Continuing their success through the generations

“Mike’s son-in-law is a diver, so he’s on board with the diving as well as an external group of divers we use when needed.

“Then we have a boat captain in charge of the boat and some people who are specially trained in marine work – they do other work here too. The marine crew is out at the Gold Coast today – then there might be nothing for a month. Sometimes you get calls every day of the week, other times it isn’t as regular, so all our marine staff adapt into other roles too.”

From page 20

THEN by the 1990s, the couple were joined by their son Mike, 53, who now serves as CEO. He came into the business in his 20s but had already made a separate career for himself before that. “As Mike grew up, Mary and I decided he should work for other people first to see what that’s like – as sometimes Mum and Dad can be too forgiving,” said Bill.

“Mike became an accomplished earthmoving machine operator. He worked for a number of companies for a number of years. And the people he worked with were excellent teachers of young people, so he learnt very well.”

And now Mike’s kids are in the business two, bringing Clayton’s Towing into its third generation. His daughters Samantha and

Bethany work in the office and his son is an auto electrician.

A big portion of the fleet – 70 trucks – are light duty tilt trays. The remainder are the bigger heavy recovery units, with Volvo being the preferred choice in this space.

“We’re rebuilding one now that’ll get moved onto a 700hp Volvo twin steer bogie drive,” Bill said.

Though light vehicle recovery is still the company’s mainstay, Clayton’s Towing has evolved and diversified over the years to include a range of other services.

“Clayton’s Towing has grown bit by bit by bit,” said Bill. “At one stage we used our car carriers to cart cars around Brisbane. We still have the car carriers but now we use them for our own recovery work.”

This willingness to adapt and seek out opportunities has enabled the business to grow into what it is today. “There were a lot of different things we had to get into,” said Mary. “We’d find an opportunity and get in there headfirst. We’d work hard, put the hours in and when that opportunity dies out, we’d move onto the next one.”

She added, “It’s also about consistency; being available 24 hours a day, seven days a week – and we still do that.”

Clayton’s Towing has moved all sorts of things. “We’ve done whales, boats, we’ve had to do a lot of dead animals – sometimes it’s the sorts of things a lot of people don’t want to do. Sometimes unfortunate things happen, so whatever is required, we’ll do it,” explained Bill.

“The railway train that rolled over just south of Gympie a few years ago was probably the strangest recovery I’ve ever done. I got to go out and play on the road for that one.

“We also have a recovery boat and a barge, a jet ski, and have another new boat being built now. The marine side has come in over the past five years. We’ve found there is work in it and a lot of our recovery equipment can be adapted for marine use.