An expanding partnership with AMK
Backed by over 75 years of innovation and technological prowess, Freighter has established an impressive professional relationship with its many customers across the nation. On this anniversary year, we talk to AMK Container Services Director, Michael Potton on how Freighter has helped improve the company’s operational efficiency over the years.
Freighter trailers are built to provide owners with cutting edge logistical solutions that deliver low tare weight and high payload advantage. Michael Potton completely agrees with this. In fact his father, Robert ‘Bob’ Potton, encountered the problem of his earlier trailers not being able to cope with increasing payloads which made him turn to Freighter. Since getting their first Freighter trailer in 2000, the father and son duo have never looked back. Freighter trailers give them the reliability and productivity benefits they need for their operational success, which is why AMK’s current fleet boasts only of Freighter trailers.
“We switched to Freighter trailers from a need to cart heavier loads as hay export was getting heavier and heavier,” Michael says. “The trailers we used before Freighter were not handling the 30-tonne containers very well and we weren’t able to get them custom-built. My Dad then went to Freighter and they said they could engineer a light-weight 40ft skel trailer for us. They did exactly that. We bought our first Freighter Skel in late 2000 and it is still working for us every day.”
AMK Container Services has been carting containers between Victoria and New South Wales for nearly 40 years. Bob started the business as an owner-operator with a single truck, carting hay in containers from Bendigo to Melbourne.
“When Dad started carting hay there was one exporter in Victoria and they used to do five to eight containers a week. The export hay market has continually grown over time and with more exporters now we have grown agriculturally with the hay business out of Bendigo. In the early 2000’s, Dad started doing import of containers from Melbourne to Castlemaine and over time we have picked up some new clients within the food industry as well.”
When Michael purchased the business from his father in 2014, they had nine trucks at the time. Today, the two Directors run the business with a fleet of over 40 Freighter trailers and 21 prime movers. They have a team of 23 employees, 17 full-time drivers and three full-time sub-contractors. They have an office in Melbourne and another one in Kyneton from where they coordinate hay to NSW, and import frozen refrigerated containers in Victoria.
“Initially we bought one refrigerated Tautliner and one skel trailer from Freighter. We liked their performance, there were no issues with the build quality and everything worked well so we just kept buying more and more. Our current Freighter fleet includes 40ft Skels, and we’ve also got a few retractables and A-trailers for our B-doubles. We’re still using all our original Freighter trailers daily. Everything we’ve bought has been additional to our growth. We recently purchased three new trailers and a dolly from them.”
The new Freighter 40ft TL6 Skel models are PBS (Performance-Based Standards) approved – a feature that is important for AMK’s transport needs. A testament to this is the fact that the last 12 trailers they have purchased are PBS-rated. “Our freight task improved a lot with the use of PBS. We get reliability with this product with minimal downtime. The long-time durability is excellent and because of the tare weight we get high payload,” Michael says.
“Overall, I think the performance of Freighter trailers is excellent. I rate them best in the market. They offer excellent tare weight, we don’t have any complaints with durability, and we plan to continue buying more from them as the need arises.”
MaxiTRANS Dealers and Engineers really understand the needs of Australian transport businesses. Adding to that with the industry-leading technology used by Freighter, these trailers ensure that operators can maximise safety and productivity. The team at MaxiTRANS is always ready to assist customers – whether it is finding the right trailer for a business or engineering a product to suit specific tasks. “I really enjoy dealing with the MaxiTRANS team because of the guys I know, I can call them on their mobile and they help me every time. Things don’t often get delayed at their end and I don’t have the need to call back, which is great. Their service has always been excellent no matter who I deal with.”