Top Truck – Hornell Hyundai, cool runner
Arriving at the Foodstuffs DC in Wiri on a sunny Sunday morning, New Zealand Trucking is confronted with a gleaming yellow Hyundai Xcient tractor unit and quad-axle MaxiTrans refrigerated trailer combination. The truck is owned and operated by husband and wife team Bruce and Linda Hornell of Otaua, south-west of Pukekohe.
As we meet Bruce, he comments, “It stands out like a set of dog’s nuts in the yellow aye?” Then adds “a set of Rottweiler’s, not a Chihuahua’s”, with a laugh. We could not agree more; the big Hyundai certainly has a striking presence as it stands proud among the usual European and North American iron in front in Foodstuffs’ DC.
Bruce’s start in trucking began in the passenger’s seat of the trucks his dad drove. “We would spend our holidays in the cab with Dad who worked for Beck & Davis. But the privilege came with a price to pay, which was having to help him out with his furniture removal work. We certainly earned our keep that’s for sure,” says Bruce.
Leading up to his 18th birthday, Bruce called on local transport companies in the Auckland area looking for a job, and it was AG Walters that said, “Get your licence and give us a call.” On turning 18, Bruce sat and passed his
For Bruce and Linda Hornell, six years of patient waiting for their new Hyundai Xcient has been well worth it as the big Korean ‘Xceeds Xpectations’ on its daily Foodstuffs roster.
HT licence test and, following a quick interview with AG Walters, it was, “Good man, you start Monday.”
Bruce’s first mount was a petrol-powered flat-deck 4x2 D-series Ford. “We used to hand-unload rolled oats from railway wagons at the Tamaki rail depot and then transport them to Foodstuffs at Roma Road. Who would have thought back then that we
would be standing here now? Just awesome,” says Bruce. As time went by, Bruce added his trailer licence.
While working off the wharf, an opportunity to move across to BJ Services presented itself at the helm of a 1974 cabover Kenworth towing a 40ft selfsteer semi-trailer contracted to New Zealand Lumber Co. “What an experience day one was,” says Bruce. “I remember coming up to a roundabout and not knowing the habits of early Kenworth steering, I found myself mounting all the curbs and gutters. It sure took a bit of getting used to.”
A stint with Cool Freight on a Scammel S26-35 running Butch Petfood was next, then a good mate working at Trans Otway introduced Bruce to Neil Otway, and that was the start of a fantastic working
relationship with the Otway family. After nearly seven years with the company, Bruce decided a change was needed so he could be home more often. He spent a couple of years with XP Couriers on Turangi swaps, and 10 years with AVD, transporting cars throughout the North Island.
In about 2006, Bruce heard through the grapevine that Neil Otway was looking for ownerdrivers. He called Neil that evening to find out more about the opportunity,
“Next thing, I am signing up for a new six-wheeler Fuso FP350 from Brian Gill, and it is all go,” he says. “Working with Neil was fantastic, he really looked after us, and later was front and centre when it came to us getting a position with Foodstuffs.”
Bruce also speaks highly of his business relationship with William Gill & Sons and how the company has been there every step of the way. “The Fuso has 630,000 kilometres on the clock now, and Gills have looked after it since new. It was on a service visit to the Gills workshop about six years ago where I saw a giant poster on the wall of the new Hyundai Xcient and thought, ‘I want one of those’,” Bruce says. “I needed a new tractor unit and enquired but at that time, the Xcient was still too far away, so I settled on a Renault.”
The Xcient was displayed for the first time in New Zealand at the 2017 Mystery Creek expo. Bruce attempted to view the truck at the show, but it was so popular he couldn’t get anywhere near it.
“Finally, last year it was time to replace the Renault, so I popped into Gills and caught up with Scott Pollard (Brian Gill’s grandson) and asked if it were at all possible to have a test-drive of an Xcient. Scott was able to arrange this for me, and next thing you know we are sitting at his desk running through the specs and placing the order. The entire purchase process was brilliant, and both Scott and Grant Doull from Hyundai New Zealand were incredibly helpful every step of the way, including sorting the custom yellow paint job.
“We could not be happier with the Hyundai,” says Bruce. “I have to fight now for a turn at the wheel as our drivers, Scott Campbell and Jerram Murray, are really enjoying the new charge. I never get tired of seeing the reactions on faces as the combination goes down the road and it is always cool seeing mums pointing out the colourful Pams ice-block signage on the side of the MaxiTrans semi to their kids when we arrive to deliver to a store.”
The Xcient runs the company’s 12.4-litre inline six-cylinder rated at 382kW (520hp) and 2500Nm (1844lb/ ft) of torque. It’s then back to the ZF AS-Tronic 12-speed automated transmission with reverse crawler mode and 4-stage retarder, and behind that Hyundai’s own drive and rear air suspension set.
The big Hyundai Xcient makes a bold statement in its bright yellow colour, and for being the first of the new marque bestowed with the New Zealand Trucking magazine monthly Top Truck award. Congratulations to both Bruce and Linda.