One of Australia’s largest freight companies, the Mildura based GTS Freight Management has taken delivery of six Mercedes-Benz Actros trucks at its Mildura headquarters.
GTS has long been aligned with Volvo but is adding the new Mercedes prime movers because of the strong fuel economy the Actros will deliver.
The company is privately-owned and loads around 500 trailers each day and covers about three million kilometres every month, making it a key player in freight transport.
Daimler Truck Australia Pacific president and CEO, Daniel Whitehead, handed over the keys to the Actor 2658 models that GTS Freight Services selected to the company’s managing director, Damien Matthews, in Mildura this week.
“We are thrilled to see the Actros in GTS black,” Whitehead said.
“GTS is achieving great things and is actually growing its business in a challenging economic environment, which shows it is really delivering for its customers. The fact that GTS will be using six Mercedes-Benz Actros support these customers is something we are very proud of,” Whitehead added.
Damien Matthews said the Actros trucks, which were delivered by Daimler Trucks Mildura, are a welcome addition to the GTS Freight Services fleet.
“We know from previous experience that the Actros is great on fuel and the drivers have already told me, after the first trip, how comfortable and quiet these new trucks are,” he said.
“The high level of active safety features that Mercedes-Benz prides itself on is also really welcome because safety underpins everything we do at GTS,” Matthews added.
According to the statement from Mercedes-Benz, the Actros comes standard with engines that meet Euro 6 emissions ratings, which are stricter than existing Australian trucks emission standards.
Damien Matthews said he was also attracted by the complimentary servicing offer that was part of the package.
Matthews said he was also pleased to work with Daimler Truck Australia Pacific head of retail fleet sales, Barry Smith, who he said was able to help him pick the best truck for his specific task.
Benz said that the chosen Astros model runs the OM 473 15.6-litre six-cylinder that pumps out 580hp and 2800Nm of torque and is linked to a 12-speed PowerShift Automated Manual Transmission (AMT).
Thanks he company added that it features Predictive Powertrain Control (PPC) which uses topographic map data and GPS to help the truck anticipate terrain and select the optimum shift pattern and engine response for maximum fuel economy including coasting when safe.
