Growing businesses

Developing innovative trailer solutions, Vawdrey Australia works closely with Australian transport businesses to help them stay at the top of their game. For Region Peak Transport, a relationship based on quality and mutual respect has flourished into a genuine partnership.

For founder and Director of Region Peak Transport, Brian Harper, business is all about building strong relationships. He knows all of his customers by name, and they know him. “I help build companies, that’s what I do for a living, knocking out competitors by providing high levels of service. I employ 92 staff but I still have the dirtiest hands every day,” Brian says, having just returned from changing tyres out in the yard. “When staff see me working alongside them everyday, they work that little bit harder. I’m very hands on and I believe that’s the secret to success.”

Region Peak Transport now operates a fleet of 32 B-doubles, servicing Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane, with depots in each of those cities. Vawdrey has built every single trailer in the fleet, representing an important supply partnership that has continued for more than 25 years.

Though transport was in Brian’s blood, he almost took a different career path. Brian’s father ran a transport business for almost 40 years, and he fondly recalls waking up in the early hours of the morning with his brother to head out on the road. “We’d get home, have a shower, go to school and then come home and wash the trucks – but we enjoyed it, it was a passion.”

A welder by trade, Brian had planned to open his own welding business in 1987. “But interest rates were too high so I bought a truck instead,” he says. And with that, Region Peak Transport was born, and Brian has never looked back.

Region Peak has several clients who have worked with the business since day one. “As they’ve grown in supply, I’ve grown my network. I help them grow by making sure I offer a reliable service. I recently had a client in my office who told me I had helped grow his business by 300 per cent. Region Peak builds businesses by finding the right solutions. Most of our freight is delivered by 10am the next morning across Australia, which is something I’m very proud of. I’m on time, every time.

“At Region Peak, we do what we can to support our clients. We don’t charge for warehousing, but if we can have the freight ready to go, then we have the opportunity to carry the freight. If we already have the goods before the order is placed, we can get it on our trucks as soon as it’s needed.”

Along with inheriting a passion for transport from his father, Brian also inherited his loyalty. “In this industry, loyalty is a big thing. I’ve been with the same trailer manufacturer, fuel provider and tyre fitter for many years. I’m very proud to be associated with Vawdrey. The partnership Region Peak has with Paul Vawdrey extends beyond a working partnership and into mateship,” says Brian.

Region Peak maintains a modern, pristine fleet, with new equipment added to the mix every year. In July, the business took delivery of four Vawdrey B-doubles, with another two sets to follow.

“The fleet is very modern and up to date because it has to be to ensure we don’t let our clients down. We need to have the right equipment to be able to offer a high level of service,” Brian says.

He adds that his fleet is based largely on versatility, with a mix of straight deck, mezzanine floor and drop deck trailers, which help give the business a competitive advantage.

All of the trailers are also quite customised and Brian asserts that Vawdrey is always very accommodating of his needs. “Vawdrey listens to what I need and produces a brilliant trailer every time.”

Vawdrey has worked closely with Region Peak to develop a variety of customised solutions suited to the task at hand. “For example, we carry a lot of breadcrumb for a particular client, so Vawdrey has made the trailers breadcrumb-friendly. We discussed where the gates would need to be placed and everything else, perfectly accommodating the client’s needs. This results in minimal damage to the product, which means the client and the receiver is happy. I also like to have the gates placed a certain way on all of my trailers and the reason I ask for that is because of the way the freight is loaded and unloaded. After Vawdrey saw the way we do it, they understood and came up with a solution,” Brian explains.

“I’m very passionate and loyal to Vawdrey and the equipment it supplies. I’m a big believer that if it isn’t broken, then don’t fix it, and I’ve never had an issue with a Vawdrey trailer. My trailers leave the yard every day on maximum payload and the Vawdrey trailers can stand up to that. In this industry, it’s all about respect. If you give it, you’ll receive it. And that’s true about a Vawdrey trailer too. Give the equipment the respect it deserves, and it will go the extra mile.”