Fuso fuels clothing drive

A fleet of nine Fuso Canter 615s is at the heart of a lean and innovative donation collection model for not-for-profit charity, Diabetes Victoria.

The organisation arranges for the collection of clothing and small household items from Melbourne residents via its 1300 256 844 hotline, with the trucks then collecting the donations and distributing them to a warehouse in the city's northern suburbs or to stores owned by recycled goods specialist, Savers.

Savers staff sort through the donations, which are purchased from Diabetes Victoria, into goods for sale across its six retail Melbourne outlets, while those that don't quite make the grade are then exported to developing nations.

Clothing is also collected by Diabetes Victoria through a network of donation bins scattered across the city.

To handle the sizeable and complex collection task, Diabetes Victoria looks to its Fuso Canter 615 fleet, which it leases on a long-term plan through Hertz franchise operator, Australian Truck & 4WD Rentals Pty Ltd.

The current-model Fusos are fitted with Duonic dual-clutch automated manual transmissions and reversing cameras, to make light work of their demanding urban schedule.

Diabetes Victoria Chief Executive Officer, Craig Bennett, says the trucks take each busy day in their stride.

"Each truck does between 40 and 70 pick-ups per day, delivering to our Campbellfield warehouse or to the six Savers stores," he says.

Mr Bennett says the charity's relationship with Hertz also pays dividends.

"We have a great relationship with Hertz," he says.

"When a truck needs to be serviced, Hertz offers a temporary replacement truck to keep us going. As a charitable organisation, not having to buy trucks outright really suits the Diabetes Victoria business model."