Rick Harkness is thrilled with the new Eagle, saying it was well worth the wait.

For more than 14 years Rick Harkness has put in countless hours driving and maintaining the trucks entrusted to him. Finally the hard work has been rewarded with a new 9870 International and he couldn‘t be happier.

When Gary and Barbara Johnstone bought Brenics back in June 2013, the year after they sold it, they had a dozen trucks and wanted to concentrate on the South Island, where the strength of the business always had been.

This time around the whole family is involved, with daughter Nicola in admin and sons Brendon and Scott in operations and looking after the Sunday loading duties respectively.

With the onset of 50MAX Brenics set about replacing the current 24 and 26 pallet semi-based units with 36 pallet truck and trailers. This took Brenics away from the traditional swap scenario, and instead involved the line haul drivers in the loading and unloading process, creating greater care and accountability for product integrity.

The first of three secondhand 9800i Internationals was purchased in 2014 with the other two added shortly after.

Once given extensive refurbishments, the trucks served the company well and when the time came to add more units to the fleet, two new 9800i Internationals were ordered.

The deep Ali Arc bumper and off-set Dura-Bright wheels add to the look of the truck.

With the addition of this month‘s Top Truck, a 9870 International 90TS Skycab sleeper unit, there‘s no doubt the company has a new flagship, one that driver Rick Harkness will keep a shine on. Capable of carrying a 36-pallet load, both the Fruehauf truck body and refurbished 5-axle trailer have Carrier chiller units.

As a young boy, Rick was introduced to the trucking industry by his late father, Andrew, who used to take him out in his TK Bedford and D-Series Ford when he worked at South Canterbury By Products. From then on Rick was hooked!

Rick‘s tribute to his dad, Andrew Harkness.

Rick, who organises the Ashburton Truck Show, has been a friend of Brendon‘s for some time and with the Johnstones knowing how much Rick‘s father Andrew meant to him, he was given the opportunity to add some additional graphics to the Eagle in remembrance of his dad. Rick‘s wife, Jessica, who is a sign writer by trade, designed and made the tribute that appears on both sides of the cab.

In his first three weeks in the truck, Rick has certainly put the big International through its paces, travelling all over the country. “It‘s an amazing truck to drive,” says Rick.

The Cummins X15 engine producing 461kW (615hp) and 2780Nm (2050 lb/ft) of torque @ 1150rpm, coupled to the Eaton two-pedal UltraShift PLUS 20E318B-MXP 18-speed transmission allows the big Eagle to soar through the Lewis Pass road. Its performance in the snow on the pass even impressed other drivers – until stopped by the road crew. This meant staying overnight in the Skycab sleeper, and with the temperature outside getting down to -4°C, Rick was very impressed at how warm it was inside the cab.

Gary and Barbara have remained loyal to the people who have helped set up their trucks over the years, with long relationships forged with Marty‘s Signs in Mount Maunganui, and Andrew McCall at Tauranga Canvas, the fleet curtain supplier. Willie Malcolm at Malcolm Cab Solutions does little touches on the trucks, a relationship that goes beyond the business to Gary and Willie‘s rugby days as kids.

The whole time Brenics have had Internationals in the fleet, they have been well looked after by Intertruck Distributors through sales and aftersales service. Intertruck not only take care of the International product, but other brands as well.

Rick, who is still pinching himself, says, “If it takes 14 years to get a new truck like this, then I‘m happy!”