines are more fuel efficient than our old ones, but the main reason we switched to Scania was the after sales service provided locally via Justin Rowe at Country Link, and the relationship he has with Scania. “My research took around 12 months, and I spoke to a lot of people in the area corporates and independents - and they all
spoke highly of Justin’s service and Scania engines. “The biggest selling point is the back-up and service,” he says. “It is very important for us to have parts available in the country. If we have a failure we want to replace those parts straight away,” Simon says. “We have asked André Arm (Scania’s National Manager, Industrial and Marine Engines) to have a (spare) engine locally that we can have access to, if one of ours goes down. An engine sitting on the shelf will give us peace-of-mind, and if one (of another brand) goes down we will replace it with a Scania. “To date the service from Country Link has been exceptional, as has the fuel efficiency of the engines, so we should see
the engines pay for themselves in four years,” Simon says. Like many farming businesses, cost control is paramount when there’s no control over the price of the commodity you’re growing. So every farmer looks for an edge in driving down costs, whether it is fuel or labour or other inputs. “We can see Scania providing additional advantages in the future through telematics revealing operational efficiency and status through remote monitoring,” Simon says. “There is an operational health and safety element as well. If you don’t have to send someone out in the middle of the night in a thunderstorm to start or stop an engine, that’s a big help,” he says. Reliability is another key factor. When
58 SCANIA EXPERIENCE • N o 2/2017 www.scania.com.au
IRRIGATION
there’s water to be taken, the engines have to run, and work reliably, especially if there’s been a big downpour and local water needs to be moved around the farms into suitable storage areas. “If we’ve had flooding or severe rain we have to be sure the engines will start and run because you can’t miss the opportunities with rain water. It would cost us a huge amount of money,” he says. “The industry has done a lot of study on evaporation. You don’t lose a lot through the ground, and evaporation in any given year will amount to around 0.5 to 1 metre through evaporation,” Simon says. “Water is expensive in Australia. It is very valuable, and cotton farmers undertake significant earthworks to improve water www.scania.com.au
storages and be more efficient. For example we have spent around $5m on earthworks and storages to reduce evaporation in the last few years. “The future is very positive. The industry is innovating, for example looking at drip irrigation and efficient processes. We can’t see fuel or energy getting cheaper in the future,” Simon says. When installing new engines at Simon Corish’s farm, Justin Rowe looked at the gear ratios in the transmission driving the pumps. This was because the Scania engines are at their most efficient at lower revs than the engines they were replacing. “We changed the ratios chasing more efficiency on the entire pump site,” Justin says.
One of the Scania engines has been running for 3600 hours over three years. It’s a 350 hp 6-cylinder DC13 74A unit and it replaced a 30-year-old motor.” According to Simon Corish the savings from that engine were of an impressive order of magnitude. “We went from 70 litres per hour on the old engine to 21 litres per hour with the Scania, lifting the water about 9 m, that’s with the engine running at about 1550 rpm. “The fuel use reductions from the other engines were closer to 30-litres per hour, down from 70 to 40-litres, because they were lifting the water between 12 and 16 m. It all depends on how high you need to lift the water,” he says. According to André Arm, Scania’s National Manager for Industrial and Marine Engines, Simon’s experience is typical of many cotton irrigators in Queensland. “There is plenty of potential to help cotton farmers reduce their exposure to high fuel bills by switching to Scania engines,” he says. “Not only will these engines pay for themselves in a relatively short period of time, but our record of reliability and durability as well as the exceptional back-up provided by Justin at Country Link, shows that we understand the critical aspects of the business. “We understand that farmers are more interested in reliable back up and low running costs, and are not lured by a cheap up-front price for the engine,” he says. “There are significant investments made in cotton irrigation, and growers are focused on reducing their risk exposure. That’s where Scania can make a meaningful difference, reducing risk and running costs across the entire operational life of the engine.” N o 2/2017 • SCANIA EXPERIENCE 59
IRRIGATION
Photos: Mark Horsburgh
Carrington Cotton Group Chief Operating Officer, Craig Collyer, says Scania has become the default replacement engine supplier.
Cottoning on to Scania One of Australia’s most successful cotton farmers has switched to Scania power for its vital irrigation pumps.
