roads #2, 2015

The famous UD emblem - sixty years onSeven key milestones in UD engine history

UD Trucks - Going the Extra Mile since 1935Roads ISSUE 2 | 2015

Thailand Lady on a quest

South Africa The rhino mission

It is with pleasure that we publish this latest edition of Roads, your magazine about UD Trucks and the world of road transportation.

In this issue the Roads team takes you from tropical lowlands to high-altitude mountainsides to bring you UD customer stories. Wherever there are

trucking needs – whatever the conditions – UD is always there, working with you, your dependable, trustworthy partner.

In South Africa where a poaching epidemic is threatening the rhino species with extinction, UD is joining with the Legends Rhino Orphanage on a bid to save the rhinos. Read how the very last unit of UD40 produced will be equipped for a very special mission. Everyone in UD is proud to be a part of such a good cause and we hope we can in some way contribute to a global effort to preserve wildlife in Africa.

Think Thailand, think paddy fields and scorching temperatures. Here we meet Jariya Khampakdee, a young, determined woman who drives UD’s latest model – Quester – for Panthip Transportation Service. In this interview we also speak to Sitthikorn Sornsuchittra, the owner of Panthip, and hear his views on having a female driver onboard.

Back home, we take you on a trip to Matsuyama, a city in the southwest of Japan. Uwajima Automotive Transportation has a long-standing history and they generously shared their stories with Roads. This is the study of how a leader emerges and evolves to successfully steer a company through evolving market conditions.

At the foot of Chimborazo, the highest peak in Ecuador, lies Guano County. On this part of the Andean cordillera the views are breathtaking but the terrain is harsh and roads are still being paved to connect rural and urban populations. A fleet of UD dump trucks, owned by the county, is a key player in the mayor’s ambitious infrastructure and development plans.

Lastly, for our drivers on the road, we’ve gathered a few first-hand tips to make your trips more comfortable. We look forward to hearing some of your tips and tricks to help your fellow travelers. Please don’t hesitate to contact us at [email protected]

Until we have the pleasure to meet you in our next issue, Keep trucking!

Taizo MatsuoDirectorUD Trucks Vehicle Product Management

Dear friends,

TechnologyGH8E The new benchmark

Trucker Tips & TricksLong journey - how to stay comfortable

TraditionMartial arts

A philosophy of life

JapanPiloting a path to prosperity

Uwajima Automotive Transportation in Matsuyama

EcuadorPaving the future of Guano

Powering high-altitude infrastructure development with Quon

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InterviewKensuke Sugahara

Powertrain Engineering Technology Team Leader

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ThailandLady on a quest

Onboard the new Quester with Jariya Khampakdee

History The famous UD emblem - sixty years onSeven key milestones in UD engine history

Roads is published by UD Trucks Corporation www.udtrucks.com

PublisherKenneth Hagas [email protected]

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ISSUE 2 | 2015

South Africa The rhino mission

UD joins rhino orphanage to save baby rhinos

After extensive tests, seduced by their performance and durability, Chrysler signed a long-term agreement to import

UD engines to power its own trucks, and also boats and industrial machines. It was the first time a Japanese

automaker had supplied major parts to an American one, at a time when Japan was not

regarded as technologically advanced as the United States.

The famous UD emblem - sixty years on

Seven key mile stones in UD engine history

The top-class series featured with ultra high pressure fuel injection to achieve fuel efficiency rivaling complete combustion, and a weight cut of around 10%. Together with the urea SCR system, it slashed the engine’s emissions to again meet the world’s strictest regulations in Japan. Mounted with this technology, the Quon set a global benchmark for fuel efficiency and environmental performance.

Powerful UD61955

Five months later, the UD6 engine followed. With six cylinders and delivering 230 horsepower, it weighed 40% less and ranked as the world’s lightest engine per horsepower, beating fierce competition from around the globe. The UD6 powered the popular 6TW, an iconic truck of its time, which played a major role in developing Japan’s infrastructure during its “Miracle Growth” years.

GE13 engine

1998

With the introduction of ever-stricter environmental regulations in the latter half of the 1990s, UD focused on combining efficient engines with multi-gear transmissions to deliver the best possible torque at all times.Their innovative efforts produced the GE13 engine, the world’s first to include a ball-bearing turbocharger for better mechanical efficiency, stronger throttle response and also less oil needed for lubrication. It came fitted with UD’s ESCOT-AT – Japan’s first electronically controlled semi-automatic multi-speed transmission for heavy-duty trucks. Together, the pair delivered a superb mix of power and mileage.

Urea SCR system

2004

Posing the toughest challenge to truck manufacturers, the Japanese government set the world’s strictest emission regulations for trucks sold after 2005. The Research and Development engineers set to work and UD once again made history by introducing the world’s first commercialized urea selective catalytic (SCR) system for heavy-duty trucks; it complied with the regulations without compromising on engine performance. When fitted to trucks, the system is called FLENDS (Final Low Emission New Diesel System), and it debuted together with the first Quon in 2004.The technology was later applied by other truck manufacturers, and went on to become the global standard in exhaust gas after-treatment systems.

Turbo era1971

A full ten years before Formula 1 experimented with it; UD was commercializing a turbocharged version of its PD6 engine. PD6T saw its power rocketing from 185 to 260 horsepower with the addition of the magic turbine.

From blason to brand

2010

When Nissan Diesel was integrated into the Volvo Group, what better way to celebrate the union than naming the brand after its world-renowned performance symbol? UD has always been a symbol of power and reliability; it now stands proudly for Ultimate Dependability, opening a new page in the history of trucking.

