| 65 Virginia Wright Log cartage in demand In the last few years the number of trucks used to cart logs has doubled. Hautapu Haulage FORESTRY One way or another Kevin O’Brien, the manager of Hautapu Haulage has been hauling logs for Hautapu Pine since 1984 when he joined the company and became its first full time truck-driver. In 2005 they created Hautapu Haulage as a Joint Venture to establish the log haulage business as a separate entity. By the end of 2019 Kevin was joined by his son Tipene. Now 33, he had spent nearly 12 years in the army, and having just completed a course on dispatching, he decided the time was right to join the family business when his father approached him. Three years later he’s the Operations Manager running the company’s day-to-day operations: making sure the trucks are getting to their destinations, that the skid sites (sites in the forest where logs are stacked), are running efficiently, managing the relationship between customers and clients, doing whatever’s needed to keep everything operating smoothly. His mother Katrina takes care of all the administration while his older brother Josh joined them 18 months ago to take over the dispatching side of the business. Hautapu Haulage carts logs on a daily basis from forest to port for export overseas, or forest to domestic sawmill, covering most of the North Island from Wellington to Tauranga. As Tipene explains, while Kevin was running the company from behind the steering wheel, “he ran everything from inside the truck, or when he finished. With me on board there’s always someone there to do the stuff he did and allow him to drive. That’s where he’s happy and his years of knowledge feed into the behind-the-scenes decisions. For me there’s satisfaction in making a plan, working with Josh on dispatch, and seeing it carried out with all the i’s dotted and the t’s crossed. I’ll happily do whatever needs to be done to keep the wheels moving at the same time, driving a truck, delivering parts, meeting customers or whatever, but it allowed the freedom for us to do what we need to do.” In the last few years the number of trucks they’re using to cart logs has more-or-less doubled to 19. Other than Hautapu Pine, which they cart into every day, they’ve been carting logs for Turangi-based New Zealand Forest Managers since Kevin began hauling the logs from their first rotation (the time from planting to trees being harvested and hauled away on the back of a truck) 20 or so years ago, and they’re about to start their second. Six years ago they started hauling for Wanganui based Arbor Forestry, with the combined logs from all clients totalling over 250,000 tons of logs a year. While Kevin started the first lot of carting on his classic 4x2 RG13 Dodge truck, these days the trucks are generally far more sophisticated affairs. “He drives a state-of-the-art Scania now. The technology within the European Scania and the Volvo has evolved over the years to offer maximum driver comfort. Whereas the Kenworth is designed more for the New Zealand forestry roads. They all cart the same loads it’s just personal preference as to what truck they drive,” says Tipene. The vehicles are truck-trailer, nine axle units each of them capable of averaging 54 ton loads. With 14-hour days that driver comfort is an important factor and Tipene is clear that those drivers behind the wheels are the key to the business. PROUDLYASSOCIATEDWITH HAUTAPU HAULAGE SCANIA NEWZEALAND Emmetts Truck Services take pride in keeping the Booths fleet on the road www.wefixtrucks.co.nz
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