KEEPING the WHEELS TURNING Manufacturing 60,000 Trucks in Australia Is No Mean Achievement
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FEATURE KEEPING THE WHEELS TURNING Manufacturing 60,000 trucks in Australia is no mean achievement. For PACCAR Australia it’s all down to Kenworth, with Volvo and Mack Trucks combining to jointly hit the major milestone. By Brenton O’Connor and Chris Mullett 12 PowerTorque ISSUE 81 KEEP THE WHEELS TURNING lthough its common knowledge to those employed in the Australian transport industry, it seems that very few Australians are aware that some of the Aworld’s biggest heavy truck manufacturers still produce their vehicles locally, in Australia. PACCAR Australia’s production facility at Bayswater produces Kenworths tailored to Australian needs, and, from the middle of this year (2018), production will also commence in Bayswater of selected models of the DAF CF truck range. IVECO produces trucks including the longstanding ACCO and selected models of the Stralis, Powerstar and International ProStar at its Dandenong facility, and, since 1972, Volvo has been manufacturing its heavy-duty range of trucks, in tandem with Mack, at its manufacturing plant in Wacol, Brisbane, Queensland. At the close of 2017, Australian truck manufacturing celebrated several major milestones in truck manufacturing. PowerTorque is pleased to announce officially that in late December the 60,000th Kenworth truck to roll off the Bayswater production line was a T610SAR painted in the distinctive red and white colour scheme of Wickham Freightlines. This very notable event was not quietly completed by handing over a set of keys out the back of the local dealership. It was a major event witnessed by every production-line worker and member of the PACCAR management team, as the production line was stopped and everyone gathered to enjoy the celebration. have supplied the Also present to witness the event were members of the company with over 250 Kenworths, Wickham family, with Peter Wickham, Darren Eather, were Jim Hurley, Clare Hurley, Scott Walters, Kev Hurley Lynelle Eather (nee Wickham), Graham Keogh, Donna and Rob Brown. Keogh (nee Wickham), Thomasin Keogh (HR manager and Graham and Donna’s daughter) and her brother Rohan The 600-member production team at Bayswater was Keogh (operations), Haydn Lamb of the Wickham cattle represented at the handover of the new vehicle by property holdings and Kerri-Ann Lamb (nee Wickham). managing director Andrew Hadjikakou, with sales and marketing manager Brad May, and production manager Representing the long-standing association of the Gavin Cleary. Wickham family with the Brown and Hurley Group that PowerTorque ISSUE 81 13 FEATURE We mention some of the individual members by name because the whole event signifies the very personal family relationships that are developed within the truck industry that literally last for generations. Relationships that share the good times, and the bad, and that survive irrespective of the hardships of a market or business that can suffer a downturn that could break good people through the ensuing years. The Wickham family has stayed loyal to the Kenworth brand, and, to further celebrate the event, Peter Wickham, who is well known as a bush balladeer, penned a special song for the occasion, which he performed with his trusty guitar in front of the entire factory workforce. 14 PowerTorque ISSUE 81 FEATURE Almost coinciding with the celebrations at PACCAR in Bayswater were those of Volvo Group Australia (VGA), as the Wacol-based manufacturer celebrated the completion “Apart from operating without financial help from the of the 60,000 and 60,001 Volvo and Mack combined truck Australian government, VGA makes a real impact on the manufacturing milestone. economy, with much of the required products to build their trucks being sourced from approximately 85 local President and CEO of Volvo Group Australia, Peter suppliers delivering 3500 different components to the Voorhoeve, was justifiably proud as he announced, “Our Wacol factory – of which, many are produced right here in Wacol plant has been operating since 1972, and houses Australia,” Mr. Voorhoeve added. manufacturing and engineering facilities to produce both Volvo and Mack trucks. As well as its support of local suppliers, VGA directly employs 450 Australians in its manufacturing plant, “Furthermore, VGA produces its Mack and Volvo trucks supporting local Queensland families. without any government subsidies, a very different story to local car production, which was receiving up to $100,000 In addition to announcing the 60,000th truck, per employee of government money, which was ultimately Mr. Voorhoeve went on to explain why VGA still still not enough for the Japanese and American owners of manufactures in Australia rather than fully importing their the plants to continue production. trucks like many of their competitors. 16 PowerTorque ISSUE 81 KEEP THE WHEELS TURNING “We are committed to manufacturing trucks in Australia” “Our trucks work harder than anywhere else in the world. its production facilities and also in its customer facing outlets Our loads are heavier, the climate is hot and dusty, and including both company owned and private dealerships. the distances are greater. But our Australian engineers leverage the globally proven vehicle platforms and latest “We are committed to manufacturing trucks in Australia innovations to design trucks that are tailored for the and have invested over $27m in the production facility unique Australian conditions,” he said. alone in the last six years, and will invest a further $3.7m in upgrading our chassis treatment and cab paint process. “It’s a very competitive market here in Australia, but We’re talking about a lot of money, which is a reflection of building trucks locally means we can meet and exceed how confident we are in local manufacturing,” he said. the demands of customers in this competitive market, by building them a truck that is exactly to their specification,” In addition to the investment in the production facilities, he explained. a further $160m has been invested in the dealer networks, including new dealerships in Brisbane, Sydney To meet the growing demands for its products, Mr. and Melbourne. Voorhoeve outlined VGA’s plans for future investment in both PowerTorque ISSUE 81 17 .