20 January 2012

The largest trucking rig permitted under the High Productivity Motor Vehicle (HPMV) regulations is now operating in the Hawkes Bay.

The 62-tonne super B-train runs between Panpac's Whirinaki mill and the Port of Napier. It is 24.5 m in length and has 40 tyres fixed to wheels riding on 11 axles.

The trailer sections of the giant, which is operated by Emmerson Transport, were designed and built by Kraft Engineering in Rotorua with the bodies made and fitted by Fruehauf in Feilding. Kraft worked with the NZTA in designing the rig.

The HPMV regulations are designed to increase the size of trucking units using the roads, but not just in the pursuit of increasing productivity, acting regional state highways manager Gordon Hart said.

The size of the rig means it makes fewer journeys than a more traditional 44-tonne B-train rig. When a second rig arrives before the end of the year, the two big rigs will do the work previously done by four, with an environmentally friendly reduction in overall fuel use.

The Kenworth/Cummins 580-powered rig is a major investment for Pan Pac and Emmerson, with Pan Pac's operations manager Neil Weber describing the price tag as "north of $600,000."

Source: Hawkes Bay Herald Tribune. To read the full story, click here.