A good work vehicle is as important as any other professional tool. A Victorian gardening and landscaping company is enjoying the benefits of upgrading to Renault’s versatile and efficient Master Van.
Based in Victoria, Bloom Gardens Melbourne is, predictably enough, a hard-working garden-maintenance business. Owner Shane Rieniets keeps a close eye on the running of things and the wellbeing of his employees.
“We have 12 gardeners who do regular garden care for our client’s homes on a two- four- or six-weekly rotation,” he told Landscape Contractor. “We also have a garden restoration and hedging team that does more specialised work – soft landscaping, large hedging and clean ups, and a landscape-construction team who build hardscapes.”
Keeping that sizable crew on time and on site takes some management, but Shane has made things just a little easier with the recent purchase of four Renault Master Vans.
Fit for purpose
After previously running utes and flat-bed trucks for maintenance crews, Shane saw a few plus points in changing to Renault’s largest work vehicle.
“There were two big advantages in moving to vans,” said the thoughtful Victorian. “The first was keeping everything contained and out of the weather. The second was having everything able to be locked up so the team can take the vehicles home and park them at their houses. We now don’t have any problem with equipment disappearing.”
The wide variety of options in size and build played a big part in Shane’s decision, too. The Master Van is available in four lengths, three heights, front- or rear-wheel drive, and a platform cab. That gave Shane the opportunity to set up the vehicles to suit the work he intended them to do.
“We went with the tall body and middlelength wheelbase,” he explained. “We could’ve fit our tools and equipment into a smaller Master Van, but the medium wheelbase gives us the ability to put four or five cubic metres of green waste in there as well.
“Now we can have all our gear and products in the van, as well as the ability to store as much green waste as we need to take away from a typical maintenance job.”
Cabin functionality
The cab of the Master Van is a well-thoughtout workspace sporting a fully integrated seven-inch touchscreen with MediaNav system, compatible with both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone replication. We were a little taken aback when Shane told us those features were all excellent, but not what had most impressed him or his people about the cab.
“The built-in cargo barrier is standard in the Master Van,” he pointed out. ‘That’s essential for us, and it was nice not to have to put them on as an extra.
“The other thing was the cab has room for three, so if we need to manage sick days or larger jobs, we can run three gardeners in one van.
“The rest of the time, our standard crew is two, and there’s heaps of room to spread out a little bit. A lot of the time the team has lunch in the van, so it’s good there’s a handy little table that folds down in the middle of the two front seats. “They love it.”
Work fit out
Shane’s four vans are kitted out with racks and shelves in the rear, and the teams use the side door to access the mower, fuel, and chemicals which are all stored at the front of the cargo bay.
All the power products, hand tools, and waste go in and out through the rear barn doors which open to 270 degrees.
“We also have built-in internal ladder racks,” Shane explained. “We have a small and medium platform ladder in each van, and they clip into the interior of the roof. We could only do that because of the extra height. It means we don’t need to have the ladders on top, which is really helpful for reducing damage, but also efficient because we don’t have to lock them down and unlock them every time we need them.”
Shane also had a few more anchor points added to suit his specific needs.
Safety first and foremost
When the subject of safety was raised, Shane’s sincerity was unmistakable.
“Safety’s so important for us,” he said with a steely gaze.
“It’s the first thing we talk about when we have our weekly toolbox, and it’s always the first thing we assess when we get to a site.
“The safety features on the new Renault Master Vans were a big consideration, both in terms of keeping the crews safe, but also in terms of keeping other people safe when the vans are moving and reversing, and when people are moving around the vehicles.
“Our teams have between one and four jobs a day, and we use those safety features on every job.
“The vans even let us know if there are pedestrians about when we’re backing out of driveways,” he said. “It’s really important for us.”
A good decision
Bloom Gardens Melbourne has been running the Renaults since June 2024. They were first fitted out, then given to the teams and put to work.
The verdict from gardeners who work with the new vans every day?
“The team loves them,” said Shane. “Those vans are doing exactly what we hoped they’d do. Plus, they look awesome. We have our logo on both sides and details on the back, and the reaction from clients has been incredible. They’re really impressed.
“I think they’re going to be great for business.”
To see more of the Renault Master Van, and Renault’s range of commercial vehicles, log on to renault.com.au.
