Deals on Wheels #464

Paul Watts loads up a
relatively small load onto
the Tuff Trailers’ quad axle
The big 60-inch bunk
allows for a fair bit of room
for the driver to unwind
new W900 ‘Big Bonnet’ Kenworths getting
ordered.
For a couple of years Dennis and his
mates all worked their Kenworths pretty
hard. They were heavily involved in the
clearing and recovery work that went
on down in South Australia after the Ash
Wednesday fires.
“Apparently Dad and Sharpie got kicked
out of South Australia for working too hard,”
Jarrod jokingly relates the yarn.
This brings us back to where we were
before, with Dennis and Shirley registering
their new logging business and getting
allocated the name Burgundy Heights Pty
Ltd. The company was originally doing a
lot of pine forestry work before moving into
the plantation hardwood arena. It was very
popular around the area and it saw Burgundy
Heights expand quickly to keep up with the
workload.
“We took on carting for other crews as well,”
Jarrod tells me, clearly recalling that it was
around '90s when Jarrod’s Kenworth love
affair really kicked up a gear as well.
“We bought a second had T900 at Ritchie
Brothers; it was our first T900.” By the end of
that year though the family had ordered five
brand new T900s. At this stage Jarrod was
still at school, but a fleet of six cool Kenworths
in your back yard would be enough to fuel
any young man’s trucking passion.
The next couple of years saw the company
kept busy and as Jarrod finished school he
ended up working with the logging crew
full-time himself. There were changes in the
way contracts were awarded and work was
given that saw Burgundy Heights scale back
on their workload. The focus shifted from
plantation hardwood to more clearing and
cleaning of areas. Trucks were sold off, trailers
as well and new gear was purchased to help
the company in its next venture.
I did mention Jarrod loved the T900s
though, didn’t I? Well, the last of those five new
ones were kept; and it’s still in service. It’s the
boss’s work vehicle now.
Did I also mention the Smiths aren’t just
hard workers, they are a family of pretty
smart cookies as well? While their business
acumen had them adapting with the times,
their creativity and experience had them
designing and building their own equipment.
All in the aim of making their own work more
cost efficient.
I’m not the world’s best engineer, in fact
it’s fair to say I wouldn’t even crack the
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