Australian Story

AUSTR ALIAN

STORY

AUSTR ALIAN

In order to build a successful transport operation in Australia the challenge to be a substantial business that has the facilities, equipment, systems and people to enable it to provide for client needs is ongoing, yet it must also be small enough to care and take onboard its clients’ problems as if they were their own. The success of Sydney-based MKD Transcorp is strong evidence that it has managed to strike that balance.

Zak and Igor Cvetkoski are brothers who came to Australia from Macedonia as teenagers with their parents and at the time, by their own admission today, didn’t have enough English to even read a street directory. By attending English classes and participating in conversations within their community the brothers quickly assimilated in their chosen country and in 1999 founded MKD Transcorp on the back of securing a modest contract delivering Coca-Cola products. That first truck was an Isuzu and although it has since been retired from active duty, it is still a proud possession of the Cvetkoski family. The MKD team places a high value on solid relationships which extends to suppliers, employees, as well as to clients. The contractor who put the decals on the first truck still does it today and they have the same accountant and same insurer as they did when ZaK and Igor purchased that first truck. Since the beginning of the MKD story, when asked if they could handle any particular task Zak and Igor always answered in the affirmative, even if that lead to some frantic efforts to ensure that any customer involved was not disappointed. That ‘can do’ attitude is still in operation today and the MKD Transcorp offering now extends to interstate linehaul operations, metropolitan delivery services, container haulage and warehousing. Servicing customers well has resulted in the growth and success of the business and often new business is secured off the back of recommendations from existing clients, many of which are blue-chip global retailers and freight forwarders. Never afraid to to think big, and with ambition to spare, around 14 years ago

MKD was asked to assist global flat pack furniture giant IKEA as a back-up carrier. This ultimately led to the opportunity to participate in the tender process for the transport requirements and ultimately MKD Transcorp was successful in being accepted. “Originally with IKEA it was transporting goods from the distribution centres to the stores”, says MKD Transcorp General Manager Noel Ryles. “Now we provide end-to-end service

from the wharf in Sydney to the east coast and into their DCs with container freight and then from the DCs to the stores in Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne and Brisbane.” As the operation expanded to include larger loads and interstate linehaul, MKD Transcorp utilised a variety of European prime movers and in recent years Volvo has become the brand of choice. Noel says that a core reason for the Volvo brand to be so closely

Zak, father Kris, and Igor Cvetkoski.

involved with the MKD business is the personal relationship with the Volvo dealership in Western Sydney. “We can pick up the phone and somebody will answer it no matter whether it’s the dealer principal Greg Sargent, or the service manager or the sales manager. Someone is always on hand to take care of whatever the issue is for us.” According to Noel the company motto has always been ‘committed to reliability’ and in order to fulfil that promise it requires reliable equipment. “Interestingly enough, we never hear a complaint from a driver in a Volvo,” he says. Trucks are generally replaced every five years by which time the units used on the East Coast linehaul routes may have up to two million kilometres on them after use on the highway for a couple of years before being ‘eased’ back to shorter metropolitan and intrastate runs. “We can pick up the phone and somebody will answer it no matter whether it’s the dealer principal Greg Sargent, or the service manager or the sales manager. Someone will pick up and handle whatever the issue is for us,” Noel says. “Our own motto has always been, and still is: ‘committed to reliability’ and we can only do that if we’ve got reliable equipment,” says Noel. “Interestingly enough, we never hear a complaint from a driver in a Volvo.” Another hard won contract has been with Big W, delivering consumer goods to the 48 stores in NSW from the Big W DC in Hoxton Park in Western Sydney. That contract resulted in the purchase of an additional 16 Volvo prime movers and 32 trailers. “Every store gets one full load a day at least,” says Noel. “At peak times each will take two or even three loads.” The last four to five years the team has been working hard in terms of statuary compliance requirements as well as greenhouse emissions and there is a focus on sustainability across the entire operation. With a genuine desire to be good corporate citizens, MKD Transcorp

The Dynafleet system feeds back into the MKD offices.

