SOUTHERN ALPS MONSTA
Italy is a highly mountainous country, with approximately one-third of its terrain home to large peaks. The country contains part or all of Europe’s most notable summits, including Mont Blanc and the Matterhorn. With this geography in mind, it is no wonder that Iveco has created a mountaineer that has found itself a home in New Zealand’s alpine south.
Operating out of the Queenstown branch of Bidfood Foodservice, this 2018 Eurocargo ML150 4x4 was built with a specific task in mind, namely scale the alpine roads of the local ski fields and withstand the winter-road challenges of ice and snow.
The commission of this build was an investment in servicing these key winter accounts and provides customers with a level of certainty and consistency of delivery that wasn’t possible within the existing fleet, while future-proofing available capacity.
While the truck is used primarily for regular Cardrona deliveries, it sometimes services The Remarkables, Treble Cone and Coronet
Peak ski fields in tandem with a smaller Fuso Canter 4x4. Versatility in accessing multiple delivery points and unloading options was critical.
Overseeing the build and sourcing of the chassis fell to the late Dan Magrath, who was Bidfood’s national fleet manager. Dan was an outstanding member of the Bidfood team, with a passion that is sorely missed. He was honoured with the moniker ‘Dan’s Legacy’ painted on the front of the truck.
The Iveco chassis was chosen at the end of March 2018, not through any rigorous analysis of options, but more due to its availability for what was a short window until the truck had to be ready for winter operations in June.
Automated Truck Body