ATA lauds award winners at annual ceremony
The Australian Trucking Association (ATA) honoured industry’s achievers at its annual awards ceremony, celebrating “those who go the extra mile and inspire others”.
Formula Chemicals director Leigh Smart headed up the awards, crowned the outstanding contributor to the trucking industry for his diligence and safety in the transport of dangerous goods, leading the company he founded in 1973.
“These prestigious awards recognise those who have demonstrated exceptional dedication to the Australian trucking industry through their hard work and commitment, ATA chair Geoff Crouch says.
“This year we received an unprecedented number of award nominations, highlighting the high standard and calibre of those who represent the Australian trucking industry.
“Our award recipients were extremely well-deserving, and I thank each winner for their contribution.”
The full list of winners is:
- Outstanding Contribution to the Australian Trucking Industry – Leigh Smart
- National Professional Driver of the Year – Bernard Forssman
- National Trucking Industry Woman of the Year – Coralie Chapman
- National Training Excellence Award – Australian Furniture Removers Association
- TruckSafe John Kelly Memorial Award – Nolan’s Interstate Transport
Relive last year’s ATA award winners, here
Outstanding Contribution to the Trucking Industry: Leigh Smart, Formula Chemicals
Smart is director of Formula Chemicals. Smart founded the company in 1973 and was the only employee. Now the business has expanded across four factories and employs more than 40 staff.
He is a mentor in the WorkCover ‘Safe Business is Good Business’ program and was an accredited WorkCover consultant for 15 years.
A generous contributor to the trucking industry, involved in the ATA Truckweek events in 2014 and 2016 Smart has been a passionate industry representative and advocate for many years, particularly in the road transport of dangerous goods, ATA says.
National Professional Driver of the Year: Bernard Forssman, AFD / Directhaul
Forssman has driven for AFD/Directhaul for 25 years and been a part of the industry for more than 45 years. Forssman carts aviation fuel along the Stuart Highway and has driven more than 10 million kilometres incident-free.
He is a quiet achiever who takes great pride in his work, strives to keep his equipment in pristine condition, and is respected by his peers for his professionalism and reliability, ATA notes.
National Trucking Industry Woman of the Year: Coralie Chapman, Linfox
Chapman is transport scheduler at Linfox Australia and has worked in road transport for more than 19 years. She has been on the Transport Women Australia board since 2016, was made secretary in 2017 and was a finalist for the 2018 National Trucking Industry Woman of the Year award.
Chapman was a participant in the 2018 Daimler Truck and Bus Future Leaders’ Forum, where she developed a project to expand the media strategies of stakeholders to raise awareness of safety and the image of the industry.
National Training Excellence Award: Australian Furniture Removers Association (AFRA)
AFRA was founded in 1993 as the official body of removals experts that helps regulate the removals industry. More than 350 companies across the country are AFRA members and all are educated by qualified trainers to the AFRA professional standards.
In updating the current training offered, AFRA have developed a new initiative moving towards its own Learning Management System. This includes training courses on insurance, chain of responsibility, workplace health and safety, and industrial relations. The association has also moved towards online training and traineeships to create career paths, retain staff and make training more accessible to members.
TruckSafe John Kelly Memorial Award: Nolan’s Interstate Transport
Nolan’s Interstate Transport began its operations in the early 1900s. Owned and operated by Robert Hawck, the company used horse-drawn carts to transport such products as cream, wood and milk across the Lockyer Valley Region. Over the years, the company has been passed down through the family.
Daphne and the late Terry Nolan acquired the business in the 1970s and shared the ATA’s Outstanding Contribution to the Trucking Industry Award in 2011.
Now one of the largest family-owned and operated transport businesses in Queensland, Nolan’s Transport operates approximately 100 trucks and employs more than 250 staff.
A member of TruckSafe since 1996, Nolan’s Transport has a strong safety culture and has won awards for Excellence in Road Transport and Workcover Best Practice, ATA explains.