| 49 T T Sue Russell Haulage specialists Northern Rural Haulage delivering fertiliser for helicopter application. Northern Rural Haulage TRANSPORT WARKWORTH 09 425 8456 WHANGAREI 09 438 6915 KERIKERI 09 407 5514 Proud supporters of Northern Rural Haulage www.ten .co.nz 09 470 0850 Proudly servicing Northern Rural Haulage 0800 947 426 sales@mobicomm.co.nz www.mobicomm.co.nz TALK TOTHE EXPERTS FOR SMART VOICE AND DATA SOLUTIONS Proud to partner with Northern Rural Haulage to keep their team connected Doug Wilson started Northern Rural Haulage south of Whangarei, in 2009. “I had been working for a local carrying company and when they were bought out by the Toll Group I thought it was about time I went out on my own,” Doug explains. Having established key relationships with local farmers and contractors, Doug said going out on his own, in those early days, went well. Northern Rural Haulage services two main sectors, farming and building/construction. Doug says this provides him with plenty of work all year round and means he doesn’t these days have to travel too far and wide to keep the team busy. “Working across both industry types is a good balance for us. We sort of run two different departments really.” Farming work involves the use of bulk haulage trucks that carry palm kernel, fertiliser supplies, metal, hay and silage, with a team of experienced drivers. “We deliver feed throughout Northland. We can also deliver a specified amount of fertiliser to a meeting point for Helicopter fertiliser application. We also deliver metal to farms for upgrading or establishing new races or for machinery pads.” Relocating heavy machinery from farm to farm is another service Northern Rural Haulage supplies the Northland Region. Northern Rural Haulage’s fleet of bulk trucks extend their work as far as the Waikato and Tauranga regions. “I’m not actively looking for any more work. We’re a well known business and repeat work is a big part of what we do. I think when you’re born and bred in Northland and you’ve worked in the sectors for as long as I have, your reputation speaks for itself and the work just comes.” Doug says its vital for those in construction and property development to know that a load of metal will be delivered on time. “We work for customers all over Northland to ensure their new build has exactly the right drainage set up and ready to go; delivering sand, stones, rocks or metal efficiently.” And when dealing with long rural driveways, Doug says they understand how important it is to supply the appropriate grade of metal and to spread it effectively. Delivering rocks for landscaping is another service the business offers. “We make sure rocks of all shapes and sizes are placed where the customers wants them safely and efficiently.” The fleet is programmed regularly for service and maintenance and generally a truck will click over 1million kilometres before its due for replacement. Doug says the aim is to replace at least one truck each year. He says finding drivers is a constant challenge but this is an industry wide phenomenon. “We would like to take on more drivers. We’re currently running three drivers short at the moment.” Doug says there needs to be more incentive for people to not stay at home receiving the unemployment benefit. “The problem is the money some people get paid on an unemployment benefit and what they would receive driving is too narrow, so people would rather stay home, than take on the responsibilities of working. “Then again, we have to have high standards about who we choose to employ because of the cost of our fleet and the reputation we have gained throughout the years.” Doug says he is pleased with how the business has grown and sends a big thank you to all his loyal customers, with some having signed-up for service from Day 1. The company operates 365 days a year. “Because a lot of our customers are farmers, they don’t have days off. The cows still need feeding everyday. We value our customers and they have come to rely on us delivering top quality service whenever it is needed.”
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