Adelaide Liquid Waste Solutions expands Isuzu fleet

The waste industry is one that never sleeps, and there’s no telling when a waste or sewerage issue will occur at the most frustrating of times.

Experienced owners Ben Harris and Suzanne Magro know just how tricky the waste industry can be and with this in mind have rotational teams working around the clock. When an issue does arise, regardless of the hour, their team are on standby and ready to respond immediately.

“With our busy schedule we now have one dedicated driver for each truck, and an extra driver which covers holidays and personal leave or if two drivers are needed on a job,” said Co-Director of Adelaide Liquid Waste Solutions, Suzanne Magro.

“Having the right number of staff is so important as night shift jobs can’t get neglected, so we like to have that coverage.

“We don’t want to say ‘no’ to our customers when they need us,” Suzanne added.

Such is the specialised nature of the trucks and their application that when Ben and Suzanne acquire a new unit, it can take months before the right balance is found and the vehicle has a regular and steady routine.

However, there was much anticipation in the lead-up to the collection of the fleet’s star vacuum truck, the new Isuzu twin-steer FYH 300-350, which has found itself on the job every day since they picked it up.

“The new FYH has the capacity for a 16,000-litre tank, which at this stage makes it the truck with the biggest tank in our fleet for collecting liquid waste anywhere in Adelaide,” said Suzanne.

“The reason we went for that size truck is we do a lot of bulk sewer vacuum tanking from sites such as building developments that haven’t yet connected to the sewer mains.”

With some of Ben and Suzanne’s clients relying on Adelaide Liquid Waste Solutions seven days a week, the fleet must be reliable and robust, with drivers standing by for emergency callouts.

With a Gross Vehicle Mass (GVM) of 30,000kg and Gross Combined Mass (GCM) of 45,000kg, Isuzu’s FYH 300-350 cab chassis was perfectly suited for their largest vacuum tank build to date.

The FYH 300-350 is powered by Isuzu’s 6UZ1-TCC power plant, with 350hp and 1422Nm of torque at 1400rpm, providing plenty of grunt when under full load.

The FYH twin steer configuration helps with load distribution over the axles, increasing productivity and overall efficiency under load, not to mention improved control navigating tight and often unsealed worksites.

Under the skin is the hugely popular six-speed Allison 4430 automatic transmission with power take-off mode (PTO) and sixth-generation electronic controls, making life on Adelaide’s busy highways and byways a little easier for Suzanne’s team of drivers.

Speaking of their service and maintenance approach, Co-Owner Ben Harris confirmed that the efficiency and reliability of the fleet was a critical ingredient to business success.

“We get the trucks serviced regularly, so they’re always very well maintained and presented,” Ben said.

“North East Isuzu are only 20 minutes away, so if we need something, we can just go down and grab it. The staff are really good at what they do, and the sales team have been amazing and have made the process seamless,” Ben continued.

“Our focus on regular servicing means our fleet have very little downtime and can be on the road to support our customers. North East Isuzu will even do servicing on a Friday night, and I’ll be there to pick it up on the Saturday for another day on the road.

When asked what made Adelaide Liquid Waste Solutions stand apart from others in the local industry, it was the presentation of the fleet that Ben identified as a key focus.

“Blade Engineering does our body building, and we worked with Synergy Signs here in Adelaide to design our truck wraps,” he said.

“The colour and the branding of our trucks are intentionally eye-catching; people are always commenting on how they see our trucks everywhere. Rocco Leonello at North East Paint and Panel paints all our Isuzu trucks, and the finish product is exceptional,” said Suzanne.

“We have seven full time drivers, and the staff really take pride in their Isuzu trucks. They all wash their trucks on a Friday afternoon,” she continued.

“We’ll combine that with a barbecue and have a meal together. It’s important to us to have the team get along well,” said Suzanne.

“We might be pumping waste, but we all enjoy what we do here. Our staff love their Isuzu trucks, and the Isuzu reliability matches the reliability we offer our customers.

“That’s why we’ve stuck with Isuzu,” Ben concluded.