Regal Haulage is arguably one of New Zealand’s most efficient carting companies due to an innovative business model that gives the business a competitive edge.
The Regal team of design engineers, welder/fabricators and mechanics work together to build one truck and trailer every month at the company’s Hamilton headquarters. Each unit is designed to carry maximum payloads, build flexibility into trip planning, and keep drivers safe and comfortable.
Regal’s 95-truck fleet is made up exclusively of Volvo trucks and the partnership between MTD and Regal Haulage is both long-standing and strong. However, when Regal was first formed, the fleet looked a little different.
“In 1988, we combined three companies into one and became Regal Haulage,” explained joint managing director, Brett McHardie. “We had a lot of older gear in the fleet of all makes and models. My father was used to having engineering capability in the business at Tauwhare Contractors, so we continued in that tradition, doing our own repairs and maintenance.”
One brand across the fleet
Around 2012, the Regal directors decided to go to market with a different approach, initially selecting one brand and model with a single range of parts, to enable the engineering and mechanical teams to develop specialist expertise. This allowed Regal to streamline its business based on a full fleet of Volvo trucks.
When first sizing up the different truck brands, Regal’s main purchasing measures were tare weight, price, and driver acceptance, with driver recruitment issues already influencing management decision-making. “Volvo ticked all the boxes for drivers – safety, comfort, and driveability. We also knew the MTD aftersales and service network, so that was a big plus for us.”
With the first three new FH day cab Volvos in the fleet, the business started to build up its engineering capability. A purpose-built new workshop, complete with a gantry crane and improved store layout, was developed at Airport Rd closer to the mechanical workshop. This enabled the teams to better streamline processes, moving trucks straight out of manufacture into plumb and wire.
“If you’ve got a fleet of trucks, you need to be able to sort out minor engineering repairs, turn trucks around quickly and get them back on the road,” McHardie says. “From there, it’s not a huge step to start building. Repair turnaround is important. We can fix things within a week that could take a couple of months if we relied on third parties. This gives us a massive advantage.
“With new gear – we can design exactly what we need. Our process has evolved over many years due to a lot of driver input. That means that our designs are based on practical, everyday realities. We’ve had lot of discussion around cover systems, steps, and ways of getting into the bin.
“We keep drivers on the ground these days rather than working at heights, so we’ve brought in remotes to cover and uncover bins. We thoroughly analyse health and safety incident reports and use them, along with driver feedback, as a base to design better alternatives.”
Safely carrying maximum loads
Innovation manager, Max Krotov started as a graduate working under McHardie four years ago and now heads up the engineering design team.
“My job is to ensure that our designs result in some of the lightest trucks in New Zealand, so we can carry more for our customers.
“Our designs also need to be safe to operate and driver-centric, easy to manufacture, and require minimal modifications over and above the specifications we develop with Volvo Trucks – that saves a lot of time,” Krotov says.
Regal designs, manufactures and certifies its trucks and trailers. “Even before considering manufacturing, we calculate axle group loadings of the bin on the truck and trailer, so it ends up weighing out perfectly,” he says. “This adds speed and efficiency to each run. Volvo supports us by providing accurate drawings and kerb weights that mean we can predict how the unit is going to weigh out at the beginning of the design process.”
Since August 2020, all new Volvo trucks ordered by Regal Haulage have been FH700s, with the aim of gradually phasing out most of the FM500s in favour of a bigger cab, more comfortable driver space, and a more powerful engine: the perfect combination for attracting quality operators.
Krotov says MTD product engineer Jamie Bell has been the cornerstone of that process.
“We were constantly in touch to make sure the same type bodies would work on the new cab-chassis, figuring out the placement of components to support all applications and comply with OEM requirements – and that the weighing out would work.”
Every new design holds the legacy knowledge from previous iterations, so Regal engineers are constantly improving cubic meterage, payload, and longevity of the gear. “Because we run the fleet ourselves, I can go and look at a five-year-old trailer, analyse the damage and wear on each component or talk to the driver to get their perspective and feedback, and use that knowledge to improve the next design,” explained Krotov. “We can go heavy where it’s needed and light where it isn’t, which means we save weight without compromising on strength.”
An important goal for Regal is driver acceptance. The fact that the company also sells on Volvo trucks and trailers to owner drivers – both newly built, straight out of the workshop and second-hand trucks and trailers with a few years on the road – underlines that success.
More time on road, less in the workshop.
The Regal sales team plays its part to optimise fleet deployment by targeting clients as close as possible to established unloading points. The resulting planning, combined with unit modifications, results in less empty kilometres.
“We design our bodies and trailers to be able to cart all loads, giving us maximum flexibility. Most of the time our fleet can deliver that flexibility. If we can’t get a back load on a regular run, we look at how we can modify the unit,” Krotov says.
Volvo national sales manager Paul France sees the results in action. “The Regal fleet is recognised and admired across the industry for its optimisation – with the fleet run on average 80-85% loaded. It’s really impressive, every time the wheels turn, the trucks are earning money.”
Support from design to disposal
As Regal’s workshop manager, Hayden Gare runs the parts department, mechanical and engineering workshops. “Our job is to provide our drivers with a safe, comfortable, well maintained units, helping to reduce fatigue. We keep trucks on the road minimising breakdowns and accessing support across the country from Truckstops when we need it. Maximum uptime helps our planners to move product efficiently around the country.”
Dealing with a trusted group of collaborative suppliers delivers benefits that go beyond monetary value, according to McHardie. The Regal Haulage partnership with Volvo Trucks, MTD, and Truckstops, in combination with Transpecs and TWL delivers a co-ordinated response to customer needs. Krotov and Gare both comment on the tight technical and service support, speed of response to queries, ability to schedule and supply parts on time and willingness to share information. A prime example is the way that Volvo Trucks and Transpecs co-align truck delivery with the flow of trailer kits to support Regal’s aim of offloading parts straight into new builds.
“Throughout the life of the truck and trailer, if something goes wrong, it gets processed quickly,” commented Krotov. “MTD is involved in the whole process from the initial design to the disposal of the unit. The support we get through Volvo driver training and Dynafleet keeps our drivers interested in the job, always competing to see who’s the best driver.
“It’s really hard to get into the top five at the moment, our drivers are continuously pushing to improve because no-one wants to give up their ranking – it’s great for everyone. And once they drive a Volvo – they don’t want to drive anything else.”
*This story first appeared in the August issue of TransportTalk – click here to download a free copy of the magazine.
