ATN #417

FOR FLEET OWNERS & MANAGERS
BTS21 NEWS
3
TRUCKS ON SHOW
3
TRAILER TRAIL
3 ELECTRIC PUSH
JUNE 2021 ISSUE 417 $8.50
THE BIGGER SIX
Scania gives its mid-bore B-double linehauler extra oomph and
refinements for a more potent package
HEALTHY HEADS: MENTAL HEALTH IN THE INDUSTRY IS GIVEN A MAJOR BOOST
FINANCE & LEASING: BOTH ARE BOOMING THANKS TO RENEWED CONFIDENCE
MUTUAL MILESTONES: STAYING POWER OF PACCAR AND BROWN & HURLEY

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there is no obligation for Dealers to comply with these recommendations. Freight charges may apply. All items have
been included in good faith on the basis that goods will be available at the time of sale. Prices and promotions are
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ATN-FP-5030542-CS-417

CIRCULATIONS
AUDIT BOARD
CIRCULATIONS
AUDIT BOARD
CONTENTS ISSUE
NEWS
8 Comprehensive news coverage from around the
industry
92 April and May show continuing boom in truck
sales
DIAGNOSTICS
4 Five minutes to ruin it
Company and individual reputations live and die
on consistency, insight and empathy
24 Ramp standards a safety boost
New livestock loading/unloading standards will
improve safety for workers, says Melissa Weller
27 Prioritise action on impaired driving
Reform petty intervention and focus on the real
industry scourges, writes Warren Clark
55 Safety campaign requires space by all
Sal Petroccitto discusses NHVR’s new driver
education campaign
OPERATIONS & STRATEGY
30 The first step
With Healthy Heads in Trucks and Sheds
releasing its roadmap for 2021–2024, the
spotlight is on how industry can expand mental
health awareness and access to services
36 Plane sailing
Hauling a jet fighter through Sydney’s streets
and motorways is no mean feat, but for the top
gun team at Clein Transport Solutions it was
another day at the office
FINANCE & LEASING
40 Finding flexibility
If it’s another asset option or cash for
investment, fleet owners are taking the plunge
42 Premium service
PacLease Australia – Paccar’s truck leasing
and rental division – is offering a full-service
lease program for the new DAF CF530, giving
customers premium service and flexible support
44 Flexibility in the face of change
This is turning out to be a signature year for
Penske Truck Leasing, which is doing more
business than ever, with even more trucks
available in its rental fleet
JUNE 2021
417
Follow us online at Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn and Twitter #ATN
48
46 For a smooth road ahead
Don’t let financing delays prevent you from
getting the best deals
BRISBANE TRUCK SHOW
48 Brisbane charges ahead
The 2021 Brisbane Truck Show proved yet again
why it is truly the trucking industry’s foremost
event - attracting more than 30,000 attendees
over four days
56 Plugging into the main
Though small in number, electric vehicles made
a splash at the trucks showcase
62 Along the trailer trail
Australia is home to some of the best and
toughest trailer manufacturers in the world. The
ATN team follows the trailer trail at the Brisbane
Truck Show
68 Aftermarket extravaganza
Parts and accessories stands were spread
across three floors at the Brisbane Truck Show.
Here’s a snapshot of some of the standouts
TRUCKS
78 Scania raises the stakes
In this wide-ranging report, we start with a test
drive from Sydney to Melbourne in a new R540
B-double before a one-on-one talk with Scania
Australia MD Mikael Jansson and a ride in the
new seven-litre P-series
88 Mutual milestones
Paccar Australia has celebrated 50 years of
truck manufacturing at its Bayswater (Vic)
headquarters but, notching an even bigger
milestone, it has now been 75 years since
two Army mates formed Brown & Hurley
36
FOR TRANSPORT LOGISTICS MANAGERS
EDITORIAL
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Rob McKay 03 9567 4152
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Mark.Gojszyk@aremedia.com.au
PRODUCTION
Production Co-Ordinator Cat Fitzpatrick
Art Director Bea Barthelson
ADVERTISING
Group Sales Manager – Industry
Adrian Christian 0423 761 784
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Matt Alexander 0413 599 669
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Max Kolomiiets 0415 869 176
Max.Kolomiiets@aremedia.com.au
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FULLYLOADED.COM.AU June 2021 ATN 3

FORWARD VISION
Five minutes to ruin it
Company and individual reputations live and die on consistency, insight and empathy
ROB McKAY
has been a
journalist for
more than three
decades, with
the last 25 years
focused on
national and
international
freight transport
The headline is the second part of an aphorism
from Warren Buffet, one of the world’s
greatest investors.
The Sage of Omaha’s full quote is: “It takes
20 years to build a reputation and five minutes
to ruin it.
“If you think about that, you’ll do things
differently.”
To see how ruinous a loss of reputation can be,
look no further than global miner Rio Tinto.
It lost its CEO and a number of senior executives
over destroying the cultural heritage of the nation
and the world in the hope of gaining the sort of
pittance it might spend annually on public relations.
The upshot was that its carefully manicured
profile as a responsible firm that cares for and
consults with those impacted by its operations –
the main shield, along with emissions control, in the
defence of its social licence to operate – was shown
to have become the sort of cynical charade the
public associates with ‘green-washing’.
Of course, it led directly to forensic examination of
its environmental policies, which were also found to
be used as a cover for the sort of ‘business as usual’
that is increasingly unacceptable.
The Juukan Gorge debacle and the company’s
botched approach to handling it are, no doubt, a
central lesson in business education, as students
learn how not to handle a public crisis.
Full transparency and honest
explanation is the only logical
starting point
But it also highlights that responsibility for
allowing such a disaster goes right to the top.
This example is also about risk, as Buffett points
out. Why risk reputations and jobs through a laser
focus only on the bottom line at possible cost of
much more than the baubles gained?
As the old nursery rhyme about social control
of destructive impulses says: “Don’t care was made
to care.”
Two developments in freight transport gave rise to
these thoughts recently.
There is a huge and varied enterprise under the
Toll banner but anything under it will feel the heat if
controversy arises elsewhere within it.
Having senator Glenn Sterle in a position
to highlight the sort of regressive hardball
allegedly played against smaller operators and
subcontractors at a Queensland Coles distribution
centre, just when the transport and logistics giant is
involved in good works, looks horrible.
We might mention that ATN was approached at
the Brisbane Truck Show with a complaint very
similar indeed to one of those Sterle amplified early
this month. Promised details failed to materialise,
though did get a partial airing in another publication.
So, the allegations are in the public domain and
while there has been a limited response from Toll
and Coles and nothing addressing ATN’s queries at
time of writing, that is far from good enough.
If the Parkinson DC issue is to avoid becoming
trucking’s Juukan Gorge, hoping it goes away
is doomed. After all, The Transport Workers’
Union’s credibility is on the line, too, or what is
the ‘charter on standards’ the union signed with
Coles really worth?
There may be devils in the details and other
complications but full transparency and honest
explanation is the only logical starting point.
Meanwhile, in a country mostly populated by
immigrants, starting at Generation 1 and working
out from there, it is a given that recent arrivals have
to strive harder than most.
From the start of the Australian enterprise,
overcoming entrenched positions and attitudes has
been down to working harder than the rest. And,
in that foreign country known as ‘the past’, it has
worked. And the country gained from it.
But in this country, now, hard work in and of itself
in basic road freight, is not enough.
That is why the prosecution of Punjab Roadtrains
is bittersweet.
Sweet, because we now have controls over how
firms behave to help the country avoid the sorts of
road carnage we saw with so much more regularity
last century.
Bitter, because, if the national regulator’s case is
proven, working smarter was eschewed here for an
unacceptable form of working harder.
While it is inherently unfair that powerful
enterprises got to where they are working without
such constraints, that is a universal fact of history.
Getting past them is not achieved through doing
more of what they did, it is by doing things better or
changing the game.
Of course, it is always easier to do if the
entrenched are also stuck in the past.
4 ATN June 2021 FULLYLOADED.COM.AU

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NEWS
Dogs & Chains
3 To the Brisbane Truck Show, where you never know what you’re going to see or hear. One of our
snouts was surprised to be told by a bright young attendee that he’d never met Bruce Rock but hoped
to find him there. That trailer fan had obviously come down in the last shower but it is, it seems,
a more common misconception than is reasonable – being a Western Australian manufacturer
notwithstanding. So, in the interest of education, here is a picture quiz. One is the sort of rock a guy
called Bruce performs, one is the outcrop that informs the name of the company and its home town,
and one is of the enterprise’s excellent products. Which is which?
3 OK, carrying on this rather excellent game of Which is Which, now we’ve got a taste for it – one
of these pictures is of a beautifully liveried Kenworth parked as if it was a ute, at the Hilton hotel
entrance in Brisbane’s CBD. The other is beautifully liveried Kenworth, parked as if it was a ute, at the
entrance to the Brisbane Convoy for Kids stand at the BTS. Think hard: which . . . is . . . which?
3 That’s Emma Black
barista-ing, if that’s a word,
at the Meritor stand. She
is employed by Zenith
Hospitality who was
contracted to BCEC for the
Brisbane Truck Show and
wins undying gratitude
from the kennel and our
unofficial and entirely
uncomprehensive Best
Coffee at an Exhibitor’s Stand
gong. Meritor’s Veda Chhuen
tells us: “Our stand builder,
Display Wise, assisted us
with organising this and
I suppose we were lucky
with the barista we were
assigned. We did the same in
2019, however the reception
towards Emma’s coffee
making was phenomenal
this time around.” And so
say all of us.
3 Sometimes it is possible to succumb to some very minor despair. This is Troy Conley-
Magnusson undertaking his Push for Kids charity effort in support of the services and care provided
by Little Wings, Ronald McDonald House and Sydney Children’s Hospital. A mighty and absolutely
brilliant tilt, worthy of Guinness World Record recognition. Of course, it was part and parcel of BTS21
and its attendant surrounding attractions, But that seemed to escape the attention of some of the
mainstream media’s reportage. Um, how?
3 ‘Wave to a Truckie’ is becoming something of a worldwide phenomenon since emerging from
Tippings Transport entirely off its own bat. Director Sally Tipping was tireless at the BTS, handing
stickers around in the cause of forbearance and understanding. Even Queensland Police took the
message on. As of early April, WTAT had a Facebook reach of 1.45 million, 15 per cent of which are in
the US, Canada, the UK and NZ. We are in awe!
6 ATN June 2021 FULLYLOADED.COM.AU

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ATN-FP-5030542-CS-417

NEWS
Inside the Industry
NHVR
NATIONAL CARRIER CHARGED OVER
BREACHES
The National Heavy Vehicle
Regulator (NHVR) has filed
charges against a national
transport company and its
executive after a nine-month
investigation into the
company’s operations
Melbourne-based Punjab Roadtrains
Pty Ltd (ACN 153 275 971), trading
as Auswide Transport Solutions, and
associated company Southern Cross
Freight Lines Pty Ltd (ACN 620 756
998), had prohibition notices filed
against them in November of last year.
The NHVR notes it initiated the
investigation following multiple
vehicle collisions and Safe-T-Cam
footage that allegedly identifies
breaches relating to Punjab
Roadtrains.
Records for 15 drivers were analysed
by NHVR investigators, revealing 225
fatigue and work diary breaches by the
company, it says.
A further 54 breaches were detected
including contraventions of the
Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL)
Act, fatigue regulations and basic
fatigue management (BFM) rules, and
included administrative errors within
National Driver Work Diaries, critical
breaches of excess work hours and
insufficient rest breaks.
"The NHVR will allege that there
were significant failings within the
company’s scheduling ability and
processes," the regulator notes in a
short statement.
"It will also be alleged that the
company failed to provide adequate
training to staff, or to follow up
and address incidents of ongoing
fatigue breaches.
"The subsequent risk to public
safety was known to the company."
After an initial hearing at Melbourne
Magistrates’ Court on May 31, a
committal mention is scheduled
at the court on August 10.
“The NHVR will allege that there were
significant failings within the company’s
scheduling ability and processes"
charges QLD mining firm over fatality
The National Heavy Vehicle Regulator
(NHVR) has filed primary duty charges
against the directors of a Queensland
mining company operating as a prime
contractor of drivers of heavy vehicle
combinations.
The NHVR initiated an investigation
on the as yet unnamed firm following a
fatality in May 2019, involving a heavy
vehicle rolling on an incline.
The regulator says it will allege that
the directors of failed to exercise due
diligence to ensure the company fulfilled
its duty under section 26C of the Heavy
Vehicle National Law (HVNL), with the
matter listed for a first mention in the
Biloela Magistrates’ Court on June 30.
Meanwhile, the NHVR also reports it
has accepted an enforceable undertaking
(EU), from YF Waste Services, after the
company failed to comply with mass
weight requirements.
On August 12, 2020, a heavy vehicle
operated by YF Waste Services, trading
as Skips365, was weighed at Chester Hill,
detected with minor-risk gross overmass
104.83 per cent overloaded and severe
risk axle overmass 125.56 per cent
overloaded, respectively.
No death, injury or infrastructure
damage was caused by these particular
overloads.
YF Waste proposed the EU for the
HVNL breach in lieu of a prosecution by
Transport for New South Wales.
The EU consists of enhanced driver
education and training, with an aim
of leading to improved compliance in
the future, including training and the
sending of a directive to all employees
of the enhancements and rectifications
to be enacted.
The EU has a minimum expenditure of
$18,000.
8 ATN June 2021 FULLYLOADED.COM.AU

CONCRITE FINED FOR FUEL DRIVER DEATH
Boral firm Concrite has been convicted
and fined $450,000 after the death of a fuel
delivery driver in 2017.
The concrete production and supplies
subsidiary pleaded guilty and accepted
responsibility for the incident and its failings
when, on September 20, 2017, Caltex tanker
driver Peter Lees was fatally struck by a
concrete mixer at Concrite’s Alexandria,
NSW, site.
The NSW District Court heard Lees
was delivering fuel to the site when he
stepped in front of a Concrite mixing truck
that was attempting to drive past another
Concrite vehicle.
That driver unknowingly struck Lees and
dragged him for about 20 metres. Lees died
two days later from his injuries.
It is noted that, while Boral oversees
Concrite’s governance framework, the
day-to-day operations of the site are
managed by the latter.
Thus Concrite was charged with, and
pleaded guilty to, exposing workers to the
risk of death or serious injury.
The court heard Concrite applied work
health and safety policies and procedures
developed by Boral relevant to its own
operations, including traffic management,
but it did not have an adequate system
for managing the risk of pedestrian and
vehicle interaction or a means of protecting
pedestrians from vehicle collisions.
For example:
• Concrite did not conduct a review of
the safe operating procedure (SOP), or
implement a system, whereby an effective
site map with traffic management
controls, or a procedure for the handover
of delivery dockets, was available
• There were no direct pedestrian routes
to access the office or clearly marked
walkways. Where there were walkways,
the painted markings were either faded
or not present. There was no signage
directing people toward those walkways
• The rear yard walkway running along the
back fence was narrow and at the same
level as the rest of the yard. Being at
ground level, the area could also become
slippery because of the trucks backing
toward the walkway and hosing down
immediately next to the path. Sometimes
there were large items stored in the
walkways that would impede the
walking path
• Concrite had a document titled ‘Site Map’,
which demonstrated an entry/exit gate
traffic flow in a clockwise direction. While
the site map directed a route dependent
on the type of vehicle entering, it did not
specify designated pedestrian walking
zones or exclusion zones.
The court heard that a Boral safety
alert for a pedestrian incident before
the 2017 fatality saw Conrite review its
traffic management risks but fail to
properly implement the controls at its
Alexandria site.
After the incident, Concrite was issued
a SafeWork NSW Improvement Notice
requiring it to revise control measures
implemented for traffic management.
In convicting Concrite, Judge Strathdee
says the fixes could, and should, have been
implemented earlier, as the risk of a worker
being struck by a vehicle at the site was
highly foreseeable – and known to Concrite.
"Notwithstanding this, the defendant
failed to adequately implement its systems
and take appropriate steps to safeguard
against the risk.”
The initial fine was $600,000, reduced
by 25 per cent on the early plea, with a
further $43,000 in prosecution costs to be
paid by Concrite.
TRUCK INJURY LANDS DANDY PREMIX CONCRETE WITH HUGE FINE
Dandy Premix Concrete Pty Ltd has been
convicted and fined $120,000 after a worker
was run over by a truck at its Pakenham plant in
2018, WorkSafe Victoria reports.
The concrete manufacturer was sentenced
in the Dandenong Magistrates' Court on May
10 after being found guilty on April 15 of failing
to provide a safe workplace by failing to take
reasonably practicable steps to eliminate the
risk of powered mobile machines colliding with
pedestrians. The company was also ordered to
pay costs of $13,850.
The court heard that on July 20, 2018,
workers were cleaning up spilled slurry as a
truck was loading concrete, WorkSafe explains.
Once the truck was full, it pulled out, passing
the two workers.
One of the workers tripped and fell under
the truck's rear wheels and his left arm was
run over.
The worker suffered serious injuries,
including amputation of his little finger
and partial amputation of his ring and
middle fingers.
He has required multiple surgeries and
ongoing rehabilitation.
The court heard the company did not have
a traffic management plan that identified
hazards, including collisions between trucks
and pedestrians while spilled slurry was being
cleaned up, and that there were no risk control
measures in place, such as exclusion zones
or physical barriers to separate pedestrians
from vehicles.
"This worker is still living with the
consequences of an incident that could have
been avoided," WorkSafe executive director of
health and safety Julie Nielsen says.
"It is vital that employers have appropriate
traffic management plans and risk control
measures in place to keep vehicles and
pedestrians at a safe distance."
FULLYLOADED.COM.AU June 2021 ATN 9

NEWS
Inside the Industry
TOLL BUOYANT IN
YEAR END RESULTS
Toll Global Express came back to
haunt Japan Post (JP) one last
time as the parent company
released its annual results ending
March 31, 2021.
JP concedes it gave up on
Global Express as it continued to
bleed financially, to the tune of
$78 million last Japanese financial
year, in the Toll portfolio that also
includes Global Logistics and
Global Forwarding.
However, positively for JP, Toll
Group’s bottom line sees revenue and
earnings before interest and taxes
(EBIT) rise to $9.84 billion and $46
million, respectively.
Operating income inched towards
the $10 billion mark, increasing
by A$1.28 billion (or 14.9 per cent
year-on-year), "due mainly to
continuing large-scale handling of
Covid-19 prevention supplies by the
Global Logistics Asia division through
the fourth quarter of the fiscal year",
JP explains.
While operating and other
expenses increased in conjunction
with operating income, personnel
expenses decreased, resulting in
a return to profit, after a loss of
A$117 million in the prior
corresponding period.
The profitable Global Logistics
business saw EBIT of $168 million,
jumping well above the A$94 million
of FY20 but below the A$210 million
recorded in FY19.
Global Forwarding was also in the
black by A$4 million, where it had
previously been in deficit by A$30
million and $8 million in the last two
financial years.
Corporate/Other shortfalls also
declined, from $80 million in FY20
and $56 million in FY19 to $48 million
in FY21.
Meanwhile, Global Express’s
deficit of A$78 million adds to the
A$100 million and A$18 million lost
respectively in the previous two years,
leaving its new owners Allegro and
CEO Christine Holgate with plenty
to do.
Conceding it had been "persistently
operating at a loss", JP discloses
a "loss on the sale of Toll’s Global
Express business" of Y67.4 billion,
equating to about A$793 million,
having previously put the sale price
as A$7.8 million.
Toll Group managing director
Thomas Knudsen says that "the last
12 months has truly been a year like
no other; requiring resilience and
agility at every turn in response to
the fast-changing environment driven
by Covid-19".
"We had zero fatalities and improved
on our overall safety outcomes,
while keeping our people safe from
the virus with strict controls across
our global operations.
Toll and Primary Connect ink NSW distribution deal
Toll Global Logistics has secured a five-year
contract renewal with Woolworths supply chain
arm Primary Connect to deliver to more than 380
supermarkets across New South Wales.
As part of the agreement, Toll will invest more
than $24 million on a new fleet of 100 prime
movers and 25 rigids over the life of the contract.
Toll will manage the distribution from Primary
Connect’s Minchinbury, Yennora, Erskine Park and
Wyong distribution centres, where almost 400
drivers, including 260 full-time employees, will
be engaged.
Though specifics of the fleet aren’t disclosed, a
statement notes all vehicles will be fitted with the
latest "hi-tech safety systems", including facial
recognition fatigue protection and telematics
tracking solutions.
"We are delighted that we can continue our
strong relationship with Woolworths, who remain a
key player in the Australian grocery marketplace,"
Toll Global Logistics president Peter Stokes says.
"This agreement highlights our capabilities in the
grocery sector.
"We have developed a fantastic partnership with
Woolworths over 20 years in these distribution
"Despite a very challenging
operating environment, Toll made
strong headway on the previous
12 month's financial results with
strong improvements in both revenue
and earnings.
"It’s clear that we’re on the right
path for growth.
"This result would not be
possible without the dedication
of our staff and the support of
our customers and partners.
I want to thank my colleagues
at Toll for delivering such a
great performance."
Above:
Toll Group MD
Thomas Knudsen
centres and are pleased that we are able to extend
our relationship for another five years in NSW."
Toll is the incumbent secondary transport service
provider for the Woolworths operations and wins
the new agreement in a competitive tender process.
Meanwhile, Primary Connect has welcomed 180
Big W supplier and carrier partners into its network.
As part of the Big W Simpler Supply Chain
Program, all Big W supplier and carrier partners
using Big W Primary Freight were onboarded onto a
single platform for all load planning using Transport
Management System (TMS).
TMS is the online booking system used by
Primary Connect to coordinate transport activity
across suppliers, carriers and receiving distribution
centres.
The Big W Primary Freight Transition project
coincided with the launch of two new Big W
distribution centres in Kewdale, WA and Hoppers
Crossing, Victoria.
The new Big W facilities are a joint partnership
between Big W, Primary Connect and Linfox as the
third party provider.
Despatch to Big W stores from the new facilities
began in April 2021.
10 ATN June 2021 FULLYLOADED.COM.AU

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RELIED
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1969

NEWS
Inside the Industry
METEORIC RISE UNDERSCORED
IN ASX LISTING OF MLG OZ
Starting off at the turn of the millennium as
a small contractor for BHP, MLG Oz is now
a mining services giant in Western Australia
that turns over more than $200 million a year
and is the newest player on the Australian
Securities Exchange (ASX).
The Kalgoorlie-based mining services
company provides integrated services across
gold, iron ore and other base-metal clients
throughout WA and the Northern Territory,
including crusher feed, road maintenance,
rehabilitation work, vehicle maintenance,
machine and labour hire, bulk haulage and
end-to-end logistics solutions.
The listed company has a market
capitalisation of $145.7 million, with $70.7
million invested through its initial public
offering (IPO).
MLG forecasts revenue of $241.6 million
and pro-forma earnings before interest, taxes,
depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) of
$41 million for the 2021 financial year.
The listing brings into sharp relief the
company’s sustained expansion since
its foundation in 2001, when founder and
managing director Murray Leahy started it as
a small contractor providing silica mining and
haulage services for BHP.
It now operates across nearly 30 sites.
"We are excited about becoming a listed
company and the opportunities it creates
to further grow the business," Leahy, who
remains majority shareholder, tells the ASX.
"We welcome all of our new shareholders
and thank them for the level of interest
and support.
"This is an exciting time for the company
and its shareholders. Our employees and
clients have helped us grow this business
successfully for over 20 years.
"As the only shareholder until this point,
I am pleased to have new shareholders
join me in expanding the business and
am excited about the opportunities in
front of us."
Industry demand for MLG’s services
remains very high, correlating with high
levels of planned mining production
expansion, a company statement notes.
Company-owned quarries are located
near existing mining operations, which is
said to facilitate the efficient supply of bulk
construction materials comprising sand,
aggregate and lime to clients.
Its first ‘build, own and operate’ crushing
operation at Christmas Creek continues to
meet production targets and the company
has further opportunities for expansion in
this type of facility with new clients.
"The additional capital raised through
the IPO will initially be used to reduce the
company’s debt and support the working
capital needs associated with our ongoing
growth," Leahy adds.
"This will provide us with the capability
to continue to obtain new equipment and
expand our operations to support our clients
and develop new client relationships.
"We are a long-term relationship
business which prides itself on delivery
for our clients and having the capacity
to support them will help position us well
for the future."
CLEANAWAY NATIONAL FLEET GAINS NEW SAFETY TECHNOLOGY
A new collision avoidance system has been
installed in most of Cleanaway’s heavy vehicles
to improve road safety for all users, the waste
specialist reveals.
The Mobileye Advanced Driver Assist system
has been fitted to more than 3,000 vehicles across
the fleet, including waste trucks, tankers, prime
movers and light vehicles such as utilities.
The $5 million-plus national roll-out followed
the successful trial of the system in the Victorian
Solid Waste Services fleet during the first half of
2019, according to Cleanaway’s head of health
and safety and regulatory compliance, Rachel
Irvine-Marshall.
"With our teams operating heavy vehicles in
many different environments, driver distraction
is a critical health and safety risk," Irvine-
Marshall says.
"Studies show that about 90 per cent of
accidents are caused by driver error and almost
80 per cent of crashes involve driver inattention
within three seconds before an event.
"The results of our trial were compelling with
a significant decrease in driver-at-fault incidents
and a reduction in incident severity within the
Victorian fleet.
"We have now rolled out Mobileye to the great
majority of the Cleanaway fleet nationally and are
looking forward to further improving road safety
and seeing positive results across our fleet."
12 ATN June 2021 FULLYLOADED.COM.AU

FREELANCER BUYS MARKETPLACE LOADSHIFT
Freight-matching consolidation sees
Freightlancer, a subsidiary of Freelancer.
com, snap up heavy haulage transport
marketplace Loadshift for $7.7 million.
The deal throws into sharp relief the
growing digital freight marketplace in
Australia.
Loadshift posted earnings before
interest, taxes, depreciation and
amortisation (EBITDA) of about
$766,000 in FY2020, Freelancer tells the
Australian Securities Exchange (ASX).
Founded in March 2007 by Phil
Callaghan, Loadshift "has grown to be
Australia’s largest online heavy haulage
freight marketplace with 68,837 freight
requests (up 26.8 per cent) for 85.8
million kilometres of freight requested
in 2020, and over 73,000 loads posted in
the last 12 months".
It will align with Freightlancer.com,
described as a global marketplace for
freight, shipping and transport spanning
from complex enterprise haulage to
consumer metro deliveries, "powered by
the world's largest human labour cloud
of over 50 million freelancers in 247
countries, regions and territories".
Freelancer owns 53 per cent of
Freightlancer, which now also receives
$3.7 million investment from diversified
industrials group Maas Group Holdings
CEO and founder Wes Maas, equipment
and labour services provider EMS
Group CEO and founder Tom Cavanagh,
and global tech venture fund Startive
Ventures.
Cavanagh becomes Freightlancer
chief executive as part of the move.
"After a 15-year journey as the
director of Loadshift, this represents the
ideal next step," Loadshift founder Phil
Callaghan says.
"The moment is right, the family
timing is perfect and the opportunity
to see Loadshift's successful model
brought to the global stage by
Freelancer irresistible.
"From the beginning, I have been
committed to utilising technology to
create a connected community of both
carriers and shippers.
"When we started, there was little
visibility of trucking capacity. We've
brought that visibility to the freight
community, changing the industry.
"The team and I have loved forging
connections that span the breadth of
Australia from coast to coast, improving
the businesses and experiences of our
carriers and shippers.
"We've interacted with this
community constantly, learned what
matters to them and seen day after day
how Australia deeply depends on its
truckers."
Freelancer.com chief executive Matt
Barrie says the company is excited to
acquire Loadshift.
"As a successful digital freight
marketplace that has always looked
after its carriers and community,
Loadshift aligns with Freelancer's
mission," he says.
"The acquisition of Loadshift builds
on Freightlancer's momentum and
continues to deepen our global pool of
liquidity for the freight logistics industry,
around the world."
Senko takes majority ownership of AirRoad
AirRoad has come under the control
of Japanese logistics company Senko
Group Holdings for an undisclosed sum.
After three decades of national road
express, specialised transportation
and supply chain services growth
the Australia firm will join 11-year-old
local subsidiary Senko Logistics
Australia in a huge change of the
latter’s domestic presence.
"By partnering with AirRoad, Senko
will expand its 3PL business, combining
AirRoad’s high-quality distribution
service and Senko’s warehousing and
logistics capability," the companies say.
"Existing AirRoad logistics customers
will benefit from the larger organisation
and through the provision of higher
quality, efficient and effective logistics
services with the added value of Senko’s
global logistics networks.
"Together, the businesses have
exciting growth opportunities in new
market sectors, for example in the
cold-chain business, by establishing
long distance chilled/frozen products
transport as well as area delivery.
Freelancer CEO
Matt Barrie
“There was little visibility of trucking capacity.
We've brought that visibility to the freight
community, changing the industry"
"These developments will be
underpinned by Senko’s innovative
world-leading technology, which includes
advanced robotics."
It appears recent hefty local growth in
parcels and the express market generally
is part of the impetus for the move.
"Importantly for the AirRoad and
Senko partnership, AirRoad’s national
distribution footprint and outstanding
service performance with time-critical
deliveries will continue to be highly
valued in the growing Australian market,"
the companies say.
For current AirRoad clients, there will
be benefits in working with Senko to
strategically develop a more efficient
warehouse and depot footprint in
Australia.
"The Senko partnership will also bring
additional benefits in relation to logistics
services due to Senko’s wealth of
knowledge and capability in this field and
the use of world-leading technology."
Founded in 1916, Senko is a listed firm
Japanese with a market capitalisation
put at Yen125 billion (A$1.7 billion).
FULLYLOADED.COM.AU June 2021 ATN 13

NEWS
Inside the Industry
PBS SAFETY GAINS FLAGGED
A joint report from the National Heavy
Vehicle Regulator (NHVR), Chartered
Institute of Logistics and Transport
Australia (CILTA) and the National Truck
Accident Research Centre (NTARC) has
revealed performance-based standards
(PBS) vehicles are involved in 60 per cent
fewer major crashes than conventional
vehicles.
This is a significant improvement over
the results in a 2018 report, the Reforming
the Performance-Based Standards Scheme
policy paper, which found PBS vehicles
were in 46 per cent fewer major crashes
compared to the conventional fleet.
PBS vehicles are forecast to save 143
lives over 20 years, the NHVR says.
The NHVR partnered with the CILTA
and the NTARC to deliver the Review of
Major Crash Rates for Australian Higher
Productivity Vehicles: 2015–2019 report,
which looks at the reduced crash rates,
fewer kilometres driven and lives saved by
using PBS vehicles.
It shows PBS rigid trucks, with or
without trailers, were involved in almost
half the number of crashes per 100 million
km compared to non-PBS vehicles and
articulated combinations at less than a
third.
"Generally, the PBS fleets, whose
configurations have been certified through
the PBS scheme, have performed better in
each truck category when compared to their
conventional truck counterparts," the report
concludes.
"In some cases, significant improvements
in major crash statistics have been
observed for some configurations.
"This is because some of the expected
crashes have not occurred as ‘major
crashes’, but instead have manifest
themselves to a minor extent in increased
frequencies in the ‘serious crash’ category
when examined over the last five years."
NHVR chief engineer Les Bruzsa sees
PBS vehicles achieving safety gains beyond
what was originally anticipated.
"In the last five years, PBS vehicles were
involved in 60 per cent fewer major crashes
than conventional trucks" Bruzsa says.
"PBS articulated combinations had the
lowest rate of crashes per distance travelled
with 5.4 crashes per 100 million kilometres
travelled, compared to 17.6 crashes for their
conventional counterparts — almost 70 per
cent lower.
"Not only are these vehicles equipped
with the latest in braking and safety
technologies to help prevent crashes, but
they are also productive - delivering more
goods with fewer vehicles in a safe manner.
"Over the last five years, PBS vehicles
travelled 1.6 billion fewer kilometres on
Australian roads compared to conventional
vehicles to transport the same freight task.
"This huge reduction in distance travelled
means improved safety benefits to our
drivers, the community and reducing
damage to our roads."
The NHVR notes there has been
significant acceleration in the uptake of
the PBS scheme, with a compound annual
growth rate close to 43 per cent.
"There are now more than 12,000
PBS-approved combinations operating
across Australia," Bruzsa says.
"Further growth will deliver greater safety
and productivity benefits, supporting a
strong and prosperous Australia, and the
saving of more lives on our roads."
Les Bruzsa
NHVR SEES NEW SOUTH WALES ADDED TO REGULATORY FOLD
The National Road Transport Association
(NatRoad) congratulates the New South Wales
government for putting a final piece of the jigsaw
into place in the long process of reforming
operations of the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator
(NHVR).
NatRoad CEO Warren Clark says that the
recent passing by the NSW Parliament of the
Heavy Vehicle Legislation Amendment (National
Regulator) Bill 2021 came after a 10-year journey.
"The Bill is the final step in the transfer of NSW’s
heavy vehicle regulatory functions to the National
Heavy Vehicle Regulator," Clark says.
"The aim of the reform process was to improve
safety, and reduce costs and regulatory burden
for Australian transport companies by creating a
national regulatory regime for heavy vehicle safety
and productivity".
Regional transport and roads minister Paul
Toole introduced the Bill in March.
"The principal objectives of the bill are to
provide for the transfer of certain members of
staff from Transport for NSW to the National
Heavy Vehicle Regulator and to safeguard their
employment conditions, as well as to enable the
minister to direct by written order that specified
assets, rights or liabilities of Transport for NSW
be transferred to the National Heavy Vehicle
Regulator," he says.
The Bill passed the legislative council at the
beginning of May and brings NSW into line with
other states and territories, with the exceptions of
Northern Territory and Western Australia.
14 ATN June 2021 FULLYLOADED.COM.AU

NEWS Inside the Industry and driver health," its communique states.
TRUCKING REFORM PATHWAY AGREED
The nation’s transport ministers have
agreed to a pathway to reforms on how
heavy vehicle charges are set and invested
and the law that governs its operations.
The latest Infrastructure and Transport
Ministers’ Meeting (ITMM) sees the release
of a plan – Pathway Ahead: Heavy Vehicle
Road Reform – that provides steps to a new
reality for the industry by 2024.
The ITMM also flags the final Heavy
Vehicle National Law (HVNL) to be before
ministers by mid-2023.
"The National Transport Commission
(NTC) will deliver more detailed advice
to ministers over the next 12 months
on key areas of reform such as fatigue
management, heavy vehicle access,
increased use of higher productivity
vehicles, assurance schemes, duties
"Ministers discussed the significant
reform opportunity presented by the review
of the Heavy Vehicle National Law.
"Ministers agreed that options developed
should be ambitious to realise the potential
productivity and safety benefits for industry
and the economy more broadly."
The ‘pathway’ document does come with
a caveat.
"As governments proceed along the
pathway, they may decide at any time
whether to continue on the pathway, and
whether to ultimately participate in the
reformed system," it states.
Beyond that, it envisions four common
tasks – Identify, Prepare, Setup and Apply
for each in each year from 2021 to 2024.
They sit on four ‘pillars’:
• National Service Level Standards for roads
• independent determination of what
expenditure is recoverable through heavy
vehicle charge
• independent setting of heavy vehicle
charges
• hypothecation.
Public consultation on the first pillar is
on framework, this year, before negotiation
of a set level of ambition for standards,
establishment of ongoing governance
arrangements for reviewing and updating
standards, and continuation of data
collection on service levels, in 2023.
The second consultation, in 2023, will
be on draft legislation, agreeing national
expenditure review guidelines and the
beginning of staffing investment review
body/ies, which will then begin engaging
with road agencies.
The third consultation covers key settings
for a forward-looking cost base and
agreeing a transitional path for charges/
revenue , while, in 2024, an independent
price regulator will begin a charge-setting
process in line with agreed transition
arrangements.
The fourth will relate to hypothecation
arrangement details next year.
Ministers have also endorsed a National
Urban Freight Planning Principles document
that "will be utilised by all jurisdictions, with
progress reported on annually through the
National Freight and Supply Chain Strategy",
the communique says.
Federal government unveils prototype freight data hub website
The National Freight Data Hub prototype website
is officially launched to a warm reception
by high-profile transport and logistics (T&L)
industry executives.
To fully capitalise on the value of enhanced
freight data, the Australian government
announced $16.5 million in funding in the
2021–22 Budget over four years to develop the
hub further.
Federal transport minister Michael
McCormack insists the hub, which gains $16.5
million over four years in the recent Budget, will
be a trusted source of freight data for industry,
government and others to improve the efficiency,
safety and resilience of the freight sector.
"The hub will highlight important information
about traffic volumes, congestion, road condition
and rest area usage, to improve road safety for the
nation’s freight operators," McCormack adds.
"This commitment will in turn support the
day-to-day operations of the transport industry,
provide enhanced freight data across all supply
chains and enable a data driven approach for future
strategic planning and investment.
"Every Australian, everywhere, every day, relies
on a truck driver, which is why we need high-quality,
easily accessible data to make sure the movement
of goods and services is as efficient as possible,
especially as Australia’s freight task grows."
Freight transport assistant minister Scott
Buchholz observes that industry asked
for a congestion metric to assist with their
businesses and the government has delivered
this, and more, with the prototype hub website.
"The prototype website is an important
first step that shows the Hub’s potential as a
game-changer for the Australian freight and
supply chain industry," Buchholz says.
"The website showcases government and
industry cooperation on a number of projects
and allows users to search for data relevant to
their business.”
16 ATN June 2021 FULLYLOADED.COM.AU

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NEWS Inside the Industry safety control measures are in place to protect
NEWCASTLE SEES TRUCKING
SAFETY INSPECTIONS
Safety inspectors visited transport
operators across Newcastle and the
Hunter Region in May as part of a Safety
Around Your Vehicle compliance project,
SafeWork NSW announces.
The aim was to promote safer working
practices when loading, unloading and
working around vehicles, with SafeWork
inspectors speaking to operators on the
requirement to have safe work systems
for tasks around heavy vehicles.
"Almost every week, we see workers
getting injured, or worse, while working
around vehicles, whether that’s in
a transport depot, unloading on a
construction site, loading at a distribution
centre or making retail or home
deliveries," SafeWork NSW executive
director Tony Williams says.
"Many of the incidents are not driving
related, but happen as people work
around the truck or vehicle.
"These visits are not about driving
habits, they’re about safe work practices
around the vehicle.
"The visits are about addressing safe
loading and unloading practices, the
importance of properly immobilising
heavy vehicles and promoting the
separation of people, product and plant
at all workplaces.
"We have been undertaking widespread
transport industry consultation
to identify the highest priority risks, and
this is part of our response to those issues."
In contextualising the project, SafeWork
NSW points to a number of serious recent
incidents, including a worker suffering serious
leg injuries in April when the truck she was
working on rolled away from her on a property
near Oberon.
In late 2020, a 50-year-old mechanic
suffered fatal crush injuries in Tumut while
working on the brake line of a tipper truck,
and a 52-year-old tow truck driver was fatally
crushed by a prime mover as it rolled off a tilt
tray semi-trailer in Newcastle.
The compliance visit follows on from the
recent launch of SafeWork NSW’s Safety
Around Your Vehicle Glove Box Guide,
which ensures those working in the heavy
vehicle industry have access to the most
up-to-date safety information.
"We are ensuring workers in the industry
have access to the best safety information
possible," Williams says.
"This guide contains information on
everything from conducting a vehicle
pre-start check, to information on what to
do to prevent an unintentional roll away, as
well as advice on loading and unloading
vehicles."
The glove box guide is available at:
www.safework.nsw.gov.au.
SAFEWORK SA TO START LIVESTOCK SECTOR COMPLIANCE BLITZ
A compliance campaign focusing on the
risks associated with livestock handling
and transport will start in South Australia in
June, the state’s safety watchdog alerts.
SafeWork SA defines livestock handling
as including working with livestock
in paddocks, laneways, yards, cattle
transportation, feedlots, abattoirs,
saleyards and activities relating to onfarm
sales.
Thus, inspectors will be auditing
feedlots, saleyards, abattoirs and livestock
exchange facilities to determine if adequate
workers from injury, including training, manual
handling techniques and the provision of
appropriate plant and systems of work to
separate workers from animals.
SafeWork SA notes workers and other
persons who conduct livestock handling are
at risk of sustaining injuries such as bone
fractures, bruising, dislocations, crush injuries,
lacerations that, in some cases, may be fatal.
It also cites data from Safe Work Australia
that animals are involved in around 20 per cent
of serious injuries in the agriculture sector.
SafeWork SA acting executive director
Glenn Farrell says the livestock transport
industry is faced with high-risk activities and
it is vital they are appropriately managed.
"SafeWork SA has recently developed
guidelines on livestock handling providing
information on managing risks associated
with handling livestock and safe design for
loading ramps and yards.
"I encourage anyone involved with
livestock handling and transport to
understand their responsibility and ways
to make their workplace safe."
18 ATN June 2021 FULLYLOADED.COM.AU

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NEWS
Inside the Industry
Paul
SCURRAH ADDRESSES
FREIGHT CHALLENGES
In one of his earliest interventions since
taking on the roles of Pacific National (PN)
MD and CEO, Paul Scurrah amplifies the
sentiment that Inland Rail will be central
to the country’s economic future.
Speaking at the Australian Logistics
Council/Australasian Railway Association
Inland Rail Conference in Albury, Scurrah
also touches on a number of national
intermodal transport issues through the
lens of rail freight.
Like the deputy prime minister [Michael
McCormack], I’m of the firm opinion it will
form the future economic backbone of
Australia," he says.
Scurrah underlines PN’s expectation
that its Acacia Ridge Terminal "will be the
‘northern terminus’ of Inland Rail for the
foreseeable future".
Critics of the project nominate the
lack of direct paths in to Melbourne and
Brisbane container ports as a prime
weakness in its design, pointing to
the added cost in money and time
of double handling and, with Acacia
Ridge, what is seen as its constraints
on growth.
Scurrah sees it differently.
"In the meantime, Pacific National
welcomes the Australian and Queensland
governments joint initiative to undertake
detailed studies to identify and preserve a
dedicated future rail freight connection to
Port of Brisbane," he says.
"Indeed, urban intermodals and rail
port-shuttles are an incredibly effective way
for governments to improve road safety
and reduce traffic congestion and vehicle
emissions.
"They have the effect of acting as
‘pressure valves’ along supply lines to help
relieve tension and congestion in the overall
transport network."
In Melbourne, he spruiks Truganina, in
Melbourne’s west, against the competing
claim of Beveridge to the north.
"PN estimates more than 60 per cent
of interstate rail freight volumes flow
southwest of Melbourne through to
Adelaide and then Perth," Scurrah says.
"Furthermore, the area west of the
port at Truganina is a key location for
major freight forwarders, shippers, and
their customers.
"Developing a major intermodal terminal
more than 50 kilometres north of the
port will result in perverse social and
environmental outcomes, including more
than 400 extra daily truck movements on
Melbourne roads; notably on the Hume
Highway.
"And, once trucks are travelling north
on the highway out of Melbourne, they
will simply continue all the way through
to Sydney.
"This is a classic example of how
governments need to be acutely
aware of the dynamics of local, regional
Scurrah
and interstate freight movements and
how they interact and impact on the
broader transport and logistics network."
On the route itself, he nominates key
points to allow Inland Rail to be a success:
• an alignment that allows a transit time
between Melbourne and Brisbane of
less than 24-hours – a trip which can
currently take up to 36-hours. This
would help rail "compete on a level
playing field with road freight", especially
given the truck-boosting Newell Highway
upgrades.
• a relatively straight track that can
handle 25-tonne axle loads at 80km/h,
with future proofing for 30 tonnes.
Scurrah points out that twists and
bends are not ideal when you are running
freight trains almost two kilometres
in length. "I congratulate ARTC for also
future proofing the design to, one day,
allow the operation of 3.6-kilometre
freight trains like in North America,"
he says.
SCT plea for deeper view on transport task when spending big
SCT Logistics welcomes the proposed
multi-billion-dollar federal Budget
commitment to a new freight precinct
in Victoria, but stresses the need for
this to be part of an integrated federal
government infrastructure policy.
One of Australia’s two largest rail
freight providers, SCT is a long-term
advocate for competitive neutrality
between rail, road, and sea freight for
some time.
"This announcement is a positive,
but the benefits will only flow with
complementary private sector investment,"
SCT MD Geoff Smith underlines.
"With the national freight task increasing
by $35 billion annually by 2030, significant
investments of this nature will be required,
but they cannot be deployed in isolation."
Smith emphasises the need to integrate the
three freight modes in the context of the $15
billion Inland Rail project, which will see the
Melbourne-Brisbane rail line upgraded and
enhanced, representing the country’s largest
single transport infrastructure project.
It also needs to align with the Victorian
government’s Port Rail Shuttle Network
initiative, he notes.
"A Victorian transport hub needs to be
integrated with Inland Rail. Both projects
require private sector investment from
the likes of our company, and this will
only be forthcoming if the Government is
more proactive in the management of the
relationship between road, rail and sea,"
Smith says.
20 ATN June 2021 FULLYLOADED.COM.AU

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HyundaiTrucks.com.au

NEWS
Inside the Industry
CALLS FOR TRADE REGULATOR
Above:
Paul Zalai
The Australian trade services
sector is calling for the creation of a
national trade regulator to oversee
shipping and the container trade in
an environment that has significantly
changed in recent years.
The call is contained in a
submission to the Productivity
Commission’s supply chain security
inquiry, which paints a picture of
consolidation in shipping lines and
stronger alliances, with a consortia of
shipping lines entering vessel sharing
agreements, creating significant
barriers for new entrants into this
global market, "let alone successfully
compete in a somewhat isolated
Australian trade-lane".
The situation is exacerbated by
a huge surge in post-pandemic
crisis demand, limited supply
of shipping services, erratic
positioning of container equipment
and poor performance in many
key international ports, resulting in
significant spikes in freight rates,
escalation of surcharges and an
all-time low in reliability of services.
Highlighting its submission, Paul
Zalai, director Freight & Trade Alliance
(FTA) and secretariat of the Australian
Peak Shippers Association (APSA),
notes that, in parallel to threats
caused by geopolitical tensions,
serious disruption to international
supply chains is jeopardising access
to markets for Australian trade.
"A well-regulated economy helps
Australia to prosper – in terms of
international trade, this needs serious
consideration as market forces are
failing to provide basic protections
to critical sectors of commerce with
downstream devastating effects
being felt by retailers, manufacturers,
farmers and rural communities,"
Zalai says.
He sees engagement with local
shipping line representatives as
positive but is concerned that many
are largely hamstrung by instructions
from their headquarters overseas.
"Australia is 100 per cent
dependent on foreign-owned shipping
lines to service our containerised
trade, so we need to incentivise the
profitability of our market – but this
cannot be at any cost and this is
where we need federal government
intervention to safeguard the
interests of Australian traders,"
he says.
FTA/APSA sees the Australian
national trade regulator concept as
operating along the lines of the US
Federal Maritime Commission (FMC),
to facilitate competitive international
trade and to provide protections
from the emergence of unreasonable
pricing practices.
Associated recommendations
include the need for a formal
shipping competition review,
a call for minimum service
levels and regulation of ‘terminal
access charges’ and container
detention practices.
The submission also makes
detailed reference to the need
for waterfront industrial relations
reform, implementation of
biosecurity priorities and continued
financial relief measures for the
air cargo sector.
"Australia has world-class
manufacturers and producers who
are supported by skilled customs
brokers and freight forwarders
ready to take advantage of the
opportunities created by free
trade agreements and those
economies recovering from
Covid-19," Zalai says.
"These opportunities will not be
fully realised while physical access
to market and costs of trade are
prohibitive."
FREIGHT BROKERS GAIN ACCC CARRIER BARGAINING APPROVAL
The Australian Competition and Consumer
Commission (ACCC) has granted a group of freight
brokers permission to collectively bargain with
select carriers until at least December 2026.
The competition watchdog did not object to an
application lodged by KIS Transport Australia "to
enable it to collectively bargain agreements on
behalf of itself, five other freight brokers and future
freight brokers that may become members of the
group, with freight carriers".
The ACCC also allows the notification to
remain in force for six years as requested
by KIS, instead of a default three-year period.
The current members of the collective
bargaining group are KIS Transport, Hydra
Logistics Solutions Australia, Total Freight Logistic
Services, Transfreight Solutions Australia Pty and
KIS Corporate.
The freight carriers that the group intends
to collectively negotiate with include TNT, Toll
Express, Couriers Please, Followmont Transport,
Hi-Trans Express and Northline.
"The ACCC considers the collective bargaining
is likely to result in public benefits in the form
of transaction cost savings and improved input
into contracts by the members of the collective
bargaining group, and there is likely to be minimal
public detriment," the watchdog notes.
"By lodging a notification with the ACCC, KIS
and the other freight brokers gain legal protection
to participate in collective bargaining that may
otherwise risk breaching competition laws because
it involves joint action by competitors.
"Participation in collective bargaining
will be voluntary for the freight brokers and
freight carriers."
22 ATN June 2021 FULLYLOADED.COM.AU

SCAN ME
ATN-FP-5211094-CS-417

INDUSTRY VOICE
Ramp standards a safety boost
Standards Australia has released the Australian standard for livestock loading/
unloading ramps and forcing pens, which will improve safety for industry workers
MELISSA
WELLER is the
Australian Trucking
Association’s
safety, health and
wellbeing director
Loading and unloading animals can be the most
challenging part of the livestock handling task,
and hazardous situations can place farming,
agricultural and transport workers at risk.
These high-risk situations can occur anywhere from
farms, roadsides and saleyards, to feedlots, abattoirs and
depots. That’s why strong practices that support driver
health and wellbeing play a crucial role in making sure all
workers remain safe.
To support livestock handlers and keep workers safe,
Standards Australia has released the Australian standard
for livestock loading/unloading ramps and forcing pens.
The standard is the first of its kind and provides the
missing guidance about safe design and practices that
livestock transporters and agricultural businesses need.
This standard is a major step forward in fostering
better and safer conditions for agricultural and transport
workers and livestock and aligns closely with the animal
welfare standards that exist within the TruckSafe
accreditation scheme.
TruckSafe members that are animal welfare accredited
already meet high standards that ensure the suitability
of vehicles, equipment and materials. Our animal welfare
standards meet and exceed all requirements of the
land transport standards and this new ramp standard
reinforces what is best practice to ensure drivers, animal
handlers and livestock are well protected from injury.
TruckSafe director and transport manager of
Shanahan’s Transport Peter Callanan says the release of
the new standard is a crucial development.
“The new standard will see shorter loading and
unloading times, reduced risk of injury for handlers –
especially those who work alone – and less stress on
animals,” Callanan says.
“The ramp standard compliments TruckSafe animal
welfare standard for holding, loading and unloading,
and a requirement that equipment be properly designed,
constructed and maintained.”
The new standard also supports handlers, who are
often loading and unloading on their own, and fosters an
environment where there is less stress placed on animals
during the transport task.
The new standard includes measures promoting liaison
between parties within the livestock handling chain,
resulting in safety expectations being reinforced.
“Loading and unloading animals can be the most
high-risk part of the livestock transport task,” TruckSafe
director and Martins Stock Haulage group fleet and
maintenance manager Graham Emery says.
“In recent years we have seen transport industry
safety improve tremendously and the focus remains
on continuous safety improvements throughout
the supply chain. Vehicles are subject to Australian
standards, with regular internal and on-road inspections
by regulatory authorities.
“Operating under TruckSafe ensures driver practices
and vehicle maintenance are of an extremely high
standard, and this new ramp standard will help
bring livestock ramps into line with modern safety
expectations.”
TruckSafe director and compliance manager fleet
operations at Frasers Livestock Transport Athol Carter
says now, more than ever, it is crucial for businesses and
their staff to step back and assess their procedures.
“Safety by design is now industry standard. In today’s
world, safety is paramount. Adopting proper safety
practices makes perfect sense for businesses and is
money well spent,” Carter says.
He also comments that continual improvement in
safety will benefit all industry participants through
reduced workers compensation premiums and even
increased labour supply.
“The new standard ensures the entire supply
chain has a shared responsibility to consider not
only animal welfare, but the safety of the person
performing the task.”
ATA MEMBER ASSOCIATIONS
ATA DIRECT LINE
Captions: Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
(02) 6253 6900
NSW ROAD FREIGHT NSW – Simon O’Hara .................................... Ph: (02) 9922 6507
VIC VTA – Peter Anderson .................................................... Ph: (03) 9646 8590
QLD QTA – Gary Mahon. ..................................................... Ph: (07) 3394 4388
SA SARTA – Steve Shearer .................................................... Ph: (08) 8445 8177
WA Western Roads Federation – Cam Dumesny .................................. Ph: (08) 9355 3022
NT NTRTA – Louise Bilato ......................................................Ph: 0400 107 223
NatRoad (incorporating the Aust Road Train Assoc) – Warren Clark .................. Ph: (02) 6295 3000
Aust Livestock & Rural Transporters Association ............................. Ph: (02) 6247 5434
Australian Furniture Removers Association – Executive director: Joe Lopino .........Ph: 1800 671 806
Tasmanian Transport Association – Michelle Harwood. ........................... Ph: 0427 366 742
24 ATN June 2021 FULLYLOADED.COM.AU

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move to increase the return on your
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by moving your vehicles to where the
work is. Best of all, once a project
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vehicles to the next project, or bring
them back to base.
We help businesses keep their fleets
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and drive down costs. When you need
a truck moved, we can often pick it
up on the same day and get it moving
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NEWS
Executive appointments
SEA
HOLGATE TO LEAD TOLL GLOBAL
EXPRESS
New Toll Global Express owner Allegro Funds
has scored a major coup, snapping up former
Australia Post chief Christine Holgate to lead
the new entity.
Holgate will be tasked with heading a
transformation strategy for the parcels
and logistics organisation upon the private
equity firm completing its acquisition from
previous owner Japan Post (JP).
“In recent times Global Express has faced
challenges and there is lots of hard work
ahead of us,” Holgate says.
“However, the combination of new funding,
a focused local leadership team, a strong
FULTON SCANIA BRANCH
MANAGER
Brendan Fulton
Brendan Fulton is the new branch
manager for the Scania sales and
service dealership in Dandenong,
Victoria.
The Greens Road dealership is one of
three owned and operated by Scania in
Victoria – and one of nine nationwide.
Fulton brings vast automotive
experience with Renault, Subaru, Nissan
and Hyundai, and an earlier technical
role at Isuzu.
“I have plenty of recent
customer-facing aftersales experience
from the highly competitive passenger
car business, as well as a solid
background as a diesel technician,”
Fulton says.
Christine Holgate
DP WORLD AUSTRALIA CHANGES
Andrew Adam
position in growing markets and the
turnaround expertise of Allegro, will ensure
the business is successful.”
“I started my career in heavy vehicles
with William Adams, and it is good to be
back in the commercial vehicle industry,
especially with a brand like Scania.”
International stevedore DP World has revealed
executive leadership changes in the Asia-Pacific
(APAC) region.
CEO and MD of Australia Glen Hilton has taken on
an expanded role as CEO and MD of the DP World
Asia-Pacific and Australasia and has vacated his
earlier position.
In addition, Hilton assumes the role of chairman of
DP World Australia (DPWA).
Andrew Adam has taken over as DP World Australia
CEO after several years as chief operating officer (COO)
of the business.
Bill Gillespie
ELECTRIC
TAPS GILLESPIE
SEA Electric’s new
president – Asia Pacific
is former Hino vice
president of brand and
franchise development
Bill Gillespie.
Gillespie brings to
the business a wealth
of automotive industry
experience in the
passenger vehicle market
with Toyota, Kia and
Nissan
More recently, he
moved into the truck
industry with a stint at
Hino Australia.
“It is with great pleasure
that we welcome Bill to
the SEA Electric family,”
SEA Electric founder
and president Tony
Fairweather says.
“This is an exciting time
for SEA Electric, especially
in the Asia Pacific region,
with Bill set to anchor
the market development
team, enabling the region
to achieve its substantial
growth forecast.
“Glen Walker’s position
will be renamed ‘vice
president – Asia Pacific’,
and he will continue
his incredible work
in providing high
quality and efficiently
produced electric vehicle
products to the Asia
Pacific region.”
26 ATN June 2021 FULLYLOADED.COM.AU

OPEN ROAD
Prioritise action on impaired driving
Reform petty intervention and focus on the real industry scourges
WARREN CLARK
is CEO of the
National Toad
Transport
Association
NatRoad supports a shift away from roadside
enforcement of heavy vehicle laws but is calling
for extra attention to be paid to enforcing drug
and alcohol misuse.
More frequent testing of light and heavy vehicle
drivers for drug driving, in particular, is a vital road safety
measure.
These issues shouldn’t be forgotten as the reforms
to the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL) are being
finalised and where a move to risk-based enforcement
is likely.
NatRoad emphasised in all of our submissions to
the HVNL review that enforcement must be completely
reformed.
There must be warnings issued before fines are
imposed for mere administrative offences, particularly
those relating to fatigue records.
Much greater use of self-clearing defect notices
should be applied so that they are the norm where
there is no imminent danger to the vehicle, the road
or other road users.
And resources that are currently applied to
painstakingly checking fatigue diaries for pedantic issues
should be diverted to cracking down on drug driving,
which is becoming an increasing danger.
Increases in absenteeism, decreases in quality of
work, loss in productivity, and high turnover rates are all
attributable to substance abuse.
Many authorities, including the police, are taking
the view that so long as it is reasonably practicable
for a road transport business to have a drug and alcohol
policy in place then a policy should be implemented
and followed.
That is a step that seeks to ensure the safety of
road transport activities; a vital element of Chain of
Responsibility law. NatRoad helps members put drug
and alcohol policies in place and all members should
have a policy.
NatRoad firmly supports an increase in road-side
enforcement of drug driving, and we are calling for the
allocation of resources to support this.
Government data shows that whilst those testing
positive to a breath analysis for alcohol was 0.5 per cent
of those sampled, the percentage testing positive to
roadside drug tests was 12 per cent.
This is an alarming statistic; testing light and heavy
vehicle drivers for drug and alcohol use must be
increased. Tougher penalties should apply to driving
whilst there are illicit drugs present in the person’s
system. This should be an immediate reform priority to
improve road safety.
Research conducted by the University of New South
Wales shows that, as of January 2020, all Australian
states and territories have Roadside Drug Testing (RDT)
laws that include a non-impairment-based provision
that enables police to require a driver to provide an oral
saliva, blood or urine sample which is then tested for the
presence of specific illicit drugs.
While the individual laws vary, they all include a zerotolerance
threshold, that is, any amount detected means
an offence has been committed.
While the first RDT laws tested only for cannabis and
amphetamines, as of January 2020 seven states test for
three drugs: cannabis, speed and ecstasy. NSW also tests
for cocaine.
Testing for all these substances should be increased
and those who take drugs and drive given severe
punishment.
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FULLYLOADED.COM.AU June 2021 ATN 27

SPONSORED CONTENT
Freighter
FREIGHTER CELEBRATES 75 YEARS
The year 2021 marks 75 years since the first Freighter products rolled onto
Australian roads. Freighter’s history is clearly as long as it is rich, and that legacy
is a key component of every trailer that rolls off the line today
The origins of Freighter hark all
the way back to before World
War II, and its influence has been
growing ever since.
Truly national before any other
manufacturer dreamed it was possible,
the company didn’t limit itself to being
the best in truck trailers. It also made
boats, buoys, buses, forklifts, caravans,
starting gates for racing tracks, wood
heaters and even had a crack at building
its own 4WD vehicle.
It’s said that, during the 1970s, nine
out of every 10 heavy-duty trailers on the
road were Freighter. Its influence on the
industry remains undeniable.
Freighter was officially created in
1945 with the first products rolling
onto Australian roads in February 1946.
However, its origins reach back even
further, starting with Melbourne’s John
McGrath. From scratching around to get
by, McGrath became the biggest trailer
manufacturer in the country.
Post-war, new roads and new
regulations were created to
formalise the transport industry. The
developments didn’t suit McGrath’s
mode of operation or stage of life, so
he sold his operation to Noel Peel.
Renamed Freighters Ltd, its first
AGM was held in late 1945. Peter
White then purchased the business in
late December 1982 and renamed it
Freighter Australia Manufacturing.
With White’s laser focus on costs
and product innovation, as well as
some inspired licensing arrangements
(such as the relationship with
Tautliners), by 1985, the new Freighter
celebrated the manufacture of 600
trailers in two years. By the early
1990s, the business was on the
up-and-up again.
More geographic and product
diversification followed and, by the late
1990s, Freighter’s performance drew
the attention of a respected industry
performer, Jim Curtis. Curtis had
created Maxi-CUBE, which had been
ASX listed in 1994, and was looking for
a big step forward to achieve his growth
aims. In 1998, Freighter was acquired by
Curtis’ business.
Later that year, MaxiTRANS was
established. Freighter’s standing was
so well-established that its name was
retained and Freighter products became
a key component of the MaxiTRANS
business. Today, Freighter is celebrating
75 years as Australia’s longest standing
trailer brand.
While it has gone through significant
changes through its journey, the brand
continues to deliver on its promise of
high quality, high performance trailing
equipment with an unmatched network
of national back up support.
“Freighter’s long and successful
history is owed to our loyal customers,”
says Dean Jenkins, MaxiTRANS
managing director and CEO.
“Many of our customers are secondor
third-generation Freighter loyalists. It
is this ongoing support that has helped
build the legacy that Freighter prides
itself on and will continue to be a part of
every locally manufactured high quality
trailer that is produced.
“75 years in operation is a significant
milestone, not only for the Freighter
brand, but for the wider transport
industry too.
“In celebration of this milestone,
and for our customers wishing to be
a part of this historic year, we have
released a limited edition Freighter
75th year Diamond Pack, available
across the Freighter range throughout
2021.”
28 ATN June 2021 FULLYLOADED.COM.AU

OPERATIONS + STRATEGY
Healthy Heads in Trucks and Sheds
THE FIRST STEP
With Healthy Heads in
Trucks and Sheds releasing
its roadmap for 2021–2024,
the spotlight is on how
industry can expand mental
health awareness and
access to services as well
as implement prevention
measures and ongoing
support for employees
WORDS
MARK GOJSZYK
Amajor industry development
took place away from
the Brisbane Truck Show
(BTS) spotlight, with mental health
foundation Healthy Heads in Trucks
and Sheds (HHTS) launching a
membership drive to accompany
the recent release of its industry
roadmap.
The National Mental Health and
Wellbeing Roadmap 2021–2024
outlines a three-year course of action
to improve mental wellbeing within
transport and logistics.
HHTS CEO Naomi Frauenfelder
and chair Paul Graham were joined
by National Heavy Vehicle Regulator
(NHVR) CEO Sal Petroccitto, who
recently formalised an industry
partnership with the foundation.
Accompanying the launch was a
video from HHTS psychology advisor
Arthur Papagiannis of AP Psychology.
Graham, the incoming Australia
Post CEO from Woolworths logistics
arm Primary Connect, is grateful for
the prompt recognition of HHTS as
industry’s eminent mental health
foundation, with its inception all
the more timely through the rise
of Covid-19.
“We are a young foundation, we
only really formed in August of last
year, in the heart of the pandemic,”
Graham says.
“I think we really came together
as an industry, which, as a large and
competitive industry, is not easy.
“The thing about mental health is
it does not single out anybody and,
unfortunately, we’re on the lower rung
of the ladder when it comes to mental
health and wellbeing in our industry.”
Graham recognises “the immense
responsibility that the industry
had in helping people eat and
survive through Covid… but also
the tremendous pressure that it
placed on everybody in industry
and how magnificently they
responded to that pressure.
“It did increase the mental health
30 ATN June 2021 FULLYLOADED.COM.AU

Opposite top:
HHTS recently
released its
roadmap for
2021–2024 to
improve mental
wellbeing within
transport and
logistics
issues that we saw in industry –
I think it really brought home the
need for a foundation,” he says.
The involvement of AP Psychology,
which specialises in workplace
psychological safety, speaks to
the foundation’s need for specific
expertise to inform its strategy,
interventions and the design of the
roadmap, Graham adds.
“Obviously, while we understand
our business, we don’t fully
understand as a foundation the
medical [requirements] or the
complexity of mental health.
“It’s not just one diagnosis –
it’s a very complex space, and we
want to be a foundation that has
our strategy unearthed by good
data and expertise.
“That’s the key thing that we’ve
really held up in the foundation –
whatever we do, it has to have an
evidence base behind it.”
right through to warehousing and
distribution.
“Another big part we’ve identified
is the high levels of isolation and
disconnection… and we know those
risk factors can play a big part
in a person’s mental health and
wellbeing.”
Thus, the roadmap is made up of
three key components: prevention,
protection and support.
“Prevention is about preventing
harm to people and building the
foundations within workplaces
to support the mental health
and wellbeing of individuals,”
Papagiannis says.
“The second component is
protection – so, how do we protect
our people and how do we create
workplaces that support that?
“The third component is support.
“How do we actually support the
recovery journey of people who either
are diagnosed with mental health
conditions or concerns and wellbeing
Above L-R: ATA
CEO Andrew
McKellar, ATA
chair David
Smith, HHTS
CEO Naomi
Frauenfelder and
Paccar Australia
MD Andrew
Hadjikakou at
the roadmap
launch
Below: The
high level of
isolation and
disconnection
of truck drivers
has a significant
impact on
mental health
ROADMAP
The roadmap framework aims
to strike a balance between
psychological research and the
unique function and needs of
industry, Papagiannis says in an
explainer video.
“We know the industry faces
significant challenges, from workload
to fatigue to critical incidents and
trauma,” he says.
“Obviously a lot of truckies are on
the road and exposed to those risks,
FULLYLOADED.COM.AU June 2021 ATN 31

Healthy Heads in Trucks & Sheds, together
with OzHelp’s driver wellbeing program
Health in Gear, will use the vehicle to deliver
free ‘Truckie Tune Ups’
challenges, right through to preventing those
concerns or mental health conditions from
happening?”
The roadmap consists of seven key
evidence-based areas that the industry
needs to address:
• build leadership capability
• increase awareness
• build a better workplace culture
• smarter work design
• build resilience & coping skills
• promote early intervention
• support recovery.
“Leadership, capability and supporting
awareness really goes across all three
in prevention, protection, and support,”
Papagiannis explains.
“So, every step of the way, we’re looking
at leadership and awareness across those
three areas.
“And then, through the preventative space,
we’re looking at targeting workplace culture
and creating a psychologically safe culture.
“The other two key areas of focus are
about building resilience and coping skills
within people and upskilling both the
workforce and leaders in early intervention.
“So, how can we intervene sooner, put the
right strategies in place and interventions to
really help the people get to a better place
and ultimately thrive?
“And, finally, targeting the support
recovery area. So, what are the systems,
processes, interventions and the capabilities
that are required in that space to support
people when they are off work, potentially, or
struggling with a challenge in life? And how
can the workplace best support them?”
Papagiannis emphasises that the focus
areas form the basis of an integrated
approach.
“It’s not just one area we focus on,
which is often what a lot of workplaces
and industries do. They’ll focus on the
awareness piece.
“We’re really taking a systemic approach
to all of this.”
MEMBERSHIP
Signing up as a HHTS member grants
access to the foundation’s tools and
resources, Frauenfelder says; notably,
individuals and owner-drivers are able to
sign up for free, while business membership
cost depends on the size of the enterprise.
The development of the roadmap is seen
as a significant step forward for HHTS.
“I’m thrilled to be taking this very first
and very important step together here as
an industry so you have a plan and way
forward,” Frauenfelder says.
“It’s not going to be easy, and it’s going to
take time, but the time is now to start taking
small tentative steps to help create an
industry that we’re all proud to be part of.
“Our membership program will help us
to equip these businesses and individuals
with the tools and resources they need to
take action.
“It allows us to assist them in supporting
their journey in building work environments
where people are healthy and thrive.
“But, if we’re going to drive systemic
change, it will take a whole industry
approach, from leaders to managers,
business owners and employees, to
manufacturers and suppliers, unions,
associations and regulators, to all come
together to tackle the specific mental health
challenges that confront our industry.”
Included with a membership is the
roadmap, operational guidelines and tools
and resources, such as training tailored
to the industry – with new developments
provided as they become available.
“These tools are designed to provide
practical steps to successfully implement
the roadmap, assisting you to understand
how to put psychological safety in place
within your workplace and address these
risk factors,” Frauenfelder says.
“This includes assessing your current
state of workplace psychology and safety to
identify needs in those areas, understanding
the actions you can take to create a thriving
workplace, and you’ll also gain access
to our handbooks that will support your
32 ATN June 2021 FULLYLOADED.COM.AU

leadership team and employees.
“The handbooks offer practical,
easy-to-follow, easy-to-action,
mental health and wellbeing tools
and tips.
“Outside of business membership,
you can also get on board as an
individual.
“When you become an individual
member, you’re tapping into
something much bigger than just
yourself. You become a part of a
movement.”
More recently, HHTS started a
survey designed to benchmark
where industry’s mental health
and wellbeing.
“This is the first step in terms of
baselining where industry is at, and
we will then work AP Psychology
to establish the ways in which
progress against the Roadmap can
be measured.
“In addition, we are undertaking
a piece of work that will help us
to develop a process whereby
businesses can track and report on
their own progress when it comes to
psychological safety, as they work
their way through the framework and
maturity model.
LOOKING AHEAD
Papagiannis says there are exciting
times ahead for industry but
challenges also abound.
He is under no illusion as to the
scale of the task ahead and does not
expect each workplace to possess
advanced mental health capabilities
by the three-year mark.
“We know it’s the first step
towards the industry really making
a significant impact, to creating
environments and workplaces where
our people can feel healthy, safe, and
ultimately thrive in everything that
they do,” he says.
“Over the course of the next three
years, every workplace will be in a
different stage of maturity.
“Obviously for some, that may be
building blocks and really kicking
things off, to others being further
along in that journey.
“But we’re hoping with everything
we’ve produced and put together,
the industry will be well supported
to progress on that maturity journey
to hopefully make some significant
impacts.
“I’m hoping that in three years’
time, if we’re back here having
this conversation, the shift and
change has been significant and
considerable and really made a big
impact on the lives of people.”
Frauenfelder tells ATN the future
plan for HHTS will be to “build upon
the experience of implementing the
three-year roadmap, evaluations we
have undertaken, what has worked
well, what can be improved, and
most importantly, what industry is
telling us it needs”.
Graham notes that, while this
is a complex area, conversation
has to happen to erode the pervasive
mental health stigma in society
Top: This
multi-purpose DAF
LF260 was donated
by Paccar Australia
in partnership
with the ATA and
will function as
an education and
medical assessment
hub for the industry
Above: L-R: Deputy
prime minister
Michael McCormack,
HHTS CEO Naomi
Frauenfelder and
HHTS chair Paul
Graham at the
roadmap launch
Opposite top:
Frauenfelder
and NHVR CEO
Sal Petroccitto
signed an industry
partnership
FULLYLOADED.COM.AU June 2021 ATN 33

Above: The Healthy Heads roadmap aims to normalise discussions around
mental health within the workplace
INDUSTRY VEHICLE
The goodwill continued to flow for HHTS at the BTS
as it was unveiled as one of the first organisations to
gain access a new industry vehicle donated by Paccar
Australia in partnership with the Australian Trucking
Association (ATA).
A custom-built, multi-purpose DAF LF260 is available
for use in support of industry initiatives that connect,
educate, support and promote the trucking industry.
It features a flexible work, meeting and media
space, as well as audio-visual capabilities for external
presentations.
“This vehicle will service industry in many ways
through high-impact engagement initiatives at on-site
events, industry activations, conferences or at the
roadside,” ATA chair David Smith says.
“Harnessing its multi-purpose utility, the vehicle will
have the capacity to deliver outdoor presentations, on-site
health checks, host regional meetings, act as a media hub
or serve as a support centre that responds to industry
needs in times of crisis.”
HHTS was front and centre of the announcement, with
Frauenfelder outlining its plans for the vehicle.
“Under this exciting partnership, Healthy Heads in
Trucks & Sheds, together with OzHelp’s driver wellbeing
program Health in Gear, will use the vehicle to deliver
free ‘Truckie Tune Ups’ at the Brisbane Truck Show,
ahead of a wider industry program that will roll out soon,”
Frauenfelder said.
“This industry asset is invaluable as it allows us to
reach communities and businesses across the country to
deliver support, resources and tools that promote better
mental health and wellbeing outcomes.”
The ‘Truckie Tune Up’ is a comprehensive health
check that measures general physical and mental health,
cholesterol, blood pressure, height, weight, sleep, exercise
and diet.
This health assessment is undertaken by a nurse and a
trained support officer.
“Our partnership with Healthy Heads in Trucks & Sheds
and OzHelp’s Health in Gear program is just one of the
many ways this vehicle can service our industry,” Paccar
Australia MD, Andrew Hadjikakou, says.
“We are thrilled to unveil this unique and innovative
vehicle and look forward to seeing what can be achieved
through its activities in years to come.”
and, particularly, within industry.
“We’ve got to talk about it as if it’s
a head cold or a sore elbow,” he says.
“We’re nowhere near there yet.
“We’ve done a fantastic job in
industry around safety in the last
15 years but we’ve got an even
bigger job [with] mental health and
wellbeing and [we] can’t wait for 15
years to do that.”
As part of the membership launch,
Graham expands on the next steps
for HHTS.
“The first step is education,
training and awareness, creating
good environments where people
can get support and making sure
that training is available whether
you’re a single driver, owner-operator
or the larger corporates.
“The second thing is working with
governments of all levels to create
standards around both regulatory
standards and standards around
rest areas – all the things that are
frustrating and create anxiety within
our industry.
“And the third thing is education to
individuals about their own mental
health and wellbeing and their
physical health and wellbeing.
“We know those are both related.
Many of the roles within industry
don’t set them up for [good] physical
[health] and wellbeing.”
Graham also notes HHTS is
currently working with Lifeline
Australia on a proposal to have a
dedicated crisis support line for
those in the road transport and
logistics industry, which could
involve former drivers.
“This is in its formative stages but
is ultimately part of the longer-term
vision for the foundation.”
REGULATOR RECOGNITION
Importantly, HHTS has unanimous
backing from the industry regulator.
The National Heavy Vehicle
Regulator (NHVR) CEO Sal Petroccitto
recalls his own conversations with
NHVR director Robin Stewart-Crompton
about the foundation’s ambition.
“This is a really exciting project for
us,” Petroccitto says.
“It was a no brainer for the
regulator… so much so that the
organisation has contributed
$150,000 over three years to continue
to support this initiative.
“The last 18 months have probably
demonstrated just how much
resilience is in the industry, but I’ve
seen some of the pressure building
up and we need the avenues and
we need the tools and we need
the discussions to occur, and this
initiative really does provide that.
“It’s something that I think we all
wholeheartedly need to embrace.”
Petroccitto observes abundant
activity in the mental health space
but says bringing it all together under
one banner was an important step,
comparing it to the challenge of
establishing an overarching national
regulator in a fragmented industry.
“Having an organisation and a
focus that, to some degree, was
across the whole sector – it’s not just
about the driver, it’s not just about
the operator, it’s about those that sit
in the warehouse or might sit in the
workshop, or even my office.
“Mental health cuts across all
industry.
“It’s initiatives like this that I think
we start to see that shift that we’ve
been seeking, and I think there are
going to be some challenges.
“I’m speaking from experience in
terms of trying to establish a national
regulator cutting across multiple
jurisdictional activity.
“There are over 50,000 operators
and around a million heavy vehicle
combinations.
“If we all work together, I know we
will be successful.
“I’m really also pleased that
the organisation has made the
decision to allow owner-drivers
to join for free.”
34 ATN June 2021 FULLYLOADED.COM.AU

National Conference
NatRoad Conference 2021
August 19 - 21
Why You’ll Want To Be There
Reconnect on the Gold Coast at the NatRoad Conference with
a gala dinner, social events, the opportunity to have your voice
heard and create real change in the road freight industry.
Great Speaker Line-Up
Gillian Bristow
Bristow Legal
Peter Rowsthorn
Gala Dinner MC
Sal Petroccitto
CEO NHVR
Register Now For Early Bird Special!
1800 272 144
WWW.NATROAD.COM.AU
REGISTER ONLINE TODAY
ATN-FP-5188391-CS-418

OPERATIONS + STRATEGY
Clein Transport Solutions
PLANE
SAILING
WORDS AND IMAGES WARREN AITKEN
There are a couple of
really good reasons why
I don’t get out to do
many oversize shoots these
days. Number one, because
photographing them requires a
special sort of skill set.
Moving objects, at night, in
poorly lit areas, yeah it’s tough.
When you do jag some good
shots it’s worth it, but there’s
always a lot of shots just not
sharp enough, or a little too dark.
It is a real challenge. That’s not
the main reason though.
The main reason is that you
have to be up really, really early!
Or sometimes really, really late.
However, when you find out a
classic fighter jet is going to
be doing a low-level pass
through the streets of Sydney,
well you just can’t pass that up.
Boy, am I glad I sacrificed
my much-needed beauty sleep
earlier this year and stayed up for
this shoot though.
Nearly 12 months of planning
and preparation had gone into
this and, finally, the Clein Group’s
Kenworth K200 left Bankstown
Airport with a huge piece of RAAF
history in tow – a 1968 Dassault
Mirage III Jet Fighter.
Lucky for me, the first folk I ran
into while we awaited the 9pm
departure time for the Mirage
were the delightful John and
Anne Parker.
John and Anne run Warbirds
Online and are heavily invested in
a lot of major airplane restoration
projects. Along with the Hunter
Fighter Collection board, they
played an integral part in this
major restoration and relocation
project.
Once the mighty Mirage is
restored it will spend the next 10
years on display at the soonto-be-opened
Scone Warbird
Attraction, obviously in Scone.
When the museum is
completed and opens at the end
of 2021, there will be around 16
historic planes on display, as well
as joy rides, flight simulators and
plenty of other attractions. It’s
more than enough to entice me
back for sure.
John and Anne were able to fill
me in on the aircraft. It’s a 1969
Dassault Mirage III IIIO(F) and
has spent its entire life based in
Australia.
Already I was learning stuff. I’d
Opposite top:
Justin Clein
takes centre
stage as he
gathers in his
team and the
team of pilots to
go over the plan
one last time
before the fly off
Opposite below:
One of the
tightest squeezes
in Sydney was
the toll booths
coming off the
M2
36 ATN June 2021 FULLYLOADED.COM.AU

Hauling a jet fighter
through Sydney’s
streets and motorways
is no mean feat but,
for the top gun team
at Clein Transport
Solutions, it was just
another day at the office
always assumed that, as a French
aircraft, the Mirage originated
in France. However, John
informed me, like many, this
Mirage III was built in the
Government Aircraft factory
in Victoria back in 1969.
The plane spent most of its
time in the 76th Squadron and
had the notoriety of being flown
by the world’s oldest fighter pilot,
squadron leader Phillip Frawley.
Obviously, he wasn’t the
world’s oldest when he flew this
particular Mirage; that came
in 2012 when he surpassed a
60-year-old F-16 pilot.
DELICATE RELOCATION
The Mirage had spent the
last decade at the Bankstown
Museum, which has now closed,
leading to John and Anne helping
to arrange its restoration and
relocation to Scone.
Enter Clein Transport
Solutions. Justin Clein and his
heavy haulage team have built up
quite a reputation when it comes
to these types of delicate aircraft
relocations. Hence, they were the
first port of call for this shift.
“It was 12 months in the
making,” Clein informs me when I
ask how long it takes to organise
We spent a good three to four solid
months with different councils
FULLYLOADED.COM.AU June 2021 ATN 37

things, going on to explain that
Covid played a massive hand in
things as well. Clein Transport
Solutions had been hired to not
just move the Mirage to Scone
but also an Aermacchi MB-326
jet from the Amberley RAAF base
in Queensland down to Scone
as well.
“When Covid hit they basically
closed down the airbase to
everyone.”
So as the coronavirus
pandemic did to everyone, it
threw a spanner at the Hunter
Fighter Collection’s plans as well.
“We spent a good three to
four solid months with different
councils, TMR [Department
of Transport and Main Roads]
and stuff to get it approved,” he
explains, adding that it was still
getting worked on and finalised
right up until the night before.
Preparation for a move like this
saw Clain and his team doing a
couple of dry runs, measuring
out all the areas where it would
get a bit tight with the 8.5m-wide
plane. Their plan was then
backed up by a third party who
did an independent evaluation.
It’s worth noting that all the
planning in the world can’t avoid
last minute hiccups. Thankfully
the only minor hiccup would have
occurred during the navigating
of Muswellbrook where a local
company had installed new
fencing and signs that would
have been an issue, if it wasn’t for
an oversize load the night before
ripping it all down. Timing, hey?
Obviously, the old Mirage
wasn’t moving to the truck on
its own accord, so, on the early
hours of Friday morning, a crane
was brought in and the eighttonne
aircraft was lifted over the
airfields fence and delicately
placed on the custom-built setup
on the back of the Clein Transport
Solution’s Kenworth K200.
The morning was spent
strapping it down and making
sure it was set to go when Clein’s
The 330km journey took
nearly eight hours
Top left: A police
escort helped ease
the way
Above: Negotiating
the streets of Scone;
its airport the last
challenge for team
Clein and one it
handled with ease
Opposite right:
Sitting outside
Bankstown airport,
the Clein’s K200
looks almost small
compared to the big
Mirage
Right: The Clein
Group team take a
few minutes break
to check everything
is nice and secure
before they tackle
Sydney’s Pennant
Hills Rd
driver arrived ready to head out
at 9pm.
INTERSECTIONS CHECKED
Word can spread pretty quickly
among both oversize load fans
and aircraft enthusiasts when
38 ATN June 2021 FULLYLOADED.COM.AU

there’s a special move on. So, when the
truck pulled out onto Milperra Rd, there
was already a small crowd watching.
The stressful exercise of getting
underway through Sydney’s narrower
streets and onto the motorways
required incredible finesse from not
just the driver, Steve Sternberg, but
also Clein and his chauffeur, Stephen
Joyce, who were flat out checking every
intersection and corner, jumping out
and guiding the truck through, often
with mere centimetres to spare.
Once the boys hit Sydney’s
motorways, it was fairly good running,
with the police escorts ensuring there
wasn’t your typical highway idiots
trying to squeeze up the inside.
The 330km journey took nearly
eight hours, concluding with a
concentrated effort through the back
roads of Scone to get to the airport.
It gave me another opportunity to
watch the high level of skill as the
team squeezed round corners and
roundabouts that bear the scars of a
few 4WDs that failed to negotiate them.
The Clein team and the Mirage were
greeted with a welcoming committee
of around 400 people: a celebratory
reception. They all watched as the
Mirage was lifted off the truck and
placed in its new home. It had been a
year-long project, brought to an end by
an eight-hour road trip.
Well done to all those involved. I can’t
wait for the Scone Warbird Experience
to open in late 2021; I’ll be there for
sure!
FULLYLOADED.COM.AU June 2021 ATN 39

FINANCE & LEASING
Truck leasing
FINDING
FLEXITIBILTY
If it’s another asset option or cash for investment, fleet owners are taking the plunge
Truck leasing and finance is looking
better than ever, with a huge number
of fleets having sailed through the
pandemic and looking for opportunities
to exploit.
Sector players ATN spoke to see a
number of reasons likely coalescing, but
the figures, particularly from the major
banks on lending, are stunning.
Amongst contributing themes raised
were: the end of hesitancy around new
truck emissions rules; wear and tear finally
forcing owners’ hands; and the need to add
to fleets as new contracts arose.
Then there are federal government
incentives aimed at stimulus both
economy-wide and, in particular instances
most importantly, instant asset write-off.
Occasional Covid scares aside, more heat
in the economy means more demand for
freight transport. And, on the leasing side, a
maturing of attitudes amongst small- and
medium-sized fleets is becoming manifest.
PACLEASE
Paccar as a whole has never been busier,
according to PacLease Australia general
manager Andrew Molnar. And that is flowing
into its leasing and finance operations.
“The more trucks we’re building and
selling, the more we’re financing,” is
Molnar’s equation.
He sees a greater interest in leasing
in particular.
“There was a fair bit of uncertainty with
customers and their contracts – if they had
a truck to fulfil a contract, they were unsure
about what was going to happen at the end
of that,” he notes.
“So, they might have got a 12-month
extension or just an ongoing agreement,
where they were unsure whether to reinvest
in new gear or continue running what
they had.”
The emissions uncertainty was the cause
of some long-term caution, given the
mandating of the next level of emissions
control that was expected through most
of the last decade ended up failing to
materialise.
“I think people were holding off, thinking:
‘I’ll wait for a pre-buy that we’ve seen in the
past . . . we’ll reinvest before we see this
change to Euro 6, or Euro 6-equivalent’.”
The federal government’s investment
allowance, given impetus by instant asset
write-off, is a definite contributor but, for
Molnar, that doesn’t explain the leasing
demand he sees running 20 per cent higher
than normal.
He puts the change down to contractors
to larger firms gaining a greater appreciation
for the certainty on expenditure, including
for maintenance.
PENSKE TRUCK LEASING
Penske Truck Leasing (PTL) also finds
itself in a good place, according to general
manager Adrian Beach.
That is especially so for the “absolutely
booming” daily rental offering that PTL led
its entrance into the domestic market with
seven years ago. And this has affected its
business practices.
“B-double prime movers are near 100
per cent utilisation – unseasonably high,”
Beach says of the present situation.
That rate is usually reserved for the
height of the busy season that crescendos
up to Christmas , then slumps to about 60
per cent in January, bar a couple of up-ticks
around Australia Day and the like.
With a traditionally slow calendar in the
second and third quarters, the strategy
had been to sell off any returned vehicles
over five-years-old and go with a smaller
rental fleet, while ordering new ones to be
available in September or October.
“This year, nothing came back. We
dropped back to the 80s or 90s with the
biggest fleet we’ve ever had,” Beach says of
the percentages.
All PTL’s equipment sales have been
40 ATN June 2021 FULLYLOADED.COM.AU

suspended in response and it has asked
suppliers to pull all its orders forward.
This month, PTL is taking delivery of five rental
vehicles: two prime movers and three rigids.
“We’re not usually taking new equipment
in June but we’re grabbing everything that we
can,” he says.
“We’re looking at MAN and Western Star aged
inventory – maybe they have something sitting
around that could work for the rental fleet. But
they don’t have a whole lot of inventory either.”
Beach says customers tell PTL they already
have new trucks on order that can’t arrive for six
to 12 months, so are renting in the meantime.
“So, that drives our utilisation up and makes
it more difficult for us to buy new trucks too,”
he adds.
“Production slots are up and inventory is
depleting.”
Much is being said of supply chain issues
affecting truck construction, especially
related to the supply of crucial semiconductors
that are now essential and everywhere on
modern vehicles.
Beach is aware of the issue but says it has
only cropped up last month in conversations
he has had with suppliers, and not at all with
regards to European manufacturers.
He counts PTL fortunate to have ordered 50
MANs last October and expects those to arrive
on time. Those ordered subsequently are likely to
arrive in the second quarter of next year.
Beach also sees an attitudinal change
to leasing. Whereas, two to three years ago, PTL
had about a dozen full-service lease trucks, it
sits at about 50 now.
“We have more quotes on the table than we
ever have and we’ve signed more new lease
customers since October last year than we have
in the previous five years,” he explains.
Interestingly, he discerns a certain amount
of experimentation from new customers
interested in transitioning from US to European
makes but wanting a better grip on running
costs and resale values.
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA
Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) is bullish
on the economy’s performance and how it has
translated into demand for finance for plant and
equipment purchases.
Australian businesses continue to kick back
into gear, with new asset finance figures from the
CBA revealing a 36 per cent increase in business
car financing compared with the same time
last year.
CBA’s latest asset financing figures, broken
down by vehicle type, have seen an increase over
the past year that it breaks down this way:
• heavy trucks – 50 per cent
• light commercials – 187 per cent
• utes and vans – 85 per cent
• new motor vehicles including passenger and
SUVs – 36 per cent.
The CBA notes that its financing data aligns to
recently released VFACTS industry trends, which
show vehicle registrations for business use have
increased 24 per cent since January 2021, and
48 per cent from April to May 2021.
“Despite existing challenges around supply,
both the CBA financing data and industry trends
point to continued positive signs from the
automotive industry,” CBA’s executive general
manager, business lending, Clare Morgan, says.
“This seems to be especially the case when
it comes to business registrations of light
commercials, utes and vans.”
NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK
Data released by National Australia Bank
(NAB) shows businesses across Australia are
purchasing new equipment and vehicles in
record numbers as companies embrace the
strongest market conditions seen in years.
Overall, NAB’s agricultural equipment
finance sales are up 134 per cent year-on-year
(YOY) in 2020, demonstrating real strength
across regional Australia, while industries
like manufacturing have also increased
130 per cent YOY.
NAB executive regional and agribusiness
Julie Rynski, says customers were taking
advantage of strong business conditions
and confidence while the government’s instant
asset write-off scheme had been key to
stimulating investment.
“When businesses start purchasing
equipment, it’s a real signal to us that farmers
and regional businesses are in a phase of growth
and expansion,” Rynski says.
“With business confidence at an all-time high
and businesses building on things they’ve learnt
through the pandemic, I’m not surprised that
equipment sales are so high.”
Rynski says the bank did not expect current
demand for equipment finance lending to ease
any time soon.
The YOY increases according to NAB’s
figures are:
Trucks/trailers/buses – 145.53 per cent
• Truck: heavy over 3.5 tonnes (Cat E) – 138.83
per cent
• Truck: garbage compactor (Cat B) – 65.5 per
cent
• Trailer: over 4.5 tonnes (Cat E) – 157.9 per cent
• Trailer: under 4.5 tonnes (Cat E) – 142.96 per
cent
• Bus: over 3.5 tonnes (Cat B) – 173.94 per cent
• Bus: mini under 3.5 tonnes (Cat B) – 131.72
per cent
Agricultural equipment – up 132 per cent
Cars/light commercials – up 132 per cent.
From top: PacLease Australia general manager
Andrew Molnar; Penske Truck Leasing general
manager Adrian Beach; CBA executive general
manager, business lending Clare Morgan
Below: NAB executive regional and agribusiness
Julie Rynski
FULLYLOADED.COM.AU June 2021 ATN 41

FINANCE & LEASING
PacLease Australia
PREMIUM SERVICE
PacLease Australia – Paccar’s truck leasing and rental division – is offering a
full-service lease program for the new DAF CF530, giving customers premium
service and flexible support
In what was a year full of
unexpected challenges,
PacLease Australia continued
its commitment to investment
into the brand through the growth
of its national footprint – opening
its 18th and 19th locations with
Twin City Trucks in Wodonga
and Canberra.
With a truly national rental,
leasing and contract maintenance
offering, PacLease Australia
can ensure peace of mind for its
customers, with tailored fleet
solutions never far from reach.
With a new year, 2021 brings
a very new feeling to Paccar,
which is celebrating the 50th
anniversary of Australian-made
Kenworth trucks. With the heart
of the Paccar brand deeply
engrained within its culture,
desire to diversify its marketleading
offerings and grow with
the transport industry, PacLease
has, in its own right, made a very
promising start to 2021.
PROGRAM LAUNCH
The recent Brisbane Truck Show
acted as the perfect opportunity
for PacLease Australia general
manager, Andrew Molnar, to
launch the PacLease Australia
DAF CF530 full-service lease
program to the Australian market.
Met with immediate
success, the program offers
a fixed monthly price of
$3,950.00+GST with 120,000km
annually included, along with
PacLease’s premium service
and maintenance coverage,
which is managed by PacLease’s
dedicated team. Offering a
specifically tailored fleet
management program, this
ensures that your compliance
requirements are met to the
highest degree.
The real twist – the offer is
over a 48-month term, but allows
customers to hand back units
after 24 months. Molnar says that
PacLease wants to share with the
market what it already knows –
what the meaning of DAF ‘Pure
Excellence’ is really about. With
this lease program, PacLease
believes that the transport
industry can enjoy the offering
with minimal exposure.
DAF CF530
The all-new, locally-assembled,
Euro 6 DAF CF530 boasts marketleading
fuel economy as well
as one of the most comfortable
drives on the road. With safetyas-standard
features, including
advanced emergency brake
assist, lane departure warning,
blind spot notification, driver side
airbag and adaptive cruise, the
DAF CF530 is the perfect truck
to satisfy your needs.
PREMIUM SERVICE
PacLease is a global commercial
truck leasing company that
provides customised full-service
lease, rental and contract
maintenance programs for
Kenworth and DAF trucks.
Designed to meet the specific
needs of customers, the
company’s service offering also
The all-new, locally
assembled, Euro 6 DAF
CF530 boasts marketleading
fuel economy
includes vehicle upkeep, 24/7
roadside assist and flexible lease
structures.
PacLease’s direct connection
with Kenworth, DAF and Paccar,
according to the company, means
its customers receive premium
equipment and services that
have been thoroughly tested
and assessed for suitability for
the needs of each and every
customer.
Top: PacLease
offers a wide
range of Kenworth
and DAF trucks to
suit your needs
Left: PacLease
Australia general
manager Andrew
Molnar
42 ATN June 2021 FULLYLOADED.COM.AU

DAF CF full service lease
available nation-wide.
Enjoy peace of mind with your next DAF CF530 with a PacLease full
service lease. PacLease can take care of every requirement, including
vehicle specification to maintenance, and everything else in between.
Your PacLease DAF CF full service lease includes:*
• $3,950 + GST per month
• 48 month term
• Option to return at 24 months
• Based on 120,000km per year
*Terms and conditions: Excludes on road costs. Normal credit criteria applies.
For more information visit paclease.com.au or phone 1800 455 155
Melbourne | Sydney | Brisbane | Adelaide | Perth | Hobart | Darwin | Mt Gambier | Wodonga | Canberra
ATN-FP-5211327-CS-417

FINANCE & LEASING
Penske Truck Leasing
FLEXIBILITY IN THE FACE OF CHANGE
This is turning out to be a signature year for Penske Truck Leasing, which is doing more
business than ever, with even more trucks available in its rental fleet
At a time when supply of new trucks
into the Australian market generally
is seeing arrival times blowing out,
Penske Truck Leasing will soon have its
hands on another 50 new MANs, which will
give impetus to the current Fully-Maintained
Operating Lease Programme it is calling
MAN Choice.
Essentially, Penske Truck Leasing looked
at its three favourite trucks:
• MAN TGS 26.440 L cab for single trailer/
metro/container applications
• MAN TGS 26.540 L cab for local/
interstate/B-double applications
• MAN TGX 26.540 XLX cab for interstate/
line-haul/B-double applications.
Then, it worked through every conceivable
combination of lease term, kilometre band,
warranty and R&M package, to come up
with the most intriguing deals.
“In some cases, if the annual kilometres
are 100,000 or less, we can stretch to
a seven-year lease term and keep the
payments ultra-low,” Penske Truck Leasing
general manager, Adrian Beach, says.
“But the deals that are attracting the
most attention, and that we’re signing most
frequently, involve a five-year lease term
with the option to hand the truck back in
and walk away after two.”
And there are solid figures to back up
the offering, given Penske Truck Leasing’s
own experience.
“We have had all of those trucks for a
full life-cycle, so we’ve got a really good
understanding of the maintenance costs
and the resale value,” Beach adds.
“So, we experimented with all the
components of a lease calculation
and came up with what we think are
our best deals.
“For example, our best deal on our alltime
favourite truck, the MAN TGS 26.540
L cab, is actually on a five-year term if
the customer is going around 150,000
kilometres per year.”
Given that Penske Truck Leasing has
such a good understanding of that truck’s
maintenance costs and resale value, it sees
the five-year term with two-year walk-away
option as providing the sort of flexibility
customers need, both in their operations
and if, or when, their position changes.
For instance, though the rental-spec
They’re brilliant trucks and we have a
solid team of highly dedicated people to
help keep their freight moving
Right: Penske
Truck Rental
has developed
a range of
lease options
to give
customers
flexibility and
peace of mind
vehicle comes in plain white, customers can
put their own livery on it.
Meanwhile, a customer may only have
a two-year contract to fulfil and feel that
neither a full purchase nor a five- or sixyear
lease can be justified.
“We will give them the best monthly rate
that we can and, at the end of two years,
if they lose the contract, their business
changes, or they don’t end up needing the
truck, they can just hand it back and walk
away,” Beach says.
He adds that he can see many reasons
for customers to consider a lease
programme with Penske Truck Leasing.
It might be that new customers have
never had an MAN before or they have never
entered a fully-maintained operating lease
and want a safe way to test those waters.
It may be that their contracts come in
two-year intervals and they want peace of
mind. If they don’t renew the contract, they
can hand back the truck. If they renew the
contract, they can keep the truck and carry
on as before.
It could be that they want to use
their capital to manage the growth of
their business outside the fleet – a new
warehouse, depot, people, or technology
upgrades – and it’s the alternative financing
they are after.
“With the exception of the expiring
contract scenario, where the truck is no
longer needed, I don’t expect many of these
to come back to us after the two-year
mark,” Beach says.
“They’re brilliant trucks and we have a
solid team of highly dedicated people to
help keep their freight moving – and, in my
opinion, that’s really what our customers
are really paying for.
“If a few do come back, we’ll either
re-lease them to another customer or pop
them into our rental fleet.
“They’ll still be young and strong with
a long life of low-cost productivity ahead
of them.”
But, continuing the theme of flexibility,
if customers are seeking a type of truck
beyond the traditional offering from Penske
– Western Star and MAN – Penske Truck
Leasing is happy to explore alternatives.
44 ATN June 2021 FULLYLOADED.COM.AU

ATN-FP-5211487-CS-417

FINANCE & LEASING
Rig Finance
FOR A SMOOTH ROAD AHEAD
Don’t let financing delays prevent you from getting the best deals
Having grown up with a
rapidly expanding transport
company in the back yard
of his Willow Tree home, Luke
Howard later came to understand
his father’s struggle with time and
cashflow constraints in making
profitable business decisions.
During his 22 years of transport
company management, and now
11 years of providing finance to
the transport industry, Howard has
learnt to implement simple financial
strategies that allow the flexibility
to purchase transport and logistic
equipment whenever an opportunity
presents itself.
“In this industry, it is the people that
buy right that do alright … costs down,
profits up,” Howard states.
Rig Finance was established to
provide busy transport and warehouse
operators with straightforward finance
options that take the stress out of fleet
purchases as well as improve their
bottom line.
Rig Finance offers an extensive
range of financial products with
brokers that understand the finance
solutions required for companies at all
stages of the business cycle … infancy,
growth or maturity.
“In the transport industry, a
competitive advantage comes from
the ability to negotiate the best
purchase price with the confidence
that you have the funds available
for immediate transfer at the lowest
current repayments on the market,”
Howard says.
“At Rig Finance, we ensure that
the great savings made negotiating
that bargain price purchase are
not outstripped by the costs incurred
when you then need to find finance fast.
“Rig Finance has been built by
transport people to provide a common
sense approach to transport equipment
procurement.
“Today’s range of finance options
put the transport operator back in the
driving seat when choosing how they
invest in their business.”
KEEPING
YOU ON
THE MOVE
Achieve a flexible finance strategy that
takes the stress out of fleet purchases
and improves your bottom line...
luke@rigfinance.com.au | 07 33260905 | 0428 496694
www.rigfinance.com.au | Ascot, Brisbane
46 ATN June 2021 FULLYLOADED.COM.AU

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BRISBANE TRUCK SHOW
Trucks
It was a powerful statement
by Scott Buchholz, the federal
government’s assistant minister
for road safety and freight transport,
which perhaps best summed up the
timely and critical importance of the
2021 Brisbane Truck Show.
After being escorted around by
Todd Hacking, chief executive of the
Brisbane show’s organising body,
Heavy Vehicle Industry Australia
(HVIA), an obviously impressed
Buchholz issued a press release
describing the 2021 show as being
part of “a heavy vehicle industry
renaissance, following a significant
increase in freight and logistics
demand during the Covid-19
pandemic”.
Adding: “Workers in the [trucking]
sector are Australia’s unsung heroes
and the truck show not only put
on display the latest and greatest
in technology, it recognised the
significant contribution of the
workforce.”
What’s more: “I want to thank
all the freight operators, drivers,
DC [distribution centre] workers,
48 ATN June 2021 FULLYLOADED.COM.AU

BRISBANE
CHARGES
AHEAD
After facing assaults on its future over the past few
years, and despite several major brands choosing
not to support the show and the men and women
who have kept Australia fed, fuelled and functional
during the toughest time in modern history, the
2021 Brisbane Truck Show proved yet again why
it is truly the trucking industry’s foremost event -
attracting just over 30,000 attendees over four days
WORDS
STEVE BROOKS
manufacturing and maintenance
crews who have met the challenge
of increased local demand, keeping
our supermarkets stocked and our
economy running.
“To the industry, and to Todd
Hacking and his team, all of the
sponsors and exhibitors and, of
course, the visitors here over the
course of the show, thank you for
supporting this industry.”
Perhaps he could have also
made mention of a Queensland
government intent on creating
the platform for the show to go on
in a safe and secure environment.
Then again, kudos for a Labor
state government probably wasn’t
front and centre in the Coalition
minister’s mind.
Nonetheless, if ever there was
a year for Brisbane-based truck
brands in particular to revel in
the excitement and potential of a
loosening of the pandemic shackles,
it was 2021. However, only the
Penske Group’s Western Star and
MAN brands, headquartered at
Wacol on Brisbane’s outskirts, took
the opportunity to attend.
As a Penske spokesman pointed out,
it’s now 40 years since Western Star
made its Australian debut, where
else but at the Brisbane Truck Show.
Blatantly conspicuous by their
absence, of course, were the big
name truck brands from Melbourne,
Sydney and Brisbane who chose
not to support the show and, as
Buchholz commented, recognise the
significant contribution of the freight
industry’s workforce.
Those who did attend, however,
were intent on giving back to the
industry and perhaps none extolled
that intention better than Freightliner
chief Stephen Downes during an
overview of the highly impressive,
three-pronged Daimler Trucks
exhibit of Freightliner, Fuso and
Mercedes-Benz.
The Brisbane Truck Show is a
major platform, Downes exclaimed,
and while it’s expensive to exhibit, it
also represents an ideal opportunity
“to give back to our industry, which
gives so much to our country”.
Yet, while Brisbane 2021 certainly
won’t go down as the biggest show
ever held in the northern capital –
though more than 30,000 people
filed through the doors – it’s sure
to be remembered as an event
that defied the odds and attracted
substantial crowds to what is sure
to be the only truck show in the
world in 2021. Moreover, creating an
event that truly added much-needed
glitter to an industry audience that,
like every part of Australian society
over the past year and more, has
known little else but gloom, difficulty
and separation.
Below: Livewire
DAF. Assembled at
Paccar’s Bayswater
(Vic) factory, DAF
CF model is now
available with the
sprightly MX-11
engine as well as
the MX-13
Opposite bottom:
Across the ages. In
the background, the
Legend SAR and
up close, the latest
in the line, the
T410SAR
FULLYLOADED.COM.AU June 2021 ATN 49

Above: Safety first.
Freightliner Cascadia
takes conventional
truck safety to an
unmatched standard
while, on the inside,
the digital dash
option creates a new
dimension in function
and form
From opposite top
right: Family first. DAF
and Kenworth shared
the spotlight and
the same livery for
the first time. In the
cab-over class, there’s
big news brewing
for both brands;
Fuso’s new Shogun
360 six-wheeler.
Japanese toughness
with Daimler smarts.
A Euro 6 medium-duty
Fighter was also
released
Opposite bottom: Star
power: Top-of-thetree
Mercedes-Benz
2663 was joined by a
rigid class now with a
similarly high level of
safety features. Benz
will soon start testing
a partially automated
steering system in
Australia
Indeed, the resilience and
determination of HVIA to maintain
Brisbane’s established position
as the Australian road freight
industry’s premier event for the
broader trucking community of
drivers, operators, fleet businesses,
truck, trailer and component
manufacturers and suppliers, have
been inspirational.
It’s easy to forget, for instance,
that after the 2019 show, there was
a powerful move to push Brisbane
into obsolescence with the Truck
Industry Council’s (TIC) expensive
and somewhat naïve attempt to
make Melbourne the new Mecca for
an Australian truck show.
STUNNING DISPLAY!
One of the main protagonists of
the TIC venture was Melbournebased
Paccar Australia but, to its
inestimable credit, the company
went to Brisbane ’21 with arguably
the best presentation of show
trucks ever seen at a truck show,
anywhere in the world. And for
good reason, with 2021 also
marking 50 years of Paccar
truck manufacturing in Australia.
Vitally, Kenworth and DAF were
for the first time presented as equal
Paccar partners, each painted in
the same spectacular show livery
adorned by brilliantly air-brushed
images of iconic Australian scenes.
Words can’t do the display justice
and show visitors were attracted to
the Paccar stand in droves.
As for new models, none were
more appealing than the special
edition Legend SAR, pulling people
to Paccar like bees to a hive.
Created to capture the almost
euphoric esteem of the legendary
Kenworth SAR, the ‘Legend’ version
follows in the hugely successful
wake of earlier Legend 950 and
Legend 900 models and, like its
predecessors, is almost guaranteed
to be an economic master stroke
for Paccar.
While we initially, and wrongly,
forecasted that the Legend SAR
would go on sale for one day only
at the truck show, the ‘one day’ for
taking orders will actually be July 8.
In the interim, it’s easy to envisage
Paccar principals rubbing their
hands together in expectation.
Many pundits are predicting at
least 300 orders and with a unit
price said to be somewhere between
$425,000 and more than $500,000
– depending on the specification, of
course – it seems no one has the
ability to cash in on a classic better
than Kenworth. Then again, if past
performance is any guide, there’s
no shortage of cashed-up buyers
willing to take a trip down memory
lane, even if it means stepping into
a skinny cab with an incredibly
tight squeeze between the seats for
accessing the sleeper. The good ol’
days, indeed!
Taking the SAR mantle into
the modern era, however, is the
wide-cab T610SAR and its new
sibling sharing the roomy 2.1
metre-wide cab, the T410SAR.
Making its first public appearance
at the Brisbane Truck Show, the
T410SAR is punched by Paccar’s
MX-13 engine at up to 510hp
(380kW) and, with its set-forward
front axle design, provides another
critical string to the Kenworth bow.
On the DAF front, pride of place
alongside its K200 cab-over kin
was the flagship XF model but
grabbing the eye of shrewd
show-goers at the back of the
display was a Bayswater-built CF
punched by Paccar Australia’s
relatively new MX-11 engine.
Available in ratings from 370 to
410hp (276 to 306kW) and 450hp
(336kW), and offered in the 6x4 CF
at a gross combination rating of 60
tonnes, our few short stints in the
MX-11 have shown the engine to
be the spearhead of a remarkably
lively and smoothly efficient DAF
powertrain.
The MX engines are, however,
simply the tip of the iceberg in
Paccar Australia’s ambitions for the
DAF range. Indeed, big things are
brewing both locally and overseas
which, from next year and beyond,
will have a major impact on Paccar’s
cab-over class – DAF and Kenworth.
Stay tuned, because there’s
also a big story brewing on these
developments.
FOR SAFETY’S SAKE
Just as it was two years ago,
staring straight across the aisle
at Paccar’s presentation was
Daimler’s Freightliner Cascadia.
Unlike 2019, though, when a right
hand-drive Cascadia was still a
work in progress, North America’s
biggest selling truck is now pushing
ahead with bold ambitions for the
Australian market.
And it is not without a very
powerful and expedient tool in the
chest. Safety!
From the outset, Cascadia set
50 ATN June 2021 FULLYLOADED.COM.AU

a new and incredibly high benchmark for
safety in conventional trucks with the
standard inclusion of the Detroit Assurance
5.0 suite of advanced safety functions.
But, as the company announced in
Brisbane, it is about to push the safety
stakes to an even higher level with the
introduction late this year of a head-protecting
side airbag in addition to the
existing steering wheel airbag. Right now,
and for what will be probably quite some
time to come, Cascadia is unrivalled in
conventional truck safety.
Typically, Daimler Trucks Australia boss
Daniel Whitehead didn’t pull any punches
in citing Cascadia’s credentials and,
specifically, the need to protect drivers no
matter what brand of truck they drive.
“There is no good reason why
conventional truck drivers in Australia
should not be able to drive a truck fitted
with the latest safety features,” he said in a
prepared statement.
“It doesn’t matter whether you are driving
a truck with or without a bonnet, your safety
is just as important.”
As Freightliner’s announcement added,
the head-protecting side airbag has been
specially developed for the Australian
market by RollTek and America’s IMMI,
industry leaders in the design, testing and
manufacturing of advanced safety systems.
Meanwhile, a number of the Cascadias
on display also featured a digital dashboard
layout that will become optional later
this year.
Largely identical to the digital dash
already available on Mercedes-Benz
models, it’s a layout using a 312mm (12.3-
inch)-wide screen as the main display
directly in front of the driver for gauges,
trip data and adaptive cruise control
information and to the left, a 254mm
(10-inch) touchscreen to access a range of
ancillary functions.
Familiarity and ease of operation with
the digital dash come quickly, as we’ve
found in previous drives of Mercedes-Benz
trucks where the system is known as the
multi-media cockpit.
While Cascadia was unquestionably the
star attraction for Daimler this year, the
three-pointed star certainly wasn’t short
of its own news, led by the announcement
that Mercedes-Benz is set to launch an
Australian validation program for an Actros
that can help steer itself.
Known as ‘Active Drive Assist’
technology, a statement from
Mercedes-Benz says the system enables a
partially automated driving capability and is
a first for the Australian market.
Mercedes-Benz states: “The system
helps to actively steer the truck and keep it
in the centre of its lane, although the driver
is still required to hold the steering wheel.”
Also, says Benz: “It is one step ahead
of some current systems [because] the
Mercedes-Benz system actually helps steer
the truck in the first place.” As the company
insists: “Proactive rather than reactive.”
Apparently, we’ll be given a drive of Active
Drive Assist before too long but it wasn’t
the only news from Mercedes-Benz.
Until now, the Benz rigid range and
specifically the Arocs 8x4 model, wasn’t
available with the full suite of advanced
safety functions used in prime mover
models, due to what were explained as “application-related
packaging restrictions”.
Those engineering challenges have
been overcome and the eight-wheeler
now comes with the radar-based ‘Active
Brake Assist’ package as well as existing
safety features, such as electronic stability
program, driver airbag and lane departure
warning.
Last, but definitely not least in Daimler’s
truck triumvirate, is Fuso, easily the biggest
selling brand in the group and using the
FULLYLOADED.COM.AU June 2021 ATN 51

