Business Central September 2020

78 | Volume 5 | Issue 3 TRANSPORT » Everfresh Transport Hawke’s Bay business keeps on trucking Everfesh provides a wide range of services throughout the Hawke’s Bay region. Seu Russell www.johnbates.co.nz • Car/ Heavy vehicle & Motorhome Wheel Alignments • All Suspension & Chassis Repairs • Wheel Balancing • Fully operational Brake Roller machine John Bates Wheel Alignment HB Ltd Cnr Wilson & Omahu Roads, Hastings Phone: 06 8799500 Jason 0274469450 John Bates Wheel Alignment 76 Campbell Street, Palmerston North Phone: 06 358 52571 John: 027 4498 028 HASTINGS 221 Wilson Rd, Hastings. Ph: 06 879 7029 • hastings@baytyres.co.nz • Driving the best deal for the Bay • Big or Small we do them all • 24/7 Fleet/Farm on site Service Proud to support & supply tyres and servicing to Everfresh Transport Limited for 15 years. www.baytyres.co.nz | Visit us on facebook For all your tyre requirements in the HAWKES BAY come and see... YOUR LOCALLYOWNEDANDOPERATED INDEPENDENT TYRE TEAM N ick Agnew, son of Everfresh Transport Ltd founder John Agnew, says the impact of the Covid-19 sanctions has had some effect on business but generally the first half of this year has gone well. “We have picked up a little bit of local work and we’re confident that with our valued client-base who we have had long-term relationships with, business will continue to go well,” says Nick. Based in Twyford, Everfresh was founded in 2000 initially focusing on providing transport for Hawke’s Bay apple growers. The company has evolved to offer its custom- ers four core services: produce cartage, container transportation, general freight movement and bulk and metal cartage. The fleet extends to 31 trucks across a range of types and the company’s team of drivers are given their own truck. In the peak of the harvesting season the employee base doubles to around 60 trucks. Growth of the company has come through cus- tomer growth and diversification of their fleet. Core activities include transporting fresh onions, squash and apples, along with various grains for food production. Livestock feeds and fertilisers are also supplied to the meat and dairy sectors. “Our bulk-cartage fleet was established about 15 years ago and our container transport service a decade ago.” One of Everfresh’s latest purchases has been a container swing-lift, helping to grow the company’s container operations through the off season months. Each year the fleet grows by two or three trucks and Nick says he is always looking for year-round work. Servicing of the machinery is handled in-house and a priority is to maintain the fleet to a high standard. “We train a lot of our drivers up from scratch and 70% of our full-time drivers started as seasonal workers with us over the years. “It’s very important to be doing our bit for the industry, training new people up, with the shortage of qualified truck drivers around these days. “We also have a lot of long-term employees that have stuck with us through thick and thin.” During the harvest season Everfresh Transport Ltd employs local Hawke’s Bay based staff. The company operates from the one facility and while a considerable amount of their work is out of the Waikato Nick says this is manageable from the Twyford site. A significant volume of lower-grade kiwifruit is also brought in from Tauranga for juicing. Asked what he enjoys most, working in the com- pany his father began, Nick says it comes down to having a great customer base and working with a great group of co-workers, from drivers through to the rest of the management and maintenance team based at the Twyford depot. “The loyalty of our customers, many of whom have been with Everfresh Transport from its incep- tion is a real strength of the company.” Long-term business relationships with Mike Kettle Contracting, Biorich, Profruit, Crasborn Fresh Harvest, Bostock NZ Ltd, Hawke’s Bays largest agricultural export marketer and Fresh Max have placed the company in the position it enjoys today. Plans ahead are to continue to grow as oppor- tunities present built on the strong local reputation the company has built. “I’m confident we will remain a strong transport- ing business servicing Hawke’s Bay, the Bay of Plenty and Waikato regions.”