When KS Easter started out nearly 50 years ago in 1976, it was just Ken Easter with his wife, Barbara, at the helm of the company. KS Easter, at the time, was operating just one truck which had been bought from a friend of Ken’s father.
The business has grown steadily since those humble beginnings – one trailer, prime mover and route at a time. Today, KS Easter operates a fleet of over 300 trailers and 120 prime movers to deliver time-sensitive freight between Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide. It also possesses the ability to transport anywhere else in Australia.
“There’s been a lot of growth along the way,” Ken says. “You don’t keep customers for 45 years by accident. Service comes first.
“People trust us because they know the freight will get there on time, every time. That’s what we’re paid for. It’s the whole point of the business.”
Ken was introduced to transport at a very young age. He would often wait for his father, an owner-operator himself, to come home from work in the evenings so that he could climb into his truck and ride up the driveway. It’s these early experiences which sparked Ken’s interest in the industry and later shaped how he would approach running a business of his own.
What started as a husband-and-wife effort remains a family business to this day. Ken’s children are now involved in KS Easter’s operations, helping to carry forward the values he and his wife built from the very beginning. This continuity is something Ken is deeply proud of.
“I think about all the years of hard work, and it wasn’t always easy to balance our work and personal life,” he reflects. “But seeing what we’ve achieved and knowing that it will continue with the next generation after I’m gone makes it worthwhile.”
For Ken, KS Easter has always been about creating something lasting. This is why the business is one that specialises in efficient transport services while also supporting families.
“It has always come back to relationships,” he says. “Whether it’s with customers, staff or suppliers, those connections really help keep you moving in business.”
Ken, even with a modern fleet and decades of experience, is quick to point out that people remain central to what KS Easter is achieving.
“I’ve always had an interest in trucks and trailers,” he explains. “That part comes naturally to me because I enjoy them and I understand them.
“The real challenge and opportunity is the people. Finding good operators and building the right culture is not always easy, but it’s very important to get right.”
Ken says KS Easter’s reputation around reliability comes from the operators transporting goods every day.
“Dependability has to be part of our business,” he explains. “Our customers rely on us for time-sensitive freight, so it’s not tolerable to run late. That’s why having the right people paired with the right equipment matters so much. Everything has to work together all the time.”
Ken still enjoys playing an active part in running the business by checking in and seeing how things are running. But he takes immense pride in knowing it operates smoothly even when he isn’t there.
“That’s how it should be,” he says. “It’s taken years of effort and sacrifice, but the systems, people and foundations are now in place. That’s the real legacy.
“The business is bigger than me and it’s set up to continue well into the future. You can see it in the way things run day in and day out.”
Ken is clear about what has kept the business strong for so many years – a focus on quality. This is the reason why KS Easter’s partnership with Castrol has endured for many decades.
“It all comes back to quality and understanding quality these days,” he says. “Whether it’s the equipment, the people we employ or the people that service us, it all needs to be quality. It all matters, and nothing else really works if it’s not right.
“We’ve had such a long-term association with Castrol because I like dealing with the company, and we can trust them. Castrol’s products deliver the kind of performance we need.
“We’ve had differentials and gearboxes go nearly three million kilometres without needing a rebuild. That says a lot.
“The amount of effort Castrol puts into their product gives us the longevity and reliability that keep our trucks on the road. That’s massive for a business like ours.”
Ken says the effort and commitment on Castrol’s part also extends into customer service.
“They’ve been very good to us,” he says. “That support matters. When you’re running a fleet this size, you need the right products at the right time, every time. Castrol has always been there for us and that really makes a difference.”
As KS Easter approaches its 50th anniversary in the industry, it’s looking ahead for further growth opportunities. Having already outgrown its current Wacol, Queensland, site several times over, the transport company will be moving into a new state-of-the-art workshop facility in Carole Park.
“Space has always been a challenge,” Ken says. “The new site is something we’ve invested heavily in and it’s designed to set us up for the future. It will allow us to keep everything in order, run things efficiently and keep improving on what we do.”
The facility reflects the same commitment to quality that has guided KS Easter since day one. Multiple investments in specific types of equipment solidifies this.
“The pits in our new workshop have hydraulic floors to make it safer and easier for staff to work under the trucks,” Ken says. “We’ve also got multiple tanks of Castrol product installed underground.
“The Carole Park facility is impressive and it brings a lot of new technology into the business, thanks to Castrol and a few other partners. It’ll be fantastic when we get there.”
For Ken, the move is about ensuring KS Easter can continue to operate with the same standards for decades to come.
“Expansion is happening nicely,” he says. “If the business grows rapidly, it grows rapidly. If it doesn’t, that’s okay too. But what matters most is maintaining control over compliance and technology, keeping the right culture and delivering for our customers.
“We’ve got long-term plans and good relationships with our long-term customers, so it’s onward and upward for all concerned.”
The KS Easter company looks very different nearly half a century after its first truck rolled out. Its fleet is bigger, its facilities are set to be much more advanced and its scale is national. But at the core, the business hasn’t changed. KS Easter is still a family-owned and operated company which is customer focused, about quality and proudly partnered with Castrol.
“Fifty years is a long time in transport,” Ken says. “But the principles are the same as when we started – take care of your people, take care of your customers and ensure quality in everything you do. That’s what’s kept us here and that’s what will keep us going.”