T
Carrington Farms moves water in several stages from the river to its storages. Above, Country Link's Justin Rowe checks on the automated monitoring system for one of a group of four Scania pumping engines located at the side of the Macintyre River, mounted on tall hollow pillars (top). Careful calibration of the engines and the pump drives ensure high levels of reliability and uptime.
ALL TREES SHADE THE BANKS
Macintyre River as it meanders through the outskirts of Goondiwindi, Queensland one side, New South Wales the other. The trees are home to cockies noisily going about their business, zipping interstate as they criss-cross the waterway. Nestled into the bank are four tall, pale pillars, each topped by a 450 hp 6-cylinder Scania industrial engine, shaded by a canopy, driving a dry well pump located well above the water line. The engine installation serves to draw water from the river and pump it 10 m higher OF THE
into a storage lagoon 50 m beyond the banks. From there the water is lifted by three engines to the next level, and once more by two engines to storage reservoirs for 4000 hectares of Carrington Farms, one of the largest cotton growers in Australia. Some of the water is pumped into channels and travels up to 14 km to the actual paddock it irrigates. Water storages stocked from river water pumped under licence are augmented by rainfall, of which there had been plenty in the spring and early summer of 2016/17, providing farmers with two years’ worth of water, giving them certainty of supply to encourage good plantings. The rain was
60 SCANIA EXPERIENCE • N o 2/2017 www.scania.com.au
IRRIGATION
extremely welcome after two dry spring and summer periods, forcing reliance on licences, which in themselves were restricted due to poor rainfall. Lack of rain and low allocations mean that engines don’t get run for too long, but reliability must be maintained because no one wants to miss accessing their allocation should the rain suddenly arrive. Today, Carrington Farms runs 17 new Scania engines which are slowly replacing a selection of up to 30-year-old American sourced units, under a defined renewal campaign. Three more new Scania engines are already on order. Carrington Cotton Group Chief Operating Officer, Craig Collyer, says Scania has become the default replacement engine supplier. “Justin Rowe has been working for us for 20 years,” Craig says. “He suggested trying a Scania and we have now settled on a 6-cylinder engine, which has been a fantastic engine for us. “Previously we had a programme of waiting for the engines to fail, but in the past few seasons we have not had a lot of failures because we haven’t run the engines so hard because there’s not been much rain. “This season so far we have had two failures of older engines, so have looked to replace them. We don’t want future engine failures during crop growing season. And the new engines deliver a fuel efficiency benefit as well. “Our Scania engines are running at rates www.scania.com.au
of up to 2000 hours a year, and with no issues. The engines pump up to 120 mega (million) litres per day each, when we run them in the October to March growing season,” Craig says. “The Scania engines run at about 1600 rpm and are using around half the fuel of the previous engines. At peak effort the engines are running 30-40-litres per hour less than the old ones. Fuel comprises around 8-10% of our total operating costs, so reducing the fuel bill provides a meaningful benefit. “We have also changed out some electric motors. It’s cheaper to run diesel than electric. “Justin has a service contract with us, we just give him a call and he does what’s needed,” Craig says. “If the weather is favourable we will be getting into our replacement programme because we don’t want our engines failing when we need them,” he says. “The last thing you want is to lose a crop because you can’t irrigate because the engines are broken. “Water availability is the key determinant of what gets grown. If it doesn’t rain, there’s no water. We have only a certain amount we can pump. Each licence to pump water is worth 972 mega litres, but you only get a percentage of that if there’s no rain. It depends on what’s in the river. This year we have a full allocation, and if we get enough rain we fill up our storages, as well, in the hills. “The last two seasons have been a bit ordinary, but this season we have full allocation,” Craig says.
FROM RIVER TO FIELD
O
nce pumped from the river, the water flows into man-made channels built by bulldozers and scrapers. The water is transported to storage reservoirs. From the reservoirs the water is pumped through pipes to the field, with outlets at every other furrow. Carrington has several reservoirs above ground as it is easier and cheaper to built up retaining walls than excavate. Some of the reservoirs can hold up to 9000 mega litres. Growing cotton and making a profit requires a good deal of science and technology. There’s only one season per year and growth is totally dependent on irrigation and therefore rainfall. Sensors monitor the moisture content of the soil, the fields are levelled by GPS, designed to encourage the water to drain top to bottom, with run off captured and pumped to the next field.
