Scania Safety for Dangerous Goods
When you are carrying Dangerous Goods, there is no room for shortcuts. For more than four decades, Morrow’s Logistics has built its reputation on safety, reliability and trust, supported by a fleet increasingly standardised around Scania trucks.
Morrow’s Logistics currently operates 36 Scania trucks, with more joining the fleet as older vehicles are progressively retired.
Carrying Dangerous Goods is not a job for crossed fingers, cheap equipment or the old Australian fallback of “she’ll be right”.
When the freight can burn, corrode, react or turn a minor roadside incident into something involving flashing lights and people wearing protective suits, reliability is not a slogan painted on the side of a truck. It is the business model.
That principle has guided Morrow’s Logistics for more than four decades. What began with one truck and a couple of customers has grown into a 40-plus vehicle regional transport and logistics operation specialising in Dangerous Goods, chemicals and safety-critical freight.
Now, as Morrow’s expands into warehousing, contract logistics and broader supply-chain services, Scania is on track to become the company’s sole truck supplier.
David Morrow says Morrow’s Logistics has consistently selected Scania’s available safety technology to protect its drivers, customers and reputation.
One Truck, One Family
Morrow’s Freightlines was established in 1983, although David Morrow’s introduction to the transport industry came under difficult circumstances.
“I was thrust into the business at age 17 after my father passed,” David says.
Together with his wife, Robyn, David transformed the original one-man operation into a substantial regional and cross-border logistics business.
Today, Morrow’s operates from Keysborough, Noble Park and Ringwood, with services extending to the outskirts of Adelaide in the west and Sydney in the east.
“While we established ourselves as Dangerous Goods experts in chemical delivery, over the past 20 years we have expanded into infrastructure, energy and broader freight movements,” David says.
That work includes transporting transformers, cables and insulators for Victoria’s power network, along with providing warehousing and more comprehensive end-to-end logistics services.
Despite the company’s growth, one principle has remained unchanged.
“One of the key things we have sold our customers on is that we are here to protect their brand,” David says. “Safety and reliability have therefore been extremely important in both our marketing and our service model.”
Morrow’s Logistics has expanded beyond regional transport to provide warehousing, storage, pick-and-pack and end-to-end distribution services.
The Scania Standard
Scania has been part of the Morrow’s story for 34 years.
David’s long-standing appreciation of Saab cars eventually led him to purchase his first Scania. The relationship began with the iconic 3-series and continued through the 4-series, PGR range, New Truck Generation and latest Super models.
Morrow’s now operates 36 Scanias, with more arriving as older vehicles, predominantly lighter-duty Japanese trucks, are retired. Over the years, the company has purchased more than 100 new Scanias.
The fleet includes prime movers and rigid trucks, many specially configured for particular roles.
As far back as 2002, Morrow’s commissioned an 8×4 Scania rigid designed to perform several jobs in one. The twin-steer featured a short tautliner section for palletised freight, an open deck for cable drums and mini-containers, and a tail-lift for deliveries to sites with limited loading equipment.
It was the transport equivalent of a Swiss Army knife, only considerably larger and less convenient to carry in your pocket.
Despite the variety of applications, Morrow’s maintains consistent cab layouts and specifications across the fleet. A Dangerous Goods driver moving from one vehicle to another encounters familiar controls and operating systems.
“It gives them a sense of confidence,” David says.
“We have developed a template for the specification of our Scania trucks. Our account manager, Tevfik Onguc, has helped us establish a fleet standard from the huge array of options Scania offers.
“For me, it is about finding functionality that is durable, comfortable and safe for the drivers.”
Morrow’s Logistics now operates 36 Scania trucks across its Dangerous Goods, regional transport, specialised freight and infrastructure operations.
Million-Kilometre Workhorses
Morrow’s generally retains its trucks for around seven years, with some travelling up to 170,000 kilometres annually.
By the time they leave the fleet, the odometers are rarely displaying modest numbers.
“We have had many Scanias that have travelled two to three million kilometres,” David says. “It is a conservative model, but it works.”
Helping the trucks reach those figures is an in-house workshop staffed by four diesel technicians.
