Trucking firm spreads its wings

John Leek said the company's growth has been underpinned by the recovery of the kiwifruit industry. Photo / John Borren

Omokoroa General Carriers, which has built up a fleet of 32 trucks over the past two decades, is looking to expand its recently established warehouse storage operations.

The company's growth has been underpinned by the recovery of the kiwifruit industry, and it has a strong customer base in the post-harvest sector.

"We've begun to diversify into storage services," said John Leek, who co-owns the business with his brother Brent.

Last year the company built a 180sq m warehouse, which is being leased by Carter Holt Harvey Packaging to store packaging materials for the kiwifruit industry. That aligns with Omokoroa General Carriers' kiwifruit haulage operations.

"Our trucks carry quite a bit of packaging for the post-harvest operators," said Mr Leek. "Carter Holt Harvey can't make it all at once, so they spread production through the year and have to store it till the harvest season."

Mr Leek said the company was exploring acquiring another half-hectare of land and planned to expand the warehouse operation.

The business was a two-truck operation in 1994 when the brothers acquired the company, which was once owned by their grandfather, Snow Leek.

Both brothers are very hands-on in the business, with John serving as general manager. The brothers had owned trucks before and when they bought the business they were keen to develop the freight side of the operations. Business has been especially strong over the past seven or eight years, with the fleet growing from seven vehicles to the current 32 over the period.

Another significant development came four years ago when the company shifted from its old location in Omokoroa Rd - now the site of Omokoroa's medical centre and pharmacy complex - to its current one-hectare site down the road.

"The kiwifruit industry definitely plays a big part," said Mr Leek. "And there's a lot of work that goes on all year round in the industry - it's not just the harvest season. But we also do general freight. When the demand is there, you keep on going and building."

Jim Dunseath, compliance manager for leading post-harvest operator Seeka, said the company had developed a relationship with Omokoroa General Carriers because the carrier had been working with Te Awanui Huka Pak when Seeka took over the company in 2009. "We have continued with that relationship and it's productive for both parties."

Mr Dunseath, whose role includes coordinating Seeka's trucking contracts, said the kiwifruit industry had been through lean times.

"But I think there's certainly a trend and indication that the kiwifruit business is growing again in a positive way," he said. "And that obviously has a positive flow-on effect for every supporting industry and for the Bay of Plenty."