Timber Land

Based in Maryborough, Cornwall Logging is an agroforestry-adjacent transport business primarily working in the southeast corner of Queensland.

Logging runs in the family. Managing Director Rafe Cornwall’s father and grandfather were both in the industry.

It’s fair to say Rafe was born into it. The embryonic stages of the business can be traced back to Fraser Island before it became a fully-fledged commercial road timber hauler on the mainland.

The decisive moment in which a company-defining phase of growth occurred was in 1994 with the signing of a contract that required significant investment in people and equipment. Some 12 trucks were added.

That was around the time Rafe had purchased the family business from his father.

“It progressed down the line,” he says. “I bought it off dad when he retired, and I’ve continued on.”

There are, at last count, 22 prime movers in the fleet.

These come in a variety of applications from B-double logtrucks, to mini-Bs, single trailers, and two Pumpa-built spread tri-axle tipper bins with moving floors.

It’s in this application a new MAN TGX finds itself. The combination allows for a GCM of 49.5 tonnes under Performance-Based Standards.

Previously Rafe invested in mini-Bs for the same task. While payload capacity was 33 tonnes unloading, as he explains, was far less efficient.

“That’s why I went down the track of Pumpas for the last two trailers,” he says. “Whereas these new units are on a 49-foot trailer, you open the back doors, you unload and you’re almost carrying 30 tonnes anyway.”

In contrast to the mini-B, there’s crucially one less axle on the road.

“Turnaround times are far better and you’re nearly achieving the same payload,” Rafe adds. “It works well in that combination.”

Cornwall Logging hauls from every pine sawmill in a condensed 75km area. As one of the regular contractors for HQPlantations the work is consistent day in, day out.

The trucks in the fleet operate five days a week with the occasional Saturday thrown in.

The routes are invariably the same, it’s the application that changes.

“We have contracts with HQP for logs and Laminex for the residues,” says Rafe. “So we haul logs into these mills and haul the residues out.”

Cornwall Logging moves between two of the big facilities owned by Laminex.

One is a large MBF factory while the other is a particle board facility in Gympie.

The fleet delivers to other sites as well, but these are, for the main part, the most frequented destinations.

“The majority of the woodchip freight goes to those two mills,” says Rafe. “We also regularly haul out of a mill at Caboolture and transport sawdust up to Maryborough where we are based.”

Some of the sawmills have dropped in productivity of late. Rafe puts this down to a lull, at present, in residential construction.

Everything from a business perspective is still humming along — the new MAN TGX is no exception.

This prime mover attends sawmills in Gympie and Caboolture, and occasionally can be seen leaving the Port of Brisbane.

These port trips accumulate the kilometres much faster.

“The MAN is a very versatile unit, especially for our purposes,” says Rafe. “You can send it pretty much anywhere and achieve a fairly decent payload.”

Rafe anticipates the new MAN TGX, which he has had for just over half a year will cover around 200,000kms by the end of it.

The driver, Russell Smith, is already singing its praises.

“The driver is rapt with it. He loves it. It’s a beautiful truck to drive,” says Rafe.

“It’s comfortable. It pulls well and it’s got great vision.”

Having clear lines of sight in forestry-related transport is a must.

The pine plantations surrounding the Sunshine Coast are not known for clear depths of field. Manoeuvring into sawmills can bring with it other challenges, especially for the bigger trucks.

The MAN TGX features exterior mirrors designed to help enhance the visibility around the A-pillar.

An aerodynamic sunblind also absorbs the sun, an ideal function given the harsh morning daylight common to Queensland.

“The vision is always great,” says Rafe. “It sits up nice and high and everything is in its place within the interior.”

An intuitive dash layout, for one, accommodates the gear shift control on the right-hand stalk switch which can greatly simplify selecting driving programs and gears.

The repositioning of the gear shift control opens up the interior by providing more space between the seats.

One of the big innovations for operators is the MAN SmartSelect.

The push/turn control knob with a comfortable thumb-ball support and integrated touchpad, encourages precise inputs even under rough driving conditions like those often experienced in a logging application.

MAN SmartSelect is equally suited for low light conditions. It can be identified with just a quick glance as it is equipped with its own lighting.

The GM cab interior, specified in this instance by Cornwall Logging, allows for full standing height.

“The feedback from the driver is uniformly positive. He says it’s the best truck he has ever driven, and he’s driven quite a few,” says Rafe. “To make that comment it must be good overall. He’s been around the traps.”

The MAN powertrain, the result of a 100-year journey of innovation and progress, has certainly come a long way since it unveiled its first 40hp diesel-powered truck in Nuremberg a century ago.

This MAN TGX 26.540 runs on an electronically controlled common rail injection system.

The 12.4-litre Euro 5 equivalent engine can achieve 397kW at 1,900rpm. It offers operators up to 2500Nm of torque.

Fuel burn figures, furthermore, are good and run consistent with the other late model Euro cabovers currently in the fleet.

“A lot of that has to do with the drivers, too,” adds Rafe.

The driver was in a Volvo FH prior to the MAN.

“They’re nice to drive as well but he believes the MAN TGX is better,” says Rafe. “Longevity-wise we will see. So far, so good. It hasn’t had any issues to date but it’s only eight months old.”

The uniform fleet, with its unmistakable sable trucks, has a propensity for clean presentation.

PJ’s Custom Spray Painting and Truck Mechanical were commissioned for the metallic pearl black cabin and also completed the row of roof spotlights, stack and accessory lighting.

The chassis, tanks and guards were all painted in house at Penske Australia in Brisbane.

The signwriting was created by Tony Gibbs.

Rafe opted for a JOST Ball Race turntable. This is the first MAN truck Rafe has purchased although he does have an existing relationship with Penske Brisbane having always carried Western Stars in the fleet including a new 48X sporting a Detroit DD16 engine.

Rafe, who doesn’t do as much driving as he once did, piloted the MAN when it was first delivered.

It was only, he admits, in bobtail.

“It was nice to drive. I found everything in the right place,” he says.

“Again, it was comfortable. Driving these things bobtail is not the same as with a load on. But in terms of white noise, it’s very quiet. That’s something you will notice as the day wears on.”

The biggest issue in the current operating environment is turnaround times for truck orders. Some other brands are out to 18 months.

“Transport always has its challenges,” says Rafe. “I guess the biggest thing over the last couple of years is sourcing equipment when you want it.”

He acknowledges it’s a challenge industry wide.

“I’m not the only one who has had to deal with that,” he says. “It’s made it very hard to plan your business when the equipment isn’t available when you want it.”

Rafe adds, “That for me has been the biggest challenge.”