Marleys Transport Pty Ltd is a family business based in Merredin, Western Australia. It has been operating since 1969. Our first truck started by carting fertiliser from the Nangeenan railhead to farmers. As the task increased so did the number of trucks. We now operate over 40 trucks and 100 trailers.

Being progressive has helped us to see the changes in the industry and to survive where many didn't. As the regulatory environment changed so did Marleys Transport. We have always been at the leading edge of technology, for instance operating the first four deck stock crate in Western Australia. We were also the first operator of a 10 axle rigid truck used for grain carting in WA. As technology has advanced and progressed so has Marleys, we are always looking at ways we can value add to improve the services we provide.

With our proximity to many of the off line bins it was a natural progression to start carting from them. We won our first contract in the early 1980's and have been carting ever since. This long association with rail has allowed our business to become specialised and is reflected by being awarded ARG's off line bin contract in 1995.

Our long association with rail also extended to being the Merredin Esso agent in the 1980's and Bulk Fertiliser Service contractor in the Merredin and Southern Cross area unloading rail wagons.

 

Our core business is carting bulk agricultural commodities. We haul grain, fertilizer, gypsum and lime as well as cart livestock and pelletised feed for breeders and broilers. We operate specialized equipment that has been designed to maximize efficiency and safety.

Our customers range from corporate entities such as Wesfeeds, AWR, AWB, Grain Pool of WA, Weston Milling, Westpork Pty Ltd, Wheatbelt farmers to small rural business which we supply a range of services.

Our fleet is all company owned. This allows flexibility in allocating vehicles to particular tasks. Having company owned trucks has allowed us to standardise maintenance as well as allowing us to implement quality systems to both staff and equipment.

By using company drivers we are able to better control the task. Our supervisors are regularly on site to monitor and report issues to our customers.

At present we haul around 1 million tonnes of grain per year (10% of WA's grain harvest) making us the 1 of the largest road haulers of grain in Western Australia.

As a commitment to our customers we are continuously improving and updating our fleet. The average age of our fleet is approximately 5 years. This increases reliability and reduces down time as parts for newer vehicles are more readily available and the vehicles are easier to work on. This high level of investment has also allowed us to quickly take advantage of new technology.

Working at some remote sites, it's vital to have fuel efficient vehicles as fuel prices at these sites are up to 10 cents per litre higher than regional centres. This high fuel cost means that we must use the most efficient vehicles possible.

We have depots at Kewdale and Nangeenan which both have fully equipped and stocked workshops capable of repairing all but the most serious of breakdowns. These workshops are staffed seven days per week and are always on call should a truck break down during the night. The huge range of spare parts means that breakdowns are quickly attended to and downtime is kept to a minimum.

As part of our maintenance system we also have an on road workshop. This vehicle is fully equipped and can be called out to the site to quickly fix breakdowns. The maintenance truck regularly visits work sites to perform inspections and preventative maintenance where equipment is not due to return to a depot. This further reduces down times as the truck can quickly be on site to fix problems.

All maintenance records are computerised. This helps the maintenance staff to quickly identify previous vehicle history, access vehicle identification numbers and cross reference part numbers and stock levels The administration staff are in constant communication with maintenance staff to ensure vehicle availability is maximised.

Marley's Transport Pty Ltd is owned and operated by the Marley family. The directors are all experienced hands on people working in the company on a daily basis.

This hands on approach means that issues can be resolved easily with directors regularly on site to supervise and see first hand what happens. As all key staff are directors, stability is assured.

We are here for the long haul and our primary goal is to keep the wheels moving and the customers satisfied.

 

 

The Directors:

Frank Marley
Frank is the founder of the company. He has always been very hands on within the company in administrative roles, driving and mechanical. With so much experience under his belt and a passion for trucks that was derived from a young age Frank has been a major force in lobbying government bodies for improved standards in the trucking industry. He has been a member of many organizations and served on the board of the Livestock Transports Association of WA, Transport Forum. He has also been recognised by, and inducted into, the National Road Transport Hall of Fame for his outstanding service to the industry.

Georgina Marley
Married to Frank in 1969 Georgie has been a major part of the organization right from the beginning. Answering phones, radio's, scheduling trucks, dealing with customers, making bookings, doing accounts, even running the Nangeenan telephone exchange all while raising four boys. Georgie now holds the role of Metro division's fleet control and is actively involved in the day to day running of the business.

Stephen Marley
Stephen is the General Manager and contracts supervisor. This role allows Stephen on a daily basis to ensure that company policies and procedures are followed, standards met and goals achieved. He liaises with our customers on a regular basis and has direct control over the Merredin domestic fleet so he can ensure their requirements are quickly met.

Gregory Marley
Greg is our leading mechanic and very passionate about his work. He works closely with the manufacturers to ensure high standards of operation and safety are maintained and any issues regarding them are resolved quickly.

Russell Marley
Russell is the Metro Operations Manager and handles all aspects of the day to day running of our Perth depot. He overseas all of our customers and staff and has the difficult task of ensuring that everything runs smoothly and on time. He is also closely involved with the manufactures finding new and intuitive ways to cart and handle our customers products.

All directors are very hands on and passionate about what they do. They are multi skilled and willing to take on any challenge they think will better improve the quality of the services they provide.

In early 1998 Marleys Transport Pty Ltd embarked on a Quality System Project and as a result became Truck Safe Accredited. Not only did this accreditation stand us out from other carriers, it also increased our vehicle efficiency by allowing maintenance and operations staff more effective control over maintenance issues.

Marleys Transport are also WA Heavy Vehicle Accredited and accredited by the Cooperative Bulk handling Group as an approved supplier.

We have also implemented a preventative maintenance program that has greatly helped reduced the number of unforeseen breakdowns, increasing the reliability of our fleet and making sure we have maximum resources available for work on a daily basis.

We have a mobile maintenance workshop truck, which attends sites to fix breakdowns reducing down times.

All drivers must read a handbook upon employment and every truck carries a copy of this handbook which covers operations standards for the vehicle and the company policy and procedures on topics such as health and safety.

As part of our commitment to driver quality we utilize an online driver management system which allows us to keep accurate records of drivers licences, medical and training records and when they are due for renewal. This online system also allows us to perform driver assessments and aptitude testing in the areas of road rules, fatigue management and occupational health and safety as well as internal knowledge quizzes.

All of these accreditation schemes involve a high level of commitment from the operator and as a result Marleys have a dedicated Quality Officer that overseas all of it's accreditations to ensure they are running at the required standards.

As a commitment to training and development Marleys Transport in conjunction with CY O'Conner College of TAFE in Northam set about putting its drivers through a Certificate III in Transport and Distribution (road transport). Needs of the participants were identified through skills gap analysis and then the drivers were given the opportunity to undergo a selected course.

We were encouraged by the positive response received from participants and the overall success of the course and as a result continue to assess new employee's suitability for such training.

Other staff members participate in courses such as mechanical, administrative, accredited pilot, slewing crane, training and assessors and more. Participants range from long serving employees, new employees, apprentices and school based trainees.

To summarise, Marleys Transport Pty Ltd is a proven operator in all areas of the road transport industry. We have been carting grain and livestock for a considerable period of time and our knowledge of the industry and our loyalty to our customers stands us apart from other carriers.

Our "family values" approach to running the business and a strong local customer base ensures that we will be here for the long haul.

Our hands on approach means that customers can be confident that the job will be done right the first time and with minimum of fuss or disruption to the surrounding environment.

We are here to make it happen.