| 67 TRANSPORT INDUSTRY Transport and Diesel Services Making his name in Hawera An added feature of Transport and Diesel Service’s offerings is the 24-hour breakdown service on all models of trucks and trailers. T T Richard Loader “The Isuzu was well past its use-by date – it rattled and shook but, because the engine was in the cab, it was pretty warm in winter, though an oven in summer.” When Todd Kells got the news his employer was shutting up shop a decade ago, to say it was “a bit of a shock” was an understatement, but it’s what led to his establishing Transport and Diesel Services in Hawera. “Once the business closed down, I thought I’d take a month off to spend with the kids around home while I decided what I was going to do,” Todd says. “But suddenly, in the course of a single morning the following day, I wound up owning the service truck I’d been driving for my previous employer, was registered for GST, and in business. “I bought the old double-cab Isuzu service truck I’d been driving, still full of my own tools that I’d been using for on-site repairs. The Isuzu was well past its use-by date – it rattled and shook but, because the engine was in the cab, it was pretty warm in winter, though an oven in summer,” he says. Initially, Todd serviced local transport operators in Stratford, but before his first year as a business owner was up he landed a maintenance contract with a Hawera civil contracting company, moved to that town and leased premises there. “I was really fortunate to get that contract, because it gave me permanence, where before I was just taking on any transport service or repair job that happened to be going at the time,” he says. And because he had completed his apprenticeship with Moller Johnson in Hawera, he was familiar with the area. Todd shifted within Hawera a couple of times before settling in his current Glover Road base, which has been purpose-built to his specifications. He has four workshop staff and an accounts manager rounding out the team. Transport and Diesel Services is well set up with tools and technology, including the latest computer services, and brake-roller gear has been installed for testing the brakes on heavy trucks – gear identical to that used in testing stations. The tester calculates braking imbalances across the axles, where poor balance on at least one of the wheel-ends could negatively affect the vehicle’s directional stability under braking. “We offer total mechanical repairs and maintenance of every type of diesel truck, including electrics, hydraulics and tail lifts,” Todd says. “We service air-conditioning, both in the workshop and on-site, carry out Pre-Certificate of Fitness checks, with a courtesy car for customers while their gear is being repaired or serviced.” An added feature of Transport and Diesel Service’s offerings is the 24-hour breakdown service on all models of trucks and trailers. Todd’s business is facing what he calls “regional representation of the current economy” with steady workflow, but not busy business, despite the New Zealand economy emerging tentatively from recession. That news came as modest cheer for the National-led coalition government, but it’s yet to have much of a tangible effect on business confidence, which remains relatively low. “However, indicators are positive for the second half of the year,” Todd says. h njƓ ƧƎå ÿnjåå ğĽóŊ´óĬ¢ĽÐÁŊŬÁŊŬĽLj Ŭ+¢ŽķÌ ƭƄğĽÝƄƄ hÝŽƄŊĽ¢Į ÁÁŊƭĽƚğĽČ Ŭ ƭƄğĽÝƄƄ PÝĽƚŊŽğĽČ Ŭ+ğĽ¢ĽÁğ¢Į hĮ¢ĽĽğĽČ ÐƺğÁÝ Ŭ ƭÐČÝƚ ¢ƄĚĄŊƻƄ Ŭ+¢ķğĮǂ xŽƭƄƚƄ Ŭ+¢Žķ qƭÁÁÝƄƄğŊĽ Ŭx¢ǁ¢ƚğŊĽ -qx qÝŽƺğÁÝƄ Ŭh¢ǂŽŊĮĮ qŢÝÁğ¢ĮğƄƚƄ xĚÝ qķ¢Žƚ ÁÁŊƭĽƚğĽČ qŊĮƭƚğŊĽË 7 x[l7 qxl x 3 l We are your local professional panel beaters, providing auto glass replacement and repair services in South Taranaki. Restore your vehicle 06 278 5628 haweraglasspanel.co.nz Proudly Supporting Transport & Diesel Services Ltd
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