Double Coin Imaging Awards

It was late 2000 when Mark Picard and his wife Lisa founded their Rerewhakaaitu, Rotorua, transport company.

Deciding on a colour scheme turned out to be an easy part of the move into the business venture – thanks to the purchase of a one-year-old Mitsubishi logger from a Tauranga operator.

Mark explains: “The colour scheme comes from the Shogun I bought from Brian O’Malley. He was a great guy, and he was really good to me when I was getting started.”

He and Lisa clearly liked the colour scheme on the Mitsi – “in fact,” Mark confesses, “that’s one of the reasons I bought that truck. And that’s why we’ve stuck with the same colours.”

Now, as M.A. & L.P. Picard c... ... 

Generation Y Auckland transport operator Kohan Wilson’s background shines through in the look of his fast-growing fleet of trucks.

The 35-year-old channels an interesting mix of a love of fast Mazda rotaries, old Holdens and Harleys, plus social media smarts, biker/skatie culture….

And memories of growing up being helluva impressed by big trucks with towering exhaust stacks coming down the road – loving how they looked like something out of Mad Max.

He’s also clearly driven to succeed, entrepreneurial, not afraid to take risks, knows what he wants….and goes right after it.

The result of all that reveals itself these days in spectacular fashion. That’s spectacul... ... 

When Waikato brothers Vaughan and Grayson Laurent – and their wives, Dani and Larissa – started their trucking business, there was never any question about what the company colour was going to be.

Simple: It would be the colour of the secondhand truck they’d bought to launch their business.

The brothers – both qualified mechanics, but with a love of trucks – were just 28 (Vaughan) and 24 (Grayson) when they started Laurent Contractors…

And, as Vaughan puts it, they were starting out with virtually nothing – except enthusiasm and determination.

They had no guaranteed work – and only enough money to buy a 14-year-old Foden Alpha. It was still in the red of origin... ... 

What happens when one iconic regional transport company is taken over by another – both of them with well-known names and standout colour schemes?

Does the new owner keep the name and the colour scheme of the company it’s purchased…

Or does it rationalise things – gradually phase out the acquired name and livery, absorbing the operation into its 

own business?

That question arises with Wairarapa Livestock Transport and its electric blue trucks, with their sharp red, silver and white stripes.

It’s a good-looking livery that’s been a common sight on roads and farms in the Wairarapa for 40 years – the colour scheme staying largely unchanged through a co... ...