Processing around 1000 tonnes of carrots a week, this family owned and operated business relies on a fleet of 16 Cummins X15-powered Kenworths to keep its prized product moving.
Rocky Lamattina came to Australia from Italy in the early 1950s as a three-year-old and his family bought their first Australian farm – a three-hectare lot in the Melbourne suburb of Clayton, in the early 1960s.
That gave him the perfect opportunity to hone his farming skills, before eventually starting Rocky Lamattina & Sons in 1991, together with his wife Kathy, and sons Angelo, Phil and John.
The business started on 500 acres of land in Wemen, about 75 km south-east of Mildura, on the banks of the Murray River in northern Victoria.
They began growing broccoli, potatoes and, of course, carrots – soon deciding to focus on just one crop.
Today they grow their carrots from a 6000-acre site in Wemen, which is also their home base, and sites at Kaniva in Victoria and St George in southern Queensland.
The carrots are trucked back to Wemen where they are washed, graded and packed using the latest process technologies from around the world.
Establishing year-round growing capacity at different geographical locations has been key to the family’s success – enabling them to supply their prized crop all year round.
It’s a world-class operation, with around 1000 tonnes of carrots processed every week for delivery to supermarkets as well as wholesale and export markets.
All the transport is carried out by the Lamattinas’ own fleet of 16 Cummins Inc. X15-powered Kenworths, pulling trailers splashed with the motto ‘Australia’s Favourite Carrots’.
The fleet is kept busy 52 weeks of the year, running like clockwork.
While the core focus of the business is still carrots, the Lamattinas are in the process of diversifying by establishing a pistachio farm, spurred on by rising demand in Australia.
Talking about the company’s trucks and equipment, John Lamattina explained, “Our philosophy has always been to buy the best, utilise it to its full capacity, maintain it properly and then replace it when it’s done.
“Having our own truck fleet gives us the flexibility to deliver carrots from harvest to supermarket shelves in less than 24 hours.
“We’ve looked a number of times at sub-contracting out our transport but we’ve always come to the conclusion that we can do it more efficiently ourselves.
“Carrots are the cheapest vegetable on the shelves and that hasn’t changed in 30 years. Our only option has been to become more efficient.”
He believes trucks should be able to do 900,000 to one million kilometres trouble-free and that this expectation is not an over-reach but a realistic assessment when purchasing premium equipment.
John credits his brother Angelo with the design concepts that now see the company running innovative high productivity vehicles that have attracted international interest.
These include five B-quads, a Stag B-triple and seven 30-pallet single-trailer units pulled by twin-steer Kenworths – including K200s and newer K220s – all powered by Cummins X15 Euro 5 engines rated at 600hp with peak torque of 2050 lb ft, the standard rating for the entire fleet.
The 30-pallet units run at a gross weight of 62 tonnes over a length of 22.5 metres, replacing 32-pallet B-doubles.
The quad-axle arrangement under the 18.3-metre Southern Cross fridge vans is actually two separate bogies with a total weight allowance of 34 tonnes (17 tonnes-per-bogie).
“We’ve got the same payload as our 32-pallet B-doubles but have one less fridge motor, one less axle, reduced tyre costs, improved fuel consumption and life is easier for the drivers because they don’t have to disconnect and connect and don’t have to back up two trailers,” said John.
A noticeable aspect of all the new combinations is the absence of converter dollies, with Angelo Lamattina noting they are redundant due to the company’s specific operational requirements as well as a focus on greater stability.
The five B-quads, which haul the harvested carrots from the St George and Kaniva farms to Wemen for processing, are essentially three A-trailers coupled to a B-trailer which operate at 107 tonnes gross with a payload of 74 tonnes.
The Stag B-triple tipper combination comprises a short last trailer that connects to a B-double via a fifth wheel. The unit, which carries a 59-tonne payload at a GVM of 95.5 tonnes, delivers gypsum and cow manure (collected from feedlots) to the farms and delivers grain to Lamattina customers.
As John added, Cummins’ branches in Victoria’s Riverland region, at Mildura and Swan Hill, have provided exceptional back-up service for the fleet too.
When John was recently invited to the Cummins Swan Hill branch to talk to everyone about the operation, he suggested all of Cummins staff from Mildura and Swan Hill came to the Lamattina facility to see how they go about their business and the pressures they encounter on a daily basis.
That happened over two days and so as not to cause disruption to branch operations, half the staff from Mildura and Swan Hill visited the Lamattina facility one day, and the other half the next day.
“The feedback from the branch teams was fantastic,” said John.
This sentiment was confirmed by Cummins regional branch manager Jackson Meredith. “Our goal as a region is making sure everyone at our branches, not just a select few, are fully aware of our customers’ operations, what they do, how they do it and how we play a crucial role in the success of their business.
“We are recognised for delivering top-tier support in our industry, and to maintain that standard we need to ensure our operational and communication systems are well established.”