A seasonal variety of successes in 2025

There’s no denying it’s been a challenging year for business. Christmas is just around the corner and while many will be relieved to see the back of 2025, the road freight industry has also had some monumental triumphs worth recognising. More than a thousand Transporting New Zealand member companies have worked hard this year, sometimes thanklessly – requiring a huge amount of dedication and resilience. They’ve overcome adversity, they’ve innovated, celebrated anniversaries, won awards, upgraded their fleets and more, while continuing to supply Kiwis with the essentials every day.

So what better way to welcome a new year than by reflecting on the huge number of milestones reached in the last one?

Here’s just a few 2025 highlights from some of our members.

Conroy Removals

One of New Zealand’s largest and busiest logistics providers, Conroy Removals have had another busy year with many interesting highlights. Crew members Mike and Ben recently had the unique challenge of transporting three incredible metal artwork spheres from Metal Metcalfe in Havelock North to Hamilton. These stunning pieces, known as Patchwork of Possibilities, definitely didn’t fit in standard cartons – so the team got creative with custom padding, strapping, and plenty of care to get them there safely.

Fortunately, the team already had plenty of practice handling art installations of tricky shapes and sizes. Previously, the team transported 20 stunning kiwi art installations along Marine Parade in Napier as part of the Kiwi Art Trail, before they were moved on to Whangārei in January. The kiwis were all designed by talented New Zealand artists and eventually auctioned, with all proceeds going to kiwi conservation efforts.

KAM Transport

KAM Transport has had a massive year, being recognised for their Outstanding Contribution to Innovation at the North Island Road Freight Industry Awards and expanding their network by acquiring Brenics Transport. They were a finalist in two categories for their demonstrable commitment to sustainability, and service and support, at the 2Degrees Wellington Regional Business Excellence Awards.

KAM is the only transport business of its kind to hold a Toitū enviromark® gold certification thanks to a robust environmental management and driver training regime.

“Sustainability isn’t a word people usually associate with transport – but we’ve shown that it is possible. We do what we say we’ll do, and when we commit to reducing our footprint, investing in cleaner practices, and constantly improving, we mean it and we follow through,” said General Manager Bill Bamber.

Well done KAM!

Philip Wareing Ltd

Transporting New Zealand’s South Island membership advisor, Jim Crouchley had the pleasure of attending Philip Wareing Ltd.’s 50^th festivities in Methven this past April. A convoy of Wareing’s trucks drove through town – mostly in the company’s iconic blue and yellow hues, with one spraying truck wrapped gold for the occasion. Afterwards, guests enjoyed a logging truck-shaped cake at an open-invite celebration at the Mt Hutt Memorial Hall.

Sharp As Linehaul

Whanganui-based member company Sharp As Linehaul marked a major milestone in late 2025, celebrating 15 years of operation and the people who have shaped the business since day one. Even during the peak holiday season, owners Daryl and Kylie James recognised the commitment, culture, and resilience that define their 100-strong team, along with the families and commercial partners who support them.

Another standout moment of 2025 was 20-year-old Class 5 driver Taylah Penn being awarded North Island Young Driver of the Year. Her versatility – switching between office work, driving milk tankers, and silage – reflects the spirit of the family-run business and its talented workforce.

Fern Energy

Christchurch truck engineering company, Lowes recently completed what is believed to be the largest fuel tanker fleet replacement programme undertaken in New Zealand with the delivery of 43 new trucks and 36 new trailers for Fern Energy.

Fern is New Zealand’s largest supplier of bulk fuel to farms and agribusinesses, and serves other commercial sectors as well.

The new custom-designed Scanias replaced about 60% of Fern’s fleet that was leased. “This was really about having greater control over our fleet,” said Fern’s Chief Executive, Chris Gourley.

“We prefer to own our vehicles from new. You know and manage its service and maintenance record. You don’t have that certainty with leased vehicles and that can be costly, for example with a new gearbox costing about $30,000.

“Vehicle maintenance has been one of our biggest variable costs and has seriously impacted our delivery performance. A while back, six of our ten leased trucks at our Mount Maunganui base were off the road at the same time. With the reliability of the new Scanias, those headaches are a thing of the past.”

The new vehicles are 25% more fuel efficient than the old trucks they’ve replaced and, being Euro 6 standard, they have much lower emissions.

JAC Motors

JAC recently celebrated one year of supporting KiwiHarvest with its fully electric JAC EV truck – a partnership that’s helping the charity reach more Kiwis in need while producing zero emissions.

Since joining KiwiHarvest’s Auckland fleet, the JAC EV has become a key part of the charity’s daily operations, transporting surplus food from supermarkets, manufacturers, and distribution centres across Tāmaki Makaurau. In just 12 months, it has helped rescue 250 tonnes of good food the equivalent of 480,000 meals. KiwiHarvest’s longest-serving Food Rescue Driver, Seti, was assigned the JAC EV truck and proudly claims she’s driving “the best truck in the fleet.”

And that’s a wrap on 2025

Transporting New Zealand congratulates all our members for staying alive through 2025 and continuing to get the job done, day in, day out.

Though many of our members and your drivers may keep on trucking over the Christmas and New Years break, we hope each and every one of you gets some well-deserved rest this summer.

See you in 2026!