Daimler Truck and Bus is mourning the passing of a Shepparton trucking icon.
The commercial vehicle manufacturer paid tribute this week to John McCarroll after it was announced he had died after a year-long battle with cancer.
Daimler Truck and Bus has paid tribute to industry icon, John McCarroll was a much-respected member of the Victorian trucking industry for nearly half a century, maintaining and selling trucks in the Shepparton region.
More recently he played a key role in the Australian Freightliner Cascadia test program.
Daimler Truck and Bus Australia Pacific President and CEO, Daniel Whitehead, sent his condolences to McCarroll’s wife Carmel and their sons Patrick and Jamie.
“Johno was a true icon of the industry and the Shepparton region for good reason,” Whitehead said in a statement.
“In addition to all his charity work and community service, he worked extremely hard to look after his customers and keep them on the road,” he said.
“He was simply a great person, who cared about others and he will be sorely missed.”
Last month the Shepparton transport community held a drive-by tribute that included a convoy of more than 100 trucks rolling past the McCarroll home such was his standing in the region.
McCarroll started his career as a mechanic at Mercedes-Benz truck dealership Mid Star Motors in Shepparton in 1972, before working for a transport company and then Jones Truck Repairs, which would later become Hartwigs.
He rose to the role of branch manager and became a shareholder in the business before selling it and opting for ‘retirement’ at age 60. I
It didn’t last long however.
McCarroll was soon involved in a range of different transport odd jobs before being called on to lend expertise and experience to the testing program for the new Freightliner Cascadia.
Having carried out servicing on the FLC, the first Freightliner model sold in Australia, while at Jones Truck Repairs, McCarroll had a long involvement with Freightliner.
He drove one of two ‘camo’ Cascadia test units five days a week from July 2018 until he became ill late last year.
According to Daimler it was a job McCarroll enjoyed immensely.
“Johno was a great advocate for our brand and he made a major contribution to the introduction of the new Freightliner Cascadia with his test driving role,” said Stephen Downes, Freightliner Australia Pacific Director.
“We know his loss will be felt deeply by his family and his many friends across the industry, including many of us here at Daimler,” he added.
