TMC Trailers Trucking Industry Show
Hey Little Truckers, I hope you have all had an awesome holiday. Late last year with the New Zealand Trucking magazine team I was lucky enough to be able to head down to the TMC Trucking Industry Show in Christchurch at the Canterbury Agricultural Park. There were over 400 trucks from many transport companies from all over New Zealand there to see.
On the first day of the show there were trade stands set up by com- panies associated with road transport. At these, you could find anything from a new truck or trailer, to truck seats, tyres and other parts.
This day is also where local schools and trade programmes were invited to come and see the wide variety of jobs the road transport industry has to offer.
Day two of the event was the Show n Shine, where so many amazing trucks were put on display to the public. Arriving nice and early along with the rest of the New Zealand Trucking magazine team, I took the opportunity to scout out the show before it got too busy. I discovered transport companies from all over New Zealand had travelled to Christchurch for the show. I recognised trucks from way up in Nelson where I live; Solly’s Contractors and Waimea Heavy Haulage Limited were among some of the fleets I spotted that had made the long journey down. I also spotted several other trucks that caught my eye including a fleet of NZ Express Container trucks, an Orbit Heavy Haulage Scania with a CAT loader on the back and a fleet of Protranz classic Macks.
As well as the vast range of trucks from transport companies, there were also major truck manufacturers, such as Southpac Trucks with the Kenworth and DAF brands; and Scania and Fuso, who had stalls of their own, displaying new vehicles and selling merchandise.
My duties at the show included manning the New Zealand Trucking stall, promoting Little Trucker Down Under and assisting with the sales of merchandise like T-shirts and caps.
The show was also a chance for me to connect with people involved in road transport as well as catch up with Little Trucker readers, like you!
I also took the opportunity to film some of the action and compile it into a video for you guys to view (this is on the New Zealand Trucking YouTube channel for anyone to watch).
As this fabulous event drew to a close I was able to reflect on the amazing time I had down in Christchurch seeing all that was on show and meeting some pretty amazing people.
The TMC Trucking industry show is held every second year and I am keen to attend it next in 2024 and hope to meet more of you there.
Happy Birthday Conroy
When your birthday comes around you hope and pray for awesome presents. So when Conroy Removals turned 50 they were absolutely blown away with the incredible gift they received from one of their longstanding employees.
Conroy Remov- als as we see it today dates back to 1972, where a 21-year-old David Conroy was looking for an opportuni- ty to start out in the transport industry. David approached a local Napier-based furni- ture removal contractor. A little negotiation and some financial support from his mother, and David purchased the business complete with one petrol-powered D Series Ford.
Eighteen months later a second truck was purchased, a TK Bedford. At this time, David’s brother Gary joined the business as a partner and started driving the TK. These early days for the business had the brothers driving country-wide, moving families and businesses, all the while Mum was back at home base manning the phone and looking after administration. Fifty years on, Conroy Removals now employs nearly 350 team members across twelve branches throughout New Zealand and Australia. A true Kiwi business success story that has been built on strong family values by both David and Gary.
One of those team members is our friend Doug Elliott. Some readers will remember Doug from the story we featured in the February 2022 issue of New Zealand Trucking magazine. In that story, we featured the Alf Walling Mack replicas that Doug had scratch built. Well we are treated once again, as this month we look at three of Doug’s latest builds. Chatting with Doug we learn that he has been with Conroy’s for the best part of 34 years. He has loved every minute of working for the family. “They are an awesome company to work for, you definitely feel that you are a part of the family, and not just another cog in the gearbox,” says Doug. So for Doug, when the idea of a 50th birthday celebration was discussed, there was only one thing for it – head to the workshop and replicate some of those great Conroy memories as a lasting gift to the family.
Wonderful Watermelon
This quick and easy recipe makes fresh and delicious watermelon juice at home with just one fresh ingredient — watermelon!
Ingredients
Watermelon – that’s it!
Method
Cube the watermelon and discard the peel.
Put the cut up watermelon into a blender and blend on low speed.
Strain through a fine- mesh sieve and serve cold.
Berry Infused Water
Sometimes water can be a bit boring. Try adding some flavour to your water with some delicious fruit. You can use any fruit, but today we’re trying berries!
Ingredients:
Handful strawberries
Handful raspberries
Handful blueberries
One lemon, sliced
Method:
Gently wash the raspberries, blueberries, and strawberries.
Slice up the strawberries.
Drop the fruit into a glass bottle or jug a few pieces at a time, alternating between fruits so that they are well mixed.
Fill the bottle to the top with cold water.
Leave to infuse for 10 minutes then serve over ice and enjoy!
Once the water has all been drunk, you can continue to fill and refill the fruit-filled jug all day long.
Keep it in the fridge to keep it chilled.
Egg Salad
This egg salad tastes wonderful in a sandwich. It’s really good on nice brown bread.
Ingredients
• Two slices of fresh, brown bread
• Two hard boiled eggs, chopped (ask Mum or Dad to help)
• One tablespoons mayonnaise
• One gherkin or pickle, finely chopped
• Half a teaspoon fresh dill
• Salt and pepper to taste
Method
1) In a bowl, combine your hard boiled eggs, mayonnaise, gherkin and dill in a bowl.
