More Iveco ACCOs for Boral contractor

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Prime Mover Magazine / December 8, 2015

Queensland-based subcontractor, Ross Books, has purchased a 2015 Iveco ACCO 8x4 agitator to service a contract with construction and building materials specialist Boral.

The new ACCO agitator is the ninth Iveco vehicle to join Books’ fleet, and is the sixth to be purchased new in the last two years.

“The latest trucks are as tough and reliable as the ACCO have ever been and they ride beautifully; they have air suspension, air suspended driver’s seat, air conditioning, electric mirrors and windows and Bluetooth – they’ve got all the creature comforts of a modern car – I think they’re a great truck,” said Books.

The 2015 ACCO reportedly features an SCR powerplant rated at 340hp / 254kW and 1106 lb ft / 1500 Nm. The engine is coupled to an Allison six-speed automatic transmission.

The load sharing, twin steer front axle and Hendrickson air suspension combination allows weight distribution for the 7.6 cm³ Cesco bowl, allowing up to 11 tonnes over the front axles.

The ACCO 8x4 agitator boasts electronic stability control (ESC), which Books said is required for the Boral contract.

According to Iveco, reliability was also a key consideration for Books, as concrete is a time-sensitive product, with service being judged on timely delivery and on the concrete’s ‘slump’ performance, or the measure of the consistency and workability of fresh concrete.

“We carry a product that actually ages very quickly, the concrete should be out of the bowl within an hour and a half of batching. And it’s all about consistency, especially if you have a concrete pump on site doing a major pour, the concrete needs to be turning up at the right intervals.

“If timing is out, it’s more difficult to blend the concrete and you can get what’s referred to as a ‘cold joint’, which can cause cracks in the finished product. While delivery and timing calculations are handled via a centralised computer system at Boral’s head office, our control in the process is to operate reliable vehicles.

“The ACCOs provide great value for money and their resale value is also good, they’re a known product, they’re an industry standard.”

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Greycart celebrates 25 years operating with ACCO trucks

Ausralian Earthmoving / November 18, 2014

The Australian-designed and built ACCO range of trucks has been an integral part of the Australian transport industry since its introduction in the 1960s. Engineered to meet local climatic conditions and stand up to some of the harshest driving conditions in the world, the ACCO is produced at the same manufacturing facility in Dandenong, Victoria where it was born. The iconic truck has become the de facto platform for the vocational market, such as concrete mixers and garbage collection, throughout Australia. The design combines the requirements of high body strength while preserving a light kerb weight which allows an ACCO to withstand the stresses associated with having a constantly revolving heavy load on its back while assuring the best efficiency for its payload class.

Queensland-based Greycart Pty Ltd is one company that knows the capabilities of the ACCO well. Ross Books, owner and Managing Director of Greycart, said that his company uses the eight-wheel version of the ACCO with a 7.6 metre agitator on the back to deliver concrete under contract to Boral. Since buying his first ACCO truck in 1986, Books has added to Greycart’s fleet and currently has nine ACCOs driven by his ten full-time drivers.

Books’ drivers deliver concrete to a wide variety of commercial and domestic construction jobs, but are also involved in large scale or unusual jobs. “Our trucks have been loaded on to barges and sailed over to Stradbroke [island] to a construction site,” Books stated. “We’ve also been to large infrastructure projects with massive ‘raft slabs’ requiring thousands of cubic metres of concrete to be laid in a single continuous pour.”

Concrete is a versatile product, but as soon as the cement and water are mixed, the chemical reaction starts and there are only a few hours in which to deliver the concrete to site before it starts to harden in the truck and become unworkable. “Because of these time constraints, I need a reliable truck for delivering concrete,” Books stated.

“Personally, I think that the ACCO is the best vehicle for our industry and why I decided on a common fleet,” said Books. “I did stray briefly, but the alternative was just too heavy a vehicle for the type of work we were doing.”

“I like building a long-term relationship with a supplier,” Books added. “I don’t need to have the cheapest, but in this business it is important to have reliable vehicles and the ACCO has been the most reliable for me.” Books says he greatly appreciates the aftersales support Iveco Brisbane provides in keeping his fleet on the road and in more than 25 years can only recall one instance of having to deal with a major fault.

Three of Greycart’s ACCOs are based in Brisbane and six are on the Gold Coast. The trucks make a large number of relatively short journeys during their working life with the company. “Most deliveries are no more than 10 kilometres, with an occasional job requiring a 100 km round trip,” Books said.

“Hauling concrete is harsh on the vehicles as we clean with an acid wash,” said Books. “This is not the kindest treatment for a truck but the ACCOs stand up to it well so we only have to replace vehicles every five to seven years,”

Long-term relationships also apply to the company’s drivers. Of the ten drivers employed by Greycart, most have been with the company for more than five years and the first driver Books employed 10 years ago is still with the company. Two of Books’ sons also drive for Greycart, as does one son’s fiancée. “She was thinking of changing jobs and when I said I needed another driver she said ‘What about me?’” Books stated. “She went out and got her HR licence and has been with us for 12 months now and really knows her product.” Books’ future daughter-in-law joins a growing number of women in the heavy transport industry, but even today less than five per cent of licenced truck drivers are female.

While there have been recent government and industry reports warning of the increasing number of unskilled truck drivers on Australian roads, Books stated all his drivers are very conscious of the demands of their job. Controlling a vehicle with up to a 17 tonne load that is constantly moving requires specialist knowledge and additional driving skills. ”As it is rotating, the centre of gravity changes as the mix climbs the side of the bowl,” Books said. “The weight is more on the driver’s side so if you make a left-hand turn too quickly, it’s possible for the whole truck to topple over.” Iveco has introduced Electronic Stability Control (ESC) to the 8×4 ACCO, further enhancing the capability and safety of the vehicle. ESC continuously monitors steering and vehicle direction. When the system detects a probable loss of steering control it asymmetrically applies the brakes to individual wheels.

A unique feature of the innovative but functional design of the ACCO is that since the first prototype, every part of its cab-chassis has been manufactured at the Iveco Trucks Australia Dandenong facility. Since its introduction [under International Harvester], more than 79,000 ACCO trucks have been driven off the production line. The engine and drivetrain of the ACCO have been designed to meet the emissions requirements of the ADR 80/03 standard. The engine is one of the latest diesel designs featuring a Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) system, along with ABS brakes, active traction and the latest cooling system.

Related reading - http://www.bigmacktrucks.com/index.php?/topic/36017-the-legendary-acco-designed-and-built-by-australians/