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Post Number: 104
Registered: 1-2005
| | Posted on Monday, July 25, 2005 - 4:34 pm: |       |
Hallam Truck Centre Opens New State-of-the-Art Facility
Award-winning PACCAR dealer, Melbourne-based Hallam Truck Centre, has opened a new multi-million dollar, state-of-the-art sales, service and parts complex.
The 3.2-hectare site, located at 217 Princes Highway, only 800 metres from the old dealership, promises to be one of Australia’s most advanced truck dealerships. General Manager Ron Gysberts says the new centre is quadruple the size of the old one and boasts the latest, hi-tech workshop and parts showroom facilities.
“The new Hallam Truck Centre is not only futuristic in its design and functionality, it has also been built so that it will stand the test of time. The original centre served our customers for 16 years. We expect this new facility will still be operational in 20 years. It is enormous but, judging by our current expansion, we expect to grow into it within five to 10 years. And, given that we have only developed 2.6 hectares, there’s still plenty of room for future development when it’s needed,” Ron said.
The new Hallam Truck Centre is well placed to service Melbourne’s second biggest transport hub – Melbourne’s south-east. It is conveniently located near Hallam-Belgrave Road, off the Monash Freeway, which is the bypass most operators use to access Hallam or Dandenong.
The dealership continues to serve a diverse range of customers and applications, with sales to owner-operators and small and large fleets involved in applications as varied as logging, construction and garden supplies to general and refrigerated freight.
The centre has 72 staff, including 24 service technicians. Its parts and service departments are open Monday to Friday, from 7:30 am to 11 pm, and Saturday from 8 am to 4 pm. In addition, Hallam offers a 24-hour emergency breakdown service for repairs and parts.
The new workshop boasts the latest facilities and diagnostic equipment to service the full range of Kenworth and DAF trucks. This includes 12, 30-metre drive-through service bays and two full-length, B-Double drive-over pits, one of which incorporates a brake roller tester, slip tester and shaker. There are also 2-tonne and 5-tonne overhead cranes and other specialised equipment for service and repairs.
Hallam features an expansive supermarket-style parts showroom – five times larger than the old centre’s area – with up to $5 million worth of stock. The complex also has comfortable staff amenities, and a training room and board room employing the latest technology for in-house presentations and training seminars. In addition, drivers will benefit from indoor and outdoor waiting areas, and a luxurious drivers’ lounge with a plasma TV and DVD player, a kitchenette, plus two ensuites and two sleeping rooms for longer visits.
Ron says Hallam is a step into the future look of truck dealerships in Australia.
“We have built this centre to the highest standard, so that it is not only comfortable for our customers but functional for our staff. For example, our workshop has heating and cooling – that’s a rarity in the industry – we are one of a handful of dealerships nationwide to offer this level of comfort to workshop employees,” he explained.
“The new centre offers customers the best of all worlds – the latest hi-tech facilities combined with factory-trained PACCAR technicians who know the industry as well as the unique needs of local operators,” Ron added.
Hallam and its satellite outlet, the Bayswater Truck Centre, are part of the large CMV group, which also operates the Kenworth Truck Sales and Service dealership in Adelaide.
Hallam Truck Centre was appointed a Kenworth dealer in 1989 and became a DAF dealer in 2003. During this time, it has won a number of industry accolades, including the Kenworth Service Dealer Award and the Kenworth Parts Dealer Award. In 1995 it was named Kenworth Dealer of the Year..
Kenworth’s Director, Sales & Marketing, Joe Rizzo says the Hallam Truck Centre is the latest PACCAR dealership to build new facilities to meet the growing demands of the transport community. This continues the strong reinvestment programme throughout the Kenworth Dealer network, designed to ensure that Kenworth remains Australia’s leading truck manufacturer.
“Hallam has set a new industry benchmark for dealerships in Melbourne. The new facility reflects the high level of professionalism and industry expertise indicative of all PACCAR dealers,” Joe said.
“The new centre will continue to offer improved customer service, better parts availability, easier access and quicker service turnaround – key requirements our customers demand in a dealership,” he added.
Kenworth trucks are designed and manufactured in Australia to meet the world’s toughest applications. Kenworth, a division of PACCAR Australia, is market leader in heavy duty trucks in Australia. Its trucks are also exported to Papua New Guinea and New Zealand. PACCAR Inc, a Six Sigma company, is a worldwide manufacturer of heavy and medium duty trucks under the Kenworth, Peterbilt, DAF, Leyland and Foden nameplates. It also provides financial services and distributes truck parts related to its principal business. |
