Mack simum

loyalty
By Bryce Baird

When Macks current line of trucks first poked their snouts out the kennel, those that had a soft spot for the brand gave a sigh of relief. Mack was back. The French influence had been culled out of the breed, and now Macks Trident looks as staunch as. However, an automated transmission, AdBlue tank and other features show that Macks pooches havent been killing time by sleeping on the porch...

he word loyal has never been quite the same since the ocean yacht racing crowd hogtied it to their advertising campaign during the glory days of the Americas Cup. However, down in the lower half of the South Island it still means something other than the contrived manipulation the word has been degraded to. Down south loyalty is earned, not created during a brain-storming session in an ad agency. In the lower half of the South Island there are plenty of companies that are either brand heavy or brand absolute, thanks to loyalty. Those salesmen that had the energy to throw on a thick coat, chuck the snow-chains in the boot of the HQ Holden and head south to cold-call and hardsell products that were at the time unknown, found fertile ground in the south, where once a product proved itself, and they got to trust the salesman, loyalty was an unspoken part of the deal. Mack was one of those unknown brands once upon a time believe it or not. Apart from the recollections of war veterans whod seen the Yanks use them in military applications around

The small number of Macks that ended up here after the war were used mainly in heavy haul or house-shifting, but apart from those old war horses, the brand was just a big question mark for those first few intrepid buyers. However, there were plenty of operators in the South Island that could see the potential in the brand, and the lower half of the island became a bit of a Mack Mecca by the time legendary truck salesman Ron Carpenter had finished with it. Stan Francis of North Otago Road Metals could see that these big burly Yank rigs were just the ticket for the work his companies were engaged in, and that they were a huge improvement over the British gear hed started with back in 1955. The N.O.R.M. R-series Macks eventually became legendary down south, and together with the other brand they took a shine to, Volvo, the die was set. The company has since changed its name to Road Metals, however their loyalty to the brand has never wavered. In a great example of synchronicity, their two brands of choice eventually became entwined, as Volvo now owns Mack, which is reaping the benefits by having an increased amount of Volvo technology built into its trucks. Current Road Metals managing director, Murray Francis, (Stans son) knows the strengths of both brands and their place in his fleet, but you dont have to scratch him very hard to find that his favourite brand has a pup bolted to the bonnet.

Having said that, he still gets misty-eyed when talking about the Leyland Octopus he spent three and a half years driving for his dad, when he was barely out of his teens and working on some of the think-big projects of the day at Twizel and Manapouri in the seventies and eighties. The Road Metal boys take great pride in that pup on the bonnet so it was almost inevitable that a Trident was going to appear in the colours after a long run of R-series, CHs, Visions and then a Granite. Road Metals went all out with this Trident, blitzing it with chrome and accessories and making the Christchurch based truck a standout rig in a city that probably has one of the highest densities of bulk truck and trailer rigs working in the world at present. Road Metals runs 23 mainly truck and trailer Mack combinations in the operation that includes four Volvo FM series and a couple of Mack eight-wheeler MC models converted to water trucks, and a crane truck. They have 68 employees spread between their Christchurch and Oamaru bases, and have three quarries in Christchurch, one a joint venture with Isaac Construction, and another 214 hectare (500 acre) quarry about to open at Rolleston, making four in the area that should provide 100 years of resource Murray says. Its been an expensive process that has taken three and a half years in the environment court and $1.5 million in costs that Murray says, aged me ten years I reckon! I wont see much benefit from this, but the next generation and the one

The company have had most of the range of Mack conventionals over the years as well as COE Qantum and MC versions under their colours. Murray admits that hes been very happy with the Granite, but he thinks the Trident has more to offer his operation. Weve got three now, and we like the better cooling and think they are a stronger truck for the job and we probably now prefer the Trident over the Granite to be honest. Compared to the Granite, you get a bigger, harder, more capable tool for the job with the Trident, it can be specd with a

GCM of 131 tonne whereas the Granite only gets 106 tonne. The Trident gets a power boost and a stronger spec if you need it too. That suits Road Metals as they are air-horn deep in the Christchurch deconstruction and rebuild work and know there is plenty of work for the rig over the next few decades. Murrays son Dan Francis, the third generation in the company, was happy to throw a bit of bling at the truck when he specified what they wanted, as its going to be around for a long time and much is going to be

m u m i s k c a M loyalty

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When Macks current line of trucks first poked their snouts out the kennel, those that had a soft spot for the brand gave a sigh of relief. Mack was back. The French influence had been culled out of the breed, and now Macks Trident looks as staunch as. However, an automated transmission, AdBlue tank and other features show that Macks pooches havent been killing time by sleeping on the porch...

Macksimum loyalty

Macksimum loyalty
When Macks current line of trucks first poked their snouts out the kennel, those that had a soft spot for the brand gave a sigh of relief. Mack was back. The French influence had been culled out of the breed, and now Macks Trident looks as staunch as. However, an automated transmission, AdBlue tank and other features show that Macks pooches havent been killing time by sleeping on the porch...

Macksimum
loyalty
By Bryce Baird

When Macks current line of trucks first poked their snouts out the kennel, those that had a soft spot for the brand gave a sigh of relief. Mack was back. The French influence had been culled out of the breed, and now Macks Trident looks as staunch as. However, an automated transmission, AdBlue tank and other features show that Macks pooches havent been killing time by sleeping on the porch...

Macksimum
loyalty
By Bryce Baird

When Macks current line of trucks first poked their snouts out the kennel, those that had a soft spot for the brand gave a sigh of relief. Mack was back. The French influence had been culled out of the breed, and now Macks Trident looks as staunch as. However, an automated transmission, AdBlue tank and other features show that Macks pooches havent been killing time by sleeping on the porch...