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Adjusting tyre pressure on the go

AIR CTI is the original pioneering Australian company known for its innovative tyre inflation system designed for on-the-go tyre pressure adjustment, to enhance vehicle performance, safety, and efficiency whilst playing a significant role in supporting communities, particularly those in rural and remote areas.

By allowing vehicles to adapt their tyre pressure to suit different terrain, AIR CTI enhances safety, fuel efficiency, and vehicle longevity, crucial for communities that rely on transportation for daily activities and economic growth.

AIR CTI systems’ ability to improve vehicle handling on challenging terrain also ensures better access to essential services like healthcare and education, which are often hindered by difficult road conditions in isolated areas. In essence, AIR CTI not only supports transport efficiency but also fosters the overall wellbeing and development of communities.

The AIR CTI system reduces wear and tear on vehicles, minimising maintenance cost and thereby providing financial relief to small businesses and individuals. This capability is particularly valuable in industries such as agriculture, mining, and transport, where vehicles frequently transition between different surfaces.

By maintaining optimal tyre pressure, the AIR CTI system not only improves fuel economy and tyre longevity, but also contributes to environmental sustainability, aligning with community efforts to reduce carbon footprints and sustainable practices.

AIR CTI is innovative technology designed to enhance vehicle performance across a variety of terrain and conditions.

The AIR CTI system allows drivers to adjust tyre pressure directly from the cab, optimising traction, safety and fuel efficiency whether navigating through mud, sand, snow or paved roads.

By regulating the tyre pressure, AIR CTI improves grip and reduces tyre wear, leading to a smoother and safer driving experience. This adaptability is particularly beneficial for off-road vehicles, military applications, and commercial fleets that frequently encounter diverse and challenging environments. Ultimately AIR CTI provides a versatile solution that enhances longevity of tyres, decreasing the frequency of tyre replacement and improving the overall efficiency of the vehicle.

The AIR CTI system has been carefully designed to provide comprehensive control over vehicle tyre pressure ensuring optimal performance across various terrains. The entire system is guaranteed.

It helps to improve safety, improve fuel efficiency and extend tyre life by allowing drivers to adjust high pressure on the go. This creates an excellent driving experience and extends your ability to access areas others cannot travel. This adaptability can lead to better traction on off-road surfaces and reduce wear when driving on highways.

Additionally, using the AIR CTI system enhances vehicle performance and safety, minimising the risk of accidents and costly downtime. For businesses this translates into an extended lifespan for tyres, reduced fuel cost and improved efficiencies in operations, ultimately boosting the bottom line.

The initial investment in an AIR CTI system can be offset by these long-term savings, making it a profitable decision for companies looking to optimise their operation expenses and improve their environmental footprint through reduced emissions and tax assets.

AIR CTI’s commitment to quality and innovation has made it a reputable name in the transport industry, domestically and internationally.

For more information, please visit aircti.com.

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TLS takes on Scania electric truck

Victorian transport operator Total Logistics Solutions (TLS) has taken delivery of its first ever electric truck, a Scania model. The Scania 25P serves as a milestone for the business and comes complete with a 10-pallet curtainsider body and powered tailgate. SUBSCRIBE to the PowerTorque newsletter Scania Australia managing director Manfred Streit was on hand to […]

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#PicOfTheDay – Filip Schubert

A great shot, snapped while rolling around the container yard in Melbourne.

We’ll choose a pic to appear in our Facebook cover slot, and will publish some of the best pics in our upcoming print edition of Big Rigs where you now also have a chance to win a $500 Shell Coles Express Gift Card.

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Lane closures and reduced speed limits on section of Pacific Highway

From next week, there will be changed traffic conditions in place along this section of the Pacific Highway.

Maintenance work will be carried out on the Pacific Highway at Tea Gardens, near Viney Creek Road, Nerong.

Transport for NSW will carry out the work, which includes culvert apron extension to reduce reed growth and water ponding onto the road.

Starting Wednesday June 11, work will be carried out from 7am to 4pm Mondays to Thursdays and is expected to be completed in 12 weeks, weather permitting.

Transport for NSW (TfNSW) has advised that lane closures and a reduced speed limit of 60km/h will be in place for the three weeks of work.

Over size over mass vehicles with overall width up to 4.5 metres will be escorted through the site. Vehicles wider than 4.5 metres:

Travelling southbound are required to stop at the stopping bay just before Viney Creek Road East, Nerong and to call ahead on UHF Channel 34.
Travelling northbound are required to stop at the stopping bay just after Myall Way in the stopping bay and to call ahead on UHF Channel 34.

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An exciting new chapter as Queensland livestock operator embarks on retirement

As this well regarded Queensland transport operator heads into retirement, the business he started over 20 years ago carries on.

