Crane Reaction

Network Building Supplies is located in the Sydney suburb of Revesby and is a distributor, to both trade and DYI customers, of building products including plasterboard, insulation, ceilings, and other internal lining products, as well as external cladding products and supplies of render and paint materials.

Providing a reliable delivery service has played an important role in the success of the business and this key contract is handled by Raff Elsiz and his team.

Raff has been associated with Network Building Supplies for 19 years and proudly has his trucks wrapped in Network’s livery.

Raff got into the transport industry by starting as an “offsider” and has been involved in plasterboard deliveries since he was 15 years old.

His destiny was determined 28 years ago when he purchased his then boss’s truck, which happened to be an Isuzu.

In addition to his Network arrangements, Raff also handles deliveries of plasterboard for CSR and today has 14 trucks, all of which are Isuzu including his most recent delivery, a 10-wheel FYJ model equipped with a HMF crane capable of a 15-metre reach which means it can deposit pallets with one tonne of product onto the first level of a building site.

This is the first crane truck in Raff’s fleet and was conceived during many discussions with Tony Rouady, Network’s General Manager and one of the company’s founders.

“I’m an Isuzu man,” says Raff. “You’d never convince me to buy another brand of truck. Isuzu has been part of the operation since day one.”

Raff’s first truck was an Isuzu and that 1996 model is still in service.

“All I’ve ever had to do was change the battery on it,” he says.

Jade Allerby looked after the marketing for Network Building Supplies as a client for her own business for four years, and three years ago accepted the opportunity of becoming an employee.

“It’s a great culture, with great people who look after customers and staff,” Jade says.

“A couple of different families started it, and most people come into the business through somebody they know.”

In addition to the greater Sydney area, Network Building Supplies’ trucks perform deliveries to the Central Coast and Newcastle, the Wollongong area and frequently to Canberra as well.

“We’re one of the last few standing doing hand unloads which can be a hard job,” says Raff.

“There will always be competition and always someone wanting to undercut the price. But it’s all about service for me.”

Raff’s son Hamza has now joined the business, learning the operation as his father did by working with the trucks performing deliveries.

Included in the fleet for a couple of years Raff’s first 8-wheel Isuzu has the provision to carry a Moffett truck-mounted forklift. The decision to put together a 10-wheel crane truck was made after considerable research.

“Tony Rouady gave me great assistance and we worked out the weights and also the reach required to access a one-tonne load up to a building’s level one,” says Raff.

While the new Isuzu is dedicated to render and paint deliveries for Network Render & Paint, it’s a symbol of the continued growth of the broader Network Group and a reflection of the strong, long-term partnerships which began with network Building Supplies, where Raff has been proudly delivering for almost two decades.

The new crane truck is based on an Isuzu FYJ 300/350 powered by a ten-litre six cylinder engine developing 257kw at 2,000rpm and 1,422Nm of torque at 1,400rpm, an ideal spec for this type of work which can involve a lot of idling time when the crane is operating.

The five-axle truck rides on Isuzu’s load sharing front suspension and the Meritor diffs are attached to Hendrickson HAS461 air bag rear suspension.

The additional lift-up tag axle is also on airbag suspension. The result is a custom truck capable of carrying 14 pallets and it has been specified to mainly suit the deliveries of render materials using either bags or buckets on pallets.

Due to its relatively low tare weight and the additional tag lift axle, and by operating on the Performance-Based Standards scheme, the new Isuzu is able to maximise the efficiency of these types of delivery.

“For most crane trucks this size the maximum payload you can get is ten-to-eleven tonnes which equates to ten pallets of render,” says Raff.

“This new truck can carry 15.7 tonnes so it’s four pallets ahead. It doesn’t sound big for linehaul guys, but four pallets for one of our customers is half a truck. Isuzu is a light truck where payload is important and Adam Lewis at Suttons Isuzu made sure it happened and we actually got a bit more payload than we initially expected, which was a bonus.”

The crane is operated using a remote control that must be returned to its proper location in the truck’s cab after use or an audible alarm sounds and prevents the driver from taking off.

“Adam at Suttons recommended it. If it was left on the tray or a pallet and the truck drives away it’s a few thousand dollars loss, so it’s a no brainer,” says Raff.

Traffic and the cost of tolls can be a challenge for any transport operation working around Sydney. Narrow streets, parked cars and overhead wires are just a few of the additional challenges faced by Network drivers like Sammy Yilmaz, who nevertheless safely negotiates such obstacles and is able to unload pallets and place them onsite with an almost surgical precision.

Deliveries vary considerably and it might be a full 15-tonne load for one delivery, or it might be a ten drop ‘milk run’.

“The system here at Network is great and the team do a great job,” says Raff.

“We can do same day deliveries if we have to, and if the crane truck is working elsewhere, we make it happen even if we have to hand unload.

That’s what service is.” Typical Network customers include plasterers, renderers, painters, builders, facade installers and ceiling installers.

With multiple trades staff often on a construction site it’s important to not have them waiting for deliveries of building supplies.

“Raff and his team see themselves as true problem solvers and that’s network’s model as well,” says Jade.

“Our contractors and suppliers are like family and we all support each other.” It’s obvious Raff and his own team treats Network’s customers as their very own.

“That’s particularly important to me and all my people know the rules,” he says. “I might be a contractor but I’m ‘Network’.”