CAT Operators - Croft Transport

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CAT Trucks Australia / Navistar Auspac Press Release  /  September 6, 2016

WAYNE & GARY CROFT – Croft Transport Owners

An Adelaide company runs a successful business running 20 Cat Trucks specialising in lifting freight that most transport companies are not interested in.

Croft Transport, based in Adelaide’s industrial heart, found a niche in hauling one-off lifts and ‘you-call-we-carry’ type work.

“We are essentially a taxi truck company,” says Gary Croft.

Not the stereotypical taxi company, however with 50 heavy duty trucks, 70 employees and ‘taxi’ runs across the nation, the latest being a series of road train hauls to Alice Springs.

While most transport companies strive for regularity in scheduled freight to give cashflow predictability, the Croft business model embraces irregularity and has developed flexibility to handle on-call jobs at short notice.

Gary Croft and his brother Wayne run the family business from its Wingfield headquarters, a no frills yard and office that buzzes with activity with a continual flow of trucks swapping trailers, parking up and drivers delivering paperwork.

The 20 Cat Trucks were selected by the Croft brothers from a lifetime love of the International brand.

“We have always had a lot of International trucks so as they progressed we eventually came to looking at Cat Trucks with the Cat driveline. We have had Cat engines in other trucks so they are well known to us. We have always respected the Cat product,” Gary Croft says.

Croft Transport runs 35 semitrailers in the fleet along with a dozen tray tops and crane trucks. Eight in-house mechanics keep wheels turning.

Crofts could be described as a mix of old school management with the latest tech in equipment. Because most work is urban or intra-state, Gary and Wayne have not yet seen the need to move towards electronic tracking of trucks and drivers.

With mobile phones ringing non stop, you get the feeling that between them, the Crofts know where every one of their trucks is and whether they are running on time.

The variety of truck and trailer operations accommodate a great variety of workloads.

“Sometimes we might need one truck on a job, other times eight or 10 trucks on a bigger lift. We are on call for our customers and other transport companies. We do overflow work. Our freight is not scheduled, it is flexible on-call work.”

Both Croft brothers have a high regard for the Cat Truck dealership, Cavpower, in Adelaide. A long association with the Cat Trucks salesman, Mervyn Jamieson, led to the investment in the brand.

“Cavpower have been very good to us,” says Gary, “supporting us when ever necessary.”

The Cat Trucks in the Croft fleet CT630s and CT610s.

“We have C12s in our older Internationals and the C13 (in the CT610s) is a progression of those and they have all been doing a good job in different applications.”

The most recent Cat purchase is a CT630SC.

“We have configured that truck so we can use it in B-double applications, road train work when necessary or single trailer work.”

Most trucks are purchased with sleeper cabs, however there are eight Cat Trucks with day cabs. Gary Croft says the sleeper option is more versatile if a truck has to go interstate.

“If we get stuck we will send a day cab and put the driver up in a motel, but mostly we buy trucks with sleepers that we can send anywhere.”

Another benefit of the Cat Trucks for urban work is their size and ability to get into tight spots.

“The vision for the driver is also a big plus, easy entry and exit is a major consideration in our operation so as an all-round package they are very good!”

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