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UD Keeps Costs Cool for Freezex

10th February 2012

For Sydney family owned company Freezex, the recent acquisition of a UD GK 400 has proved a revelation for the refrigerated transport specialists, with the 4x2 configuration contributing strongly to the outfit's bottom line.

 
Focussing on the delivery of perishable food stuffs, Freezex operates a 20 truck fleet from its Marsden Park temperature controlled warehouse, delivering over 500 pallets of products to over 80 venues daily, with the assistance of subcontractors and an affiliate network.


For Ben Howard-Bath, the move to the semi-automated 4x2 truck is a trial of the configuration, but all factors point to it being the future of the business.


"Comfort, cost and manoeuvrability are the big things for us," Ben said.


"One of the advantages of the truck I've found from a buyers point of view is cost; lower rego costs when compared to a bogey drive prime mover, and also less on replacement tyres, which are between five and six hundred dollars each on the drive axle. With a single drive there are four less tyres to replace.


"Also the manoeuvrability of that truck is great, you can get into really tight driveways, it basically spins on a dime. This first truck has been a trial for our business, and it's really paid off. Being a single drive, we were worried about the weight, but with the power available, it has never been an issue."


With Ben and his brother Luke managing the business, their hands on approach saw Ben get behind the wheel of the UD for its test period. According to Ben, one of the stand-out features of the prime mover is the nine speed semi-automatic transmission, which results in lower driver fatigue and maintenance.


"The creature comforts are great; I love the automatic because we will be putting wage earners in it," Ben said.


"We've had drivers in the past wreck gearboxes that they can't drive now I wouldn't look at any other type of gearbox. It also broadens the field when we are looking to put on new drivers.


"We cart dairy products over to the northern beaches, and there are quite a few hills on the way. So instead of having to go through nine gears, as well as pushing the clutch in at every change, it makes a massive difference with the comfort of your day. I'm the biggest fan of this truck, especially coming from the last truck I was in, I was double clutching. At the end of the day you're tired, really tired. And it's easy on the gear, you're not missing gears at all, it's beautiful."


While this particular UD Truck is the first new vehicle from the company to join the Freezex fleet, the move to newer equipment for the business only commenced four years ago, with the rewards flowing ever since.


"We moved away from running old gear and big repair bills, for much newer stuff it transformed our business," Ben said."Now we don't have mechanical breakdowns and down time. We do have the added expense of not owning the gear by having the hire lease cost, but we do have improved customer satisfaction. We now have the technology to back ourselves up. We now have GPS and temperature monitoring. It's slowly evolved, and even when buying this truck new, we had a look at second hand, but it's new gear all the way, and it does pay off in the end."


Another dimension brought into play with the new UD GK 400 is the truck's SCR emission control system, which requires the addition of AdBlue fluid. Although this has taken some getting use to, Ben explains that Freezex plans to utilise its new found green credentials to its marketing advantage.


"I saw another company put on their trucks, We're doing our bit for a greener environment', I want to do something similar and put it on our website as well," Ben said.


"It won't necessarily translate to sales, but it gives the customer piece of mind that we are moving in the right direction. A lot of the multinational companies we work for, being green ticks a few boxes for them when we go to tender."


The Freezex UD GK 400 is currently mated to a 16 pallet trailer, which features its own stand alone refrigeration unit and fuel tank. Having a quality, reliable trailer is imperative for transporting perishable foods, with plenty of second hand units currently available offering exceptional value for money.


"At the moment the market is flooded with really good gear at really good prices," Ben said.


"We paid $70,000 for that trailer second hand, but for a new trailer you are looking at $170,000. There's not much to trailers; there's a handful of really good brands out there, you stick to them and you're ok. We predominantly use Thermo King fridge units. There are two main players, Thermo King and Carrier, we've got some good contacts at Thermo King, so that's who we've gone with."


One of the main tasks that Freezex carries out is cross-docking, whereby B-Doubles offload stock at the warehouse, which is then unpacked, repacked, and redistributed for clients including Linfox, Fonterra Brands, Heinz, Norco and Riverina Fresh.


"We service all of the major chains; we do Woolworths, Coles, IGA, Franklins and Aldi. They have major distribution centres, and then we also do some store deliveries," Ben said.

 

"Being close to the M7 (Motorway in Western Sydney) has been really good, and having our own depot has transformed the business. Three things took us from being a backyard business to where we are now; renewing the fleet, getting away from being a third party transport provider, and running our own warehouse. It's been a massive learning curve, but it's been worth it."