Special feature: Ngati Haulage
Storm Harrison swapped life in the army for a life in the trucking industry. Deals on Wheels went to get the story.
Legacy truck
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The KW T909 aka The Devil’s Taxi has become a legend in trucking circles
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Even though Storm Harrison’s company name, Ngati Haulage Ltd, is now on the door of his 2012 Kenworth T909, he has left much of former owner Robin Mackersey’s (Macca) imprint intact, out of respect for the man.
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Nice work by hot-rod painter, Steve Levine
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"I’ve left everything as original as I could. Macca’s name is still there under our sign. The truck has a few battle scars but still looks stunning; hot-rod painter Steve Levine did the paintwork," says Storm.
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Storm and driver, Ben Morris who is usually at the helm of the Devil’s Taxi
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Storm bought the KW, known as the Devil’s Taxi, four years ago. It’s one of six rigs with equally distinctive names: Forest Grump, Nahele Wesa, Beer Essentials, Filthy Cat, and Ghost Rider. All belonged to RB Mackersey Transport Ltd in Taupo.
Macca, a well-known logging transport operator in the district, passed away in 2018. Before that, he’d sold the KW to an operator in Masterton, and when Storm heard it was up for sale, he bought it.
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The Devil’s Taxi used to be contracted to Self Loader Logging Ltd in Taupo
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The truck came into the country as a show truck and was one of the first T909 logging trucks in New Zealand. "There weren’t many six-wheelers around in logging at the time," says Storm.
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Extra length gear stick
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While he has left most things intact, he has made a few changes: "I had the horsepower upped from 600 to 680hp; the DPF muffler has been replaced with a resonator so everyone can hear it coming down the road.
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All set for the skipper to take control
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I’ve added a new turbo to boost hooked onto the Cummins engine, a new gearbox, and a new front differential. It has done 863,000km, so will be due for a rebuild soon. We’re hot on our maintenance, and if you look after these trucks, they’ll last forever."
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Macca had the trailer custom built for the Kenworth
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The trailer is a four-axle Patchell trailer and was custom built for the truck. "We’ve relined the brakes on the trailer and redone the bolsters. We had to adapt it for our use—it has a sliding front bolster so the trailer can fit on the back of the truck—that works in connectivity with the [allowable] weights over the steerers."
Army life
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Storm, while on deployment in East Timor in 2012. Australian UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter.
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Before establishing Ngati Haulage, Storm had a long and successful career with the NZ Army, starting when he left school in Napier, aged 17. It was a life he says he thoroughly enjoyed. He did his military training at Waiouru Military Camp in 1998.
He was in the regular force for 14 years, with five operational deployments: three in
East Timor, Sinai—Israel and Egypt, and Antarctica. "The best job I ever had was commanding troops.
I left the regular force as section a commander and corporal. My last deployment was in East Timor in 2012 where I was transport NCO (non-commissioned officer) in charge of all the soft-skinned and armoured vehicles.
Having served in Timor when I was still a teenager and returned in my 30s, it was good to see the positive changes that had taken place. After my last tour, I was posted to Papakura Military Camp, Auckland." He is still active in a part-time role with the army.
"My unit is the 38CSSB Battalion based at Linton Military Camp in Palmerston North, but because I live in Napier, I train here with the 5/7 Battalion now and then then. It scratches the itch to don the uniform now and then."
After leaving the regular force in 2013, Storm returned to Napier where, for some time, he worked for his younger brother Jarvis Harrison (DOW 342) on night shift, driving a Freightliner for Pan Pac. He also worked for Taylor Self-loading and Rob Harper of Harper Log Transport.
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The 2007 Mack Titan that Storm drove in Western Australia
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Working in Western Australia’s mines helped Storm establish his own trucking business, a goal he’d had for some time. "I worked in Port Hedland for Jamieson Transport on a fly-in, fly-out contract.
