FLEET FOCUS
Kenworth Legend 900.
UP TO
SPEED A client-oriented approach to heavy haulage provides the template for Josh and Leonnie Carter as they create opportunities for diversification.
A
s Josh Carter was growing up, when he wasn’t competitively racing BMX bikes, he was with his grandfather Ken learning the intricacies of heavy haulage from a man who had the reputation of being a master in that particular specialised sector of the industry. Josh completed his mechanic’s apprenticeship at the Gilbert and Roach dealership in Newcastle, working on Kenworth and Isuzu trucks and while still a third year apprentice he gained his heavy vehicle licence and worked 40
may 2022
permanent night shift as a mechanic combined with driving a truck and dog or a float for his grandfather during the day. Josh eventually finished his trade and went to work for his grandparents full time for most of the next ten years, gaining valuable experience driving trucks and dogs, and operating heavy haulage floats. Ken Carter was 82 years old when he finished driving and retired. During a holiday break in Queensland around that time Josh, with the moral and financial support of then girlfriend Leonnie, decided to purchase
a Kenworth K104 rigid tipper from his grandfather which was converted to a prime mover and put to work with a hired driver and trailer, mainly carrying steel. That same K104 is still operating in the Carter fleet today, a strong testament to the Carter service and maintenance regimes. “I didn’t know anything about trucks when I first met Josh,” says Leonnie. “I came home from Queensland and said to Mum: ‘You know that new boyfriend I’ve been dating for about six months? Well, we’ve set up a business and I’ve bought a $100,000 truck.’”
