DAF has celebrated the assembly of its 500th truck in Australia, in the form of a Euro 6 CF FAD rigid, purchased by WM Waste Management Services.
The 340hp DAF CF FAD rigid that recently rolled off the production line at the Bayswater factory is also the first DAF to be locally engineered for Australian specific applications.
The truck was developed specifically with tare-sensitive vocational applications in mind and is the result of nearly two years of planning and design.
“In all it was a great collaboration between PACCAR and our Australian suppliers,” said DAF General Manager, Felipe Rubio.
“Building on PACCAR Australia’s local engineering capabilities will be of great benefit to our DAF customers.”
Around 500kg of tare weight was saved by reengineering the chassis. According to DAF, this means the model is likely to excel in the waste management sector.
Fitted with a rear compactor body, the CF 340 FAD is one of four trucks purchased by Melbourne-based WM Waste Management Services to use in its green and hard rubbish collection service.
The PACCAR Bayswater production plant, also home to Kenworth, is currently in the midst of a $37 million upgrade.
This will include a 1500 square metre factory extension, with upgrades to the paint shop, featuring four new paint robots, and improved layouts for frame, cab build, cab trim, engine assembly and final line stations.
“In addition to a suite of locally sourced components, we also include chassis paint colour options and fifth wheel options with a view to expanding our offerings for DAF moving forward,” explained Rubio.
“Another benefit for our customers is the ability to deliver on faster lead times.
“Celebrating our 50th year of manufacturing this year we recognise that having production capability to produce greater volumes of products in Australia was a significant but necessary investment to underpin our local presence for many more years to come,” he said.