When family run business Rogers Transport lost 26 of its trucks from devastating floods in Southeast Queensland and New South Wales, it turned to Isuzu to help rebuild.
When flood waters swept through the Rogers Transport depot in Rocklea in Brisbane it did irreparable damage a swag of trucks in the company’s fleet.
“We had about three and a half meters of water through the truck depot, and we lost 26 trucks in total, about half of those were rigids and the other half were prime movers. It’s taken us a while to get back on our feet,” Rogers Transport’s general manager of Operations Brad Rogers says.
With new trucks hard to come by thanks to the supply chain challenges created by COVID and the host of other natural disasters of recent times 2022 presented plenty of challenges for the family business.
The floods also prompted a big change of location with the owners deciding to shift their operations away from Rocklea to a huge, purpose-built facility at the Port of Brisbane.
“There will be roughly 18,000 square meters of storage and a huge container storage area.”
The extra space will come in handy for Roger’s Transport, which was founded by Gary and Val Rogers over 30 years ago and moves mainly hardware and paint supplies up and down the southeast coast.
But while a bigger HQ is a hit, rebuilding the fleet has been the highest priority for the business and its customers.
For Brad, who grew up in the business, under the watchful eyes of his parents, the first point of call was his local Isuzu dealer.
“We’ve been purchasing trucks from Brisbane Isuzu for decades,” Rogers says. “They helped us recently after the floods. We lost probably 15 rigid trucks, so Brisbane Isuzu moved quickly to assist us, and we’ve recently taken delivery of six F Series Isuzu trucks, and we’ve got another six on order.
“The wait times for trucks is ordinarily 12 to 18 months but Brisbane Isuzu were able to secure some within about four months; it’s a huge help and its turning things around for our customers too!”
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Paint and hardware supplies are a big part of the business
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Rogers says with Rogers Transport having four FVL 240-300 Freightpacks and four FVM 230-300 Freightpacks on the road around the clock, the company introduced a ‘one driver one truck’ policy which meant that each driver is solely responsible for the truck they operate.
He says it has been a huge success so far, seeing truck drivers take pride in the Isuzu F Series they pilot, with reduced mechanical and maintenance issues and next to no problems when it comes to upkeep, cleanliness and presentation.
“Rogers Transport drivers love their Isuzu trucks. They’re comfortable, they’re straight forward to use, they’re easy to work with, there’s plenty of parts available for them, and the reliability’s great,” Rogers says.
“We’ve got a couple with over a million kilometres still running with original engines. The trucks with a million kilometres are the first ones we bought over 15 years ago, and they are in fantastic working condition.
“We’re big on our preventative maintenance and servicing – to look after all our trucks – no matter their age.
“All our servicing is done in-house by the team here and we use genuine parts from Brisbane Isuzu. Parts are always readily available and if there’s a delay it’s because the parts are on a truck up from Sydney or Melbourne and we’ll have them within a day or two.”
The other part of keeping drivers happy is a comfortable cabin, and Rogers says the new trucks have generated plenty of smiles.
“The new trucks all have automatic transmissions,” Rogers says. “It was a change at first, but the guys are loving them. They’re loving the new AV unit and the creature comforts that Isuzu offers.
“Swapping to the Allison Automatic was due to availability initially, but the feedback from the guys has been great. They love them, so we’ve continued to spec the new trucks with automatics.
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Rogers Transport is driving into a brighter future
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“It’s simpler to have an Auto when driving through traffic these days, the roads in Brisbane are only getting busier and busier.
“These trucks service anywhere from Tweed Heads to Noosa and up to Toowoomba. While this part of the fleet is mainly local, the guys do get out on a longer run, on occasion.”
While the wait is on to see the fleet rebuilt to its pre-flood strength, there’s no doubt Rogers Transport is driving boldly forward on its road to recovery.