Delta Group, one of Australia’s largest diversified construction and demolition firms, recently acquired five new Mack Anthems to enhance their recycling operations.

As the General Manager Recycling & Logistics of the nationwide Delta Group, Dominic Santullo has a lot on his plate. One of his responsibilities is the fleet of trucks Delta use to collect and recycle all the materials from demolition sites across Australia.

“We work on all types of large projects, be it commercial buildings, demolishing high-rises, industrial, infrastructure, recycling, quarrying, large bulk earthworks, CBD and civil projects. Our job is to carry all the concrete and demolition (C&D) materials away for recycling, whether it’s concrete, brick, soil, timber, rock, scrap metal. Every year we divert around two million tonnes of these materials away from landfill and into recycling plants.”

Delta has several recycling plants around Melbourne, operating in a joint venture with Boral.

“In a typical ten-hour day one of our trucks will make multiple trips, collecting C&D and offloading it at one these sites,” said Dominic, “and on the way back maybe collecting and delivering quarry materials.”

The recent purchase of the Mack Anthems was driven partly by the need for a more nimble truck.

“In recent years it’s been getting harder and harder to get the bigger trucks into sites in the CBD,” said Dominic, “with the increased traffic, bike lanes and the like, access was becoming an issue.”

So when Dominic was looking to increase his fleet, he went looking for a truck with a low tare weight and a tight turning circle that could take the Muscat Bodies tipper he had in mind.

“In this business payload is everything, so we needed a reliable truck with a low tare weight and a good payload. We set the Anthems up under the Performance Based Standards (PBS) scheme and they’re carrying 18-19 tonnes each, which is excellent.

“It took us a few months to get the PBS accreditation, and Mack helped us out with that, providing the information to meet the National Heavy Vehicle Register standards, but the trucks started operating in October and the drivers are very happy with them.”

The Anthems are all in the 10x4 configuration with the third axle installed as a liftable axle.

“If you’re running empty the axle automatically lifts off the ground and also senses when a load is on and drops back down.. That saves fuel and reduces tyre wear. We don’t spend much time empty though, as there’s often a need to bring quarry materials back into the CBD after we’ve taken a demolition load out.”

With space at a premium in CBD construction sites, the ability to get in and out of tight spaces was uppermost in Dominic’s mind when he went looking for a truck.

“The Mack Anthem is a bonneted truck, but it’s got a turning circle comparable with a 10.5 metre cab-over. It’s a nifty truck that the drivers find easy to manoeuvre, and the fuel economy is excellent.”

Vice President of Mack Trucks Australia said the Mack Anthem’s aerodynamics and performance-inspired controls were designed specifically to give drivers confidence behind the wheel in tight areas.

“The Mack Anthem was built specifically for the driver. The cab design and controls in particular are built around the way work gets done on the road, with safety and comfort at the forefront of design.”

“Application excellence is a real hallmark of the Mack brand. Challenging industry standards and working with customers like Delta Group to maximise productivity in niche applications is a challenge Mack is always willing to take on,” he continued.

“That combined with a really strong relationship between Delta Group and our dealer partner CMV Group, has led to a fantastic success story with the Mack Anthems recently introduced to Delta’s fleet.”

With the fleet already containing a number of Volvo trucks, Dominic’s had a long relationship with Mack’s parent company, Volvo Group Australia, and the local dealership, CMV Dandenong.

“We’ve worked with CMV for years,” says Dominic, “and they’re a really good team. We knew with the Anthems we were getting a quality product with good running gear and the horsepower we needed.

“Mack’s reputation for building durable trucks has made them a popular choice in the construction industry. The immediate availability of the trucks made the decision an easy one, and we’ll be looking to get more of them in the future.”