They do say good things come to those who wait and Dan ‘Hutcho’ Hutchison has been a very patient man waiting on a very good thing.
Nearly 18 months’ worth of wait to be honest, but the end result is another stunning truck added to a fleet of stunning trucks. Meet Sprenger’s Rural Traders. The family rural supplies store with a stunning truck addiction.
The Sprenger’s trucks are a common sight amongst the rural foundations of Australia, carting hay, chaff, molasses and every other necessity needed by Australia’s country backbone.
With a fleet comprising almost 50/50 of two Australian-built workhorses, Kenworth and Volvo, this newest Volvo parallels Australia’s current truck sales stats and tilts the numbers slightly towards the Aussie-built Swedish workhorse.
The young man in charge of the transport side of the family company is Matt Sprenger and it was he who placed the order for the latest truck and tilted the fleet ratio to the Volvo side. He may wear the big Kenworth belt buckle and waiver more towards the KW Bug himself, but he likes to look after his drivers and listens when they put in their preferences.
“We were ordering a new one for Dan, I asked him what he wanted and he didn’t hesitate — he wanted an XXL Volvo. I reckon it pleased the old man though, we’ve had Volvos since we began. They’ve been great trucks,” Matt says.
The Sprenger family have been in business for over 60 years.
Matt is the young fella looking after the trucks now, but it is truly a family business, of which the trucks are merely one aspect.
It all began back in 1964 when a young Malcolm Sprenger and his wife Nannette started a roadside fruit stall. Malcolm was one of those driven workers who had been working for himself since before Moses played halfback.
There are reports his first business was selling Bunya Nuts to his classmates in primary school. In 1964, when he had a load of produce turned away at the Brisbane Markets, rather than throw his toys out of the cot he decided to set up his own stall at the family farm and sell his produce from there.
It was helpful that the farm, in Haigslea QLD, bordered the busy Warrego Highway and gave him access to plenty of customers. It wasn’t long before Malcolm and Nannette outgrew the simple trailer stall.
The quality of the farm’s fresh fruit and vegies meant they were selling like hotcakes. Sorry, that’s probably the wrong comparison. The fruit and veggies were out-selling any hot cakes in Queensland.
The result of their popularity was the Sprengers decided to construct a purpose-built store, just for the family produce. Like any good businessman Malcolm found another way to diversify and added a BP service station as well, which opened the door to even more clientele.
Whilst the produce and petrol were the mainstay of the family operation, the farming supplies market was another area the family were branching off into, buying and supplying stock feed and hay to a lot of their regular customers.
By this stage, Malcolm and Nannette’s youngest son and his wife, Ashley and Pauline, were knee deep in the family business as well. Their kids — Kristian, Kaitlynn and Matt were growing up with the same work ethic and family business pride that had seen the produce trailer grow to a purpose-built shop, fuel station and, by the 1990s, a rural trading hub.
In the early 90’s the Sprengers leased out the fruit shop and fuel station and would eventually end up selling it in the new millennium. The passion for the farming supplies, and in particular the hay and chaff, meant this is where the majority of the family’s efforts were going.
It is about now that we can start focusing on the truck side of things, although I will delve back to the awesome line of Sprenger’s clothing and hats that would eventuate. Not because it’s critical to the story, just purely in the hope of refilling my wardrobe with free merchandise. A bit of product placement can’t go wrong, right?
Trucking has always played a part in the family business. While Matt is in charge of ordering them now, the trucking pedigree is deep. Before Matt’s grandad started the original family business, he had several trucks of his own.
“I’m a third-generation truckie now,” Matt says.
“Pa always had trucks for carting his hay and stuff on the farm. Little Mitsubishi’s and stuff. His first prime mover was a second-hand 1418 Benz. The first Volvo he bought was a second-hand F10. They were just used for carting our hay and chaff around. He wasn’t selling it, just to a wholesaler in Brissy”.
The family trucks were also used a fair bit for carting their own produce into the Brisbane markets for sale. It wasn’t just their family store that got to enjoy the fruits of the Sprenger’s labours.
As the composition of the family business changed, and the structure, so did the importance of trucks to the family’s success.
By the time Ashley was involved in the day-to-day operations there was a lot less time spent on the fruit and vege side and a lot more on the rural supplies side. The trucks the company had were not just carting farming goods for the family farm, they were now being used to deliver to customers.
The service the Sprengers were providing grew their popularity. The trucks were becoming as busy as the Rural Trading store they had opened on the family property.
In 2012 Matt’s dad, Ashley, bought the family’s first-ever brand-new truck, and it was sporting the same badge as the one you see on the pages before you.
“I think we may have had a new Mitsi, but we kind of count the FM Volvo as our first brand new truck,” Matt says.
“Dad had always loved the Volvos, for their comfort and economy. Ever since we got the first F10 and we stretched that to become a body truck.
“Dad had the new FM custom built like the F10. It was one of the first 420 FM Globetrotter and we had it built as a truck and dog.
“It was very different back in those days.”
