Martin’s Milestone .

In 2008, Hunter Valley road transport legend Gordon Martin celebrated both his 70th birthday and his company’s 50 years in road transport. That in itself is no mean feat, but this year the Martin Group, his Scone, NSW based livestock and bulk haulage company, celebrated another major milestone when Gordon accepted the keys to his 200th Kenworth.

The world has changed since Gordon Martin started out in the road transport industry. For one thing, his single truck operation has grown to become the pre-eminent livestock and bulk haulage fleet in the Hunter Valley, NSW region.
Today the Martin Group operates two main divisions; Gordon Martin Bulk Transport with 26 trucks in single tipper, B Double and Quad Dog configurations, and Martins Stock Haulage with 44 livestock trucks including two-deck, four-deck B Doubles and roadtrains.

Martin Group trucks operate throughout eastern Australia from Melbourne to central Queensland, with several depots in NSW and Queensland.
Gordon puts the growth and longevity of the Martin Group down to the company’s focus on meeting customer needs, its commitment to safe and efficient transport and ... Kenworth trucks.

“The difference between that AA182 Inter I started out with and this T908 is dramatic,” Gordon Martin said of the company’s impressive 200th Kenworth. “I suppose though that the simple equation is that if they built trucks like the T908 back then I wouldn’t have ever owned any other truck.”

PACCAR Australia Managing Director Joe Rizzo, congratulated Gordon at the hand-over ceremony, held recently at Kenworth’s Bayswater plant.

“Gordon’s leadership within the trucking industry has helped improve working conditions, operating safety and introduce productivity benefits for road transport,” Mr. Rizzo added. “In particular, Gordon worked hard to gain a wider acceptance for B Double and road train trailer combinations in NSW.”

Highlighting his commitment to the road transport industry, Mr. Rizzo pointed to the Martin Group’s ongoing support for higher safety and operating standards for the livestock hauliers, and thanked him for the many years of loyalty he has shown to the Kenworth brand.

As it was, Gordon was quick to take advantage of Kenworth’s custom engineered trucks when they became available and, in the late ‘60s, was operating imported K125 cab-over and W124 bonneted Kenworths. This early association with Kenworth was sealed with the change to locally engineered and manufactured trucks in the early 70s.

Combining Kenworth’s Australian engineering and rugged reliability with the T908’s high horsepower capability and improved cooling capacity, makes Martins’ 200th Kenworth a perfect fit for Gordon’s hard working operation.
“We’re around 98 per cent Kenworth,” Gordon Martin said of the company’s fleet mix. “On either livestock or bulk haulage, Kenworth trucks are well suited for our work.
“As well, what Kenworth and its dealers do for us cannot be matched. They respect their customers and go out of their way to understand our requirements.
“That’s what we attempt to do in our business and we appreciate a supplier that has the same standards.”

Gordon says the Kenworth’s cheaper maintenance and operating costs help his company save a great deal over the life of the vehicle.
Martins’ 200th Kenworth was supplied by Gilbert & Roach Newcastle, and it will be put to work pulling a livestock B Double out of central NSW to southern Queensland.
“The T908s have been going very well for us,” Gordon added. “They’re built to handle our toughest conditions, they’re reliable, strong, provide a better ride than other prime movers and they’re lighter, which is important when you’re loading livestock.

“What can I say, the drivers are happy and that’s the main part of the story right there.”
Kenworth’s iconic, big-bonneted T908 represents a generational change for Australian prime movers. Built to meet the unique demands of Australian road transport, the T908 is engineered to deliver superior performance, larger payloads and improved operator comfort on demanding, high rotation long hauls.

Kenworth’s T908 sets new benchmarks in Australia’s extreme road transport environment. In particular, the T908 has been specifically engineered to consistently perform in higher ambient temperatures, over longer distances, on our poorly formed rural roads while hauling our heavier payloads.

It’s these attributes that make the Kenworth T908 the first choice for B Double and road train applications, and ideally suited to the varying operating conditions encountered by the Martin Group.

A Cummins 15-litre ISX engine rated at 600 hp and producing 1850 lb/ft of torque powers Martins’ 200th Kenworth T908. The well-proven Eaton 2000 Series 18-speed Fuller RTLO20918B transmission gets the power back to the Arvin-Meritor 46-160 tandem axles on a heavy-duty Kenworth Air-Glide 460 suspension.

The T908s ergonomic cab design and the Martin’s 200th Kenworth’s integrated 36-inch Aerodyne sleeper combines a driver-friendly environment with premium over-the-road accommodation. Viesa evaporative air conditioner units keep Martin’s truck operators cool when they’re resting in the sleeper.
 
In addition, Martin’s Kenworths have a number of extras fitted for improved performance. These include automatic greasing systems, and the Cummins Centinel Check oil management system and Cummins Road Relay’s real time engine diagnostics to help extend scheduled maintenance intervals.

The T908’s Arvin-Meritor RPL Permalube high-capacity permanently lubricated driveline also helps reduce maintenance costs and workshop time.

The Kenworth T908 is available with a choice of proven Cummins ISX or Signature EGR engines in a variety of horsepower and torque configurations. Combined with a wide choice of premium driveline and suspension options means that the T908 can be ideally specified for a variety of on and off highway applications.

Kenworth trucks are designed and manufactured in Australia to meet the world’s toughest applications. Kenworth, a division of PACCAR Australia, is market leader in heavy duty trucks in Australia. Its trucks are also exported to Papua New Guinea and New Zealand. PACCAR Inc, a Six Sigma company, is a worldwide manufacturer of heavy and medium duty trucks under the Kenworth, Peterbilt and DAF nameplates. It also provides financial services and distributes truck parts related to its principal business.
RELEASE ENDS

For further information:
Neil Willox
Marketing Manager
PACCAR Australia
Tel: (03) 9721 1500
neil.willox@paccar.com