Tim and Theresa Welk started Camrandale Transport back in 2004 and built a trusted name in livestock transport, in Queensland’s Central West.

The name Camrandale was derived by combining the names of their two sons Cameron and Dale Welk, who have both been involved in the family business.

It will be business as usual, with the Camrandale fleet continuing to carry the trusted name. Image: Martins

Tim has spent a lifetime in the transport game, learning to drive trucks from a very young age, then working in various roles before running his own transport businesses – most recently Camrandale Transport.

He was just 17 years old when he got his truck licence and by 18, he was already pulling triple single decks of livestock.

Tim’s contribution to the livestock industry was recently recognised by the Australian Livestock and Rural Transporters Association (ALRTA), when he was named one of their “Icons of the Road” in February 2025.

“He’s been in the game for a substantial amount of time,” said his son Cameron.

From one family business to another, Camrandale Transport was recently acquired by Martins Stock Haulage.

Director and General Manager at Martins, Adam Ross, told Big Rigs that the acquisition officially took effect in April 2025, however the wheels were in motion from about a year prior.

Camrandale Transport is based in the town of Quilpie and operates eight prime movers and triple road trains.

[L-R] Camrandale Transport’s Dale, Cameron and Tim Welk; with Martins Stock Haulage Directors Jason Martin and Adam Ross. Image: Martins

Despite the change in ownership, Adam revealed, “The Camrandale fleet will continue to carry the Camrandale name that the Central West has come to know and trust. It will be business as usual for Camrandale Transport.

“We want to continue what Tim’s built and keep up the service and reliability for his customers.”

All Camrandale Transport staff will also be retained, with Cameron Welk continuing on at the Quilpie depot, as area manager.

Cameron is well versed in running the Camrandale operation. “Transport has been in the blood all my life. I’ve always done whatever was needed to keep the cogs turning,” he said.

Though Cameron spent some time working away from the family business, he was still involved and helped out any way he could. It was about 10 years ago that he officially joined his father’s side, helping him to run the business as his right-hand man.

“My parents are retiring now – Dad is 69 and Mum is 68 – so the timing goes hand in hand with the sale,” said Cameron.

“Martins is a good fit, so all the stars aligned.”

“Our values align well, not only professionally but in a family capacity too. It was also very important for us to maintain the integrity the business has become known for.”

The purchase of Camrandale Transport is the 25th acquisition for Martins Stock Haulage. Image: Martins

This latest acquisition makes Martins Stock Haulage the biggest livestock transport operator in Australia, but as Adam explained, that’s an accolade they never set out to achieve. “We don’t want to be the biggest, we just want to be the best at what we do.”

Martins Stock Haulage was started by Gordon Martin in 1958 when he began carting pigs and calves in the Singleton and Maitland areas of New South Wales. Today the business he started all those years ago has grown to operate a fleet of 89 prime movers and 270 livestock trailers, strategically supported by depots in Dubbo, Scone, Oakey, and now Quilpie.

Gordon’s son Jason Martin took the reins as company director in 2018. He and Adam work closely together, and though Gordon is no longer involved in the day-to-day running, Adam says he’s still very much hands on.

“Gordon is still chairman of the board. He likes to keep involved. He also gets on the phone to check up on us – and he’s very quick to tell us if we do something wrong!” laughed Adam.

Acquisitions have been an important part of Martins’ continued growth. The purchase of Camrandale is the 25th acquisition in Martins 67-year history.

“Throughout the history of Martins Stock Haulage, Gordon has bought companies every four to five years,” said Adam. “Gordon is a man of integrity and would never go in to try and steal a job. If he’s interested, he’ll go in and make an offer. He’s instilled that into myself and Jason too – we’re only as good as our word.

“We actually identified some years ago that we’d love to buy Camrandale Transport. It operates in a good area we wanted to expand into. The Camrandale name is of high value in this industry. They have really good gear, with the same sorts of trucks and trailers as our fleet, so the acquisition was a natural fit for us,” Adam explained.

The acquisition of Camrandale makes Martins the biggest livestock transport operator in Australia. Image: Martins

“We didn’t do much out here on this side of Queensland, in the Channel Country, which was always an area we wanted to break into.

“We worked a lot with Tim Welk already, as he’d bring livestock into Roma and Morven for his customers, then we’d transport them down the bottom end. That’s how we got to know Tim over the last three or four years. Both our businesses got on very well and that’s how this all came about.”

A couple of months into the acquisition, Adam says it’s all going extremely well. “The transition went so smoothly and we have Cameron staying on as area manager. It’s the same name, the same faces. Nothing has changed and that’s just the way we wanted it.”

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Vale Danny D’Angelo

The founder of D’Angelo Engineering, Arrigo (Danny) D’Angelo, has passed away at the age of 94.

