branding aspects. “The KCL logo does stand out and it’s been interesting to watch it develop. “It used to be just like a stencil of Taupiri mountain. Then we invested is some branding and that’s where the diamonds come from. “The top of the diamond is Taupiri Mountain and the bottom is the reflection of the mountain in the [Waikato] river. The logo didn’t come from nothing, quite a bit of thought went into it. “It’s clean and streamlined on the trucks and you can chuck it onto anything and it looks good.” For the most part the KCL logo has found a home on brand new gear. The operation is built around modern equipment, an enthusiastic attitude and close relationships with key clients. “My business is built on relationships. We are not the cheapest cartage contactor. I pride myself on relationships, providing a service and having quality equipment and operators,” says David. “And actually being able to pull resource when it’s needed. And you’re not going to be able to pull resource if you’re pitching too cheap.” While David grew up on a dairy farm he says a farming career wasn’t for him. “I’m interested in the farm but I was always more interested in heavy machinery,” he says. “When I left school I worked at the Perry Aggregates quarry at Horotiu. From there I went to a company called K & L Distributors and started driving their little onsite fuel tanker. 48 | Truck & Driver
“I suppose that’s how the love affair with fuel started. They bought an ex-Waitomo Mitsubishi Shogun and I really did my apprenticeship in that big bit of timber and then got the opportunity to go to Tranzliquid. I worked for K & L for just over two years.” Five years spent at Tranzliquid Logistics turned out to immensely valuable. “I was at Tranzliquid in a pretty active role with driving, driver training and assisting in a little bit of fleet management,” says David. “I was heavily involved in driver training in the last year-anda-half to two years I was there. But driver training wasn’t really for me; I was good at it but couldn’t stand riding passenger in a truck for too long. “Sometimes there was an age problem and I believe I was too young. I was only 24 at the time and even though I was good at it, there could be some massive age gaps and I was a young guy telling someone in their ‘sixties how they should be doing their job. “It made that job pretty challenging but I also trained some really cool people there too. I loved working at Tranzliquid and I’d still be there now if I hadn’t got into this. “Greg [Pert] and Jackie [Carroll] who own it [Tranzliquid] are awesome and humble people. And Mick Pullar, who runs the fleet management there, would be one of my key mentors. If you want to know how to run a truck, he’s the man. “I learnt everything about how a transport business should run
