McColl's defies financial crisis to spend $15 million adding 63 new trucks to its fleet
Victorian trucking operator McColl’s has defied the global economic downturn by spending $15 million to overhaul its truck fleet.
The Geelong company has expanded its fleet to 260 trucks after buying 63 brand new heavy vehicles.
McColl’s Chief Operating Officer Jon Northorpe says the purchase is designed to replace older vehicles, while also ensuring the company has a fleet capable of meeting customer needs.
“Despite the economic downturn, it’s business as usual at McColl’s and by upgrading our fleet we are able to offer our customers a safer, cleaner and more dependable service,” Northorpe says.
The new fleet includes 23 line-haul prime movers for McColl’s food transport division, as well as 15 DAF trucks for farm deliveries.
The multi-million dollar purchase also includes 25 new Kenworth trucks to service McColl’s bulk food operations and general freight.
McColl’s, which began in 1952, services companies including Nestle, Dairy Farmers, National Foods and Murray Goldman.
The news comes as McColl’s plans on expanding its operations in northern NSW and south-east Queensland.
The company has moved its milk collection operations to west of Brisbane in anticipation of securing more work in Beaudesert, Casino and Lismore.
McColl’s moves more than 2 billion litres of milk from farms to factories each year, but expects to increase its workload.
“More and more dairy farms in the Beaudesert, Casino and Lismore regions are also crying out for a quality and reliable transport provider and it’s a gap McColl’s intends to fill,” Mancel Hickey from Mcoll’s milk collection division says.
McColl’s operates 28 milk tankers and prime movers and has also hired more drivers to cope with demand.
“We have also set up an office in Casino to help our Brisbane milk operations and to give us more of a regional focus. All up we now have about 60 staff servicing this part of the country,” Hickey says.