COVER STORY
MAKING A
SPLA A Gold Coast outfit that specialises in excavation and earth moving for swimming pool installations has staked its reputation on Hino commercial vehicles as it expands facilities to keep pace with a growing customer base.
T
he promise of a fresh start and life without winter, or at least one that didn’t last half the year, encouraged many from the southern states to move north to the Gold Coast in Queensland in earnest during the 1980s as they pursued opportunities in new industries ensuing from unprecedented growth. Craig Henson, who grew up near Swan Hill in country Victoria, can be considered one of them. A panel beater by trade, Craig operates Pryme Earthworks, a general hire earthmoving business specialising in swimming pool excavations he established in 2014 having run an earthmoving business prior to it for 11 years on the Gold Coast for somebody else. It was on that job that he became acquainted with Japanese commercial vehicles having driven an array of light and medium duty trucks spec’d for metropolitan work sites. Not unlike many small businesses starting out in the transport industry, Pryme Earthworks began life out of a makeshift home office with one truck – a second-hand Hino. Craig and his partner Toni no longer work out of their home having added 15 employees, several all new Hino 500s and a recently constructed 1250m2 facility in Yatala where all of the trucks and earth moving 22
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equipment is now housed. The facility includes offices and a wash bay for the trucks which he likes to keep in top condition. Pryme Earthworks moved into its new headquarters, which Craig built himself, in October, commonly the start of the busiest time of year for his business right through until the end of summer. “We’ve done well to keep our head above water and the business going strong while building the factory at the same time,” he says. “It’s a good little business. I’ve got the right guys working for me. I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished. The Hino 500 Series and the new dealership has played a part in that.” Late last year, after impassioned lobbying from some locally aligned Hino businesses such as Craig’s, the commercial vehicle manufacturer established a new after hours service on Thursday and Friday nights. Based in Nerang, on the fringes of the Hinterland west of Southport, Sci Fleet Hino Gold Coast represents, according to Craig, a major development for his business. Because he has eight Hino vehicles in active duty Craig has acted on the preemption that he requires maintenance and repairs every month. “I’ve been trying to persuade the dealership to open for extra hours since I purchased my second Hino a couple
