Not many manufacturers, more so family-owned Australian businesses, can say that they’ve built 50,000 pieces of equipment. But Vawdrey can.
Vawdrey has been a pioneer in the Australian transport industry for more than half a century, and its 50,000th build is a testament to that. But it’s also a nod to one of the country’s biggest transport, warehousing and logistics solutions providers, and the one which took possession of the milestone unit, Total Logistic Solutions (TLS).
TLS was established in 1997 as a transport business with a strong focus on customer satisfaction. The company has seen tremendous growth in the years that have followed and it is now one of Australia’s largest independently owned logistics organisations.
TLS has been a regular customer of Vawdrey for many years. The fleet has now collected over 200 Vawdrey units which include 110 B-double Titeliners – 18 of which are Performance-Based Standards (PBS) Super B-doubles – and nine PBS A-double skels. For TLS, each trailer delivery has been a thread of the tapestry of what is now a very tight-knit bond with Vawdrey.
TLS’s possession of Vawdrey’s 50,000th commemorative trailer came to perfect timing. When TLS CEO, Jason McHenry, put an order in for two new PBS Super B-double drop deck combinations earlier this year, he wasn’t expecting to receive a phone call from Paul Vawdrey who would tell him that he would be getting Vawdrey’s 50,000th build.
“We bought two of the same sets and the second one ended up being the 50,000th unit,” he explains. “Just after I put the order in, I got a call from Paul Vawdrey. He said, ‘Jason, just letting you know that this happens to be our 50,000th build. Congratulations.’
“In that conversation, I told Paul that I wanted the trailers to be a dual livery set. I thought the 50,000th build was a really big deal for Vawdrey as well as us, so the agreement was made to dual brand those trailers so that we could mark the milestone together.”
The Super B-double combination accommodating the 50,000th unit is a Level 2B 42-pallet double drop deck Titeliner with a quad-axle configuration. It boasts a Gross Combination Mass (GCM) of 77.5 tonnes and a payload in excess of 43 tonnes.
In its operations, the 50,000th milestone combination is met with its sister Super B-double on the eastern seaboard. Together, they travel through a direct linehaul corridor from Melbourne to Sydney and Sydney to Brisbane, carrying general freight for some of TLS’s largest retail customers.
“These trailers assist us with carrying heavier weights,” Jason explains. “We’re looking to increase our weight distribution and capacity and the Super B-double with quad axles is the new format that we’re building our trailers in.”
This configuration is an upside for TLS in terms of payloads and productivity. And the two new Super B-doubles have already proven that with significant gains in their linehaul division.
“We get one extra B-double movement with every three Super B-double loads,” Jason says. “So, where we normally run four movements, we only need three. This has increased our productivity, and because we are loading less trucks, it has also reduced traffic onsite.”
The 50,000th Super B-double is the 16th combination of its kind at TLS. The deployment of these units, in addition to providing higher payloads, is also aimed at increased sustainability.
“The Super B-double is a really good solution for us because it feeds into our green goal of reducing emissions,” Jason says. “For us, the higher capacity means less trucks on the road. By utilising Super B-doubles, we can also help our customers reduce their own carbon footprints.”
The two new Super B-double combinations are already showing positive signs in respect to these initiatives. Coupled to Scania Euro 6 prime movers, their fuel efficiency figures of 2.3-2.5km/l are on par with the fleet’s standard 34-pallet B-doubles.
“The Super B-doubles aren’t causing any extra drag on our prime movers at all,” Jason says. “They’re really good on the road. They tow fantastically, even though they’re taller and a bit longer, and the steerable axles really help with cornering as well.”
TLS has gained access to many benefits by partnering with Vawdrey for 20 years. Reduced downtime has been a major one and is the result of the way Vawdrey’s trailers are designed and built.
“We really can rely on these trailers,” Jason says. Being a Vawdrey-built trailer, the quality is really good. They’re very durable and we find very little downtime because of that.
“From a maintenance point of view, we can schedule services in and know that we’re going to get to those intervals before we have any issues. They’re great equipment and they’re fit for purpose.”
For TLS, the operational advantages of closely collaborating with Vawdrey have been aplenty. But Jason says receiving the 50,000th build has been one of the fleet’s biggest honours over the last two decades.
“We’ve been partners with Vawdrey for well over 20 years now, so having their 50,000th build is a really big deal for us,” he says. “We congratulate Vawdrey on what they have achieved. We’re very proud to be affiliated with them and they can rely on us to be a long-term partner.”
