McColl's Oldest Living Tanker Driver
Recently McColl’s was contacted by Alan Jones who claimed his father may well be McColl’s oldest living tanker driver. After contacting Des and chatting about the early days in Geelong, there is no doubt that Des may well be our oldest living driver. Born on 4 May 1923, Des celebrates his 100th birthday this month!
In 1952, the Geelong Cats brought Des had met and become friends with Stuart and June McColl in the early 1950’s. Des worked for Stuart who was managing the local dairy factory. Whilst managing the factory, Stuart and June began McColl’s Transport in 1952 and after a couple of years purchased their first purpose-built milk tanker. Stuart approached Des to see if he would be interested in driving the tanker. At the time Des was working for Stewart servicing ice cream cabinets that used brine to keep the ice cream cold. Des was on call 24/7 and if a machine played up, he was called to fix the issue. It was a good job that supplied a car with the role. However, when Stuart approached Des to see if he would drive his new tanker Des decided to join McColl’s and worked for around 12 months delivering milk from the western district to the dairy factory in Geelong.
After 12 months Des decided to go back to his trade and with his business partner started JB Electrics in east Geelong. Des Jones and Max Brown started their new business. Max had an army background whilst Des was from the navy. Des said the J should come first like the Navy does! Hence JB Electrical. Stuart was kind enough to offer finance to Des however with already having a business partner they went off on their own venture.
Des is also the last remaining survivor of the HMAS Canberra which was struck 24 times by gunfire and struck by torpedo in the battle of salvo island on the 9th of August 1942. Although the Japanese fired 19 torpedos it is now thought that the USS Bagley inadvertently torpedoed the cruiser. Of the 819-strong ships company, 84 were killed and 109 wounded. Des recalls swimming as fast as he could to the life raft as he had a fear of sharks. Des was a stoker on the boat and recalls the day he turned 18 and his pay doubled. Des recently visited Sydney and Canberra as the guest of honour as the Navy held an 80-year reunion from when she was lost in battle.
McColl's Big Milestone is just the Beginning
Celebrations will roll out all year at McColl’s Transport as the business celebrates 70 years of providing expert service in the delivery of liquid loads.
In 1952, the Geelong Cats brought home a premiership flag after winning 26 games in a row and defeating Collingwood on Grand Final Day.
It was also the year Stuart and June McColl bought two F600 trucks, launched McColl’s Milk Transport and set about picking up milk from dairy farmers around Port Fairy and delivering it to processing plants to be made ready for retail shelves.
As proud Geelong residents, it’s only natural the McColl’s trucks would carry some blue and white – a tradition that carries on to this day, more than 70 years later.
Stuart and June’s vision and determination provided the foundation for a business that heads into 2023 with a turnover of more than $200 million, 26 depots all over the country, six major workshops, more than 250 prime movers, 800 trailers and 650 staff.
The couple started a journey which current CEO and part-owner Simon Thornton is determined to honour for the next 70 years.
Thornton’s passion for the business and the opportunity it presents to show the world what can be done when a group of like-minded individuals are willing to take a long term, “generational” approach to business ownership is never far from the surface.
This is Thornton’s second time around at McColl’s. His first was in 2009 when he joined as CEO, hired by the private equity owners to help transform the business.
It was Thornton’s introduction to the truck and transport industry, after having built a career as a business leader focused on heavy machinery, farm equipment and company turnarounds.
He left in 2014 after five years’ service, which included the celebration of the business’ 60th anniversary, attended by Stuart and June.
“I went away for four years and at the end of the four years, the private equity firm, which was KKR at the time, came back and said ‘you thought you’d be a good owner for this business, do you still want it?’ And I said, ‘yeah, I do’,” Thornton said.
He rallied a bunch of friends, mainly alumni from when he started studying Commerce at Melbourne University in 1988, and the Friesians investment group was formed.
“We call ourselves Friesian because we think of McColl’s as like a dairy cow, not like a steer, an Angus or a Hereford that’s being fattened up for market.
“We just think if you have a company, and you look after it and you nurture it and you build it over time, then it becomes a force within itself.
“So, we’re now five years in and it’s been an exciting ride, kind of restoring McColl’s to the path it was on originally under family ownership.”
Since 2018 McColl’s has invested more than $30 million in high productivity state-of-the-art A-double tankers, and millions of dollars into new trucks, new depots, tanker washes and technology that enables the business to minimise downtime and reduce wasted kilometres across its nationwide network.
Thornton describes McColl’s as a values-driven business, and the company website clearly outlines its mission: “To deliver a transport service unmatched in safety, quality, compliance and reliability”.
The business lists its five core values as: safety first, honesty and integrity, consistency, mutual respect and commercial responsibility.
They are values Thornton says are ingrained in the hiring, the processes, the purchases and the relationships the business has with its long-term partners.
“We have a saying here that you should never have a conversation that you wouldn’t be happy to invite your kids or your mum too,” Thornton said.
McColl's Christmas hampers make a huge impact
Understanding that many families are doing it tough over Christmas, McColl's Transport has teamed up with the Greater Shepparton Foundation to provide for flood relief victims through our Christmas Hamper Appeal to support OzChild which helps young children and families who are doing it tough this season. The impacts of the floods across the region, coupled with cost-of-living pressures, has made Christmas feel incredibly challenging for many families. Together through the power of community giving, we managed to fill a truck load of full 10 hampers, which were delivered to Shepparton on Monday, 12 December.
Thank you to everyone who took part and generously donated to this cause, small or large your contributions will help make a difference in the lives of families this Christmas.
