Dubbo is a town of weather extremes: dry, stinking-hot summer months and frigid winters that barely creep above double digits. This all keeps Marty from Marty Nelson Refrigeration and Air Conditioning well and truly on his toes all year round. It’s the diverse weather of Dubbo that provides so much work for his growing business.
THAT’S WHO
While the Aussie ute is an icon of the job site, Marty found running multiple utes didn’t give the capacity for the high level of jobs he had to handle. Utes meant making multiple trips back and forth, not only to cart all the equipment needed for the day, but to also get the team to the job. A light-duty truck seemed to be the answer. “My business has been going approximately 15 years,” sparked Marty. “Originally I was an electrician. Then I diversified into refrigeration, and ultimately into air conditioning. “Everything in my business revolves around refrigerated air conditioning, heating, and cooling. When I first started it was predominantly evaporative air conditioning.” Marty works all year long, solving the many problems that arise with temperature control of homes, buildings and businesses throughout the central west of New South Wales. Covering such a large, and at times remote, swathe of the state requires reliable transport that’s big on comfort, which is why Marty recently traded up to an Isuzu NPR 45-155 Tradepack.
EFFICIENT
With an electrician’s background, Marty says he prefers to be on the tools, but the success of the business meant he’s progressed to overseeing the whole operation. The team is supervised by Marty who keeps everything running smoothly, and his customers appreciate the personal touch, knowing he’s on top of the jobs and at the helm. Even with two admin staff working alongside, “I’m generally the first port of call,” he smiled. During the booming summer months, Marty’s business can field anywhere between 120 to 170 calls a day, so it’s critical to have someone who knows the lay of the land inside and out. “Sometimes in the busy months we just can’t get to everyone. We try to have a 48-hour turnover for jobs, but occasionally we’re forced to send customers in the direction of different trades who can help them out.
“Reputations are everything in regional communities, so our guiding principles of integrity, honesty and loyalty are clear in the way we do business – it’s all about getting results for our customers. “I didn’t even have a ute back when I began in the business, so I used to borrow a ute from a friend of mine to get things started. The business has progressed to now include a fleet of work vehicles, with the latest addition being our new Isuzu Tradepack. “What’s great about the Isuzu truck is I can put four installations in the back, then drop them on-site. So we’re not towing a trailer or getting the boys to travel from job site to job site,” he said.
MAKES SENSE
These business efficiencies are at the heart of the NPR 45-155 Tradepack from Isuzu’s popular pre-bodied range of trucks. Featuring a GVM of 4500kg and a GCM of 9000kg, the NPR also has a 4500kg towing capacity, meaning all Marty’s payload needs are met, and all on a standard car driver’s licence. Powered by Isuzu’s four-cylinder 4HK1-TCN engine, the NPR has plenty of punch at 114kW (155PS) @ 2600rpm and torque of 419Nm @ 1600rprm – 2600rpm. Making matters even more straightforward for Marty is the selection of Isuzu’s six-speed manual transmission. The fuel efficiencies of a manual made plenty of sense given the application and environment.
“We chose the manual and it’s been great,” synchromeshed the Dubbo local. “It drives well, it’s comfortable, and I love it. For getting the job done and what purpose the truck serves, it couldn’t be any better!” “You only need a car licence to drive it, so it’s accessible to the whole team. That was a major advantage when it came to picking an Isuzu truck – it’s so convenient.” The driving style and accessibility is not the only aspect that appealed to Marty and the day-in-and-day-out needs of his crew.
“We can chuck piping on top. We can store so much on the tray. The truck has ladder racks. You just jump in and away you go. “The Tradepack lets us load four jobs in the back. Now we can have four lots of ducting and air conditioning, meaning we can just deliver on site to each house without stopping in between.” Dubbo’s Isuzu dealership, Tracserv, came through for Marty when he made the switch from utes to a truck last year. “The new Tradepack helps because it’s more effective and more efficient to deliver product to the job sites – it minimises the manpower we need to get it there compared to using multiple utes and multiple trips,” Marty concluded.