Boral Logistics has recently replaced its aged fleet of side tippers to distribute its quarry products throughout Western Queensland.
The company has turned to vehicle supplier MaxiTRANS, investing in a new AZMEB door side tipper road train combination to perform the task, safely and efficiently.
The AZMEB door side tipper AB-triple road train combination is the first of multiple vehicles to be delivered to Boral Logistics. The first unit has been put to work in the long-distance delivery of quarry material throughout Western Queensland from the Boral Wellcamp Quarry.
Boral operates about 70 quarries — metropolitan and regional — throughout Australia. The Wellcamp Quarry, west of Toowoomba, extracts and processes a wide range of products, particularly highly specified road base aggregate.
Wade Clark, the operations manager of Boral Logistics Queensland, said Boral’s road train combinations play an important part of the transport logistics operation on the Darling Downs and beyond. Adding the AZMEB trailers will fill the need for its side tipper application.
“Our current road train fleet is entirely AZMEB and for investment in a combination like this, it is very important we invest in a known product” Clark said. “For us, we stuck with the brand we knew and trusted.
“The existing fleet of AZMEB trailers are in the order of 25 years old. We know they are reliable, we know that the product works. It comes with longevity, so we wanted to reinvest in a product that we knew worked extremely well for Boral’s needs.”
Driving design criteria
According to Clark, Boral’s driving design criteria was longevity, safety, fit-for-purpose and interchangeability with the multiple combinations.
“We can move the two B-trailers from front to back,” he said. “The A-trailer has a sliding turntable that allows us to conform to our bridge formulas and axle measurements. This is so we can load full mass, whether as an AB–triple or as a B–double. Even as a single, we conform to load and mass requirements.”
The Toowoomba region is open to Type 1 road trains which means the AZMEB combination can be loaded and run west directly out of the quarry without a requirement to split up the combination.
AZMEB door side tippers are built in one piece from a 450–grade wear plate, which increases the strength and eliminates the need for cross–members. Unique to the design, the door side tippers distribute the load quickly and evenly with a single double-acting hydraulic cylinder at each end of the bowl. Large capacity hydraulic hoses and valves maintain the rapid, yet smooth, tipping action.
For Boral, side tipping is essential for a safer and more productive operation.
“A lot of our road base jobs are on the main highways west of Toowoomba,” Clark said. “The big benefit we can offer customers is that power lines don’t phase this combination and we are not limited by uneven ground. We can basically pull up on the side of the highway and tip straight off the edge of the road. Also, by running out the material in an even flow it reduces the work time required for customer grader drivers.”
Safety is integral to the Boral operating philosophy. Telescopic ladders are fitted for the driver to use when hooking up or changing trailers. The addition of handrails provides three points of contact all the way through the climbing process.
The drawbar of the tri-axle dolly is painted in high visibility yellow as a safety measure for all road users. Non-slip surfaces are used on walkways wherever the driver must work on the trailers.
As the Queensland operations manager for Boral Logistics, Clark is more than happy with the working relationship with MaxiTRANS.
“The team at MaxiTRANS were terrific,” he said. “They listened and worked with us to deliver to our requirements.” He added that the convenience of the vehicles being locally manufactured in Brisbane enabled Boral to be closely involved in the whole build process, in turn fostering a close partnership with MaxiTRANS.
Truck and trailer solutions
MaxiTRANS is one of Australia’s largest suppliers of truck and trailer parts to the road transport industry in Australia, and is also the largest supplier of locally manufactured, high quality heavy road transport trailer solutions, including trailer repair and service. Its brands include Freighter, Maxi-CUBE, Lusty EMS, Hamelex White, Trout River, AZMEB and Peki. Visit maxitrans.com
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