Les Sutton has been in the business of transporting transport for 35 years. As the Director of Tamworth Car Carrying, Les’ team of 15 staff arrange the transport of cars from Tamworth to Brisbane, Tamworth to Sydney and all throughout the North-East.
Les has relied on JT Fossey to supply him with the best trucks for 19 of those years and over that time, Les said they’ve become just like family. It works perfectly for the large but close-knit business – two of Les’ daughters and his son-in-law work with him. And the drivers… well Les says they’re all good people to, who take pride in what they do and pitch in… just like family.
1. Reliability
Les said when he’s looking at buying a new truck the single most important factor is reliability. In a scheduled society where everything needs to be delivered ‘yesterday’, there is little room for misadventures or procrastination, and certainly not for truck breakdowns.
“To me reliability is everything. When a customer books a car in, they don’t want it in three or four days’ time or a weeks’ time; they want it the next day and you do your best to get it there. If your trucks are reliable then you can get it there for them. And in my opinion these trucks are that far in front that it doesn’t matter.”
2. Driver appreciation
New South Wales Manager Lawrence Sampson has been around the industry for 28 years. He’s grateful to Les for giving him a start years’ ago as a driver and has recently come back into the company. His appreciation doesn’t stop with Les, he also has huge appreciation for UD Trucks.
“I don’t drive very often but I took this Quon for a drive and to me it is… you wouldn’t get much closer to a normal car. It’s very comfortable, very easy to drive and it’s got a lot more safety features,” said Lawrence.
3. And the power
“With the load on this truck, you would not even know it was there because the torque is that unbelievable. I’ve never driven a truck like it! You can do 100 kilometres up and down the highway; the hills don’t seem to affect it much,” said Lawrence.
3. Dealer service
UD stand behind their promise to go The Extra Mile and it’s not lost on the Tamworth Car Carrying team.
“When we got these trucks, John Saint suggested we go on a service plan at JT Fossey and it’s been really beneficial for us,” said Lawrence.
“There is no ‘once you’ve got the truck you can just wipe your hands’. Anywhere we go in our network, we can call into a UD dealer and they top it up with oil or if we need something looked at it’s done straight away.”
4. The New Quon
Tamworth Car Carrying was early to the mark, getting their hands on one of the first New Quons.
Les went to John Saint at JT Fossey and said ‘you’ll want to buy a few of these because you will sell as many as you can get.’ I told him to order me one while he was at it. I got one of the first ones to come to the North-West,” said Les.
Lawrence backs Les’ enthusiasm for the Quon.
“If anyone is interested in buying a new UD tuck do not hesitate to buy a New Quon. The handling of it and the torque… it’s just out on its own. I’ve been in the car carrying industry for 35 years and the Quon is heaps better than any other truck I’ve had,” said Lawrence.
“In twelve months’ time if it performs like I think it will, I’d be interested in replacing some of the other trucks with more of the New Quon. I really believe the New Quon is the best Japanese truck.”