Above: Wide
appeal: Iveco was
intent on showing
a Euro 6 product
range that covers
many bases,
from the latest
light-duty Daily
to the revamped
Highway flagship.
Meanwhile, over
at the Southbank
Truck Festival was
the unique ‘Road
Ant’, an aggregate
spreader based
on an ACCO that
can be driven
independently from
both ends of the
vehicle
Opposite top:
Followmont
Transport’s tribute
to Col Baker. A
Cummins man to
the core and true
stalwart of the
trucking industry
Opposite bottom:
Electric power
was high among
the highlights in
Brisbane with none
bigger than the
innovative Janus
heavy-duty system
of exchangeable
batteries. The
batteries power an
electric motor from
Dana Spicer
Brisbane show to highlight the
iconic Canter model’s 50-year
milestone on the Australian market.
It’s worth noting, too, that of the
four Japanese truck suppliers in
Australia, only Fuso attended the
Brisbane show and, as one senior
Daimler executive was quick to
comment: “It’s their loss because we
have plenty to show and plenty to
talk about. It’s disappointing for the
industry that the others aren’t here
but, commercially, we don’t mind
being the only Japanese brand on
show. Not one bit.”
Emphasising the evolution of the
remarkably durable Canter range,
the light-duty Fuso is also the
platform for the recently launched
eCanter electric truck and, at a truck
show where electric power was high
among the highlights, the eCanter
was certainly a timely addition to
Daimler’s displays.
However, it was the launch of
Fuso’s new Shogun 360 model,
which perhaps had pragmatic truck
operators most engaged.
According to Fuso, the Shogun
360 six-wheeler – available as a
6x2 or 6x4 – was developed as
a premium 14-pallet rigid model
equipped with Daimler’s extensive
standard safety features, Euro 6
emissions compliance and a trim
cab/chassis tare weight of 6,950kg.
Power comes from Daimler’s
responsive 7.7-litre six-cylinder
engine dispensing 360hp (268kW)
and 140Nm (1,030lb-ft) of torque
through a 12-speed automated
transmission that also provides
the Eco-Roll fuel-saving feature
and crawler modes for low-speed
manoeuvring.
Continuing Daimler’s high level
of standard safety features, the 360
comes with advanced emergency
braking, lane departure warning,
electronic stability program and
Driver Attention Assist, which uses
facial recognition technology to
warn of fatigue.
It is, by any measure, an
impressive package in the
six-wheeler rigid class and,
according to Fuso Australia chief
Alex Müller, sizeable orders have
already been taken.
BUSINESS MODELS
Michael May, the former head of
Mercedes-Benz truck operations
in Australia and now managing
director of Iveco Trucks Australia,
went straight to the point when
previewing the company’s Brisbane
display.
“Iveco is excited to be supporting
the 2021 Brisbane Truck Show,” he
said in an opening statement.
“The display vehicles highlight the
benefits Iveco enjoys as a European
manufacturer with a local research
and development and manufacturing
capacity, which ensures all vehicles
are tailored to Australia’s unique
operating conditions.”
Diversity was at the core of a
four-model display ranging from the
latest incarnation of the versatile
and popular Daily light-duty
line-up in its ‘Tradie-Made’
ready-to-work configuration through
to the well-mannered medium-duty
Eurocargo, the never-say-die
ACCO in a typical 8x4 configuration
with a Superior Pak front-loading
compactor body, and at the top of
Iveco’s on-road range, a ‘Highway’
heavy-duty model rated to 70
tonnes.
A quick look at the specifications
of all Iveco’s show trucks confirmed
an undeniably well-equipped range
sporting advanced safety and Euro 6
emissions as standard features.
Away from the show, however,
another Iveco was doing its bit
to not only support the broader
industry, but also confirm the
breadth of the brand’s engineering
52 ATN June 2021 FULLYLOADED.COM.AU

and manufacturing capabilities.
As a company statement
explained: “In addition to its support
of the Brisbane Truck Show, Iveco
is also supporting the Southbank
Truck Festival with display of a Q-FE
‘Road Ant’,” described as being
“a dual control, forward moving
aggregate spreader based on an
ACCO six-wheeler fitted with a Trout
River, asphalt-compatible body and
10-gate chip spreader.”
Its creation stems from a recent
VicRoads requirement, which
mandates that from July 1, 2022,
all aggregate spreaders working in
sprayed sealing applications must
be forward-moving.
Consequently, the ‘Road Ant’ can
be driven independently from both
ends of the vehicle.
Meanwhile, back at the show, the
Penske pair of Western Star and
MAN certainly weren’t without plenty
of people keen for a close look at a
couple of big bangers.
Top of the list was Western Star’s
4900FXC, destined for heavy-duty
roadtrain roles with a 600hp
(447kW) Cummins X15 powering
into an Eaton 18-speed overdrive –
manual, of course – and Dana rear
axles running a 4.56:1 final drive
ratio, mounted on Neway airbag
suspension.
Yet, perhaps one of the most
underrated or overlooked features
of Western Star these days is the
Stratosphere sleeper. According to
many people we’ve spoken to over
the many years since Stratosphere
first arrived here, it is the best bunk
layout in the business and there’s
little doubt the premium 82-inch
(208cm) high-rise shed on the back
of the 4900 show truck was a solid
reminder to most.
When it comes to muscle, though,
MAN’s flagship TGX 640 carries the
flag in the Penske portfolio. This is
an impressively strong truck to drive
but, unfortunately, durability issues
TRIDENT TRIBUTE
While neither Cummins nor Mack attended the 2021 Brisbane Truck Show, Followmont Transport’s display
of a Cummins-powered Mack Trident was a magnanimous and highly fitting tribute to a true stalwart of the
trucking industry, the late Col Baker.
A Cummins man to the core and immensely proud Queenslander despite a move to Cummins HQ in
Melbourne, Col passed away only days before the Brisbane show after a fiercely fought battle with cancer.
He was just 52-years-old and is survived by his wife Jenny and three daughters.
In what was something of a secret project between Cummins and the Brisbane-based transport company,
Col worked closely with Followmont Transport principal Mark Tobin to slot an X15 engine under the Trident
snout for an extensive trial, with the trust and respect between the two manifesting in Tobin’s heartfelt
tribute to his Cummins mate.
“Col Baker was the best example of living out the values of integrity, caring, teamwork and the pursuit of
excellence,” says close friend and Cummins colleague, Mike Fowler.
“The courage he demonstrated during his fight with cancer was nothing short of inspirational but in
truth, it was just so typical of him.
“Cummins and the wider trucking industry have lost someone very special.”
Absolutely!
FULLYLOADED.COM.AU June 2021 ATN 53

Top: Big bangers:
The Penske pair of
MAN and Western
Star. Insiders say
there are new
models coming for
both brands next
year
Above right:
Cummins was
missing in action
but technology
partner Eaton
waved the flag for
both brands. Expect
some big news from
the transmission
specialist as it
prepares to test
a new Endurant
family
Below: Korean
connection. With
the absence of
three of Australia’s
four Japanese
truck brands, there
was ample interest
in Hyundai’s
new Pavise
medium-duty
models
haven’t been kind to buyers and the
brand alike.
Still, while Penske insiders didn’t
deny the brand’s “chequered past”,
there’s confidence that a new MAN
range, due in 2022, will help right
the wrongs, perceived or otherwise.
Critically, they also say Penske is
committed to the brand’s future in
Australia.
Similarly, an entirely new Western
Star range launched in the US last
year is said to be heading our way
in 2022.
GAS AND ELECTRIC
Down the power scale, South Korean
brand Hyundai, exhibiting through
its Brisbane-based East Coast
Hyundai distributor, appeared
to attract plenty of interest in its
new medium-duty addition called
the Pavise.
Available in weight ratings from
12 to 12.9, 15.5 and 17.6 tonnes, and
wheelbase lengths of 4.3, 4.9 and
5.7 metres, all Pavise models are
powered by a turbocharged 5.9-litre
Euro 5 six-cylinder diesel rated at
276hp (206kW) in the top weight
model and 246hp (183kW) in all
others.
Coupled to the engine in all
models is the choice of a nine-speed
ZF manual transmission or a 12-
speed automated box, also from ZF.
All models come with an extensive
range of advanced safety features,
including autonomous emergency
braking, forward collision avoidance
system and airbags for driver and
passenger.
Somewhat surprisingly, though,
there was no Hyundai Xcient on
show. Xcient is Hyundai’s flagship
heavy-duty contender and, while
Australian sales continue to be
ghostly thin, it is the platform
model for the South Korean maker’s
well publicised plans to become a
major player in the development of
hydrogen-fuelled trucks.
Several Chinese commercial
vehicles were also on show in
Brisbane, including the much
maligned JAC brand now attempting
a comeback with a light-duty
electric truck.
In fact, electric power was on
show at every level, from the light
EC11 Chinese van currently under
evaluation, to the well-publicised
SEA Electric venture, which has
attracted former Hino executive Bill
Gillespie to a top management role,
and at the top of the weight scale,
the undeniably innovative Janus
electric heavy-duty truck.
Following an earlier
announcement that it will
revolutionise heavy-duty road
transport with its patented
exchangeable battery system,
Janus Electric showcased its
prototype model based on a
converted Kenworth T403.
With its exchangeable battery
packs, Janus principals insist its
system removes the need for heavy
electric vehicles to stand idle for
up to 12 hours waiting for batteries
to recharge.
Instead, says Janus, battery
packs can be swapped by forklift in
a matter of minutes to dramatically
enhance vehicle utilisation.
Janus director Lex Forsyth says
operator interest in the system
is exceptionally strong and, with
confidence running high, the
company has worked with Kenworth
to supply a T610 ‘glider’ for further
testing and development.
Typically, perhaps, the Janus
system has already drawn an
undercurrent of cynics, but this
innovative Australian approach to
electric truck viability appears to
have significant potential.
Two years from now at the next
Brisbane Truck Show, we’ll know if
the potential is being realised or not.
Even more certain, those brands
missing from this year’s event
will be clamouring to come back
in 2023.
54 ATN June 2021 FULLYLOADED.COM.AU

REGULATORY ROUND
Safety campaign requires space by all
Last month, NHVR launched an important community and driver education campaign with
Coles and supply chain partners – We Need Space to Keep You Safe
SAL PETROCCITTO
is CEO of the
National Heavy
Vehicle Regulator
Below:
Toll driver Joe
Lanza, NHVR CEO
Sal Petroccitto,
V8 Supercars
driver and We
Need Space
ambassador Garth
Tander and Linfox
drivers Mick Ross
and Racheal Topp.
Iam particularly proud of the message and
meaning behind this campaign, as it focuses
on keeping heavy vehicle drivers safe while
they perform the vital role of delivering essential
freight across the country.
Every one of the NHVR’s initiatives, projects
and campaigns has the end goal of heavy
vehicle drivers travelling safely and arriving
safely.
We Need Space is about educating light vehicle
drivers and other road users on the importance of
sharing the road safely with heavy vehicles.
The red and yellow signs on the back of heavy
vehicles remind road users not to overtake a
turning vehicle and allow the space required for
safe manoeuvring. This campaign will go a step
further, with three key messages reminding light
vehicle drivers of the importance of:
• not overtaking a turning truck
• keeping out of truck blind spots
• overtaking trucks safely.
Coles trailers, carried by supply chain partners
Linfox and Toll, will display the simple We Need
Space to Keep You Safe message along the east
coast of Australia.
The tagline is designed to be short in length but
powerful in message.
The NHVR has also produced a series of
Community Service Announcements with the
support of V8 Supercars Champion and We Need
Space ambassador Garth Tander, as well as
professional drivers from Linfox and Toll.
It is also planned that a safety education
campaign and resources will be rolled out
through driver education programs and state
and territory authority partners.
The opportunity for positive impact and
behavioural change is substantial.
There are more than 40,000 heavy vehicle
operators in our industry – and many more light
vehicles travelling next to heavy vehicles.
Coles transport operators travel approximately
100 million kilometres each year, delivering
goods via Distribution Centres to more than
800 supermarkets across the country.
While training and safety across our industry
is constant, and owners and operators
understand the need for space to keep road
users safe, we all have our part to play in
continuing to educate communities on
providing space to heavy vehicles.
I want to thank Coles, Linfox, Toll and Garth for
their enthusiastic collaboration in promoting such
a vital message.
I also want to thank readers of this column
in advance, for your support in helping to
promote this campaign and its message
throughout your networks.
The more we work together and the more
space we provide on our roads, the safer we
all become.
To learn more about the ‘We Need Space’
campaign, head to www.weneedspace.com.au
FULLYLOADED.COM.AU June 2021 ATN 55

BRISBANE TRUCK SHOW
EVs
PLUGGING
INTO THE
MAIN
Electric vehicles (EVs) and their
providers had something of a
coming of age at this year’s
Brisbane Truck Show (BTS).
Having been consigned to
less-frequented positions on the main
ground floor exhibition space two years ago
and, with barely a mention the show before
that, pandemic disruptions meant providers
were able to create more of a spectacle
of their offering amongst the traditional
powerhouses.
The EV crowd was always willing to cast
doubt and perceived risk aside to make its
presence felt. The difference, this time, was
Though small in
number, electric
vehicles made
a splash at the
trucks showcase
WORDS
ROB Mc KAY
that decisions, some made far from Australia,
let alone Brisbane, gave those players the
opportunity to shine.
SEA ELECTRIC
Leading the EV charge at the show
was burgeoning locally headquartered
international player SEA Electric.
Withdrawals gave it the chance punch
above its weight in the display stakes,
utilising space the big names are traditionally
accustomed to.
Vice president – Asia Pacific Glen Walker
agrees that this was the intention.
“We were always coming but what this
gave us the opportunity to do is present our
entire range of vehicles,” Walker said.
“We were only going to have two vehicles
on the smaller stand down the way.
“What we’ve now got is the two variants
of the C500 and the two variants of the
C300 together on the same stand.
“Call it our ‘coming out’.
“We are a truck manufacturer who has a
range of trucks that happen to be electric,
happen to be zero emission, happen to be
quiet, happy to be smooth, happy to be
fume-free, good for OH&S [operational health
and safety], happy to have a competitive total
cost of ownership and, equally importantly,
designed and manufactured here in Australia,
[and] sold and serviced through a national
dealer network.
“It’s what truck manufacturers do.”
Manufacturers are also fiercely competitive
and SEA is in the sights of a dismissive
Daimler. The sentiment is returned with the
tart observation that “other manufacturers”
are displaying “nothing new” at the show.
Asked how SEA was able to build the
support structure now numbering 15
dealerships nationwide, Walker nominates
two points.
“Relationships and a story,” he said.
“Many of those dealers, people within SEA
Electric have dealt with them in a variety
prior lives, so know many of them. We have
used many of them in the early incarnation
of our product development – buying diesel
vehicles, removing power systems and
electrifying them.
“So, we already had established
relationships and they believed the story
and saw the potential. It took a while to get
the dealer agreements and all those things
together. But, if you’ve got a willing seller
and a willing buyer, you’ll always come up
with an acceptable solution.”
SEA understands that operational
56 ATN June 2021 FULLYLOADED.COM.AU

ack-up for owners is crucial. SEA
Electric vehicles now come with
a national transport insurance
on-road support package for the
life of the warranty period and the
dealer network is part of the mix
in the way that other truckmakers
operate.
While he admitted there is still
some training to go with getting
skills to where SEA Electric would
wish them to be, there are also
gains allowed by IT, with propulsion
functions able to be diagnosed
remotely from the Melbourne HQ.
“Over time, that same level of
expertise will become available
in the dealerships as well,”
Walker said.
The aim is to “normalise” the
buying of an electric truck, both with
the purchase through dealerships
and the aftersales service, and the
We already had established relationships and
they believed the story and saw the potential
company is looking to do the same
on a much greater sale in the US.
While acknowledging the
development journey has not been
without risk for those who took
on the challenge of having SEA
Electric trucks in their fleets, Walker
is adamant that the vehicles on
show were the best they could be
at this stage as a result of that sort
of support.
On what developments may be
on the way, he underlines that the
light- and medium-duty sectors
is where the company will keep its
focus, at least for the time being.
“It is true that SEA Electric
will, one day, branch out into the
prime mover market,” he said.
“But the pure battery technology
in the prime mover market, with
the additional weight that’s
required and the additional range
that’s required and the fact that
you’re substantially reducing
the amount of space that’s
available on the chassis – there
are some challenges for a pure
battery prime mover.
“There’s a little bit more
technological advancement that
needs to be done, whether that’s
hydrogen range extension or other
forms of technology, before we’ve
Above: It was
electric’s time to
shine at the Brisbane
Truck Show
Opposite bottom:
Glen Walker
FULLYLOADED.COM.AU June 2021 ATN 57

Robots handle shipping containers, I’m pretty
sure they can handle 3.5 tonne [of battery]
Above: From right,
Lawrence Ambrose
and Bevan Dooley,
with Lex Forsyth and
the Mark 2 battery
behind
Opposite top and
below: After a
lacklustre diesel
effort a few years
ago, JAC Motors
is back with an EV
offering; “We believe
this is the future,
in that small truck
segment,” JAC
Motors MD Jason
Pecotic says.
settled on what the best solution for
prime movers is.”
JANUS ELECTRIC
Speaking of prime movers, the EV
charge in that space belonged to just
one firm – Janus Electric.
Perhaps the craziest of the brave
at the show, or just the cleverest,
there was no doubting how
intriguing its concept of fully charged
replaceable batteries for converted
conventional trucks was for visitors
and the industry alike.
But behind the squints and
the smiles was undoubtedly an
appreciation of a simple solution in a
recognisable form, based as it is on
converted prime movers – out with
the grill and diesel engine, in with two
doors and big battery unit.
Like SEA Electric, Janus Electric
aims to take the idea to the North
America, eventually, judging that
this market will take easily to the
bonneted form. It could happen as
early as next year.
But that won’t preclude
development of the cabover form,
according to co-founder and director
Bevan Dooley.
The difference will be that the
battery will be block-shaped rather
than the squat, solid ‘T’ shape of
initial design.
More immediately, the company
was proudly showing off what Dooley
describes as a 600kWh-plus Mark
2 battery, along with its converted
Kenworth, at its stand, not far from
Paccar’s.
And the simplicity of the concept
allows for battery developments
including lithium, solid state
technology and beyond to be
introduced seamlessly.
“When solid states come out, we’ll
put ’em in the box – when silicon
batteries come out, we’ll put ’em in
the box,” he beamed.
“The motor doesn’t care. It just
sees 750 volts and says ‘give it
to me’!
“If you’ve got a vehicle where
the battery is fixed, you’ve got a
big problem. You have to rethink
your truck.”
Like the Mark 1 and Mark 2
batteries, the cabover option will
also use forklifts to replace batteries
through the front but Dooley expects
that to give way to robotic handling
in due course.
“People ask me, ‘can robots do
that?’ Well, robots handle shipping
containers, I’m pretty sure they can
handle 3.5 tonne [of battery],” he
said, before adding that robotics is
not an area of expertise.
“We’re already in talks with the
right people . . . it’s gotta be done.”
As far as battery charging and
the savings are concerned, the idea
is to buy bulk off-peak power, to
avoid peak-time charging, at cost
comparable to using diesel.
This aims for profits to go to
battery and replacement service
owners and savings for fleets,
many of which would not have
the set-up to easily recharge their
own trucks.
“I own several industrial yards
around the central coast [of NSW]
and most industrial feeds are only
100 amp feeds. That’s 60kW, which
means you can charge one battery in
10 hours. So, if you’ve got 100 trucks
you’re taking care of one, the other
99 are a problem.”
Dooley’s and co-founder Lex
Forsyth’s thinking from inception
was to provide the Janus common
platform and allow the other aspects
to end up being provided by those
seeing the opportunity, thereby
allowing the service to roll out
organically.
Janus engineer Lawrence
Ambrose explained that the company
went to Melbourne to discuss the
idea with SEA Electric, then solely a
battery-electric propulsion provider,
and left with its blessing to tackle the
heavy EV space.
He explained that the Mark 1
battery uses lithium polymer (LiPo)
cells, which are just now giving
way to lithium nickel manganese
cobalt oxides (NMC) technology
and allowing a rise from 3.2 volt
to 3.7 volt.
“The energy density is a lot higher
in NMC,” Ambrose said.
“So, less wiring, less BMS [battery
management system] [and a] 50 per
cent increase in power density.”
He notes that while what is in the
box will keep up with developments,
the box itself will be unchanged.
Even with battery weight falling,
Janus will likely keep the weight
similar in future to gain more power
and for other reasons
“We’ve got approximately two
tonne on an empty chassis on the
front wheels; the road limit is 6.5.
“Obviously, we’ve still got the
weight of the chassis rail and the
weight of the box itself.
“By the time you count that, you’ve
got 3.5 tonne of batteries [give or
take a few kilograms].”
Ambrose is keen to keep the
weight similar to avoid changing
58 ATN June 2021 FULLYLOADED.COM.AU

aking characteristics, thereby forcing new
brake testing.
Meanwhile, Dooley is in no doubt Janus
will have a presence at the next show,
perhaps even having a Western Star join the
Kenworth and a forklift demonstrating the
interchange.
JAC MOTORS
The week before the show, JAC Motors MD
Jason Pecotic was facing a very modest
truck show indeed.
Having worked to resurrect his JAC
pursuit over the past few years, Pecotic
was facing a spot by the foyer window
with a dearth of metal on display.
“We’ve had an interesting voyage,”
he said.
“We’ve gone from the foyer to the main
stand here in a matter of 14 days.
“And we’ve gone from no truck
last Thursday to the Department of
Infrastructure giving us approval on the
Friday after an impassioned plea by myself.
And then we had the truck delivered Friday
at lunchtime.
“We detailed it on the Saturday and we
had it ready by bump-in on the Monday.”
He pays tribute to organisers HVIA for
recognising the value of having another
electric truck in main space was a desirable
outcome.
“New energy, zero emissions being the
future, they really wanted to make sure that
we were showcased here,” Pecotic said.
“We’ve got to thank the organisers.”
He is on record as acknowledging the
first coming of the Chinese-built JAC, in
diesel form, into the country was with an
inferior light-duty vehicle. But, refusing
to be deterred, he followed the JAC’s EV
development for five years before looking to
bring that version to these shores.
That determination has been bolstered
by sales internationally, notably in Brazil for
DHL’s Pepsico distribution task. And the
vehicle itself is in full production rather than
being in prototype form.
Pecotic is refreshingly realistic about his
latest tilt at the market but believes the EV’s
time has come.
“We are investing in this because we
believe this is the future, in that small truck
segment, for delivery,” he said.
“We don’t answer every question, we have
a specific market that we are chasing.”
The N55EV model on display is Australian
Design Rules-approved, he notes, and is to
order 10 more by mid-year with an arrival
time in the third quarter and full production
is eyed for some time after that. In the
meantime, a dealer network is the next big
domestic task.
By the time of the next show, when
normal BTS service is likely to resume with
increased competition for space, JAC will
look to expand its presence.
“We plan to be here, with a few more
models, too,” Pecotic said.
“There is a good future with a roll-out of
JAC products [to come].
“We hope to be enjoying that journey.”
FUSO
New names and new faces always garner
interest. Who knows where the next
vehicular household name will come from?
But that is not to discount established
giants, and they don’t come much bigger
than Daimler.
In a move that comes straight out
of the “empire strikes back” playbook,
this absolute heavyweight continues
to cast an uncompromising eye over
the emerging, but crucial, market of
commercial EVs.
Its weapon at this still-early stage is the
Fuso eCanter. That remains on collision
course with SEA Electric for the light-duty
sector, where parcels delivery is the
battleground and the need for thousands
of units is foreseen.
Daimler Truck and Bus Australia
Pacific president and CEO Daniel Whitehead
skipped no beats in reinforcing the line
FULLYLOADED.COM.AU June 2021 ATN 59

The Fuso eCanter is a very serious proposition
for all customers that are committed to reduce
their carbon footprint in Australia
that has SEA Electric’s challenge directly
in its sights.
“For the first time, an electric production
truck straight off the factory line. Not a
choice between electrification and safety,”
Whitehead said.
“This is a full Daimler product, with safety,
with electrification – not a Frankenstein
version of other people’s trucks.”
Not much has remained secret
about the eCanter since production first
began 2017, though a closer look at
the performance characteristics will
doubtless occur in due course.
“eCanter has been produced at our
factory, been tested here locally and we
are ready to explore future transportation
with our customers and dealer partners
here in Australia,” Fuso Truck and Bus
Australia director Alex Müller, who at this
stage is custodian of Daimler’s local electric
ambitions, said.
“Daimler and Fuso are committed
to accelerate electrification and also
zero-emission transportation in the
commercial vehicle industry in Australia.
“The Fuso eCanter is a very serious
proposition for all customers that are
committed to reduce their carbon footprint
in Australia.
“eCanter, of course, contains the full suite
of active safety features, like our full Fuso
truck and bus range here in Australia.”
EV AUTOMOTIVE
So far, so familiar. All the firms above have
garnered headlines of some sort.
Not so, EV Automotive (EV-A).
That may be due, in part, to offering
battery-propelled vans, rather than trucks.
But in a certain way, there is a trucking link.
For EV Automotive is the creation of the
Epoca Group of Companies that has roots in
Mt Isa going back more than 50 years.
That is the privately owned and operated
civil, structural and mechanical engineering
operation and property firm founded by
Gilberto Maggiolo and Tony Bosso, who
were one-time stakeholders in ill-fated
heavy truck fleet-owner McAleese.
It was a trip to China in the mid-2010s in
search of electrical machinery that led to a
realisation of the potential of EV commercial
vehicles, particularly vans.
The next challenge was to find a
manufacturer happy to turn its had to
right-hand drive, given the global demand
is swamped with the alternative, and willing
to go to Australian Design Rules (ADR)
standards.
And Skywell Industries, predominantly an
electric bus manufacturer that is branching
out into large van production, was.
Such are global tensions and the
attitudes they engender that what was once
barely worth a mention has morphed into a
source of concern. But EV Automotive sees
no gain in trying to hide the source of the
vehicles – after all, in this connected age, it
would be pointless.
So, the Skywell E11 E-Cargo, its only
60 ATN June 2021 FULLYLOADED.COM.AU

SPONSORED CONTENT
Isuzu
UP-SKILLING AUSTRALIA
Tech training top priority for Australia’s skills shortage
As the nation recovers from
a tough 2020, the pressure
on road transport, trades,
services and related construction
industries continues. The sector is
expected to grow by 5.5 per cent
by 2023. With figures like these,
the call for more skilled truck
technicians to service the sector
is readily apparent.
Isuzu Australia Limited (IAL)
national service manager, Brett
Stewart, says that providing quality
education and opportunities for this
next generation of workers should
be a top priority.
“As a leading truck brand in
the country, we are 100 per cent
committed to growing the pipeline
of technicians to support the
automotive industry into the future,”
he says.
“Opportunities that inject passion
and comradery into the technical
skills sector are hugely important.
We were delighted to sponsor the
National Apprentice Challenge this
year by supplying two GXD prime
movers for the apprentices to work
on during the competition.”
The Heavy Vehicle Industry
Australia (HVIA) National Apprentice
Challenge, held at the Brisbane
Truck Show, attracts some of the
best and brightest mechanical
apprentices from around Australia.
This year’s all-Isuzu winning
team – apprentices Samual Allan
from Ballarat Isuzu and Luke
Kneebone from Webster Trucks –
had the benefit of a rigorous original
equipment manufacturer training
program behind them.
“We could not be prouder of both
Sam and Luke,” Stewart says.
“As young apprentices, they’ve
put their hands up to have a go and
come out of their comfort zone.
“I can only encourage other
young apprentices in the truck
world to take up industry
opportunities like this and see
where it takes you.”
For more information, visit
www.isuzu.com.au
Above: Samual
Allan and Luke
Kneebone were
this year’s winners
of the National
Apprenticeship
Challenge
vehicle, which was also destined
for Thailand and Hong Kong, took
its place this year on the main
floor but not before EV-A brought
in Tiger Spider to look after the
homologation, certification,
compliance and local testing.
With an eight-year warranty, the
batteries are 73.6kWh lithium ion
units with CCS Type 2 charging and
the vehicle claims a 70kW of power
and 350Nm or torque off the mark,
building to 100kW and 750Nm.
Range is put at 200–300km,
based on load.
While the battery supplier has
links with Tesla, EV-A is also taking
a page out of that firm’s online
sales model.
On the servicing side, EV-A MD
David Potter said the company
was in the midst of exchanging
contracts with a partner with 268
outlets nationwide but he was
unwilling to name it until ink
hit paper.
Given the dearth of moving parts,
he puts servicing cost at $180 a
year; the first three and 12 months
being on EV-A.
There are 1,340mm between
the wheel arches, a cargo height of
1,780mm, length of 3,370mm and
rear double-door width is 1,555mm
It is not that EV-A has emerged
entirely without trace – it would have
made its debut in 2019 had there
been space.
This time around, the disruption
came to its aid.
“We’ll try to keep it up as a biennial
event. It’s not necessarily the ideal
vehicle to showcase, because people
are coming for the bigger trucks, but
it’s logistics,” EV-A Oceania sales
manager Peter Benardos said.
“And all of the logistics people that
will be coming to the show to have
a look at trailers and everything else
are going to stumble across us and
go: ‘We could use that!’”
Above: EV-A MD
David Potter
Opposite: The Fuso
eCanter represents
Daimler’s expansion
into the EV space;
Fuso Truck and Bus
Australia director
Alex Müller
FULLYLOADED.COM.AU June 2021 ATN 61 33

BRISBANE TRUCK SHOW
Trailers
ALONG THE
TRAILER TRAIL
A truck show has to have trucks. But, trailers are just as important.
Australia is home to some of the best and toughest trailer
manufacturers in the world. The ATN team follows the trailer trail
at the Brisbane Truck Show
BYRNE’S BIG ON LIVESTOCK
Byrne Trailers showcased a diverse line-up
at the Brisbane Truck Show (BTS) but the
standouts were undoubtedly the livestock
trailers, standing tall as the only ones on show.
and with good reason.
The company, founded by Mick and Teri Byrne
in Peak Hill, NSW, in 1974, has seen solid growth
from its small beginnings, where it now claims
to hold market leadership in the livestock sector.
Extensive manufacturing facilities were
established in Wagga Wagga in 1988,
with expansion into Queensland in 1993
via a manufacturing and service depot in
Toowoomba.
Byrne’s capabilities were represented at the
show via a B-triple unit that can cart sheep,
cattle and pigs alongside a B-double cattle-only
unit belonging to Shanahan’s Livestock
62 ATN June 2021 FULLYLOADED.COM.AU

