“The Trident met our PBS requirements exactly.”

SRH Milk Haulage cart 1.5 million litres of milk from farm to factory 365 days of the year. Managing Director Scott Harvey tells us how it’s done.

It’s almost impossible to travel any serious distance on the Pacific Highway in New South Wales without passing an SRH truck, and they are always immaculately clean. With a fleet of 34 trucks in the east, and a further eleven in Western Australia, SRH have got the milk transport business sewn up.

“We deliver for eight different food and beverage companies, including people like Norco, Lion and Murray Goulburn,” says Scott Harvey, “and I can tell you, the dairy cows never let up. We’re out there every day, including Chris^tmas, picking up from the farms right up and down NSW, and in the west from Bunbury down to Albany.”

The cows never let up?

It’s a non-stop business, with trucks averaging 1,000 kilometres a day and often doing double-shifts with drivers operating as a tag-team.

“Our trucks do about 900,000 to a million kilometres in three years,” says Scott, “then we trade them in. Along the way we keep them in top condition. I love a clean truck and I love my shining silver tankers.”

When opportunity knocks…

Until recently, Scott’s fleet has been mostly Volvos, but he was drawn to the Trident when an opportunity came up to develop a special 20-metre tanker that can carry 50 tonnes, yet still has general access anywhere. Developed under the Performance Based Standards (PBS) scheme, the tanker required a particular type of prime mover.

“We needed a truck with a wide axle base to handle the extra load,” says Scott, “and the Mack Trident in the Axle Forward configuration fit the bill perfectly.”

And a Super-Liner too

Not content with the Trident, SRH are also buying a Mack Super-Liner which will be in service in Western Australia hauling twin-tanker road trains.

“They’re taking these big trucks right onto the farms,” says Scott, “so there’s some challenging driving involved, but I expect the Super-Liner will hold its own against the Volvos with no trouble, and the Trident is proving very profitable because it’s hauling a bigger load.”

All under one roof

As SRH were already engaged with the group through their Volvo purchases, buying a Mack came naturally to Scott.

“We’ve had other pands as well, but when it came to this particular truck we decided to stay in the Volvo-Mack camp, because they’re the only manufacturer who can deliver on all of our needs. They cover the whole range and we’re very happy with the level of service they provide.”

Trucks for a specific application

Scott’s application for the Trident is a perfect example of what Mack excels at: building trucks for a specific business application.

“The Trident met our requirements under the PBS exactly,” says Scott, “and to be able to do that without having to go to another manufacturer is a bonus for us. We get to keep it all under one roof, and that makes life easier. This business is complex enough.”