Clearing customs with IVECO

In-depth

16 Mar

They’re used year-round, seven days a week and for long hours, but Wholesale Logistics’ fleet of IVECO Eurocargos show far fewer kilometers than most other medium duty trucks in Australia.

As a specialist wholesale airfreight forwarding company, Wholesale Logistics operates from a facility in Westmeadows, a virtual stone’s throw from Melbourne’s Tullamarine airport, and the five-kilometre return route is the reason why the business’ 11-year-old ML160 Eurocargo has only just ticked over 160,000 kilometres.

The working days are long though, with trucks normally arriving empty at the airport by 6:00am, then it’s a case of waiting in long queues before goods can be collected and returned to the company’s warehouse which is 77G customs bonded, quarantined approved, and RACA and IATA accredited. By early afternoon, the trucks are travelling to the airport again, but this time loaded with outbound airfreight, a process that can only begin after the team has ‘X-rayed’ the outbound cargo.

The freight that comes and goes through the Wholesale Logistics facility is predominantly received or destined for China, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States, some of Australia’s largest trading partners.

The original low kilometre Eurocargo has paved the way for a further two – including a current model ML160 – along with a ‘work ready’ Daily 45C Tradie-Made cab chassis. But it’s not just the fleet that’s grown; the company now employs 25 staff, up from an initial team of four including Managing Director and owner, Colin Speechley (pictured above), who began the business in 2012.

He was originally attracted to IVECO by the Eurocargo’s sharp styling and then, digging a little deeper, identified many more reasons why the model was ideal for his application.

“I’ve been in the industry for a long time and have always admired the European products, there’s quality there and I liked the styling and the look of the IVECO cabins – for us it helps to give the fleet a clean, modern and uniform look,” Colin explained.

Colin said that there were also practical benefits to the Eurocargo range.

“We’ve found the Eurocargos to have a lower chassis than many others on the market, this makes it easier to load and unload the cargo and gives better access for drivers when they need to get on the tray.

“The lower chassis height has also allowed us to fit taller tautliner bodies and this has helped productivity because it lets us double stack cargo if required.

“We were also impressed with IVECO’s warranty which we’ve extended out to five years.”

While the first two Eurocargos were manual, the most recent addition features an Allison fully automatic transmission, which is matched to IVECO’s Euro6 280hp / 1000Nm Tector 7 engine.

“For us, attractions of the automatic transmission include being easier to drive particularly once we reach the airport where access can be very tight; a lot of maneuvering needs to take place both when loading and unloading,” Colin said.

Common across all three Eurocargos is rear electronically controlled airbag suspension, this specification is a ‘must have’ to more safely handle the fragile freight that Wholesale Logistics often carries, including works of art, automotive and mining equipment components and sensitive electronics.

“We’re often handling delicate equipment, paintings and art, the airbag suspension gives a much more supple ride reducing the risk of damage during transit. For some of our clients, having this suspension is a prerequisite to work with them,” Colin said.

All three trucks are also fitted with Nose Cones and interestingly, two have alloy bull bars, with the newest to also receive one shortly.

“The bull bars protect from fender benders; it’s not uncommon to pick up little taps and scrapes in and around loading bays, the airport facilities are a hive of activity with trucks and forklifts everywhere; we can’t afford time off the road for this sort of thing.” Colin said.

So where does the Daily 45C fit in?

Sometimes Wholesale Logistics is called on to make deliveries direct to customer sites, and prior to having the Daily, this job was done using utilities.

“Our utes had a 900kg / one pallet payload and then I came across the Daily cab chassis which offered around two tonnes and six pallet carrying capacity, it was a real improvement on what we’d been using and gave us some extra flexibility and efficiency,” Colin said.

“Having quality trucks in the fleet like the Daily and Eurocargos also helps to attract good drivers which is important in a tight labour market.

“We’ve certainly experienced some busy months, especially now with shipping delays which means more customers are opting for airfreight where it’s viable – we’re thankful for our IVECO fleet and the excellent support provided by our local dealership, Adtrans.”