Transport. Though not outright new
releases, Byrne explains it is seeing success
in recent years with these units due to
their clever stainless steel design, which
delivers the “same strength and ductility
as carbon steel but is 250 times more
corrosion resistant”, and therefore “rusts
250 times slower”.
“It also makes the trailer a bit lighter
and allows you to add a couple more
animals on the trailer,” Byrne sales expert
Sam Gwynne tells us.
A tri-axle dolly, designed for the livestock
task, accompanied its headline units.
Elsewhere, Byrne had a couple of
aluminium bulk trailers on display,
containing the Keith Manufacturing
Walking Floor conveying system, where
slats move back and forth in the loading/
unloading process.
One of units is ideal for agriculture,
while the other, heavier-duty, unit, has
been designed for waste and building
supplies industries.
INNOVATIVE DRAKE
BTS saw some of the latest Drake Group
innovations across the Drake Trailers and
O’Phee Trailers brands.
The Drake Group show stand highlighted
the fact it is still innovating, merging new
technology with a century of combined
O’Phee and Drake trailer-building
know-how.
You’d be hard pressed walking through
the show and missing the Drake Group’s
gargantuan Steerable Deck Widener.
The latest widener from Drake features
its own ‘Active Steer’, allowing for up to an
additional 35 degrees of manoeuvrability –
the difference between being able to fit
or not!
A standout feature on the latest
Steerable Deck Widener, and one of
the keys to achieving such significant
manoeuvrability improvements, is that
all axles on the trailer steer, not just the
self-tracking on the rear axle.
The system works via a mechanical
link and is steered off the skid plate to the
turntable, steering the trailer behind the
prime mover.
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Active Steer also allows the operator
to steer the trailer independently using a
remote control setup, allowing the trailer to
be ‘crabbed’ to achieve more steering angle
than you could with the prime mover.
O’Phee Trailers are all about semitrailers
and its BTS display was all about
showcasing performance-based standards
(PBS) Super Semi options. The O’Phee
Super Semi range includes side loader, flat
top, drop deck and skel trailers ranges.
The two on display at the show were
the slick flat top and container skel
trailers, showing off the new axle group
arrangement that allows up to 49.5 tonnes
gross in PBS applications.
GRAHAM LUSTY TRAILERS’ PBS
OFFERING
It may not be all that widely known but
Graham Lusty Trailers (GLT), listed as Lusty
TIP Trailers Pty Ltd by parent company
Teaminvest Private, is a big deal for said
parent, which assumed full ownership just
a couple of years ago. After all, GLT “again
delivered record operational and earnings
improvements in the first half of the year”
for TIP’s engineering division, TIP says.
“GLT’s unique designs deserve a
substantial premium in the transport
market, and their never-ending quest for
innovation gives us confidence that their
reputation as the ‘Rolls Royce’ of bulk
haulage will continue to be enhanced,”
it continues.
“Happily, the use of a GLT trailer adds
so much to most haulage companies’
bottom line that customers now choose to
place orders up to six months in advance
just to secure a booking in GLT’s busy
Brisbane facility.”
Such innovation was certainly on show,
and taking pride of place was a 30-metre
A-double combination with a tandem dolly
setup for Riordan Grain Services.
Built for Victorian PBS applications,
the combination comprises two chassis
tippers, six-foot-six (1.98m)-high sides with
50-tonne hoists and manual rollover tarps.
“The combination all up can tare a
payload of 68 tonne, so you’re getting
around a gross weight of 82 to 85 tonne,
depending what you put on them,”
purchasing officer Grant Platts says.
“Another trailer here for Reardon is a
chassis tipper with 6-foot (1.83m)-high
sides – it has a blower application in it
pumping grain up in the silos for when an
auger isn’t available.
“We’ve got quite a few of those and they
seem to be a bit of a flavour combination.”
Also featuring was a tri-axle dolly for
30m A-double PBS combinations for New
South Wales and Queensland – which can
run in conjunction with B-doubles. Such a
B-double unit was also on display, pulled by
Magill Transport’s Kenworth prime mover.
“It’s our most common sale – it gives
you the versatility of carrying a different
range of products in different applications,”
Platts says.
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ROBUK’S AUTISM AWARENESS
A fascinating narrative coming out of the
BTS is the emergence of Hemmant-based
Robuk Engineering – and its backstory,
given its relation to GLT.
As operations manager Josh Petersen
tells us, BTS was meant to be the
company’s big unveiling.
Instead, the 11-month-old fledgling
company is already snowed-under
with orders.
“It was supposed to be our, ‘hey, we’re
here’ moment but our build schedule is out
until April next year,” says Petersen.
“If we had them in the backyard we could
have sold eight sets this week.”
Petersen describes the company as less
than a year old, but with more than 90 years’
experience building trailers.
It’s the brainchild of James Yerbury,
interestingly the former managing director
of GLT, who, along with Petersen and others
in the Robuk team, departed GLT following
its takeover.
Petersen is quite bullish on his firm’s
trajectory, saying it drew from its experience
making trailers at GLT and “made it better”.
“We offer the full range of trailers –
anything that carts grain: side tippers, end
tippers, tip-overs, sliders, rollbacks, tri-axles,
tandem dollies.
“We can also do some pocket road trains,
19-metre B-doubles.”
To this point, the confidence is justified
for the expanding Brisbane-based company.
Same strength and
ductility as carbon
steel but is 250
times more corrosion
resistant
“We started in a small little shed in
Gympie and outgrew the shed,” Petersen
says.
“The trailers we were building were
34-foot (10.36m) – we had to build a
36-footer (10.97m) and it wouldn’t fit in the
shed, so we had to come to Brisbane.
“We were going to do one trailer a month
and be sustainable with the small crew we
had, but the demand was ridiculous as soon
as anyone found out what we were doing.
“They all wanted trailers from us and
our production schedule is out nearly 12
months.”
On show were customer Duggan
Bulk Haulage’s two identical dangerous
goods-specified 32-foot (9.75m)
lightweight aluminium tippers with
six-foot-six sides, taring in at 6.6 tonnes,
along with a tri-axle dolly.
In a nice touch, Duggan’s livery puts
autism awareness in the spotlight.
“John Duggan is a big advocate for
autism awareness,” Petersen says.
“He said to me: ‘That is the only thing
that matters about it, I couldn’t give a
shit if they didn’t work.’
“Obviously we care if they didn’t work, but
yeah, we’re very proud to display it.”
HAMMAR FLIES SWEDISH FLAG
Hammar is the Swedish container transport
specialist with a burgeoning Australian
presence – in fact, it claims to produce
over half of all new sideloaders to hit the
road here.
While its headquarters, manufacturing,
development and testing are based
in Olsfors, since Bengt-Olof Hammar
designed his first sideloader in 1974
his company has expanded to eight
worldwide locations, including Australia,
and has provided its products to more
than 115 countries.
As Australian general manager Grahame
Heap tells us, bluntly: “You can’t be the best
if you don’t focus on one thing.”
Thus, Hammar’s Australian business was
displaying one such thing – its latest PBS
offering, the split-tri PBS, allowing 30-plus
tonnes payload on the road.
Heap notes the new concept’s axle
groupings allow for a PBS combination with
higher payloads, which will appeal to the
wharf cartage sector.
“This combination is already up and
running in Queensland and is able to
carry higher mass without impacting
infrastructure,” the National Heavy
Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) notes in its
own BTS walkaround.
The key to Hammar’s offering down
under, Heap adds, is a high-grade steel
brought in from Sweden, with frames
manufactured there but assembled in
Australia, and some chassis manufactured
here too.
“You can take a main product and tweak
it to suit the country you are in,” he says on
the local focus on quality.
He also emphasises the brand’s
dedicated local support network.
“If something goes wrong for an operator
we are never down for long.”
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Below: Muscat
Trailers CEO Troy
Azzopardi
It gives you the versatility of carrying a different
range of products in different applications
MAXITRANS’ BIG CELEBRATION
MaxiTrans is a staunch BTS supporter,
invested fully in the belief of its wider
importance for the industry.
Of course, the show coincided with
celebration of the group’s Freighter
brand notching up 75 years – just
another indication of the extraordinary
staying power of the nation’s peerless
trailer-making sector.
“Fortunately for us, we had a
customer function where we saw in excess
of 300 people attend and celebrate with
us and former staff members. And we had
customers from all across the country,
which was fantastic, and a couple from
New Zealand,” NSW sales manager Glen
Sharman says of an event the company
sees as an acute indication of customer
regard for the make.
With so many of its makes and models on
display, he was loath to highlight particular
items but felt a comparison of old and new
was compelling.
“If there was a highlight, it was showing
the old strap trailer that we had up high,”
Sharman says.
“Show attendees had the opportunity to
see what a trailer looked like in the 1950s,
how it was and how it differed to now.
“We had it on a current trailer, a current
drop-deck, and that allowed people to walk
underneath to see the quality of the finish
and build of the Freighter products.”
Otherwise, he did note a “safety mezz
deck on a Freighter drop deck, new model
suspension on the Boral Azmeb, and the
new diesel-electric fridge on the MultiQuip
Maxi-Cube”.
Sharman is full of praise for show
organiser Heavy Vehicle Industry Australia’s
(HVIA’s) steely resolve to make the event
a success, despite Covid spot-fires in the
lead-up.
“We had full confidence in the HVIA and
followed suit,” he said.
“We put the show on and supported them
100 per cent and beyond. We had outside
space as well as inside space. We asked for
additional space [early on].
“For us, it was about being there for the
industry and for our customers.
“We looked at contingency plans if there
was a border closedown, as opposed to not
going to the show.”
That included surveying its dealer
network and other options to source
equipment.
PRIME POSITION FOR MUSCAT
No stranger to awards and recognition of
high achievement, Muscat Trailers was keen
to make the most of its BTS opportunity and
spruik its offerings’ productivity and safety
accomplishments.
“Because business is now more focused
on safety, we are focusing on non-tip
solutions,” Muscat Trailers CEO Troy
Azzopardi, bullish about his firm’s ability
to punch above its weight, said.
“This is a PBS quad that with the right
prime mover can give the operator 32.5
tonne payload.
“We’ve worked in the non-tip market now
for five years. We are a leader in non-tip
solutions. Other manufacturers are sitting
on the fence to see how the industry
evolves. But I feel that’s not a plan.”
Certainly, Azzopardi feels Muscat was in
a rare and very forward position, both in the
Show and more broadly.
“When you look at the next 10 years,
things will certainly evolve but we’re five
years into it and about to release a second
live floor.”
The top half is manufactured in the
US but Muscat has been working with
the manufacturer to ‘Australian-ise’
that section.
“The next version of this will be better
again and more suited for our roads and
our conditions.”
As a smaller manufacturer, the company
was conservative in its presence but
happy to gain a strategic position on
main floor.
While Azzopardi was critical of a few
much larger firms with bigger budget
withdrawing, it did allow operations like his
to shine. And he was one of a number who
welcomed federal support for exhibitions
and exhibitors, despite the time entangles in
attendant red tape.
And while he believes the attendance
was fair under the circumstances, he
reckons organiser HVIA will “have its
hands full” fitting everyone in during
the next show.
66 ATN June 2021 FULLYLOADED.COM.AU

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BRISBANE TRUCK SHOW
Parts and accessories
AFTERMARKET
EXTRAVAGANZA
Parts and accessories
stands were spread
across three floors
at the Brisbane
Truck Show. Here’s a
snapshot of some of
the standouts
Garrett Motion Australia
GM Paul Carlsson
GARRETT’S LIGHT DUTY
CREDENTIALS
Garrett Motion Australia GM Paul
Carlsson highlights the many ways to
gain from the BTS. The local arm of the
global US firm that helps boost engine
output through turbochargers, Garrett
had a range of both heavy and light
machinery options, including those
for trucks.
But, as Carlsson noted, fleet owners
and their managers are also performance
and leisure machine fans. Thus the
Garrett stand accommodated both.
Whereas Garrett used to do heavierduty
truck turbos, it is now more focused
on fitting lighter rigids, such as Isuzu, Hino
and Fuso.
“In most cases, you’ll get guys come up
and say ‘I don’t have your turbocharger in
my truck but, I’ve got a twin-turbo ski-boat
that I want to do up’ – and that’s why we
have the performance stuff here,” Carlsson
said, noting that they might also have
company utes or private performance
cars as part of their lives.
They can be “truck drivers, fleet owners,
managers that are successful as far
as their work-life goes” who may have
little opportunity otherwise to see the
performance range. This, interestingly, is
where the most BTS enquiries are focused.
Carlsson’s 2021 is chequered with similar
events planned at least as far back as
before November.
He insisted there was little concern about
the BTS going ahead.
And the value of it and other such events
is broad.
”It’s a way of getting in front of the
customers out there – the end-users,
the installers – and talking to them –
it works well,” he said, not to mention
the opportunity for education and advice
nights Garrett can provide to the likes of
diesel mechanics.
Carlsson estimated that perhaps half of
turbo problems can be put down to device
failure and the rest are entirely fixable,
saving replacement cash.
“It could be an oil drain line that’s blocked
[meaning] that oil’s got to go somewhere so
it goes through the seal,” he said.
“Fix the drain line and the oil can drain
away again and it’s not pressurising the
internal part of the turbo charger and the
oil stops.
“Or, the opposite. They think it’s the
turbocharger, [so] they replace the
turbocharger and the leak’s still there.
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“It’s what I call ‘diagnostics by
replacement’ – it’s very expensive.
It’s not a good thing to do.”
Carlsson insisted developments come
constantly, reducing device size while
increasing power, at a ratio of 15-20 per
cent a time and informed by Formula 1
turbo technology.
And it wouldn’t be the 2020s without an
electric aspect here too.
“This year, we are launching with AMG
the world’s first mass-produced e-turbo
vehicle,” he says.
“It’s like a normal turbo-charger but
in the centre of it, instead of having the
bearing where the oil and water goes
into it for cooling, it has an electric motor
as well.
“Through the rpm range, from the 800rpm
at idle to 1,500 to 2,000rpm, the electric
motor does the work.
“As soon as it’s going fast enough that
the exhaust gas takes over, the normal
turbocharger kicks in. And then, when it
goes past that point, it then reverts the
electric motor to an alternator and the
power goes back into the battery.
“So, what that gives you, via ECU control,
is infinite power whenever you want.”
The e-turbo move to from performance
use to heavy vehicles is seen as only a
matter of time.
The e-turbo move to from performance
use to heavy vehicles is seen as only
a matter of time
HELLA SHINES WITH DURALED RANGE
Hella Australia’s stand lit up the surrounds
with its array of heavy commercial lights,
lamps and other electrical accessories.
The company promotes a ‘fit and
forget’ mantra for fleet owners with
maintenance-free lighting solutions –
particularly its DuraLED range of signal,
marker, heavy duty and combination lamps
that comes with a lifetime warranty.
The company noted the DuraLED
collection is tried and tested over two
decades, hence its confidence in
the range.
Further offerings include its Grilamid
lenses that provide UV and chemical
resistance to avoid fading and embrittling,
Jumbo-S Series signal lamps, Rallye 4000
driving lamps, and wider catalogue of
warning beacons, safety daylights, light
bars and work lamps.
Hella specialist Kevin Betty said an
innovative product development involves
forklift-mounted bar lights that shine a
‘guided’ area around the vehicle, providing a
safety zone for others to keep clear of.
He also emphasised the importance of
Australian Design Rule (ADR)-spec lights
as non-compliant products that are not
optimised for human eyes can contribute
to an accident and lead to later legal
headaches for the user.
In an interesting sidebar, susie coils
have been a recent point of conjecture in
the industry and Hella sees its heavy-duty
trailer connectors as future-relevant.
“It’s a changing scene for manufacturers
– the old common metal one is no longer
allowed to be fitted at the manufacturing
level. Six months away, this will be the
standard – you’ll have no choice.”
LOADMAN AIMS HIGH
On-board weighing is growing in
importance as road access arrangements
increasingly require availability
of mass data collected through Smart
on-board mass (OBM) systems.
In one example, by late 2021, Victoria’s
higher-mass limits access system will
FULLYLOADED.COM.AU June 2021 ATN 69