is committed to improving the environment, having taken its corporate responsibilities seriously to reduce the impact its operations might have. “For the future I think electric vehicles are the way to go,” says Noel. “In the mean time we have been upgrading our vehicles to Euro 6 and will continue to replace the remaining Euro 5 vehicles across our fleet.” Noel pays kudos to Zak and Igor for adapting the business model so they could be compliant with regulations and as part of a commitment to make sure everyone goes home safe. “There has been a distinct change in the business in that sense. Many transport companies 20 years ago were a ‘she’ll be right’ operation but with the level of regulatory compliance today you can’t run a business that way,” he says. Real time vehicle tracking and telematics are used and the Volvo Dynafleet system feeds into office system. The vehicle tracking capabilities provide management with visibility of every movement of every vehicle in the fleet. Most trucks are equipped with forward and rear facing cameras. Reports are available on driving style, speed, idle time and CO2 emissions. Obtaining this information enables MKD to run a greener and more cost-effective fleet, and limits risk and improves driver safety. MKD Transcorp celebrated its 20 years of success in 2019 and in addition to a gala event held for staff, clients and suppliers, the Cvetkoski brothers marked the milestone by adding a custom painted candy apple red Volvo FH prime mover to the fleet. An image of the new Volvo hauling a B-double set was incorporated in a celebratory cake which was baked for the special occasion. The business has maintained strong sustainable growth increasing fleet, staff and equipment in the past two years. There are now 120 staff members and the fleet has grown to 49 prime movers plus numerous rigids as well as 200 trailers in a multitude of configurations including 45-foot curtainsiders, lightweight and retractable container skels and sideloaders. Recent additions include A-double skel sets which are able to carry two 40-foot containers. When permanent sub-contractors are engaged they use the same uniforms, vehicle livery and specifications as the company trucks. In addition to the regular contracted work, MKD Transcorp handles some general freight and also does work for event companies by relocating lighting and staging equipment for concerts throughout Australia. The vehicles and premises are spotless; and the office carpets are clean. Remaining a ‘family run’ company has been crucial in MKD building its enviable reputation, not just as a transport provider, but as a place to work. “We’re growing but haven’t run an ad on the biggest recruitment platform for months,” says Noel. “We genuinely get lots of applicants come through the door often due to word-of-mouth, and our established drivers are supportive.” In an industry which has many transients, its employees seem to appreciate the MKD ethos and tend to stay with the company for longer periods. “Transport is a people business so we have to manage people in order to manage costs. We can do that by getting the best out of them and having them act as ambassadors for the company,” says Noel. The business started by Zak and Igor Cvetkoski and their families just over 20 years ago has prospered due to the dedication of management and staff, the reliability and efficiency of the chosen equipment and the satisfaction of its many clients.

FLUSHED WITH PRIDE

Wallace Macdonald Reyburn was a New Zealand-born humourist, author and rugby writer who is said to be responsible for a number of widely-held urban legends, including one proliferated by his spoof biography about Thomas Crapper, titled Flushed with Pride, that suggests the flush toilet was invented by the 19th century English businessman and plumber. What Crapper actually achieved was to redefine the operation of the flush toilet, and his London-based sanitary equipment company held nine patents, three of them for water closet improvements including the floatactuated ballcock and the U-bend that are still used today. Ross Knight, owner of the Honeysucker business based on Queensland’s Gold Coast, was also born in New Zealand, and while, apparently, he’s no author, in his younger days he played first-grade rugby in a number of countries around the world. He’s also something of an urban legend of a different kind around the Goldie, with a loyal legion of customers who rely on his expertise, along with that of his employee and right-hand man, Matt Cutler, to unburden their septic tanks, grease traps and the like of waste material. Now you might be thinking the business name is a cleverly devised antithesis, and it is. However, Ross admits that he can’t take full credit. Back in his rugby playing days Ross spent some time in South Africa, which is where he met his wife, Rosemarie. “Over there the generic term for vacuum trucks is ‘honey suckers’, so that’s the name we decided to go with,” he says of the business he and Rosemarie started in 2013. Believe it or not, and likely due in no small part to the immaculate presentation of the trucks, Ross says he and Matt have been asked on more than one occasion where they get the ‘honey’ from. The first truck was a second-hand Hino with a new 8,000 litre tank and new pumping equipment. “We had a really good run with that truck, but as the business grew, we needed more capacity, so we purchased a 2002 Isuzu Giga with a 9,500 litre tank,” Ross explains, adding that initially it was a plain-Jane company truck that had seen better days. The truck was subsequently refurbished and soon looked resplendent with its Honeysucker livery, aluminium Using two immaculately presented vacuum trucks and going above and beyond the call of duty in completing the work, Ross Knight has built a thriving liquid waste removal business on the Gold Coast. Challenger 4307 560cfm vacuum pump is neatly mounted in a box where the left-hand fuel tank formerly resided. Honeysucker heroes. From left, Honeysucker owner, Ross Knight, Colin McQuire, Nicholas Cutler and Matt Cutler.