“The workshop is really important because if something small goes wrong, we can fix it immediately, get the truck back on the road and keep the driver happy,” David says.
“We maintain good service records and believe strongly in preventative maintenance. Our technicians handle everything from regular servicing to replacing turbos and refurbishing engines and gearboxes.”
Morrow’s Logistics General Manager of Transport and Warehousing Valentin Teles, left, with company director David Morrow at the company’s Melbourne warehousing operation.
Expanding the Family Business
Morrow’s remains firmly family-led. Robyn previously served as General Manager and continues to support the business in a senior leadership capacity. Two of David and Robyn’s sons are also involved, one as a fourth-year diesel apprentice and the other within operations.
To support its next phase of growth, Morrow’s appointed Valentin Teles as General Manager of Transport and Warehousing.
Valentin brings extensive third-party logistics experience, including 11 years with Mainfreight and a background in warehouse automation.
“We are expanding our contract logistics and warehousing offering within specialised, safety-critical environments,” Valentin says.
“Our focus is professionalism, reliability and delivering exactly what we promise. We are now taking that philosophy to a broader market.”
Transport remains at the heart of Morrow’s, but warehousing allows the company to manage freight from its arrival at the facility through storage, pick and pack, distribution and final delivery.
For Dangerous Goods customers, that means dealing with one specialist provider instead of separate warehousing and transport companies.
“They know we can have a truck ready to go within half an hour,” David says. “Having control of the process makes the entire operation move much faster.”
A Morrow’s Logistics Scania is loaded inside the company’s Melbourne warehouse, demonstrating the integration of transport and warehousing within its expanding logistics operation.
Safety That Helps David Sleep
Dangerous Goods transport demands considerably more than a clipboard and a freshly ticked compliance box.
Morrow’s has adopted Scania’s safety technology as it has become available, with its latest trucks equipped with an extensive range of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems.
“We have always selected every available safety option from Scania,” David says. “Every time another safety system is introduced, I sleep a little better.”
The fleet also uses MTData, Seeing Machines, reversing cameras and the Australian-designed Spotto blind-spot monitoring system.
“Features such as Advanced Emergency Braking help protect our brand, and you cannot put a price on that,” David says.
Morrow’s has also employed an in-house driver trainer to help drivers understand the latest safety systems, dashboards and efficiency features.
“It is not really about teaching them how to drive,” David says. “They are experienced Dangerous Goods drivers, so they are already very switched on.
“It is about helping them get the best from the vehicle, reducing wear and tear, and achieving the best possible fuel efficiency and vehicle longevity.”
Morrow’s Logistics is progressively standardising its 40-plus vehicle fleet around Scania trucks as it expands its Dangerous Goods, specialised freight and warehousing operations.
Seven Per Cent Matters
Following the COVID period, Morrow’s adopted Euro 6 as its company standard, demonstrating that even within the chemical transport industry, operators can play a part in reducing emissions.
The latest Scanias are also delivering an estimated seven per cent improvement in fuel economy.
Seven per cent might not sound particularly dramatic while sitting alone on a spreadsheet. Multiplied across a fleet of more than 40 trucks, however, it becomes a very serious number.
The trucks typically travel fully loaded at around 40 tonnes before returning empty. Morrow’s is working to improve backloading opportunities by returning power-industry equipment from the field and collecting freight from farms and smaller regional communities.
The company is also considering an additional warehousing facility in Melbourne’s north as it strengthens its contract logistics and regional supply-chain operations.
“We want to grow through the regions,” Valentin says. “That regional focus has been at the heart of Morrow’s since the beginning, with strong relationships developed within local communities.
“It has never been driven purely by sales. It has grown from a genuine willingness to help and provide a service.”
With wind and solar developments continuing across Victoria, demand for poles, cables, transformers and associated infrastructure is expected to grow. For Morrow’s, it represents a natural extension of the capabilities it has developed across energy, specialised freight, warehousing and regional transport.
The freight may be complicated, but the formula behind the business is refreshingly simple: experienced people, carefully specified trucks and an uncompromising commitment to protecting the customer.
For Morrow’s Logistics and Scania, the chemistry appears to be just right, both for today and to-Morrow.
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