From fulfilling complex contracts to designing products for tight locations, Vorstrom’s vacuum tankers have been supporting major collection services across the country.
Designing, manufacturing and servicing a liquid vacuum truck requires precision in the gritty yet environmentally sensitive process of liquid waste collection.
Vorstrom has been offering industrial vacuum, hydro excavation and liquid vacuum tankers to private and public waste management companies and local governments for more than nine years. The long standing family business goes back three generations and in excess of 70 years.
Daryl Wiggins, Vorstrom Vacuum Equipment CEO has a passion for vacuum trucks that vacuum and air-convey liquid and solid materials, that saw him grow and develop the Vorstrom range of tankers to a new level. He had a goal to make an impact in the vacuum truck industry by focusing on efficiencies and customer service, while continuing to prioritise Australian manufactured products under strict quality control.
“We’ve created 25 different vacuum models over an eight-year period by studying customer applications and problems, and developing a unit to suit these requirements,” Darryl explains.
“It’s not just about selling the product, but supporting customers with efficiencies, industry experience and time constraints.”
He adds that a range of other factors go into a Vorstrom customer collaboration, including how far the material is being transported, the consistency of product and the competitiveness of the market the customer works in. The vehicles must also be compliant with Work Health and Safety requirements, Australian Design Rules and relevant EPA or Department of Environment approvals.
Nathan Radley, General Manager Integrated Services at REMONDIS, joined REMONDIS after it acquired Thiess Waste Management. After REMONDIS also acquired Waste Trans in 2017, the company added a fleet of 17 liquid waste collection vehicles to its Queensland operations.
When REMONDIS took on the south-east Queensland business, it looked to upgrade its fleet and move towards specified products. Nathan had worked with Vorstrom before and envisioned they would reliably support a number of major contracts in the region. This includes moving sewage, septic and grease trap from a variety of locations such as schools, ambulance and police stations.
“When we picked up the contract, most of our fleet were semi tankers. As the vehicles were quite large, we needed a couple of smaller rigid vehicles for the fleet,” Nathan says.
Vorstrom provided the company with a R560-14000 liquid waste vacuum and MiniVac vacuum pump for low clearance applications, which proved crucial for a number of tight access sites it was operating in in Brisbane. The speedy service was particularly notable for Nathan, placing the order in August last year and arriving within six to eight weeks.
“We needed a short vehicle to support 14,000 litres quickly and only had four weeks until the contract started.”
Nathan says that the company processes around 50 to 60,000 tonnes per annum of liquid waste in its Queensland operation. He says that most organisations use rigid 6×4 trucks comprising about 10 to 12,000 litres, but REMONDIS needed the 14,000 litre in an 8×4 configuration for extra payload.
“The shorter vehicle with the larger payload is an unusual combo, but it was important we had a better turning circle for tight spaces such as schools not designed to fit a vacuum tanker.”
Nathan says the MiniVac is also designed to get into car parks and underground spaces, and it was quite an achievement for Vorstrom to deliver such a small, low-clearance vehicle with a 4000-litre payload.
Nathan says the R560-14,000 and MiniVac also contain a relatively quieter pumps in comparison to older units. The heavy-duty machine is also versatile, he adds and can handle viscous or some sludgy materials.
The R560-14000 model is ideal for liquid waste, including septic and sewer, sludge, slurry and grease trap waste. Low maintenance operations combined with high quality, off-the-shelf components support performance at a low cost of ownership. A 14,000-litre barrel capacity, complete hydraulic system to operate the vacuum pump and tipping ram, are just a few of the machine’s stand-out features.
Paul Cuskelly’s 20 years of experience working for a variety of major waste companies put him in good stead to join liquid waste company Enwaste about 18 months ago.
The business began investing in Vorstrom vacuum trucks three-and-a half years ago with the acquisition of a TRD940-11000 equipped with a hydraulically driven 940CFM vacuum pump and 11,000 litre capacity tank.
Paul says that Enwaste moves in the vicinity of 70,000 litres a day of liquid waste. With the need to minimise loading times and improve efficiency, the company turned to Vorstrom for a solution. “The Vorstrom machines load products in half the time of the previous equipment, which is a significant saving in time and cost.”
Paul says that after-sales support is strong, with any problems sorted promptly and backed up with a 12-month workmanship warranty.
For more information, visit: https://vorstrom.com.au/