His son, Giulio D’Angelo, said: “He left us in the early hours of this morning, 4 June 2025, surrounded by his loved ones.
“He meant so much to us and to so many others, we are absolutely heartbroken by his loss.
“Dad, may you rest in peace.”
Glenn Hambleton of Air Brake Systems shared a statement online: “Danny was a genius engineer and he was a pioneer of the early design work of the fifth wheel turntable. My condolences go out to the D’Angelo family for the loss of an industry legend and icon Danny D’Angelo.”
Danny D’Angelo shared his story with Trailer in an exclusive interview in 2019.
He arrived in Australia from Italy in 1955 and spent the following two years bouncing between Geelong and Melbourne for work.
His trade in Italy involved working with brakes, cutting metal and welding.
However, instead of being offered technical workshop work upfront, Danny D’Angelo was tasked with more menial roles such as cleaning of office facilities with a bucket, rag and mop. He did this for about four months before moving onto more relevant work such as painting maritime vessels and working with an industrial chemical firm in Geelong.

While these positions paid well, he said, the roles were often short-lived. The chemical job, for instance, was good for a solid six months but then he was again looking for more work again. This led him to building silo tanks to store wheat – his first foray into the Australian bush.

Through word-of-mouth Danny soon found a new opportunity in freight, hearing stories from farmhands and drivers about making a little coin at the markets. By the 1960s Danny D’Angelo started a family and pooled enough resources to purchase his own truck.

Within a month of operating the vehicle, a drunk driver ‘turned his truck into a pizza’. Danny D’Angelo sold what was left for scrap as back in those days insurance would not cover the damages and committed to restoring the written-off ride.

This focus would steer him toward semi-trailer manufacturing and repair work.

The workload for one man, eventually, became too physically demanding for Danny D’Angelo.

Even when he expanded his operations to hire additional labourers to tackle the work, other challenges cropped up from quality assurance to tools going missing. Rather than continue to accept ambitious projects that would see him toil for days on end, he focused his technical skill on component innovation.

A Victorian trailer manufacturer, McGrath’s, consulted with Danny on a trailer design.

Danny D’Angelo’s custom couplings and bushes demonstrated the advantages of using lighter-weight components instead of relying on heavier imported options. Closing the deal, one thousand units later, Danny concentrated his efforts on a variety of other components including fifth wheels, ballrace assemblies, Ringfeder cross members, landing legs, slewing bearings, skid plates and truck and trailer accessories.

On the back of these engineering breakthroughs, Danny opened his family business, D’Angelo Engineering, in 1968. As of May 2003, the business found a new home in Laverton North, Melbourne.

Over the years, Danny D’Angelo was instrumental in fifth wheel developments including a patented 12” greasy plate assembly as well as other designs that are rated for B-double and road train applications.

He was also instrumental when asked to design and build components for York, Holland, JOST and others around the world as he is known for being an inventor of fifth wheel assemblies and components.

“At the end of the day, making a product is good,” Danny D’Angelo told Trailer. “But if you do your work properly then your customer will never run away.”

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Hyundai’s hydrogen push

Hyundai has had a diesel prime mover on the market in Australia for a while. This year at the Brisbane Truck Show, however, their displayed model was an Xcient Fuel Cell. Those last two words indicate that this truck is hydrogen powered.

The company is not new to the world of H2, having built the first hydrogen station in the southern hemisphere at Macquarie Park in Sydney back in 2014 to power their IX35 fuel cell vehicle.

While many OEM’s are heading straight down the EV track here in Australia – and Hyundai is playing in that arena as well with their small Mighty truck – the company sees Hydrogen as the only viable option for long distance transport.

The Xcient Fuel Cell H2 (or HTWO in Hyundai speak) has been around since 2021.

Its first deployment was in Switzerland where it has done over 30 million kilometres, is now in Germany and other parts of Europe and also is deployed in the United States as a Class A prime mover.

The Australian version uses 350 bar tanks which hold 32kg of H2. The US versions hold 62kg of hydrogen at twice the pressure (700 bar) which is the same pressure that cars take.

So, cars and trucks use two different pressures. Trucks and buses normally use 350 bar because infrastructure, tanks and regs are cheaper. But going to 700 bar gives longer range.

If you’re looking at the attached photo and thinking this isn’t a prime mover, it’s just that the truck arrived so late that Hyundai ran out of time to move the pod of tanks sitting over the rear axle to their position up against the cabin wall.

This particular truck on 350 bar, gives about 400km of range (verses 700km in the US) but that will change in the future.

Infrastructure, or the lack of it at this time is the major hurdle to the acceptance of H2. There are currently nine stations operational in Australia with another five in construction but that is simply not enough.

Compare this with Germany where there are 69 operational and another 14 under construction. Time and pressure to reach net zero should fix this problem.