First UD engine 1955

Uniflow scavenging Diesel engine – the origin of the UD name – was the first Japanese-made engine to meet the market’s expectations to travel faster and farther. Engines capable of 200 horsepower were in huge demand in the fifties and the UD engine was the first in Japan able to deliver this.

GH 11

GH series2010

America, America!

1968

Not widely known is that UD launched a 330 horsepower V8

engine, marketed from 1964 to 1970.

V8 1964

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History

The rhino mission

Text: Lesley Stones / Photos: Bram Lammer

The orphanage is based at Legend Golf & Safari Resort in the Limpopo province. Legend owns part of the Entabeni Safari Conservancy and runs conservation projects with rare white lions, so extending into rhino conservation was a natural step. The orphanage was co-founded by Arrie van Deventer, the manager of Legend Wildlife Centre, and Pete Richardson, the resort’s Golf Director.Its exact location isn’t made public because of the risk that poachers will swoop. Calves only have small horns, but more horn lies beneath the skin, and since rhino horn has become one of the most expensive items on earth, poachers will chase every last centimeter. The value of this illegal trade makes well-armed professional poaching gangs not only dangerous to rhinos, but also to the rangers and carers who try to protect them. Armed rangers patrol Entabeni Safari Conservancy and protect the orphanage too, which has five full time staff and two volunteers, with a list of volunteers eager to come and work here.The rescue and rehabilitation project is proving so successful that game reserves across the country now call the orphanage whenever a calf is found. The carers immediately go to collect the calf in a truck towing a trailer converted into an animal ambulance.

The Legend Rhino Orphanage

The very last UD40 to roll off the production line has been given a rather unusual role. Donated as a bush ambulance, this last UD40 will be transporting baby rhinos for the Legend Rhino Orphanage in South Africa. As a rhino horn-poaching epidemic sweeps across the African continent, orphaned rhinos calves face certain death if they aren’t given a helping hand. Every effort is being made to preserve the species for generations to come.

Rhino Orphanage co-founder Pete Richardson

(left) and director Dex Koetze (right)

Entry and exit bullet marks are clearly visible on Thani’s

neck. She was shot by poachers and then attacked

by lions who bit a piece of her ear off and left scratch wounds all over her body

UD story - South Africa

Two rhino calves come trotting towards us with cute, baby waddles and twitching ears as we lean on the fence of their

grassy enclosure.

They’re looking for attention, and you can’t help but reach in and stroke their funny faces. The baby rhinos give high-pitched squeals as you pat them, and it’s an oddly delicate noise for something so enormous.

The orphanage is a non-commercial center; the world’s first specialist unit to rescue and care for orphaned baby rhinos. Sometimes the calves are found still sitting beside their dead mothers, dehydrated and often injured, days after her slaughter.

Thandi, one of the baby rhinos here, bears her scars very clearly. There are bullet entry and exit points across her shoulders, and scratches on her back caused by lion claws. One ear is a raggedy mess, bitten in half by a lion. Thandi was shot by the poachers who killed her mother but managed to run away, and was being attacked by lions when game rangers found her.

The medicinal use of rhino horn is still a driving factor of the illegal poaching, and some continue to believe it can cure cancer and boost virility. But there is a new demand that is worse than these two evils; “People are obsessed with status in the Asian market. They are not buying the horn for traditional medicine but for jewelry or to stockpile as an investment,” Dex Koetze, one of the Rhino Orphanage directors says. The decline towards extinction stimulates the illegal market even more. There needs to be global cooperation to stop the slaughter.

At the orphanage, as well as providing safety and care to the baby rhinos, preserving their wildness is also important.

When a new rhino is rescued and arrives by the bush ambulance, it spends the first day in a quiet room to allow it to calm down and be given medical treatment. “The new arrivals are usually dehydrated and might be wounded by gunshot or by axes or thorns,” says Gaby Benavides, a vet from Mexico who manages the orphanage. “We clean the

A few weeks ago, CNN reported that the world’s last male northern white rhino had been put under 24-hour armed guard in a nature reserve in Kenya. His horn has been cut off to protect him from poachers, but with rhino horn more valuable per gram than cocaine, even the stump could attract poachers. It sells for upwards of $100,000 a kilogram, and a large horn can weigh 3kg.In South Africa, rhinos are being wiped out so quickly that the Department of Environmental Affairs now refuses to report the statistics regularly. It last updated the figures in January, with a death toll of 49 for the month. But already 666 rhinos have been slaughtered this year in South Africa alone, according to Outraged South African Citizens Against Poaching (OSCAP). The total for 2014 was 1,215, so despite government promises to crack down on poaching, the death toll is still rising.

Dire situation

Rhino Orphanage manager Gaby

Benavides is also a qualified vet from

Mexico

Carer Jamie Traynor feeds

the rhinos at the Legend Rhino

Orphanage

Carer Jamie Traynor clears up rhino dung at the orphanage

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“The truck is essential because rhinos are big, heavy animals so it takes something substantial to move them around, whether it’s from the point of poaching to the orphanage or to release them into the wild,” says Pete Richardson, co-founder of the orphanage.The truck donated by UD to the orphanage is the last UD40 pro-duced. The model has earned a reputation for being dependable, versatile, tough and easy-to-main-tain, making it perfect for game reserves with dirt roads nowhere near a service depot. For this very special mission, the truck will be specially customized. A lift will be added to hoist a rhino in a crate into the vehicle as well as air conditioning, a range of veterinary equipment and a seat for a vet to sit with the calf and start medical treatment instantly. “With the last UD40 rolling off the productions line, this legendary model is now extinct, so to speak, and we wanted to help the Rhino Orphanage prevent a living legend, the rhino, from going extinct as well in a very practical way,” said Rory Schulz, managing director of UD Trucks Southern Africa. “We are proud the Ultimately Dependable UD40 wil l suppor t the Rhino Orphanage’s efforts in protecting rhinos for generations to come,” Pete added.

