Sunshine Sugar Sweetens it’s Truck Fleet

In-depth

26 Oct

….turns to Cascadia this crushing season in the Northern Rivers

Sunshine Sugar and SCT Logistics have introduced two new Freightliner Cascadia 116 trucks to haul raw sugar from its mills in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales. The trucks deliver the locally produced products to customers in Northern New South Wales and South East Queensland.

Sunshine Sugar employs 500 farming families in the region and has 1000 direct and indirect employees in its operations that include mills at Condong, Broadwater and Harwood.

SCT operates 95 Freightliner and Mercedes-Benz trucks across its Australian operations, including several Actros models on behalf of Sunshine Sugar that deliver cane to the mills. Introduced to the fleet in 2019 through Daimler Trucks Murwillumbah, these trucks impressed with their performance and safety levels, while delivering a payload boost over the trucks they replaced.

The two new Cascadia units were also chosen for their excellent payload as well as their performance, comfort and efficiency.

They run a 13-litre Detroit DD13 paired with a 12-speed Automated Manual Transmission (AMT) that uses GPS and topographic data in order to pick the right gears for the terrain and to coast when safe in order to save fuel.

The Cascadia trucks have already impressed the SCT and Sunshine Sugar team, delivering a 10 per cent fuel economy improvement over the bonneted trucks they replaced.

“We are very pleased with the fuel economy as this represents a significant improvement,” says SCT Logistics National Fleet Manager, Mick Sommers.

Apart from the low fuel consumption, the Cascadia engines also meet the stringent US EPA GHG17 emissions rating, which is tougher than Euro 6, something that is appreciated by SCT.

Safety is also an SCT and Sunshine Sugar priority, so the long list of Cascadia safety features was key to the decision.

Despite new model introductions, the Cascadia is still the only bonneted truck in Australia to feature a steering wheel-mounted airbag. Customers can also choose an optional side mounted head protecting airbag.

The Cascadia comes standard with a full suite of active safety features including an Advanced Emergency Braking System (AEBS) using both radar and camera technology. Side Guard Assist, which looks down the left side of the truck to check the blind spot, is a popular option, as are the spotter mirrors that can be fitted to the bonnet to provide additional vision.

Mick Sommers says these mirrors are valuable. “I first experienced them in the US in 2019 and I just thought these are a God-send, they are brilliant.”

SCT goes even further and installs cameras for additional visibility.

The two Cascadias have been delivered by local dealership Daimler Trucks Murwillumbah. “They have delivered 30 Mercedes-Benz trucks for us and have been excellent. The team there have always provided excellent service and support, which is really important,” Mr Sommers says.

Something else that is crucial to a truck’s success in a fleet is whether or not the drivers like them.

“The drivers love them,” Mick said. “They are comfortable and the Detroit engines have great performance, with more horsepower than the trucks they replace. The automated transmissions are also smooth and they work well.”