When Boral Logistics recently decided to replace its aged fleet of side tippers, it turned to MaxiTRANS to help find the ideal solution to distribute its quarry products throughout Western Queensland. Investing in a new AZMEB door side tipper road train combination enabled it to perform the task safely and efficiently.
MaxiTRANS is one of Australia’s largest suppliers of truck and trailer parts to the road transport industry in Australia. It is also the largest supplier of locally manufactured, high-quality heavy road transport trailer solutions, including trailer repair and service, in Australia and New Zealand.
The AZMEB Door Side Tipper AB-triple road train combination is the first of a number that are due to be delivered to Boral Logistics, with the first unit being put to work in the long-distance delivery of quarry material throughout Western Queensland from the Boral Wellcamp Quarry.
Boral operates around 70 quarries, metropolitan and regional, throughout Australia. The Wellcamp Quarry, west of Toowoomba, extracts and processes a wide range of product, particularly highly specified road base aggregate.
Wade Clark, Operations Manager of Boral Logistics Queensland, says Boral’s road train combinations play an important part of the transport logistics operation on the Darling Downs and beyond. Moreover, the AZMEB trailers fill the company’s need for its side tipper application.
“Our current road train fleet is entirely AZMEB, and for the amount of investment in a combination like this, it is very important we invest in a known product, so for us we stuck with the brand we knew and trusted,” says Clark. “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.”
According to Clark, Longevity, safety, fit for purpose, and interchangeability with the multiple combinations are the driving design criteria for Boral.
“We can move the two B-trailers from front to back,” he explains. “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 any requirement to split the combination up.
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, AZMEB Door Side Tippers distribute the load quickly and evenly with a single double-acting hydraulic cylinder at each end of the bowl. Moreover, 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,” says Clark. “The big benefit we can offer customers is that power lines don’t phase this combination and we are not limited by un-level 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, while the addition of handrails provide 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 has to work on the trailers.
As the Queensland Operations Manager for Boral Logistics, Clark says he is more than happy with the working relationship with MaxiTRANS, adding that the convenience of being locally manufactured in Brisbane enabled Boral to be closely involved in the whole build process, in turn fostering a fantastic partnership with MaxiTRANS.
“The team at MaxiTRANS was terrific,” he says. “They listened and worked with us to deliver to our requirements.”