Spudshed aligns with UD Trucks in Perth

Spudshed UD Quon.

Western Australian supermarket chain, Spudshed has undergone a serious period of growth in recent years.

An ongoing relationship with UD Trucks, for whom it has purchased 17 commercial vehicles to date, has helped it build its brand and footprint, harvesting and delivering fresh, locally grown produce to Perth where it operates 17 retail stores offering a large range of quality produce including meat, dairy and groceries.

With farms spanning all the way from Manjimup up to Kununurra, and more than 1100 Spudshed employees to see through business operations, the Galati family business has become a key identity in Perth.

From the beginning, the business philosophy for Spudshed was simple in bringing down the cost of weekly shopping and making healthy fresh produce affordable for the people of Perth.

Decades on little has changed.

Owner Tony Galati and his brothers Vince and Sam, grew up helping their Sicilian parents run a two-hectare market garden that was established in Spearwood in the 1960s.

By 1998, a simple farmer’s market had evolved into Spudshed and the business has since bolstered itself into the multimillion-dollar operation that it is today.

With rapid expansion comes the necessity for reliable and efficient transport in getting food delivered to their stores consistently and on time.

At the Canning Vale depot Spudshed moves between 400 – 500 pallets daily. The trucks are loaded every morning according to Galati.

Tony Galati.

“You don’t realise how much is involved in getting produce to a retail store or to the markets – and if you don’t have the reliability of your trucks, you’re in trouble,” he said.

Reliability was one of the main factors that steered the family towards UD Trucks after time spent researching the products.

The majority of the fleet comprises UD Quon GW26 460s.

Spudshed’s trucks typically travel between 600 to 700 kilometres a day, and close to 1200 kilometres during the busier season, making reliability a non-negotiable.

“We bought one truck and then another one and now we’ve got 17 UDs at this stage and we’re looking at buying a few more,” said Galati.

“They’re great on fuel efficiency and for the horsepower they’ve got and for the tonnage we cart, they’re really good. Probably the best in the market that I’ve seen.”

It’s been a bonus for Galati that his drivers enjoy driving the UD Trucks every day.

“The air-conditioning, the driving, the way they steer, the way they handle the road – they’re really happy with the trucks. I tell some of my drivers that they should be paying me for driving these trucks,” he said.

Spudshed also runs a nursery where it propagates all of its own seedlings.

“We virtually plant them from the seed, then six or seven weeks after being in the nursery, we put them out in the fields and grow them out over ten to 12 weeks,” said Galati.

After they have been picked they are brought to one of the packhouses where they will eventually be dispatched to markets, chain stores, Spudshed or exported.

The success of Spudshed, despite being in an industry known for challenges, is dependent on a series of factors according to Galati.

“For us, success in the business is what you put into it. You’ve got to nurture your business, you’ve got to live in it,” he said.

“I’ve been in the game since I was a young kid and grew up on it. And my kids did the same thing. They grew up in it, they were born into it.

“It’s a family business and we do it to the best of our ability.”

A UD Quon passes by a Spudshed supermarket in Perth.
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