Construction materials carrier, John West Logistics, has unveiled its latest commercial vehicle purchase, a new Mack Trident.
It's the first Trident purchased by the company, which normally buys Mack Granites.
John West Logistics moves steel, concrete and glass operating a fleet of more than 250 trucks across Australia and New Zealand.
It now employs 420 staff, a major accomplishment for the eponymous owner, who started out unpacking containers for Brisbane Carrying Company when he was 18.
“We operate in the high skills end of the market. We don’t do simple stuff,” said West.
“We carry all sorts of products that is hard to secure and requires highly skilled operators,” he said.
“Half of our fleet is fitted with truck mounted cranes, it can be a very high risk environment, if the operators are not skilled and competent at their role.”
Despite this the company, which manages a successful induction program undertaken by all employees, has a low incident rate in terms of injuriees and accidents.
The new Mack Trident is fitted with the Bendix Wingman Fusion system, providing an active safety package with features such as blind spot alert, autonomous braking and roll stability.
The driveline consists of a 13 litre 535hp MP8 engine and a 12-speed mDrive transmission.
“This is our first Mack with the full safety package and I’m all for it, our company motto is think safe be safe, this truck aligns to where our thinking is,” said West.
While the green and gold Australian made livery makes the truck stand out, he also cites the Trident’s locally built credentials as an important part of the buying decision.
“Australian made is important to me and being a true Aussie born on Australia day, I thought I’d like to see a truck in Aussie colours with our company name and logo on it,” he said.
The day cab prime mover will be put into service in South East Queensland undertaking a variety of freight tasks.
JWL incorporates safety and compliance into all aspects of its business with a big emphasis on training.
The company maintains its own in-house driver apprenticeship program that takes applicants through basic key elements of transport with participants finishing the course with both a job and a medium rigid truck licence.
“We put a lot of effort into training our staff before they are allowed to go solo and we are very proud of our safety record, even if we’ve had a couple of speed bumps over the years,” said West.
“We are fortunate to have so many very loyal people in the NZ and Aussie operations and as a result, a great employee retention rate.”