If you have taken the time to look through the images before you read this, you would have noticed the little blue FM sitting next to Dan’s big rig. You’ll also notice the effort that has gone into it. There weren’t a lot of people putting the likes of drop visors on farm trucks back then.
“Dad and Pa have always taken a lot of pride in everything they do, like their trucks — and I learnt from them. Every Saturday I’d join dad down on the wash bay, helping him hand wash everything, cleaning and polishing trucks.”
Once that first FM hit the fleet, things just started to grow. Not to national fleet size, that’s never been the Sprenger’s way. Every endeavour they’ve taken on has always been purely about servicing their customer base with top-notch service. Quality over quantity.
After that first 420 FM the family followed up with several more. The FM Globetrotters’ truck and dog set ups were the preferred option up until they bought their first brand-new prime mover, an XXL Globetrotter in 2013. The truck was a cancelled order and almost fell into Sprenger’s lap, it was a fortunate situation that ultimately lead to the newest flagship.
That first XXL was the truck that Matt would eventually, with 1.3 million kilometres travelled, put his mate Hutcho in — when he first enticed him to down tools and come and work for Sprenger’s. It was also the catalyst for the truck you see now, the reason Hutcho chose the latest XXL when given free rein to choose.
“I started out as an auto electrician and used to work on all Matto’s stuff. I put most of the lights on the old girl when Matt was piloting it,” Hutcho says.
“I grew up around trucks. My old man ran an earthmoving business before I was born, up until about eight years ago, with an old V8 FV Mitsubishi converted from a tipper and tag to a beavertail body, then with a ’96 LTL Aeromax. And I knew from driving around the yard at home, I always wanted to drive.
“My real leg-in was through a customer of mine when I was pulling wires. They were still old school enough and gave a young bloke a chance. I’d finish fixing trailers at his yard then have a nap in one of his near-new Western Stars. Then moonlight, doing changeover work at night and the occasional weekend Mackay trip.
“I did a bit of that for almost six years but was still mainly doing auto-electrical work.
“Then, when work was going quiet, Matt talked me into coming to work for him. They put me straight in a 2012 XXL Volvo with 1.3 million. It was showing its age. We gave it some love and it was a great truck.”
Hutcho cut his teeth with the old Volvo and when it came time to upgrade, it was the Volvo badge he was keen to stay in.
“They are an easy-to-drive truck. They know what they need to do. You’ll head up the range grossing 65 (tonne) and it just knows exactly what gear it wants to do it in.
“It’ll pull all the way down till you’re starting to doubt it, and then chop two gears and start walking off again.
“It’s the little bits as well. Like the small storage locker below the huge main locker. Perfect place to store gloves and stuff. Lots of driver-friendly bits.
“You also can’t beat the comfort, they’re just so good. Most weeks we might just do 8-10 hours a day of driving but even when you do 14 you don’t feel tired, you’re not sore. It’s so much better.”
Hutcho also loves the fact that even though there are a lot around there aren’t that many that have been pimped out.
“Most are just pretty standard, not a lot of people do the painted tanks, painted bull bar, rubber guards, all that kind of stuff.”
Sprenger’s Trucks are renowned for their stunning appearance. The base color may be white, but the use of scroll work and a bit of added customisation really brings out the country feel that seems appropriate for the work they do.
Icepack Services in Toowoomba, Queensland, was the team assigned the task of bringing the Sprenger’s look and feel to the big XXL Volvo. The team had already prepared Sprenger’s XL Volvo earlier in the year so were pretty much onto the task.
Aside from the cosmetic changes, like the stainless drop visor and customer storage setup behind the cab, there are the driver comforts added like the Icepack, TV, microwave and invertor with multiple outlets.
“It is a truck you can go away for weeks in easily,” Hutcho says.
“I’ve got plenty of storage, a TV, a microwave. There is one fridge and it’s huge. I can stand a two-litre milk upright in it.”
Aside from just keeping Hutcho the driver happy, the truck is a perfect fit for the family business. Its flexibility means Matt can send Hutcho off to do all manner of tasks.
From simple hay pickups with one trailer, to hooking up to a B-double set full of molasses, and even hooking up AB triples or double road trains. The Big 700hp is rated for 131t and fully equipped to throw a triple behind if needed.
“It really is a great truck,” Matt says. “I jumped in it a bit when we first got it and Hutcho was off. It was so nice to drive.”
Words like that are often repeated around the new Sprenger’s Volvo and are no doubt music to the ears of Matt’s dad Ashley.
Factor in that Hutcho’s previous Volvo racked up over 1.5 million before it was reluctantly let go, as well as the fact that Ashley’s original 420 FM Globetrotter is still earning it’s keep, and I reckon it is fair to say Hutcho’s stunning big Volvo will be part of the Sprenger’s landscape for quite a while.
Watching how much care Hutcho puts in whilst doing a job that has him spending as much time off the seal as on it, and I will also predict the big XXL will be looking pretty damn good for years to come as well.
It may have been quite the wait for the big Volvo to rock in, but it was definitely worth waiting for.
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