Two of Primary Connect’s long-standing transport partners have been formally recognised for outstanding performance in safety, compliance and service at the eighth annual Primary Connect Virtual Transport Safety Day.
Jim Pearson Transport was awarded Large Carrier of the Year while Goldstar Transport was awarded Small Carrier of the Year.
The awards were held virtually on 9 December 2020 with carrier partner representatives and industry professionals attending the live stream.
This is the second time Jim Pearson Transport has been awarded Large Carrier of the Year, having also received the accolade in 2014.
Jim Pearson Transport owner and Managing Director, Jim Pearson, said the recognition was very exciting and unexpected.
“It’s always a great honour to receive this award. We try very hard every year to achieve it and have come close most years,” said Pearson.
“We were recognised as an essential service and for the role we played in the community; it’s a credit to the extraordinary efforts of our team throughout COVID. They were focused on what needed to get done and were the first to roll up their sleeves when communities needed essentials.”
According to Pearson, the team quickly learned how to be COVID-safe and adapted to a new way of working, whether it was wearing masks to enter a distribution centre or office staff working from home.
For three months, he said, volume levels were comparable to Christmas levels due to increased demand during COVID, while last summer’s bushfires also created additional transport and storage requirements for the business.
Utilising its vast fleet of 260 prime movers and 400 B-double trailer combinations, Jim Pearson Transport delivers inbound into Woolworths’ Sydney, Wyong and Brisbane distribution centres and outbound to its Supermarkets, Metro, BWS and Dan Murphy’s stores throughout NSW and QLD.
The transporter began its partnership with Woolworths in 1999 and this year moved 47,000 loads entailing 1.4 million pallets for the supermarket giant.
This is also the second time Goldstar Transport has been awarded Small Carrier of the Year after initially receiving the gong in 2016.
Goldstar Transport Managing Director, Sean Carren, said the award recognised all the good work his team had achieved during COVID, not least thinking about the end customer and what they needed.
“It’s a big accolade to even get nominated but to win it this year is very special for us,” said Carren. “I take so much pride in our people and the job that we do.
“Everyone wanted to show up and do a good job safely and adhere to the new procedures, even when they were changing daily.”
Carren said this year showed just how important the transport industry was in our communities after being declared to the nation as an essential service.
Goldstar Transport also has a passion for encouraging women, young people and people from diverse cultural backgrounds to participate in transport.
The company began partnering with Primary Connect in 2012 and operates out of Kewdale in WA, servicing Woolworths’ Perth Regional Distribution Centre with inbound and outbound deliveries.
Temperature controlled transport is a new investment for Goldstar Transport as part of its growing partnership with Woolworths.
Primary Connect General Manager – Domestic and International Transport, Chris Brooks, said both carriers had demonstrated an unwavering commitment to safety, compliance and service throughout this unprecedented year.
“Both Jim Pearson Transport and Goldstar Transport have played an integral role in helping us provide our customers with essential items during the pandemic and we couldn’t be prouder of our partnerships,” said Brooks.
“As a collective transport function within the ecosystem of Australia’s largest food and drinks supply chain, we’ve overcome many challenges together.
“Together we have been able to support the needs of the community while continuing to put safety first. On behalf of Primary Connect and the Woolworths Group, we thank you.”
Primary Connect operates one of Australia’s largest supply chains with more than 7,000 truck movements per day for Woolworths Group.
Primary Connect delivers to more than 3,000 Supermarkets, Metro, BIG W, BWS and Dan Murphy’s stores nationwide and relies on its 66 carriers to ensure products arrive fresh and safe in stores for its customers.