Gary Watson is the owner and operator of Mid Coast Windows, and in his kind of business the truck fleet are just one aspect of the operation, one of the tools of the trade, as Gary characterises it, the trucks are ‘a screwdriver’, just one of the tools needed to make the whole process work. Of course, it’s a screwdriver you have got to have, the product has to get to the customer, where it is needed.
Gary has been involved in the business for 22 years. It is a family business and his sister and Gary now run it, having taken over from their parents. The business currently employs around 100 staff, all up. They are made up of manufacturing, sales people, as well as the team of distribution staff.
The operation has six trucks, with Hino trucks handling the lighter local delivery tasks and and a selection of brands handling the larger runs of the full loads out to the delivery hubs. The trucks are built with large flatbed custom designed bodies to the same specifications to ensure compatibility with the A-frames used to carry the windows.
Getting the Right Staff
“It’s not easy to find the right drivers for our trucks,” says Gary. “The people are very important in our business. The drivers delivering direct to site are our front line and point of contact with customers.
“The work is not easy and the drivers have to have the experience to deal with issues. Some sites are very steep, some days it is very windy and on other days it rains, it’s never easy. Some sites are helpful, but with others it can be really hard. On the whole, however, we have a pretty good relationship with our delivery sites.”
“It’s not rocket science, you buy trucks and then you keep them for four or five years, and then you move on,” says Gary. “The trucks probably do around 100,000km per year. We are not running 24 hour shifts.
“There are no bad trucks these days, looking around the market. When I look at the Hino truck we buy, I look at the competing brands and they have just about the same specification. They are that close.
“The choice then comes down to the person you are dealing with, the service and back-up is very important. You build relationships with your supplier. I deal with the Mavin Truck Centre in Kempsey and they are nice people.”
