Ready For Anything, Global Factory Maintenance Finds Its Fit with Isuzu

When a maintenance crew heads up into Australia’s rugged alpine country to work on critical power infrastructure, there’s not much room for loose ends or poor planning.

With work sites often sited well beyond the bitumen and shifts stretching from six in the morning until six at night, and daily return journeys of around 250 kilometres, the crew, equipment materials all need to arrive safely and ready to work.

For Wodonga-based Global Factory Maintenance (GFM), this is all part of the cut and thrust of a regular working week.

The business supports critical infrastructure across the hydroelectricity, gas, manufacturing and civil sectors, often travelling into remote parts of Australia where ‘reliability’ is a non-negotiable for vehicles and equipment.

If the transport doesn’t make it to the work site, neither do the people or equipment needed to keep the job moving.

Built to adapt

Established in 2005 by Managing Director, Gerard Telford, and brother Michael, GFM began with around six employees in a small workshop tucked behind a builder's premises.

21 years later, and the company employs around 65 people and operates from an expansive 1,500-square-metre facility set across five acres.

The company’s services span design and detailing, steel fabrication, manufacturing and mechanical, structural and civil installation, with projects covering everything from hydroelectric and gas infrastructure through to factory shutdowns, hospital projects and bridge refurbishments.

"We cover a broad range of activity, a lot of it end-to-end, for example delivering everything design through to complex fabrication builds and installations," Gerard said.

"The work can be local, or it can take us a long way from home with our projects for the hydro and gas networks taking us to remote locations all over the country.

"Our business has always had to be versatile because every customer, site and project brings a different set of requirements."

GFM currently has a mechanical crew working on a remote power-station refurbishment, while its Wodonga workshop prepares components for an industrial shutdown alongside steelwork for health and civil infrastructure projects.

Moving capability

As can be expected in a business such as this, transport plays a central role in the company's growth.

Materials need to reach the workshop, finished fabrications must be delivered to customers and site crews need to travel with the tools required to complete installation work.

To keep up with the varied demands, GFM operates a fleet of more than 25 vehicles, including three Isuzu trucks purchased through Blacklocks Isuzu in Wodonga on the Victorian, New South Wales border.

The latest addition for GFM is an Isuzu NNR 45-150 Traypack Crew, selected for its ability to carry people, equipment and materials within one adaptable package.

"Depending on the job, the truck might be set up with extensive tooling and a secure canopy for a longer period on-site," Gerard said.

"On another project, we may need the tray for steel plating, long lengths of material or fabricated components.

"The crew cab gives us the flexibility to move our people in comfort while carrying the tools and load needed for the work. That versatility is a big advantage for us."

Powered by Isuzu's proven 3-litre 4JZ1-TCS turbo-diesel engine, producing 110 kW and 375 Nm of torque, the NNR combines a 4,500 kg GVM with an 8,000 kg GCM.

And mated to Isuzu’s new MYR-9S 9-speed Dual-clutch Transmission (DT) with both fully automated and clutchless manual operation modes, the longer highway driving becomes effortless.

The NNR also carries a comprehensive suite of active safety technology, including Advanced Emergency Braking, Full Speed Adaptive Cruise Control, Electronic Stability Control, Lane Departure Warning and Forward Collision Warning to name a few.

"Our shutdown crews can be working remotely across day and night shifts, so we need to get people there safely. That’s a huge priority for us," Gerard said.

"We need reliability, we need safety and we need enough space for the crew and their equipment."

Ready for work

The NNR Traypack's work-ready nature was another important consideration for Gerard.

"The fact that the truck came ready for work and in a crew cab was a big part of our choice," he explained.

"We didn’t need to spend a significant amount upgrading any features or adding equipment simply to make it suitable for our daily work.

"It was effectively straight from the showroom and into our workforce."

A trusted solution

Blacklocks Isuzu and Sales Consultant, Richard Pineros, have helped GFM put that approach into practice for around a decade.

What began with a single, light-duty Isuzu has developed into a three-truck Isuzu fleet, with Richard building an understanding of GFM's work and the demands placed on its vehicles.

That knowledge helped identify the NNR Crew as a suitable platform for an operation requiring payload and general load capacity, crew movements and the freedom to change configurations between projects.

"Richard has been a key person in those purchases and Blacklocks has been selling trucks to us ever since that first vehicle," Gerard said.

"They understand what we use the trucks for and have helped us move into a reliable, well-established product that stands up to the treatment.

"The feedback from our crews has been excellent. The comfort is great, the trucks are robust, and we haven’t been able to break one yet," he mused.

Reliability by design

With more than 25 vehicles operating across different locations, maintenance is carefully planned.

GFM services its Isuzu trucks through Blacklocks, and the new Traypack is covered by an Isuzu Service Agreement to provide scheduled maintenance with clearer cost planning and fewer surprises.

The arrangement compliments Isuzu's six-year factory warranty and 24/7 roadside assistance, providing added confidence when the next assignment may be far from the workshop.

"Reliability is super critical for us, so the service process needs to be smooth," Gerard said.

"With the Service Agreement, the work is earmarked, and we know what to expect and when to expect it. We can plan for the truck to go into Blacklocks and keep the fleet moving."

GFM is preparing for its next stage of growth, including plans for a second workshop that will separate its stainless and mild-steel operations.

And as its capabilities expand, Gerard expects Isuzu to remain part of the journey, with no plans to move away from Australia’s most trusted truck brand. And with the shared values of reliability and dependability at the core of both GFM and Isuzu Trucks, who could blame him.

ends