SEYCHELL CONSTRUCTION’S FXZ 1500 – PIOUS QUALITY IN THE CITY OF CHURCHES

[image_gallery][/image_gallery] As Tony Seychell sees it, Adelaide is a tight-knit city with a tight-knit business community. The owner and director of Seychell Constructions has spent the last 35 years building networks within the City of Churches’ construction and infrastructure industries. He knows that when everybody knows everybody else, a business’ reputation will always precede it. Tony attributes Seychell Construction’s three-plus decades of successful operation to delivering work that the company is proud to stand behind. “Adelaide is small. We all know each other, so if I have an issue everyone knows about that too,” Tony said. That’s why Tony ensures his team is always doing work worthy of his business’ name. When they’re excavating, fabricating, installing and maintaining gas services for the APA Group, Tony ensures his employees are mindful of how important a business’ reputation is. That Isuzu’s name passed muster in Adelaide’s business community went a long way when it came time for Seychell Constructions to think about upgrading their fleet. “I’d never heard anything bad about Isuzu – the dealerships or the trucks,” Tony said. “We’ve been operating for 35 years, and two of the Isuzus we’ve got are 20-plus years old – and we’ve never had to fix them. These trucks don’t drive a lot of kilometres and we service them regularly, but they’re still on the road. “Everyone knows they’re a good truck and it’s all about the service after that.” Tony said the dealer at North East Isuzu in Burton was extremely helpful. A qualified auto-electrician before joining the family business, Tony knows his way around vehicles. He said he expects dealers to have an excellent knowledge of their trucks, and the staff at North East Isuzu proved more than equal to the challenge. The dealer helped direct Tony towards an FXZ 1500 with long wheel base, fitted with a tipper body. The workhorse provides Tony’s team with 257 kW of power at 2,000 rpm, and a gross vehicle mass (GVM) of 24 tonnes. The power the automatic truck generates has blown Tony’s drivers away. “The guys that are driving the automatic are extremely surprised at the power it’s got,” he said. “It’s towing an eight-tonne excavator as well, so it’s definitely not underpowered.” The Isuzu FTR model has also proven up to the task of hauling Seychell Constructions’ gas pipes across South Australia. Drawing on 761 Nm of torque at 1,450-2,400 rpm, the truck has a GVM of 15 tonnes and can handle whatever job gets thrown at it. For manoeuvrability, Tony’s team turns to their automated manual transmission (AMT) Isuzu NLR 45-150 with short wheel base. The gutsy light duty truck draws on an impressive supply of torque – 375 Nm at 1,600-2,800 rpm – to nimbly move a GVM of 4.5 tonnes into the tighter spots that bigger vehicles simply just can’t service. Tony believes these Isuzus have been a real asset to Seychell Constructions. “To us, the Isuzus are reliable and comfortable for drivers. More so than the other Japanese trucks on the market,” he said. “The fuel economy on the trucks is good and they offer great value for money when you look at the power you’re getting in the truck.” While the vehicles are meeting Seychell’s needs out on the road, Tony is quick to point out that it’s the peace of mind Isuzu continues to offer that makes them stand out from other manufacturers. “When we last purchased with Isuzu our vehicle wasn’t going to be ready for four weeks. They provided us with a truck for that period of time. “The service offered by other guys in the industry doesn’t even compare to North East Isuzu. “In the past we have had dealers that aren’t interested in helping if there’s an issue. I’m not interested in dealing with people like that. “No issue is too difficult for the boys at Isuzu and they are always quick to resolve any problems. “If they can’t, they’ve also helped us out to give us a trade-in for a couple of days. So they’re fairly helpful in that regard.” Tony said. Seychell Constructions’ experiences with Isuzu had only confirmed the manufacturer’s stellar reputation in Tony’s eyes. From how their dealers operate, to the way the vehicles handle any task thrown at them, he’s all too happy to tell people in his network about the Isuzu brand. “I often get other similar businesses asking where I purchase my trucks from and I always point them to the boys at Isuzu.”