Owner/Driver #339

The purchasing of a new truck can be a torturous
ordeal. There can be 101 different reasons to choose a
particular truck and 102 reasons to choose a different
truck. It can come down to so many little things.
However, sometimes you just buy a truck because, well,
quite frankly, you just want it. I completely get that.
I’m exactly the same when I hit the KFC drivethrough.
I don’t really need it, it’s not doing anything for me,
there are other smarter options but god damn if the
Tower Burger isn’t exactly what I want.
So, when Garry Leeson from Leeson’s Logging & Cartage
piped up and informed his team “I want a Peterbilt”, I could
fully empathise. In Garry’s case though, the Pete has been a lot
better for him than the Tower Burger was for me.
Before we touch on this fantastic-looking Pete, let’s take
a little journey into the history books and learn a bit about
Leeson’s, a family-run business that’s been a stalwart of the
timber scene in Victoria for several decades now.
The company’s origins go all the way back to the early
’60s when Garry’s stepdad Lindsay Crawford was hauling
plantation timber into the Maryvale Pulp Mill. Garry was
heavily involved from a young age. When Lindsay passed away,
the business was passed down to Garry and his brothers. In
the early ’80s, Garry and his wife Vicki bought the brothers out
and Leeson’s Logging & Cartage officially began.
One of the major factors that has contributed to the success
of the company has been its family-focused approach. All
of Garry and Vicki’s kids have, at some stage, been involved
in the company, with their youngest daughter currently
employed as its occupational health and safety officer and
their son Rick now having worked his way up to managing
director after doing his time in everything from the little
company fuel truck to the loggers and loaders.
The company has been based in the small town of Rosedale
in Gippsland, Victoria, for the majority of its existence and has
established itself as an expert in the cartage and harvesting
of plantation timber. From its humble beginnings, the
company now employs around 55 staff and runs a fleet of
42 APRIL 2021 ownerdriver.com.au