News from the Daimler Stable - September

News

21 Sept

WorkControl goes Mercedes-Benz for its asphalt trucks

A growing roadworks and traffic control operation in regional New South Wales has added three Mercedes-Benz Actros trucks with Etnyre Falcon tri-axle walking floor trailers to its fleet.

The advanced 2653 models will perform asphalting work for the business, which was founded in Forbes by Kevin and Colleen Gunn with a focus on traffic control.

Their sons Ben and Joe now run the growing business, which has six locations throughout western New South Wales, employs 300 people and has a fleet of 130 vehicles.

WorkControl has expanded recently to include roadwork services, prompting the purchase of the three Actros trucks that feature striking artwork celebrating the Wiradjuri heritage of the Gunn family.

The advanced active safety features of the Actros, including the latest generation Advanced Emergency Braking System (AEBS) called Active Brake Assist 5, which can come to a complete stop for pedestrians as well as vehicles, were at the centre of the decision to choose Mercedes-Benz trucks. “Safety is at the very centre of everything we do at WorkControl,” says Ben Gunn.

The Actros models were provided by Daimler Trucks Huntingwood by salesman Mark McKenzie, in conjunction with Troy Azzopardi from Muscat Trailers, who delivered the class-leading Etnyre Falcon trailers.

“We were very pleased to work with Troy and the team at Muscat Trailers, because we know their trailers are durable and tick all the OH and S boxes,” Mr Gunn says.

WorkControl selected the 2653 Actros, which features the muscular 13-litre six-cylinder Mercedes-Benz engine that generates a healthy 530hp and 2600Nm of torque.

The engine meets stringent Euro 6 emissions standards and is paired with a 12-speed fully automated transmission. It features a special crawler gear for low-speed work.

The WorkControl trucks use Etnyre Falcon 33ft tri-axle live bottom floor trailers with 42-inch wide conveyor belts that can empty a load with just half a rotation. This is a patented system, but is simple and has low maintenance requirements.

The fully-insulated trailers have been designed to be among the lightest in their class in order to drive down fuel consumption and feature rear twin barn doors with individual cylinders and steep side walls to allow for easy discharge of all materials.

Mercedes-Benz Trucks announces all-electric eEconic validation trial in Australia and New Zealand

Mercedes-Benz Trucks has announced it will begin validation trials for the all-electric eEconic in Australia and New Zealand early next year.

Designed from the ground-up to work in densely-populated areas, the Econic is known for its excellent visibility, practicality and active safety features. Adding to these characteristics, the eEconic will also produce zero local emissions and the powertrain will operate near-silently.

Three eEconic trucks will be part of a validation trial in Australia, while one will operate in New Zealand. Production of the ground-breaking eEconic recently began at the Mercedes-Benz Trucks factory in Worth, Germany.

Mercedes-Benz Trucks Australia Pacific Director, Andrew Assimo, says the Econic makes a lot of sense as an electric vehicle.

“Waste collection represents the perfect application for a near-silent electric truck that produces zero local emissions as these vehicles operate on the doorsteps of our community.

“We are excited to work with our Australian and New Zealand customers to validate the remarkable zero emission eEconic, which is also fully-loaded with the latest Mercedes-Benz Trucks active safety technology,” he concludes.

The eEconic validation trial announcement comes soon after Mercedes-Benz Trucks confirmed it was also conducting a local validation trial of the eActros electric truck, with four units to operate in Australia and one running in New Zealand, with additional units to follow.

Daimler Truck has extensive experience with electric commercial vehicles and was the first manufacturer with an all-electric truck when the Fuso eCanter broke new ground when it was launched locally in 2021.

The eEconic uses much the same electric drivetrain as the eActros. It has been designed to cover the vast majority of typical waste collection routes operated by an Econic in a single shift without intermediary charging.

The electric drivetrain enables a level cab floor to be used, allowing easy movement through the cab. This is particularly advantageous when the driver wishes to leave the vehicle through the folding door on the co-driver's side, well out of the way of traffic.

STEADY SUPPLY CONFIRMED FOR FUSO CANTER

Fuso Truck and Bus Australia has confirmed it has a secured a steady supply of Canter light trucks. While supply issues continue to affect the industry, the Japanese truck maker now has consistent supply of its most popular models. This includes the full Canter range, including Built Ready factory tippers, wide cab and city cab models. Fuso also has good supply of the Canter 515, the best-selling single model truck in Australia and of its medium duty Fighter and heavy-duty Shogun models.

The Canter has become a household name with more than 70,000 sold since it first arrived in Australia showrooms back in 1971.

MORE FUSO

The next generation eCanter has just been revealed in Japan. The electric truck was first launched in 2017.

Key points are that the vehicle line-up has been significantly expanded, it features a newly adopted modular battery concept to allow customers to select from three different driving ranges from 80km to 200km and of course it features all the latest safety features.

It also comes equipped with an “ePTO’ power take-off unit which enables special purpose applications such as a tipper or rear crane.

The Next Generation eCanter lineup includes 28 variants for the Japanese market and approximately 80 variants for overseas markets to address a wider range of logistics needs. In addition to the current 7.5 ton (GVW) model, the new vehicle comes in weight classes ranging from 5 tons to 8 tons for Japanese customers, and starts from the 4 ton class for overseas models.

The cab variation has also been expanded; MFTBC newly offers a wide cab (2,130mm) that can accommodate more cargo, in addition to the standard cab width (1,700mm) that brings more flexibility to routes covering narrow roads. The variety of wheelbases has also been expanded, from 2,500 mm up to 4,750 mm*2.

The trucks feature a newly designed interior and exterior befitting the transportation industry’s shift to electric mobility. The all-electric truck has been reimagined with the FUSO Black Belt motif on the front face, with touches of orange and blue design elements. The LED headlights and daytime running lights, as well as the latest LED rear combination lights, offer reliable visibility.

The interior design has also been upgraded for driving comfort. A new and slightly lower dashboard to provide more space, more vertical space inside the cab, and a new 10-inch full LCD panel linked to the steering wheel switches have been installed. The "FUSO Easy Access Key" is available for Japanese customers for an even smoother workday.

….. and here we are in Australia, with electric barely off the ground. As this is published I’ll be visiting the eCanter factory in Portugal – no, it’s not in Japan. Should be interesting.