Pictured from left are Chris Belli, Mary Atkinson, Kathy Wyatt and Marlize Magro from OzChild, Steve McPherson from McColl’s Transport, Jenni Whitford and Tahlia Martin from Shepparton Athlete’s Foot, Jessie Reid and Taylah Heinrich from McColl’s Transport. Pictured seated are GSF’s Neha Samar and Tina Curtis and Sam Tobias from OzChild.
26m Tieman joins the fleet
A new state of the art, 26m Tieman road train has been delivered to the Farm Milk Division in Tongala enhancing our current PBS fleet and with steer axels on all 3 combinations providing greater access to local dairy farms. The new tanker is one of several that is being added to the fleet, supporting growth to the business and ensuring that our drivers have access to the best and most efficient equipment available.
The new combination provides 2 x 30,000 litre barrels making it a perfect fit for large scale dairy farms that produce significant volumes of milk on a daily basis. ‘Improvements are continually coming through for both access and mass, these combinations deliver increased payload and modernizes our current fleet’ said Roger Robilliard, General Manger, Dairy Division.
Including safety features such as EBS braking for superior stability and braking, auto-greasers for both trailers and the dolley and ease of driver usability via link hose which allows single point unload.
Since its arrival at the start of June the new addition has been servicing new contracts in the northern Vic region.
McColl’s Transport leads the way with industry day
Insights into consumer trends, the impact of Covid-19 and global economic drivers were key items on the agenda at the 2021 McColl’s Annual Industry Day in Northern Victoria.
Around 60 representatives from transport and food production organisations, including Fonterra, Lactalis and Saputo, heard Michael Harvey, Senior Analyst, at RaboBank share data insights on market trends across Australia and the world.
With Dairy Australia set to release an industry report on environmental factors on Monday, analysis showed that focus remains on sustainability and environment, driven by regulation and industry leaders. Many attendees agreed that reducing emissions in the supply chain was an important issue, however the cost of mitigating CO2 remains a barrier.
John Droppert, Industry Insight Manager at Dairy Australia, reported that the combination of strong farm gate prices and increases in pasture growth led to strong returns for the year. However, at this stage dairy production volumes have not risen.
The discussion moved to ways that Australia can return to previous higher milk production levels.
Robust domestic consumer demand and population growth continue to provide positive signals for farmers. Participants expected that longer term pricing contracts between processors and farmers would lead to herd investments and production volume increases.
Systematically better tracking
McColl’s Transport recently showcased its commitment to innovation as it implements a new form of telematics tracking throughout its Milk Division.
McColl’s has recently partnered with ORBCOMM, a leader in Asset Tracking, Monitoring and Control. ORBCOMM provides the ability to track unpowered assets across the country, whether they are transported via chassis or rail. The tracking system is solar powered, and can not only track the asset, but monitor the temperature of the product being transported, and notify users of any door activity.
“Our commitment to technology innovation has been an integral part of McColl’s growth and scalability for more than 60 years, and ORBCOMM’s leading IoT technology is the best choice for helping us take our business to the next level of productivity and efficiency,” said Peter Shearer, McColl’s Transport Bulk Food Grade General Manager.
The devices are currently fitted to 18 ISO tanks within the Milk Division, and with the added benefit of customer portal integration, McColl’s is offering its customers more visibility over their products.
Chemicals driver honoured with Driver of the Year award
WA based chemicals driver, Hannah Hughes has been named Driver of the Year in the inaugural Women in Trucking Australia competition in recognition of female truck drivers.
The awards shine a light on the work of resilient and inspirational heavy vehicle drivers who are not afraid to roll up their sleeves and get the job done. Hannah who was nominated by her partner Benn and fellow workmates at McColl’s, shows an uncompromising work ethic and is a well-respected member of the BCD team. Her ability to overcome any obstacle using her own initiative, drive in remote locations in hazardous weather conditions and work with dangerous chemicals on a daily basis makes Hannah an extremely valuable asset at McColl’s. “Hannah does a great job for us in one of our most remote locations under some of our most testing conditions. She contributes a lot to our organisation over and above her ‘day job’, and is very highly regarded by our tight-knit team in WA. Fantastic effort Hannah!” said BCD General Manager Mick Mulraney.
Winning the WiTA awards means the world to Hannah, “I am very humbled and taken aback by how much support there is out there for me, driving is what I love doing and its fantastic to be recognised by the industry” she said. Hannah who was up against 21 other inspirational women from varied backgrounds, ages and levels of experience, believes just being nominated was an honour and is simply grateful for the opportunity McColl’s have given her to be behind the wheel. “It’s a great testament to Hannah to be recognised for this award, we pride ourselves on mutual respect so having Hannah appreciated by her fellow drivers as a part of International Women’s day is a terrific achievement’’ said Simon Thornton, McColl’s Transport CEO.
Hannah not only contributes to the company as a driver, but by participating in health and wellness initiatives, contributing stunning photographs to the annual company calendar and displaying a high level professionalism and pride in her vehicle and what she does. ‘As a woman in trucking, you have to work so much harder to take away the doubt that you can do the job just as well as the men’ says Hannah, who comes from a family of truck drivers and is the first to put her hand up for long trips to Cape Preston, Telfer and Wiluna.
McColl’s modernises its fleet with 30 new trucks
Keeping our drivers and the community safe are top priorities for McColl’s which is why we have invested $9m in new fleet over the last financial year.
The fleet modernisation includes prime moves from Kenworth, Freightliner and Volvo and tankers from Tieman, Byfords and Marshall Lethlean.
McColl’s operates 200+ prime movers, over 650 tankers/trailers throughout Australia.
