UD Trucks will play a major role in the celebration of the centenary of Rugby League in Australia as part
UD Trucks will play a major role in the celebration of the centenary of Rugby League in Australia as part of the Regional Celebrations, travelling the country throughout 2008.
An all-new PK9 medium-duty truck is being supplied for the Centenary Celebrations by UD Trucks to transport a giant replica of the NRL Premiership trophy, which will be the centrepiece of the celebrations.
The giant 4.8 metre replica of the Summons-Provan trophy will be carried from town to town with a specially designed protective cage and laid flat on the truck’s tray and will be lifted into place as the key feature of the display with League fans able to climb stairs onto the truck deck to stand alongside.
According to UD Trucks general manager, John Bushell, the chance to be a part of Rugby League’s Centennial year was too good an opportunity to pass up and offers some great synergies.
“UD Trucks is a major sponsor of the Wests Tigers which of course is a joint venture between two of the League’s foundation members, the Western Suburbs Magpies and the Balmain Tigers, so it is entirely appropriate for UD Trucks to be involved with a celebration to mark 100 years of Rugby League in Australia,” Bushell says.
“The display will also travel to key areas throughout Eastern Australia and enable us to showcase the UD brand to potential new customers particularly in major regional centres.”
“It will be a very spectacular display, is sure to be a major attraction wherever it travels and UD Trucks is very proud to be a part of the celebration,” he says.
The display truck will be a new UD PK, which has been fitted with its special deck and a winch system to lift the statue into place at each display and to lower it for transport between towns.
“The Regional Celebrations are a vital part of our Centenary program and we are thrilled to have UD Trucks involved,” NRL CEO David Gallop says.
The giant Telstra Premiership trophy is a breathtaking site and will be one of the highlights across all ten celebrations.”
The UD PK uses a six-cylinder inline turbo intercooled diesel engine with maximum power of 260 horsepower and 794 Nm of torque mated to UD’s MPS63B six-speed transmission.
With a well earned reputation for solid reliability, technical innovation, economy and low operating costs, UD trucks have gathered a swag of satisfied customers over the past three decades in Australia and currently offer a range of four different models with 13 variants, from the nine tonne MK 175 to the flagship 26 tonne heavy duty CW 445.
UD trucks recently became a part of the Volvo family of companies when the Swedish truck maker took a majority shareholding, strengthening UD’s global brand and delivering access to a vast wealth of truck technology.