A former NZ Army Engineer, Andrew Fisher has spent his years outside the military waging war on waste through his company Ecostock, which recovers by-products of food processing and manufacturing to create animal feed, fertiliser and biogas. At the head of his crusade is a trusted fleet of Fuso Fighters.
“I describe our business as providing secure food solutions,” says Andrew, who founded Ecostock in 2007. “We collect at every point of food production from farm to factory, bulk to highly packaged. Our target market is pre-consumer – manufacturers, supermarkets and food handling/logistic companies.”
Ecostock’s clients include Foodstuffs, Nestle, Pepsi and McCain Foods.
“We source food from all over the country, then grade, de-pack, and process it into animal feed at our purpose-built, licensed and consented manufacturing site, in Wiri, South Auckland.
“Dry products such as biscuits and cereals make high-quality animal feed that we sell to farmers, and we recover food packaging such as cardboard and specific plastics for recycling here in New Zealand. This means significant volumes are diverted from landfill.”
To service the different needs of the business, Andrew has built up a versatile fleet of six Fuso Fighter trucks. Each unit is set up differently to perform specific functions. Smaller FK250L8 ‘Alley Cat’ Top Loaders collect food waste from inner-city locations, FN2428 curtain siders cart pallets from businesses around Auckland back to the Ecostock processing facility, an FM1628 rear loader services supermarkets, and an FK250H8 gantry truck recovers bins from larger manufacturers.
The latest addition is another FN2428 curtain sider. Andrew says being able to purchase pre-built ready-to-go trucks directly from Keith Andrews is a big plus. He is also impressed with the performance and reliability of his Fuso fleet and says the combination of excellent service and “spot-on” spec makes it easy for him and good for the business.
Standard rear air-suspension and the six-speed Allison Automatic transmission ensure the 18T 6x4 FN2428 delivers a smooth and comfortable ride.
Andrew says he is consciously moving towards making his entire fleet automatic.
“It’s easier on our drivers, especially in the Auckland traffic. Plus, with no clutches to maintain, it helps keep our costs down.”
He says the fuel economy is continually improving too, thanks to the Fighter’s efficient 207kW/802Nm six-cylinder engine.
“Reliability is essential. We’re a 24/7 business and these trucks don’t give us any problems. When we do need something looked at, Keith Andrews is just around the corner and they provide fantastic service.”
Forward thinking
Behind the accolade of winning the Ministry for the Environment’s Supreme Green Ribbon award, is Andrew’s determination to reverse what he sees as a significant problem.
“We collect over 30,000 tonnes of food waste annually - that’s four truck and trailer units per day! Nationally it is estimated that over 1 million tonnes of organic waste – 133 truck and trailer units per day - go to a New Zealand-wide network of 35 consented landfills.
“As a country, we are not a world leader in landfill diversion and given our ability to be innovative, resourceful and respectful of our great country, we should aspire to create a legacy not leachate [liquid landfill waste],” he says.
“We’ve achieved a lot over the past ten years and we’re working on some really exciting things at the moment, such as a BioGas plant we’re running with Crown Research Institute SCION, and commercial CO2 application in industry.
“I think as more companies become aware of the importance of operating in an environmentally sustainable manner, with a social purpose, we’ll grow as a company - and as we do, I’ll be purchasing more Fighters, because I know we can rely on them.”
GVM / GCM: 24,000kg (18,000kg) / 34,000kg
Power / Torque: 207kW / 802Nm
Transmission: 6spd Allison Automatic
Service intervals: 30,000km
GVM / GCM: 16,000kg (12,000kg) / 25,000kg
Power/Torque: 207kW / 802Nm
Transmission: 6spd Manual
Service intervals: 30,000km
