Tieman and Black Mount Spring Water, two family brands in sync

Seventy years in business is a milestone Tieman Tankers is unconditionally proud of, and recently delivering its 6,000th tanker to bulk spring water supplier Black Mount , is one that will remain in the history books of both companies for a long time to come.

Tieman Tankers was founded in 1953 by Neil Tieman, and while he sadly passed away in October 2021 at the age of 95, his respected legacy lives on behind the Tieman brand.

A loyal companion to Tieman Tankers since its beginning in 1993, Black Mount is a well-known bulk spring water supplier based in Millbrook, Victoria, established by Brian Carey. His son, Tim Carey, now guides the company with more than 50 prime movers towing single tri-axle trailers, 19m and 20m combinations right up to 26m and 30m A-double combinations throughout Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia – hand in hand with Tieman Tankers.

“The opportunity came up to supply water from our farm to one of the bottlers down in Melbourne,” Tim says. “At the time, bottled water was a very small industry and Dad recognised the potential. From the very start of the industry here in Australia we’ve supplied the water from our farm in a Tieman tanker that we purchased from Neil Tieman 30 years ago.”

Black Mount has always invested in dedicated spring water tankers of the highest standard to reflect the company’s quality in spring water. This philosophy, thanks to Tim’s father, has kept the business by Tieman’s side since it commenced operations.

“We’ve always held the Tieman product in our highest regard, and we keep coming back to Tieman because of the long-term relationship we have,” Tim says.

“We’re really grateful for the relationship that has got our business to where it is today.

“The second tanker we acquired from Tieman was a 26m B-double combination that still carts spring water to our customers today. That reflects the longevity and quality of a Tieman tanker, as we still have the trailer from the initial start of the relationship today.” milestone tanker was made at Neil’s funeral, where Tim and Colin agreed that it would be a great way to tribute Neil and the everlasting bond between both companies.

Tieman Tankers recently delivered its 6,000th tanker, a Performance-Based Standards (PBS) 20m B-double to Black Mount. Neil’s son, and Tieman Director, Colin Tieman, says it was a special achievement due to the long-lasting relationship between both families.

“I was speaking to Colin at Neil’s wake, and I mentioned that we were approaching a milestone of 30 years and 50 Kenworth trucks,” Tim says. “Following a day of stories of how Neil started the Tieman business and how my father started the Black Mount business, holds a payload of 42,500 litres and displays a quality finish that reflects Neil’s commitment to detail and Black Mount’s premium service offered to its customers. The combination is fitted with Hendrickson Intraax AA250 airbag suspension, MAXXT22 disc brakes, HXL7 bearings and a Tyremaax tyre inflation system that is proving to keep tyre wear even – hence increasing the life of the tyres. It also features a polished s/s steel barrel with electro polished rings, polished s/s mudguards and mirror finish s/s bumper bars.

The trailer is being towed by Tim’s 50th Kenworth purchased early 2022 and the combination will be located at Black Mount’s farm in Black Hill, Millbrook. From there, it will service its customers everyday – travelling between Metropolitan Melbourne and Black Mount’s various water sources located in the Yarra Ranges, the Macedon Ranges and the Central Highlands of Victoria. Tim says the trailer is the pride of his fleet.

“The 20m PBS combination has been a great unit throughout our fleet,” he says. “We ordered this one specifically to run from our Millbrook depot where we started 30 years ago. It looks terrific and it pulls really well. It did its first load in November, and the driver couldn’t have had better things to say about it.”

Combined with its PBS design innovation, there is little surprise why Tieman is a preferred supplier to so many fleets and contractors around Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea.