Often referred to as the greatest game of all, rugby league instills the values of teamwork and discipline, with players combining individual skills and talent to achieve the best outcomes for both team and club.
That same dedication has been adopted by James John ‘Jim’ Lawson for the past 50 years in his eponymous customs clearance, freight and transport business of JJ Lawson Pty Ltd.
The footy loving, diehard North Sydney Bears fan has built the family-run business on a foundation of teamwork and dedication to their craft.
For the Lawson team the commitment has always been to their ‘club’ — the customer.
Celebrating its golden anniversary this year, the company operates a multi-faceted business from its Mascot headquarters in the thick of Sydney’s dynamic transport hub.
It employs more than 60 people across its services of customs clearances, freight forwarding, storage and warehousing, transport and consultancy services.
The family business, which has trained Jim’s three sons, Martin, Gavin and Greg, throughout the years has come a long way from those early days in 1975 when it was a fledgling two-man customs clearance outfit, operating from humble offices in Coleman Street, Mascot.
The business may not have physically moved far, but it has expanded its operations in leaps and bounds over the years.
After operating from various shared yards around the Botany area, JJ Lawson made the decision to secure a permanent home for its growing fleet in the late 1990s prompting the first major shift in its operational footprint.
While the company roots remain firmly planted in Mascot — where its head office still operates today — the move to Seville Street in Villawood wasn’t just about parking trucks, but about expanding what the business could offer.
With that space came the ability to introduce container storage, unpacks, and warehousing into the service portfolio.
Having outgrown the Villawood yard, the entire transport fleet by 2008 had been transplanted to JJ Lawson’s current site in Chipping Norton. The new location featured a purpose-built warehouse and over 6,000m² of container-rated hardstand.
“Whether or not it boosted the external profile of the business I’m not sure but internally, it was transformative,” says Greg Lawson, General Manager Transport & Warehousing.
“Strategically, the move gave us the best of both worlds: a central location within Sydney’s rapidly expanding freight and logistics corridor, and immediate access to the M5 with a direct route to and from Port Botany.”
Growing up as the fourth of six children in the suburb of Mosman, on Sydney’s lower north shore, Jim’s strong family connections nurtured a respect for teamwork and helping others.
As part of a busy family, he enjoyed spending time with his parents and siblings, while also making time for his passions for football, sailing and just hanging out with his mates.
His first part time jobs, as a schoolboy, showcased his flair for customer service and an entrepreneurial spirit. As a portent for his future career, his after-school jobs included delivering papers, early morning milk deliveries and helping the chemist with local deliveries.
It wasn’t too long before Jim, as a 17-year-old, took on a full-time job in 1958 with customs brokers, Jackson & Spring Pty Ltd in Bathurst Street, Sydney.
He learned a lot from his early role in the workforce, and it would be these experiences and knowledge that would support him in his future career, operating his own customs clearance outfit. In 1962, Jim obtained his Customs Brokers license, being the youngest person in NSW to obtain that qualification.
A year later, Jim married Jenny and their plans to expand the Lawson family soon came to life with the birth of their first son, Martin in 1969.
Bears at North Sydney Oval.
The Lawson clan soon expanded with the births of Gavin in 1970 and Greg in 1974. Jim instilled in the boys his love of rugby league and his beloved North Sydney Bears, with the family often found at North Sydney Oval on a Sunday afternoon watching the Bears heroes dazzle the admiring crowds.
The ‘70s proved to be a watershed period for Jim, with the sale of Jackson & Spring to Royal Interocean Lines prompting him to branch out on his own, forming JJ Lawson, on 1 April 1975, as a small custom brokerage.
Buoyed by boundless family support, including from his wife Jenny as bookkeeper, the business steadily grew with a loyal customer base.
Jim’s focus was so devoted to customer satisfaction that the business still works with some of its original clients. Greg’s earliest memories of the business revolve around his father’s tireless work to grow it.
“The lessons and knowledge I received were imparted mainly from his fairness, generosity, integrity, loyalty and humour,” he says.
“We humbly strive to follow these today.”
Jim’s formative, schoolboy entrepreneurial approaches and attention to customer service soon came to the fore in his business venture when he bought his first truck in the early 1980s.
After seeing a gap in the local market, Jim’s decision to start the business’s own transport services rather than using subcontractors paid off, as he saw a boost in goods transportation.
While Greg can’t be certain of the first model of truck the business purchased, the very first prime mover to enter operations was a second-hand Atkinson sometime in the 1980s.
“That Atkinson marked our first real step toward becoming a fleet, having control, accountability, and the ability to deliver on our word not just cross our fingers and hope,” he says.
