Although based in Wagga Wagga, O’Reilly Trucks have customers who get their servicing done which are based as far away as Sydney or Cobar in the West of the State. There are also long term customers in Goulburn, West Wyalong and Forbes.
“We have a customer from Sydney and we’ve done his work for 14 years,” says owner Brad O’Reilly.
“They come in for a service and the drivers have a sleep in the driver’s room all day.”
In a rural area like Wagga Wagga the North American brands like Western Star etc, have historically been strong, but Brad is seeing a changing perception of other brands, being an Agent for both Scania and MAN.
“The European side of it is definitely definitely growing,” says Brad.
“We see a lot of blokes that you thought would never to get out of an American vehicle and all of a sudden they’re in a European truck. They are thinking about the money and what they’re going to be charged every month on maintenance, and their fuel. All their blokes aren’t 25 anymore, they’re now 55 and their back’s not so good so they’re looking for comfort and for safety as well.”
Brad has also been impressed with the European back up, in terms of call-outs for their team. The process involves welfare checks on the technicians and protocols in place to ensure everyone gets home safely. Working on the side of the road is not as safe as it was many years ago, Brad is inclined to ensure the safety of employees and customers for the best outcome.
Since starting in the business, Brad has seen and increase the the number of operations using contract maintenance schemes. The driver industry knowledge has definitely changed, fewer drivers are bringing their own tools and the level of mechanical knowledge is a lot lower than in the past.
There are more operators with a policy whereby the drivers are not allowed to touch the truck mechanically. This makes it hard for the mechanic to know what to take with them on a call-out, if the driver of the truck is not sure what the problem is.
“It’s definitely a different industry now,” says Brad. “We’re probably lucky, we’ve got the advancing technology that’s coming out in the vehicles it picks up where knowledge is lacking.
“Nowadays, customers want to know if the maintenance is $1,500 a month, for example. That’s $1,500 a month, and not a gearbox and a ten grand bill. Instead, just keep paying it over the term of the vehicle. That’s probably the good thing with the Scania maintenance, it does a lot of replacement at set intervals. If the belts are frayed or in good condition, they still get ripped out and replaced at this interval.
“Last year, we did an incredible number of rebuilds, people were bringing their trucks from all over. We did ten rebuilds in six months, they were coming from everywhere. We had an engine in last week, for a bloke from Hillston, which is five hours to the West.”
The team at O’Reilly Trucks, despite the challenges faced, look forward to further growth and continuing to provide their current and future customers with the best service possible.
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