equire vehicles to be fitted with Smart
OBM.
Hence, scale system distributor
Loadmass Australia was spotlighting
its credentials at the BTS.
It noted it was the first supplier to be
Category-A type-approved by transport
technology assurance organisation
Transport Certification Australia (TCA),
and, importantly now boasts two brands,
Loadman and Airtec, type-approved for
Category B higher mass applications.
Those seeking higher mass limits
access are offered scale systems digitally
connected to Smart OBM systems, allowing
not only the recording of the load, but
other safety and regulatory information for
compliance purposes, Loadmass notes.
At the other end of the spectrum, the
BTS saw a release of Loadmass’s light
commercial range – its LMA Series 3030
sensor, developed in Australia for utilities
and vans.
Loadmass director Ralph Rossteuscher
explained that its air bag or spring systems
can accommodate the full range of rigid
trucks and commercial vehicles.
“Air bag system measures movement
in the air pressure in the air bags of the
suspension, so, as the truck gets a load
[placed] on it, the air bags compensate and
pump up and we measure the pressure in
the airline.
“In the spring suspension one, we
Blue Horizon will be coming the Australian
market’s way soon, in 12Xe, 14Xe and 17Xe
e-powertrains
measure the movement in the suspension
– it will display an overload situation when
it happens.”
Similarly, for heavier-duty applications,
“we measure the air pressure in air lines
through a transducer, which sends a signal
back to a converter”.
MERITOR LOOKS TO BLUE HORIZON
Helpfully placed diagonally opposite
SEA Electric’s space, it was by happy
coincidence that axle provider Meritor’s
flagging of its Blue Horizon EV option
came as the show put on its most electric
face yet.
Meritor was able to explain to visitors
curious and fascinated by the EV impact
there that Blue Horizon would be coming
the Australian market’s way soon, in 12Xe,
14Xe and 17Xe e-powertrains capable of
180kW and 250kW, 250kW, and up to 450kW
ratings respectively.
Some two decades in the planning, these
are to be aimed at battery electric (BEVs),
plug-in hybrid electric (PHEV) hydrogen
fuel cell hybrid and compressed natural gas
hybrid electric vehicles.
This time around, trailer and line-haul
axles took centre stage, with aftermarket
parts acting as a chorus led by its red
drums.
“This is a product we’ve had for a while
but it’s a new version without a pump,”
product and marketing manager Adam
Carroll said.
“It’s basically a high-efficiency version
for linehaul work.The trailer axle is the main
focus for us because we’ve not done that
before. It’s available in North America but
it’s not been available here.”
The key to getting traction with it is
fleet attraction.
“What we’re looking for are partners, so
fleets that are interested to trial. We have
one fleet that has it on trial at the moment,”
Carroll said.
“We need the fleets to have it on trial,
then we need the trailer-makers interested
as well.”
Carroll admitted that uncertainty was an
issue his side had to deal with pre-show.
“We ‘um’ed and ‘ah’ed quite a bit and
also about the numbers and whether it
was worth bringing everybody up here with
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lockdowns . . . but ultimately we decided to
go to the show,” he said, adding that it was
worth doing even if his mob was somewhat
overstaffed, “because it’s a networking
thing as well”.
SUPERCHROME’S FINE FINISH
Sydney-based Superchrome has been in
the wheel chroming business for 25 years,
with the last 20 of those years offering a
chromed alloy wheel to the industry and
owner-drivers alike.
“We are the only ones in Australia who
chrome alloy rims,” Superchrome general
manager Greg Druitt said.
“We have a special way we do the
chroming and we offer a seven-year
warranty.”
The appeal of Superchrome’s seven-year
warranty and the low maintenance aspect
are some of the reasons why people are
choosing to go with a chromed alloy over
the standard wheel, according to Druitt.
“The main complaint we hear all the time
is people are sick of polishing,” Druitt said.
“The work of polishing an alloy wheel
for an hour and you can’t get between the
nuts, etc. and, with our wheels, all you do is
give them wash with a soapy brush and a
pressure washer and away you go.”
But it’s not just all for aesthetics with
Druitt highlighting the protective nature of
chrome on an alloy wheel.
“One of the big advantages of chrome
on an alloy wheel is that alloy is soft and
chroming puts a hard coating on it. So,
all the little stones that hit alloy wheels
and leave marks that need to be polished
out, and the continual need to polish alloy
wheels to keep them looking good, make
our chromed alloy a good choice.
“We’ve always used Alcoa but now
Armoury out of Taiwan have a very good
wheel with good finish in chrome, so we
have them at the Truck Show. We only do
the two brands because we know these are
really good quality, so that’s all we use,”
Druitt said.
The Brisbane Truck Show has also
given Superchrome a chance to come and
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years of maintaining trucks and trailers
teamed with the availability of supply
chain manufacturers left behind from
Holden’s departure from the Adelaide
manufacturing landscape.
“I’m a transport operator and, in my
journey, I guess we’ve had to put up with a
lot of not-very-well-made parts,” Tru-Shu
managing director Ken Pitt said.
“The S-cam brake drum overall is quite
good but it had some failings; the brake
shoes would walk out the side of the drums,
especially in rough conditions.
“So, I had a good look at the system
and we came up with a way to stop shoes
coming out. We trialled it and it worked well
so we started manufacturing.”
But it wasn’t enough to just make a
better shoe. From years of pulling braking
systems apart for maintenance and repair,
Pitt wanted to make it easier to repair and
maintain as well as more effective.
“When 10-stud rims started coming in,
it seemed stupid to pull the hubs off just
Quite often, they sell
their truck, keep the
wheels and put them
on their next truck
interact with its customers and meet
people who may not have heard of the
company before.
“Our wheels are not cheap, but they last.
We’ve got guys coming up to us here at the
show with wheels that are 15-years-old
and still going and, quite often, they sell
their truck, keep the wheels and put them
on their next truck,” Druitt said.
As with many industries the global
pandemic has affected Superchrome.
“Originally, with Covid, things slowed
things down, but in the last 10 months
we’ve had all-time record months in
sales and we currently going through our
third upgrade to our production facility,”
Druitt said.
“It just keeps getting bigger and bigger
because most guys when they buy a
new truck they don’t go back to alloy
wheels. You just can’t beat chrome
for a great shine.”
BETTER SHOE FROM TRU-SHU
Adelaide-based company Tru-Shu say it
has made a ‘better mouse trap’ with its
innovative brake shoe and drum design for
S-cam braking systems based on the firm’s
to do brake maintenance, so we’ve made
our brake shoe with an extra hole in it to
put a cable or a zip-tie through to pull the
return spring up and put a clip in to hold
everything in place. Now, we don’t have
to pull hubs off to replace brake shoes,”
Pitt said.
Along with the hole to access the return
spring, the system relies on no backing
plate, with a drum with various holes
and slots to release braking gasses, dust
and general debris, which can cause
overheating and pose a potential fire
risk in a traditional trailer braking system.
“We’re not running backing plates, we
aren’t trying to hide anything, we want to
do our maintenance and we want to look in
there,” Pitt said.
“We’ve perforated the drum with
different-sized holes to help clear the drum
of rubbish and dust and things like that.
“Our trailer axles we’re making actually
use drive hubs, bearings and seals. We’ve
made a collar to go over the drive hub, so
we run two wheel seals because we want
to run oil rather than grease as a lubricant
because it does a better job. Now, we are
starting to build our own suspension, which
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is based being easy to maintain, being very
stable, so one thing is leading to another,”
Pitt said.
“We feel like we’ve got the drum brake
working as good as it can. We’ve got it
to a stage where the maintenance and
performance and cost saving from having
something work really well is there. We
think we’ve helped out a fair bit.”
Pitt’s company runs around 30 trucks
and 45 trailers moving machinery around
Australia and has trialled its
braking system over 100,000km with
good results so far.
With plans to sell the shoes on a return
basis and an eye toward engineering better
suspension and axle components, Pitt is
optimistic about the future of the company
especially with the support of local
manufacturers.
DOUBLE THE RANGE WITH TYREMAX
Independently owned and operated tyre
wholesaler TyreMax had an impressive
array on show, with a particular focus on its
Maxxis and Continental commercial vehicle
tyre ranges.
First cabs off the rank were the Maxxis
steer and all-position tyres, which TyreMax
noted is the perfect mid-range offering
for regional and long-haul highway
applications.
“We’ve developed a new steer tyre,
which we have tested at length in Australia
and have found better results than both
the Michelin and Bridgestone,” according
to TyreMax technical product specialist
Neil Jonsson.
“It was only a smallish test but it
was a really promising result so we’re
bringing that out in bulk from about
June onwards and hoping for a good
result and good sales.”
Vital to Maxxis’ product development
is its proving ground in Kunshan near
Shanghai, one of only a select few
privately-owned in China, notes TyreMax
product manager Jeff Moorhead.
The US$150 million rigorous testing
operation, which took several years to
plan and construct, opened in 2012 and
is the basis for the company’s evolving
tyre technology.
Meanwhile, Continental’s research and
development department has devised a
range of Conti CrossTrac tyres, which “lead
the way for a new generation of on- and
off-road truck tyres”, the company said.
The story of Continental’s heavy-duty
range is characterised by a “dedication”
to the Australian market, with Jonsson
observing that, pre-Covid, engineers would
regularly fly out from Germany to Australia
to check test tyres and examine how they
wear here, what influences that wear,
and much more.
“It’s a massive investment in a market
that isn’t huge globally, but because
it’s such a difficult market to make
tyres for, their ideology is if you can
make tyres for the difficult market …
that can come together to build better
tyres for the world.”
Another recent development for
Continental sees it team up with Pacific
Telematics to offer a digital transport
monitoring system.
The new ContiPressureCheck system,
launched at the show, uses sensors fitted
inside each tyre to provide drivers with
real-time information on the tyre status.
The continuous, automatic tyre pressure
monitoring system is designed to reduce
overall operating costs and results in
lower fuel consumption, reduced risk
of tyre-related breakdowns and extended
tyre life.
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BRISBANE TRUCK SHOW
Technology & Innovation Centre
INNOVATIVE
EXHIBITORS
The Brisbane Truck Show’s Technology & Innovation Centre showcased
the latest and greatest ways to digitally enhance many facets of one’s
business – from fleet, job and repair management software to thermal
imaging and remote controlling
AVANTGARDE’S EASTERN EXCURSION
It is a long way from Perth to Brisbane, so the
appearance of FLIR Thermal Imaging provider
Avantgarde Distribution at the show was
welcome.
Avantgarde’s Pete Hellemons gain more of
a public profile four years ago when the safety
technology was making a splash and he says the
desire to be at the BTS has been around since
then. The trouble being how to successfully find
an opening.
As with other exhibitors, this year saw that
opportunity open up.
“We’ve had this business going for nearly
10 years now and we’ve been getting pretty big
in the west but we wanted to diversify, so we
thought ‘we’ve got to come over to Brisbane’.
“Had wanted to come here for a couple of
years but getting into the show has not been
easy.”
So, with some exhibitors forced to withdraw
due to pandemic disruption, he was never going
to let the opportunity slide.
“We’re just hoping we get an invitation to
come back in 2023 – that’s the plan.”
Hellemons was buoyed at the opportunity to
get in front of eastern-state faces, in the same
way he did early on in WA, saying he gained
serious interest even on the show’s last day.
After all, there is at least as much need in the
east to know, at night when the sun in low on the
horizon, what might be about to damage crucial
expensive trucks when seeing danger is difficult.
The other opportunity the show provides is
networking and Hellemon found that particularly
valuable, providing “as much, if not more”
interest than interaction with visitors.
“We are keen to integrate our products,” he
says
“Telematics organisations here have shown
a lot of interest in our products. Trucks already
have a lot of cameras on them these days and
they are recording that footage into their DVR
unit, so it makes sense to have this as a bolt-on
item and then marry that information.
“So you’re putting that image on the
dashboard for your operator to see but why not
feed that into the recorder so that, if an event
does happen, you can see what occurred and
what the driver could see before it happened.”
Above:Pete Hellemons (left) and his son Drew from
Avantgarde Distribution
SCANRECO’S
REMOTE
SOLUTION
Hace Industries is the distributor of wireless
industrial control products from Swedish
firm Scanreco. In a nutshell, it’s like playing
with remote controlled vehicles to the real
world.
From pocket remotes to whole
consoles complete with joysticks and
screens, Scanreco is able to reduce the
risk of human involvement in hazardous
applications.
Its systems are suitable for materials
handling, mining, agriculture, transport,
and shipping equipment such as cranes,
winches, concrete pumps, tilt slides,
forklifts and others.
Pertinent to trucking, Hace manager
Niall Field points to Scanreco’s capability
to remote control a truck – stop and start
an engine, command steering and drive,
activate brakes and lights, and more.
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TIGER
SPIDER’S
3D VIEW
Tiger Spider is a
transport engineering
and software consultancy
for heavy commercial
and performance-based
standards (PBS) vehicles.
Managing director
Marcus Coleman runs
through its suite of services,
including PBS design and
approval work, testing,
certification and compliance
tasks for truck and trailer
manufacturers, transport
companies, road and traffic
managers and engineers.
Hevi Spec is the firm’s
flagship product: software for
truck and trailer design.
It incorporates any
vehicle combinations,
taking into consideration
weight distribution,
payload optimisation, PBS
assessment and more. It
presents a 2D vision with 3D
model in the backend.
Another key product,
Spider Path, provides ‘swept
path’ diagrams of vehicles,
meaning it can build any
vehicle configuration and
check if it fits over satellite
image map – critical for
access assessments.
FUTURE FLEET’S
ARTIFICIAL
INTELLIGENCE
Future Fleet is an Australian telematics provider
specialising in internet of things (IoT), artificial
intelligence (AI) powered, satellite and 4G/5G asset
and fleet tracking solutions.
General manager Richard Saad says the
company’s three pillars are efficiency, compliance
and safety.
One of its highlights is Australia’s first IoT
direct-to-orbit tracker developed in conjunction
with satellite connectivity firm Myriota, a fellow
Australian company.
It also offers an AI-driven front-facing and
road-facing camera that warns of distraction or
fatigue, electronic work diaries (EWDs), solar and
non-solar asset trackers.
ONE STOP IBODYSHOP
iBodyshop offers a one-stop maintenance suite for smash repairers and workshops.
Director Stephen O’Brien notes that, unlike desktop packages that traditionally
need two or three pieces of software for the whole task, iBodyshop’s system is
cloud-based and integrated within one package, making it faster and smarter.
This allows a repairer to write a quote, manage a job, lodge with insurance, do
labels, time recording and accounting all in the one place, making the product
popular with large truck and smash-repair groups.
KEEPING
TRACK
WITH
SENSIUM
Sensium is a Brisbane-based
vehicle telemetry and fleet tracking
firm whose point of difference is its
local focus.
As CEO Jeremy McLean tells
us, its designs and manufacture
all its hardware – its platforms,
developments, firmware,
communications protocols,
end-to-end, are all its own, and
“very few others are doing that, so
it’s unique”.
Another selling point is that
the product suits the majority of
companies – it’s web-based, not
over the top, and claims to provide
the highest resolution and quality
data in the industry.
Starting with trades and moved
into transport industry, registered
as a provider for TCA schemes
– for example, on show it was
demonstrating how the system
integrates with other products like
Airtec on-board mass.
VWORK ON SCHEDULE
VWork is an electronic job scheduling and dispatch
software package for any transport operation.
It claims to reduce paperwork processes, increase
responsiveness to customers through automated
electronic notifications for proof of service or
impending arrival of drivers, bill more accurately for
time or distance travelled and reduces the need to
chase drivers for paperwork.
Business development manager Paul Blackwell says
the software is easier to deploy as it’s up and running
in matter of weeks and is adaptable to different types
of operations – courier, linehaul, spare parts, etc. –
and configured for individual business.
Plus it’s free for 12-months – the longest trial
period on the market, more than enough for an
operator to become accustomed to the tech.
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BRAND OVERVIEW
Scania Australia
SCANIA RAISES
THE STAKES
Recent years have been the best in Scania’s 50-year history in Australia. Not
spectacular, and not without a few foibles, but certainly better than ever before and
certainly enough to cause market leaders to keep a concerned eye on the brand’s
rising prominence from one end of the country to the other. Scania’s gains, of course,
have come from the evolution of a significantly more appealing product range but so,
too, have they come from more astute management. In this wide-ranging report, we
start with a test drive from Sydney to Melbourne in a new R540 B-double before a
one-on-one talk with Scania Australia’s quietly composed managing director, Mikael
Jansson, on some of the factors behind the brand’s steady rise in recent years. Then,
back in Sydney, we climb into the new baby of the bunch, the seven-litre P-series
WORDS STEVE BROOKS
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TEST DRIVE
R540 B-double
Scania hasn’t wasted any time
slipping the new 540hp (403kW)
version of its 13-litre Euro 6
engine into the market. And nor should
it, given that since the local launch of
its much lauded ‘New Truck Generation’
(NTG) more than three years ago, the
Swedish brand has been somewhat off
the pace in the 13-litre power parade.
Sure, the new range has many
attributes: second to none in safety,
exceptional build quality, respectable
efficiency, and when it comes to big bore
brawn, there’s nothing to match Scania’s
venerable V8. But, as we asked several
Scania operatives during the NTG’s
Australian launch, ‘Seriously, why is the
13-litre engine limited to 500hp (373kW)
when the similarly-sized engines of its
main rivals, namely Volvo’s D13 and
Mercedes-Benz’s OM471, peak at 540
and 530hp (395kW) respectively?’
The official response was to simply
cite the six-cylinder engine’s gritty
torque output (2,550Nm/1,880lb ft)
and its subsequently-stated ability to
deliver an enviable mix of potent pulling
power and frugal fuel economy at gross
combination weights up to 75 tonnes.
Besides, as Scania stalwarts were
equally quick to comment, if you want
more than 500hp, there’s always the
16.4-litre V8 with outputs starting at
520hp (388kW) and going all the way to
730hp (544kW).
Even so, a few Scania insiders quietly
admitted to being equally perplexed
by the six-cylinder engine’s 500hp
limit, which, in our parochially powerconscious
market, appeared to be
handing its main rivals – which now
include DAF’s Euro 6 MX-13 engine at
530hp – something akin to a free hit.
On the other hand, Scania’s more
senior people were again quick to firmly
refute any suggestion of being off the
pace, claiming the 13-litre 500hp rating
in both the full-size R cab and the
lower profile G cab has been “among
our most popular [and] widely praised
for its performance, fuel efficiency and
driveability”.
Fair enough, but with the recent arrival
of the 540hp rating, the company hasn’t
been at all shy about pointing out the
new setting’s ability to turn its “sixcylinder
prime mover into a genuine long
distance interstate B-double hauler”.
Call me cynical, but doesn’t that
SCANIA’S
DOUBLE SHOT
suggest the 500 rating wasn’t quite
the genuine B-double linehauler its
defenders declared? It would seem so.
Whatever, there’s no doubt the 540’s
additional horsepower, coupled with an
extra 150Nm of torque – taking peak
torque out to 2,700Nm, or 1,990lb ft –
finally put the Swedish contender
head-to-horsepower-head with any
contender in the highly competitive
12- to 13-litre class.
The extra punch, however, hasn’t
come without some critical updates to
enhance performance and, predictably,
fuel efficiency. In fact, the message from
Scania is that, like its in-line siblings,
the DC13 engine has been reworked in
a number of key areas. These include
the application of low-friction coatings
on pistons, rings and bores, modified
inlet and exhaust manifolds, increased
compression rates and higher cylinder
pressures from Scania’s durable XPI
fuel injection system, and a new fixed
geometry turbocharger.
In addition are new variable coolant
pumps, specifically designed to enhance
efficiency when the engine is operating
at low load cycles, and a variable
steering pump that, combined with
all the other updates, allows Scania
to confidently claim an overall fuel
consumption improvement of up to
2.5 percent.
All up, it’s simply a more potent
package with 540hp on tap at 1,800rpm
and top torque on stream from 1,000
to 1,300rpm. And yes, while the V8 is
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There’s plenty for a
driver to like but there are
also a few areas where
the Scania isn’t quite the
equal of others
Top & opposite:
Inside views
of Scania’s
R-series cab.
It’s an entirely
comfortable and
well-appointed
layout but
familiarity with
control functions
takes time
always an option for Scania’s
500-plus proponents, it comes
with a 300kg weight penalty over
the steer axle compared to the
six-cylinder’s 540 rating.
So, to push the point just a
fraction further, a 540 rating
might have taken a lot longer
than expected to get here but
it certainly won’t take long for
word to get around that Scania’s
13-litre can now punch as hard
as any in the high end of the
mid-bore business.
DOWN THE HUME
Understandably, Scania has been
keen to get bums on the seat
of its latest linehaul specialist
and the offer to take an R540
B-double with almost 34,000km
under its belt on a daylight run
from Sydney to Melbourne quickly
became as likeable as it was
logical.
Scania’s affable driver trainer,
Dave Whyte, whose previous
lives as an owner-driver and
writer for several truck magazines
have embedded a deeply
ingrained regard for the Swedish
truck, appeared more than
happy to spend the day in
the shotgun seat.
Still, with a shrewd grin, he
wasn’t bashful about proclaiming
high hopes for performance and
efficiency as the combination
headed out of Scania’s
Prestons dealership in Sydney’s
south-west at a gross weight of
58.5 tonnes.
The outfit settled easily into
stride down the freeway and
while much more than a year
had passed since last driving
a Scania, it didn’t take long to
be reacquainted with a slick
powertrain and an impressive
array of standard features.
Typically, the engine uses
selective catalytic reduction
(SCR) and a diesel particulate
filter (DPF) to achieve Euro 6
emissions compliance, matched
to Scania’s highly intuitive and
stunningly smooth 14-speed
overdrive Opticruise automated
transmission. Feeding into a
3.42:1 final drive ratio, 100km/h
was notched around 1,400rpm.
Fuel capacity in the standard
R540 is 1,030 litres – 720 litres
in the left tank, 310 in the right –
and a 105-litre AdBlue tank, with
steer and drive axles rolling on
Continental 295/80R 22.5 tyres
mounted on Alcoa DuraBright
wheels.
Scania states a tare weight
with full tanks, but no bullbar or
driver, at a tad under 9,800kg. By
comparison, a V8 under the same
cab would easily push tare over
10 tonnes.
Disc brakes all-round operate
in concert with an advanced
emergency braking system
and Scania’s highly effective,
multi-stage R3500 retarder and
exhaust brake. In short, Scania
braking is incredibly strong,
smooth and, no doubt, as safe
as they come.
Standard safety systems are,
of course, a major influence in
all new trucks nowadays – still,
some more than others – and
while the R540’s list includes
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a driver airbag, electronic stability
program, lane departure warning,
adaptive cruise control, and auto hill
hold (arguably the most practical
innovation of all), Scania has gone one
better than its European counterparts
with what it calls ‘side curtain roll-over
protection airbags’.
On the inside, there’s plenty for a
driver to like but there are also a few
areas where the Scania isn’t quite the
equal of others.
The sleeper, for instance, is not as
functional or practical as the top-ofthe-line
Benz bunk and, with a wide
array of control functions on the
steering wheel, familiarity can take
quite a while.
In this estimation, operational ease
could be improved by moving the small
buttons for cruise control and downhill
speed control from the bottom of the
steering wheel to a higher position on
the rim. Just a thought!
Similarly, and like most of its
continental rivals, it took a while to
feel completely comfortable with the
Scania’s soft and somewhat sensitive
steering. But not too long. Indeed,
by the time the truck approached
the first significant climb at Skyline
near Mittagong, comfort and on-road
confidence were well established and it
was easy to concentrate solely on the
R540’s performance.
With the transmission in auto mode
and the engine showing a propensity
for digging deep into the torque band
before dropping a gear, the Skyline
climb forced the truck back to eighth
gear, with engine speed briefly reaching
down to 1,450rpm. A good effort, and
one which was largely repeated on the
pull out of the nearby ‘dipper’.
At the back of the brain though,
there lurked the thought that hill
climbing performance could probably
be improved in manual mode, making
shifts earlier and, where appropriate,
taking two gears rather than one.
And so it was that, on the approach
to the long hard pull-over at Conroy’s
Gap, manual mode was selected and
the Scania ultimately steamed over the
crest in ninth gear at 1,200rpm.
This was a highly impressive pull,
with earlier downshifts allowing the
engine to keep up a full head of steam
and hang onto a higher gear than
perhaps would’ve been achieved
with the shifter in auto mode.
By this stage, confidence in the
Scania’s performance and technology
attributes, not least high regard for the
downhill speed control function, was
winning an increasingly positive opinion
of the R540’s abilities.
The quiet strength of the peak 13-
litre rating and the inherent driver
comfort were, in fact, making the trip
pass surprisingly fast and, with plenty
of daylight remaining, the truck was
soon enough mingling in the congested
afternoon traffic of Melbourne’s western
ring road.
The final destination was Scania’s
Laverton dealership, but not before
swinging into a nearby service station to
top up the tanks and physically confirm
the trip computer’s fuel reading of
2km/litre, or 5.65 mpg for us older
heads, for the 860km run. Either way, a
respectable return by any measure,
and enough to put the hint of a smile
on Whyte’s dial.
It was, in fact, an even more
respectable return given that the
truck was largely driven to assess
performance standards rather than any
feather-footed, technologically tooled
attempt to maximise fuel economy.
Proving the point, trip data revealed
the R540 averaged a lively 86km/h, with
an overall driving time under 10 hours.
So, the end assessment is to simply
vouch for Scania’s claim that it has
turned its 13-litre “six-cylinder prime
mover into a genuine long distance
interstate B-double hauler”.
Not before time, perhaps, but there’s
no doubt Scania has now made the
13-litre linehaul class even more
competitive.
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INTERVIEW
Mikael Jansson
THE RIGHT DIRECTION
If ever two managing directors appeared
to emerge from different sides of the
corporate corridor, they are current
Scania Australia chief Mikael Jansson and
his retired predecessor, Roger McCarthy.
McCarthy, the sharply-styled, articulate
Englishman with a polished salesman’s
flair for the limelight was, typically, always
up for a chat on industry issues and Scania
achievements. And a photo, of course.
Jansson, on the other hand, is a mildmannered
Swede with a strong Nordic
accent and an apparent preference for
quiet conversation rather than public
appearance. In fact, now approaching four
years in the top job at Scania Australia, it’s
surprising to learn that this is Jansson’s
first one-on-one interview.
Yet, despite their decidedly different
personas, they share a couple of critical
similarities. Each is a passionately proud
and loyal Scania stalwart with a determined
competitive streak and, most significantly
of all, each has achieved far more than any
of his many predecessors.
Indeed, Scania Australia is today stronger
and more successful than ever before and
certainly nothing like the struggling entity
that, in the late ‘90s, came close to being
withdrawn from the market according to
a blunt admission long ago by the brand’s
authoritarian, and often outspoken, former
leader, Leif Ostling.
Yet, while Sweden’s commitment to stay
in Australia all those years ago had next to
no impact on Scania’s position on the sales
ladder, it apparently had a big influence on
financial performance.
According to a bullish Ostling,
interviewed during a 2004 visit, Australian
profitability had by then improved to be
one of the best in the Scania world on “an
investment to equity relationship”.
Nonetheless, for the first decade of the
new century, the Swedish maker simply
could not climb off the lower rungs of the
heavy-duty ladder, generally hovering
around three or four per cent of the
sector, despite callow guesstimates by a
succession of imported leaders that a 10
per cent slice was “entirely possible” within
a few years.
Consequently, and given the
underwhelming and occasionally
short-lived performances of numerous
predecessors, McCarthy’s arrival in 2009
was cynically seen as just another Scania
chief happy to enjoy an idyllic sunny
break from the great grey of the northern
hemisphere.
It was soon evident, though, this highly
professional Pommie import was seriously
intent on making a mark and, over the next
seven years, cleverly implementing several
initiatives in niche markets. Effectively
making Euro 6 emissions a Scania
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specialty, the brand finally started to
achieve steady growth.
To date, he is Scania Australia’s
longest serving managing director
and, it’s fair to say, it was McCarthy
who finally got the ball rolling for
Scania.
However, it’s equally apparent
that, despite a somewhat diffident
demeanour, Jansson hasn’t been at
all shy about picking up the ball and
running with it.
At the close of 2017, just
months after McCarthy’s departure
for retirement and Jansson’s
appointment, Scania, for the first
time, cracked 1,000 heavy-duty sales
in a year – 1,003 to be exact. But, at
8.4 per cent, it was still notably short
of the elusive 10 per cent share of
the big boy class.
However, the best was yet to
come and it is a surprisingly buoyant
Jansson who agrees that the last
four or five years have been Scania’s
most successful in the Australian
market.
Still, there have been a few
unexpected setbacks. Certainly most
worrying of all is Covid-19 but well
before the pandemic struck with all
its fears and frustrations, challenges
were emerging that would rain on
Scania Australia’s excitement after
the early 2018 launch of its New
Truck Generation (NTG).
Hiding under the fanfare of the
new model release were destructive
supply shortfalls in Europe,
especially on components for
building Scania’s popular V8 engine,
which led to the production line
shutting down for several months.
As Jansson commented, it was
particularly disappointing “after the
new series had received so much
positive feedback from customers”.
“The new product ran into supply
problems very quickly, [creating] a
major problem because we’re so
dependent on the V8.”
Consequently, 2018 was a year of
struggle that took the gloss off the
initial excitement of the NTG release,
with Scania achieving a relatively
lacklustre 891 sales and falling
back to just 6.2 per cent in what
was then a booming market for the
heavy-duty sector.
Still, according to Jansson,
the market’s enthusiasm for the
new model range and the gradual
unblocking of V8 supply lines
created ideal conditions for a major
turnaround in 2019. Accordingly,
Scania notched its best year ever
with 1,140 deliveries and nine per
cent of the heavy-duty class.
Even so, demand for the new
range continued to outstrip supply
and it’s an adamant Jansson who
insists 2019 would have been
significantly better if supply had
been able to match orders. Likewise,
2020!
CONSIDERING COVID
In Scania Australia’s Campbellfield
(Vic) boardroom a few months back,
Jansson was quick to express relief
that people were once again sitting
at desks and circulating through
the office.
“We need to learn from the lessons
of having more flexible working
arrangements,” he comments.
“But, really, this change was
coming before Covid, with the
younger generation looking for more
flexible working arrangements.”
In the next breath, though, he
stresses the need for face-to-face
interaction.
“Sometimes, important decisions
are taken during discussions at
the coffee machine [and] that’s the
interaction you miss when working
from home.”
The heavy segment was
10,600 trucks last year but
I think it will increase by
at least 10 per cent and, if
we get the supply we want,
I’m confident we will get to
1,200 sales
It was a simple example but the
message was clear.
Quiet for a moment, Jansson
continues: “I’m very proud how we
handled Covid and how we had no
infections at all.”
Equally, employment was kept at
full strength, there was no shutdown
for Scania and the service network
stayed open and firmly fixed on
meeting customer needs.
“We kept and protected our
people, we kept supporting our
customers, the retail operation
was running at full speed, and the
company was effectively managed
despite so many people working
from home,” he says.
“It was important to keep our
competence. We had no people on
JobKeeper at all, no support from
government. It makes me proud that
we were able to do that.”
Eager to push the point and, no
doubt, espouse a higher ideal, he
Above: A serious
Mikael Jansson
considers a
question on
Covid. “It was
important to keep
our competence
and it makes me
proud we were
able to do that,”
he says.
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At the top executive level, Volvo
has brought in a number of Scania
people. Scania has not found the
need to entice Volvo people into its
executive realm
adds: “We should get support from
government when we really need it,
not just because we can get it. For
me, that’s about maintaining our
social responsibility.”
Yet, whereas some companies
were stunningly quick to use Covid
as an axe to cut people, it was a
forthright Jansson who remarked:
“We kept all staff.”
Then, a few minutes later in
response to a question about
Scania’s rising prominence: “We now
employ 500 people, so 25 per cent
[100 people] more than when I came
here, plus we’ve started Scania in
New Zealand, where we employ
150 people.”
Nonetheless, Covid-19 wasn’t
the only constraint in 2020. In fact:
“I was a bit surprised that Covid was
not impacting the market as most
thought it would,” he comments.
However: “Order intake for us
last year was very strong [but] we
lost market share because we had
supply issues, so we ended just
short of 900 trucks.”
The official number was 880
deliveries for 8.3 per cent of the
market and fifth spot on the
heavy-duty leader board.
Meantime, while he insists the
strong order intake is continuing in
2021, so too are the supply issues,
which are certainly not peculiar to
Scania alone.
As Jansson explains, the issues
are two-fold: “One is the shortage
of semi-conductors [essentially the
micro components of the electronic
control systems at the heart of
almost every automotive product
in the world today]. That is a global
problem but how much it will impact
us is somewhat unknown. It is a big
challenge for everyone.”
Critically, however, it’s a challenge
accentuated by the high level of
international demand for Scania’s
NTG range.
“So, it’s a fight to get capacity
from production, but the ramp up
to get higher volumes at the factory
is impacted by suppliers in Europe
who, in this Covid time, can’t ramp
up at the pace we all want.”
Consequently, it’s a sincere and
gratefully candid Scania chief who
says: “We will not get the supply this
year that we want from Europe.” On
the positive side, though, he firmly
suggests it’s a short-term issue.
Demand for the NTG range is
not peculiar to Europe alone.
“We have an order book now
we have never seen before,” says
a positive Jansson, predicting a
strong market for heavy trucks
this year and, potentially, another
record for Scania.
“The heavy segment was 10,600
[trucks] last year but I think it will
increase by at least 10 per cent and,
if we get the supply we want, I’m
confident we will get to 1,200 sales.”
Thoughtful for a moment, he
continues: “The supply issue may
stop us from reaching that figure but,
from what we know at this moment,
we will deliver over 1,000 trucks
this year. The order book is just
so strong.”
Asked if Scania’s rise comes at the
targeting of any one competitor, a
serious Jansson replies: “Mercedes-
Benz and Volvo are the two main
competitors normally [but] I don’t
care. We are not focused on who
we target.
“It’s a tough market, especially
with big fleets, where you can get a
lot of volume, but it’s important for
me to have a profitable business, so
it’s not just about volume.”
Yet, when subsequently asked
if 10 per cent market share is still
Scania’s target, an unequivocal
Jansson says simply: “Yes!”
At this point in the discussion, he
confidently stated he was looking
forward to the end of March when
Scania’s strong performance for
the first quarter of 2021 would be
revealed.
As the numbers soon
demonstrated, his confidence was
entirely justified, finishing the first
quarter with 218 deliveries and
notching 8.9 per cent of the market.
Biggest news of all, though,
was that Scania’s performance
for the month of March alone was
exceptionally strong, finishing third
in the heavy rankings with 10.3 per
cent and just five units behind the
other Swede, Volvo.
Talk of ‘the other Swede’ brought
a wry smile to Jansson’s face and
an unusually sharp snipe at his
competitor’s corporate leadership
in Sweden.
“At the top executive level, Volvo
has brought in a number of Scania
people. Scania has not found the
need to entice Volvo people into its
executive realm,” he points out.
Yet, asked why the two Swedish
brands historically change
Australian leadership so often,
it’s a somewhat evasive Jansson
who retorts: “I can only talk from a
Scania perspective [but] there are
still things to do here and I am very
keen to continue that journey.
“Stability,” he contends, “comes
from a Scania way of working [but]
you need to understand the local
market, so it’s the people who are
our asset and driving the changes.”
Has Australia been a tough
FOOTNOTE: Scania Soars in April
Above: Mikael
Jansson points
out the staff
growth in the
company, with
500 people now
employed in
Australia and
150 in New
Zealand
If Scania was happy with its market share in the month of March, it must be ecstatic with April’s
barnstorming performance.
Scania’s take of the heavy-duty sector in April was a potent 14.1 per cent, second only to
absolute market leader Kenworth and notably ahead of arch rivals Volvo and Mercedes-Benz.
April’s numbers pushed Scania’s year-to-date slice of the sector to 10.4 per cent, putting it well
within range of forging past Volvo and Benz in overall standings.
Meanwhile, the 2021 heavy-duty market remains defiantly strong and if current momentum
continues, the sector will deliver around 12,000 trucks this year.
84 ATN June 2021 FULLYLOADED.COM.AU

learning curve for Jansson? The answer
is immediate: “No. This organisation was
already working to Scania’s way of thinking
but I quickly learned to like working with
Australians. They are direct, but in a positive
way. They tell you want they think and they
understand that if things go wrong, it’s how
you deal with problems that’s important. It’s
a mentality I like.”
At 62-years-of-age and still with plenty
to achieve here, it’s a convincing Jansson
who declares there are no plans to go
anywhere else.
MORE MUSCLE
It’s no secret, of course, that Scania is,
nowadays, a vital part of the ambitious
Traton Group, effectively the global
commercial vehicle conglomerate of
automotive giant Volkswagen, which also
includes MAN and most recently, Navistar
(International) in the US.
Asked what influence Traton may have
on Scania in Australia, Jansson just shrugs
and says that the conglomerate’s impact
here is likely to be minimal, suggesting the
main effects will be in global research and
development programs on future product,
and greater production efficiencies.
On the possibility of a closer commercial
relationship with MAN and its association
with the Penske organisation here, he
says there has simply been no contact or
discussion and, moreover, expects none.
“For me, MAN is just one of the
competitors,” he states.
Far more important, he asserts, is the
continuing evolution of the NTG range, not
least the recent introduction of a 540hp
rating in Scania’s 13-litre line-up.
While declining to comment on Scania’s
reasons for limiting its top 13-litre rating
to 500hp in the initial launch of the new
models, he quickly contends: “We now
have the horsepower more in line with the
competition and that will be good for us.
The 540 is filling a gap that is important.”
There will, however, be no lack of power
in a refreshed V8 range headed our way
later this year, with Jansson confirming
a top rating of 770hp (574kW) and a
stump-ripping 3,700Nm (2,730lb ft) of
torque, accompanied by 660, 590 and
530hp (492, 440 and 395kW) settings.
All four ratings will be Euro 6 models
coupled to a significantly updated Opticruise
automated transmission designed to work
more efficiently with the big bore V8 and
capable of producing fuel savings up to six
per cent, according to Scania.
Consequently, it’s an upbeat Jansson who
cites a powerful future for Scania Australia,
in more ways than one.
“With increased volumes we also
need to increase our retail network and
that is creating a lot of new jobs,” he says,
enthusiastically.
“We have started to build a second
workshop in western Sydney and a new
national parts warehouse [in Melbourne]
and a supporting warehouse in Perth.”
Meanwhile, plans for coming years
include more service centres in other cities
and regions and, as is the Scania custom,
most will be company-owned.
“Our strategy is to have company-owned
facilities in the main cities and non-captive
in the regions, which means 90 per cent of
all workshop operation is captive. That’s
important for us,” he continues.
“It’s a huge investment, of course, but
you are in control of the service you’re
giving the customers.”
All up, the future for Scania has never
looked brighter?
“Yes, but if you stay still in this market,
you will lose,” a definite Jansson concludes.
FULLYLOADED.COM.AU June 2021 ATN 85