The bush ambulance The orphanage i s a non -prof i t organization, and to keep it afloat, Dex Koetze has devised a clever way of raising money for the Rhino Orphanage while also educating young people about the cruelty of rhino slaughtering and its devastating af fects. He has launched Youth 4 African Wildlife, which brings youngsters from around the world to South Africa to see for themselves.Koetze is a member of the Young President’s Organization (YPO), and every year he invites the children of other YPO members to join a paid-for internship. This year 14 young adults aged 18-22 attended, spending three weeks at Legend Wildlife Centre and a week in the world famous Kruger National Park. During the internship the students clean the rhino enclosures and learn how poaching is wiping out not only rhinos, but elephants and lions too. Importantly, they are encouraged to use social media to raise money for conservation and to campaign for the trade in rhino horn to end.“We all know the demand is in Asia and through the power of Twitter, Instagram and Facebook they can spread the word,” Koetze says. “We want to make them lifelong global ambassadors for anti-poaching and conservation.” For more details, to make a donation or to follow the progress of the orphanage, see www.facebook.com/TheRhinoOrphanage

wounds and sometimes give them extra vitamins and painkillers through a drip in their ear.”

The rooms here have infrared lights to calm the rhinos down and provide a source of external warmth, like they used to get from their mother’s body. If they are tolerant of humans, a carer will sleep on the floor with them, or just outside, because calves are used to being with their mother 24 hours a day and are afraid of being alone. Once they recover, they are introduced to the other calves as quickly as possible. “What we try to do the fastest is put them with other rhinos, to show them how to eat and drink,” Benavides says.

Rhinos are dependent on their mother’s

milk for up to three years, so the carers bottle feed them three times a day. They are fed with a mixture that Benavides has concocted to recreate rhino milk, which is high in sugar compared with cow’s milk. She blends skimmed milk powder with lactose, probiotics, vitamins and amino acids, and boosts its carbohydrates by adding a liquid made from boiling brown rice in water and blending the results.

The carers have to be very strict and not treat them as pets, even though they naturally grow attached to them in the process of saving their lives. “Even though they are like babies we stop having too much interaction because we want them fully rehabilitated for the

wild,” says Benavides. Human interaction is gradually withdrawn, as they grow healthier and more independent. The older calves are still fed grass and pelleted food every day, but the helpers just leave the food and disappear. That lack of contact gradually sees the rhinos regain a natural wariness of humans, which will help to protect them in the wild. So far about a dozen have been released and all are doing well. One has even given birth to a calf of her own.

Without the orphanage these vulnerable babies would die in the wild, increasing the already catastrophic losses inflicted by the poaching. Saving the rhinos, one at a time, is the only way to a better future.

Collective effort from everywhere and everyone

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Kensuke SugaharaPowertrain Engineering Technology Team Leader

Photo: Nicolas Datiche

Age: 41

Nationality: Japanese

Location: Ageo UD headquarters, Japan

Work experience: 19 years in the truck industry

Education: Mechanics / Car / Diesel engine

Engineering degrees

Family: Married and father of a young child

Favorite truck: Condor

Favorite engine: 5-liter diesel engine

In 1996, when I started out as a Research Engineer. I was studying combustion engines, focusing on

drivability, fuel consumption and emissions. It was very interesting.

When did you first join UD?

After 10 years I joined the Product Engineering Development Group, where I was an Application En-gineer, working on how to apply our research findings to the vehicles that customers would buy a few years later. I worked on the North American version of the GH7 en-gine, fitting the urea SCR system to comply with local NOx regulations.

Then for three years, I worked as a team leader on the development of the Euro 6 version of the 5-liter diesel engine. I was part of a global team, as the engine is produced in Lyon for the European market. The 5-liter diesel engine is special to me because my team and I were so involved in its development!

Where did you move after

research?

It takes about five years to develop an engine, from its definition to production. The beginning involves every department, and customer feedback and expected future needs take a primordial role, along with future regulations. This early phase of development can take two years, and then three years are needed to

calibrate and test the engine. Tests are very thorough, run through all seasons and conditions, on our test tracks and then on the roads in all destination countries around the world. I once accompanied our test team on a high-temperature test in the American desert - it was exhilarating!

Can you talk us through the launch

of a new engine?

I’d say the drivability, the reliability, the low maintenance costs and

efficient fuel consumption.

The core of the engines is often similar, while other parts can differ in order to match per fec t ly to the market’s specific conditions. Usually when we design a new engine, all the long block parts (the block, the cylinder head, the crankshaft, connecting rods, etc.) are dimensioned for all possible conditions, then we adjust other parts such as injectors, turbocharger, ECU, and so on, to each specific market. For example, altitude in Japan never exceeds 2,000m, but in some markets our trucks have to go from sea level to 4,500m several times a day.Another example is how we adapted the Japanese model to work more

efficiently on our congested roads. Average speeds are slow due to traffic jams, and as a consequence the engine doesn’t reach a high enough temperature for the urea SCR system to work effectively, so we redesigned it to work from low vehicle speed.General ly, engines are a lways optimized for the specificities of each market: road condit ions, available fuel quality, local emission regulations and so on. For example, emission regulations in the US are US 10, in Europe Euro 6, and in Japan PPNLT. Each answers to local specific needs and requires tailored setup and adjustments.

UD trucks are sold around

the world. Are engines identical for all markets?

What distinguishes a UD engine?

