With their striking fleet of yellow crane trucks, Lift N Shift are bound to stand out from the crowd.
The Nelson-based company services the top of the South Island and has been owned and operated by husband and wife team, Steve and Kate Eggers, for 20 years. Their son, Reuben, has recently joined the business, carrying on the family involvement to the next generation.
When Steve left school he went to work for a 4-wheel drive and truck wrecking company, owned by two brothers, who also operated a crane truck business. He completed his diesel mechanic apprenticeship there and, when the brothers decided to spilt the business, the Eggers bought the crane trucks.
“That’s all Steve has worked for all his life. I had to come to love it,” Kate laughs. “He told me it would be worthwhile having our own business because we’d be free to do what we liked – I swallowed that hook line and sinker.”
Lift N Shift will shift almost anything you can think of, from frames and trusses to garden rocks, helicopters and even an old fashioned windmill once.
“We provide a lot of transportation for machinery – there’s no limit to what we have shifted. I often think our drivers must have an interesting job, because they do all sorts.”
The Eggers have 15 trucks, and recently added two mobile cranes to the business. “We had the opportunity to buy them from a construction company and felt it would extend our business. They can lift heavier and more at a bigger reach.
“Our wee motto is ‘we’re there when you need us’. I like to think we are reliable and we run a professional business.” 
Son Reuben recently graduated from Canterbury University as a mechanical engineer and has joined Lift N Shift on the logistics and dispatching side.
“Steve has always run it himself. It’s been a big thing to let go, but great to have Reuben involved in the business.”
Kate takes care of accounts and, prior to Reuben’s arrival, also worked on the dispatch side. She calls MyTrucking her lifesaver. They have been using the software since 2016. Prior to that they were operating the traditional hand-written diary system. “Steve’s hand writing closely resembles that of a doctor, very short hand and difficult for the rest of us to work out.”
They saw an advertisement for MyTrucking and thought it was worth a try – they’ve never looked back.
“I’ve found it a lifesaver, especially as our business has expanded. Now, the drivers have got all the information and details they can actually read.”
The feature Kate loves most is the ability to attach files to jobs. “We shift a lot of containers so I can attach the container release, job orders, emails with specific instructions on how to access a site, and release information for stuff off the port. It’s invaluable to us and is a huge time saver, as we don’t have to re-type everything.”
We wrote this article for NZ Trucking Magazine‘s June 2021 edition.
