The latest Mack truck delivered to a southeast Queensland quarry business represents its 500th.
Karreman Quarries, based at Mount Cotton, has been running Mack Trucks bearing its name since 1974.
For its 500th truck, the company has received a gold 100 year Mack Trident which will carry road base for projects across southeast Queensland.
Mack commercial vehicles have been an integral part of Dick Karreman’s business since it was sand mining on North Stradbroke Island.
In partnership with his brother Maarten, Dick Karreman has leased equipment, transported produce and mined sand for nearly five decades.
The brothers started operating out of the Mount Cotton, where it is currently headquartered, back in 1976.
Local innovation and manufacturing has helped to influence the mobile asset purchases over the years.
“Fundamentally, the fact that they are built here Australia is part and parcel of our decision to buy Mack,” said Karreman.
“We build new crushing plants and we build them ourselves. We source the steel here. We source the engineering here. Those basic principles, that support our own, the fact that it can be built in Queensland — that’s fundamentally the Mack story and our relationship with the brand,” he said.
Mack Trucks have been great servants to Karreman Quarries and the Managing Director likes to think the partnership goes both ways.
The Trident truck and dog combination has been a mainstay of the Karreman fleet for many years, however, PBS has only added to the efficiencies of the business both in terms of fuel and productivity.
“Everything we run is PBS, we’re getting 57.5 tonnes gross, and we are getting 40 tonne payloads,” said Karreman. “That’s unheard of when you compare it to a B-double and other combinations. That’s the best payload you are going to get out of a vehicle,” he said.
“PBS is the best way to go economically, for value and productivity.”
The business has also just added three Volvo L260H wheel loaders to the fleet.
He cites improvements in the vision, balance and fuel economy with consumption of fuel plummeting from 60 litres an hour to 16 litres an hour when compared to previous loaders from a competitor brand.
The Hercules dog trailer behind the 100 year commemorative Trident also pays tribute to Dick’s brother,
Maarten who recently passed away.
“This truck is a serious milestone for me personally,” said Karreman. “We never set out to go buy 500 Macks. I’m surprised I’ve lived long enough to see it!”
Dick Karreman recalls a conversation he had with a pioneering Mack operator as a young bloke in Western Queensland.
“There was a guy called Des Stevenson who owned Cubbie Station, and he used to run doubles with fresh produce to Darwin,” he said.
“Des said to me, what’s your dream? What’s your goal? And I replied that I want one of those B61 Macks one day.”
Some 30 years later Karreman is invited to lunch with Stevenson. The two hadn’t seen each other in well over 25 years.
“By the time we got to dessert he asked, did you ever get to own that Mack son?”
Karreman responded: “Yeah, we got a few. We’ve got about 40 of them.”
By this time the company was running R models.
The Karreman fleet now numbers 100 trucks on the road as the family business continues to forge ahead with a new generation stepping in to take the helm.
“I never dreamt I’d see it,” Karreman said.