Fleet Focus

I always wanted to be a log truck driver and ultimately own my own truck,” says Ray Beale as we watch the newest addition to his fleet, a stunning new Kenworth T659 arrive at a skid site north of Napier.

Owning a fleet of trucks was never part of the plan. But following several years of growth, R & L Beale Log Transport owners Ray and Louise Beale now have 10 trucks working throughout Hawke’s Bay and Wairarapa. 

So where does this all begin? Trevor (Ray’s dad) recounts times when he was a driver and would take young Ray out in the truck with him. Trevor says that from an early age, Ray showed a natural talent for working with machinery.

“At three years of age he... ... 

It may be a fleet of a different kind, but Taylors Contracting’s earthmoving equipment has served the company well over its 50 years in the bush. The company has delivered thousands of kilometres of forestry and rural roads across the Top of the South, even returning and operating in forests that founder, Bob Taylor and his trusty bulldozer first roaded and land-prepped for a second and third rotation… It’s taken some hefty wheels and tracks to achieve that.

To this end, Taylors owns and operates a modern and diverse fleet of earthmoving equipment. Along with six truck and trailer units supported by sub-contractors, the company’s 52 excavators are all Hitachi, ranging in size fr... ... 

It’s small wonder that the orange and yellow trucks of Parks Towing are familiar to Christchurch residents – after all, the company has been around for the thick end of a century. 

But what isn’t obvious is how much Parks has grown in the past couple of decades, and the breadth of the services it now offers. Sure, if your vehicle in involved in a crash or has a breakdown, the company is likely to be on your radar (or you on theirs) but It’s almost easier to say what it doesn’t do.

Heavy vehicle recovery, commercial fleet servicing, vehicle storage and transport, machinery transport, crane truck services, engineering and design services, general vehicle maintenance and... ...