Teletrac Navman Fleet Focus

The enthusiasm that Prestige Building Removals staff have for their work quickly becomes evident when they reach for their phones and begin scrolling through photos of recent jobs.

There are pictures of brightly lit trucks working the highways in the small hours, hi-tech trailers perched in remarkable situations and houses re-positioned with spectacular views.

The pedigree of the Hamilton-based company goes back almost 50 years. Pat “Paddy” O’Sullivan owned and ran the business for 47 years before retiring and selling to Jason Barnes.

“I bought the business three years ago. Paddy retired in his early eighties, and we kept the same name, re-branded and then started in... ... 

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... ...