N o 2/2017 • SCANIA EXPERIENCE 61
MARINE
Photos: Mark Horsburgh
High output Scania V8 marine engines powering Maritimo’s new high-end luxury pleasure craft are becoming a popular choice.
Scania onboard with Maritimo
S
CANIA ENGINES ARE BECOMING
BETTER known in the pleasure craft market in Australia and New Zealand, having proven their suitability for long-distance high hp cruising in a small number of high-profile Maritimo vessels. Maritimo is one of Australia’s premier pleasure craft designers and builders. After exposing Scania’s V8 engines to the Maritimo design team, and fitting out one of the first of the company’s new 70-foot vessels with a brace of 900 hp V8s, further versions have been equipped with the new higher output 1150 hp V8s. As a result, customer interest and demand has been increasing. Subsequently, pairs of Scania V8s have been specified for the new Maritimo 64 and 70 pleasure craft in various combinations of 900 hp or 1150 hp outputs, including a Maritimo 64 with the new 1150 hp engines. During the Australian boat show season in 2017, Scania-powered Maritimo models will be displayed to the pleasure craft market, with the intention to continue to expose more potential customers to what has quickly become a successful combination in the luxury market. According to Phil Candler, General Manager of Operations at Maritimo, who is based at one of the hubs of pleasure boat building in Australia, Sanctuary Cove, Queensland, says Scania is working hard at building its image in the sector. “A lot of customers asked us why we had put Scania engines into our first (70-foot) vessel. They were impressed that we had put
these engines into a boat that we owned,” Phil says. Scania Australia National Manager Engines, André Arm confirms Scania has ramped up its efforts. “We have been putting a lot of effort into the pleasure craft market as we know that our engines are perfectly suited to this sector, with excellent fuel economy, low emissions and high levels of reliability. We are already seeing the positive benefits of word-of-mouth endorsement,” André says. Positive first hand exposure is very important in the Australasian pleasure craft market where the majority of boat owners make all the key purchasing decisions and act as Captain themselves, even if they may later hand over responsibility for on-going servicing and maintenance to third parties. “Our Australian and New Zealand customers are very involved in the detailed specification of their new vessels, particularly in Australia,” Phil Candler says. “In other markets, our customers’ captains may have a greater say in the specific technical details. “Nevertheless, all customers are very
focused on running costs, reliability and serviceability,” Phil says. “Fuel consumption and therefore range and cruising speeds are critical. We have taken a couple of Scania powered vessels across to New Zealand and back, and they have performed well. This has impressed our customers and potential customers. “Generally our customers know a lot about the engines because these are such a critical part of vessel. The quality of service back-up and servicing costs, extended warranties, etc., are closely investigated. Customers are definitely aware of products in the market, and if we suggest a new brand they will look at it. “The arrival of the 900 and 1150 hp engines has increased Scania’s appeal in this market because after customers take delivery of their vessels they tend to add more weight in the form of more equipment and fittings, and so to maintain cruising speeds and good fuel consumption (and range), additional horsepower at low rpm is always welcome,” he says. “In the pleasure craft building business,
62 SCANIA EXPERIENCE • N o 2/2017 www.scania.com.au
MARINE
suppliers need to be in the mix early to ensure that the engine platform will fit within the confines of the engine bay. When we were looking at developing our latest range, our design team worked with André closely. “Our engine bay lining is finished to the same high level as the outside of the vessel. Globally no other constructor goes to the same lengths as we do. We also worked with Scania to ensure the finish of their engines matched the look of the engine room,” Phil says. “We made a cover for the engines because they looked too industrial, and we had them painted white not orange,” André says. “About 10 years ago checker-plate was in, but now we need to look more high-tech, to match the rest of the vessel. Customers in this market want the engine to match the polished fibreglass look of the engine room lining,” André says. “As the success of the modern range of Maritimo pleasure craft increases, Scania is confident its engine combinations will prove to be the perfect partner for these high quality, luxury vessels,” he says. www.scania.com.au
A neat installation within a sparkling engine room enhances the visual impact of two mighty Scania V8s. A happy customer, above, at the start of the sea trials that will mark the completion of another successful Maritimo and Scania project. Scania electronic engine monitoring integrates seamlessly with the drive system, and gives the Captain full information regarding speed, fuel consumption and when servicing is required.
