Iveco grows gardening specialist

WA-based garden materials specialist Soils Aint Soils says it's now reaping the benefits of an all-auto Iveco fleet

As a plethora of gardening and home improvement shows encourage home owners to attempt a range of DIY upgrades, Western Australian business Soils Aint Soils has capitalised on the flood of interest with its fleet of Iveco trucks.

The soil and garden materials specialist works from 10 sites around Perth and beyond, offering a wide range of bulk and bagged soils, mulches, manures, sand, gravel and more.

Soils Aint Soils Transport Manager Gavin Colpitts has been with the company for 25 years. Since purchasing his first Iveco in 2005 – a Stralis – he has steadily transitioned the fleet to what is now an all-Iveco affair.

He says the Iveco's automatic transmissions have proven popular with the firm's drivers and accounts executives alike.

"Over the year we've tried all the trucks – you name them, we'd had them," he says.

"At the time the boss wanted to update our fleet and we like the look of the Ivecos. In the previous trucks we were having a lot of trouble with drivers not being able to use the Roadranger transmissions properly and clutches were getting burnt out around town.

"With the mining boom in full swing a few years ago the more accomplished drivers had gone off to work in the mines and there was a lot less driving talent to choose from.

"The Iveco was one of the easiest trucks to drive with that auto shift – we now have seven Stralis models on fleet.

"The ZF transmissions work well, are easy to get parts for if needed, and they've proven to be robust units."

The Soils Aint Soils fleet ranges from 435hp tippers to a 560hp AS-L prime mover used largely for roadtrain tipper work. The smaller tippers are used to deliver to customers while the bigger trucks collect bulk material from up to 300 kilometres away.

"We've got trucks running as far south as Bunbury, Busselton and Manjimup, out to Toodyay in the east and Moora in the north to pick up rainbow stone," says Mr Colpitts.

He says fuel efficiency is another Iveco highlight, the figures ranging from 1.6 kilometres per litre for the road train, loaded to 80 tonnes and powered by Iveco's 13-litre Cursor engine, to as high as 2.2 kilometres per litre for the truck and pig combinations, loaded to 39 tonnes and powered by Iveco's 10-litre Cursor engine.

Mr Colpitts says the first batch of Iveco trucks racked up over 800,000 kilometres before they were replaced. The current fleet has amassed over 500,000 kilometres, with another two new Stralis AD models on the way.

"They're a good truck, they're comfortable and they do the job well," says Mr Colpitts.

Iveco grows gardening specialist

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