Hail to the Chief

After 20 years with Toll, Ross Longmire joined Followmont Transport in late 2021 and was appointed CEO in late 2024.

Prime Mover: You transitioned from a big corporate entity to what is essentially a family-run company. From a senior management perspective is there a lot of difference?
Ross Longmire: I didn’t come from a transport family, and it’s been almost 24 years since I got into transport. During my first 20 years at Toll, I moved around Australia in numerous state roles. I think the biggest difference now is probably the speed in which a decision can become an action. The large corporate structure probably wasn’t for me in the longer term, and having known Followmont for 15 years, and a couple of those years as a customer, the opportunity came up with Mark Tobin to join Followmont. I thoroughly enjoy the family feel and the culture inside the Followmont team.

PM: The Australian road transport industry has a lot of challenges anyway, but particularly with what the industry has had to deal with during recent weather events on the East Coast. What things does the industry do well in such circumstances?
RL: The industry support and relationships were clearly evidenced through any of the recent natural disasters, including support from the Queensland Trucking Association and other industry bodies which have the right level of engagement to understand what the road network is like and the importance of freight getting through. At those times the industry works really well together in the way they communicate with one another, and the way they’ll work together to get the most important items to their destinations, whether it’s pharmaceuticals, health care products, generators, food or even items for the clean-up. They engage very well to make those things happen. There’s enough freight moving around Australia for everyone to do their own little bit and to see any differences put aside at those times is just amazing. I’m certain there aren’t too many other industries which would do it as well as road transport.

PM: Does that spirit of co-operation at the corporate level flow throughout the entire organisation?
RL: It’s at a driver level as well. You’ll see the older experienced drivers who’ve been through this sort of thing before supporting the younger drivers, not just inside Followmont. We’ve also had some other carriers ask if they could run up through Queensland with some of our drivers to be able to know the right way to handle the circumstances. And it’s just the right thing to do. It’s not questioned and it’s not seen as a competitive advantage for our business. I’m sure similar things happen right throughout the industry. At a time when drivers for many operators were incredibly uncomfortable, we looked at how to go about making them more comfortable.

PM: Is enough being done to address the shortage of a skilled workforce, including drivers?
RL: I see this as the most significant challenge we have inside the business that we can influence. We want to make sure we continue to grow a career pathway and provide progression opportunities for people. Followmont has a heavy investment in our internal training and also the leadership development of our people. We love seeing people come into the business and progress through. It’s going to be critical for the overall industry across the next few years to look at how we can actually do better than what we are doing at the moment.

PM: Recruitment is one step but is getting people to stay in the industry a bigger challenge?
RL: It certainly is. When you go through events like we’ve had during the last couple of months it’s really hard on them. They can plan to be away for one day and end up being away for three, and that disrupts not just the drivers, but it disrupts their families as well. At a family company like Followmont you can really see the focus on the impacts on families. It’s important for us to support our people and have them for the long haul. Retention isn’t just about pay or benefits, it’s about making sure our people know they’re a part of something. We’ve got multiple generations of families working here, and it’s almost a competition to see who has the most relatives in the business. That sense of connection is what makes Followmont different.

PM: Can technology be implemented to play a part in attracting and retaining people?
RL: It’s essentially about improving comfort. As the new models come out you can see the increased focus on creating the right environment for the drivers. It’s a lot more prevalent than it was 20 years ago. At Followmont all of our vehicles used in linehaul have camera technology installed in them. We’re also looking at how we can further utilise that vision for driver training and understanding factors such as the impact of other road users’ behaviour on them. When we look at the fatigue technology we want to utilise the lead-up before the eyes are seen closing and how we can start to recognise the patterns prior to that point in order to alert people to a potential fatigue event. I absolutely think such technology is going to be even more critical as we move forward. I think we’ll start to see significant change in that space during the next three to five years. Hopefully sooner if it makes the roads safer. I think there’s an exciting time ahead with the potential for use of Artificial Intelligence in transport given the amount of data we capture.

PM: Followmont has always been an early adopter of technology. You’ve also got a couple of electric trucks. Is this a serious ‘toe in the water’ or is it about being seen to be ‘green’?
RL: We’ve got two electric Volvos working inside the network at the moment. For us it is a serious move. We like to be early adopters and that’s why we made the decision to go with a rigid and a prime mover because we wanted to understand where the right opportunity would be for those vehicles going forward. We wanted to make sure we were understanding early-on what the potential downsides and upsides were. When we see the sustainability changes become more efficient, whether hydrogen or electric, and able to be used more widely inside networks, then we will know what we need to do and where we need to be.