FreshBin’s Paul Sewell and David Nelson have opened a new service centre for commercial vehicles in Warrnambool. The first major client to come on-board is Fresh Servicing, a newly appointed Scania service dealer who will look after the entire fleet of the Ryan’s Transport Group.
Sewell and Nelson’s all-new service centre is located in a newly refurbished commercial building in Warrnambool. It was initially set up to meet the requirements of their own specialised garbage bin cleaning business, FreshBin, but then extended to accommodate third party vehicle servicing. According to the duo, the original building was completely gutted before the $375,000 rebuild commenced.
The existing service pit was filled in for safety reasons, with trucks of all sizes now lifted on individual wheel lifts to provide more flexibility. The owners have planned for the entire operation to be as carbon neutral and environmentally sound as possible and have therefore opted for measures such as large rainwater tanks.
A further $800,000 investment will involve extending the workshop, adding a drive in wash down bay and extending the already large hard stand area to allow parking for more trucks and trailers.
Graham Ryan told CRTNews that his family had been in the transport business for 60 years and from day one had looked after their own trucks.
“It got to the point that in fairness to our own mechanics and our business, we couldn’t afford to invest in maintenance any more. It’s not our core business and investing in mechanics and the training and technology required today was not practical,” Graham said. “So the decision was made to close our maintenance division down.”
During the past 18 months, Ryan’s has added 14 new Scanias to its fleet, all of which are on Scania repair and maintenance contracts. In Warrnambool, Fresh Servicing is now representing the Swedish truck maker on the service front.
According to David Nelson, Fresh Servicing particularly understands the implications associated with breakdowns, especially when the driver is far from home base. David said that they had made arrangements with local motels to accommodate drivers at any hour of the day and to provide them with proper meals while waiting for a truck to get fixed.
“To us it was a no-brainer. An interstate driver is broken down so he’s tired and agitated and behind his own schedule to start with, so we get him well fed, well rested in a good bed and importantly, off their log book,” David said. “Regardless of the time, we’ll pick them up when the truck is ready. They feel better that they are being looked after and that when the truck is ready it’s roadworthy.”
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