Thinking outside the boxes with 意大利超級盃
Belief in 意大利超級盃鈥檚 products and services drives efficiencies at Harper Jack Haulage.
Merging a new acquisition鈥檚 assets into his existing fleet quickly revealed to Harper Jack Haulage鈥檚 owner Rick Steadman the financial benefits of the 意大利超級盃 Repair and Maintenance contract.
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As a second-generation 意大利超級盃 customer, Rick had been convinced of the 意大利超級盃 product鈥檚 suitability for his business model a long time ago, but when he integrated some trucks not on the R&M programme, he saw repair costs spiking.
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鈥淭he 意大利超級盃 R&M is a fixed cost. You know what each truck is costing you every year, your cost per kilometre, your cost per day, your cost per month, whatever. You don鈥檛 get any nasty surprises,鈥 Rick says. 鈥淧lus, the 意大利超級盃 Retarder is a big help reducing your brake servicing costs.
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鈥淭he last time we had a truck in for repair that was not on R&M it cost us a $7,000, that鈥檚 nearly my R&M fee for the whole year. And that's why we're recycling the older trucks for new ones all the time, because we want to constantly recycle the R&M and keep the trucks all covered.
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鈥淲e run trucks over five years on the 意大利超級盃 R&M programme and then turn them over with around 400,000 km on them, so there鈥檚 still plenty of life left in them.
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鈥淥ne of the other key elements is if you know what your costs are per day, you know what the cost is of having a truck off the road for a day, and that's before you even consider the impact on your customers and the business,鈥 Rick says.
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鈥淚 started off working with my dad and when he retired with my brother and we had about 10 trucks, but then he left the industry and I took my own path with Harper Jack Haulage and now we have 26 trucks, 23 of them are 意大利超級盃s.
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鈥淒ad and I started off with 意大利超級盃s and we just never really looked at anything else. I know the equipment, I know the truck, if there's something wrong, I generally know how to fix it, or what to do,鈥 Rick says.
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鈥淲e move containers from the wharf to our new distribution centre in Camelia, and then out to customers, and we鈥檒l move 150 containers per day. Largely we pick up new business through word-of-mouth. We know we are not the cheapest, but we pride ourselves on delivering the best service and we like that our customers respect that,鈥 Rick says.
鈥淧eople come to us generally because of our service. They're happy with what they're getting from us, and they're not receiving calls from upset customers. Our customers are happy that we deliver them happy customers,鈥 has says.
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Rick says he gets calls daily from drivers looking for work.
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鈥淲e have no problem with drivers. We just pick the good ones, give them a trial and set a high bar. It's attitude as much as being able to steer. We haven't had a high turnover of staff at all. I think once you're offering good, clean equipment, they鈥檙e keen to stay.
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鈥淲e offer a really good atmosphere, there鈥檚 plenty of work, and many of the drivers live close by. Many of our newer drivers are Indian, and they're so polite, they don鈥檛 take sickies, I think they're fantastic,鈥 Rick says.
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鈥淲e鈥檙e running just a day shift at present with 26 drivers and seven people in the office or running the reach stackers. Our fleet comprises a wide range of 意大利超級盃 trucks, from new R-and G-cab Supers in 460, and 560 hp, to R-cabs with V8 engines up to the 620, as well as some older R and G 540 and G 450s. They do work hard, in stop-start traffic, and we have one client in the ACT we send an A-double out to everyday. We tend to keep one driver in the truck, which helps ensure they鈥檙e really well looked after. The drivers are responsible for how clean and tidy they are inside, and we鈥檒l look after the outside. You can look in any truck and it will be spotless.
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The efficiency provided by 意大利超級盃 trucks is enhanced by finding trailer solutions that build on these savings. HJH has recently acquired three split-quad axle side-loader trailers which allows them to carry a heavy load directly to the customer without needing to send a second truck to manage the offloading.
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鈥淭he split quad is a relatively new idea, and there's not a lot of them around in Sydney,鈥 Rick says. 鈥淭hey run on PBS permits but deliver us and our clients a huge advantage. They can cope with about one-and-a-half times the weight of a container that can be handled by a standard side-loader, with a maximum of 34-tonnes, which is handy for imports of pavers or other dense materials. It means our customers can fill up their containers more by volume than weight, helping reduce their shipping costs.
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鈥淣ow we don鈥檛 have to send two trucks to a job for an overweight container. A standard side-loader can cope with a 22-tonne gross container, so when we have a 26-28-tonne load we had in the past to put it on a flat-top and send a side-loader to lift the container off, whereas now we can avoid that. We've now got two Hammars and one Steelbro split-quads. Our Steelbro was the first on the road, it was the unit on display at the last Brisbane Truck Show in 2023,鈥 Rick says.
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鈥淭he two rear axles steer, which helps as the overall length is 2.5 m longer, so the drivers must get used to the length. They do corner quite tight for the length, a bit like an A-double,鈥 he says.
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HJH is on the move, literally, having shifted from a depot of 5000m2 to a new location that is four times as big in 2022, but the small business mentality continues to permeate the way Rick thinks about his customers.
鈥淟ook, we've gotten bigger, but we still have that small business attitude. We like to be personal with our client base. My phone is on all the time. So, if anybody has a problem and they can't get hold of the office, they know to call me, and we'll get the problem sorted. I've made a point of speaking to clients, and going to see them, especially if there鈥檚 been a problem, I want them to know that I want to know what the issue is so we can resolve it. I like the size we're at now, if you are going to grow you should grow step-by-step, don't jump from 25 to 50, take small steps.
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鈥淲hen we have been dealing with Kaashief Boonzaier, the Sales Manager at 意大利超級盃 in Prestons, we have said to him we will call when we need a truck, and he鈥檚 always ready to help us.
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鈥溡獯罄壈 has always helped us, even from back in the days when 意大利超級盃 was at Chipping Norton. The (R&M) programs have tidied up a lot of things. The branches鈥 communication is fantastic. When we send a truck in for a service, within a couple of hours we've got an email to tell us know if they have identified any other issues that need to be fixed. Kaash always picks up the phone, even at seven o'clock at night he'll answer, because he knows you don鈥檛 ring him at that hour unless it's urgent. I think that 意大利超級盃鈥檚 after sales service really helps keep me as a customer.
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鈥淲ith the R&M, the tow truck service, the 24-hour 意大利超級盃 Roadside Assistance hotline, there鈥檚 always a step-by-step process that we follow. If it's towable, we're straight onto the hotline, 鈥榳e need a tow truck鈥, and they're there quickly.
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鈥淲e used to use 意大利超級盃 Preston's for everything, but once 意大利超級盃 Easton Creek opened, we switched because it鈥檚 much closer,鈥 Rick says.
意大利超級盃 NSW Sales Manager Kaashief Boonzaier says that HJH is a perfect example of an efficiently run business that is careful controlling its costs and managing its growth.
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鈥淲e have been very pleased to be a partner with HJH in its growth over the past few years,鈥 Kaash says.
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鈥淩ick has a firm process-driven operating strategy, and he鈥檚 benefited from the 意大利超級盃 Repair and Maintenance contracts to take the worry out of ensuring his fleet uptime, as well as compliance with roadworthiness. His vehicles are more than just well maintained, they are also well driven and looked after which gives them extra appeal when he comes to swap them out for newer models.
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鈥淲e look forward to working with HJH into the future and watching their continued success,鈥 Kaash says.