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Miles Transport hails decades-long MaxiTRANS partnership

SPONSORED CONTENT: Over two decades of association and 12 trailers later, MaxiTRANS is still Miles Transport’s most trusted companion

 

Geoff Miles is a busy man. When he is not managing operations of his family-run transport company, Miles Transport, he is performing maintenance checks on his fleet. Geoff started working alongside his parents in 2008 and there has been no looking back since.

“I have always been around the business,” he says. “Even as a young boy, I came in and washed trucks on the weekends. After finishing my diesel mechanic apprenticeship, I came back to officially join the business in 2008.”

Miles Transport was established in 1991 by Geoff’s parents, Nick and Mary Miles. In the beginning, the company transported garden and nursery stock from Melbourne to all over Tasmania, however in 1999 they were asked to cart fresh-cut flowers from Melbourne to Sydney – something Miles Transport has been doing ever since. After Nick passed away in 2012, Geoff assumed a more hands-on role and started running the company alongside his mother. It is truly a family-run business, with two of Geoff’s sisters, Theresa and Cathleen, also working with them.

The company still operates out of its depot in Monbulk in Victoria’s scenic Dandenong Ranges, although the size of the depot has expanded fairly from its first set up.

When Nick established the company he had just one International prime mover and a trailer that he purchased through his old employer. From those humble beginnings the company has come a long way to now owning 12 trucks, mainly Kenworth with a couple of European makes in the mix, and 13 trailers, 12 of which are from MaxiTRANS.

Miles Transport has a longstanding relationship with MaxiTRANS, which is one of the reasons they turned to MaxiTRANS to get a new Maxi-CUBE Classic Hi-CUBE Refrigerated B-double purpose-built for them a few months back. The other reason was quality.

“The quality of MaxiTRANS trailers is second to none. They are constantly working to better the product and as a result, with every new trailer there has been an improvement,” Geoff says.

“Refrigeration is always a key consideration in the construction of these trailers,” he says. “Freezer burn can damage fragile goods such as freshly cut flowers. The design of chutes from the fridge plays a big role in the even distribution of air within the trailer.

“This feature also comes in handy for storage and transport of other perishables such as fresh strawberries and other local produce that we also cart,” he says.

The company had purchased many pre-owned MaxiTRANS trailers before getting its first new trailer in 2001. “We still own a 1995 model and it is just so well-built that it is holding up strong all these years later,” Geoff says. “Not that we need much repair work on our trailers but if there is something, I am able to perform 95 per cent of the maintenance works myself, in-house. Some would call me a jack of all trades in the company,” he says with a smile.

However, if there is an issue that he cannot handle himself, he always turns to MaxiTRANS. “We can trust MaxiTRANS to always listen to any issue that we may have and know that they will help us with it.

“We have very good relationships with MaxiTRANS’ Area Sales Manager Troy Kitchen, as well as the broader sales and service teams. Whatever our requirements, they get straight to it. That’s efficiency.”

The latest B-double replaces the first similar set Miles Transport bought in 2009. There have been many improvements on the Maxi-CUBE Classic Vans since then. For instance, the new Hi-CUBE van provides superior thermal efficiency – capable of maintaining temperatures to minus 18 degrees Celsius. What’s more, the inclusion of a full length chassis, as well as a reinforced floor and rear frame, offers greater strength and durability without impacting on tare weight. A key feature of the Maxi-CUBE Hi-CUBE van is its thinner side walls, floor and roof that helps optimise cubic capacity, useful for when the load is slightly over standard pallet size.

All trailers are backed by MaxiTRANS’ national trailer, parts and service dealer network. For further details, visit www.maxitrans.com.

 

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