Owner Driver – August 2019

84 AUGUST 2019 ownerdriver.com.au

comparable in quality. I wouldn’t discard any of them.
“We view a truck in its whole-of-life costs, what it’s going to
cost us per kilometre to maintain while it’s with us, what’s
the guaranteed trade-back when we’re finished with it,
what’s its warranty life.
“There are a whole lot of pre-conditions. For anyone to say
we only purchase purely on price, that’s a fallacy.
“The difference, at the end of the day, comes back to who
we have the deepest relationship with and we have broader
relationships today with Volvo.”
As Peter was quick to point out, however, the door is always
open. For example, “In recent times we have bought over 100
Scanias, so I think with a change of leadership at the top of
that organisation, our relationship with Scania is only going
to improve from this point.”
But isn’t that simply a case of keeping each of the
brands honest?
“Not necessarily,” he fires back. “We wouldn’t always give
it all to one brand anyway. We have a preference to have
two providers and sure, we are happy to be buying the lion’s
share from a preferred supplier but we also like having a
back-up provider,” he adds with a shrewd smile.
The smile quickly fades, however, when asked about
assertions in some quarters of the transport industry
that Linfox’s strong stance on matters such as emissions
compliance and safety are driven more by its blue chip
customer base than the company’s own ideals.
“Right, let’s start with emissions,” said an abrupt and
apparently annoyed Peter Fox, obviously intent on setting
the record straight. “In 2009 I took myself to the Copenhagen
(Denmark) climate change summit. I have a personal view to
ensure a legacy that I leave this earth in a better condition
than I found it.”
In the same year, Linfox emitted over 600,000 tonnes of
carbon dioxide into the environment which he emphatically
states, “... was way too high. I’m no scientist but if we destroy
the air, then we all get wiped out.”
Two years earlier, Linfox had set a target to cut greenhouse
gas emissions across the business by 50 per cent based on
2006/07 levels and in 2016, in its 60th year of operation, the

Below: For three decades or so,

Daimler trucks – Mercedes-Benz,

Freightliner and Fuso – had the

lion’s share of Linfox business.

Nowadays, Volvo is the preferred

supplier and according to Peter

Fox, it’s all about the relationship

Opposite top: Safety sits high

on the agenda and Peter Fox is

immensely proud of what Linfox

has achieved with its ‘Vision Zero’

strategy. Still, there’s more to be

done, particularly in Asia

company both reached and exceeded that target.

“The organisation took a stand and said ‘if we can emit

less into the environment, we should do something about it.’

Basically, I’m just a keeper of the (company) culture,” he said

seriously, “making sure we protect what we’ve got and really,

Linfox has always been ahead of the curve when it comes to

setting the standard with emissions.”

Thoughtful for a moment, “We still await the Federal

Government saying when Euro 6 standards are going to

apply to this country but we’ve had Euro 6 in place now

for two years. Every new vehicle we now put into the

organisation is Euro 6.”

Also on the environmental front, the evolution of electric

trucks continues to gain the company’s interest with Peter

confirming that two electrically-driven 12 tonne Volvo

trucks will be joining the company for local delivery trials

within the next 12 months.

As for safety, it’s a buoyant Peter Fox who says he’s

immensely proud of the company’s achievements. “In 2005

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FIRST LOOK AT THE ‘LIN-DOUBLE’