2022 CCF SA HALL OF FAME INDUCTEE LEN TEAGLE 5/11/1927 – 9/8/2021 LEN ON A DROFT
Len first entered the civil industry in 1946; with the purchase of a secondhand KB5 International truck. Len worked his way up from a self-employed truck driver, hand loading sand in the morning before starting his day job at the local mill and delivering that same load to the local Millicent area afterhours. He added to the fleet a Drott TD6 in 1956, and then another truck, building the business that would become Teagle Contracting. Onsite one afternoon, a customer remarked to Len: "That's a good machine but what will you do with it in three months’ time when all the work is done for it?!" Len soon upgraded the TD6 to a BT8, then TD9, TD14... and so on (we haven't run out of work yet). In 1964, having just purchased the largest machine Len had owned to date, a Drott TD15, interest rates skyrocketed. Local work dried up and the machine sat idle for 9 months. TRIP TO AMERICA
The TD15 was set to break Len and send the business broke. Surprisingly, to Len, a local farmer's wife lent him what he needed to make repayments. Lenny (Len) came through the 'credit crunch', repaid the debt and carried on. Successfully passing on the reigns to son Geoff in the 90s, and continuing to work in the business, operating his much-loved traxcavators. Geoff continued to build the Teagle Contracting business which now supports a workforce of over 40 employees, and a fleet in excess of100 mobile plant and equipment. Teagles is a known quantity in the South East and continues to break ground with cutting edge machinery and projects. Len was known as a ‘workaholic’ and started Teagle Contracting in 1960 at his home on Williams Road in Millicent, where the business still stands today. Teagle Contracting depot, having grown out of Len's shed, now occupies 33,000 square meters, including maintenance workshops, B-double weighbridge, modern offices, a landscaping yard to match, and six quarries. Len was still working 40-hour weeks well into his 80s and as a 90yo, he could still be found with shovel in hand helping around the yard, right up until his passing in August last year. Len would even make the obligatory Friday night drinks in the workshop shed (as often as he could), keen to add anything he could to the fire to keep everyone warm. In 1975, seeking best practice and innovation in Civil, Len travelled to the USA to the Caterpillar CONEXPO. The trip saw Len travel to Chicago where he visited Clark's Equipment that boasted International's largest loader, powered by a V16. On a visit to the Caterpillar factory, Len noted in his journal the factory was producing 8 x D9s and 15 x D8s per day. Len soon after
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purchased his first excavator a Hitachi UH07 in 1981, the first to be seen in the South East. Len was recognised in 2007 with an Australia Day Citizen of the Year Award; the award paid particular mention to Len’s contribution to the local community through his Civil works. Teagle Contracting’s generosity was responsible for many community amenities including free works that saw the completion of the Noora Yo-Long Youth Campground at Rendlesham and the Millicent Swimming Lake. The later was a community funded project. When funds ran out, Len supplied the machines pro-bono and paid the men's wages. Len also worked tirelessly with the local Lions Club, contributing his time, trucks, and machinery regularly at working bees. Within the South East, Teagle Contracting had built a reputation as the go-to civil contractor willing to take on the challenge. In 1966, Len did just that, constructing Beach's Oil Rig Site at Canunda. Teagles built their way into the site through the sand dunes. Difficulties were encountered getting up the hills as all the trucks were single drive. The road between the pit continually eroded as it was built on beach sand. Len soon figured out to roll the blade forwards to maintain better compaction, helping the truck's traction.
AT WORK IN BEACHPORT
LEN'S TRUCK CIVIL CONNECT
