Against the Grain
Travelling the distance of the Earth’s circumference two and a half times every day and carting 500,000 tonnes of bulk commodities around Western Australia monthly is possible for Campbell Transport with Bruce Rock Engineering’s durable trailers.
Based in Western Australia, Campbell Transport has offered a wide range of logistics-related services to its clients for over 20 years.
Having begun the business with a focus on agricultural bulk haulage in 1997, Campbell Transport has since diversified its services and progressively grown to now offer clients a much wider range of services. These include bulk haulage with extensive mine site experience, off road bulk haulage in larger payload custom road trains, general freight, agricultural bulk haulage and grain handling, storage and warehousing solutions, oversized loads and heavy haulage operations, earthmoving and road maintenance tasks, and a harvesting capability for multiple commodities.
Due to its plethora of operations, Campbell Transport has gained extensive experience hauling on highway using specialised equipment such as Performance Based Standards (PBS) road trains and other combinations, depending on what is required for the job to ensure maximum efficiency. Its fleet of over 400 trailers – mostly of Bruce Rock Engineering’s (BRE) finest tippers – is expected to grow with a further 30 on order from the manufacturer to increase grain capacity and close to an extra 100 trailers per year.
Campbell Transport Managing Director, David Campbell, says that by building its trailers to be durable in the harshest conditions, BRE has proven itself to be a perfect match for his operations in WA. “We’ve used them predominantly in the side tipper market, and we think they’re the best side tipper in the market for what we do,” he says. “We started dealing with BRE in 2016 because of the payload and stability on their trailers. We wanted to be able to maximise our payload, which is the most important part, and we also needed a combination that was stable and safe on the road.” Campbell’s BRE end tippers are made of steel rather than alloy.
“They have a good tare weight and they carry a good cubic capacity, which is important for us,” David says. “Access to be able to use it is vital too, and with ladders and clear access to the points you have to get up to, these tippers are a great addition to the fleet. It’s just a very high-quality and durable product overall. They handle quite well, and they’ve given us no problems at this point.”
Campbell Transport has several ongoing iron ore bulk haulage contracts out of Port Hedland and lithium cartage into Esperance for Mineral Resources running over 120 trucks and 70 PBS road trains every day of the year. It also received a Bunge Grain Services contract award in Bunbury, which sees the fleet play a major role in the transport of grain through WA. “We have a contract for the Bunge work which we’re doing so in a partnership,” David says. “We’ve started another company which is a joint venture between us and GLW Freight Management. We started a company called Linkris, and that has a contract for the grain which we organise all the trucks for the Bunbury contract. We pay them to improve efficiencies in the transport part of it.”
Campbell Transport’s client requirements have increased with each contract awarded, which requires it to constantly ensure it has sufficient equipment and personnel to manage each increase – to allow it to continuously hit targets safely. David says BRE has played a key role in these operations. “Their ability to build large quantities in the time that we’ve needed them has also helped significantly,” he says. “They also have good aftersales service, and they have probably more regional depots in WA than any other trailer builder, which is a big factor for us.”
With a continuously expanding fleet to meet the demands of clients and a growing footprint within the bulk commodity storage and handling space, Campbell Transport is a key player in WA’s grain and mining industries. And, with the help of BRE’s tippers and unique PBS combinations, it will continue to make its mark in these sectors for years to come.