26
WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS
March/April 2015
WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS
March/April 2015
27
T&G Head Office
I
n 1969 Transport and
General
Engineering
Company Limited (T&G)
changed the transport industry
when the company manufactured the very first aluminium
body built in New Zealand,
branded “Transport Trailers”.
This was a breakthrough in
achieving a lower tare weight that
flew in the faces of critics who
said it wasn’t strong enough and
wouldn’t last.
T&G were the pioneers of the
day, as they are now, and proved
the critics wrong.
This is a company that was
built on strong beliefs and a commitment to the transport industry and its clients from the very
beginning.
Back in 1955 Ian Stevenson
and Bill Box decided that it was
time for them to take a punt and
step out on their own to specialise
in transport and engineering.
Both were fitters and turners working out of Hamilton
and both knew the risks they
faced back then when they rented
industrial premises in Frankton.
Bill passed away in 2012, having worked with Ian Stevenson in
the business for most of his days.
Now age 80, Ian is a director of the company and looking
forward to the celebration of the
company’s 60th anniversary.
“It was tough when we started
as we had no money,” said Ian.
“There was Bill, an apprentice
and me. We were renting a property to work out of and we had
a couple of welders, a milling
machine, a lathe, two gas plants
and that was it.
“It took a year of general
engineering before the real work
came rolling in and then it was a
potential customer who switched
on the bright idea light when
he asked us to produce a semitrailer,” he said.
“He was a bloke Bill knew
when he lived on the Coromandel
Peninsula. From then on many
orders came in by word-ofmouth.”
Over the years Ian and Bill
expanded the business earning
Ian Stevenson, Mike Stevenson and Bill Box
the reputation of building top-ofthe-line truck bodies.
Their policy of not taking any
short cuts stood them in good
stead and the company grew…
so much so that they moved out
of their rental premises to a purpose-built factory in Te Rapa.
As they became well known
in the truck and trailer indus-
try some of the larger transport
operators came knocking on their
door.
These included Cronin’s from
the Waikato; Stevenson’s from
Auckland and Roose Industries,
based in Mercer. The Ministry
of Works, as it was known back
then, was also a regular client.
“We built many of the heavy
haulage trailers that worked the
government hydro projects, some
with a capacity of up to 100
tonnes,” said Ian. “One trailer
had a tare weight of around 16
tonnes.
After some serious research,
in Australia and the United
States, Bill and Ian decided aluminium was the way to go.
“Operators were screaming
out for lower tare weights and
this was an ideal way of guaranteeing that,” said Ian.
There were those who
laughed at the idea, saying aluminium wouldn’t hold up to the
rigours and stresses most operators placed on their truck and
trailer units.
But Bill and Ian proved them
wrong and in the course of introducing aluminium to the industry,
changed it forever.
Big money was invested on
dies, extrusions and welding and
cutting equipment. Then they had
to find a customer.
Roose Industries, who had
been with them for a long time
and, in fact, had just recently
taken delivery of an identical
outfit with steel bins, gave them
the nod.
The aluminium generation in
transport was underway.
And while some operators
were slow to commit, the fact
that the Roose aluminium rig was
1500kg lighter than the previous
steel one delivered was the one
that opened the gates for Ian
and Bill.
Two years down the track and
orders started to come in.
“It was a period of worry for
us,” said Ian. “But in the end
we knew we’d have to make
the decision to specialise in just
aluminium tippers.”
T&G managing director Mike
Stevenson, the major shareholder, started with the company aged
16 and worked his way to the top.
He says it is great to be at the
helm of a growing 60-year-old
company, set up by his father Ian
and business partner Bill.
Operations manager Greg
Cornes and workshop managContinued on page 27
From page 26
er Craig Jamieson have been
with the company since they
left school and a few years ago
Mike decided to bring them
both in as shareholders.
“This is part of our strategic
plan for the company to ensure
continued growth and longevity
for T&G,” he said.
Mike says T&G’s loyal customers have helped build the
growth the company has been
able to sustain over the past few
decades.
“A number of our customers
have been with T&G for more
than half a century, something
we are very proud of,” he said. To support its nationwide
customer base T&G also has
a service provider network
covering all the major centres
throughout New Zealand. “We set very high standards
for ourselves and this is reflected
in our end product when customers take delivery of their new
Transport Trailer units,” he said.
Mike also pays tribute to the
dedication, attention to detail
and loyalty of the company’s
staff of almost 70.
“We’ve achieved what we’ve
achieved at T&G through our
people...it’s all about people!”
Proud to win
two Deloitte
Fast 50 Awards
Pictured, from left are: Operations manager, Greg Cornes; workshop manager, Craig Jamieson; managing director, Mike
Stevenson and national sales manager, Grant Whisker
“There is booming land
development,
continued
growth in agriculture and massive roading and infrastructure
projects, all of which is driving demand for our Transport
Trailer product.
“This year is a very special 60th year for T&G and
to celebrate we have a few
events planned starting with
the Transport Trailer Show and
Shine on April 18.
This will involve a major
convoy of about 100 Truck and
Trailer units which will assemble in Arthur Porter Drive at
Te Rapa between 7am and
8.45am for a 9am start.
T&G national sales and
customer support manager
Grant Whisker says the plan
is that three convoys, about
10 minutes apart will head
into town from the Te Rapa
starting line.
They’ll drive from the
assembly point, over the
Avalon drive over-bridge, onto
Te Rapa Road and all the way
into Ulster Street. When they
reach the Mill Street – Ulster
Street – Boundary Road traffic lights they’ll hang a left
and cross the Whitiora Bridge
and continue to the Heaphy
Terrace roundabout.
The convoys will head
down
Heaphy
Terrace,
towards the Claudelands Event
Centre and turn into Brooklyn
Road where they will enter
Gate Three and head to the
Exhibition Plaza.
Marshals will direct them to
their parking spots. Judging of
the Show and Shine rigs will
begin at midday after drivers
have had a chance to polish
their Transport Trailer equipment and the prizegiving will
get underway at about 2pm.
This will be one convoy
you won’t forget in a hurry
and it’s all down to Transport
Trailers…Happy 60th.
t built in NZ in 1969
Roose Industries first alloy uni
One of T&G's latest HP
MV units built for Hilton
Dibbles Transport 1990
Winstones Aggregates Ltd
t
Haulage in Timaru
First building, Te Rapa Straigh
Stevensons Resources Ltd, in the Drury Quarry
Building number two, Kaimiro Street
s 2014
Deloitte Fast 50 award winner
T&G was very proud
to receive two prestigious awards at the
2014 Deloittes Fast 50
Business Awards.
These awards are for
the fastest growing companies in New Zealand
and T&G picked up two
on the night.
The first was for the
“Fastest growing manufacturer – Central North
Island and the second
was for “Fastest growing
mature business – Central
North Island. The awards
are in recognition of the
hard working team at
T&G.
Managing
director
Mike Stevenson presented the awards to the
management team and
workshop staff at a recent
T&G luncheon.
Mike says the awards
reflect the dedicated team
that works tirelessly for
T&G customers.