Cement is the critical component in concrete and to ensure supply for their own increasing requirements when the local cement depot closed some years ago, Wodonga’s Baxters Concrete needed to source the product from Melbourne, so they purchased a B-double cement tanker to perform the task.
The combination was initially pulled by a second-hand Kenworth K104 which was later replaced by a new Freightliner Coronado which travelled more than a million kilometres before being retired and was recently replaced by a 630hp Mercedes-Benz Actros combined with an A-double pneumatic dry bulk trailer set.
“We made the decision to upgrade to an A-double, and had to go to a cabover prime mover to make it work,” says Andrew Baxter.
“We’d been looking at cabover prime movers, and examining the options including the 630hp Actros and then Andrew Woodward from Daimler Trucks in Albury rang me from the 2023 Brisbane Truck Show and told me about the Actros 25th Anniversary Driver Edition and that there were only 25 coming into the country but we needed to order it that day without even knowing the final cost if we wanted one. Thankfully he did the right thing by us and the truck was quite a good price and all was good.”
Brothers Stephen and David Baxter were farmers in the Wodonga region who repurposed an old grain tipper truck to carry gravel from a neighbour’s gravel pit, and as frequently happens in such arrangements, soon found themselves in demand.
This led them to establishing their own commercial gravel quarry. The business is today run by David Baxter (Stephen passed away some 12 years ago) and sons Brendan and Andrew.
Competition from a large quarry that had opened up in the region inspired Steven and David to establish their own concrete plant to provide an outlet for the gravel from their quarry.
Since its beginnings in 1989, the Baxters Concrete operation has grown from that original plant in Wodonga to include plants in Rutherglen and Corryong which provide ready-mix concrete service throughout the north-eastern region of Victoria and the southern Riverina area.
The Baxter Group also has its own concrete pumps for placing the concrete on site. Baxter’s Concrete delivers concrete to jobs ranging from house slabs and driveways to major projects in the region including some challenging locations in the Victorian ski fields.
Sand and aggregate materials are sourced from the company’s quarries. These utilise the latest in high-tech earthmoving equipment and Baxters Concrete’s own Freightliner B-double and tipper and dog combinations.
The current agitator truck fleet is predominantly 8×4 Freightliner Columbias, but since the cessation of manufacture of that model some Mack, Kenworth and Hino trucks have joined the fleet. The trucks are serviced at local dealerships with additional support from independent Border Truck Repairs.
The oldest trucks in the day-to-day fleet are 2013 models which Andrew acknowledges are probably getting to the end of their working lives.
“It’s an interesting time at the moment to be trying to buy new trucks,” he says.
“We have a general progression at Baxters. They start off as new trucks and they end up under a tree. We’re not very good at selling anything, to be quite honest. Everything I’ve ever sold I’ve wanted back at some stage.”
A challenge the concrete industry is facing in Australia is the supply of suitable vehicles, with the Freightliner Columbia agitator-spec truck no longer available and the current Mack Metroliner and Kenworth T360 scheduled to cease production in Euro V guise later in 2025.
“The corrosion resistance of the American driveline agitator trucks is much better and their hardened chassis rails stand up to concrete corrosion a lot better than other trucks,” says Andrew.
The A-double cement tanker began operating in late 2024 and is hauled by a Mercedes-Benz Actros 25th Anniversary Driver Edition prime mover powered by a 630hp Euro VI 16-litre engine combined with a 12-speed automated transmission.
The Actros 25 Driver Edition is built around the Gigaspace cab, which is taller and provides more headroom and space for front-mounted cabinets above the windscreen.
One of these cabinets includes a microwave, and other interior features include leather-seats, a leather wrapped steering wheel and woodgrain trim.
On the outside, the limited edition truck is distinguished by a European style driving light bar mounted above the windscreen, stainless steel steps, and Actros 25 Driver Edition graphics.
The 25th Anniversary package includes Alcoa Dura-Bright wheels and polished checker plate covers on the rear chassis and at the back of the cab to protect the trailer air lines and electrical cables.
In addition to its extensive suite of integrated safety systems, the Actros is equipped with the Predictive Powertrain Control system, which uses topographical information, including pre-mapped three-dimensional GPS data, to enable the truck to make the best, and most economical, choice of throttle application and gear selection.
This includes saving fuel by coasting for long periods with the driveline automatically disengaged and re-engaged.
The Actros 25 Driver Edition also features Active Drive Assist technology, which 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 at all times.
The A-double trailer set has been manufactured for Baxters by Convair Engineering which also handled the required PBS approval process. The A-double combination can operate at a gross weight of 85.5 tonnes.
That converts to a 58-tonnes payload. The trailers are equipped with steerable rear axles SAF disc brake axles and Andrew says it tracks better than the B-double.
“We were actually a little bit nervous when we ordered the A-double because it’s quite tight getting in our driveway, but it handles it quite easily,” he says.
“The A-double combination has worked out really well and has exceeded our expectations.”
The truck’s regular driver is Craig Matthews who loads out of the Melbourne Cement facility at South Dock in Port Melbourne and delivers to the Wodonga batching plant six times a week, a daily round trip of around 650 kilometres.
Although the truck is typically back at its Wodonga base by mid-afternoon, the Gigaspace cab includes a fixed bed and a folding bunk as well as twin slide out fridges.
“Craig is the type of driver who was open to trying a European truck and he loves it,” says Andrew.
“He looks after his truck and does a great job. We’re lucky we have a really good team here.”
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