N o 2/2017 • SCANIA EXPERIENCE 63
Scania Service Directory New South Wales/ACT
Northern Territory
Scania Prestons 16-18 Lyn Parade, Prestons nswbranch@scania.com.au 02 9825 7900
Darwin Diesel Contract Services (Engines) 14 Farrell Crescent, Winnellie dieselcontract2@bigpond.com 08 8984 4568
Scania Newcastle 1 Enterprise Drive, Beresfield nswbranch@scania.com.au 02 9825 7940 Albury Border Truck Repairs 33 Merkel Street, Thurgoona bordertruck@bigpond.com 02 6040 5500 Bathurst Johnson’s Towing & Mechanical 85 Sydney Road, Bathurst admin@jtmc.com.au 02 6332 5511 Canberra Glover Mechanical & Breakdown 101 Underwood Street Oakes Estate glovermechanical@bigpond.com 0429 650 147 Coffs Harbour K & J Trucks (Truck Selling Dealer) 1-3 Isles Drive North Boambee Valley service@kjtrucks.com.au 02 6652 7218
Darwin Vanderfield Cnr Stuart Highway & McKinnon Rd Pinelands darwin@vanderfield.com.au 08 8932 4200
Queensland Brisbane Scania Richlands 149 Archerfield Rd, Richlands richlands.service@scania.com.au richlands.parts@scania.com.au 07 3712 8500 Pinkenba Scania Pinkenba 213 Holt Street, Pinkenba pinkenba.service@scania.com.au pinkenba.parts@scania.com.au 07 3712 7900 Cairns RSC Diesels (Truck Selling Dealer) 29-31 Ponzo Street Woree info@rscdiesels.com.au 07 4054 5440
Dubbo Hall’s Transport Repairs 10 Richard Ryan Place Dubbo hallstrepairs@bigpond.com 02 6882 6060
Cairns McLeod Engineering (Engines) 50 Aumuller Street, Portsmith admin@mcleodengineering.com.au 07 4035 1364
Lismore Laurie Predebon Truck Repairs 42 Bruxner Highway, South Lismore admin@lptr.com.au 02 6622 0336
Dalby West Dalby Ag Sales 62 Yumborra Rd, Dalby mail@westdalbyagsales.com.au 07 4662 5616
Port Macquarie North Star Motors 48 Uralla Road, Port Macquarie port@northmotors.com.au 02 6581 3533
Emerald Mitch’s Mechanical Service & Repair 13 McKenzie Street, Emerald mitch@mitchsmechanical.com.au 07 4987 6733
Tamworth Wideland Truck & Machinery 137 Gunnedah Road Tamworth jonathan.mcclelland@ widelandgroup.com.au 02 6765 5552
Gladstone Outcall Mechanical 1 Anson Close, Gladstone admin@outcallmechanical.com 07 4979 0056
Wagga Wagga NJ’s of Wagga (Truck Selling Dealer) 301 Copland Street Wagga Wagga njrepairs@bigpond.com.au 02 6971 7214
Goondiwindi Country Link Mobile Mechanical Service (Engines) 14 Boodle Street, Goondiwindi country_link@bigpond.com 07 4671 4222
Mackay Mackay Truck Parts & Repairs 2 Central Park Drive, Paget mytruck@bigpond.net.au 07 4952 3722 Rockhampton Tibbs Fleet Services 19 Somerset Road Gracemere admin@tibbsfleetservices.com.au 07 4933 2211 Salisbury DA.MET (Australia) 42 Precision Street Salisbury info@damet.com.au 07 3277 3111
Victoria Scania Campbellfield 212-216 Northbourne Rd Campbellfield csrcampbellfield@scania.com.au 03 9217 3300 Scania Dandenong 2/66 Greens Rd Dandenong South csrdandenong@scania.com.au 03 9217 3600 Scania Laverton 125-129 Boundary Rd Laverton csrlaverton@scania.com.au 03 9369 8666
Toowoomba Wideland Ag & Construction 55-57 Carrington Road Toowoomba admin@widelandag.com.au 07 4633 1150
Bairnsdale Livingstone Truck Repairs 726 Main Street, Bairnsdale admin@livingstonetrucks.com 03 5152 1100
Townsville Honeycombes Sales & Service 23-27 Langton Street, Garbutt admin_tvs@honeycombes.com.au 07 4779 0516
Bendigo TTW Truck and Bus 6 Waterson Court, Golden Square mark@ttwtb.com.au 03 5447 7272
South Australia Scania Adelaide 218-234 Cormack Rd Wingfield adelaidebranch@scania.com.au 08 8406 0200 Mount Gambier OGR Trucks 203 Jubilee Highway West Mount Gambier admin@ogrtrucks.com.au 08 8725 7999 Port Lincoln West Coast Diesel Service 32 St Andrews Tce, Port Lincoln info@wcdiesel.com.au 08 8682 1753 Port MacDonnell Ashbrook Diesel (Marine Service) 14 Elizabeth Street Port MacDonnell ashbrookdiesel@bigpond.com 08 8738 2028
