A presentation by Iveco to customers, dealers and media this week has seen the all new Acco unveiled in Melbourne Exhibition Centre. This is not a revamp of the current truck, but a ground-up redesign of the whole vehicle.
The Acco is a model which has been through many iterations and variants in the past. Originally designed in 1952 by International Harvester as an army truck, it saw its last major redesign way back in 1972. Since then it has been modernised and updated at regular intervals.
It has kept up with the introduction of modern technology, but with the advent of a Euro 6 engine and with a higher level of safety systems needing to be fitted, the time for a rethink was required. It is quite a rethink with virtually every component being new to the Acco.
One of the fundamental elements behind the design has been to ensure the new Acco can match or surpass its predecessor in many of its specifications, dimensions and performance. The garbage industry has almost standardised on the Acco over the years, so the side-loader and compactor makers need to work from a matching platform.
The new Acco does now include many more components from the global Iveco catalogue, but will still be manufactured in the Iveco plant at Dandenong, in Melbourne’s East. Currently the body panels of the truck are pressed in the plant before assembly, in the future, the body panels will be imported from the Iveco cab plant in Europe, before assembly here.
There’s a change in the engine as well. The Acco will no longer rely on the Cummins it has traditionally used and is transferring over to an Iveco Cursor 9 SCR Euro 6 engine with between 310 and 360hp available and 1300 and 1650 Nm of torque. Emissions control is handled using Iveco’s Hi-eSCR system. The Allison Generation Five 3200 Series will continue as the Acco’s 6-speed fully automatic transmission.
By moving to a state of the art platform, the Acco will now be able to fit, as standard, Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC), Anti-lock Braking System (ABS), Electronic Braking System (EBS), Advanced Emergency Braking System (AEBS), Electronic Stability Program (ESP), axle load indicators, electronic battery cut-out, L.E.D daytime running lamps and rear L.E.D lights.
The model unveiled this week is one of a handful of evaluation trucks Iveco are building to fine tune the new Acco’s design. These will be fitted out by a selection of garbage body builders, who can fit their equipment to the truck and give feedback on the tweaks needed in the design to retain continuity for truck maker, body builders and end customers alike.
One of the important factors which has led to the Acco’s pre-eminence in the garbage game has been its manoeuvrability in the tight confines of the suburban streets where it spends most of its working life. Chassis dimensions are the same as on the current Acco and wheel cut has been improved, now up to 52 degrees.
By adapting the Iveco X-Way cabin, the Acco now has a thoroughly modern European style cab with its improved visibility, comfort and easy of entry and exit. The electronic architecture will enable the Acco to be fitted with all the latest electronic equipment as it comes along in the future.
The Acco is an institution in the Australian trucking industry, an icon of Aussie ingenuity and ability to adapt componentry from all over the world to make a truck which is unique to Australia. This new design seems to be continuing the same tradition, it is simply adapting the componentry from a different set of sources.