Known for its innovative craftmanship, Scully RSV is providing customers a solution to help them transition to lower emission heavy vehicles without having to compromise on performance.
The journey to refrigerated hybrid truck-builds began when long-standing customer Rum City Foods asked for a greener transport solution.
However, according to Andrew McKenzie, CEO of Scully RSV, fabrication of a hybrid truck isn’t as easily replicated the same as it is on a standard diesel-driven truck.
“They’ve got batteries, they’ve got smart electrical systems, so you must be able to isolate those systems before you can start to weld and apply electric current to those vehicles,” he says.
“So, it’s important that we’re aware of those circumstances and those situations. Our experience and our investment in our engineering resource allows us to capitalise.”
As well as having 30 years manufacturing experience, several factors contribute to the businesses success in building such models.
Live feedback from trucks already in their fleet, according to Andrew, plays a vital role in the developmental process.
“We’ve got that in depth experience of having 400 trucks in our rental fleet,” he says.
“Every single day, we’re getting live feedback on how they operate, how they work, what potential failure modes exist within the products. We develop the product off the back of that. That’s how we do it.”
The benefits for Rum City Foods are twofold as Andrew describes the impact this will have not only for Scott McIntyre, Rum City Foods Sales Manager, but also for the business.
“He gets to start to learn, develop and understand a little bit more about what operating electric trucks looks like in his fleet but still has the ability and assurance that, at the end of the day, he’s got the diesel engine that he can get home if there is a particular issue,” Andrew says.
“He runs long distances in North Queensland, and so full electric doesn’t yet work for him, so the hybrid solution is perfect.”
In fact, Rum City Foods was so impressed with the initial build it ordered a second Hino Hybrid-Electric refrigerated body manufactured by Scully before the first one was delivered.
Focused on bringing the project to fruition, Andrew emphasises how it is a collaborative effort between Scully RSV and Hino trucks.
With the fabricating process in full swing, they expect to deliver the complete truck body within two weeks.
“We’re quite literally working through with the engineering team at Hino down in Sydney in terms of the fabrication process associated with it at the moment,” he says.
“All the panel kits, doors, sliders, and steps are all sorted out. The parts are ordered, so we’re in the manufacturing phase now. Within the next two weeks, that will be popping out the other side of the factory.”
Beyond manufacturing, Andrew also highlights the process that goes into producing and crafting such vehicles and how a dual thinking approach is essential to good product development.
“From a product available perspective, there’s really two schools,” he says. “There’s real world and then there’s theory. And so, you really need to take both approaches.”
Working with Queensland University of Technology and their customers, Andrew explains how the company adopts best practices.
“We still collaborate with Queensland University of Technology (QUT) and utilise best practice, what’s new technology, what’s new thinking — trying to really get and tap into fresh minds and fresh ideas around best practices not just from a product perspective but from a manufacturing and systems perspective,” he says.
For Scully RSV, growth is now on the agenda, moving into a new 12,000m² facility in Brisbane late last year, Andrew reveals the company’s ambition towards building to record volumes.
“Today, we’re building at near record volumes and that will continue to grow in the coming weeks and months as we push towards building 60 a month,” he says.
“That’s ultimately the goal, and that’s the scale and the capacity of this factory here in Brisbane. Then we’ve got some options that are at play in some other regions.”
Since moving in six months ago, Scully RSV has gone through a number of iterations in terms of factory layout to optimise their processes.
“We’ve now reached a point where we’re comfortable and happy with our factory layout and its ability to consistently and reliably allow us to produce to time-bound production slots.” says Andrew.
“It’s unlocked the efficiency in our build and manufacture of the product.”
With no intention to slow down, the company remains focused on their customers and how the introduction of the Hino Hybrid-Electric trucks will ultimately help them on their journey to sustainable solutions.
“They will be available to our customers who want to start to dip their toe into the water in terms of what it means to genuinely take that step into the next phase of clean emissions vehicles,” he says.
“It’s exciting. We don’t want to hype it up and then under deliver, we’re more about actions and outcomes as an organisation. So, those vehicles will make their way into our fleet, and they will form a part of what we do as a good corporate citizen.”
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