BRISBANE, Australia – With a driver shortage impacting a number of vital Australian business sectors such as freight and construction, many businesses are migrating to using fully automatic transmissions, particularly in the medium-duty truck and light heavy-duty truck categories.

Holcim Australia, a leading supplier of aggregates, concrete, and precast concrete products, has transitioned a significant portion of its fleet of concrete mixers to fully automatic transmissions to rapidly expand its potential driver pool.

“Candidates no longer require the specialised skills to drive a large manual vehicle but can still be a great addition to our team,” said Dave King, Regional Logistics Manager, Queensland, Holcim Australia. “Our concrete agitator truck drivers undergo a comprehensive training programme, so this is one less thing to worry about. If you’ve got a newer driver running a manual, with a clutch and a brake and a gas pedal on a vehicle, such as an agitator that has a higher centre of gravity, it can be challenging for them. The simplicity of a fully automatic transmission helps us train staff confidently and safely.”

“Furthermore, we do an awful lot of stop/start, a lot of idling, manoeuvring and dealing with inclines of up to 12 degrees,” said King. “Often, when we are reversing onto concrete pumps, we have two trucks feeding onto the one pump. The finesse of a smooth, fully automatic transmission helps drivers position their discharge chutes with greater accuracy.”

Allison’s Continuous Power Technology™ provides superior low-speed control and manoeuvrability to enable the precise inching and positioning of the loaded mixer truck with virtually no rollback.

Another advantage for Holcim has been the connection to Allison’s service network, which manages any adjustments on new fleet arrivals and assists with ongoing maintenance.  The Allison Authorised Distributors network encompasses all 57 locations covered by Heavy Automatics, Penske Australia Pty Ltd. and Transdiesel.

August 13^th 2024

About Allison Transmission

Allison Transmission (NYSE: ALSN) is a leading designer and manufacturer of propulsion solutions for commercial and defence vehicles and the largest global manufacturer of medium- and heavy-duty fully automatic transmissions that Improve the Way the World Works. Allison products are used in a wide variety of applications, including on-highway trucks (distribution, refuse, construction, fire and emergency), buses (school, transit and coach), motorhomes, off-highway vehicles and equipment (energy, mining and construction applications) and defence vehicles (tactical wheeled and tracked). Founded in 1915, the company is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. With a presence in more than 150 countries, Allison has regional headquarters in the Netherlands, China and Brazil, manufacturing facilities in the USA, Hungary and India, as well as global engineering resources, including electrification engineering centres in Indianapolis, Indiana, Auburn Hills, Michigan and London in the United Kingdom. Allison also has approximately 1,600 independent distributor and dealer locations worldwide. For more information, visit allisontransmission.com.

About Holcim:

Holcim builds progress for people and the planet. As a global leader in innovative and sustainable building solutions, Holcim is enabling greener cities, smarter infrastructure and improving living standards around the world. With sustainability at the core of its strategy Holcim is becoming a net zero company, with its people and communities at the heart of its success. Holcim Australia is a leading supplier of aggregates, concrete, and precast concrete products: https://www.holcim.com.au/