On The Hot Tip With Danly & Isuzu Trucks ​ 

With greenfield planning projects underway to its north and west, landscaping and outdoor renovations services are in particularly high demand throughout rapidly growing Geelong - Victoria’s second-largest city. ​ ​ 

A popular and affordable destination for many looking to escape the greater Melbourne sprawl, population numbers within the bayside city are forecast to jump to 400,000 by 2041, representing a solid 40 per cent increase. ​ ​ ​ 

Needless to say, such persistent growth is keeping the team at Danly on their toes. ​ ​ 

Danly is a landscaping and construction supply business servicing Geelong and the beautiful Bellarine Peninsula and inland to Ballarat in regional Victoria. ​ ​ 

“Our customers come from all different areas of construction, such as landscapers, bricklayers, concreters, and builders, as well as developers and civil projects. We also supply plumbing and pool installation customers,” Danly General Manager Chad Ovens said.

With busy customers expecting the best service Chad and his team can offer, the business has built-up an impressive fleet of Isuzu tippers to deliver gravel, pebbles, sand, crushed rock and various landscaping and material supplies. ​

Downtime simply doesn’t fit into the schedule, so the fleet must be in peak condition and able to handle a range of tasks in a variety of environments. ​

WORKING KNOWLEDGE  

Danly was purchased in 2005 by Chad’s father and other stakeholders, but when the opportunity came up for Chad to invest in the business, he didn’t miss a beat. In December 2021 he jumped on board as Danly’s general manager and leapt at the chance to get behind a proven business. 

After working as a carpenter for almost a decade and with a background in construction, Chad had plenty of transferrable skills that could be put to use at Danly, especially in the area of understanding his trade customers’ needs. ​ 

As local demand for landscaping and garden supplies picked up, Chad chose to invest in two new two FRR 107-210 Tippers to add to the growing Isuzu fleet.Isuzu fleet. 

“We now have 12 Isuzu trucks in our fleet, all of which are tippers,” he said. ​ 

“Danly has only ever worked with Isuzu Trucks since the business started in 2005 – a good portion of 20 years - and we have been with them ever since.” 

The Hot Tip 

Spanning a varied gross vehicle mass (GVM) range, the Danly fleet comprises of an FVZ 1400 Tipper, three FXZ 1500 Tippers, an FRR 500 Tipper, an NLR 275 Tipper, NPR 400 Tipper, NLR 275 Tipper, FRR 500, FTR 900, two FRR 107-210 SWB Tippers, and of course the sweetest editions – two new FRR 107-210 Tippers. 

“Our newer Isuzu tippers get loaded for delivery and our drivers head to their locations and tip out the product exactly where the customer wants. ​ 

“Our drivers are on the road doing deliveries six days a week,” Chad said. 

Super Service

Due to the long hours that the tipper fleet are on the road and the rugged work those trucks are undertaking, Chad relies on the excellent service technicians at Geelong Isuzu to look after the Danly fleet, minimising downtime and keeping trucks on the road. 

When selecting the latest FRR models, Chad consulted with Philip Halleday from Geelong Isuzu regarding application specificity and which model would perform best for Danly’s daily needs. 

With a GVM of 11,000 kg and a Gross Combined Mass (GCM) of 16,000 kg, the FRRs are well equipped to facilitate those larger orders of sand, soil, mulch and other material supplies. ​ 

Powered by the bulletproof Isuzu N-4HK1-TCH 4-cylinder, 16 valve engine, the FRR platform is a proven entity, leaning on years of factory development and experience in the field. ​ ​ 

With 177 kW (260PS) of power @ 2,400 RPM and 765 Nm of torque @ 1,600 RPM, there’s plenty of muscle to haul all manner of materials all over greater Geelong and beyond. 

Adding to that the close proximity to Geelong Isuzu (only a short drive away) from the Danly offices and supply yard, Chad can get his tipper fleet in and out for servicing with minimum hassle and next to no downtime. 

“It’s always pretty smooth sailing when it comes to Geelong Isuzu and the wait time for spare parts is always quick. 

“Geelong Isuzu has service technicians who work night shifts, which is super handy because we need our trucks on the road first thing in the morning, so being able to have them worked on at night is a big bonus for us.” 

Safety First

Chad said servicing and preventative maintenance was very important to the transport operation. ​ 

“The trucks always have to be in top condition and operate safely, so we are very diligent on getting our trucks serviced and properly looked after,” he said. 

“We can’t afford a truck being off the road for an extended period of time, so we focus on preventative servicing and maintenance. ​ 

“Every so often a truck is off the road getting serviced with a problem that can be only solved over a three- or four-day period, but mostly we get our trucks back and on the job in under 24 hours - and we could not be happier for it! 

“The team at Geelong Isuzu are always fantastic to deal with. They’ve helped us many times over the years with replacing and upgrading trucks in our fleet, and we know we can rely on them. 

“Danly has been really impressed with the Isuzu brands’ breadth of range over the years. It’s why we have been so loyal to purchasing Isuzu Trucks over the past 20 years, and I can see us continuing that relationship into the future,” concluded Chad.