Kenworth DAF Melbourne has appointed Paul Wiffrie as General Manager, overseeing the day-to-day operations of the dealership, including TRP Geelong.

Paul steps into the new role as of today, January 20, 2025.

Paul began his career with PACCAR Australia in 2007, where he excelled in various training positions, ultimately serving as the Learning & Development Manager.

Following this, he transitioned to PACCAR Parts as the Materials & Quality Manager, before taking on the role of Dealer Development Manager in 2019.

“I am thrilled to welcome Paul to this pivotal role at Kenworth DAF Melbourne,” said Damian Smethurst, PACCAR Australia Managing Director.

“His expertise and leadership will be invaluable as we continue to enhance our service offerings and support our great customers.”

Commenting on his new role, Paul said, “The opportunity to serve as General Manager at Kenworth DAF Melbourne is an honour. I am committed to excellence and continuous improvement, and I look forward to working closely with the team to focus on delivering quality service to our customers.”

[signup]

The post New GM for Kenworth DAF Melbourne appeared first on Big Rigs.

Adrad has been manufacturing and supplying quality engine cooling products for over 40 years. One of their hugely successful products for heavy duty cooling applications is ADFUSE welded radiator cores.

Industrial radiators are typically constructed by soldering the tubes and headers together to form the core. This method is satisfactory for many applications. However, if this radiator is subjected to extreme heat or high stress, the soldered joints can eventually fail.

Built for maximum strength

ADFUSE welding produces much stronger bonds than solder alone and provides extra protection against extreme heat and stresses from thermal expansion, vibration and pressure. As a result, when these radiators are used in heavy duty water and oil cooling applications, they can last much longer.

A single large ADFUSE radiator core may contain over five hundred tubes that are welded at both ends, so the entire core involves more than 1000 individual welds. Computer-controlled robots take less than two seconds to complete each tube-to-header weld with an accuracy of less than 0.1mm. For even more strength, each ADFUSE weld is also back-filled with solder to provide extra support to each individual tube.

ADFUSE produces a maximum strength bond able to better withstand the high temperatures and constant vibration that are found in demanding applications. Exclusive to Adrad, ADFUSE welded cores are available on configurations including 5/8” and 1/2” Ultra T.

Ultra-T is a heavy-duty, high-performance tubular radiator design featuring close tube row pitch that allows a greater number of tubes to be incorporated in applications that involve space restrictions.

The close tube row pitch allows a higher concentration of tubes in the core matrix which gives the Adrad Ultra -T cores more tube to deliver high performance cooling.  The improved cooling of Ultra-T combined with the superior strength of the advanced ADFUSE welded tube-to-header joint delivers an unbeatable combination of performance and durability.

This is the ideal long-lasting, high-performance radiator for hard working engines in on-highway applications. Thousands of trucks across Australia have benefitted from upgrading to an ADFUSE radiator.

For more information about Adrad ADFUSE radiators and the location of your nearest distributor, contact Adrad’s Customer Service Team at customerservice@adrad.com.au or phone 1800 882 043.

[signup]

The post ADFUSE welded radiator cores are a winner appeared first on Big Rigs.

Mark Tobin says state and federal governments need to work together.
Image: Followmont Transport

If we don’t invest in youth around career paths, and in training development, we’re going to have a huge gap in employment.

We need to positively understand what the transport industry and supply chain does to employ staff and have a positive outlook rather than the negativity that the mainstream media gives us.

We need to promote the industry so we’re attracting people. The issue we have is that we don’t have youth coming through from the next generation, like we had 10 years ago. It would be great if we could all employ Australians to do the job but we don’t have the workforce – as a business, we’re finding this is an uphill battle.

The state and federal government also need to come together, especially in Queensland, around infrastructure funding. The current highway network is not sustainable for the freight task.

We need to have some sort of consistency, with governments working together.

The transport industry needs better infrastructure and a bigger focus on strategies around how the highway network in Australia is going to fit in with the current freight task. Rail is unreliable, but the current road network – especially in Queensland – is not sustainable for what our needs are.

Governments also need to promote larger mass vehicles, which means there would be less vehicles on the road.

The sustainability of the current network is not fit for purpose.

The current Liberal government bringing back the Bruce Highway committee is a great thing, but we need to see action. If you look at the road from Brisbane to Sydney, compared to Brisbane to Cairns, it’s totally different.

There are too many deaths on our roads. They need to look at the data around what is shown to be high risk and make change from there.

There’s not enough support or focus on how we go forward into the future.

Mark Tobin is Managing Director at Followmont Transport. This story is part of our 2025 New Year Wish Lists feature, in the January 17 issue of Big Rigs.

[signup]

The post Investing in youth is investing in the the future of the industry appeared first on Big Rigs.