Fremantle Freight and Storage has purchased two GW470 Autoshifts to compliment an older CW445 model as well as 13 other trucks, primarily moving containers from the Fremantle Port to customers scattered all across the Perth metropolitan area.
According to the company’s managing director Gerhard Liebenberg, the UDs are appealing on a number of fronts and have exceeded all expectations.
“We purchased Fremantle Freight and Storage in July last year and my experience in Africa with UD trucks led me to take a close look at the GW470 for our fleet here in Australia,” said Gerhard.
“I had used UDs extensively in my business in Africa and knew they were a low maintenance truck and that there was not too much that ever goes wrong with them.”
The Fremantle Freight and Storage trucks average around 50,000km per year in the harsh stop start traffic environment of metropolitan Perth
“Clearly they were well priced and the other attraction was the availability of Auto shift which makes them ideal for urban container operations,” Gerhard added.
“I knew they would do the job and that they would be economical to run and they have clearly proved that.
“The UD may only be a 460 horsepower truck but they have very good torque, which is the same as many higher horsepower trucks, it’s very important I think.”
While the Fremantle UD GW 470s are still relatively new, they are already returning 10 percent better fuel economy than the European prime movers, which have been the mainstay of the company’s fleet in the past.
“That is pretty impressive and we anticipate that will improve even more as they gain more kilometres and when the aero kits are fully fitted,” said Gerhard.
“The performance of the UDs and their absolute suitability to our operations means that we intend to build up the UD fleet as other trucks on our fleet come up for replacement.”
The company’s drivers have embraced the change to UD and have commented on the comfort and ease of operation.
“The drivers love them, of course there is always a mindset that is resistant to change but they have very quickly adapted and really enjoy driving them so much so that they now want us to buy more ” said Gerhard.
“The other aspect of operating the UDs is the ease of servicing and the flexible servicing available through the dealer, Truck Centre WA.
“Fact is we have access to two or three different service points which are available seven days a week, so the truck can work all week and then be serviced on the weekend so there is no down time and loss of productivity.”
While Gerhard only purchased Fremantle Freight and Storage in July 2009, he has a long track record in the transport industry, particularly in his native Africa where he owned an operation hauling freight from South Africa into Namibia and Angola.
“It was a very challenging environment particularly up into Angola with the harshness of the environment and roads as well as the physical challenges,” said Gerhard.
“We actually pioneered the freight run using UDs from Cape Town through Angola to Namibia for a major super market chain which was a two week return trip, very tough.
“By comparison transporting containers around Perth is a lot easier but has its own set of challenges and pressures, and the UDs cope just as well in both environments.”
For further information on UD Trucks, visit www.udtrucks.com.au.