Yes, I am leading the Process & Technology Team - in the Performance Application Group - defining the technological choices and development processes in coordination with the production department and after

sales people. Our work spans the UD globe: we can be working on engines designed in cooperation within Europe, Japan and India, and for production either in Japan, India or Europe.

Then you moved to final

products?

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Interview

Lady on a questText: Liam Barnes / Photos: Dario Pignatelli

Little more than an hour’s drive from the sprawling center of the Thai capital Bangkok, tower blocks and industrial parks

eventually make way for the paddy fields and Buddhist temples that largely define the Southeast Asian nation. It’s in this idyllic environment, set back from the main road with only a family-run coffee shop for company, that the Panthip Transportation Service headquarters and depot are located. The slightly faded, semi-permanent structures that serve as the office and lodgings would be almost unnoticeable if it wasn’t for the imposing

fleet of gleaming UD trucks that are parked alongside it.

It’s still relatively early by the time Jariya Khampakdee emerges from her lodgings and hauls herself up into the driving seat of one of UD Trucks’ latest models, Quester, but the sun is already fierce and shade is scarce on the dusty lot.

Originally from Roi-Et province in Thailand’s hard-up Isan region, and the kingdom’s rice bowl, the 37-year-old left her hometown for more prosperous pastures close to the capital a decade

ago. After some years spent ferrying passengers in minivans around the country’s hazardous roads – Thailand has one of the world’s worst traffic-related death rates – Jariya found what she believes to be her dream job.

“I wanted to be a policewoman when I was younger. But it’s actually better to be a truck driver because people don’t really like police officers!” laughs Jariya.

As a female truck driver though, she has found that people respect her for working in a heavily male-dominated

industry. “Most people who see me driving a truck show their support. They put their thumbs up or give me a smile. Although they are often initially surprised, they do respect me.”

New strong members of the fleetThe physical demands of the job do take their toll though. Learning the ropes in an “ancient” manual truck was inevitably one of the most challenging aspects of the transition to being a truck driver, Jariya recollects. The difficulties associated with handling a manual truck are however no longer a sticking point,

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Customer s tory - Thailand

especially since the company’s founder and owner Sitthikorn Sornsuchittra upgraded his fleet to UD models.

The latest addition to Panthip’s 10-strong fleet, which chalks up an average 100,000 kilometers every month, is the Quester. It’s the first UD truck produced outside of Japan catering specifically to emerging markets. The one Jariya drives is equipped with an 11-liter engine with horsepower that ranges from 220 to 420. The state-of-the-art design is complimented by an expansive interior and innovative fittings such as ergonomic seats and a cutting-edge dashboard, attributes appreciated by Jariya.

Sitthikorn, who started the firm almost 20 years ago, didn’t need much convincing to switch to UD trucks in early 2014.

“I’ve always been fond of Japanese vehicles, therefore, UD was an easy choice,” he says. “They are a mixture between European and Japanese technology – it’s the best of both worlds. It also makes it far easier to find parts in Thailand.”

He adds that the efficiency of the trucks and superior torque means that the fleet consumes less fuel, helping to cut costs and save energy; a major plus in keeping up with the competition.

In fact, it was only a couple of years ago that Panthip started to feel the strain from rival firms. The availability and low price of alternative fuels, such as liquefied petroleum gas and natural gas

Sitthikorn Sornsuchittra’s first job was as a chicken farmer in his home province of Nakhon Nayok in central Thailand, although from an early age his passion had been motors. Aged 18, Sitthikorn’s fa-ther bought him his first car, and Panthip’s story began: “I used the money from selling that car to buy a Japanese truck. I started by transporting beverages, made some money and added four more vehicles to the fleet over the next few years. By that point,

I was also transporting cement and steel.”Sitthikorn claims he was one of the first operators in the country to start using trucks with 380 horsepower at a time when most of the trucks on the road had about 200 horsepower. This was quite a development in the busi-ness and allowed him to expand and overtake competitors. “The trucks also had high- levels of torque, which also helped,” he adds.

From poultry to petrochemicals

My truck is my life. If it is safe … my life is safe too. Every time when I get into this truck I feel secure. I am confident in its strength and efficiency.Jariya Khampakdee

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they consume much less fuel, as well as boast torque specifications that few other trucks have. I’m saving a lot more money now, and I’m back in the game.”

Another defining factor behind Panthip’s recovery over the last 12 months, notes Sitthikorn, is the addition of Jariya to the company. The first female driver on his fleet, he claims that she has been indispensable in boosting morale on the team. Sitthikorn also believes that the emergence of female drivers in the industry has improved discipline among the male ranks and even made them more competitive.

“They say, ‘if a female driver can do it, i can too!’ In fact, the overall performance of the company has improved as a result,” he says.

On the road with JariyaBack in the cabin of the Quester, Jariya hums along to a traditional Isan song playing over the stereo as the truck glides down an acacia tree-flanked road. Over the last few months, she says that she’s been working about 60 hours a week and usually averages more than 500 kilometers per day. The long hours, however, don’t bother her and loneliness is apparently easy to stave off. “Music

vehicles, resulted in many in the industry moving away from diesel fuel.

Competitors started slashing route rates and, for example, began to charge as much as 43 percent less from Bangkok to Chiang Mai, compared to what Panthip had been commanding for the 690-kilometer journey to Thailand’s second city.

