Kenworth, recently delivered its 50,000th Australian-designed and manufactured truck from its Bayswater plant in Melbourne.
Managing director of PACCAR Australia, Mike Dozier handed the keys of a K200 prime mover to  customer Peter Rodney, managing director of Rodney’s Transport Service, the largest privately-owned trucking company in the Riverina.
Mr Dozier said Kenworth’s achievement in manufacturing 50,000 trucks was a major milestone, not only for the company but for Australian manufacturing. Kenworth has designed and manufactured uniquely Australian trucks since 1971, and it has been the number one heavy-duty truck supplier since 2001. Kenworth trucks are the mainstay of Australian transport businesses of all sizes, from large fleets to single owner-operators. Its trucks are also exported to New Zealand, Japan, Thailand and Papua New Guinea.
Mr Dozier said it was fitting that Kenworth’s milestone truck was built for Rodney’s Transport Service (RTS).
Established in 1992 near Wagga Wagga, RTS has grown from a small business running three trucks to a major regional transport operation with two depots boasting large storage facilities for up to 100,000 pallets of stock and 20,000 tonnes of grain harvested from the Riverina.
The company operates a Kenworth fleet of 104 prime movers configured with tanker, tautliner and tipper trailers for handling a diverse range of duties. The trucks haul everything from general and container freight to industrial products, scrap metals and waste throughout the eastern states and SA.
RTS employs various Kenworth models to handle the different applications. These include a large number of T909s, T609s, T409SARs, T359s and Kenworth’s cab-over, the K200.
The company’s latest K200 – Kenworth’s 50,000th truck – is powered by a Cummins ISXe5 engine, producing 550 hp and 1850 lb/ft of torque. The engine utilises SCR exhaust after-treatment technology for emission reduction, which meets Euro 5 and Australian ADR 80/03 emissions regulations.
The truck is equipped with an Eaton Fuller RTLO20918B 18-speed manual transmission, Meritor FG941 (6.6t) front axles and Meritor RT46-160GP rear axles. It also features two 750-litre, long-range fuel tanks, Kenworth Airglide 460 suspension and a 2.3-metre Aerodyne sleeper.
RTS’ K200, configured as a B-double tautliner, has a carrying capacity of 50 tonnes. It will join the company’s 27 other K200s on linehaul operations, carting a wide range of goods, from batteries and paper to various agricultural products, including salt. The new truck will make interstate deliveries to Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide, clocking up around 7,000 km a week.
The Kenworth K200 is Australia’s best-selling heavy-duty truck model. In just three years, it has established itself as a versatile workhorse which can manage a variety of applications, including interstate line haul up to 26m B-double and B-triple combinations.
The model features one of the most spacious interiors for a cab-over. It has a virtually flat floor, allowing a six-foot-tall (183 cm) driver to stand upright in the Aerodyne version. Its ergonomically-designed, curved dash and overhead console provide convenient access to all instruments and information displays. It also has a driver-friendly Smart Wheel, with buttons on the steering column for controlling the truck’s engine brake, cruise control and high-beam headlights.
Kenworth trucks, with a payload capacity from 39 to 260 tonnes, cover the full spectrum of heavy and extreme-duty applications.     This includes multiple-trailer regional and interstate freight, tipper and dog construction work as well as off-highway operations for the logging and mining industries.