Tasmania Launceston C & I Transport Repairs 430 Hobart Rd, Youngtown admin@citransportrepairs.com.au 03 6344 7944
Echuca Rich River Truck Repairs 26 Hume Street, Echuca richrivertrucks@bigpond.com 03 5482 3799 Geelong PJ & T Motors 311-319 Portarlington Rd Moolap pjt@pjtmotors.com.au 03 5248 4466 Koroit Allansford Truck & Trailer 230 Ziegler Parade, Allansford attrailer@progresstransportservices. com.au 0459 320 500 Leongatha Gippsland Truck Mechanics 16 Cusack Road Leongatha info@gtmleongatha.com.au 03 5662 5266 Mildura Marshall Group 335 Benetook Avenue Mildura nick@ngmgroup.com.au 03 5023 1701 Morwell M & J Stewart Motors 111 Alexanders Rd, Morwell admin@stewartmotors.com.au 03 5134 4359
64 SCANIA EXPERIENCE • N o 2/2017 www.scania.com.au
Shepparton Taig Bros 6 Wheeler Street, Shepparton scania@taigbros.com.au 03 5821 9811
Geraldton Kelly’s Truck & Marine Service 314 Place Rd, Geraldton admin@ktms.com.au 08 9964 3444
Wangaratta Robinson’s Truck & Coach Maintenance 45-47 Gibson Street Wangaratta rtcmaint@bigpond.net.au 03 5722 3644
Kalgoorlie West Flex Industries 60 Broadwood Street West Kalgoorlie admin@flexindustries.com.au 08 9068 1500
Warracknabeal Brunt Truck Repairs Cnr Henty Highway & Gardner Street Warracknabeal brunttruckrepairs@bigpond.com 03 5398 1244
Karratha Double R Equipment Repairs 2493 Collawanyah Road Karrartha karrartha@dblr.com.au 08 9185 2699
Western Australia
Picton
Perth Scania Kewdale 527-529 Abernethy Rd Kewdale csrperth@scania.com.au 08 9360 8500 Albany SLR Albany Mechanical Lot 69 Pendeen Road, Albany accounts@slrmechanical.com.au 08 9844 3152 Esperance Kip & Steve’s Mechanical Repairs 21 Currong Street, Esperance kipandsteves@westnet.com.au 08 9071 2411
Southwest Isuzu 3 Giorgi Road, Picton reception@southwestisuzu.com.au 08 9724 8444
Scania Emergency Dealers Directory New South Wales
South Australia
Eden Phillip Mitchell Tractor Repairs 1 Government Road Eden phillipmitchell999@hotmail.com 0409 366 999
Bordertown Tatiara Truck & Trailers 4 McLellan Road, Bordertown admin@tttbt.com.au 08 8752 0077
Griffith City Truck Repairs 1056 Bridge Rd, Griffith noelene@citytruckrepairs.com 02 6962 5216
Northern Territory Alice Springs Transport Maintenance & ENG Pty Ltd 7 Coulthard Court, Alice Springs manager@tmae.com.au 0437 162 796
Queensland Gladstone Central Queensland Heavy Maintenance 34 Chapple Street, Gladstone richard@cqmotorsport.com.au 0400 012 815 Goondiwindi MacIntyre Mechanical Service Lot 11 Racecourse Rd Goondiwindi macintyr@bigpond.com 07 4671 3569 Gympie Gympie Truck & Bus 26 McMahon Rd, Gympie cardal@bigpond.com 07 5482 8545
Western Australia Broome Broome Diesel & Hydraulic Service 4 De Castilla Street, Broome bdhs@bigpond.com.au 08 9192 1330 Fremantle Parker Marine 11 Mews Road, Fremantle ben@parkermarine.com.au 08 9336 6979 Kununurra Top End Motors 28 Bandicoot Dr Kununurra service@topendmotors.net.au 08 9168 2207 Newman East Pilbara Mechanical 31 Laver Street, admin@epmechanical.com.au 08 9177 8795 Port Hedland Earthmoving Maintenance Solutions (EMS) Lot 843 Bell Street Port Hedland daniel.finch@emsl.com.au 08 9173 1115
Mount Isa JD Bradbury 178 Duchess Rd, Mount Isa john.bradbury48@gmail.com 0429 193 397
www.scania.com.au
N o 2/2017 • SCANIA EXPERIENCE 65
THE BACK PAGE
Scania’s V8 fjord focus
Scania’s V8 muscle masters some of Norway’s steepest and most spectacular scenery, and stays on time.
