54 | FBT Spreading CONTRACTING Spreading work has its challenges The company has recently upgraded its fleet of MAN and Mercedes trucks, and added a TowandFert liquid foliar applicator as an alternative to granular applications. T T Hugh de Lacy Custom built bins and trailers & all associated truck and trailer work • Prompt backup service • Drawbeams • Roll bars • Bumpers • Chassis alteration Peter Harrison 06 278 3054 or 027 448 0802 Regent Street, Hawera BULK SPREADERS AND TRAILERS Made in NZ with NZ components for NZ conditions Proudly supporting Spreading FBT Getting truck-drivers off the road and onto the paddocks in fertilizer spreaders is a challenge within a challenge to FBT Spreading, sister company of FBT Workshop, according to both companies’ Business Development Manager, Mel Sorrensen. “Everyone knows it’s a challenge to find heavy vehicle drivers these days, but it’s even tougher finding drivers prepared to take on the added challenges of driving spreaders,” she says. “Working on farms is quite demanding and it can be challenging to attract people because there are so many options for heavy vehicle drivers, and the agricultural sector may not be seen as a good career choice by comparison.” FBT Spreading operates 12 spreading trucks employing 14 staff split between its Inglewood base and depot in Okato. This side of the FBT business is run by Dave Geraghty who’s also in charge of the group’s other agriculture-related division, Osflo Fertiliser Ltd, started in 1967 by his father, John Geraghty, in partnership with Malcolm Campbell. OsFlo is a sustainable organic fertilizer business servicing the Taranaki and broader North Island markets with products that are both Bio-Gro certified and FertMark registered. Another string to FBT Spreading’s bow is the Windy Point Quarry, inland from Maxwell, which is one of the few shellrock quarries operating in Taranaki. It offers aggregates AP40 and AP65, as well as 15mm fines for farm races and “off-theface” crushed metal. It all adds up to an extensive offering of services beyond fertilizer cartage and spreadMel Sorrensen and Dave Geraghty ing, covering farm compliance recording, lime options and road metals supply. The company has recently upgraded its fleet of MAN and Mercedes trucks, and added a TowandFert liquid foliar applicator as an alternative to granular applications. Also in the pipeline is the modification of a Toyota Landcruiser utility by adding a small spreader suitable for cropping and lifestyle blocks. There’s no shortage of demand in Taranaki for FBT Spreading’s services, with local farmers having an ongoing need for the nutrients that keep their grass growing, and that need doesn’t diminish if produce prices happen to be low. “There’s obviously regulatory requirements that are putting pressure on farmers to change the dynamics of some of their older practices, but it’s still a good stable environment to work in,” Mel says. “We want to attract skilled drivers, and we can offer opportunities equally as good as road transport, but there’s a feeling out there that you can just hop on a truck and cruise down the road. “It’s different driving spreader-trucks because you’re mostly working off-road and the topography can be quite challenging, requiring great concentration: you can’t just get around in cruise mode.” Loneliness can be another deterrent to drivers, Mel says. “You don’t want to be too much of a people person because you’re working a lot on your own, and isolation can be a problem for some people.” She also suspects that unjustified negative perceptions of the dairy industry, FBT’s main client base, may prevent some drivers from considering agricultural heavy vehicle driving as an option. The best source of staff is among those from a rural or farming background, to whom it’s as natural to be driving off the road as it is on it. “Our drivers have a real passion for the land: they get to see some of the most scenic parts of Taranaki while on the job,” Mel says.
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