“I sold off two of my trucks due to the increase in competition and really started to worry, I mean, I couldn’t keep up,” he says. “But then last year I discovered UD, and while the UD vehicles run on diesel,

Although there’s no data on the total number of female truck drivers operating in Thailand, the general consensus is that the figure is on the up. Jariya says that ever since she star ted in 2010, there’s been a noticeable increase and that she knows about ten other female drivers. She believes that growing interest in the industry from women is due to improved salaries, better vehicles - in terms of ease of driv ing and comfort - and less discrimination in the workplace. Sitthikorn also believes that employers are more inclined to hire female dr iver s nowadays as they ’re perce ived to be more dedicated, d isc ip l ined and safer drivers than their male counterparts.

This is a man’s world – but for how much longer?

and nature are my friends on the road.”

Still, with the demanding hours she works and distance from her hometown, Jariya explains that she doesn’t often see her family, who, even after five years, struggles to believe the road she has taken.

“It shocks them that I work in this sector because they all think it’s a dangerous career. But my truck is my life. If it is safe … my life is safe too. Every time when I get into this truck I feel secure.”

It’s already noon by the time the truck

pulls back in to the depot, and away from the comfort of the Quester’s air-conditioned cabin, the midday heat is insufferable. But Jariya appears unfazed strolling around the exterior of the vehicle to conduct a routine safety check.

Asked, as she makes her way over the courtyard to join her male colleagues for lunch, if she has any regrets about becoming a truck driver and not joining the men – and women – in blue, she says cheerfully, “I probably earn as much as a policewoman, but I definitely have more freedom!”

Scan this QR code to watch a video: Jariya on the road with Quester

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Text: Adam Ramsey

8EThe new benchmark

Powering the 8-liter version of the Quester, the GH8E engine offers superb drivability, maximum uptime with low running costs and proverbial UD dependability.

To cater to every need, the GH8E engine is available in four models, all offering refinement and low running costs.

The in-line six-cylinder four-stroke diesel engine features four valves per cylinder, a turbocharger with intercooler, and a common rail high-pressure direct injection: an unseen level of technical sophistication in the category, delivering the best fuel efficiency and performance.

Thanks to the position of the timing mechanism at the rear of the engine, the GH8E can be equipped with a power takeoff tailored for prop-shaft drive or directly mounted hydraulic pumps. Smart design allows high torque, up to 600Nm.

All this technology impacts above all else on driving pleasure, with the maximum torque developed over a broad 1,100-1,700 range, for a smooth power delivery.

The GH8E engine is equipped with EECU (Engine Electronic Control Unit). This means the engine’s various functions are monitored and controlled entirely electronically. EECU offers efficient engine management and advanced scope for diagnostics and fault tracing.And despite its class-leading technical sophistication, GH8E engine only needs an oil change every 50,000km, ensuring maximum uptime.

Improved fuel economy

Superb drivability

Long interval maintenance

A large range

Ready for any use you may have

Developed from the well-established Euro 6 version used in other Volvo Group trucks, Euro 3 compliant GH8E is made to comply with 1 million kilometer rules, when the sector norm is 600,000km. GH8E will keep running perfectly when other engines will need major refection operations, providing your operations with serenity while contributing to strong resale value.

UD proverbial reliability

220hp/850Nm

280hp/1050Nm

250hp/950Nm

330hp/1200Nm

In association with the Fuel Coach System in every Quester, GH8E engine guarantees the lowest cost per mile in the category.

Lowest running costs

GH

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Technology

Text: Kenta Tanimichi / Photos: Damon Coulter

Uwajima Automotive Transportation got its name from the western Shikoku port city where its parent

company has a long history dating back to 1918. Today, the company is based in Matsuyama, the largest city of the Shikoku island. Since its establishment last century, the parent company has expanded its business from trucking to

intercity bus lines, and taxi services to running a driving school. In 1979, the cargo business was spun off as Uwajima Automotive Transportation.

The new cargo company grew steadily until the government set about deregulating the trucking industry – a game-changing plan that disrupted the entire transport market.

Changes to the business environment can be viewed in contrasting ways: an opportunity or a challenge; it depends on where you stand, and where you want to go. Uwajima Automotive Transportation has always embraced challenges, a pro-active mover and strategic planner; it has piloted a growth path through some turbulent times.

“Before deregulation, we were one of a handful of companies that were permitted to carry cargo out of Shikoku,” says the Representative Director Yoshitaka Wada, referring to Japan’s southwestern region where the company is based.

Previously it was geographical zone that defined the flow of cargos. Goods

Piloting a path to prosperity

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Customer s tory - Japan

Yoshitaka Wada, Representative

Director of Uwajima Automotive

Transportation

I lacked experience, but I really wanted to be in the field so I petitioned the human resources manager. I went to his desk, grabbed his notepad and wrote down the assignment I wanted.” That’s how he became field office manager at Yawatahama, a city in Shikoku famous for its mandarin oranges.

Now director of the company, Wada is a cheerful 59-year-old who can’t seem to end a sentence without a joke. After he graduated from a university in Tokyo back in 1978 he was planning to stay on and get a job in the country’s capital. “But my folks conned me into giving up that dream of becoming a big city businessman and so here I am back

in Shikoku,” chuckles Wada. Within a year he had joined the company where he would spend ten years working in administration before moving out into the field.

Once free of his accounting role, he set out to find new markets for the firm. As with many countries around the world, juicy, fresh mandarin oranges are welcomed by the Japanese consumers in the cold winter months. With Yawatahama being a big producer of mandarin oranges, Wada set his sights on a slice of that sizeable market. “From late September to December, we would load trucks with locally grown mandarin oranges and deliver them to Tokyo.

We managed to build strong relations with the local agricultural co-op.” Profit from mandarin oranges enabled the Yawatahama office to offset loss from other businesses as the market resettled post-deregulation.

