There are five news titbits this week which include anniversaries, expansion, a new brand and 900 electric trucks. New horizons are opening up both in Australia and overseas, with expanded territories, truck sales truck brand choices.
Martins Fleet Take Some Macks
Major livestock hauling operation, Martins Stock Haulage have a fleet of instantly recognisable Kenworths. Now, these are going to be joined by eight new Macks. Martins run a fleet of around 90 prime movers in every configuration up to triple road trains. Their livestock operations cover all of eastern Australia, from western Queensland to South Australia, while they also have tankers carrying dangerous goods for the mines in Western Australia.
“We’ve had over a hundred Macks in the past,” said Adam Ross, Martins General Manager, “so this is nothing new, but when they sent us a Titan to trial, we were very impressed with it. We were a bit concerned about driver acceptability, but we needn’t have worried, we put one of our most senior drivers in the Titan and he loved it.”
Martins placed an order for four Super-Liners, with another four Titans due to come off the line later this year. The Macks are fitted with sleeper cabs, and all feature the Mack powertrain of the 685hp MP10 engine, coupled with the mDRIVE automated manual transmission.
900 Electric Truck Sales
Fuso has announced the sale of around 900 Fuso eCanters to Yamato Transport in Tokyo. This is the world’s first introduction of the next generation eCanter.
Yamato introduced 25 units of the first generation eCanter in 2017, and based on the results of its utilisation in home delivery and other logistics services, Yamato has now decided to introduce around 900 units of the new eCanter nation-wide. This is the largest single order of the eCanter to date.
The Yamato Group is introducing the eCanter as part of its efforts to achieve a 48 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 (compared to FY2020), followed by virtually zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
Hartwig Anniversary
Hartwigs, is celebrating 100 years serving south-central NSW, ACT, and northern Victoria truck customers. Representing the Western Star Trucks, MAN Truck & Bus, Dennis Eagle, and Detroit brands, the team at Hartwigs services customers with dealerships in Queanbeyan and Shepparton.
“A centenary is a remarkable achievement for any organisation, and it’s no surprise that the team at Hartwigs has achieved this,” said Craig Lee, executive general manager of on-highway at Penske Australia. “We are expanding Hartwigs’ coverage into the Orana and Riverina regions of NSW and the Sunraysia region of Victoria. We are confident that customers will continue to receive exceptional support from the team at Hartwigs, and here’s to the next 100 years.”
Dealer principal Charlie Hartwig added that the 100-year milestone for the family business was a testament to his team’s genuine relationships with customers and exceptional products.
“Since my great-great-grandfather first started our business in 1923, the team at Hartwigs has invested time and energy into our customer relationships, obtaining a deep understanding of customer requirements,” said Charlie.
30 Years for Trailer Sales
Trailer Sales was established as Freighter Queensland in 1982, beginning operations in 1983. The company, initially distributing trailer brands like Freighter, expanded its reach in the late 1990s by acquiring distribution rights to Maxi-CUBE refrigerated vans, subsequently rebranding to Freighter Maxi-CUBE Queensland (FMQ).
In 2009, another turning point came when FMQ strategically acquired Trailer Sales NQ, a move that included the prominent trailersales.com.au domain. This acquisition not only expanded the company’s reach but also led to the current, familiar name of Trailer Sales in 2012.
Trailer Sales has two branches, located in Rocklea and Townsville, with a total of 70 employees dedicated to serving the road transport industry, and today, provides access to the full suite of MaxiTRANS trailer brands, as well as specialised products from FWR and RoadWest Transport.
Daimler Dealer Expansion
Tristar Truck and Bus will open Daimler Trucks Shepparton and Daimler Trucks Canberra later this year, selling Mercedes-Benz Trucks, Freightliner and Fuso trucks and buses.
The family-owned organisation, headed up by David Warren, currently operates Daimler Trucks Albury and Daimler Trucks Wagga Wagga, delivering outstanding customer service. Earlier this year David was presented with the 2022 Daimler Truck Dealer of the Year award.
Daimler Truck Australia Pacific President and CEO, Daniel Whitehead, said he is excited that Tristar Truck and Bus will soon cover two additional regions.
“Our Albury and Wagga Wagga customers give us so much positive feedback about how David and his team go out of their way to keep them moving,” said Daniel.