Ø
rland Transport was the first transport company in Norway to order and take delivery of a fleet of Scania S 730 trucks. In one of the world’s most challenging topographies for heavy transport, the power and technology of V8 engines are a must. Kjell Haugland is the owner and Managing Director of Ørland Transport, one of the oldest and largest transport companies in Norway’s Stavanger region. But he still regularly joins his 130 drivers on the Norwegian roads in one of the company’s new generation Scania S 730 V8 trucks. “I started in this company as a driver and I think it’s important to remember where you come from,” he says. “Not only that, it’s demanding to run a business as big and competitive as this, and driving is my way to
calm down and feel good.” As a veteran of the road, he has come to know every hairpin bend, steep slope and narrow tunnel along the E39 – the region’s main transport artery. Haugland loves the luxury feeling he gets from the new cab while moving a heavy load up and down the rugged mountains, with the stormy North Sea at his back. Haugland and fellow driver Jan Høiland are seen here hauling 50 tonnes each of prefabricated concrete foundations with their new S 730s for 220 km along this wild coastal route. The journey starts by hugging the North Sea coastline and moving through flat farmland, before beginning the serious business of climbing up narrow, winding
roads through mountain passes made treacherously slippery by snow and ice. Then it’s downhill along serpentine roads, only to have to negotiate the road through another narrow fjord. “The volume of traffic and average speed on these narrow, steep roads is constantly increasing, and heavy transport missions like ours must have the capacity to follow that flow in a reasonably good way. Very often the power and torque of a V8 engine is a prerequisite.” Ørland Transport’s objective is to reduce the fleet’s overall fuel consumption by 10% in a year. If they manage this, the employees will share a windfall of 1 million Norwegian Kronor (EUR 114,000/AUS$171,000). “If we can reduce the idle fuel consumption from 18.9% to 6%, we are already there,” he says.
66 SCANIA EXPERIENCE • N o 2/2017 www.scania.com.au
YOU
SCANIA
CLOSELY MONITOR EVERY BUS. Scania’s Communicator gives School Bus operators total peace-of-mind. With the insights from the data collected from the Scania Communicator, you’ll be able to monitor vehicle locations, driver performance and efficiency compliance, as well as being able to identify waste and then structure strategies to improve your total operating economy.
• Meet Chain of Responsibility requirements • Monitor and compare driver behaviour • Reduce operating costs • Improve customer experience • Vehicle tracking and geo-fencing
And all the savings flow directly to your bottom line. And for a limited time Scania is offering a special introductory offer of $27.60/mth*, representing a 40% saving over the normal price.
*Offer ends 31/12/2017 and applies to first 5 years of contract only. Applies to Control 10 package only, minimum contract term of 60 months. Price excludes GST. Only applies to A30 and/or Scania school bus chassis.
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:VIC / SA / TAS Dean Cash: 0478 310 518 Jamie Atkinson: 0408 059 501 NSW Rob Lanteri: 0478 317 177 Warren Young: 0411 768 027
QLD Brian Thompson: 0418 531 632 WA Dean Cash: 0478 310 518