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FARM SERVICES » Seymours Transport
NZ Dairy
Transport firm stands the test of time Kelly Deeks A long established family business, Seymours Transport, has its fourth generation of operators waiting in the wings in his Seymours Transport t-shirt, albeit a driver in training at just 18 months of age. Seymours Transport was established in 1957 by Opiki dairy farmer and livestock buyer Maunsell Seymour. He was a buyer for the old outfit PMA (Pig Marketing Association) and bought for the local but now long derelict Longburn freezing works in Palmerston North. He purchased his own small, two axle truck with capacity for about 10 cattle and started carting them himself. Seymours Transport’s current owner, and Maunsell’s son John, says prior to 1957 cattle weren’t really trucked to the works, rather walked by way of a cattle drove. “Dad was one of the first to have a truck,” he says. He continued to run his farm, which he had purchased when he settled in Opiki in 1937, eventually converting from dairy to beef, while growing Seymours Transport to three trucks. Out of Maunsell’s five children, his two boys, Roger and John, both joined Seymours Transport as soon as they left school. When he passed away suddenly in 1981, the brothers took over the businesses. “Dad died unexpectedly and we were kind of thrown in the deep end,” John says. “Roger stayed to help out for the next five years, and we slowly expanded.” He says under his direction, Seymours Transport’s efficiencies have been improved. “If I’m going to do something, I do it properly,” he says. “We made a few mistakes along the way but it’s the best way to learn, as you only make them once. We had the opposition breathing down our necks and trying to undercut us, but we have a very loyal following, still to this day. “Our clients stayed with us and we’ve now grown to 15 staff and eight trucks, covering virtually anywhere in the North Island, and a wee bit in the South Island although we don’t go looking for it.” The farm is still in the family, although three times its original size now and supported by a run off block. John converted it back to dairy five years ago, and it is run by a sharemilker and achieving very good production. These days, Seymours Transport is a very different operation to that run by Maunsell.
Our clients stayed with us and we’ve now grown to 15 staff and eight trucks, covering virtually anywhere in the North Island.
Seymours Transport has grown from a one-man, one-truck operation established by Opiki dairy farmer Maunsell Seymour, to an eight-truck operation. There are less meat companies to deal with, but a lot more paperwork, especially around health and safety, and recording log books and driver hours. John says the quality of the livestock is much the same today, however the gear has markedly improved. “Our trucks today are bigger and longer, so while Dad was carting about 10 cattle, we’re looking at 40 or 50. The distances are a lot further as well. We think nothing of carting cattle 300kms, but in Dad’s day he carted them 35kms. It’s just totally different.” Facilities on farms have also improved. In Maunsell’s day, most dairy farmers didn’t have their own loading race. The carrier carted his own transportable loading race, which was very heavy and awkward to handle, and he often had to set it up by himself. The situation was brought to a head when a new law banned vehicles on the road over 8ft wide. “So we were able to get rid of those, after using them for about 20 years!” Fonterra regulations have also caused a range of improvements to on-farm facilities, such as wide gateways and large roundabouts, which Seymours Transport also benefits from.
John is now buying livestock for Alliance Group, Land Meat, and Greenlea Premier Meats. Some of the company’s loyal client base is now into its third generation, with Seymours Transport following not far behind. John’s son Robbie, the third generation, runs the company’s transport division, and Robbie’s son Troy, the fourth generation, is only a year and a half old but has the company in his sights and its t-shirt on his back.
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