Adapting to the new business environmentThe company began focusing more on these shipper-to-receiver services to cover decreasing income from the traditional terminal-to-terminal business. Nikawa, who is a certified logistics master, a transport ministry affiliated qualification, says the change affected the welfare of the drivers. “Drivers who do the route services can get enough

sleep on a bed once they arrive at the cargo terminal. The challenge is for drivers assigned to make deliveries from one customer to another. They need to have somewhere to sleep before heading back to their depot.”

Nikawa knows what it is like to sleep in a truck cabin. His father was a long-distance truck driver. “I spent many summers during grade school with my dad on the road. He used to let me ride in the cab with him from our hometown near Hiroshima all the way to Tokyo. Having slept on so many different types of trucks over the years, I can say for sure that the sleeping bunks of UD trucks are fabulous. The bunks are

were moved to terminals first, and then only companies with a “route” license could move cargos to another terminal across territories, where they waited to be distributed by local transporters from that area. Very few companies were licensed to carry cargos across territories – Uwajima was among the rare few to be able to transport different cargos into and out of Shikoku.

Sweeping changes meant the market was opened up to all the truck companies. And to make the competition even fiercer rules on new entrants and pricing were also relaxed. Anyone with enough capital to buy trucks and hire drivers could set up a business and make deliveries anywhere in Japan.

Statistics from Japan’s transport ministry show a jump of 59 percent in companies registering as truck transporters between 1990 and 2013. To survive in the post-deregulation era, the company knew it had to seek out new delivery opportunities across the country.

Chasing business opportunities “Ever since joining the company, I had been with the accounting department so I knew the situation by looking at the numbers,” reflects Wada. “I knew

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Customer s tory - Japan

introducing the ‘Truck Girl’ initiative. Climbing up to the cabin of a heavy-duty truck may be difficult for smaller women. Male managers may not understand their difficulties well. So it’s better to have female managers first and then drivers.” He has already begun hiring female cadets. This year, three out of four new members of staff are women. “Eventually we’ll have five or six female managers to oversee operations and then we’ll start hiring female drivers,” says Wada. Drivers are the ones who deliver customer satisfaction at the end of the day. Their well-being ensures the continuous success of Uwajima Automotive Transportation.

This jovial, tireless administrator-turned-company director has guided the company through some pretty harsh business conditions. Much like the evergreens mentioned in the city’s name – Matsuyama in Japanese means “pine tree mountain” – Uwajima Automotive Transportation continues to reach for the sky, through chilly winters and scorching summers.

Japan is formed of four main islands as well as thousands of smaller outlying islets. Shikoku, with a population of about 4.1 million, is the smallest of the four. It’s a rural island with its primary industry being agriculture and fishing.

The island’s most populous city is Matsuyama, with about a half million inhabitants. Although Uwajima Automotive Transportation’s registered head office is located in the city with the same name approximately 100 kilometers to the south, its actual head office operates from Matsuyama.

No tourist to Matsuyama will miss the city’s grand castle. It is known for being one of a few castles in Japan to retain its original design from the pre-modern period. The castle today effectively looks as it did when erected in 1602. Also famous is Dogo Onsen hot spa, arguably the oldest and most popular among thousands of its kind all over Japan.

Shikoku and Matsuyama

soft and really comfortable. I know my drivers will get quality sleep when they drive UDs,” explains Nikawa. Getting a good night’s sleep in a comfortable bunk ensures drivers get back behind the steering wheel in good condition – and it’s this driver safety that is a top priority for the company.

Keep evolvingDeregulation was a difficult period, but it shaped Uwajima Automotive Transportation into what it is today – an enduring, nimble company capable of adapting to the ever-evolving marketplace.

The latest challenge is Japan’s aging and shrinking population, impacting many industries, including transport. To overcome the driver shortage, the transport ministry has launched a campaign to encourage more female drivers, but Wada has thought through this latest challenge and he has his own strategy.

“I want to prepare the ground before

Number of people

in 2014rose by

25.1% of the populationin 201440% in 2060

aged 65 or over1.1 million

Source: BBC

9,000in 2014 compared to 2013

newbornsfewer

Source: Japan Population Census Division

Japan’s populat ion has been shrinking since 2008

~

~

86.39

79.64

90.93

84.19

2010

(years old)

2060Source: NBC News

Source: UK Telegraph

The highest life expectancy in the world

Uwajima Automotive Trans-portation placed an order to install equipment that acts as both digital tachograph and drive recorder on all 200 vehicles it owns. “We expect to have them equipped by October 2015 on not just our

trucks but every single vehicle we own,” Wada says. This move isn’t to comply with regulation. “It shows that we’re doing more than what the regulation asks. It’s because safety is our number one priority.”

Investing in safety

Manager, Transport

Takafumi Nikawa

“B e c a u s e co m p e t i t i o n i s becoming ever more severe and because trucks in general are bet ter made now than before, we’re now able to use them longer,” says Takafumi Nikawa, who is responsible for route planning. Until about ten years ago, the company set a goal to use their heavy-duty trucks up to ten years or

1.5 million kilometers. “Now it ’s 15 years or two million kilometers. For example, one of our oldest UDs is the one we bought in 2001. It’s old but can still manage shorter routes within Shikoku. Compared with other manufacturers, I find great advantages in UD for far lower rate of recalls and malfunctions.”

Sen NagasawaAssistant Manager, Safety Management

“UD Truck s was def in i te l y the bes t among the t ruck manufacturers in complying with Japan’s 2010 emissions s t andards ,” s ay s 37 yea r-old Sen Nagasawa who is the man responsible for planning maintenance and repairs on the company’s fleet of about 170 trucks. He also commands

extraordinary driving skills. In October 2014, he took part in the national truck driver contest hos ted by Japan Truck ing Association. “I l ike Escot-Ⅴ because i t g i ves me much stronger power than other trucks. You’ll find out if you race with other brands.”

