Peter Keen grew up in western Queensland and only bought his first truck to perform a specific job on the 12,000 acre cattle station he owned at the time.
In his description it was “just an old tipper” and he had every intention of selling it on once the job was completed as his focus then was still on farming.
As is a common story in these circumstances another opportunity popped up and that original truck was later joined by one, then another, and then some more.
Peter sold off the farm and added a bulldozer and a loader and soon decided that the costs of paying someone else to move the earthmoving machinery around could be better spent in-house.
“More out of convenience than anything I bought a Mack Titan and a float just to move my own stuff,” says Peter.
He was contacted by an acquaintance that he knew fairly well with the offer of a two-year job pulling triple roadtrains based west of Mt Isa.
Meanwhile, the tipper fleet was generating plenty of its own work and Azkeen Industries kept winning two- and three-year contracts.
A transport manager at a quarry suggested Peter look at getting a new alloy-bodied truck and dog trailer.
“He said ‘I can’t offer a signed contract, but I can give you five years of work’” recalls Peter. “I knew him reasonably well and went ahead and did it on faith and was there for the next ten years”.
Azkeen’s capabilities and reputation for diligence grew and the results were a number of large long-term contracts in North Queensland and the fleet expanded to include truck and dog tippers, semi tippers, and stag tippers, all initially hauled by Mack and Kenworth trucks.
Over time the Azkeen brand of choice transitioned to Mercedes-Benz, predominately top of the range PBS truck and dog combinations with 39.5 tonne payloads.
“Life’s a constant evolution I guess, so during that time we also started doing a bit of work for a well-known national operation carting mechanical equipment for them,” says Peter.
“That side of the business grew reasonably quickly.”
He soon found himself at a crossroads with the tempting opportunity to sell all the tipping components of the business including the trucks and trailers.
“I just knew where I wanted my life to be and it wasn’t running a big heap of trucks with a heap of staff. I didn’t want to do that anymore,” he says now.
“Don’t get me wrong, I have to work a bit harder now, but that’s nothing new and has never worried me. I’m probably away from home a bit more than I expected, but in saying that, I haven’t got young children at home anymore. We probably cashed out at a pretty good time when second-hand gear was bringing premium prices. People couldn’t buy anything after COVID and it was a year wait on a LandCruiser, let alone a new truck.”
Peter retained one employee, the now 78-year old Keith “Bubbles” Cheetham who is a bit of a legend in the north and drives the Mercedes-Benz Actros which was formerly Peter’s “own” truck which he describes as “the flash one I built for myself.”
A number of trusted sub-contractors are also engaged.
“The key to transport is communication. I say all the time: ‘Did you let them know?’” says Peter.
In the slimmed down Azkeen operation Peter now takes the wheel of a Freightliner Cascadia which is typically found pulling a three-trailer roadtrain combination.
“The Cascadia is the safest truck I’ve ever driven with heaps of room, it’s comfortable and easy to drive, and is good on fuel,” he adds.
That Cascadia is powered by a 600hp Detroit DD16 backed by a DT12 automated manual transmission.
An 18-speed manual might usually be expected as the preferred transmission for Peter’s application, but he is a strong advocate for the two-pedal solution.
“I’m never going to drive a manual again,” Peter declares. “Things evolve. Think about the first bloke who bought the first car that didn’t have a crank handle and instead had a starter motor. Or the first motorbike that didn’t have a kick starter.”
The Cascadia and the Actros were purchased through, and continue to be serviced by, the local Daimler dealership, RGM Maintenance in Townsville, with whom Peter has a long and strong relationship.
The Azkeen Cascadia is distinctive due to its black bullbar and fuel tanks and array of LED lights which give it a unique road presence.
But there’s a more practical reason behind the choice of black anodising.
“I’m lazy, so I’m sick of polishing them,” explains Peter.
“I’ve had all shiny trucks my whole life and I thought there has got to be a way around it and still look distinctive. It’s the only one like it and it’s a talking point. Some people don’t even know what sort of truck it is and ask if I imported it. I tell them it’s just a dirty old Freightliner Cascadia with some extra love. Don’t get me wrong: it’s a big tractor, eh? It’s a big truck and it’s meant for what I use it for — long distance trips and living in it. I can drive to Perth and back and not be buggered when I get home.”
The loads Peter moves are always varied, from bagged cement to shipping containers to plant and machinery and even 200-tonne locomotives on a 13-row float.
The weather can exert a strong influence on transport operations in northern Australia and ensuring adequate cash flow during the wet season concentrated around January and February is an important and cyclic business requirement.
“People talk about the downturn in the economy and the high cost-of-living, but I went through 17 per cent interest, so I don’t think the current rates are too bad” says Peter.
“Back in the day I’ve paid trucks off at 17 per cent. I think the reason people squeal so much about the cost-of-living is because they’ve over capitalised and are over committed.”
Growing up on a family cattle station probably laid the groundwork for Peter’s success as an adult with discipline and self-sufficiency at the core of rural life.
“Not everyone should work for themselves and not everyone has the grit to do it,” he says.
“Discipline is a big thing. In any business you’ve got to go flat out for a few years before you really start making some money and you’ve really got to grind away at it and make smart decisions. A dollar saved is a dollar earned I always say. It’s not the money you earn, it’s the money you save.”
The fuel efficiency delivered by the Cascadia is certainly a contributor to those savings.