checker-plate toolboxes, chrome wheels and a full complement of LED lights on the front that would satisfy the fussiest of Italian interstaters. At the time this filled the bill in terms of keeping abreast of business growth but bubbling away in the Knight grey matter was a plan to replace the Hino with a truck that would take the business to the next level. “I did the research, knowing I wanted a European truck with an automated manual transmission, and we found a 2015 Volvo FM 500hp day-cab prime mover that filled the bill,” Ross says. A short-wheelbase truck for the tight turning circle and manoeuvrability, naturally, was a priority and he commissioned Warwick (Qld)- based Vorstrom Vacuum Equipment to fit the 11,000-litre tank and vacuum pump. This was the first time Ross had used the services of Vorstrom and he says they really went the extra mile to help him achieve the best possible solution to suit his needs. “If we’d used a traditional ‘liquid ring’ vacuum pump which is mounted between the tank and the cab, a 9,500 litre tank would have been the limit unless we lengthened the chassis,” Ross explains. “Instead, Vorstrom suggested we fit the latest technology USA-made Challenger vacuum pump as this enabled fitting of an 11,000-litre tank without needing to extend the chassis. They removed the left-hand fuel tank, which we didn’t need anyway, and neatly mounted the blower vac box in that space,” he explains, adding the Challenger vacuum pump operates in a similar fashion to a giant Dyson vacuum cleaner. “It pulls a massive 560cfm (cubic feet per minute) and requires much less maintenance than liquid ring units which use water – that requires regular changing every second day – as th e pumping and filtering medium. With the Challenger, once a week we take out the cartridge filter, clean it and reinstall it – it’s that simple,” he says. According to Ross it hasn’t missed a beat over the past 18 months, and he wouldn’t consider buying another liquid ring vacuum pump such has been the level of

Volvo FM 500hp fitted with an 11,000 litre tank and vacuum pump.

excellence the Challenger has consistently delivered. Suffice it say, when it comes time for his next vac unit to be built Ross will be making a beeline straight to Vorstrom. “I was highly impressed with the professionalism and expertise of Vorstrom and the way they went out of their way to make sure I got the best solution for my needs,” he says. “It was incredible to see the 3D imaging that showed the truck and where everything fits from every angle, including underneath.” He has, however, made one small change. In typical Honeysucker style, Ross came up with an ingenious modification to redirect the hot air that was originally blown out from the side of the blower box. “We installed a second matching chrome stack on the truck and plumbed in the exhaust air from the vacuum pump. In this way the odours and hot air are pumped out above the truck, which is far more pleasant for the driver and customers,” he says. Interestingly, Ross says there’s only one other thing he’d do differently next time around. “Not long after they built my steel tank, Vorstrom started building aluminium tanks which due to their lighter weight

would enable a 12,000-litre capacity tank to be fitted,” he says. With the business continuing to flourish, the ‘next one’ may not be too far down the track, and according to Ross, there’s a high probability it will also wear the diagonal stripe on the grille. “The Volvos are such a smooth and comfortable truck and the iSHIFT transmission is absolutely brilliant for this line of work. I don’t think you can go past them.” Meanwhile, Ross recently employed another driver, Colin McQuire, to help with the burgeoning workload in the lead-up to Christmas. Ross and Colin have been friends since childhood and Ross says it takes a special kind of driver to do this type of work well. “With myself, Matt and Colin doing the jobs, I know that the quality of our work will be maintained at the highest standard, which is how we have built the business and why we have so many repeat customers,” he says. “In this business service is everything and the presentation of our trucks reflects the quality of the work we do. It gives us a point of difference over the bigger companies and shows the general public that we take immense pride in what we do.”