Shikoku

Matsuyama

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Paving the future of Guano

Emerging from a cloud of dust, Guano county driver Jorge Chavarrea appears in the year-old Quon after dumping a load of dirt moved from a soccer stadium project in Sigsipamba, a small community in Guano County

Text: Ruxandra Guidi / Photos: Roberto Guerra

Lying at the foot of the ice-capped Chimborazo volcano in Ecuador, Guano County is pursuing an infrastructure development plan led by its mayor. Every day teams of drivers head out in their trucks, working to clear paths, pave roads and build facilities in this Andean county.

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Customer s tory - Ecuador

The county’s UDs are serviced by Auto Mekano, Ecuador’s exclusive nationwide UD distributor, located in the nearby city of Ambato. The dealership offers Guano County (as well as its other clients) free and regular electric system and transmission check-ups, as well as discounts on auto parts and repairs.

In the back of the Guano County garage, lined up against the fence, one can see the rapidly rusting legacy of the vehicles that put in their time, but ultimately couldn’t make it in this harsh environment. There are a couple of tractors, some dump trucks, and an excavator waiting to be sold to the highest bidder. Chavarría says the money from their sale will be put towards purchasing one, or hopefully two, new Quon dump trucks.

Guano County has five UD trucks right now; two of which were bought last year. But if it were up to Guano’s mayor, Oswaldo Vinicio Estrada, they’d have many, many more.

“If we could buy 50 dump trucks, that would be ideal!” said the mayor, jokingly. “That would give us the ability to build new roads over the next four years, connecting all 45,000 people in Guano County.”

“Ever since I was first elected into office, in the year 2000, we’ve focused our efforts in Guano towards clearing paths

“These trucks are made for all kinds of terrain. They’re very stable. No matter how hard we make them work, they never overheat.”Marcelo Cabezas, Quon driver

Guano County’s Public Works drivers pose for a portrait on an early July morning before hitting the road for the day’s work (left)

Guano County Public Works Head Engineer Marco Chavarría, looks on as a driver checks his Quon’s engine before leaving the garage for the day (middle)

Jorge Chavarrea cleans his Quon’s windshield as he waits to begin transporting dirt from the soccer field project in Sigsipamba (right)

Several of Guano County’s UD trucks - including one of their newest Quons - are ready to begin another day’s work (bottom)

Roads are hilly, rough, and often unpaved at the foot of the Andes. Trucks must have the ability to work optimally at altitudes of 3,962 meters, while able to descend to 300 meters above seal level all within the same workday; they must be equipped for drastic changes in temperature, in the amount of oxygen going into the engine, and be armed with a powerful set of brakes. Typically, large trucks can run without a hitch and perform well in this part of Ecuador for up to five years — or roughly a distance of up to 500,000 kilometers — whichever comes first.

On a clear morning, drivers working for Guano County in Ecuador can see the impressive snow-capped

Chimborazo as they enter the garage to pick up their trucks for the day’s work. Located only 56 kilometers from Guano’s center and with a peak elevation of 6,267 meters, the inactive volcano is also the highest mountain in Ecuador.

For the next eight hours, the drivers will be doing their rounds of the town, fixing paved streets and electric lines. But beyond the town, in the least accessible parts of the county, they will be using their big dump trucks to remove rubble blasted out of the mountainside – rocks that will be used to build roads.

The garage gates open at 7am, and the workers start trickling in. It’s so cold, vapor escapes from their mouths as they chat with one another. Marcelo Cabezas gets in a few minutes late and quickly climbs into a big mustard-yellow Quon dump truck — one of two new ones belonging to Guano County. He puts the key in the ignition and turns on the machine to warm up the engine.

“These trucks are made for all kinds of terrain,” says Cabezas, leaning out of his cab window. “They’re very stable. No matter how hard we make them work, they never overheat.” The trucks have to deal with extreme temperature changes, from the freezing Andean morning temperature to the scorching midday heat.

Within minutes, Cabezas waves to his colleagues and sets off for work, leaving a cloud of dust behind him. On this sunny morning, he’s headed to Sigsipamba, a 25-minute drive from Guano’s center. For the next few days he’ll be at the site of a future sports field, moving dirt dug up by the excavator until the field is flattened. Once it’s done, a small stadium will become the main recreation site for the county’s 45,000 residents.

It’s a big job that will likely take weeks to get done. “We’ll take as long as necessary,” says Marco Chavarría, the head engineer in Guano’s public works division. “These Quons are meant for hard work. The drivers work a regular eight-hour shift and we service the trucks whenever necessary,” he explains.

Driving at Andean altitudes

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town’s perimeter there is still work to be done, but they are making steady progress one transfer of gravel or dirt at a time.

The small army of county truck drivers are divided into two teams, about half of them are working about an hour’s drive from the town center, carving out a road on the eastern side of Ecuador’s Andes. The other half, including Cabezas, is working on the stadium site.

Wearing a white hooded shirt, faded

jeans, and a baseball cap, Jorge Chavarrea, on the same team with Cabezas, still looks like a kid. The year-old UD Quon dump truck he’s been driving for the past few months towers over him. But his looks defy his real age; he’s been a driver of big trucks for 22 years, he says.

When asked about the experience of driving the dump truck, Chavarrea offers a single adjective: magnificent. “The strength of these trucks is something I hadn’t experienced as a driver before.

The engine never overheats, and you get to do your work easily.”

