Prime Mover Magazine

Maxi-CUBE is getting personal

It is safe to say that Australia’s commercial road transport is a unique business environment, boasting a high level of camaraderie and friendship. Maxi-CUBE has understood the importance of personal commitment long ago and built a prosperous business around it.

“First of all, our clientele is looking for someone who can get the job done in the best possible way, but they also want someone they feel like they know and can trust,” says Maxi-CUBE’s Victorian Area Sales Manager, Brett Smith. “Therefore, giving a little bit of yourself can create the foundation for a thriving relationship.”

Primo Haulage’s Peter Folwell, for instance, has become more than just a client to Brett. “You know, we’ve become friends because we are able to speak about things that are totally irrelevant to work,” says Pedro, as family and friends know him. “We’ll catch up for holidays on the houseboat and play golf together. It’s more of a friendship than just business.”

Starting out as a “jockey” on behalf of an interstate furniture removalist at the age of 14, Pedro obtained his interstate license at 17, helping transport furniture for G Hannan & Sons. In 1986, when Pedro’s beloved Essendon Football Club failed to play in a VFL Grand Final for the first time in four seasons, he decided that the time was right to go out on his own. He purchased an International 3070, some second-hand refrigerated trailers and set up a freelance haulage business in Melton, providing refrigerated express services for the produce and dairy industries.

However, Pedro’s first experience with Maxi-CUBE didn’t occur until the mid 1990s, when he and his wife Jane saw an opportunity to grow the business and capitalise on the opportunities that a growing transport industry presented during this era. Ever since, Primo Haulage and Maxi-CUBE have established a successful and lucrative partnership.

“I remember that there was an instant connection with the people at Maxi-CUBE,” Pedro explains. “When you are able to relate to people on a personal level, it makes it easy to grow the business relationship as well.” Therefore, it is no surprise that Primo’s business relationship with Maxi-CUBE is largely based on Pedro’s friendship with Brett Smith, who has helped Primo Haulage with the majority of its trailer builds. “You can’t just sell a trailer and wave the client off into the sunset until the next order,” says Brett. “Our clientele banks on our back-up support and they need to know that Maxi-CUBE is only a phone call away. We have to speak the same language, you know.”

In fact, it’s the personal approach that has helped Primo Haulage become the successful transport business it is today, comprising a fleet of 15 trucks and some 30 refrigerated trailers, with Maxi-CUBE representing 99 per cent of all van units. In the past 16 years, Pedro has purchased just over 50 Maxi-CUBE trailers – “and every single van has provided us with outstanding thermal performance, durability and tare weight advantages.”

Now based in Somerton, Primo Haulage delivers fresh produce and frozen goods across the Eastern Australian seaboard to Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Adelaide - but none of the trailers is branded as a Primo vehicle. “I prefer a clean, white exterior,” he says, proving that Primo does not need fancy sign writing to demonstrate the company’s excellence in cleanliness, delivery and customer service.

“In addition, the clean look helps maintain the resale value of a van and makes it easier for someone else to give it a new lease of life without worrying about the cost of removing existing livery.”

To further ensure that the entire Primo fleet is of the highest calibre, the company uses an internationally recognised food safety system, known as HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point).

But, as important as product quality is, Prime Haulage places high value on expert service, repairs and parts back up, too. Therefore, it is not uncommon for Pedro and Brett to be liaising outside work hours to resolve a trailer issue. “In that sense, it is important that we can talk on a personal level to communicate what we need to keep the business running,” says Pedro, who enjoys talking business on the golf course.

“I’ve been carrying Brett around the course for years now, and he still needs help with his golf,” he adds. “But, now that we got three all new Maxi-CUBE vans, I might give him another chance to show that his golf skills are as good as his business skills.”