Since purchasing its first Isuzu truck several years back, Leslievale Landscape & Gravel Supplies (LLGS) in Tasmania has added a number more to its tipper fleet.
The business, located at a quarry owned by Hazell Bros in Leslie Vale southwest of Hobart, is owned by husband-and-wife team Paul and Denise Harriss and has been operating since 2004.
Prior to this, Paul Harriss drove trucks for Hazell Bros and it was during this time he conceived the idea of a dedicated retail landscape supplies outlet to eliminate the dangers associated with light vehicles entering the worksite of the quarry.
“There was recognition from all parties that having small vehicles running in around the large trucks and machinery was a potential OH&S issue,” said Harriss.
“I think Hazell Bros definitely saw value in the proposal and hence our landscape yard began.”
In addition to supplying a complete range of quarry products, LLGS is now one of the largest local suppliers of firewood, procured from sustainable plantations in the southern part of Tasmania, which keeps the business ticking over all year round.
Carting loads of firewood and other materials that weighed anywhere between one and six tonnes, the business began to struggle with trucks that couldn’t deliver the necessary performance and payload.
“We started off with the two-tonner but quickly moved on to a 4.5-tonne truck, but still weren’t happy with it,” said Harriss.
“I went searching for a better truck with Isuzu and really haven’t looked back since getting our first FRR 500.”
Subsequent purchases include three Isuzu FRR 500 Tippers, two NQR 450 AMT Tippers and the latest acquisition – an NMR 60-150 AMT Tipper – of which Harriss is particularly chuffed.
Opting for the hefty 6,000kg Gross Vehicle Mass (GVM) and 9,500kg Gross Combination Mass (GCM) option over the standard 4,500kg GVM model for bigger payload at a nimble size, Harriss said his NMR Tipper is the perfect truck to cart big loads around semi off-road tracks and cluttered yards.
“Down south, we deal with a lot of challenging sites where people think we can get a truck in where they can get their minibike,” he said.
“There are lots of gravel roads and we probably spend 50 per cent of our time driving uphill. Our Isuzu trucks perform well, especially in terms of their ability to grip the road while carrying a decent load.”
The trucks themselves haven’t been the only beneficial part of joining the Isuzu family for LLGS.
Local dealership, Webster Trucks Isuzu, takes care of all the servicing and aftercare needs, and also takes a keen interest in ensuring LLGS has everything required to keep delivering to its customers.
“Once you start dealing with a company and they know where you’re at, who you are and your business, everything flows a bit easier,” said Harriss.
“We’ve dealt with the same people at the dealership pretty much the whole way through, it’s made everything very simple for us.”