I did three years on the road and a year in the office, but while I enjoyed it, not seeing my wife Diana and watching my kids (he has two sons and two daughters) growing up from there was hard. It was like going away on a deployment every six weeks.
However, the time I spent working in WA enabled me to buy my truck, a 2002 T950 Kenworth." Storm has no regrets about his late career change. Trucking is something he grew up alongside, just as Jarvis did.
"Dad had logging trucks and was contracted to Pan Pac. We used to go with him for rides all the time—that’s how we learned." Storm’s son Sonny, aged 12, is his right-hand man and is already keen to learn the ropes and help around the yard.
Ngati Haulage
Storm says he called the company Ngati Haulage because, as he explains, "everyone is a Ngati. It doesn’t matter who you are or where you are from. ‘Ngati’ for me means you belong to something.
Ngati refers to me, whether it’s an iwi, tribe, or whanau. My iwi hail from Ngati Porou up the East Cape. Hence, it says Napier—Te Puia, where Dad is from on the truck. That’s where it originates from."
Ngati Haulage is contracted to Harvest Logistics. "Most of the wood comes out of Putere, Raupanga, and Frasertown near Wairoa. On Napier–Taupo Road, we head as far as Waitara Road on the other side of Titiokura.
Sometimes, we go to Masterton, but most of our carts are up Napier–Wairoa Road. That road is notorious; you need to have the perfect gear. It’s unforgiving if you don’t know what you are up to."
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Storm and his son, Sonny, who appears a likely contender to join the trucking ranks one day
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Storm employs two drivers, Ben Morris and Darron Laking and says they’re a tight team. Ben has been driving for 10 years, gaining his heavy traffic licenses while driving for Emmerson Transport in Hastings.
"I went through the ranks and got my Class 5 and went nationwide doing freight. Then I switched to working for Storm, which, having a young family, works better than the long-haul runs," Ben says.
Storm appreciates how quickly Ben has picked up driving the logging truck. Finding good drivers is one of the hardest things he says. "It’s best to park the truck up if you can’t find a good one. A lot of fellows don’t train up as well as they should, in my opinion.
Working in forestry is a skill. You’ve got to use your brain all the time and get yourself out of some tight situations, especially in the bush. You must adapt to whatever is coming towards you. It takes a lot of skill to operate a seven-axle truck and trailer.
The KW, being a six-wheeler with a big bonnet and heading into some very narrow places, can be stressful. I’m lucky Ben picked it up very fast. You can’t put just anyone on those.
"Besides, he goes the extra mile, like coming in on a Sunday to make sure the truck is polished up ready for the photoshoot." Storm adds that he and his drivers are family-oriented: "We try to include our kids down here.
The trucks take over your life. I’m down here seven days a week and have to spread the time between work and home, which is a juggle. I’ve changed my hours to catch up on administration in the morning.
I used to start driving at midnight and do a 12- to 13-hour day, then do administration and get some sleep after that. It’s full-on. Sometimes I say it was easier commanding troops."
Positive future
Storm is optimistic about the future of the logging industry in New Zealand. "There are always trees that need to be chopped down and where we’re right now in the industry is a good place to be. You’ve got to keep moving, no matter what’s in your path. You’ve got to run through that brick wall.
"Since I’ve been in business, we’ve had many ups and downs that we’ve had to overcome and are still here and running. You have to. You can’t give up. These fellows (drivers) are like my whanau. I’ve got to look after them.
Often, they’ll say, ‘there’s the boss,’ and I say, ‘Nah, I’m your workmate, bro.’ You must stay humble, eh? Jarvis and I grew up with not a lot; Mum and Dad worked their backsides off and always supported our goals. We’ve been fortunate to have always had good people around us."
In a few months, Storm will take ownership of a new Scania 730S with a Scania 770S to follow later this year. These will be a replacement fleet for his Kenworths. Taking these positive and decisive steps, he looks forward to a good future for his whanau.
Storm says he feels blessed and "wants to thank everyone who has helped and supported me and my whanau to get us where we are today."
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