A 12-year association between two Border businesses has yielded 300 trucks, but also wider economic benefits for the communities in which they operate.
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Ron Finemore Transport on Tuesday received its latest prime mover, a Volvo FH540, from CMV Truck and Bus Albury-Wodonga, the 300th such handover since the two companies first began discussions in 2008.
CMV Truck and Bus Albury-Wodonga sales manager Brent Fuge said an order for 15 trucks followed the next year, establishing a pattern of annual deliveries.
"Every single one of the prime movers out of the 300 trucks we've delivered since 2009, behind that, there's seven suppliers, local suppliers in the area," Mr Fuge said.
"There's a lot of other families receiving the benefit out of these truck orders locally as well."
It's making investments and providing job opportunities in regional markets, which to us remains very much our core value and what we're about
- Mark Parry
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Ron Finemore Transport managing director Mark Parry said about 70 to 100 of the company's 250-strong fleet was changed out each year.
"We've got one of the youngest prime mover fleets in Australia, I think it currently sits at about 2.6 years average," he said.
The trucks haul loads of food and fuel between centres such as Barnawartha, Wagga, ACT, Brisbane, Adelaide, Sydney and Melbourne and have to arrive on time every time, as far as possible.
"We need safe, reliable, fuel-efficient vehicles," Mr Parry said.
"We need a dealer and a service network that can respond to any unexpected breakdowns fairly quickly."
Mr Fuge believed closely-aligned values lay behind the successful relationship.
"They're both Australian long-term owned family companies with a lot of history behind them," he said.
Established in 1934, the CMV Group is a third generation owned company based in South Australia.
Ron Finemore Transport began in 2004 when Mr Finemore acquired Wodonga-based company Lewington's Transport, continuing a transport industry career that started in the 1960s.
Mr Parry said the flow-on benefits of the continuing partnership shouldn't be underestimated.
"It's making investments and providing job opportunities in regional markets, which to us remains very much our core value and what we're about," he said.
