HEAVY HAUL It’s top quality all

the way for Norgate Haulage as the

company grows its presence in the heavy

haul segment.

PowerTorque ISSUE 8352

FEATURE

NORGATE HAULAGE

Having worked in the heavy haulage sector of the transport industry for a number of years, brothers Mitch and Tom Norgate took the plunge into establishing their own company some three

and half years ago.

“We had both worked together for another company and thought that we would like to have a go ourselves and form our own company,” said Mitch.

“This was a mutual interest within the family, and as we started specialising in float and heavy haul work we were joined by another of our brothers (Jack) who now runs the yard and organises the pilot and escort support for exceptional load movements. My partner, Nadine, also joined the business to look after all the administration,

and our father Dave Norgate is actually employed by us as a subcontractor.

“That was three and a half years ago, and in that time we’ve progressed from a couple of secondhand trucks, one of which was a K108 Big Cab, to today where we have two brand-new K200s that have recently joined the fleet.

“We have also been adding plant and equipment to our fleet, and purchased two brand-new Barker drop-deck trailers with ramps, then added a Drake 4x4 followed by a Drake 2x4 dolly. We then purchased a 3x8 float from Drake, followed by a Drake 2x8 dolly and a Drake tri-axle float.

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“We have kept the original K108 in service and will be employing an additional driver for that unit to handle the more local transport requirements, but it was obvious that to cover the longer distances we needed new equipment. We could not afford to risk unnecessary downtime through equipment that was other than 100 percent reliable,” he added.

“In our dealings with our local Kenworth dealership, Gilbert & Roach of Huntingwood, we worked with Bill Anderson who proved to have a great knowledge about producing the right specification for our type of work.

“I am happy to give Bill a wrap. He is very good on heavy haulage and knows his stuff. You can always catch him on the phone when you need him and the aftersales support is also good. Our previous employer bought their trucks from G&R, and Bill Anderson’s name is the one that everyone knows. It makes it so much easier when the salesman you are dealing with knows what he is doing,” said Mitch.

Both the two new Kenworth K200s share similar drivetrains using the latest Cummins X15 SCR engines at 600 hp, 18-speed manual Eaton Roadranger transmissions and 4.56:1 drive axle ratios. The first K200 features six-rod suspension with Dana 52-190 drive axles and is a slightly heavier spec than the second unit that runs on Neway airbag suspension with Meritor 50-160 drive axles. Both are running with 7.2-tonne rated front axles.

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“We went with a spec that we know and understand, plus we prefer the cabover because it removes overall length concerns when coupling. It’s also much easier to manoeuvre when in the city,” said Mitch.

“Custom Air in Melbourne did a great job installing the auxiliary cab air conditioning systems, which are mounted between the chassis rails just ahead of the rear closing member. We also added Alemlube automatic greasers on both units.

“Service schedules are handled more on a kilometre basis than fuel burn, and having started off with an initial oil drain at 10,000 km, the second oil drain was after an additional 30,000. Subject to advice from Gilbert & Roach,

there is potential to extend oil drain intervals, and we will investigate the options of extending these intervals further through evaluating oil-sampling results. We specify Valvoline Premium Blue Extreme oil in all our trucks and expect annual distances to be in the region of 120,000 km per unit.

“Although it’s been suggested that oil drain intervals of 60,000 km are attainable for our type of highway work, we may prefer to standardise on 40,000 km intervals as our normal operating procedure,” said Mitch.

“Business is building up and going 100 percent. We try to give an all-round service, and it’s based on our aim to supply everything we can to our client.

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NORGATE HAULAGE

“We arrive on time, come hail or shine, and being a family business everything we do is on a more personal basis. We will move heaven and earth to ensure they get what they need, when they need it,” added Mitch.

Both Tom and Mitch prefer the latest Cummins X15 to the performance of the previous EGR Cummins engines, with Tom also commenting that the X15 feels torquier down low in the rev range.

“The X15 is a more driver friendly motor with constant power delivery that is much more linear, and smoother in its performance, right from idle speed. We have also been impressed with the improved fuel economy,” said Tom.

“We also had an airbag upgrade kit from Haire Bag suspension at Wodonga that uses a larger airbag, and we have found it works extremely well and gives a very good ride”.

Although both new K200s have stayed with the Kenworth pure white paintwork, additional detail work has been completed by A & I Auto Electrics, Custom Chrome and Fabrication, of Wetherill Park in Sydney.

The fabrication work is beautifully completed to a very high standard with stainless steel tank wrapping and additional stainless steel accessories. Selected areas such as the tank end caps have been painted in red as an eye-catching contrast to the stainless steel. Electrical work includes a new fabricated taillight assembly plus LED lighting on the rear of the cab structures with the inclusion of a King Bars bullbar.

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