How the bulk hauler has benefited from a tech revolution
Victorian bulk haulage company Mt Noorat Freighters uses pneumatic transfer via its own custom-built blowers to deliver stockfeed to mills.
The Terang-based family business in south-west Victoria has become specialists in raw materials carting as the industry demands better equipment.
Director Tony Maloney says the company has grown significantly over the last seven years since ATN’s visit due to its investment in technology.
“With the technology the demands are to be able to move stock feed without damaging the feed and keeping it clean and not having cross-contamination between stock feeds,” Maloney says.
“So, to have technology when you load the feed into the trailers whether it’s tippers or tankers, you have to make sure that it can empty out cleanly and efficiently.
“We pretty much do most of it ourselves as it’s not stuff that you can just go to anywhere and get done – we had to use our own experience and expertise to know what is best equipment and where to source it.”
Look back on ATN’s last visit to Mt Noorat Freighters, here
Maloney uses a pneumatic (blower) discharger line to transfer raw materials – an attachment that costs up to $75,000 per truck.
Described as a “vacuum cleaner in reverse”, it blows stockfeed into silos.
“A lot of this stuff you can’t get done at a factory, they don’t make them on the new equipment, it’s all sort of after-market equipment,” he adds.
“We have found stock feed companies to be a very competitive market and to try and get a competitive edge over competitors you need to be able to offer a very good service.
“Sometimes the point of difference from one company to the other is just the service level to be able to deliver feed efficiently and safely and we believe with our equipment and the way we do it we’ve been able to give the companies we work for a competitive edge over their competitors.”
Mt Noorat Freighters carries stockfeed, grain, fertiliser and other bulk products throughout Victoria, South Australia, New South Wales and Queensland.
The company was established in 1996 with a family background of transport and stock feed tracing back to the 1960s.
Most of the 27 trucks are Kenworth – a trusted, reliable make, Maloney adds.
“We’ve been pretty happy with their durability over the years.”
The company has also streamlined its data processes to cut costs on administration, investing in CMS’s Freight 2020 transport management system and Teletrac Navman’s in-cab and compliance technology.
Staff can track their entire fleet, produce on-demand trip and driver reports and monitor speed and fatigue levels.
“The administration side of things has improved 100 per cent,” its systems manager Scott Guthrie says.
“Previously, we were doing double the data entry as drivers would compile their own information and back-office staff would have to enter it into our systems.
“Now, this no longer has to be done twice and staff have more time to concentrate on what they are supposed to be working on.”