IVECO Stralis bears fruit for Qld producer

The recent addition of an IVECO Stralis ATi is smoothing the road for Queensland pineapple grower, Accorsini Farms.

Accorsini's part-owner, Rod Accorsini, said the new truck – with its high level of cabin comfort and automated manual transmission – is making life easier when transporting its fresh produce an hour south to Townsville, before it's transported to all the major state capitals.

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The Stralis makes the trip several times a week during the pineapple season, from October to early January, and it's driven regularly by Rod's father, who purchased the 200-hectare property back in 1964.

Today the farm, which is owned by Rod and his brother, Tony, has plantings of around 1.2 million pineapples each year.

"Dad's 81 now, our other regular driver is my uncle who's 76, and my brother Tony has recently had two knee replacements," Rod said.

"The Stralis has a 12-speed automated manual transmission and they sure love not having to change gears!"

The IVECO Stralis also spends considerable time being loaded in-field with a combination of pineapples and complement crops including watermelons and pumpkins, later taking these to a co-op packing shed around 15 minutes away for local distribution.

With its eight-pallet tray body and hauling a single-axle, 10-pallet tag-along trailer, the truck normally operates at a little over 16 tonnes, which Rod said the 460hp/2100Nm Stralis takes in its stride.

"It's got more than enough power and handles the loads with ease," he said.

"We probably didn't need that much power but we also figured that if the Stralis could accommodate that sort of output it would be put together right and would last us a long time."

Having now successfully completed its first harvest, Rod is pleased at how the truck has performed in typically challenging north Queensland conditions.

"Some of the roads on the farm are bumpy and in a pretty ordinary state but the Stralis has handled everything we've thrown at it," he said.

"We opted for cross locks on both rear axles and this has certainly helped us in the muddy conditions as well.

Rod also cited the truck's air-conditioning and smooth-riding airbag suspension as highlights for the model.

"I like everything about the truck: the comfort, power, the ease of use – and it's also very economical to run," he said.