Started in Port Kembla, New South Wales, in 1980 with just one truck, Unanderra Tanker Hire (UTH) now operates a fleet of 52 prime movers across a number of facilities throughout the country.
The company was started by Oskar and Wendy Wiedl, who continue as shareholders, with their son JJ Wiedl serving as director and continuing to drive the business forward.
Along with its primary Port Kembla facility, UTH has a secondary depot in Minto, New South Wales, and sub-depots in Newcastle, Melbourne, country Victoria, Brisbane, and a presence in Adelaide. More recently Perth was added into the mix, with this site opened in July 2025 as part of UTH’s expansion into Western Australia, to cater to customer demand.
UTH specialises in dangerous goods and liquid transport, including both local and interstate work.
Like many kids growing up in a family transport business, JJ recalled many trips in the truck with his father. “I was in the truck all the time as a kid, that’s how it was back then. I was only very young but remember a bloke at work asking my father why he was bringing me here – and I know Dad felt bad about it but that’s where I wanted to be.
“Sometimes it was just the little things like stopping for a strawberry milkshake, and getting to see and do things while travelling with him in the truck. We only had a few trucks back then, so it was very different to how it is now.”
JJ, 49, officially started working at UTH back in 1997. While dangerous goods has been the company’s mainstay since the beginning, there has also been a great deal of change and diversification over the years.
As JJ explained, “Up until the mid 1990s, it was mainly liquid waste haulage. Then we saw an opportunity for chemical transport.
“We cart a lot of raw ingredients to the companies that manufacture chemicals and now cart a lot of their finished products too.
“Although it is predominantly chemical transport, we still do a little bit of liquid waste haulage because it complements what we do.”
The truck fleet is predominantly Kenworth and DAF. “We started moving towards the Kenworths about 2005 and began with the DAFs in 2013,” said JJ, adding that there are now 11 DAFs in the fleet. “We started with the DAF XF, then bought the DAF CF, and now we’ve purchased our first two DAF XGs, which were delivered about five months ago.”
With more power and grunt than its predecessors, the DAF XG is powered by the lightweight 15-litre PACCAR PX-15 engine, which delivers an impressive 660 horsepower and 3200Nm of torque. The Euro-6 platform enables higher cylinder pressures for enhanced performance and fuel efficiency.
That’s compared to the smaller XF, with its 530hp MX-13 PACCAR engine.
“For the long distance work, drivers are looking for bigger sleeper cabins – these new XGs are a totally different truck to the previous models we’ve had. So far, so good,” added JJ.
“One of the reasons we initially started going with the DAFs was because we were finding that some of the sites we had to load at had poor access. We used to be able to get to some of these sites with the bigger trucks, but with more and more developments going on, some sites were getting much tighter so we recognised the need for a cabover.
“The DAFs were quite well priced so we bought our first one as a trial, and quickly shifted away from any brand other than PACCAR. Although we do a lot of the maintenance ourselves internally, parts are easy to come by and they’re well priced. They’re great on fuel, and not much goes wrong with them, so you’re not having to spend heaps on parts. PACCAR also offers great aftersales service too.
“I want to maintain a balance of Euro and American chassis trucks in the fleet. I’ve also just ordered a new T909 for the run to Darwin, so we’ll still buy the Kenworths for those sorts of runs.”
Since putting the new XGs to work – both currently based in Sydney, with one in Picton and one in Minto – what’s stood out the most for UTH is their exceptional fuel efficiency.
“One of the XGs spent a few months doing B-double work out of Melbourne. Comparing it to another truck doing similar work to Brisbane, the XG runs rings around it in terms of fuel economy,” JJ said
“The fuel economy is amazing – I am just absolutely wrapped in that with the new DAF XGs. We’re actually thinking about selling some of the older trucks because we’re not happy with the fuel economy, so we can replace them with DAFs.”
Between the larger DAF XG and the XF and CF, JJ says that each model has its place in the fleet for different types of runs. “The DAF XG is a higher truck, so it’s not necessarily your best metro truck – that’s where the other DAF models come in. What the DAF XG can do out on the highway is great.”
JJ added that the DAF XG is also packed with plenty of grunt. “These trucks are just animals out on the road, they are so powerful and the drivers absolutely love them. While we’d love to have more of these big powerful 660hp trucks in the fleet, you don’t need that sort of power when you’re just towing a single trailer – so the XGs work well with the multi trailer or long distance work.”
UTH has just received NHVR approval to run the DAF XG as part of a 27-metre AB-triple set-up, and following customer approval, the hope is to use one of these trucks to cart waste material out of the Appin Mine in north-west New South Wales.
“During peak periods, that job would see us do 16 trips a day to and from the mine using our existing equipment. With the DAF XG AB-triples, we’re hoping to reduce that down to 12 trips a day,” explained JJ.
“The mines there are desalination plants, reclaiming mine water which we cart into a licenced facility about 45 kilometres away.”