Demolition team cleans up with Actros

Headed up by Tye Ruddy and his wife Melony, TCDE Asbestos and Demolition (TCDE) is a family business operating out of Murwillumbah, in northern New South Wales. The company operates a fleet of modern trucks with the latest safety features and lowest possible emission ratings sourced through local dealership, Daimler Trucks Murwillumbah.

The Actros 2653 comes standard with a full suite of advanced active safety features and since 2016, its engines have met the stringent Euro 6 standard, which is still not standard for some key rivals.

Mr Ruddy said buying new trucks, with the cleanest engines available, is a key part of TCDE’s purchasing decisions.

“Our motto is minimising our impact on the environment. We're doing all that we can on site and recycling absolutely everything we can, so operating the most efficient trucks with the cleanest engines is important,” Mr Ruddy said.

“Driving banged-up old gear that leaks and pumps out lots of pollution is not a good look, especially when environmental impacts are at the core of the work,” he said.

TCDE didn’t always have the latest and greatest gear. It started off with a single second-hand Toyota Dyna and often bought used trucks until the team decided to purchase some new Fuso Canters from Daimler Trucks Murwillumbah. Then came a new Freightliner CST and a Coronado, a Fuso Shogun and finally, the new Actros 2653. TCDE also switched to all-new site equipment.

Mr Ruddy explained that a new job was the catalyst to opt for new trucks and gear. “We had an old truck that would breakdown and it was really hurting us. We had always been told that buying new was a waste of money, but we backed ourselves in and decided to go with new gear and we haven’t looked back,” he says.

“We wanted to do some of the bigger projects, including government, and you can’t just call in and tell them you won’t be able to make it because your truck broke down again,” he added.

The Actros is towing a semi-tipper trailer most of the time, taking demolition materials from various sites. It also gets hooked up to a low-loader trailer so it can move excavators and other equipment. The big Mercedes-Benz is well equipped to handle any load thanks to its 13-litre engine with 530hp and the 12-speed AMT makes the drive even easier.

“We couldn’t be happier with the Actros, it’s such an easy truck to driveand the fuel economy is really great” Mr Ruddy said.

“We aren’t running line-haul here but we still use fuel, so it still counts,” he added.

Mercedes-Benz Trucks provides product training for all new Actros customers and TCDE drivers appreciated being shown how to get the most out of the most advanced truck in the fleet.

The instructor also went through all the benefits of the various safety systems.

Mr Ruddy said safety is critical in the field TCDE operates in. “Safety is key and integral to our business and we need our equipment to have best-in-class safety features whether it be an excavator or a truck,” he says.

The whole TCDE fleet is hard at work as Murwillumbah and the Northern Rivers recover from a devastating flood in 2022 that has resulted in many buildings needing to be rebuilt.

The flood, the second to inundate the region in the past few years, nearly wiped out all of the TCDE trucks and the team was only just able to evacuate most of it before its yard was overwhelmed by flood waters.

Having narrowly managed to save most of its gear, the TCDE team were then able start work straight away on the massive amount of recovery work that followed.

“We know how devastating the floods have been to so many people in the region. There are still people in caravans waiting for their houses to be fixed or replaced, which is terrible so long afterwards,” Mr Ruddy said.