– By Caroline Falls –
One of the great things about the IPWEA Australasian Fleet conference is the adjoining exhibition, which gives delegates access to an array of fleet technology, consumables and equipment suppliers all in the one place; no appointment needed.
It’s an arrangement that’s not only economical for delegates. It works for exhibitors too.
“It’s one of our key events annually. So many of our existing and diverse local government client base attend from small regional to major metro right across Australia,” said Brendon Green, general manager motor vehicles at Pickles, vehicle and equipment auction and remarketing group. “The access to existing and prospective customers in this segment is second to none.”
The 2020 IPWEA Fleet Conference is being held at the Royal International Convention Centre, Brisbane from Monday March 16 to 18.
“This is the fourth year we have been involved with the IPWEA conference and it continues to be a key event for us from a fleet perspective,” said Daniel Petrovski, Hino Australia’s product safety manager, adding “For Hino, the IPWEA conference is the only event that brings together a large number of key decision makers within the public works and engineering fields who are important influencers within local government.”
At the 2020 conference, the focus for Hino Australia will be on showing the upgraded 500 Series GT which will be launched in the second half of this year.
“The current 500 Series GT 1322 has been a popular choice for off-road work among various Australian emergency services, the mining industry, and infrastructure support applications, and we are confident these changes will further increase its appeal,” said Petrovski.
He said the upgraded 500 Series GT 1528 4×4 will boast more power and torque, and an increased payload. The new iteration has an upgraded 5.5 tonne front axle and a 10 tonne rear axle, increasing its Gross Vehicle Mass (GVM) to 14.5 tonne.
“When this GVM is combined with the relatively low tare weight of the GT 1528, it results in a nominal payload of approximately nine tonne, which will please operators of these large 4×4 models,” said Petrovski.
Green says Pickles will be using the exhibition at the conference to showcase some new technology designed to assist customers determine the value of their existing fleet just using a rego and kilometres — in a product called InstantVal. And another, AutoPredict, a new residual value calculator to help customers determine and compare the residual values for passenger, LCV and SUV’s by state, based on the customer individual usage pattern.
Green said being face to face with so many fleet people at the conference is also valuable in helping Pickles develop products to meet fleet customer needs.
“We hear more of the challenges faced by our customers and that assists us when building out our service offerings to customers, whether via the latest remarketing techniques or our emerging technology.” states Green.
— Caroline Falls is a freelance journalist, writing for Australian and international business publications. She can be contacted at carolinefalls@gmail.com
