Skip Bin Operator Shifts Fleet to Allison Automatics to Ensure Access to Drivers and Efficient Operations

A Sydney based skip bin company is switching its entire truck fleet to Allison Automatics to ensure it can attract drivers in a difficult market, as well as for the enhanced driver control and efficiency that Allison fully automatic transmissions provide

SYDNEY, March 25, 2022 - Ferdinando Polimeni, the owner of Freddy’s Skip Bins, operates a fleet of six skip bin trucks across the Sydney metropolitan area and says that after initially having only manual trucks is now committed to only buying Allison Automatics.

“After running Freddy’s Skip Bins for more than 16 years, starting with a single truck, it’s clear that the best solution for this business are the Allison Automatics. They are easier to drive and make negotiating city traffic and work sites so much easier and safer,” said Polimeni.

“The biggest challenge the transport industry faces at the moment is a lack of skilled drivers, and the majority of recruits we employ are really just truck steerers, not truck drivers,” Polimeni said. “While many don’t have the skill to drive a manual truck well, the fact is the Allison is a better, more efficient option because the technology not only makes it easier to use but it actually delivers better performance.”

The company’s latest truck is a UD Quon CG30 360 8x4 equipped with a six-speed Allison 3200 Series™ automatic, which is the first UD to join the operation, alongside five Isuzu trucks, four of which are Allison equipped.

“We only have one manual Isuzu left, which is our oldest truck, a 2014 model FSR 140-260 but we will replace that soon so that we have a totally Allison equipped fleet,” said Polimeni. “We purchased the UD because we were able to order an Allison transmission. I was not interested in a truck with an AMT, they simply don’t work as well as the fully automatic especially when maneuvering on work sites and also in terms of reliability.”

Polimeni also points to the reliability and dependability of the Allison Automatics as a reason why he has switched the fleet to Allison fully automatic transmissions from manuals.

“They're very reliable, in fact I can’t recall ever having an issue with the Allisons, they are totally reliable and economical to run, particularly when you factor in the high cost of replacing clutches and repairing gearboxes in the manuals,” said Polimeni. “That is particularly relevant given the fact that you can’t find drivers capable of properly using a manual gearbox. If you put an inexperienced, unskilled driver in a manual it could cost thousands of dollars in mechanical damage, not to mention replacement clutches.”

The company’s new UD CW30 boasts 263 kW of power and 1428 Nm of torque and is equipped with an Allison 3200 Series six-speed fully automatic transmission with Gen 5 adaptive shift and a push button shift selector.

Freddy’s other trucks included three Isuzu FSR 140-260 Auto 4x2s, a bigger Isuzu 8x4 FYJ 8x4, as well as the lone older 2014 model FSR 140-260 manual. All of the company’s trucks are set up with hook lift skip bin loaders removing waste from construction and manufacturing sites around Sydney.

“My drivers are in traffic all day every day and those conditions make fully automatic transmissions even more important,” said Polimeni.

Mar 25, 2022

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Allison Transmission (NYSE: ALSN) is a leading designer and manufacturer of vehicle propulsion solutions for commercial and defense vehicles, the largest global manufacturer of medium- and heavy-duty fully automatic transmissions, and a leader in electrified propulsion systems that Improve the Way the World Works. Allison products are used in a wide variety of applications, including on-highway trucks (distribution, refuse, construction, fire and emergency), buses (school, transit and coach), motorhomes, off-highway vehicles and equipment (energy, mining and construction applications) and defense vehicles (tactical wheeled and tracked). Founded in 1915, the company is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. With a presence in more than 150 countries, Allison has regional headquarters in the Netherlands, China and Brazil, manufacturing facilities in the USA, Hungary and India, as well as global engineering resources, including electrification engineering centers in Indianapolis, Indiana, Auburn Hills, Michigan and London in the United Kingdom. Allison also has approximately 1,600 independent distributor and dealer locations worldwide. For more information, visit allisontransmission.com.

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