Heading into the 2000s saw a change of tact for Cyril Kenworthy & Sons fleet. We take an in-depth look in Part 2.
Last month, we looked at the Cyril Kenworthy fleet in various guises from the ’80s through to the late ’90s.
The 2000s saw a change of tact for the hard-working Kenworthy family when the decision was made to become a contractor to Freightlines Limited, and Kenworthys then ran numerous trucks in both their linehaul and swinglift/container divisions. This was essentially the end of the Cyril Kenworthy and Sons’ white and blue livery and several of the trucks in those colours were re-painted in Freightlines’ familiar two-tone green and white.
At least one Kenworthy’s truck received three different liveries during its service, sporting Phoenix Freight colours from new, then into Cyril Kenworthy and Sons’ livery before receiving the Freightlines treatment as seen on these pages. All three sons — Wayne, Mark, and Brian — remained involved in the management and running of Cyril Kenworthy and Sons during this time.
New trucks joined the Kenworthy fleet in the early 2000s with a pair of near-identical C12 Cat-powered 6500 Iveco Powerstars joining the ranks in 2002 and a Cursor-powered (Iveco’s own branded engine) 6300 facelift Powerstar joined on swinglift duties soon after. These Powerstars were day cab versions and three new ‘big gun’ 6700 Powerstars were added in 2003 and 2004. These were top-of-the-line high-roof sleeper cab versions and looked more imposing with the facelift and square bonnets than those on the earlier models.
When Freightlines decided to cease with the container division in Christchurch, Kenworthys took the opportunity to become their own entity again and engaged solely in this work. One truck that was an instant standout was one of the 6700 Powerstars that was liveried in the bright white Agility Logistics branding. Another standout was a limited All Black-edition Iveco Stralis 8×4 tractor unit. The rest of the fleet remained similar to the previous Freightlines livery with subtle differences, such as a large yellow strip and, of course, the Kenworthys signage.
When the Cyril Kenworthy and Sons’ container division was sold to Summerland Express Freight, the three brothers took on their own endeavours. Mark and Brian remained involved in the transport sector, while Wayne founded Kenworthy Transport Services and contracted several trucks to Halls Refrigerated Transport.
In 2019, Kenworthy Transport Services formed a relationship with Cooltranz, and the company remains a contractor to this day, running 15 trucks of various makes and models, including six Kenworths, two Volvos, six tried-and-trusted Ivecos, and a Freightliner.
The Kenworthy name remains synonymous with transport and from a rich history of a hard-working Cantabrian trucking family.
Images by Dean Middleton