OBrienco Transport launches Epilepsy Queensland B-triple

Epilepsy is a chronic neurological disorder which affects around 50 million people worldwide. It’s characterised by recurring seizures and can be accompanied by a loss of consciousness and control of bowel or bladder function. Further temporary symptoms include disturbances of movement, sensation, mood or other cognitive functions.

An estimated five million people are diagnosed with epilepsy each year, and between four and 10 people per 1,000 in the general population have active epilepsy according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

The cause of around 50 per cent of epilepsy cases is unknown. Treatments include anti-seizure medications, brain surgery, dietary therapy and medicinal cannabis, but there is currently no known cure.

On 2 April 2024, Lauren Smith lost her life to Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP). Lauren’s passing brought the entire Queensland community of Clifton together, and highlighted the importance of diagnosing the condition, and the many medical conditions associated with it, early.

The family behind Queensland-based transport company, OBrienco Transport, was one of many who felt the loss. The O’Briens grew up with the Smiths, and after hearing about Lauren’s unexpected passing, knew they needed to honour her.

“I was talking to Lauren’s parents, Craig and Susan, at the funeral about how passionate she was around raising awareness for epilepsy,” says OBrienco Transport Sales Manager and Linehaul Coordinator, Jack O’Brien. “She always put herself out there and shared information around her struggles, seizures and the many near-death experiences she had.

“So, I said to them, ‘Why don’t we continue that legacy? We have some ambitions and I’d love to do something like that, too.’”

This idea very quickly became a reality. OBrienco Transport, with the help of its suppliers and customers, launched a Vawdrey Performance-Based Standards (PBS) B-triple road train for Lauren and Epilepsy Queensland.

“We’ve got two new B-triple sets,” Jack says. “One was branded with our standard OBrienco Transport blue and orange colours and the other in purple for Epilepsy Queensland. We’re using that combination to bring awareness to epilepsy and to share Lauren’s story.”

Everyone involved in the build pitched in to show their support. Much like how the entire Clifton community came together for Lauren and her family.

“I couldn’t believe the support it got,” Jack says. “I was just throwing some ideas out to some of our partners, but everyone that I spoke to jumped on board.

“Vawdrey has donated to the charity. Attards provided the curtains and design work for free. The B-triple came with a Mack Super-Liner prime mover and Mack, Western Truck Group and some of our other appliance providers have thrown things in. Our insurance broker, AEI, and one of our main customers, Pacific Seeds, have also come on board.

“The support I received from what could have been considered just a throwaway idea has been amazing. I think it’s going to have a huge impact for Lauren’s family and friends.”

The Epilepsy Queensland Vawdrey Titeliner B-triple combination comprises two 12-pallet drop deck A trailers and a 20-pallet drop deck B trailer. Key features such as mezzanine decks, a Thermo King A-500 fridge unit and SuperStrap load restraint insulated curtains have made the road train extremely versatile.

“It’s a very well-rounded unit to cart almost anything around the country,” Jack says. “We’ve tried to make it the most versatile road train possible. We want to be able to take it everywhere we legally can without messing around with permits too much, and the trailers can do that under PBS, Concessional Mass Limits (CML) or even by being deployed as a B-double.”

The B-triple will be involved with a range of freight tasks in 2026. In the first quarter, it will be deployed on a fortnightly basis to move canola and grass seed from Queensland to Western Australia and return with potatoes and onions.

Then, in the winter, it will spend time in Moree, New South Wales, and Emerald, Queensland, transporting cotton, produce, general freight and seed around the northern and southern areas of the east coast. From there, the unit will head into South Australia and North Queensland to cart more produce such as pumpkins, onions, potatoes, watermelon before closing out with some general freight.

The Epilepsy Queensland B-triple and its sister road train follow two new Vawdrey B-doubles which arrived in the middle of this year. OBrienco Transport invested in these trailers to accommodate for much heavier freight types such as bricks and construction materials, and the transporter has been in awe with the Vawdrey product ever since.

“Vawdrey is a superior product,” Jack says. “The trailers are fantastic. They perform and they look good on the road. We get compliments on them all of the time.”

OBrienco Transport was founded in 2007 by Jack’s father, John. It all began with one truck and an Australia Post contract which grew to nine prime movers, multiple trailer combinations and a range of services including a Full Trailer Load (FTL) division, Less-Than-Truckload (LTL) operations, warehousing, last-mile delivery, general freight and more.

Despite the business’ healthy growth, Jack considers OBrienco Transport an infant in the transport industry’s mindset. He’s always been humble about the company’s position and the journey that will be required to make ‘OBrienco’ a household name. Jack was therefore slightly sceptical when considering purchasing new trailers earlier this year, but he got the assurance he needed after he chose Vawdrey.

“Vawdrey gave us a call a couple weeks after we took delivery of our first trailers to see how they were going, and they did the same for the B-triples,” he says. “Receiving that level of care from Vawdrey was fantastic.

“Vawdrey is just as invested in OBrienco Transport as we are. They want to see us grow to the point that we want to, and they’re going to be a very integral part of that growth. We’ve developed a really good relationship with Vawdrey and we’re very grateful for all of their support – especially with what we’ve achieved for Lauren and epilepsy.”