Forty, fifty years back, Cates Brothers was this little trucking business in Titoki – out northwest of Whangarei, on the road to Kaikohe.

Local farmers Colin and Bill Cates had three or four trucks – carting metal from the quarry they operated on a nearby farm.

Fast-forward to 2023….and Cates Bros is now a 21-truck business – running all tippers, except for one transporter unit (to shift a couple of diggers they also run). 

Where Colin and brother Bill used to be the owners, now it’s two of Colin’s four sons – Snow and Scally.

So it’s not too difficult to imagine that this is one of those family transport businesses that have simply, seamlessly transitioned from one generation to the next.

Easy to believe….but that’s not at all how it’s happened! The path from there to here – while it does involve family, loyal clients and a love of trucks that was born from being the kids of truckies – has been much less straightforward.

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