Ethan Lewer and his business partner Matt Spratt joined forces in 2016 to found Paengaroa Road Haulage (PRH) and the business has mushroomed since then.
PRH is based between Papamoa and Te Puke in the Bay of Plenty, and Ethan says they will cart “pretty much anything” all around the country.
The business has three divisions – containers, curtainsiders and bulk tip trucks. They are heavily involved in the kiwifruit industry, carting containers, kiwifruit pallets to the port and bin fruit to packhouses.
“I started a long time ago with one truck. Matt and I met about five years ago and started together with the one truck. Now we’re up to 23 trucks.
“I’d always liked trucks and started out driving, but I always wanted to own my own truck and have a crack on my own. I guess you could say I chased it, and Matt super-charged it (the business).”
With a complimentary skill set, Ethan and Matt make a formidable team. The pair are 50/50 owners of PRH and Ethan explains he brought the passion for trucking, while Matt’s skills and expertise in business helped them grow.
“I look after the bulk trucks and general things, making stuff happen more or less. I still get out and do a bit of driving from time to time.”
Ethan says the PRH point of difference is reliability, and quality gear. “We don’t let anyone down and run good gear – everything is up to scratch and looked after. Our drivers are a great bunch of guys and we can rely on them to get the job done. Without your team you’re had it, in my eyes.”
PRH has been using MyTrucking for about four years. “Since expanding and getting more trucks, we couldn’t do without MyTrucking. We couldn’t do paper, it just wouldn’t work. With 23 trucks doing 70-80 loads a day it would be damn near impossible to keep track of it all.”
Ethan’s favourite feature is the reporting section, being able to see how the trucks are performing, for example the kilometre rate per truck. He also likes that client details and job histories are captured, meaning drivers can liaise directly with farmers. “It simplifies things and saves me a whole lot of time.”
We wrote this article for NZ Trucking Magazine.
