Pizza Party Hire scales up with Isuzu

Melbourne-based mobile catering business, Pizza Party Hire, has invested in an Isuzu food truck to accommodate business growth.

Specialising in woodfired pizza, owners Mark and Paula Beeby originally began their business in a passenger van and a light trailer.

After deciding a transition was needed to a larger oven to meet the growing demands of their clientele, Mark Beeby approached Westar Trucks in Derrimut to help equip him with what he needed to run his niche operation.

Working with Isuzu’s engineering software, Mark Beeby ordered an Isuzu NLR 45-150 which is Pizza Party Hire’s first fully integrated woodfired pizza truck.

With a total load capacity of 1,400kg the modified truck is designed to expand the kitchen on one side, with the opposite side available for storage.

The truck also features a mobile cool room which is towed on a trailer behind the truck, allowing Mark to keep perishables separate from other materials.

It also includes a barista station and awnings where benches can be placed underneath on hot days, creating a welcoming environment.

Transitioning from van to truck, the choice of six-speed automatic transmission and the ability to be driven on a standard car licence has been of huge benefit to Mark Beeby, giving him more flexibility in catering for his ever-growing customer base.

“The whole set-up gives us flexibility with the cooking, and we can also have a range of configurations depending on the space – plus, for bigger events, we can easily have more staff on without tripping over each other,” said Mark Beeby.

With the first truck, exceeding their expectations Mark and Paula Beeby began planning for a second unit, with a larger 1,200kg oven so that they could cook up to nine pizzas at any one time.

Again, working closely with Westar Trucks and using Isuzu’s engineering software, a NMR 65/45-150 with a load capacity of 2,355kg was selected with a matching customer kitchen designed by Alltruck Bodies.

“This time in the design we added an air deflector on the roof of the cab and the body – we also ended up adding a similar scoop for our smaller truck,” said Mark Beeby.

That aerodynamic addition made a big difference to the stability of the setup and an impact on fuel consumption.

Beeby said it also improved the look of the truck which is important at events.

“I am pleased with the performance of both trucks, as well as the creature comforts, especially the AMT transmission,” he said.

As business continues to grow, Beeby recently introduced a food truck experience at caravan parks on the Murray River and Lake Eildon in Victoria as well as evolving the business to focus on catering for private and corporate bookings.

Business is booming according to Beeby.

“Right now, we are 30 per cent public events with the rest as exclusive bookings,” he said.

“I have no doubt that scaling-up with Isuzu Trucks has been the single best decision we have made for the business.”