The sale included Putaruru, Gisborne and Taihape depots, the assignment of leases for Hastings, Waipawa and Feilding, and the continuation of Wairoa and Matamau tenancies.
Mr Robinson said it was good timing for him and his wife, Morag.
"We were ready for the next challenge - it was something to dig our teeth into and focus on for the next 20 years," he said.
"It's been a good time to get in - costs are quite low when it comes to fuel but we're not sure how long it will last."
Investment in equipment made for a more reliable and efficient service, he said.
"We have a good response from the market and it seems to have picked up."
Even though HWR was a large corporation it was "very personal". Directors Scott and Jocelyn O'Donnell were hands-on "and want to know what's going on with the business on a weekly basis".
"They've definitely got their finger on the pulse and really enjoy being part of the industry."
HWR operates 900 heavy trucks from more than 100 sites across New Zealand and Australia with 1500 staff.
The Hawke's Bay transport purchase has meant it can call itself a national rural transport company.
Ironically, HWR founder Bill Richardson was once determined to exit rural transport but, as he said in his autobiography, Wheels & Deals, he hated selling companies.
He purchased and entered into joint ventures with many dozens of companies since deciding at the age of 20 he would not continue in his family's building firm, instead pursuing transport because of his love of trucks.
While he loved trucks, he said they were only as good as their drivers and every month he would join a driver for a round trip to help understand his many businesses and their people.
"In real estate it is location, location, location that makes the difference. In business it is people, people, people," he said.
In an interview in 1997, he said business success should not make people different.
"'I consider that a guy who drives a truck for me and makes a good job of bringing up his family and provides well for his family is as successful as I am. I don't like people trying to put me up on a pedestal."
He died suddenly in 2005, one of the South Island's richest men.
His son, Harold, had been as keen on the business as his father but was killed in a car crash in 1995. However, son-in-law Scott O'Donnell was already in the business and took the company's reins, driving it to further success.
He has since passed them to Brent Esler, who has already experienced a merger with a Hawke's Bay company. As CRT's CEO, he led the merger with Farmlands, creating New Zealand's largest rural supply company with revenues of more than $2 billion.
Last year, Mr O'Donnell travelled to Hawke's Bay to sign the deal, making it clear people came first for the Invercargill-based company.
Farmers Transport general manager Brian Kelsey said: "I recall Scott's comment when I first met him: 'Rural transport is a people business where a handshake still counts.'"
Mr Kelsey has stepped up to run the Hawke's Bay operation following the departure of former Farmers Transport chief executive Jason Roebuck, whose family owned the business.
"It is satisfying working for HWR as you are given the freedom to operate the company subject to agreed business strategies and practices," Mr Kelsey said.
"The HWR management and financial support has proven invaluable as we tackle the challenges of operating a fast-moving, ever-changing business."
Mr O'Donnell said the Hawke's Bay operation was at a pretty low ebb when purchased.
"Sadly, the equipment was pretty much worn out, but we knew all that stuff - it was no surprise to us," he said.
"We are now six months into a rebuilding process, spending a lot of money on new equipment. We have about 100 trucks. I think we have got close to 20 new ones coming in the first year."
He said there was still work to be done to improve flow between new and old rural transport divisions.
"Our guys are working quite well together between the North and South islands but it is a variable market now. Last year, there was a huge amount of dairy cattle exported and that market has gone quite quiet. It is always a moving festival as to what your clients are doing."
Farmers Transport was a good starting point for further North Island expansion.
"Let's go and do some learning. I'm sure we can get those businesses turned around so they are a good provider of service for the customers and make a dollar."
He said HWR was reasonably insulated from the slump in the dairy industry.
"We are quite lucky in that most of the things we supply are things farmers have almost got to have to sustain their business on a normal day. It is the capital goods they are not spending much money on - vehicles etc. You kind of need fertiliser to grow grass, you need fuel to run the tractor, or you need stock off the property to create some revenue for yourself. Most things we do might decrease a bit but not by much. They might back off on fertiliser, but you still have to get livestock to the works.
His mother-in-law, Shona Richardson, remained a major part of the business.
"She enjoys getting around the people. She probably goes for a tour twice a year - she pulls into concrete plants or transport yards. She just enjoys meeting people in the business."
Mr Robinson said HWR's policy of letting people invest at the coalface and run the business was successful in the South Island "and continues to be really successful up here".
He said good relationships with customers helped with the transition.
"We had good loyalty through the change of ownership.
"It's a pretty competitive market but we have had a lot of loyalty.
"A lot of loyal customers stuck with us and it's pretty positive moving forward."
