It’s not something you’d expect to see every day, but a new truck and dog concrete agitator combination is helping this business complete jobs in rural and remote areas much more efficiently.
EXM has provided infrastructure solutions to the agricultural sector all over the Darling Downs and Central Highlands regions of Queensland and northern NSW since 2015.
Due to difficulties the company experienced with concrete supply, Managing Director Evan English decided to change things up.
His idea came after visiting the World of Concrete Expo in Las Vegas to investigate mobile batching plants, and from there, he decided it was better to transport the concrete from existing fixed plants.
“As most of the area we service is grain production country, we have built a lot of bases for grain silos,” said Evan.
“A typical silo needs about 15 cubic metres of concrete delivered in a timely fashion. Your typical agitator might carry somewhere between 5 and 7 cubic metres, so you can see the problem.”
Supplying jobs in remote rural areas at distances of up to 300 kilometres means doing a return trip simply isn’t feasible. Looking for a better way, Evan sketched out some hypothetical drawings of a truck and dog agitator combination – and now, thanks to collaborative efforts between EXM, Fleetrite and Mack, it’s come to fruition.
“We’d already bought some of our own trucks to reduce our reliance on other companies, so the next logical step was to get a truck that actually met our specific requirements,” added Evan.
Evan took his idea to Ash Rowley at VCV Brisbane South to see if the truck could be feasible.
“Ash was great,” said Evan, “I figured that the Mack guys knew a lot more about trucks than me, so I just told him what we needed and gave him the flexibility to work out how to do it.
“He got right onto it and came up with some brilliant ideas I hadn’t thought of.”
The truck and dog agitator is operated through the use of a live drive to a splitter box to seamlessly operate both bowls. Evan cites another example of Mack’s creativity was the camera on the far side of the truck.
“They put cameras mounted on the passenger side mirror so you can see what’s in the blind spot when you’re reversing. I never would have thought of that, it’s great,” explained Evan.
The new truck is a Mack Anthem with a 500hp MP8 engine and mDRIVE automated manual transmission. The two agitator barrels have separate hydraulic systems that are both controlled from the cab.
“I reckon the dog trailer is probably just as stable as a 10-wheeler agi truck although ultimately this comes down to driver attitude and speed,” Evan added.
EXM has also ordered two more Mack Anthems – with the shortest wheelbase Mack has ever produced.
“They’re about 4060mm,” said Evan. “We needed these ones because we want to tow a semi-trailer mounted agi, and the trailer doesn’t project past the turntable.”
The short wheelbase will make the combination more manoeuvrable too.
The Anthem was seen as ideal for these innovative truck and dogs because they allow EXM to keep the tare weight at around 8 tonnes.
“We’ve got a Metro-liner 10-wheeler as well,” said Evan, “but the Anthem fits the bill for these jobs, and Mack were really helpful in customising the model to suit our requirements.”
From his depot in Oakey, Evan sees a lot of prospects for farms and feedlots that, up until now, have been just a bit too far away to service easily.
“Being able to deliver all the concrete we need for a job with one truck is a game-changer for us,” he said.
“We’re a construction business, but having control over this aspect makes a huge difference, and Mack and Fleetrite have played a central part in making my rough sketches become reality.”
Vice President of Mack Trucks Australia, Tony O’Connell added that Mack is able to create vehicles that are 100 per cent customisable to the task at hand, because they are locally built in Australia.
“This means we can meet the unique demands of customers like EXM, delivering innovative solutions that focus on application excellence,” said Tony.
“The truck and dog agitator is a prime example of how we collaborate with our customers and suppliers to bring ideas to life, ensuring our customers can achieve their goals efficiently and effectively.”