92 | “If you want to get the most out of your trucks and drivers, you’ve got to run them so efficiently. Get them out of bed early, get them loading, and get them moving.” RURAL SERVICES » TA Arnold Transport Ltd ‘They prefer the personalised service we offer’ The Arnold family is well known to be both enterprising and resourceful. Kelly Deeks Ryan Arnold of fourth generation South Westland rural carrier TA Arnold Transport is having one of his most interesting seasons in the 20 years he’s been full time with the family business, as some of the bigger operators start to move into the area. “I don’t think they are going to get the traction they are expecting,” he says. “When one of the big operators came to Greymouth in 2011, they door knocked all of our customers and didn’t get one of them. When another came to Whataroa, a lot of those customers came over to us because they weren’t getting the service they wanted. They’re not interested in supporting the big guys, where they have to ring a big call centre, order whatever they can get, and then they have to sit back and be patient. They prefer the personalised service we offer. They can deal with me directly and know what they’re getting.” With both those operators recently moving into Hokitika and Westport respectively in a big way, TA Arnold Transport is confidently committed to keeping on moving and getting the job done for its loyal rural customer base. Mechanically-minded Ryan, with his pre-trade training in aircraft engineering prior to joining the family business, is an efficiency aficionado. Mid-January TA Arnold Transport had one of its busiest weeks in a long while, yet the company’s four drivers were all able to get home early every day thanks to their huge effort and some smart dispatching from Ryan. “If you want to get the most out of your trucks and drivers, you’ve got to run them so efficiently. Get them out of bed early, get them loading, and get them moving. We’ve been able to tackle that big week at a canter rather than a trot.” The TA Arnold Transport team in the field is aligned with Ryan’s goals and dedicated to achieving them. He is well supported in the office by his partner Mandy Chesmar and dad Tom. Ryan is always planning weeks in advance and when it comes to the weather, which he checks first thing every day, this can pay dividends. After a wet winter and the wettest spring Ryan has ever seen, TA Arnold Transport was prepared for an increase in meal and stock feed cartage. When rain was recently forecast for a Friday, Ryan knew he had until Thursday to get a customer’s baleage off of a paddock. “We put two trucks in and got them off the paddock before the rain. We can’t not be available for our customers when it comes to things that need doing, and we’re lucky we’ve got the gear to be able to do it.” In this isolated location of Hari Hari, the Arnold family is well known to be both enterprising and resourceful throughout the generations, and Ryan is no different. About 99% of repairs and maintenance are done from in-house, led by Ryan’s dad Tom up until about a year ago and now with support from Steve Fredericks of SF Mechanical in Haast. “He’s been a Godsend for us. He goes through our whole fleet and finds all the things that we don’t.” Located an hour and a half away from the nearest tyre shop in Greymouth, Ryan has taught himself via You Tube to become TA Arnold Transport’s tyre technician, and he’s now pretty proud to be able to change four tyres in 45 minutes. “I’m the biggest You Tube mechanic around! I want to be as self sufficient as I can. Our location requires it, and I don’t like paying for anything I could do myself.” Wholesale specialty timbers, direct from the sawmill. Special purpose sawmilling since 1985 With support from the crew at TA Arnold Transport sawmilldirect.co.nz Transporting goods throughout the South Island including lime, fertiliser & stock feed, timber & logs, rock, woodchip and all general goods. Proudly supporting TA Arnold Transport Ltd ARNOLD TRANSPORT LTD Ryan Arnold 0275 484 586 | Tommy Arnold 0275484587 | atacon@xtra.co.nz
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