Currently, the Wightman Transport operation runs eight to 12 B-doubles a day out of Melbourne into Adelaide.
The company had the contract with Coles for 55 years, but lost it in 2019 only to win it back again this year, after the operator which had taken over the contract struggled to handle the task.
The fleet covers regional areas as well, servicing the likes of the Riverland, Berri and Mildura. Heading north out of Adelaide the trucks go out to Port Pirie, Port Augusta, Port Lincoln, to the east to Mount Gambier as well as Broken Hill and Swan Hill. This is alongside servicing the 45 stores in the local Adelaide area.
The return of the Coles contract to Wightman was somewhat rushed, leaving the back office with the headache of getting hold of enough rolling stock to fulfil the task, at relatively short notice. The long waiting lists which ramped up so quickly around the pandemic are starting to shorten, but the wait for a new truck can still be substantial.
Peter’s experience with Penske Rental in the past, as he coped with the ups and downs of demand for Wightman’s services, led him to approach them for vehicles to cover the recently reacquired Coles contract.
Working with Coles Collect means the contractor must do the freight with their own trucks – the work can’t be subbied out to other operators. This meant the fleet had to expand swiftly to haul the new trailers bought in to handle the task.
This is where Penske Truck Rental came into the picture. They were able to supply the right number of prime movers on a leasing basis to ensure the work would get done. There was a requirement to only use Euro 6 compliant engines and, it so happens, they were only available at 400hp.
“We were given a demo and after we’d driven it, we liked it,” says managing director Peter Starke.
“My lad said it was a little bit doughy off the mark, but once you got going, they were not a drama. I mean, we’re not pulling triple road trains. As we go to Murray Bridge, we’ve got 7km of a hill, then it’s up and down, then it’s flat. We’re very happy with the size of it, and there’s good space in the cab.
“Coles are going to like it, we explained it all to them. They wanted to know everything that that we were purchasing, to make sure it was the right spec. They questioned the horsepower, and we told them about the higher torque and that satisfied them.
“Leasing the trucks takes a lot of pressure off us, especially with Penske based two minutes away from the Coles DC. We’ve got brand new units, fully maintained. All we’re paying for is tyres. If there’s an issue, it’s a matter of just bringing them straight in, changing them out with another truck, and we go on, so we’ve always got that back up. We’ve had a good rapport dealing with Penske Rental since 2015.”
Adrian Beach, General Manager of Penske Truck Leasing also values the relationship.
“Peter was our very first customer when we opened the Adelaide branch back in 2015 and has been one of our most loyal customers ever since.
“Their support has been critical to our success in Adelaide. We’re very grateful for the relationship and proud of the confidence he showed in us by placing this substantial order. In turn, we are highly committed to their success.
“We hired a technician just for this task and bought a few extra Euro 6 rental trucks to be used as dedicated substitutes for any servicing or repair. Our goal is to give Peter and his team 100 per cent uptime and I think the reliability of the new TGS 26.400 combined with the support from Penske and MAN will help get us there.”
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