Boral Logistics recently invested in a new AZMEB Door Side Tipper road train combination for distributing its quarry products throughout the Western Queensland region of Australia, according to trailer manufacturer MaxiTRANS.
The AZMEB road train combination is the first of several new trailers MaxiTRANS expects to deliver to Boral as the company updates is older fleet of side tippers. This first unit will assist in long-distance delivery of quarry material from Boral’s Wellcamp Quarry, one of 70 quarries the company operates in Australia.
Wade Clark, operations manager of Boral Logistics Queensland, said Boral’s road train combinations are an important part of its transport logistics operation.
“Our current road train fleet is entirely AZMEB and for the amount of investment in a combination like this, it is very important we invest in a known product, so for us we stuck with the brand we knew and trusted,” Clark said.
“The existing fleet of AZMEB trailers are in the order of 25 years old. We know they are reliable, we know that the product works. It comes with longevity, so we wanted to reinvest in a product that we knew worked extremely well for Boral’s needs.”
According to Wade, longevity, safety, fit for purpose and interchangeability were the driving design criteria for Boral.
“We can move the two B-trailers from front to back,” Wade maintained. “The A-trailer has a sliding turntable that allows us to conform to our bridge formulas and axle measurements. This is so we can load full mass, whether as an AB-triple or as a B-double. Even as a single, we conform to load and mass requirements.”
The Toowoomba region is open to Type 1 road trains, meaning the AZMEB combination can be loaded and run west directly out of the quarry without any requirement to split the combination up.
AZMEB Door Side Tippers are built in one piece from a 450 grade wear plate, which increases the strength and eliminates the need for cross members, MaxiTRANS claimed. Unique to the design, AZMEB Door Side Tippers distribute the load quickly and evenly with a single double-acting hydraulic cylinder at each end of the bowl.
“A lot of our road base jobs are on the main highways west of Toowoomba,” Wade said. “The big benefit we can offer customers is that power lines don’t phase this combination and we are not limited by un-level ground. We can basically pull up on the side of the highway and tip straight off the edge of the road. Also by running out the material in an even flow it reduces the work time required for customer grader drivers.”
Telescopic ladders are fitted for the driver to use when hooking up or changing trailers, increasing safety, and the addition of handrails provides three points of contact all the way through the climbing process.
The drawbar of the tri-axle dolly is painted in high-visibility yellow as another safety measure for all road users. Non-slip surfaces are used on walkways wherever the driver has to work on the trailers.
“The team at MaxiTRANS was terrific,” Wade concluded. “They listened and worked with us to deliver to our requirements.”