How does it work? In very simple terms purified hydrogen and oxygen pass through (in this case) two fuel cells. Each fuel cell is around the size of a beer carton and has 440 plates, each plate putting out between 0.5 – 1.5 volts. So a total of 880 volts which drive electric motors.

The interior is like any other truck. Image: Graham Harsant

All that’s left over in the process is purified air and water. In fact a couple of hundred kilometres will produce enough air for 10 people to breathe for a full day, so the system is actually a rolling air purifier.

To refill is easier than LPG. Think of it as a trigger nozzle the same as a petrol browser with the thickness and length of a Coke can in front of the trigger. You put it onto the receptacle; it locks on and there is infrared communication between the refuelling nozzle and the truck tanks.

They talk to each other so if any part is not happy with the filling protocol it will be shut off. Decanting (or filling) is done at -20 to -40°.

We decant at these temperatures because hydrogen at ambient temperature under really high pressure, when you put it into the tanks, expands into a vacuum and creates heat. Those low minus temperatures are so the integrity of the tanks will not be impacted.

So the standard is -40º for cars which trucks could do as well. Trucks are mainly filling at -20º but that should change in time. The colder you can make the hydrogen the quicker you can refill.

For example, to refill the car at -40° is a 3-to-5-minute fill, giving 6kg of hydrogen to take you 650km. At -20º it might take 6 to 7 minutes, at ambient it might take 10 or 15 minutes.

So, hydrogen goes more quickly when it’s cold. Most stations in Australia are filling at either -20º or -40°.

The result of all this is that with progress, H2 trucks will be quick to refill, will cover the same distances a diesel, and will give back to Mother Earth.

Oh, and they will be as silent as an EV. What’s not to like.

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Don Watson Group closes doors after 77 years in operation

The Don Watson Group, trading as Don Watson Transport and Coldstores, has announced today that it’s made the difficult decision to close its doors.

The highly-regarded company, one of Australia’s leading refrigerated logistics operations, traces its roots back to 1948 when founder G.H. “Don” Watson would service the markets with a few army surplus K Series Austins. When he died in 1973, his son, Donald Watson took over the reins and launched the revered refrigerated division in 1984.

Third-generation co-owner Lyndon Watson, who is also the managing director of the company, told Big Rigs today that Don Watson Transport would cease collections from the end of this weekend.

“Final collections will be made Sunday, June 9, and delivered over the following days as per consignment requirements. Watson’s Coldstores will remain fully operational as it is introduced to the market for sale, with a focus on securing optimal value as a going concern,” Watson said in a statement shared with Big Rigs.

A copy of a memo to all employees widely circulating on social media today cited the “current economic conditions” as the reason for the closure, but Watson declined to elaborate further.

He stressed, however, that all 300 employees were to be paid all entitlements.

“We’re lucky to be able to close the doors and exit the industry just by paying all the drivers their notice period, entitlements and redundancy.”

He said the equipment – 140 trucks and 170 trailers trucks – would be sold in an “orderly fashion”.

“The transport industry has been great to us and we do really appreciate this opportunity to be able to turn it off and cease operations in a way that will ensure everyone is squared up nicely, and it’s done in a nice way.

“We’d rather not go into the brass tacks [of why] – there are a lot of things that contribute to these kind of decisions. They are hard decisions to make, but you have to make those at times and we’ve got to do what’s best for the family, and what’s best for the industry.

“It’s a great industry and we think it will continue to develop – it’s got a lot of promise.”

Watson said his main focus for now is helping the employees, managing the sale of the equipment, ongoing support for the three coldstores in Melbourne, Wodonga and Sydney, which are now on the market, and helping customers transition to new suppliers.

“The Watson family has benefited from the Australian trucking and warehousing industry over many generations, and we’ve tried to offer back time and effort in kind.

“Thankyou for the wonderful support you’ve offered Watsons over the years and we look forward to seeing the industry continue to develop,” Watson’s parting statement added.

Simon O’Hara, CEO of Road Freight NSW, said Don Watson Transport was an incredibly important part of Australia’s supply chain and its closure is a big loss to the industry.

“Our thoughts are with the operators Noelene and Lyndon and also their employees,” O’Hara said.

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Truckies to benefit from minimum wage raise

Australia’s lowest-paid truck drivers and transport workers are set to receive a significant wage increase following the Fair Work Commission’s annual review of modern award minimum wages. From the first full pay period starting on or after July 1, the national minimum wage will rise by 3.5 per cent, lifting the federal minimum wage for […]

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May truck sales show steady rise

The latest Truck Industry Council (TIC) T-Mark truck sales are in for May, with the Australian market nearly surpassing 4,000 truck sales for the month. Last month saw 3,921 truck sales made, up from April’s total of 3,416. However, it’s down year on year from the 4,528 units delivered in May last year, as well […]

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  1. Australian Truck Radio Listen Live