50 | TRANSPORT East Coast Heavy Diesel One stop-shop for heavy vehicle repair The company has 36 staff after opening a workshop facility at Kawarau three years ago. T T Hugh de Lacy It’s already a one-stop-shop for all servicing related to transport and heavy machinery, but Whakatane-based East Coast Heavy Diesel is building up its truck and trailer fitting-out and fabrication business in the face of strong demand. The company has no fewer than four depots in the eastern central North Island: a headquarters with 16 staff and an engineering shop with six staff at its Whakatane headquarters, plus workshops in Kawarau and Gisborne with four and nine staff respectively. East Coast Heavy Diesel is the authorised service agent for Scania, Fuso, Hitachi, Kobelco and Bell and Moxy trucks and heavy plant, and it is leveraging off those well-established connections to build the likes of rock bins and flat decks for new and used vehicles. Business connections with oil manufacturer Total Oil NZ, hydraulic hose and fittings supplier Hydraulink and tyre manufacturer Bridgestone are also part of its corporate mix. The Whakatane branch also has a relationship with the TEDS vehicle testing station which allows it to issue certificates and warrants of fitness for road vehicles. The company’s wider business over its four sites comprises the repair and maintenance of earthmoving equipment and commercial vehicles in the road transport industry, the forestry sector and timber mills. The machinery coming through East Coast Heavy Diesel’s workshops range from diggers and loaders to trucks, forklifts and generators. Founded in 2007 by Scotty Hale who is still its chief executive, East Coast Heavy Diesel prides itself on covering every aspect of heavy vehicle repair and maintenance, including sales of spare parts. “If you come to us, you don’t have to go anywhere else,” company general manager Kerry Poots says. Kerry has been with the company for two years, and says he has a passion for growing the staff and delivering to the customers what they want most: service. This approach comes from 35 years in the snow industry, 20 years on Mount Ruapehu running the automotive maintenance services there, and then 15 years in the Cardrona Valley running the Southern Hemisphere Proving Ground where global car manufacturers test their vehicles. He became a victim of the collapse of the vehicle testing services during the Covid lockdown which ended up forcing his redundancy. Scott Hale likewise began his career as a diesel mechanic, specialising in earthmoving and transportation, before targeting a gap in the East Coast market that was under-resourced for heavy vehicle repairs and maintenance, even as the local forestry industry in particular was expanding steadily as the region’s huge plantations came on-stream. But it’s the company’s growing truck bin and tray manufacturing capacity at its Whakatane site that is pointing the way for East Coast Heavy Diesel’s expansion in this area. “We run the manufacturing arm at Whakatane under the umbrella of a separate company called East Coast Engineering and Fabrication, in a workshop adjacent to the headquarters building where we’ve got a drive-through truck and trailer facility,” Kerry says. “We’ve got steady and repeat demand for rock-bins, flat decks and the full range of hydraulic attachments for trucks both new and used, and that adds to our one-stop-shop reputation for everything related to heavy vehicle maintenance and repair. “We did well in the Covid world, buying the Gisborne depot during those times, and even building up our staff levels. “There was no looking in the mirror: it was all go,” Kerry says. The company currently has 36 staff after opening a new workshop facility at Kawarau three years ago. And while much of the region was reeling from the Cyclone Gabrielle damage, East Coast Heavy Diesel came through largely unscathed. “We’ve got steady and repeat demand for rock-bins, flat decks and the full range of hydraulic attachments for trucks both new and used ...” Arrow takes the headache out of accounting Arrow Accountants is an independent boutique chartered accountancy based in beautiful Whakatāne, New Zealand. We partner with our clients to help make their enterprise better, whether they are a Trust, small or medium sized business, or a multinational company. Get in touch for your obligation free chat Address: 5 Richardson Street, Whakatāne | Postal: P O Box 304, Whakatāne 3158 Email: admin@arrowaccountants.co.nz Telephone: +64 7 308 7155 Retail & Service Excellence AwardWinner 2008 Insurance work, panel beating and spray painting 42 Valley Road, Whakatane 027 556 0905 | 07 308 8317 admin@haddockspray.co.nz See us first! 07 308 6937 0274 107 404 26 Te Tahi St, Whakatane rob@ebes.nz Proudly supporting East Coast Heavy Diesel
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