Fulton Hogan adds two new IVECOs

As one of Australia’s leading civil construction companies, Fulton Hogan is at the forefront of transport infrastructure in Australia, including development and maintenance of our road networks.

Recently, the company’s Southern Region Plant Manager, Ron Kenely, has chosen IVECO trucks also to fill specific functions, most recently through the purchase of a Daily 4x4 cab chassis and a Stralis AD 6x4. These trucks join a further five Stralis models in the local fleet.

The Daily 4x4 which is fitted with a service-style body, is involved in road barrier maintenance in the Gippsland region of South Eastern Victoria, and was selected due to the superior off-road performance provided by its triple differential locks and ultra-low gearing.

“The Gippsland area can get very wet and the truck will often need to work on road shoulders and run-off areas, so off-road performance was very important in the selection of this vehicle,” Ron said.

“The cabin was also very nice, feeling more like that of a passenger car than a truck, and being a conventional cab design, it drives much nicer than a cab over.”

The new Stralis is equipped with a 16m³ Streumaster spreading body, that dispenses binding agents to the ground in as part of the stabilisation process.

Power comes courtesy of a Cursor 13 Engine producing 450hp and 2200Nm of torque, which is fed to the rear axles via a 16-speed Eurotronic II Automated Manual Transmission.

Ron said that the company was enjoying strong performance from its Stralis models which also included several tippers, water tankers and tray-bodied rigids.

“The drivers give them the thumbs-up,” he said.

“They’re fit-for-purpose and suit the application well. They have the right mix of power and performance and are also comfortable and easy to drive – we’ve had them on fleet now for several years and they’ve been impressive.”

While the trucks don’t cover huge kilometres, Ron said that the nature of road building and maintenance meant that working conditions were challenging more often than not.
“In this sort of work there’s a lot of start and stop driving, this can be quite taxing on the equipment,” he said.

“Also, the geographic regions in which the trucks operate are demanding. There’s a lot of undulating terrain and the trucks have to work hard and are generally fully laden.”

To ensure continued performance of the vehicles, Fulton Hogan has them serviced at IVECO Dealers or authorised service outlets, where he said they receive excellent service.

“Dealing with IVECO and our selling Dealer Adtrans is easy and hassle free, they are extremely helpful and really assist us specifying trucks that very closely meet the requirements of the application,” Ron said.