Kaikoura earthquake has a silver lining for St Arnaud's McCrostie Trucking
Increasing the size of his fleet and workforce to deal with the aftermath of the Kaikoura, Waiau earthquake has won Daryl McCrostie the Linehaul Contractor of the Year at the Fastway Couriers Excellence Awards
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St Arnaud
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With the closure of State Highway 1 down the Kaikoura Coast, all road traffic was diverted over an inland route through the Lewis Pass and Murchison.
"That threw us out of whack. It was a huge effort to keep going," Daryl says.
"It added four hours to a return trip between Blenheim and Christchurch. One driver couldn’t do a return trip because he would be working too long so I needed more drivers."
And with more distance to travel over a six-day week, another truck and trailer unit was required to link depots in Blenheim, Nelson and Greymouth with Christchurch.
Scott Jenyns, CEO of Fastway Couriers New Zealand, says, "Daryl has gone above and beyond the challenges that were presented to ensure freight was delivered into Nelson and Marlborough as early as possible.
"McCrostie Trucking got the job done no matter what hurdles were thrown their way."
Scott adds that Daryl and his team were efficient, consistent, and willing to go the extra mile. "He’s an absolute pleasure to work with."
McCrostie Trucking has contracted to Fastway’s linehaul operation for nine years and three years ago made the decision to move to a base at St Arnaud by the Nelson Lakes National Park.
"It’s central to most of our operations—only an hour to Nelson or Blenheim and two hours to Greymouth," Daryl says. "It made our operation more efficient."
Previously the operation had been based at Kirwee, 40 kms outside Christchurch.
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