2) Season with salt and pepper
3) Place the filling on the first slice of bread, topping with the second slice.
4) Cut in half and enjoy with some sliced cucumbers, celery and carrot sticks
Tomato and Avo Bagels
Bagels are a delicious option for a sandwich, enjoyed toasted in slices or pressed together.
Ingredients
- One bagel, sliced
- Two tablespoons hummus
- Half avocado, sliced
- One tomato, sliced
- Salt and pepper to taste
Method
- Toast each slice of bagel until golden brown
- Spread each slice with humus
- Top with slice avocado and tomato
- Salt and pepper to taste
PB & J
Peanut butter and jam sammies are a sweet, savoury delight, perfect for a quick bite and loved by children and adults alike.
Ingredients
- Two slices of fresh, white bread
- One tablespoon peanut butter, or alternative nut butter of your choosing
- One tablespoon of your favourite jam – try strawberry, grape or raspberry
Method
- Place your two slices of bread on a chopping board or plate
- Spread one slice with peanut butter
- Spread jam on the other slice
- Place the two slices together
- Cut in half or in squares *top tip* Try adding slices of banana or strawberry in your sandwich!
BLT Classic
The delicious bacon, lettuce and tomato classic sandwich that can be changed up to suit your tastes. Try some turkey instead of bacon for a healthy twist.
Ingredients
- Two slices of bread of your choosing
- Four rashers bacon, cooked until crisp
- Two tomatoes, thickly sliced
- Handful iceberg lettuce, washed and dried
- Two tablespoon mayonnaise
Method
- Spread each slice of bread with some mayonnaise
- On one slice, add your bacon, sliced tomatoes and lettuce
- Top with remaining slice of bread
Enjoy!
The great big drive
Our Aussie reporter Mike shows us the spectacular drive from Sydney to Perth.
Name: Mike Williams
From: Sydney, New South Wales
A bit about me: I’m a full-time truck driver, part-time podcaster and writer and a frustrated chef! My favourite drink is coffee and my favourite food is lemon tart.
Favourite truck: Got to be the Kenworth T909
I spent several years driving across Australia from Sydney to Perth and back. Three and a half years of it with my Rose and our pup Ollie. Eight thousand kilometres per week. That’s a total of about 1.5 million kilometres!
We drove this awesome big cab Kenworth K200, which we lovingly referred to as Angela. She was well set up for the run too. As well as a comfy bed, we had a fridge and a freezer plus a microwave. She even had a toilet! A massive 600hp series 2 Cummins driving an 18-speed Fuller Road Ranger transmission kept us trucking along towing a B Double set of Freighter drop deck chiller tautliner trailers.
Our run started in Sydney on Monday night about 8:30pm. We drove down to Wagga Wagga and then across NSW through to Yamba in South Australia. Ollie loved to get there because the roadhouse girls always had a sausage or two they’d done for him while we filled the truck with diesel. Next stop, Port Augusta late Tuesday afternoon for a shower and a meal. Then on to Penong for more fuel. She got a bit thirsty and that’s the last place we could fill before the long haul across the Nullarbor into Western Australia. A quick stop at the quarantine facility on the WA/SA border and then a stop at Cocklebiddy for Wednesday morning breakfast. More sausages for Ollie! He was a spoiled pup. Then it’s the run all the way to Perth, getting there around 7pm. A night off while our trailers were unloaded then a quick reload in the morning and it’s off back to Sydney getting home Saturday morning.
It was a lot of fun and we saw some great sights every week. Beautiful scenery, dawns and sunsets. Looking out the windscreen is a great place to be.
Billy's bulldozer
Dustin heads out with Billy to pick up a new bulldozer
Name: Dustin
Age: 13
From: Hawarden, North Canterbury
Can be found in a: K200
One overcast afternoon I got a call from Billy Lott of Lott Contracting, a company started by Billy’s dad in 1957.
He was getting ready to go pick up his new bulldozer. He picked me up on the way in, we got to Rolleston and went to the John Deere dealership.
We went around the back, and there it was waiting for us. It looked really cool. We loaded it up, and got on the road, with a pilot vehicle driving in front of us. We had all the flashing lights on.
We were heading for home and had just got off the motorway when the truck cut out, and then the ABS fell out of the trailer and they were sparking, so we lost the power in the truck.
We got it all fixed and then carried on, and when we got to Amberley we stopped and had a pie. Billy’s favourite pie shop is Wakefield Bakery – Billy loves pies!
We got back to the yard at midnight, so we went home and went to bed. In the morning, we unloaded the bulldozer, and then we had to fix some small oil leaks.
After we loaded up the bulldozer, we took it to its first job. We dropped it off then went back to the yard and dropped off the truck.
The bulldozer weighed 28 tonnes. Billy’s dad Dave is 92 years old and still drives bulldozers. Billy got his bull bar custom made from Whites Bull Bars in Melbourne, Australia.
Thanks to everyone at Lott Contracting for making my time there very enjoyable.
