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From forest to port – reliable products and great customer service keeps this logistics business on track

reliable after sales service is a key factor

For C3 National Maintenance Manager Trevor Els and his team, having quick and easy access to spare parts and reliable after sales service is a key factor in driving success following a time of rapid expansion. 

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One of five market-leading operations that make up Linx Cargo Care Group, C3 specialises in forestry-aligned operations and logistics including chipping, logging, marshalling, transport and stevedoring. Headquartered in New Zealand, the company employs over 1400 staff, around 200 of which are based in Australia at the company’s operations in Western Australia (including Albany and a recent expansion into Esperance) and Victoria. They handle more than 16 million tonnes of cargo each year, which includes the export of around two million tonnes of wood products from Australian ports. These premium-grade products include wood chips, which are used for pulp, paper and cardboard, and more than 31 million logs which are used in construction and furniture manufacturing. 

Prior to establishing in Australia, C3 focused exclusively on port functions. It wasn’t until the Aussie expansion that the company explored the supply chain further, after seeing great opportunities within the logging and wood chipping aspects.

As operations focused more and more on the chipping and logging end of the supply chain, C3 gradually acquired their own trucks, adding new vehicles to their fleet from Mack, Iveco, Volvo, Isuzu and Mercedes. Today their transport demands in Western Australia are all met in-house, with 44 road trains and 27 prime movers, and a variety of trailers from local suppliers including Coastal Trailers and Euro Trailers Australia. Their stable of machinery also includes around 30 pieces of forestry equipment and interestingly, not one hand touches the tree from the moment it is cut down here in Australia until the moment it arrives at its ultimate destination overseas.

 

reliable after sales service is a key factor

 

The focus on in-house transport capability has been well supported by the company’s parts retailer, 

Truckline. C3 has partnered with the Albany branch for the past eight years (the relationship began before C3 bought Edenborn back in 2016) and has recently expanded the partnership across to their Portland Victoria operations. 

Trevor Els says that having a trusted and reliable partner such as Truckline as part of the team, helps the company to keep moving and service our customers, even when the chips are down, so to speak.

“From the moment the trees are chopped down, to when they are loaded onto ships in our ports, we are totally reliant on our machinery. That’s why it’s so important to us as a business to have a partner like Truckline that we can depend on to deliver parts and after sales service, as and when we need it,” said Trevor.

“Truckline’s service is really good – they always deliver when promised, and if I phone them on a Sunday night if we’ve had a breakdown, they will open the shop for us, no questions asked. In fact, on one occasion, one of our critical forestry machines, a Husky Flail, broke down on a weekend after hours. Despite not being a forestry machinery specialist, I called Truckline on the off chance they might be able to help me out. The local manager was in the middle of cooking a BBQ, however he didn’t hesitate to jump in his car and meet me at the store within 15 minutes. Together we worked out a plan and within the hour had stripped down a number of parts that Truckline had in stock to make a version of the spare part we needed for the Husky. Now that’s what I call customer service!,” he said.

 

reliable after sales service is a key factor

 

As C3’s business has grown over the years, so has its relationship with Truckline. Trevor says that as his customer needs have changed, Truckline has adapted to accommodate the growing needs of the company. And while Trevor has faced many challenges during his tenure at C3, including finding good drivers and reliable repair agents in remote areas to service C3 customers, he has always been able to rely on Truckline.

“As we’ve scaled up the business, Truckline has been with us every step of the way. They have taken the time to adjust the way we work with them to ensure we continue to receive the best price, and the best service possible,” said Trevor.

“As a business, we want good quality and good pricing and that’s what we get with Truckline. They keep us moving so we can service our customers, and that’s invaluable to us,” concluded Trevor.

 

reliable after sales service is a key factor

 

Truckline is Australia’s largest leading retailer and distributor of aftermarket and Original Equipment truck and trailer parts with more than 25,000 parts in stock and a network of 22 stores around Australia. It prides itself on offering competitive pricing and customer service that is second to none.

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