Out of the blue

[kscarbel2]

Owner-Driver  /  March 16, 2018

"If you’re going to offer a service you’ve got to give 120 percent. If you do that you’re guaranteed to get a second beer out of your client," says Mick Smith of Milin Transport.

This comment from the family-owned company founder pretty much sums up the type of bloke that Mick is – hard-working, honest and as cliché as it sounds, ‘true blue’.

So what better place to check out a couple of the new Aussie-designed Kenworth T610s at work than at a true Aussie transport company.

I say a ‘true’ Aussie transport company because after a sit down with Mick it’s obvious that his work ethic and attitude couldn’t be more Australian than if he was wearing a cork-swinging Akubra, eating a vegemite sandwich and telling me "that’s not a knife".

Mick began Milin Transport in 2002 after more than a decade with Russell Transport, a company he speaks very highly of. His years at Russell formed the foundations of the success he has now.

The professionalism displayed during his time as an employee and the relationships built are evident in the willingness of customers to get on board and support him when he put his heavy rigid crane truck on the road to start Milin Transport.

"People that I’d known for a long time found out I’d gone out on my own, they started to call me, we started servicing those types of people and the company just grew and grew and grew," Mick recalls.

Many of his current clients have been with the company since the beginning. It’s Micks approach to the clients that keeps them coming back.

"The clients have dictated to me what they need from us, so we’ve just grown from that one crane truck to running B-doubles, road trains and all sorts of stuff all over the country. We’ll go anywhere for our clients," he adds.

Mick’s dedication to the customers is equalled by his attitude to his staff around him.

"I’m very lucky there as well," Mick comments when talking about the Milin Transport team. "All the people that work here are top notch, they give the business 100 percent. I’ve been fortunate there."

The team though are not there by luck. Many have been with him for several years, and his office team mirrors his professionalism and customer-based focus.

When it comes to drivers Mick works hard to ensure they have everything they need to get the job done. From full company uniforms, well-maintained equipment and to the most important thing of all – as much family time as possible. However, the effort by the whole team to ensure a good work-life balance is even more complicated when you look at the loads Milin specialises in.

While there are a couple of standard weekly loads that Milins do, the majority of their work is, as Mick states, "a lot of machinery, a lot of weird wonderful things". This is the work Mick prefers to focus on.

"It’s no different from any other work out there because we do it all the time," he says, playing down the difficulty of some of the loading challenges. "Some get a bit curly; you’ve just got to nut it out."

Mick’s drivers are well versed in chaining and strapping and then delivering the loads wherever in Australia the customers need.

In the years since its inception Mick’s philosophy has always been to purchase the trucks needed to do the job. There have been a variety of breeds through the Milin colours but a bonneted truck has been on the "damn it, won’t fit list".

"I’ve always wanted a bonneted truck, but the 9-0s and SAR were too long," Mick explains. "We have a lot of extendable trailers and with our 12-pallet As and 22-pallet Bs we couldn’t fit one in front of them."

Enter Kenworth Australia’s new T610 SAR.

Micks desire to give his drivers a truck they could live in for a week, which the 610’s wider cab and 36-inch bunk does – as well as still being able to fit his 12/22 pallet B-doubles – meant he’d finally found a bonneted truck with the unlimited flexibility to work whatever job was required. Singles, B-doubles, extendables to road trains – the T610 could fit in nicely.

Though the two T610s are still relatively new, the feedback from both Mick and more importantly the drivers is all positive, especially for the vision out of the cab.

"The drivers say the vision out of the truck is just second to none, they can see over top of the mirrors, they can pretty much see all around," he says, complimenting the bonnet and mirror design that allows a good 180 degree view.

With a large selection of Milin’s work requiring delivery to large construction sites in some of our busiest cities, vision and manoeuvrability are the two big issues faced.

With that covered, the other question was how the T610s were going getting in and around the jobsites. Again, the new prime movers measured up, Mick admitting very little is lost in the turning circle. The set-back axle of the SAR means his drivers are finding the manoeuvrability of the T610s almost as good as their cab-over predecessors.

Tracking fuel figures throughout the Milin fleet is always difficult, their loads and even configurations vary so much it’s hard to be spot on. On a month by month basis though, Mick is finding the new T610s are already matching the bedded-in trucks – another tick in the box.

Couple that with the Cummins X15 engine fitted to both T610s and the mechanical side of the score sheet is glowing for Kenworth and Cummins as well. Cummins new X15 engine, which Mick happily describes as "the motor that just wants to keep pulling", manages to mix both the pulling power of the old Cummins Gen2 signatures with all the modern day Euro 6 carbon emission regulations without sacrificing any of the performance.

Most importantly, the cooling package on the T610s means the drivers don’t have to cover the headlights before a hill so the engine doesn’t overheat at the sight of them.

"On weight they heat up a bit on the big pulls but are normally sitting around the 85-90 mark," Mark says. With the trucks road train specked to 110 tonnes that means good performance and reliability for Milin Transport.

Mick admits he’s not a fan of light loads, having his trucks up to weight means the gear sits on the road nicer and rides smoother. He adds that the drivers are already noticing the ride comfort increase going from the shorter wheel-based cab-overs.

No surprises when I asked how the new interior sits. "They are chalk and cheese to everything Kenworth’s ever built," Mick explains. "They are more of a car inside.

"With these they’ve nailed it. Not only is everything well-appointed and easy to function, it just looks good too."

The appearance of the new T610s was also a change for the Milin Transport team, commonly seen in white with a blue Z stripe on the side. However, Mick worked with the team at B&K Lines & Signs in the Brisbane suburb Darra to add a different look, the blue base colour influenced by the original T610 demos.

While Rocklea Truck Electrical previously fitted their custom sleeper air to all of Milin’s linehaul fleet, these were the first trucks Mick really let the company’s owner Brock McDonald add a bit more shiny-flare to. "I did pester Brock a bit, continually calling to see what stuff he had for the new 610s, ticking some boxes and crossing others."

The final turnout suited Mick’s wishes of "make it shine, but not too much". He admits though that Brock did add a couple of real nice personalised pieces to the rear vents and door sills that "look just awesome!"

While all these glowing reviews make these prime movers sound like an infomercial for Paccar, the fact is Mick will call a spade a spade when he needs to.

"We’ve had a couple of small issues," he admits, "but all those have been fixed up by the boys at Brown and Hurley.

"At the end of the day it’s a Kenworth. They’re a well-built truck, and if there is an issue it’ll be fixed under warranty."

However, there was a word of warning when Mick had the final say on his new purchases. "These 610s won’t be the last!"

.

[Dirtymilkman]

Sharp! 

[Maxidyne]

Great job of designing a classic styled KW with the new cab!

[james j neiweem]

Looks nicer with the short hood. If they can stuff an x15 into that they should be able to stuff one in a Granite or Pinnacle (CH)

[Mackpro]

As far back as that motor is shoved , the driver could use the back half of the valve cover  as a cup holder and arm rest. Otherwise, not bad. 

Edited March 20, 2018 by Mackpro

[kscarbel2]

18 minutes ago, Mackpro said:

As far back as that motor is shoved , the driver could use the back half of the valve cover  as a cup holder and arm rest. Otherwise, not bad. 

https://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/48129-the-good-old-sar/?tab=comments#comment-356276