With a paint scheme that harks back to the days of Farley and Lewers’ “Think Pink’ concrete agitators of the late 1960s and 1970s Melbourne concrete operator Michael DeLuca’s fleet of bright pink trucks send a clear message of support to the Breast Cancer Network Australia.
DeLuca’s VicMix fleet delivers concrete across the Melbourne metro area and with Breast Cancer Awareness month taking place in October the fleet’s trucks have been put in sharper focus, particularly its new UD Quon 8×4.
If you live in Melbourne you can’t miss the concrete agitators of VicMix plying their trade all over the city’s suburbs from their base in Dandenong, the bright pink VicMix fleet makes a bold statement. So why bright pink?
“We painted our fleet pink to support Breast Cancer Network Australia. You can see their logo towards the back of the barrel on the truck. We lost a sister-in-law to breast cancer back in 1990, and she left behind three boys under six, so it’s a cause we take personally,” said Michael DeLuca.
October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, and with VicMix being kept pretty busy, the new Quon will be carrying the message right across Melbourne throughout the month.
VicMix is a successful Victorian concreting business that started with ten trucks in 2007 and has since grown to boast a fleet of 75 concrete agitators. Back then, brothers Michael and Tony DeLuca teamed up with colleague Joe Pietrosanto and bought some land in Dandenong South for their new venture.
“We chose to specialise in the suburban market,” says Michael, “house slabs and pavers, exposed concrete that sort of thing.”
It turned out to be a good decision, because the last decade has seen something of a boom in residential construction in Melbourne. VicMix has grown to meet the demand, and the latest addition to the VicMix fleet is a UD Quon 8×4 CG 30 360 agitator.
“We’ve always liked Japanese trucks,” says Michael, “we’ve got some American bonneted models as well, but when it came time to get a new truck we thought we’d invest in UD. They’ve got a great reputation for reliability and that’s very important to us, so we’re excited to watch the Quon perform.”
So far Michael has every reason to be pleased with his decision, and so has the driver who received the new Quon.
“The Quon’s a beautiful truck to drive and the driver absolutely loves it,” says Michael. “It’s got lots of power, and the short nose gives much better visibility and site access.”
The driver is also a fan of the level of comfort in the Quon’s spacious cab.
“He spends eight hours a day in it, making five trips, so driver comfort is important. It’s just a nicer truck to drive than some of the others in our fleet. The twin-steer means we can carry an extra cubic metre-and-a-half of concrete on every trip, that bumps the barrel up to seven cubic metres, so the Quon’s pulling its weight.”
VicMix have no immediate plans for expansion, but Michael makes it clear that the Quon has a good foothold in the VicMix fleet.
