Iveco and Boral launch innovative aggregate spreader

Truckmaker hails connection to cement industry and local manufacturing

A partnership between Iveco and construction material company Boral has led to the creation of the Forward Moving Aggregate Spreader (FMAS), a new road surfacing truck concept.

Based on the Stralis AD 8×4, the front may resemble a Transformers character but it is specifically designed to “revolutionise the method of spray seal road construction in Australia” by making the task safer for workers, increasing product quality and helping to reduce infrastructure costs to road agencies, Boral says.

Previously, the process involved road crews working with reversing trucks that applied the aggregate through an elevated tipper body, increasing the safety risks to workers

For the purpose of improving safety and maximising visibility, the FMAS disperses aggregate from the front of the truck via a conveyor belt and spreader box. It is also said to reduce potential infrastructure and overhead damage, such as contacting power lines, trees and bridges.

Iveco Trucks Australia managing director Bruce Healy says the invention reflects the truckmaker’s long-term connection to the concrete and construction industry.

“Thank you to Boral for the opportunity,” Healy says at the launch, noting the concept was many months inthe making.

“For Iveco, we have a long history in the concrete industry. Our ACCO product has been a key part of the industry for many a long year – there wouldn’t be many companies without an ACCO in their fleet.

“We have had an association with Boral for a long period of time. It may surprise people to realise that it goes back nearly 50 years. We’re very proud of that association.

“Boral saw us in 2017 to share their plans to develop the FMAS.

“As a local manufacturer with plenty of engineering experience in Melbourne, we were able to identify the right product and platform for this program: the Stralis AD 8×4.

“And I have to say Boral has done a wonderful job in bringing this vehicle to meet new industry requirements.

Read about Boral’s heavy vehicle initiative for students, here

“We certainly look forward to assisting Boral in the future in any way possible to further advance this model and others like it.”

He adds that this vehicle marks another step in Iveco’s local manufacturing history.

“Iveco has a very strong ties to the manufacturing industry in this country for trucks.

“We began in 1952 as Iveco at Dandenong and we continue to build trucks in that same location today.

“We have invested very heavily in manufacturing in Australia through various iterations of our company which dates back to the International Harvester company in Geelong in 1939.

“This year also marks 80 years of manufacturing of vehicles in this country – again, something Iveco is very proud of.

“We have recently expanded that manufacturing because of the requirement to do Euro 6 trucks. I mention it because there are some similar attributes between what Iveco has done and what Boral has done: innovation, efficiency and safety.

“Key attributes of what we’re building into our trucks and exactly what’s happened with the aggregate spreader.”

Boral national asset manager – asphalt Stuart Partridge says the company designed and developed a the FMAS following a call to industry by VicRoads as a result of a serious accident involving the state roads authority’s worker some years ago.

“Surfacing roads has remained one of the most potentially challenging tasks faced by construction crews because of the nature of the material being used and the way that material is applied,” Partridge says.

“Rollover accidents, blind spots, and high reversing tippers that can be at risk of interfering with power lines or overhanging trees, are just some of the problems associated with the current range of spreaders.

“So, the task here was to come up with a solution to improve safety for road crews, including drivers, while at the same time making the process quicker, and more efficient with higher quality.

“This invention allows locally manufactured and approved trucks to be substantially modified while still meeting regulatory standards, which is why VicRoads has mandated that forward moving aggregate spreaders should be in use on all its projects by 2022 – a move we hope will be followed by other state road authorities nationally.”