Sargent celebrates 40 years in business

In time for the company’s 40th birthday celebration, Sargent announced it is now one of Australia's leading national fleet services companies.

Boasting a fleet size of 3,800 vehicles, it can provide rental and maintenance of commercial vehicles throughout the country, servicing the mining, infrastructure and construction industries, as well as a range of special projects.

The company’s ever-growing fleet comprises an extensive range of 4WDs, 2WDs, trucks, buses and specialised vehicles that are provided over a national network of 17 company-owned branches and agencies.

The Sargent of today is the result of the merger of two vehicle rental companies, Four Wheel Drive Hire Service and Sargent Truck Lease and Rental, which occurred in 2007.

The seeds of the business, however, were first planted in 1972, when young insurance salesman Tom Foley visited a client who owned several Land Rovers, which were available for hire at Stone’s Corner in Brisbane’s south side.

Foley and the owner of Four Wheel Drive Hire Service, Bob Beard, did business and insured the vehicles, two of which were rented out to Shell Exploration. The pair kept in contact and Tom did Bob’s bookkeeping.

By 1995, the business had grown to around 250 vehicles and was steadily developing an expertise in infrastructure development before merging with Sargent Truck Lease and Rental in 2007.

“Tom Foley and Bob Beard were driven by a commitment to continuous improvement, good old-fashioned dedication to hard work and to deliver a quality product with matching service, these are the same values which continue to drive Sargent today,” said current Sargent CEO, Zac Zahner.

“The business began with a simple desire to build something from the ground up and most importantly, to build it to last. Forty years on it lives on as Sargent, which is proudly continuing to expand and grow its operations across Australia.”