First Commercials dealer principal Ben Tacon established the current sales and service operation for Fuso Trucks and Buses in Palmerston North in 2013 but his relationship with the Japanese truck brand stretches back to 1980.
Fuso Trucks was then part of the passenger and commercial vehicle line-up for the Palmerston North-based Todd dealership Jolly and Mills when Tacon became an apprentice diesel mechanic there in 1980.
That operation ceased trading in 2013, but with help from a couple of investors, Tacon, and his business partner Andrew Johns took over the assets of the previous Fuso dealer with the support of local distributor Mitsubishi Motors New Zealand.
Those assets include the high-profile site at Rangitikei Street, where the Fuso sales and service dealership moved in 2001, as a result of the growing rural and transport economy.
Tacon says that many of the staff from the Jolly and Mills era remain employed by First Commercials amongst its team of 20.
“Most of us have been here a long time,” he admits.
Since taking on the Palmerston North site, First Commercials also purchased the Napier-based business of DPS Trucks. Murray Wellwood now manages the Onekawa-based parts and service site for First Commercials’ Hawkes Bay operation.
First Commercials is adding another truck salesperson to the ranks in Palmerston North, and Daniel Beavis covers the Wellington territory from the parts and service dealership in Seaview, Lower Hutt run by DESL (Diesel and Equipment Services Limited).
“I have no immediate plans at the moment for a Wellington dealership, but we are always looking for a better opportunity and method to service better the Wellington market in whatever form that takes,” says Tacon.
“Currently, we are best served by supporting the parts and service dealer who are doing an excellent job for us,” he says.
Tacon says the rural market is an interesting one as some transport operators with a more diverse fleet will operate their own workshop as no single supplier will meet their needs, but others refuse to have a workshop, but they have a less diverse fleet which means easier servicing requirements.
As well as looking after customers which First Commercials has sold trucks to; the company provides warranty servicing to Bidvest and Envirowaste.
Tacon says customers buying Fuso trucks haven’t yet started the enquiry about service contract plans as part of a new vehicle purchase, but says those business requiring such arrangements have outsourced their maintenance to fleet management companies.
“We are in an export region, and our customer base is predominantly rural carriers, except the logging market which is dominated by the US truck brands,” says Tacon.
“However, we see some new growth in the construction and infrastructure markets,” he says. “New infrastructure projects, such as Transmission Gully, and the extension of major roads, such as MacKay to Peka Peka, are positively affecting industry suppliers.”
“There is not a lot of redundancy in transport fleets today, as many operators still recall the school of hard knocks from 2008 and 2009,” says Tacon.
“The psyche of transport operators has changed, and they are more likely to react to a new contract or greater service demand to order a new vehicle, rather than hold one on the fleet just in case,” he says.
But because the body builders are still busy with a lead time of three to four months, truck dealers such as First Commercials find themselves proactively building new combination units for prompt delivery.
The Palmerston North yard’s new vehicle inventory now includes a Fuso heavy truck and trailer unit which is ready for construction work, because Tacon says the prospective buyers can work with the major elements provided, and don’t have to wait for a particular unit ordered to come through the supply chain.
That said, Tacon cites one construction customer who ordered three different styles of a trailer to optimize his fleet, one with a heavier floor and lower sides with a special tailgate was set up for rocks; another was a standard size at normal height for aggregate, and the third was an aluminium bathtub for bulk work.
“The nature of construction work has changed, and work sites are demanding transport operators to carry more natural stone and larger rocks to the job,” says Tacon.
“Hence, carriers are looking to get maximum optimisation and efficiency from their trucks,” he says.
First Commercials has a fleet of seven Mitsubishi Tritons and a sole L200 van. Three Tritons are single cab vehicles equipped with a service body while the remainder is double cab models.
Tacon himself prefers to use a Triton 4×4 double cab as his daily driver; he says while the new Pajero and Pajero Sport are very nice vehicles, the Mitsubishi pick-up is far more appropriate for his business and leisure requirements.
