Business North September 2020

66 | Volume 19 | Issue 3 businessnorth TRANSPORT » OnRoad Transport Don can be relied on to get the job done Richard Loader “I’ve said it several times over the last two months, the primary industry is what will bring New Zealand out of the recession we’re now heading into.” • to page 68 W hen your dad was in the transport industry and you have spent your own life in and out of the cab, it is fair to say transport is in your DNA. From school to driving trucks, Don Wilson’s trans- port career has spanned 40 years—over half that operating his own business transporting livestock around Northland, Auckland, Waikato and the Bay of Plenty. In the classic Kiwi style, Don’s Pukekohe based OnRoad Transport Ltd has evolved from a single truck and trailer unit to a modern fleet of well main- tained vehicles, earning a reputation for reliability and getting the job done. These days, while Pukekohe remains the home depot, truck and trailers are also based in Paparoa with a site only just opened up in Whangarei to cater for growing demand. While livestock transport remains OnRoad Trans- port’s core business, it has recently diversified into bulk tipping for the rural sector and subcontracting to Dynes Transport for milk cartage during the dairy season. Don’s passion for building lasting relationship has been the key to driving OnRoad Transport’s success. “When you build those relationships you can re- solve any problems that arise around the table and move on—be that with my fleet service provider and the people we buy the vehicles from or the manufacturer of our crates, trailers and truck bod- ies and of course our farmer clients and processing companies we work for.” Emerging from Covid, Don says one of the big- gest issues currently impacting on the industry is the extra time it now takes to get things done. “Now that the stock sales are on again, you can’t just go onto a rostrum unless you register. Each site and plant’s requirements and procedures are differ- ent and we have to teach our drivers what that site requires for them to comply. “The transport industry tried to standardise the procedures to simplify things for the drivers, but un- fortunately all the sites adopted their own systems.” Don has been on the National Road Carriers Board since 2014 and Chairman since 2016. Qu ty B Tra i 8 Aerodrome Rd, Mt Maunganui Sth | 07 572 8009 office@nationwidecrates.co.nz | www.nationwidecrates.co.nz