68 | People make the difference on rural runs The company runs a fleet of 28 trucks, most of them DAFs, with four serving the forestry companies, and one dedicated tipper for road metals and stock feed. TRANSPORT OnRoad Transport - Pukekohe T T Hugh de Lacy “There’s a thing about serving farmers and rural communities – you get to develop a personal relationship with them over the years, whereas with the big corporate clients you’re just a number.” It’s the “real people” in the farming community that have brought Don Wilson of Pukekohe’s OnRoad Transport so much satisfaction over his more than 30 years in the rural transport business. “There’s a thing about serving farmers and rural communities – you get to develop a personal relationship with them over the years, whereas with the big corporate clients you’re just a number,” Don says. “Carting livestock is the core of our business, and we typically cover the upper half of the North Island with our services. “The market is currently as quiet as I can remember seeing it – the stock numbers just aren’t there, and we’re lucky enough to have milk cartage, which runs from the end of August to early January, to fill the void.” Aside from livestock, OnRoad Transport carts logs, road metals, stock feed and containers, including a dedicated tanker for milk and other liquids. The company runs a fleet of 28 trucks, most of them DAFs, with four serving the forestry companies, and one dedicated tipper for road metals and stock feed, while three other trucks are set up to carry containers to and from ports. Two other trucks can be switched between stock and tankers, and they are backed up by trailers for a variety of jobs. The company’s main depot is in Pukekohe, but it has trucks stationed in Whangarei and Maungaturoto in Northland, run by a staff of more than 30. Don is from a trucking background – his father ran a carrying business called John Wilson Ltd out of Whangarei during the 1950s and 1960s – and he launched OnRoad Transport in 1994, initially with the Balle brothers, but later taking over the whole company. Don’s first truck was a Foden, and he got himself into the rural transport market with it straight after the launch, before expanding into flat-tops, tippers, container carriers, log transporters and tankers. Things may be moving slowly in the agricultural transport business at the moment, but booming prices for lamb and beef – and even a recovery in wool – hold promise for the immediate future. That future will eventually see trucking moving out of diesel and into hydrogen, Don reckons. “It has to be hydrogen, because the other likely alternative, electrification, is not a good option for trucking because of the weight of the batteries needed to power it,” he says. “Of course, hydrogen is still a long way down the track – long enough that I may not see it in operation in my time – but it’s the logical option, and we’ll see it come into play over time.” Don has no immediate plans to grow OnRoad Transport from its present service levels. “I’m happy as it is,” he says. “I really like its present size because it lets me build on the rural relationships I’ve developed over the years hands-on. “My farmer clients are also my friends, and that makes for a pretty satisfying business environment. “Skilled labour is a perennial problem that I address by bringing in young staff and training them properly.” NATURES GOODNESS – to meet your needs and your budget. With our cost effective agricultural lime it will help you balance the books as well as the soil. Balanced soil calcium promotes root and leaf development, increases yield by reducing soil acidity and increasing calcium availability, improves microbial activity and enhances the uptake of other nutrients. Ask for PARKER AGLIME at your local Farmlands store for your next application! Call 09 431 2407 or 0279 353540 or send an email to trevor@parkerlime.co.nz From our quarry to your farm For over 60 years, Parker Lime has been suppling the New Zealand farming community with a variety of products to take farming into the future sustainably.
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