Careful Carriers owner Zacc Smith attributes the longevity of the business in part to the people that have come through it. This is not just in the family side, but also to the drivers that have made the deliveries possible.
With what has been a traditionally small fleet, everything tends to be more personal for The Careful Carriers management. Less people to manage means the ability to have more of a hands-on involvement with every person that makes the magic happen.
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As such, Zacc says that most of the drivers they’ve had over the years have continued to stick around for a long time.
“We keep guys around long term,” he says.
“I’ve found that if we look after them, they look after us. We’ve got a lot of older drivers because it isn’t physically taxing work.
“All of our trucks are tautliners, and all the gates slide along the roof. We keep everything heavily maintained, being part of the NHVAS maintenance.”
Using tautliners helps their drivers reduce the risk of back injuries through lowering the requirement for heavy lifting, and keeps the loading and unloading process as fast and efficient as possible.
Any little thing to keep drivers around and happy on the job is important to consider for every part of The Careful Carriers’ operations.
Ironically, while it is one of their biggest strengths, the aging driver workforce is also one of their primary challenges. It’s a sentiment that many trucking businesses can relate to.
The average age of truck drivers and transport workers only continues to get older. There’s not too many coming through like Zacc who started his transport life at an early age.
“It’s probably not an industry that many people come out of school and think, ‘I’m going to go straight into driving’,” he says.
“Back in the day, people used to go out with their parents and drive, but nowadays that doesn’t happen anywhere near as much. Personnel is probably the biggest struggle that the industry as a whole is dealing with right now.”
Zacc believes that the quality of training and development that is available to drivers isn’t necessarily helping getting skilled workers into the industry.
There have been calls in the past to develop truck driving into an apprenticeship, like most popular trades. It’s a task that the industry is still trying to work on its approach to.
“I think there’s a lot of people trying to figure out we need, because we need to increase the quality of drivers coming through,” Zacc says.
“That’s the challenge the industry is facing, and it’s a long-term challenge. It isn’t something that’s going to be fixed very quickly or easily. But it’s happening in a lot of industries at the moment, isn’t it?
“If you try to go and find a plumber, or an electrician, that’s difficult too. I think drivers in many cases need to be as trained as those other professions.
“You’re running around in heavy vehicles and sharing the road with families. You really need to know what you’re doing.”
As The Careful Carriers has been passed down through generations of the Smith family, each one has left their lasting mark on it which will always be remembered.
Starting the operation was one thing, but keeping it going throughout eras where so much changed from decade to decade, and then eventually year to year, is certainly no mean feat.
Seven decades in, and they show no signs of slowing down. What all started as a one contract job has been carried on through professionalism and a strong dedication to doing the best job every time.
While the trucks and people may look different, Zacc believes that what each person has left behind has helped keep The Careful Carriers doing what they do best.
“My grandfather, father and I all have our own legacy,” he says.
“My grandfather, Sid’s, legacy was starting the business. My father’s legacy was building it into a bigger operation.
“Then my legacy and the biggest change I’ve seen in my time has been compliance.”
It’s safe to say that The Careful Carriers’ legacy will continue on.
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