Fonterra spends $27m on 76 new milk tankers

Tuesday 3rd May 2011 1 Comment

Dairy giant Fonterra says it is spending $27 million on 76 new Volvo milk tankers to replace some of its 480 trucks that have come to the end of their economic life.

Fonterra national transport and logistics manager Barry McColl said the key change in the nation's biggest truck fleet was the purchase of the Volvo trucks which will start arriving in the country later this month.

"The Volvo trucks are more efficient and have lower running costs," he said. "They've also got sophisticated stability and braking systems, making them safer on the road."

The replacement trucks have electronic braking systems (EBS) and electronic stability control (ESC), and will lift to 86% the proportion of the fleet using technologies to balance the braking between the truck and the trailer and making it easier to handle on the road.

The Volvo trucks also had sophisticated emission control systems and put out 35% fewer emissions than the vehicles they were replacing, he said.

"The Volvos use 30% less diesel and this upgrade means we will be reducing our fuel consumption by around 2 million litres next season," McColl said.

Another 13 tankers that had travelled big distances - some more than 1 million km - but were reliable would be refurbished to extend their lives by over two years.

At this season's peak milkflows, on October 27, Fonterra's tankers travelled 355,670km during the day to transport 76.8m litres of milk.

NZPA

Comments from our readers

On 3 May 2011 at 10:28 am Jack said:

This is a pretty routine purchase for Fonterra, as they renew some of their Truck Units every year, but they would be silly not to utilize the lower fuel consumption and emmissions, and take advantage of the extra safety features.