Firm celebrates an early Christmas with milestone delivery
A late flurry of activity has seen Simon National Carriers usher in eight new additions to its fleet in time for Christmas, including a milestone 300th prime mover.
Six Volvo FH540s and two Mercedes-Benz Actros 2653s are now on east coast intercapital work for the firm.
“Recent experience with the current generation FH540s reinforced our long-term view that Volvo has a robust, reliable product that meets our needs for B-double work, along with occasional back-up road train work between our branches,” CEO David Simon tells ATN.
“We’ve also been impressed by the performance of a Mercedes test truck and look forward to seeing how these trucks perform for us over the medium term.”
More on David Simon’s national supply chain strategy role, here
Amongst the Volvo delivery is fleet unit ‘V300’ (pictured) – Simon’s 301st prime mover over 53 years in operation.
‘M1’ (Mack) and ‘K1’ (Kenworth), which have since been re-purchased and are being restored, were the first two prime movers owned, the firm explains.
Simon’s origins date back to 1926, when Morgan Hugh Simon established Simon Pty Ltd, a family timber and hardware operation.
It was, however, the development of a timber treatment and electric pole supply division in 1960 that prompted the company’s move into the transport industry, with the first truck purchased in 1966.
Simon’s national network of transport and warehousing services now extends to facilities in Adelaide, Brisbane, Darwin, Hobart, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney, Toowoomba and Townsville.
It notes it is looking to add additional prime movers in the first half of 2020, along with some renewal of its 50+ rigid pick-up delivery fleet.