“That said, the wheels fell off fairly quickly on our hope. In its very first week on the road, the transmission gave out.”
The mechanic’s diagnosis? Someone had stuffed banana peels in the gearbox to hide the problem. It was both a hard and messy lesson but one that shaped the company’s approach for decades to come.
From that moment, Jim made a mental note to himself to focus on buying new trucks and trailers.
The mantra now was to avoid buying other operators’ problems. For this past decade, the fleet has been under a service and maintenance agreement.
According to Greg that has provided predictability when it comes to operating costs and, more importantly, peace of mind.
“Knowing that unscheduled repairs and maintenance are handled promptly means we can focus on what matters — delivering for our clients,” he says.
“In recent years, though, the conversation has shifted from just maintaining the fleet to optimising its size. We’ve always prided ourselves on retaining our company drivers long-term — and our record speaks for itself — but sourcing new, high-quality drivers has become more challenging than it should be.”
While work volumes fluctuate and a strong subcontractor network remains essential, the priority for JJ Lawson is to own and operate as much of its day-to-day fleet as possible.
“Company trucks with company drivers give us consistency, service control, and accountability, all things we value highly,” says Greg. “It’s a balancing act, but it’s one we’re committed to getting right.”
At the heart of JJ Lawson was its commitment to Jim’s core values of exceptional service, fairness and honesty to both customers and staff.
“One of our major successes is our staff,” he says.
“We have a long list of long-term dedicated people in all parts of our business who have contributed so much to the company.”
That dedication has seen the company’s employee ranks include several brother/sister, father/son and brothers-in-law combinations.
It is a generational business, with current driver Brandon Morris’ father Terry being one of their first employees back in 1978.
“He worked as a Customs Broker and was our Customs Manager when he retired in 2020,” recalls Greg.
“Terry was a cornerstone of the business during its formative years. His loyalty and reliability gave clients the confidence that they weren’t just another number — they were in good hands.”
Today, Brandon carries the family legacy forward behind the wheel of a Mack Anthem 6×4 535hp MP8 day cab set up to tow a B-double slope deck trailer combination capable of carrying 2 x 20’ ISO Tanks.
“In a business like ours, those generational links mean something,” says Greg.
“They’re not just nostalgic — they’re a reflection of the strong culture, loyalty, and values that continue to drive JJL today.”
Indeed, the company’s focus on its core values also extends to the wider community with Jim and the business supporting many local sporting teams and community groups over the last 50 years.
For more than 20 years the Lawsons have worked closely with Surf Life Saving NSW, supporting state and country carnivals by providing transport and storage facilities.
They have also been long-time sponsors of the Collaroy Surf Club March Past team, and have supported many local charitable organisations and events over the years.
At the foundation of that community support has been the business’s almost fanatical support for the North Sydney Bears, firmly cemented since the early 1980s.
The Lawson family has certainly embedded itself in the DNA of the logistics business, with all three of Jim’s sons representing the company. Jim’s second son, Gavin was first to join the business in 1995 after completing a plumbing trade.
Greg followed in 1999 after finishing his electrical trade and eldest son, Martin came on board in 2002 after also completing an electrical trade and having previously worked in the industry.
Gavin sadly passed away in 2001. Jim remained at the helm of the company until his retirement in 2018, but a viable succession plan had been discussed as far back as 2007. It was then that Jim laid out the future direction of the business by announcing that Marty and Greg, would take over the company’s reins.
Myriad challenges both prior that watermark and since then have had to be overcome.
From waterfront disputes and legislative changes to cash flow crunches, bad debts, and even the chaos of the COVID-19 pandemic — each has forced JJ Lawson to pause, reassess, and adapt.
“These moments weren’t always easy, but they were necessary,” says Greg.
“They have made us sharper, more resilient, and more strategic.” Greg foresees the fleet in ten years’ time being better but not necessarily bigger.
“Technology will play an even greater role in how we manage everything from route optimisation to preventative maintenance. I’d expect to see part of our fleet electric or hybrid,” he says.
“I hope we’re still running a fleet of company-owned vehicles and long-term drivers. Ideally being managed by many of the same operational team members we have today who know our systems, our clients, and our standards inside out.”
Jim, at 84 years old, can now enjoy the fruits of his labour, assured that his 50-year ethos of providing supreme customer service continues today with the next generation of Lawson leaders.
When it comes to the important question of his all-time favourite North Sydney Bears player, he can’t help but nominate two. Winger Ken Irvine – greased lightning – with the all time Rugby League try scoring record; and club games record holder Greg Florimo.
“Skillful, tough, humble, and always turned up,” he says. “Even when the scoreboard didn’t.” Virtues one might look to build a successful business on.
