Industry News

A world-class solution for Australia

Schmitz Cargobull and Krueger have been collaborating within the national transport industry for over 10 years, and over that time have developed quite the rapport through their close alliance. And while both are already heralded as champions within Australian transport, a new venture between them is expected to take things to the next level.

When Schmitz Cargobull first entered the Australian market, as Krueger National Sales Director, Grant Krueger, recalls, it was in search of a supplier. Schmitz Cargobull, he explains, was looking for a trailer builder that would tick all of the boxes – one with history and a strong reputation within the industry, one with structural integrity and one that possessed expansive engineering knowledge.

But ultimately, according to Grant, Schmitz Cargobull was after someone with a product that had the reliability and performance to match its FERROPLAST freezer box to in order to bolster its operations down under.

Krueger, he says, met the criteria with its locally manufactured trailer chassis.

“They went through a process and selected us to work with them based on all of that,” he says. “We’ve been working closely with Schmitz Cargobull ever since then, and we’re looking at a continued arrangement to keep selling our Krueger chassis combined with their freezer box to our network of clients nationally.”

In 2018, Schmitz Cargobull even opened a new factory in Noble Park, Victoria, for this purpose specifically – carrying out the task at this location and demonstrating its commitment to the operation even further.

“We’ve worked closely with Schmitz Cargobull over the years for continuous improvement on the combined products to ensure they are fit for purpose and good for Australian road conditions,” Grant says. “It’s something that we’ve always worked closely, hand-in-hand for, to better the product over the years.”

Now, Schmitz Cargobull is introducing a new business model in Australia which will see this arrangement in full effect.

The OEM is essentially moving away from manufacturing complete trailers and towards supplying parts and components to trailer builders, like it has done for Krueger over the past 10 years.

By investing more into this side of the business, Schmitz Cargobull will have its sights set on servicing end users with a complete solution through the fitment of its refrigerated bodies to a range of trailer chassis built by other manufacturers.

The arrangement will basically be similar to a major operation earlier this year where Krueger collaborated with Schmitz Cargobull Germany to deliver over 250 semi-trailers to Linfox in Melbourne (of which a large portion featured Krueger chassis with Schmitz Cargobull bodies).

Only now, it will be on a much larger scale across Australia, with Brown and Hurley Group to play a part and distribute the completed trailers through its Queensland network as well.

Brown and Hurley Group has built a solid foundation through its client network and will provide continued support and success in this region.

“Krueger will manufacture the chassis, purchase a Schmitz Cargobull freezer box and then offer a complete product to the industry,” Grant says. “It will be supported by Krueger, Schmitz Cargobull and Brown and Hurley from a warranty and customer service support point of view, and the support network will be there through all three suppliers.”

Grant explains that this will benefit Krueger’s offering by extending its product range of freezer vans, dry vans, curtainsiders and skels. Therefore, through Schmitz Cargobull, Krueger is unlocking the ability to offer a complete range to the marketplace.

“In working with a world-class manufacturer, there’s a lot of trust and history to get to this point,” he says. “We’re happy to be on this journey and to have the opportunity to develop and sell Schmitz Cargobull’s product into Australia.

“We’ve been selling these units for the last 10 years, but we will now be able to support our customer network even further. We’ll be able to offer the marketplace the best structural chassis combined with the best world-class thermal box.”

As part of this new business model, Schmitz Cargobull will also be introducing its fridges and TrailerConnect telematics services to the Australian market – a move Grant is excited to see based on the technologies’ success overseas.

“The FERROPLAST product is world-class,” he says. “Schmitz Cargobull’s quality is second to none and the thermal efficiency is simply the best in the industry. At the end of the day, they’re providing a one-stop shop for clients with TrailerConnect and its ability to monitor trailers, temperatures, locations and all other important information.”

In terms of the collaboration and its benefits for the end user, Grant says there are plenty.

“Customers will be able to get a product that is available in stock and ready to go with quick delivery,” he says. “Through us, they will also be able to get onboard with the smart technology and telematics to monitor and maintain their fleet more efficiently.

“Overall, I think the market will be positive that it’s a continued relationship and arrangement, and that the product will be available through a quality supplier that has a reputation, history and national support networks.”

Siding with Schmitz Cargobull and leading this new venture into the market, Grant says, is a privilege for Krueger – particularly because it’s one that he believes the industry will significantly benefit from.

“We will have a world-class product that will be available only in Australia, and one that will probably be leading the way in technology internationally,” he says. “Through Schmitz Cargobull and their smart innovations, the technology is brought to our doorstep.”

L-R: Les Lange, Andreas Schmitz, Grant Krueger, John Krueger and Michael Temminghoff. Image: Krueger.

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