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McLaughlin Freightlines wing it with Kenworth trucks

The key to success in any trucking business is focusing on the basics of delivering on time, every time, which

The key to success in any trucking business is focusing on the basics of delivering on time, every time, which means employing quality people and quality trucks, say Wayne and Diane McLaughlin of McLaughlin Freightlines, one of the largest transport contractors to Bartter-Steggles, Australia’s second largest poultry producer.

McLaughlin, 45, has been around trucks his whole life, from when his parents had a contracting firm in New Zealand and he has been in the industry since he was 19, starting out as a driver and then, at 23, he purchased his first truck.

For more than 20 years, he has been building the business on the principles of working with good people and equipment – and that includes Kenworth trucks.

“One of the first trucks I ever bought was a 1987 Kenworth W Model,” he said. “It was a beautiful truck to drive and it never gave me an ounce of trouble. That’s why I love Kenworths and that’s why we continue to buy them – it’s simply good for business.”

In the past five years, the McLaughlins have seen itsr business grow exponentially.

In 2003, Wayne McLaughlin came to Melbourne to purchase a second-hand pneumatic tanker. He didn’t like the tanker but he did like the owner’s business, so much so he bought it and moved his family to Australia.

That was the start of the McLaughlin’s business here, operating a small number of pneumatic tankers, carting chicken feed to poultry farms throughout Victoria.

The contracting firm grew quickly, adding more trucks to the fleet and handling more territory and tasks for Steggles. I

In early 2006, it expanded into NSW, purchasing Steggles’ own refrigerated transport division, and a few months later, the company purchased another Steggles’ contracting operation in Queensland.

Today, McLaughlin Freightlines operates throughout the eastern states, from Melbourne to Cairns, handling the full range of distribution tasks for Steggles.

This includes delivering feed from the mills, transporting live birds and day-old chicks from the hatcheries to the farms as well as distributing fresh and frozen chicken products to the warehouses.

Wayne and Diane McLaughlin are now headquartered on the Gold Coast, with depots in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Newcastle, Griffith and Cairns, employing more than 80 staff and 61 trucks, mostly Kenworth prime movers.

All vehicles are constantly tracked by on-board GPS, so the company and its customers can track freight movements at any time of day or night

The company employs a variety of Kenworth models which handle specialist tasks. Feed deliveries are managed primarily by T404SARs and T404S trucks, all configured as B-double pneumatic tankers, while a T904 single trailer makes container deliveries to farms in Cairns.

In addition, interstate refrigerated linehaul is handled by a stable of B-double T604s, a T904, two K104 cab-overs with the roomy 2.8 metre Aerodyne sleeper cabs and the latest purchases, two newly released T608’s.

“Over the years, we have worked with a variety of different makes, but we’ve always stuck with Kenworth,” McLaughlin says.

“Their trucks are the best on the market and they’re backed by the best service in the business. As far as we’re concerned, that’s a recipe for success.”

He says Kenworth offers a number of advantages over other trucks.

“The most important is reliability. We know our trucks are up to the job, any time, anywhere. And that’s important in any business, especially ours where we transport live birds and refrigerated products. We can’t afford to have a breakdown.

“But, apart from that, we have a commitment to our customer. Steggles is a well known and highly respected food brand. They have an excellent reputation for quality – and it’s our job to help maintain that by ensuring their products are delivered on time, every time. That’s why we continue operating Kenworths.”

McLaughlin says that apart from truck reliability and durability, there are other major benefits to working with Kenworth.

“We like the fact that they’re Australian built for Australian conditions, and that we can always talk to Kenworth about any issues we have and any modifications we need. They may cost a little more to purchase, but per kilometre they’re far cheaper to operate and to maintain. In fact, we’ve found that the maintenance costs on our Kenworths are half that of other trucks we’ve used.

“And, when it’s time to replace them, we know we’ll always get our money back. Kenworths have the highest resale value in the business – and for good reason – they’re built to last. Also, almost every truck driver we know wants to drive a Kenworth. So, by giving them what they want, we can attract the best operators and keep our existing operators happy,” he says.

McLaughlin says their dealer relationship is also an important part of their trucking success.

“We’ve been purchasing Kenworths from Gilbert & Roach in Sydney for years. And, if we’ve learned one thing from working with the competition, it’s that you can’t put a price on dealer service. Gilbert & Roach offer true personal service, whether you’ve got one truck or 60. We know. They’ve treated us the same since the beginning. They’ve acted more like a business partner than a sales organisation, giving us advice we can trust which has enabled us to grow the business,” he says.

McLaughlin Freightlines has just taken delivery of two of Kenworth’s new flagship model, the T608, with plans to purchase a further six to replace the non-Kenworth models.

The two T608s will be doing refrigerated linehaul along the eastern seaboard, with one operating out of Griffith and the other from Brisbane.

“Our plan is to ultimately replace all other trucks with a fleet based on three Kenworth models: T408SARs as feed tankers, T608s as refrigerated units, and K108s 2.8 cab-overs configured as 25-metre B-doubles. We have a diversified business but, thanks to Kenworth, all we need are three prime models to meet all our needs. That says it all about the quality design and engineering built into their trucks.”

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