NORMANTON-based Hawkins Transport is a growing transport business based on doing the tough work others do not want to do.

Hawkins is a mixed transport company that builds roads in the Queensland’s gulf country, delivers groceries to remote communities and transports livestock through some of the state’s roughest roads.

Bradley Hawkins started the business in 1998 after 16 years working for Charlie Hudson, who was one of the bigger carriers in the area at the time and was later bought out by Cloncurry-based Curley’s.

With the change in books, Mr Hawkins said he was keen to go out on his own, purchasing two trucks – one for himself and another for his friend.

“We just didn’t want to leave Normanton and we had a few clients that said: ‘why don’t you buy a truck?’,” he said.

“I was eventually able to get the bank to lend me the money to buy two trucks and we grew the business from there.”

The business was grown on carting the annual weaner turn off in triple road trains from the Gulf country to fattening country further south, which is still the overwhelming majority of its work.

The company has expanded significantly in the past 30 years, with 68 trucks across its entire fleet. The livestock side of the business has 20 prime movers, with 60 trailers and total uplift capacity of 120 decks.

The main growth in Hawkins’ livestock business was the acquisition of Footy’s Transport in Charters Towers from the late Graham and Julie Foot.

“I always had about six cattle trucks, but I had been talking to Footy for quite a few years and the type of business they did and how they interacted on a personal level with clients was similar to what I did,” Mr Hawkins said.

“Up here in the Gulf, I struggle with not having enough decks at times and come November it is too hot so I have nothing there for my blokes. I thought Charters Towers was a good central place, where we already travel to, that would help keep blokes employed year-round.”

Keeping old trucks going

Hawkins livestock business is predominantly run by Kenworth 501 Brutes or C509s, with some Macks and Western Stars scattered through the fleet. It has about 60, predominantly Haulmark, livestock trailers.

Mr Hawkins said purchasing new trailers was getting increasingly hard to justify and the business was focusing on maintaining the older equipment.

The Gulf has some of the rougher roads in the country and the heavy reliance on lick supplements causes rust issues, although Mr Hawkins said the supplements were improving.

He said the older crates were well suited to the area.

“The steel in the new crates does not handle it as well as the older ones,” he said.

“I have some really old trailers here, like 86 models, and I can blast them and replace a few things and they are just as strong as they ever were. The last set of crates I bought was in 2014 and I have more rust on them the old ones.

“In saying that, I do have plans for some big refurbishments.”

Diversification helps training drivers

While operating in one of the remote parts of the country provides challenges for finding staff, Mr Hawkins said the business was a good training ground for the locals to become truck drivers.

“Between us and the council, you can start right at the bottom here on a forklift and within four of five years you could be driving a road train,” he said.

“We have a very high employment of Indigenous people, I have between 10-15 Aboriginal people working for me.

“I can cater for all the training of not just drivers, but mechanics and boiler makers. Having depots in Cairns and Townsville also helps getting some of the more qualified staff.”

Contact

Brett Hawkins – operations manager
Phone: 07 4720 8851
Mobile: 0408 788 298
Email: brett@hawkinsqld.com.au