But this is not easy work – trucking dirt and gravel from the Andean mountainside to bring paved roads to the outer-lying areas of Guano County or carting dirt to build the city’s first stadium – these drivers and their sturdy trucks work in rugged conditions. In Estrada’s dreams the county has a fleet of 50 UD dump trucks; in reality they run a fleet one tenth that size with which they are already paving the way to the future.

As the sun goes down on a long day, Marco Arana backs his truck into its parking place in the Guano County truck yard (top left)

Jorge Chavarrea takes his Quon along a back road through a stand of eucalyptus trees on his way back to the town of Guano (top middle)

Oswaldo Vinicio Estrada, the mayor of Guano, has overseen the purchase of all five of the county’s UD trucks, and plans to acquire more as the Public Works department continues expanding the reach of its work in the area (bottom)

“Our focus is reaching and connecting the rural parts of Guano, where no other trucks had ever gone before.”Oswaldo Vinicio Estrada, Mayor of Guano

needs in the more remote parts of the county were even greater. As of today, only about half of all of Guano County roads are paved.

“Rural communities had been ignored for years,” explains Estrada. “And yet they make up 70 percent of Guano’s residents.”

Fifteen years later, Estrada has managed to provide water, electricity, a sewage system, and paved streets for town residents. For those living outside the

“I recommended UD to the mayor, but many others recommended the brand to me before that!” he says of UD Trucks. Word of mouth through personal relationships, Curicama explains, is the best and most reliable way to do business in this region of Ecuador.

When he was first elected, the town of Guano lacked many basic services. Estrada’s challenge was to make drinking water widely available, bring electricity to people’s homes, pave the streets, and modernize the sewage system. But the

and building roads,” says Estrada. “Our aim is to reach and connect the rural parts of Guano, where no other trucks had ever gone before.”

Estrada did his research before settling on the UD Trucks brand. After hearing multiple recommendations, the person who convinced him to make the first purchase was Luis Curicama. An old friend of Estrada’s, Curicama owns a road construction company that puts down asphalt and is contracted by Guano County on a regular basis.

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Long journey - how to stay comfortable

To avoid bad smells coming from your dirty laundry compartment, put a bar of scented soap in it. It will refresh it during this time when you can’t wash your clothes and last very long!Gerardo, 20, Chile

For when you can’t park in the shade or open your window, we have a solution. Use a coozie (beer holder that keeps your beer cold) to cover your stick when the weather is too hot to avoid burning yourself.Garrett, 59, New Zealand

Have you ever wondered how one can drink coffee, read the newspapers and be seated comfortably in a truck? Use a pants hanger to hang your paper (or your Roads magazine) to your rear view mirror. It’s as simple as that!Oscar, 45, South Africa

If you don’t have a phone mount in your truck, this trick is for you. You can use your sunglasses to hold your smartphone when you want to watch videos in your truck.Jake, 32, Australia

Dirty laundry compartment

The waterspray

method

Keepingyour stick cool

DIY phone holder

Cans and drivingare not alwaysbest friends: youmight spill allyour drink inyour truckand you aremissing afew secondsof road visionwhen you drink.Straws are the best solution for that.In order to keep it from floating out ofyour drink, put your straw throughthe tab. Now you can watch the roadand drive without worrying!Akiyuki, 24, Japan

Drinking from a can easily while driving

Reading the paper

Another method to fight against very hot days. Use

a water mist spray bottle to cool the dashboard, steering

wheel and stick inside your car. Evaporation will cool the

hot plastic and metal.Sisco, 42, Namibia

Martial arts A philosophy of lifeText: Matt Campbell Illustration: Cedric Yon

Often considered as “combat sports” in Western cultures, Asian martial arts are actually a genuine life philosophy, thanks to the discipline and humility required.

Buddhism inspired most of these martial arts techniques in the seventh century. These origins give them a particular spirit and certain values, which can also be found in Japanese society and other Asian countries: based on self-control, mutual respect, modesty and the pursuit of excellence, martial arts could be considered a “school of life”.

Martial arts require a certain state of mind based on both defense and self-control.These arts are not about attacking the enemy without thinking. They should teach you both to contest as well as to win or defend without actually engaging in combat. It is a practice of both physical and mental strength.

To do so, your “weapon” of choice is both anticipation and self-control. To see through the opponent is key and this also applies to business - a company must anticipate market competition and study the strengths and weaknesses of its competitors to build its future strategy. Using self-control during a confrontation, avoids rushing without thinking, especially when facing a stronger opponent. In this situation, the best thing is to try to turn the strength of the opponent against him, for example, using inertia to make him fall.

The practice of martial arts is not solely about physical prowess, it also develops other aspects of the body: external (strength, flexibility), internal (energy, health), intellectual and moral. The persistent effort to achieve excellence through self-control is not so much about becoming technically superior rather about becoming a better person. Martial arts should be seen as a “way” to excellence, as technical excellence alone does not guarantee perfection.

Martial arts practitioners become lifelong students who must constantly relearn skills to fulfill ambitions. They practice regularly to learn all the moves and acquire the right reflexes. In business life too, professionals are regularly challenged by job changes, new techniques or advancing technology on their way to professional excellence.

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Tradition Trucker Tips & Tricks Tradition

Going the Extra Mile

Moving your business the extra mileOur complete UD extra mile support delivers both quality and value, ensuring your vehicle continues to run in optimum condition. It provides superior uptime and decreased total cost of ownership, the foundation of a prosperous business. Dedicated UD Trucks staff is always willing to put in that extra effort to support you and your business.

Enjoy ultimate peace of mind throughout your vehicle’s life cycle - focus on your core business while we take care of the rest!

roads #2, 2015

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