Three new members receive safety accreditation from industry body
Transport industry accreditation program TruckSafe has three new members this week after StockTrans, Bonney Energy and the Smithfield Cattle Company became accredited.
To join the program, the three businesses needed to meet a set of minimum operating standards covering responsible work practices, healthy and trained drivers, maintained vehicles and management systems.
“Operators that join TruckSafe go above and beyond the requirements of the law to make sure they run a safe and professional business,” TruckSafe chairman Stephen Marley says.
“I congratulate StockTrans, Bonney Energy and the Smithfield Cattle Company for making the decision to put safety first in their business operations.”
New South Wales-based StockTrans moves livestock throughout Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria, running 28 B-doubles, five B-triples and two roadtrain combinations.
Through its 27 year history, the division of JS Transport Group has acquired Knights livestock transport, Henry Cooke livestock transport, Ron Finemore Transport and the Queensland operations of David Grimison after it began with a second-hand Mack superliner in 1988.
Owned and operated by the Sepos family in the Hunter Valley near Newcastle, StockTrans’ managing director Joe Sepos believes it was natural step for the business.
“Safety is our highest priority in our operations. It just made sense to join TruckCare and now TruckSafe – it’s all about making sure things are done right the first time,” Sepos says.
The Victorian division of the Bonney Group, Bonney Energy’s roots are just three years old but the fuel distribution company provides over 90 million litres per annum across the Geelong, Colac and Ballarat areas.
As a part of an effort to re-invigorate the company’s image, general manager Tony Winsall says it needed to catch up with Caltas and Lloyds North, the other two divisions in the Bonney Group who already held TruckSafe accreditation.
“By implementing TruckSafe in our business, we’ve really improved our concentration on safety and the maintenance of our vehicles,” Winsall says.
“It would be an understatement to say that going through the TruckSafe process has affected the business. It’s really changed our whole culture, which has in turn improved workplace safety.”
The third new member to the TruckSafe family is the Smithfield Cattle Company. The family-owned company, operating out of South Burnett in Queensland, is one of the country’s biggest feedlot providers since opening its doors in 1986 and has been a TruckCare member since 2009.
“TruckSafe and TruckCare accreditation sends a good message to our clients – we were the Woolworths livestock supplier of the year in 2014. These systems provide them with assurance that we are doing the right thing,” Smithfield managing director Jason Shearer-Smith says.