Select Plant Australia and Isuzu: Building Big for the Future

On a fresh Sydney morning, a new Select Plant Australia Isuzu water tanker is hard at work suppressing dust on one of Australia’s biggest transport projects. ​ 

The spray behind the 7,000 litre water tanker sparkles in the sun as the sturdy Isuzu FVR 165-300 makes its way across the site, which will ultimately be transformed into the general maintenance facility for all Sydney trains. ​ 

Select Business Unit Leader Nathan Mitschuinig said the company added eight Isuzu FVR 165-300 7,000 litre water tankers and eight FXZ 240-350 14,000 litre water tankers to its fleet earlier this year to work on major construction projects being undertaken by parent company, Laing O’Rourke. ​ 

“These new trucks will be put to work on Sydney and Melbourne metropolitan construction projects,” Mr Mitschuinig said. ​ 

Both the FXZ 240-350 and FVR 165-300 models have a range of safety features, including anti-lock braking systems (ABS), driver airbags and low light capable reversing cameras. The FVRs also have anti-skid regulators (ASR), electronic stability control (ESC), electronic braking systems (EBS) and cab tilt warning (CTW). ​ 

Rail Projects  ​ 

Laing O’Rourke currently has more than 35 infrastructure projects being delivered around the country, predominantly in rail, defence and roads. ​ 

Select supplies plant and equipment and industrial transportation services to Laing O’Rourke as well as other construction, infrastructure and utility companies, and works on a range of large-scale projects. ​ 

“Our fleet is growing weekly as the demand for plant and equipment increases in the construction sector,” Mr Mitschuinig said. ​ ​ 

“We also regularly renew our plant and equipment with a scheduled program to manage the units that we change-over each year. ​ 

“We like to keep our range up to date with the latest tech and sustainability options on the market.” ​ ​ 

Safe and Productive ​ 

Select has 60 Isuzu vehicles in its fleet, including 10 new NNR 45-150 Traypack Crewcab models, as well as tippers, crane trucks, fuel trucks and hi-rail trucks, which are capable of operating on highways and railroad tracks. ​ ​ 

Mr Mitschuinig said Select chose Isuzu products because they met the productivity and safety requirements of their customers. ​ 

“Our clients are based all over the country from big cities to more remote places like the Pilbara in Western Australia,” Mr Mitschuinig said. ​ ​ 

“Because of the variety of tasks the trucks are employed into and the nature of the applications, we find that our clients travel distances ranging from 75 to 650 kilometres per week.” ​ 

Mr Mitschuinig said one of the favourite features of the Isuzu trucks was the comfort of the cabin, especially the air-ride seats. ​ ​ 

“We also love the safety feature of the reverse camera,” he said. ​ 

Service Matters  ​ 

All of the Isuzu vehicles in the Select fleet are serviced at authorised Isuzu service centres. ​ ​ 

“We use the service centres as they have general parts, the latest technology and know what needs updating,” Mr Mitschuinig said. ​ 

Back at site, the FVR 165-300 water truck continues to spray water on the construction project, which resembles a field at the moment. ​ ​ 

Once two-metre-high pre-cast beams are installed around the perimeter, the site will be backfilled with one million tonnes of soil and then construction of the sheds, bays and train parking areas will begin. ​ 

Capable and Sturdy  ​ 

Featuring a GVM of 16,500 kg, the capable FVR 165-300 employed as a water tanker can easily cart 7,000 litres of water, which weighs 7 tonnes. ​ 

Powered by Isuzu’s six-cylinder 6HK1-TCS engine, the FVR has plenty of punch at 221kW (300PS) @ 2,400 rpm and torque of 981Nm @ 1,450 rpm. ​ 

As well as dust suppression, Select Plant Australia Logistics Project Manager Daniel Kelly said the Isuzu water tankers are used for wetting materials prior to compaction and to wash and clean roads in and around the site. ​ ​ 

Anniversary Upon Us  ​ 

Select celebrated its 15^th year of operations in Australia in November 2022. ​ ​ 

The company was originally set up in the United Kingdom as an internal plant hire company for the $6 billion global construction and engineering company Laing O’Rourke. ​ 

Looking forward, Mr Mitschuinig said the future growth of Australia’s plant and equipment hire sector would involve sustainability and innovation. ​ ​ 

“Thanks to the advancement of technology, we are seeing things like solar and electric plant and equipment become more accessible,” Mr Mitschuinig said. ​ ​ 

“More businesses are trying to change their old habits for a more sustainable future. We’re also seeing a growth in robotics, autonomous control and machine control.” ​ 

With Select Plant Australia able to draw on the vast experience of their parent company and a vision for the future, it’s bright times ahead. ​ ​ ​ 

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