Business Rural North Winter 2021

60 | RURAL SERVICES » OnRoad Transport Demand drives branch expansion Getting livestock from A to B is only part of the job at OnRoad Transport, a family-owned ompany is dedicated to quality service with an experienced team and a top-quality fleet. Kelly Deeks F amily-owned OnRoad Transport has recently expanded with a third branch now operating in Whangarei, giving the leading livestock transporter an even stronger presence on the roads around Northland, Auckland, Waikato, and the Bay of Plenty. Getting livestock from A to B is only part of the job at OnRoad Transport, a company which is dedi- cated to great quality service with an experienced team and a top-quality fleet. OnRoad Transport managing director Don Wilson has been in the industry all his life, growing up with his dad’s carrying business in Whangarei then going to work for United Carriers on leaving school. He went to manage a United Carriers branch in Pukekohe in the late 1980s, then moved on to drive for Balle Brothers market gardeners. In 1996, Don bought into Balle Brothers transport arm, putting a stock truck on the road and growing the business significantly. In 2014, the business changed its name to OnRoad Transport. Don says livestock transport isn’t just a job at OnRoad Transport, it’s a way of life. “We’ve been built on a strong foundation of family values and we’re nothing without the hard working people who make our business what it is.” OnRoad Transport employs a variety of drivers from the young class fours to the professional truck and trailer drivers driving 50 tonne units, looking after the animals on the back of the truck, making sure they get to their destination in the best order they can be, and complying with all the regulations along the way. “Our drivers are efficient and friendly, they have years of experience in livestock transport, and they are devoted to the work they do,” Don says.“Every job is completed to the highest possible standard, and we will not settle for anything less.” Clients are assured their stock is in good hands, as all OnRoad Transport crates are quality certified and accredited, and Don is on the New Zealand Livestock Transport Assurance committee, chair- man of the National Road Carriers board, and director of the Road Transport Forum. He says the commercial road freight industry is currently battling to find a balance between the demands of its customers, the requirements of numerous regulatory bodies including NZTA, MPI, WorkSafe, and animal welfare groups, and a changing industry infrastructure which means things that used to happen, can no longer happen. • to page 61 Qu ty B Tra i 8 Aerodrome Rd, Mt Maunganui Sth | 07 572 8009 office@nationwidecrates.co.nz | www.nationwidecrates.co.nz