REMONDIS and PACCAR deliver on sustainability during fleet renewal

Riding recyclable energy

In the midst of an aggressive fleet rejuvenation, Conor Flynn, Executive General Manager – Technical at REMONDIS, says the CF340 was a standout choice for more than one reason.

“We have an existing legacy DAF fleet, but these CF340 trucks are the first DAF trucks REMONDIS Australia has bought as new,” he says.

Conor says that in addition to comfort, safety, fuel efficiency and power, the CF range is a testament to a commitment to sustainability.

Sustainability is a core objective for REMONDIS, as stated in its 2023 Sustainability Report. The third consecutive report published by the waste management service provider had a strong focus on lowering the company’s carbon dioxide emissions in line with a new Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) announced in January 2023. The CSRD, legislated by the European Union (EU), requires all large companies operating in the EU to publish regular reports on their environmental and social impact activities.

Conor says PACCAR is supporting REMONDIS as it aggressively adopts alternative power trucks and avenues to reduce emissions.

REMONDIS took delivery of a large order of DAF CF340 trucks as part of a fleet renewal program.

Allison fully automatic transmissions are compatible with alternative fuels such as compressed natural gas (CNG), biogas and hydrogen, enabling fleets to achieve reduced emissions when compared to internal combustion engines.

“Soon after REMONDIS introduced its first Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle (FCEV) – the first operational hydrogen fuel cell waste vehicle in Australia – we had a conversation with PACCAR to see what other technology is coming,” Conor says.

“Our parent company in Europe operates a large fleet of FCEV’s so we feel as if we have credibility globally. We leveraged that experience and we mobilised a FCEV in 2023. We will continue to push to ensure that we get access to this technology as soon as reasonably possible.”

In addition to acknowledging the commercial reasons for adopting alternative fuel technology, Conor says REMONDIS also chooses to have the greenest engine technology currently available to the Australian market.

All PACCAR’s ADR 80/04 trucks meet Euro 6 emissions standards.

“In 2023, 80 per cent of our new fleet was Euro 6 compliant, unfortunately there wasn’t full availability of Euro 6 at the time,” says Conor. “The new fleet of CF340 trucks now fulfills that objective.”

In continued collaboration, REMONDIS recently mobilised its first DAF CF 10-wheeler hook lift, also the first 10-wheeler supported by PACCAR Australia.

Conor says there was much collaboration with DAF’s European arm to build the 10-wheeler on shore.

“This was a huge engineering project which required very specific approvals for operation in Australia. Which I think was managed quite well,” Conor says. “We really wanted to deliver this in Australia, which means we will be the first ones operating it for PACCAR in Australia,” he says.

Business alignment

Conor says the REMONDIS team assesses multiple metrics before retiring well-used trucks, including kilometres travelled and hours worked. The company aims to have an average fleet age of five to 10 years.

He says REMONDIS has a history of purchasing DAF product for its European businesses. To maintain an alignment with the European business, local purchases are predominantly focused on trucks with European chassis. However, many of the European competitors don’t run an Allison transmission, paving the way for DAF.

“This DAF product is optimal for applications of front lift and non-towing hook lift trucks,” Conor says. “Further to that, from a European chassis perspective, on front lift application it had the best payload, putting the biggest amount of product in the body.”

Conor says CF340 has a simple suspension which is easy to repair and ideal for REMONDIS.

“The rear end of the truck has locally sourced componentry, which is very simple,” he says. “The work our trucks do on site can be quite punishing on suspension componentry. We believe the CF340 will stand the test of time and we assume that spare parts will be easily available when we do have to repair them.”

Conor says spare part accessibility was a huge deciding factor when choosing the CF340 with Allison transmission due to the difficulty experienced post COVID.

“Post COVID, spare parts were difficult to acquire in Australia,” he says. “We’ve focused on what would be assembled in Australia, with the potential availability of spare parts, to keep the asset running through its 10-year life. DAF fell into that category very well.”

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