Fleet Focus

A teenager earning a few quid from a lawn mowing round and a service station job greasing trucks in Waiuku, is one the starting points for the Knight & Dickey story.

It’s been almost 70 years since the late Graham Dickey raised the money to buy a stake in Jack Knight’s fledgling Waiuku transport company.

“Dad used to have a lawn mowing round as a teenager,” says Graham’s son John, who with his wife Denise today owns and runs the family transport company known for its distinctive red and yellow trucks.

“He was mowing lawns for Bill Lever in Kaiwaka Rd, who said to him one day; “I hear you are going to buy into Jack Knight’s business?

“Dad said... ... 

It was only 15 years ago when Jack Tutill would plead with his father John to take a day off from high school – so he could ride along in one of the olive green Tutill Carriers trucks or spend a day working at the company yard and warehouse in Penrose.

Today, Jack and his younger brother Bryn are the fifth generation at the helm of Auckland-based A.J. Tutill & Sons Carriers. A company which could alternatively be  described as A.J. Tutill & Sons, & Grand Sons & Great Grand Sons, etc.

Multi-generation family transport companies are the fabric of Kiwi trucking. But few can trace their line as directly through 104 years and five generations as the Tutills... ... 

When a young Ron Taggart set up in business in 1953 it’s a fair bet he wouldn’t have expected the company to a) last for more than 70 years, b) have grown out of all proportion from its modest beginnings and c) all those years later still be owned and managed by his family – but that’s the case with Christchurch-based Taggart, prominent in several sectors, including civil construction, demolition and three waters.

Previously known as Taggart Earthmoving, in 2017 the company was rebranded to better reflect this wider range of competencies.

Ron wasn’t the most enthusiastic of students at Papanui Tech (now Papanui High), so when at 15-years-old he rode his mot... ...