MODEL REPORT
Scania P280
NEW
BJORN
BABY
In a shorthaul rigid truck market so
thoroughly and fiercely dominated by
Japanese models, it can be curious why
local European brands bother to throw a
slick and highly advanced contender into
the mix when the likelihood of significant
sales is perhaps as slim as the potential
profit margin.
Then again, why not? Any new model does,
of course, add another string to the business’
bow, and moreover, a high-tech ‘round-town
toiler may even prove to be just the thing for
some applications and individuals who might
require significantly more than a relatively
standard, off-the-shelf workhorse.
Scania, it seems, is figuring on just such
a scenario for its new and extremely well
equipped seven-litre P-series truck, because
there’s no doubt that, when it comes to
top-shelf componentry in shorthaul and
regional distribution roles, nothing comes
close to the brand’s new baby.
The specification of a P280 6x2
demonstrator doing the promotional rounds,
recently, was an excellent example of just
how far Scania has gone in an obvious quest
to needle its way into applications ruled by
Japanese makers.
It all starts with the new seven-litre –
actually, 6.7-litre – engine that is, in fact,
the culmination of another development
project between Sweden’s Scania and North
American engine giant Cummins.
These two powerhouses are long-term
partners who have worked closely on a
number of major engine and component
exercises over many years – not least
the well-proven XPI high pressure fuel
injection system – so it’s no coincidence
that the smallest engine Scania has
offered in decades shares exactly the
same displacement and dimensions as its
Cummins equivalent, the 6.7-litre ISB engine.
Yet, Scania refutes any suggestion that
its engine is simply a Cummins clone. All
monitoring and control systems have, for
instance, been developed by Scania, along
with a fixed geometry turbocharger and a
selective catalytic recirculation system for
Euro 6 compliance.
Accordingly, Scania says there are
around 100 different parts in its version
of the six-cylinder, 6.7-litre displacement
that comes in 220, 250 and 280hp (164,
186 and 209kW) variants, with peak torque
of 1,200Nm (885lb ft) in the highest power
rating.
As Scania is equally quick to point out,
though, the introduction of the engine
known as the DC07 definitely does not
mean the end of its current, and more
powerful, five-cylinder nine-litre engine,
which comes in Euro 5 and Euro 6 variants
up to 360hp (268kW).
“We will continue to offer our nine-litre
in the P-series, which is ideally suited to
heavier twin-steer and 6x4 applications,”
says Scania Australia director of truck sales,
Dean Dal Santo.
However, what the addition of the
seven-litre engine does mean is that it
is able to contest much the same two-,
three- and four-axle rigid configurations as
its nine-litre brother but with a significant
weight saving up to 360kg and a 95mm
lower engine hump between the seats
in the P-series cab.
Additionally, Scania says the lower floor
“allows the fitment of the same storage
compartments as in [bigger] G-series cabs,
plus there are new options for layouts with
rear storage and bunks”.
With the seven-litre only available
under the P-series cab and with a gross
combination limit of just 30 tonnes –
meaning the engine’s potential for prime
mover duties is purposefully negligible –
Scania’s target market for this addition
to its New Truck Generation (NTG) is
obviously shorthaul and regional work in
rigid configurations.
The way Scania sees it, the smaller, lighter
engine will enhance the brand’s appeal
in those delivery applications where a
rigid truck might start the day at a gross
weight around 20 tonnes but soon be
down to 12 tonnes or so as deliveries
are made.
Predictably, the engine is matched to
a suitably tailored, direct-drive version
of Scania’s sweet-shiftin’ Opticruise
12-speed automated transmission, which,
like its heavier-duty brethren, comes with
two additional crawler gear ratios for
slow manoeuvring as well as ‘economy’,
‘standard’ and ‘power’ operating modes.
With the box driving into a relatively quick
3.08:1 rear axle ratio, it’s a driveline that
can comfortably cruise along a freeway –
with 100km/h reached at a twitch under
1,550rpm – or calmly creep through
metro mayhem.
Indeed, when it comes to piloting a
six-wheeler rigid through choked city and
suburban traffic tempos, it doesn’t come
much smoother or easier than Scania’s
lightweight specialist.
RIDIN’ ON AIR
The demo truck’s 6x2 configuration came
as no surprise. The single-drive three-axle
configuration has been something of a
Scania specialty for decades and it’s no
exaggeration to suggest the Swedish maker
has been arguably the biggest promoter of
the 6x2 (and now 8x2) layout in both rigid
and prime mover roles since the brand’s
earliest days in Australia.
Sure, some early mechanicallysprung
versions didn’t quite light the
fires of excitement when a truck became
stranded on a gutter or the like, but the
arrival of electronically-controlled airbag
suspensions, which allowed axle height
86 ATN June 2021 FULLYLOADED.COM.AU

to be raised and lowered, has done much
to nullify the initial negatives.
Nowadays, airbag suspensions are
the norm and in the P280, Scania has
taken the evolution to its full extent with
airbags on the steer axle as well as driven
and non-driven rear axles. Typically,
ride quality on everything from chopped
secondary roads to slick highways was
second-to-none.
Yet, it’s worth mentioning that, while
earlier airbag designs on steer axles didn’t
always deliver inspiring handling, the road
manners and steering of the P280 were
exceptionally sound in all conditions,
with none of the wallowing or dipping in
corners that limited the acceptance of
some previous airbag steer axles.
Furthermore, the all-air Scania layout
provides an individual axle weighing
system, which displays on a digital
readout in the cab.
In the case of the demo truck, it was
simply a case of scrolling the dash screen
to the readout showing axle weights and
instantly seeing that the front axle was
loaded to 5.6 tonnes, the drive axle to 6.3
tonnes and the tag axle to 7.3 tonnes, for an
all-up gross weight of 19.2 tonnes for the
day-long test drive.
What’s more, it also revealed a load
weight of 7.7 tonnes, which meant that tare
weight of the 6x2 with a sturdy Austruck
curtain-sided body and full fuel (320-litre)
and AdBlue (47-litre) tanks was 11.5 tonnes.
Nor was it surprising that the smallest
Scania offers a long list of highly advanced
standard safety systems. As the company
states: “Like all Scania trucks sold in
Australia, the seven-litre specification
includes a steering wheel-mounted driver
SRS airbag and dual side rollover curtain
airbags as standard, along with advanced
emergency braking, electronic traction
control and lane departure warning
systems. Brakes are by discs all round.”
LED lights all-round, including daytime
running lights, are a similarly standard
feature as is the hugely beneficial auto
Hill Hold feature.
On the inside, and typifying the high
level of build quality in Scania’s NTG range,
the day cab demonstrator was a superb
workplace for shorthaul and regional duties;
immensely comfortable and well-appointed
with even a small fridge between the seats,
and all controls and switchgear in easy
reach and, equally, easily understood.
Likewise, it took little time behind the
wheel to be fully at ease with the Scania’s
road manners and appreciate the truck’s
attributes in smoothly coping with the
suburban slog. In other areas, though, the
smallest Scania wasn’t quite as convincing.
On a wickedly wet day and with almost
29,000km on the clock at the start of our
run from Scania’s Prestons dealership in
Sydney’s south-western suburbs, the P280
was run along the Hume before turning
east and dropping down Mt Ousley for a
short jaunt around Wollongong’s industrial
backblocks.
Then, headed up Ousley for a run into
Sydney’s southern suburbs and a meander
through peak hour metro madness on the
way back to Scania’s dealership. All up,
a 200km mix that probably typified the
model’s likely workloads.
Around town, the P280 is perfectly
at ease. Smooth, quiet, agile and with
enough response from the seven-litre
engine to comfortably keep pace with
erratic traffic flows.
On undulating open roads, though, the
small displacement engine’s lively throttle
response is not matched by an inherent
propensity for pulling power.
Admittedly, peak performance figures of
280hp (206kW) at 1,900rpm and 1,200Nm
(885lb ft) of torque on tap from 1,050 to
1,600rpm suggest a wide and reasonably
tenacious fight but, as numerous climbs
showed with the transmission in auto mode,
the powertrain rarely utilises the full extent
of the torque band. Instead, it was quick to
drop a gear at 1,400 or 1,500rpm rather than
dig deeper and utilise more of the available
torque output.
On more demanding climbs, manual
mode at least allowed the full torque
band to be utilised before making a single
downshift or on sharper pinches, taking two
gears to use more of the rev range.
When it’s all boiled down, Scania’s
seven-litre is simply a small displacement
engine with a typically high level of throttle
response but an equally typical lack of gritty
pulling power.
Likewise, exhaust brake performance
wasn’t particularly inspiring. According to
Scania’s figures, maximum exhaust braking
effect is a modest 88kW at 2,500rpm, which
is again indicative of a small bore engine.
Overall though, there’s a great deal to
like about Scania’s P280 6x2, not least fuel
economy. At the end of a demanding day,
the truck returned an entirely acceptable
3.2km/litre, or 9.1 mpg.
Just as Scania says, its new seven-litre
rigid model is ideally suited to shorthaul
delivery work or regional runs. However,
if the regional runs have plenty of hills,
it’d probably be worth stepping up to the
nine-litre engine.
Sometimes, you just can’t beat cubes.
Above: All in the family.
Scania’s P280 shares
the same high standard
of build quality and
operational features as its
bigger brothers. There’s
a lot to like for shorthaul
and regional work
Left: Around town, the
P280 was a delight and
throttle response from
the seven-litre engine
is impressive. Out on
the open road, though,
undulating conditions
highlight the modest
displacement’s shortage
of gritty determination
FULLYLOADED.COM.AU June 2021 ATN 87

TRUCKS
Paccar Australia
MUTUAL
MILESTONES
Paccar Australia has celebrated
50 years of truck manufacturing
at its Bayswater (Vic)
headquarters but, notching an
even bigger milestone, it has
now been 75 years since two
Army mates formed a company
called Brown & Hurley. Today, of
course, the two companies are
synonymous with success
WORDS STEVE BROOKS
The first half of 2021
has certainly been a
memorable time for
Paccar Australia and its leading
dealer group, Brown & Hurley.
For Paccar, it’s now 50
years since a K125 cab-over,
affectionately known as the
‘Grey Ghost’, became the first
Kenworth truck to roll off the
Bayswater (Vic) production line.
For Brown & Hurley, this year
notches 75 years since the
fateful day, in 1946, when Alan
Brown and Jack Hurley cobbled
together their Army discharge
pay to create a company bearing
their surnames.
It was, however, in 1964 that
Paccar and Brown & Hurley
forged the first bonds that
would glue the companies so
intrinsically together. After all,
that was the year Brown & Hurley
became Australia’s first Kenworth
distributor and, soon after, sold
its first Kenworth, a W923 model,
to Doug Wyton of Toowoomba.
Two years later, Paccar
principals in the US announced
that Kenworth trucks would be
assembled in Australia from
completely knocked-down kits
but it wasn’t until 1969 that a
big block of land at Bayswater,
back then a largely rural suburb
on Melbourne’s outer rim, was
bought to build a factory to
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He’s sold more trucks on
his own than some brands
have sold altogether
actually manufacture trucks in
Australia. It was a boldly optimistic
and exceedingly fortuitous decision.
In half a century of truck making,
Paccar Australia has produced more
than 70,000 trucks and around 30
per cent of them have been sold
through the Brown & Hurley Group.
The 70,000th truck was, in fact, a
T659 specifically ordered by Brown
& Hurley as a commemorative unit
for its 75th anniversary.
Celebrating its 50 years of truck
manufacturing with a high-profile
event at the Bayswater plant
attended by federal treasurer
Josh Frydenberg and a number of
government ministers and industry
leaders, Paccar Australia chief
Andrew Hadjikakou emphasised
the critical contribution of past
and present employees in securing
the company’s success over
such a long, and sometimes
demanding, period.
“Today, the workforce behind each
truck is measured in the thousands.
An extended family of exceptional
employees, dealers and suppliers
that span the nation,” Hadjikakou
enthused in a statement.
“The desire to build the world’s
best trucks still inspires and
unites us.”
Critically, the statement also
cited Kenworth’s success despite
“the removal of import tariffs,
soaring fuel costs, economic
downturns, global recessions,
dimensional changes, emissions
reductions and, most recently, a
pandemic demanding changes to
the production line to protect the
workforce and maintain supply of
trucks to the essential transport
industry”.
As Hadjikakou commented: “2020
showed how important Australian
manufacturing is to this country.”
Likewise, a determined Hadjikakou
didn’t miss any opportunity to
make the same point as he led
Frydenberg and his political allies
on a tour of the Bayswater plant. By
any measure, it was a polished and
highly professional performance by
the Paccar Australia chief.
Equally, it wasn’t lost on a few
guests that while all Australians
have despaired at the widely
publicised decimation of the
country’s car making industry,
the truck manufacturing sector
has quietly continued to remain
buoyant, productive and a significant
employer, despite ongoing corporate
pressure to remain economically
viable in a demanding, low
volume market.
FAREWELL AND FUNNY BUSINESS
Among several honoured guests
at the 50th anniversary event were
Manny Melkonian and the elder
statesman of Brown & Hurley
these days, Jim Hurley.
It was a deserving tribute for
Manny in particular, announcing his
retirement after a truly stellar career
with Paccar Australia spanning
more than 50 years. Indeed, Manny
was selling Kenworths before the
Opposite top:
Grey Ghost. Fifty
years ago, the
K125 cab-over
was the first truck
fully built on
Paccar’s Bayswater
production line
Top: Andrew
Hadjikakou gets the
ear of a thoughtful
Josh Frydenberg
Above: Master
salesman
Manny (Manuel)
Melkonian. Set
to retire after
more than 50
years, the Paccar
stalwart has sold
more than 3,000
trucks in a long and
dedicated career
FULLYLOADED.COM.AU June 2021 ATN 89

He’s sold
more trucks
on his own than
some brands
have sold
altogether
Above: Brown
& Hurley roving
ambassador, Jim
(JJ) Hurley. The
artwork on the 75th
anniversary T659
captures the early
days of company
founders Alan
Brown and Jack
Hurley
Below: Half a
century later,
Brown & Hurley’s
75th anniversary
T659 becomes the
70,000th truck
to roll out of the
Paccar Australia
factory
Bayswater plant produced its first
truck.
Something of a quiet achiever
and now close to his 81st birthday,
Manny is the quintessential master
salesman whose loyalty, knowledge
and contacts seem to know no
bounds within the Paccar fold,
and whose passion and
commitment to the product and its
customers have seen him accrue
more than 3,000 sales. As one wit
remarked: “He’s sold more trucks
on his own than some brands have
sold altogether.” True!
On the other hand, Jim has
been retired for a number of years
and, with a business card which
describes him simply as a ‘roving
ambassador’ for the Brown & Hurley
Group, he bears many of his father,
Jack’s, traits, not least a dry wit and
laconic sense of humour.
The choice of a T659 model as
the 70,000th truck was, as Jim put it:
“Because it’s a real workhorse.” As
for the truck’s notable absence from
the event, held up by floods around
Moree, an unfazed Jim said simply:
“Well, it just goes to show, Nature
has the final say.”
But with so much history to draw
upon, it was Jim’s delivery of an
anecdote from the formative years
of Alan and Jack that had many
people captivated and laughing. A
few, however, appeared exceedingly
relieved that prime minister Scott
Morrison – then being hammered
far and wide for his poor handling of
gender-related issues as well as a
very seedy act of self-gratification
by a parliamentary staff member
– had belatedly flick-passed the
Paccar event to Frydenberg.
Just as well, because Jim’s story
went something like this: in the very
early days of the business, and as
was their occasional want, Alan
and Jack would adjourn to a local
pub to discuss things, with Jack’s
wife, Thelma, or Alan’s wife, Lil,
invariably left to look after the office
at the company’s Kyogle base in far
northern NSW.
One day, Jack was proudly telling
a mutual acquaintance how he’d
sold various pieces of equipment
and how well he was going.
Listening to Jack’s high opinion
of his sales success, Alan soon
reminded him that the business
– with Jack doing the selling and
Alan looking after service – was
in fact a partnership in every way
and everything they did, they were
equally responsible for.
Suitably chastened, Jack agreed.
“Yep, you’re right mate. We share
responsibility for everything.”
A few days passed. Alan strolled
past and Jack asked him into his
office.
“Mate, you know how you said we
share responsibility for everything?”
Jack asked.
“Yeah,” Alan replied.
“Well, we’ve just got the office girl
pregnant.”
While the assembled audience
cracked with laughter, on stage it
was a toss-up who squirmed the
most, Frydenberg or Hadjikakou.
As for how ‘Scotty from
Marketing’ would’ve coped … well,
we’ll never know, but it would’ve
been priceless to watch.
90 ATN June 2021 FULLYLOADED.COM.AU

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NEWS
Inside the Industry
Mercedes-Benz
SIZZLING TRUCK SALES TAKE A
SLIGHT APRIL BREATHER
SCANIA SHOWS YEAR SO FAR STILL RED HOT BUT TOTAL NUMBERS EASE OFF A TOUCH
April commercial vehicle sales see the
accelerator pressure lift a tiny bit but they
remain in record territory for the month
and year.
March’s scorching total of 3,558 gives
way to last month’s 3,215 but that is still
ahead of the best April in the past five
years, beating 2017’s 3,151, according
to Tuck Industry Council (TIC) T-Mark
statistics.
Where this April falls short against
2017 is in the year-to-date (YTD) figure,
at 11,540 compared to 11,826.
Of course, it remains to be seen how
sustainable this year’s growth is, given
March’s YTD comparison with March
2017 – 8,325 against 7,158 – was so
much further in front.
Still, the market-leading Japanese
brands are still making a lot of hay in
this sunny market, despite a slight slip.
Isuzu’s 788 is down 32 units on March,
Hino’s 520 is 31 down, while Fuso fares a
tad worse both in percentage and numbers,
with 318 down 60.
HEAVY DUTY
The heavy brigade’s part in the latest boom
has been fairly modest, the segment falling
below four figures in April to 929 from
March’s 1,035, putting it below 2018 and
2019 totals of 1,156 and 1,006 respectively.
The 3,366 YTD is also below those two
years’ totals of 4,059 and 3,922 but there’s
no shame in that.
Segment leader Kenworth scores a nice
round 200 units for 697 YTD, compared
with 2018’s 250/801 and 2019’s 174/746.
But Scania provides the surprise packet
for the month, coming in second with 131
units for its best April in five years and a
long way from April 2017’s 41 units. At
YTD, its 349 still lags in fifth place but it
remains no mean feat.
Fellow Swedish brand Volvo comes in
third at 106/420, the month down from
March’s 112, with a return to the glory days
of April 2019’s 140/631 still awaited but
its 420 YTD comfortably holding off the
challengers.
and Isuzu slip under
three figures, down eight units to 98 and
14 to 88 respectively.
Most other makes slipped slightly bar
Fuso, up two to 42, and International, up
two to three.
MEDIUM DUTY
Month on month (MOM) is also a glide
for the mid-range trucks in April, down
to 564 from 602, but it still makes for
the third-best April in the past five years,
though just a single unit above April
2017’s 563.
However, 2,026 YTD is in more sold
territory, against 2017’s 1,941. And that
is on the right side of the 2,000 mark,
given 2018 and 2019 were at 674/2,442
and 595/2,245. Pretty good for this
mercurial segment.
Speaking of breathers, Hino’s tilt
at Isuzu’s crown falters a tad, its 201
down 21 MOM compared to the market
leader up one unit to 227 – though
still below 2017’s 235. This after
Hino gave its great rival a fright the
previous month, falling five units shy
of winning it.
Fuso fell four to 104 MOM, which is not
bad, given it is the make's second best
April in five years, behind 2018’s 106 and
YTD just shy of that year, 371 against 381.
LIGHT DUTY
As noted before, the boiler room for truck
figures is at the light end of the market and
it is where records are being made.
The segments April comes in at 1,113,
down from March’s 1,231 but, at 4,804,
YTD it is streets ahead of the next highest,
2018’s 927/3,502.
Again, a little slippage was the general
rule, with second-place Hino bucking
the trend this time, up four units to 268
MOM with a YTD of 955. This compares
favourably with last year’s 203/1,036,
with both YTDs ahead of the next best,
2018’s 773.
Isuzu is down 19 to 473 but its YTD tops
the next best in five year: 2019’s 1,295.
Fuso lost 51 on last month to 172,
second only to 2018’s 187, but its 731 YTD
bests next best 2018’s 687.
Iveco’s push this year into three figures,
on a par with April 2019’s 107, dies on its
run, seeing it drop back from 103 to 56 and
well under the other five years.
Meanwhile, Mercedes-Benz jumps
20 to 51, equal with Fiat, which lost four
from March.
92 ATN June 2021 FULLYLOADED.COM.AU

HEAVY VEHICLES – MONTHLY SALES
DAF DENNIS EAGLE
42/4.5% 1/0.1%
UD TRUCKS
29/3.1%
WESTERN STAR
23/2.5%
VOLVO
106/11.4%
FREIGHTLINER
29/3.1%
FUSO
42/4.5%
HINO
51/5.5%
INTERNATIONAL
3/0.3%
SCANIA
131/14.1%
APRIL
MARKET
SHARE
ISUZU
88/9.5%
IVECO
18/1.9%
MERCEDES-BENZ
98/10.5%
MAN
20/2.2% MACK
48/5.2%
KENWORTH
200/21.5%
MEDIUM VEHICLES – MONTHLY SALES
UD TRUCKS
11/2%
MERCEDES-BENZ
3/0.5%
MAN
3/0.5%
IVECO
4/0.7%
VOLVO
5/0.9%
DAF
1/0.2%
FUSO
104/18.4%
ISUZU
227/40.2%
APRIL
MARKET
SHARE
HYUNDAI
5/0.9%
HINO
201/35.6%
LIGHT VEHICLES – MONTHLY SALES
RENAULT
9/0.8%
MERCEDES-BENZ
51/4.6%
IVECO
56/5%
VW
3/0.3%
FIAT
51/4.6%
FORD
20/1.8%
FUSO
172/15.5%
APRIL
MARKET
SHARE
ISUZU
473/42.5%
HINO
268/24.1%
HYUNDAI
10/0.9%
FULLYLOADED.COM.AU June 2021 ATN 93

HEAVY VEHICLES – YEAR TO DATE
UD TRUCKS
129/3.8%
DAF
133/4%
WESTERN STAR
86/2.6%
VOLVO
420/12.5%
HYUNDAI
3/0%
DENNIS EAGLE
27/0.8%
FREIGHTLINER
119/3.5%
FUSO
141/4.2%
HINO
176/5.2%
INTERNATIONAL
12/0.4%
SCANIA
349/10.4%
YEAR TO DATE
MARKET
SHARE
ISUZU
380/11.3%
MERCEDES-BENZ
358/10.6%
KENWORTH
697/20.7%
IVECO
104/3.1%
MAN
65/1.9%
MACK
167/5%
MEDIUM VEHICLES – YEAR TO DATE
UD TRUCKS
36/1.8% VOLVO
MERCEDES-BENZ 16/0.8%
DAF
11/0.5%
5/0.2%
MAN
19/0.9%
IVECO
41/2%
FUSO
371/18.3%
YEAR TO DATE
MARKET
SHARE
ISUZU
801/39.5%
HYUNDAI
10/0.5%
HINO
715/35.3%
LIGHT VEHICLES – YEAR TO DATE
IVECO
226/5.5%
RENAULT
51/1.2%
MERCEDES-BENZ
170/4.2%
VW
13/0.3%
FIAT
179/4.4%
FORD
56/1.4%
FUSO
731/17.9%
YEAR TO DATE
MARKET
SHARE
ISUZU
1641/40.2%
HINO
955/23.4%
HYUNDAI
62/1.5%
94 ATN June 2021 FULLYLOADED.COM.AU

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LIGHT DUTY TRUCK SALES
HOLD WHIP HAND IN MAY
WHITE-HOT SMALLER END OF THE MARKET BOOSTS TOTAL
NEWS Inside the Industry March, putting it firmly back into second
With investment growth for plant and
machinery in rarefied air generally for
the economy, it would beggar belief
if commercial vehicle sales were not
following suit.
And so it is that Truck Industry Council
(TIC) T-Mark figures for May reach 3,639
units for a year-to-date (YTD) total of 15,179.
That’s the top month so far this year,
beating March’s 3,558. Those numbers
are giving 2018’s top of the last boom
May performance – 3,913/15,739 –
a serious scare.
And that is quite extraordinary, as this
boom cycle has taken less than half the time
of the Global Financial Crisis-impacted last.
With 2019’s 3,556/14,817 starting to be left
in this year’s dust, the comparisons with the
last peak are perhaps more relevant.
This seems reasonable, given the three
Japanese market-leading makes are tracking
closer to, or better, than 2018.
Put it this way, Isuzu is at 861/3,683,
against 2018’s 905/3,660.
For Hino, it is 596/2,442 compared with
491/2,091.
While Fuso may be lagging that cracking
pace with 369/1,611 against 409/1,614, it is
still way beyond 2019’s 294/1,436.
So far, so brilliant. But it is a far from
balanced picture, with the light-duty segment
doing all the heavy lifting.
HEAVY-DUTY
Sadly, it has to be something of a given
that the heavy-duty segment ignores the
light-duty example.
Therefore, this year’s 1,050/4,416 trails
2018’s 1,328/5,387 and 2019’s 1,212/5,134
but is above both 2017 and, especially, this
time last year.
That said, the dynamics are interesting,
with perennial placegetters shouldering
the load.
Segment leader Kenworth’s 181 for this
May marks the second month of falls around
the 20-unit mark, from 222 in March.
Against that, Volvo has had a rebound
after many months in the doldrums, its
152 nearly 50 per cent up on April and
Light-duty leader
Isuzu’s truck sales in
this segment, at 430
in May, was higher
than the previous two
months combined
place.
Isuzu hits 132 after dipping to 88 in April.
Scania, at 105, may have dropped back
from April’s surprise 132 but keeps itself
in the three-figure territory it will hope to
become accustomed to.
Mercedes-Benz will hope to as well
but seems a little range-bound recently,
bobbling either side of the 100 mark and
fetching up last month at 99.
Mid-table performances help, with
Hino and Mack on 61, up from 51 and 48
respectively in April, though that is a bit
below March’s 65 and 62.
UD, however, is making headway, with 44,
up from 29 and 35 counting back.
The same can’t be said of Freightliner,
which slides from 34 to 23 in the past
three months.
On the vocational front, it might be noted
Dennis Eagle hauls itself up to 21 units,
from a solitary figure the month before
and 15 in March.
MEDIUM-DUTY
The mid-size segment makes a fist of
coming up with a mid-size performance
in May but falls short.
The 677/2,703 is better than 2020’s
515/2,368 and 2017’s 637/2,578 but can’t
compete with 2019’s 734/2,979 and 2018’s
747/3,189.
The gains on last year are almost entirely
reflected by the establish market leaders,
where tenacious Hino is making yet another
assault on Isuzu’s top place.
So, Isuzu’s last three months counting
back are 249, 227 and 226, nudging out
Hino’s 241, 201 and 222, with Fuso at 140,
104 and 115.
LIGHT-DUTY
The heavy lifting was promised and here it
is, with 1,166/5,250.
It may not be equal to the powerhouse
years of 2019, 2018 and 2017 on their
respective Mays’ 999, 1,215 and 1,071 but
the fast start to the year has the YTD figures
ahead of 4,244, 4,717 and 4,218.
Leader Isuzu’s 480/2,121 for this May
tops 2019’s 358/1,576, 2018’s 446/1,741
and 2017’s 422/1,717. Also, that 480 is
more than its April and March figures
combined.
The same sort of thing goes for Hino,
with 294/1,249 topping 217/984, 241/1,014
and 222/804.
Fuso’s 177/908 speaks to a different
narrative, given 2018 was a highlight year.
But it stacks up well against 149/739,
269/956 and 207/860.
96 ATN June 2021 FULLYLOADED.COM.AU

HEAVY VEHICLES – MONTHLY SALES
DAF
45/4.3%
DENNIS EAGLE
21/2%
UD TRUCKS
44/4.2%
SCANIA
105/10%
VOLVO
152/14.5%
WESTERN STAR
34/3.2%
MAY
MARKET
SHARE
FREIGHTLINER
23/2.2%
FUSO
51/4.9%
ISUZU
132/12.6%
HINO
61/5.8%
HYUNDAI
1/0.1%
INTERNATIONAL
3/0.3%
MERCEDES-BENZ
99/9.4%
KENWORTH
181/17.2%
IVECO
24/2.3%
MAN
13/1.2% MACK
61/5.8%
MEDIUM VEHICLES – MONTHLY SALES
MAN
IVECO 4/0.6%
9/1.3%
DENNIS EAGLE
0/0%
MERCEDES-BENZ
7/1%
UD TRUCKS
15/2.2%
VOLVO
0/0%
DAF
5/0.7%
FUSO
140/20.7%
ISUZU
249/36.8%
MAY
MARKET
SHARE
HYUNDAI
7/1%
HINO
241/35.6%
LIGHT VEHICLES – MONTHLY SALES
RENAULT
13/1.1%
MERCEDES-BENZ
30/2.6%
IVECO
71/6.1%
VW
5/0.4%
FIAT
63/5.4%
FORD
21/1.8%
FUSO
177/15.2%
MAY
MARKET
SHARE
ISUZU
480/41.2%
HINO
294/25.2%
HYUNDAI
12/1%
FULLYLOADED.COM.AU June 2021 ATN 97

HEAVY VEHICLES – YEAR TO DATE
UD TRUCKS
173/3.9%
SCANIA
454/10.3%
VOLVO
572/13.0%
WESTERN STAR
120/2.7%
DAF
178/4.0%
YEAR TO DATE
MARKET
SHARE
DENNIS EAGLE
48/1.1%
FREIGHTLINER
142/3.2%
FUSO
192/4.3%
ISUZU
512/11.6%
HINO
237/5.4%
HYUNDAI
4/0.1%
INTERNATIONAL
15/0.3%
MERCEDES-BENZ
457/10.3%
KENWORTH
878/19.9%
IVECO
128/2.9%
MAN
78/1.8%
MACK
228/5.2%
MEDIUM VEHICLES – YEAR TO DATE
IVECO
50/1.8%
UD TRUCKS VOLVO
51/1.9% 16/0.6%
MERCEDES-BENZ
DAF
18/0.7%
10/0.4%
MAN
23/0.9%
FUSO
511/18.9%
ISUZU
1050/38.8%
YEAR TO DATE
MARKET
SHARE
HYUNDAI
17/0.6%
HINO
956/35.4%
LIGHT VEHICLES – YEAR TO DATE
IVECO
297/5.7%
MERCEDES-BENZ
200/3.8%
RENAULT
64/1.2%
VW
18/0.3%
FIAT
242/4.6%
FORD
77/1.5%
FUSO
908/17.3%
YEAR TO DATE
MARKET
SHARE
ISUZU
2121/40.4%
HINO
1249/23.8%
HYUNDAI
74/1.4%
98 ATN June 2021 FULLYLOADED.COM.AU

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