The Newell Highway is a major road connection between Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria, and for freight operators, it is a direct link to getting products from warehouse to market.
The highway is the longest of its kind in NSW, stretching over 1,060 kilometres from the Victorian border to the Queensland border, yet for many is notorious due to its rough surfaces.
Market Express, a family-owned transport and logistics company based in Leeton, NSW, often travels along the Newell Highway in its operations of carting frozen and general freight between Leeton, Brisbane and Sydney – its fleet of quad-axle trailers drive through the route twice a week, averaging around 5,500 kilometres for both times.
Although, by specifying BPW Transpec axles and suspensions as standard on all of its trailers, the business is able to ensure that its products get to their end destination in the same condition they leave Leeton in.
“By using BPW Transpec axles and suspensions, we get better wear and tear, our maintenance costs are lower and the product in the trailers isn’t damaged, meaning we don’t have any extra insurance costs,” says Market Express Director, Ralph Ierano. “At the end of the day, in the transport game – where our profit margins are under single digits – you’ve got to do whatever you can to differentiate yourself to your competitors.
“The number one thing is look after your customer’s product. If you can get your product to market and to customers in good condition, they’re going to keep using your services.”
For Market Express, this has been seen through the loyalty of its customers who have stayed with the business since it began almost 50 years ago.
“We’ve got customers that have been with us since day one,” Ralph says. “Next year, they’ll have been with us for 50 years. That just speaks for itself. If you pay a little bit more for the products you use and you get the right results out of the equipment, you’ll get clients looking after you.”
Market Express first started out in 1975 carting fruit and vegetables. The business was started by Ralph’s brother Mick, who thought farming was a bit slow at the time and decided to buy a truck and cart produce for the market.
Ralph joined his brother four years later in 1979 and purchased two new trucks, and from there, things began to evolve for the business. After a short stint with a Canberra-based transport company in 1983, the brothers went back out on their own and focused on doing work for a couple of core growers until the time for more fleet equipment arrived.
“We started to look at quad-axle trailers in 2015,” Ralph says. “We didn’t want to go to B-doubles because our work was predominantly too many pick-ups and drops. It was hard enough getting drivers to do that sort of work with single trailers, let alone B-doubles, so that’s why we looked at quad trailers.”
Ralph and Mick went on to purchase their first quads and have now accumulated 20 of them.
The latest quad additions are two twin tandem split configurations from Lucar which are operating on BPW AL2 AM-D30 air suspension with 10/285 PCD drum brake axles and BPW steer axles in the first and fourth axle rows. The brake control equipment is a BPW Transpec Electronic Braking System with the added option of ‘tail-guard’ reverse sensors.
“We spent three to six months working on the design and engineering of them, and we got the first ones on the road three months ago,” Ralph says. “The drivers think the split configurations are better than the closed quads. They ride better which is better for the freight, so it’s a win-win situation.
“At the end of the day, if your product rides better it’s going to have less damage and you’re going to have less complaints from customers.”
The fleet has been running BPW Transpec gear forover 20 years. Image: BPW Transpec.
Market Express was first introduced to BPW Transpec through some second-hand trailers Ralph and Mick purchased in the early days which came with its axles and suspensions. They were both impressed with how the units handled with the products, and so when it came to purchasing more trailers, they carried the components over.
That was over 20 years ago now, and the fleet has stuck with BPW Transpec for every order since.
“We’ve always preferred BPW Transpec,” Ralph says. “They’re a bit more expensive, but they are a lot better to run with less hassles. We find that they’re easier to work on and you get better wear and tear out of them.
“The old saying is you get what you pay for. They’re just a better option because they’re a bit more heavy-duty. So, at the end of the day, even though they might be five to 10 per cent dearer, you get that back in your maintenance costs and additional running out of them.”
Aside to the quality of the product, Ralph has found BPW Transpec’s aftersales service and support to be highly advantageous.
As he explains, BPW Transpec regularly visits and sends its trainer and consultants out to Market Express’ warehouse to conduct training programs, and by helping his mechanics understand the axles and suspensions it makes it a lot easier for them to be maintained.
But ultimately, choosing BPW Transpec time and time again has always come down to the success Market Express has seen with the product.
“If you keep the customer happy and give them the service that they want, they’ll keep coming back to you,” Ralph says. “If you keep damaging their product, they’re going to look for an alternative.
“If you have increased productivity, less damage and lower maintenance costs, you can’t get much better than that. And that’s what we find with BPW Transpec.”
The unit is fitted with BPW Transpec air suspension, axles and brake control equipment. Image: BPW Transpec.The post Express way appeared first on Trailer Magazine.