Leading refuse collection company Solo Resources has announced it has renewed a long term partnership with truck maker Iveco which has recently delivered 50 new trucks to Solo, including a wide spread of models to handle various tasks in the wast industry.
The latest batch of new Iveco’s for Solo includes Acco, S-Way and Eurocargo models.
Iveco says that the diversity of the latest delivery is testament to its position as a vehicle supplier to vocational industries such as waste with each model filling the unique needs of several new contracts.
The latest order of new trucks for Solo are according to Iveco, predominantly factory-fitted dual control Acco 6×4 models that Solo has equipped with its side loading compactor bodies of various capacities.
There are also two S-Way 6×4 550 AS prime movers, which will haul hydraulic walking floor trailers on bulk haulage duties, while for commercial skip work, there is an S-Way 550 8×4 rigid hook lift truck , which tows a dog trailer.
As part of the latest order there are also two medium duty Eurocargo ML160 models , fitted with rear loading compactor bodies used to collect waste from congested areas due to their smaller dimensions , including foreshore and public spaces on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula, which are often busy with holiday goers.
Solo Resource’s national fleet manager, Mark Taylor, acknowledged the strong relationship between his company and Iveco, which has endured for decades.
“Solo Resources has been manufacturing refuse collection bodies from our Tweed Heads site since the late 1930s. We began building on the Acco platform when the model was first developed and we’ve manufactured on every generation of the truck since,” Taylor said.
“We work closely with Iveco when we design a new body and the engineering and field support they provide us is strong, it’s a close relationship,”he said.
Iveco says Solo’s new Accos are working on several different local government contracts in South Australia, New South Wales and Victoria, with a number of units to enter service in Western Australia in the future as well.
The company tells us that the trucks are all powered by Iveco’s Euro 6 (Step E) 310HP / 1300Nm engines and are mated to Allison 3200 fully automatic transmissions, which it says offers proven reliability in demanding start and stop driving applications such as waste collection.
Taylor said the Accos were a great choice for the application.
“As well as giving us the driveline we need, the Acco is very manoeuvrable and the newer trucks also offer good driver comfort and safety features; the latest models have certainly come a long way,” he said.
“As a body builder, we find the chassis to be ‘fit-for-purpose’, the balance is good, giving us the weight distribution we need to achieve maximum payloads, while the body and cab chassis integration is also straight forward making for an efficient body build process.”
The company also said that a further benefit of the Iveco heavy duty range is the availability of ‘Iveco On’ Telematics, which it says comes standard with a 12-month subscription. Iveco claims the technology allows owners and fleet managers to monitor a wide range of vehicle performance parameters and driving style.
Taylor said the Iveco On telematics complement Solo Resources’ own telematics system which has been developed especially for the waste industry.
“Iveco On is particularly useful for monitoring areas such as fuel use and other operating data covering scheduled maintenance reporting, alerts and diagnostics,” he said.
“It has broader driver monitoring capabilities as well, but given the start and stop nature of our work, there’s less need for us to use this.”
Solo Resources’ said that its most recent truck purchases cap off a busy 36 months for the company, with just over 200 new Iveco trucks join its ranks both as part of fleet renewal programs, and to service new contracts.
The majority of the trucks are serviced and maintained by Solo in-house at its various locations around the country.
