Fleet Focus

It’s almost a truism of any business – not just trucking fleets – that continued growth is not only important...but vital for survival.

So it’s refreshing to come across a medium-sized fleet whose owner figures the 10 trucks currently on the register feels pretty right….thankyou.

Wayne Burnell, of Christchurch’s Burnell & Son Transport, obviously marches to the beat of a different drum. 

Take the company name, as a minor but telling example: Did Wayne inherit the business from his father, or maybe even a grandfather? He laughs: “When we (he and wife Kathy) started up in 2000 our first child, Jacob, had just been born – so the name is a bit tongue in cheek.”

You only have to talk to Steve Martin for a little while to understand that this is a man with a real passion for trucks and trucking.

Someone who not only loves the machines and the industry….but also has a good knowledge of the history of trucking in Otago – born of growing up in and around the trucks his Dad John drove when Steve was a kid.

And from the time spent as a workmate of his Dad’s, driving for RA Little and Samson Freight – as John went on to clock up almost half a century behind the wheel.

And then….from his own 42-year career (so far) – most of it based out of hometown Dunedin. 

Of course, he’s not unique in having inherited a passion for tr... ... 

Rock up to the head office of Southern Furniture Movers on a weekday morning and you find a man and woman standing outside, enjoying a takeaway coffee, vaping and having an earnest discussion. 

The woman has her long dark hair liberally streaked in a vivid red. A short, black skirt showcases a tattoo on one leg. If the weather was warm you’d catch a truly spectacular display of ink on both arms.

Welcome to the executive arm of Southern Furniture Movers, a relatively young company (not yet 11 years old) that is rapidly making its mark in the specialised world of commercial furniture transport. 

From just four staff and a single 4x2 box body unit delivering t... ...