Case Studies

Xlerate helps pave the road to
success

Road Metals Limited have operated all over New Zealand in one form or another since 1955, when founder Stan Francis decided to turn his rabbit trapping and carting business into a road and construction aggregate supplier. We cant really see the connection between rabbits and roadbeds, but when it comes to the supply and transport of aggregate and other construction materials, Road Metals Limited really know their stuff.

Their fleet, which began with a 1939 oneton Dodge, back in the rabbit-trapping years, has since expanded to include 14 Truckand – trailer units and seven mobile crushing plants. Their truck and trailer units work hard, moving the mobile crushing plants around the South Island and transporting bulk aggregate and other construction materials wherever they are needed. Communication is essential for a business like this and Road Metals Limited have been using around 35 radios on TeamTalks FleetLink network as their voice communications service for a number of years. They are now looking to the future and have been trialling our new XLERATE mobile data service in several of their trucks.

Murray Francis, Managing Director of Road Metals Limited says that whilst radio communication remains an essential part of the way his company does business, he has been impressed by the way XLERATE has made it easier to manage the fleet. Ive been impressed by my initial experience of XLERATE. At first, I was mainly interested in using it to accurately track our fleets Road User Charges, said Murray. The unit keeps track of where the trucks have been and automatically gives me a tally of off-road kilometres, which is hugely beneficial to us as it removes the potential for human error. Murray has found that XLERATE is more than just an accurate tool for measuring on and off-road vehicle usage. He believes that it is a powerful fleet management system.