VTG Waste & Recycling has long been a staple business in Darwin’s community.
Operating out of the suburb of East Arm, the company has spent the last eight years servicing the area’s waste management needs through a steadily growing assortment of dedicated staff, custom-made equipment and even its own liquid waste treatment facility that recycles waste oils and hydrocarbon liquids and Material Recovery Facility (MRF).
Effective consolidation of its expanding capabilities means VTG now can promptly respond to a variety of waste management situations across an array of industries. Such growth being a function of both a knowledgeable management team and a commitment to a strong set of values, according to Managing Director, James Prakash.
“The company has grown significantly and continues to grow,” he says. “Between VTG’s board of directors and management team, there is a wealth of waste management experience that we rely upon to ensure we perform to the highest standards, so that we offer safe and quality services for our customers.”
These business values are, furthermore, imperative to the brand’s identity.
“If we say we’re going to do something, we do it,” says James. “Our reputation and integrity are everything. We move forward and get the job done, which builds trust with our customers.”
VTG Waste & Recycling’s promise to its customers is upheld by the company’s more than 100 pieces of waste management equipment. These consist of various vehicles and cleaning apparatuses and more recently have been further strengthened by the addition of a DAF CF530 prime mover mounted with Vorstrom 24,000-litre tank.
The DAF CF530, recommended and delivered by the CJD Equipment truck dealership, marked a departure for VTG Waste & Recycling, which in the past has routinely used trucks from another manufacturer. According to James, VTG did its due diligence before making the jump.
“Once CJD recommended a DAF prime mover to us after we approached them, we did our own research on the DAF equipment,” he recalls. “I had run DAFs in my previous management roles, and I knew they were good, but still wanted to see what other companies had to say. We asked around, and all the feedback from other operators was overwhelmingly positive. It became much easier for us to go down the DAF path after that, so we did.”
From an operational perspective, VTG Waste & Recycling wanted the prime mover to be able to carry two trailers while also being agile enough to complete quick services around Darwin and other townships. The DAF CF530 ticked this box and then some.
Known in the industry for its versatility, the DAF CF530’s medium size and compact build make it an ideal choice for metropolitan work due to its ability to manoeuvre tighter streets and spaces, while also being able to cover long distances and operate on a regional scale because of its robust engine power.
This versatility suits VTG Waste & Recycling well, as its operations in the Northern Territory often require remote work.
“The Northern Territory can be quite a challenging environment for operations,” James says. “It can be quite remote and vastly spread. Because of this, our equipment needs to accommodate these distances and spaces, so that we stay reliable for customers.”
It’s officially the first DAF deployed in the application by the fleet. Purchased as a sleeper cab to accommodate some of the long-distance jobs required of it, the truck pulls a semi with the Australian manufactured blower vacuum pump which is equipped with full rear opening door and hydraulic tipping function.
For James the truck reflects a calculated approach to operational requirements. It needed to be nimble enough for travel in and around Darwin; powerful enough for regional work; and reliable enough to do both, often.
That, in a nutshell, is how he confidently arrived at the Euro 6 DAF CF530 6×4. On top of these capabilities, the DAF’s role in pulling semi-trailers with attached vacuum mounted pumps is integral to VTG Waste & Recycling’s waste management value proposition, particularly for its specific ‘Liquid and Industrial Services Wastes’ segment within operations.
These industrial vacuum units can suction up a plethora of sludges, slurries and other waste residue into large tankers carried by the DAF CF530 across many sites. These include but are not restricted to metropolitan areas, ports, mining sites and other heavy vehicle prone industry locations.
“The truck has a tipping function, which allows the waste to be dumped out of the tanker efficiently,” explains James. “This makes waste disposal much easier, allowing us to get our trucks back on the streets faster.”
The unit, which has been seamlessly integrated into the fleet’s daily operational footprint, has been met with glowing appraisals from drivers and maintenance crews. It comes as no surprise to James given the long working relationship VTG Waste & Recycling has enjoyed with dealership CJD Equipment.
“CJD always knows what we’re after when we put in an order,” James explains. “They know that the truck will need to be painted in our own VTG green, it needs to have alloy wheels, a bullbar, and many other details. These details go a long way for our operators and business, and CJD understands that so well. They’ve always been able to give us what we need, in both the initial sale and aftersales support. They’re key to what we do.”
CJD Equipment’s General Manager in the Northern Territory, Evan Woodall – who oversaw the DAF CF530 order – was proud to work on the project.
“VTG is a long-term customer of ours, and a very good customer of ours,” he says. “We were very excited to work with the truck. It has quite an interesting set-up. For us here in Darwin, we don’t handle too many European trucks — that’s just the way the market is up here.”
That was cause for excitement itself as Evan and his team were eager to see how the vehicle would perform under the conditions. With a 30 per cent larger cooling system reducing the time the PACCAR MX-13 engine draws on auxiliary power to reduce unproductive air flow, the cab, aside from the ergonomic advantages of the driver environment, is well appointed for the humidity of the Top End. The 12.9-litre engine tops out at 2,600Nm. There’s the right amount of torque to make use of getting in and out of sites that share one commonality: variability.
With a versatile build, a VTG lime green coat and a mounted vacuum pump trailer behind it, VTG Waste & Recycling’s new DAF CF350 has proven instrumental to the waste management service’s operations in the Northern Territory, keeping industries and towns waste-free.
Read more stories about the DAF CF350 here.
