Double Coin Imaging Awards

It was late 2000 when Mark Picard and his wife Lisa founded their Rerewhakaaitu, Rotorua, transport company.

Deciding on a colour scheme turned out to be an easy part of the move into the business venture – thanks to the purchase of a one-year-old Mitsubishi logger from a Tauranga operator.

Mark explains: “The colour scheme comes from the Shogun I bought from Brian O’Malley. He was a great guy, and he was really good to me when I was getting started.”

He and Lisa clearly liked the colour scheme on the Mitsi – “in fact,” Mark confesses, “that’s one of the reasons I bought that truck. And that’s why we’ve stuck with the same colours.”

Now, as M.A. & L.P. Picard celebrates 21 years in business, the company colour scheme, still based on that first truck, will soon feature on 17 trucks….with a new addition due.

The fleet’s strong growth is explained by Mark: “We started with one truck and a couple of years later another one popped up – and we took that on. It’s just grown steadily from there.”

There has been a little fine-tuning to the livery design and colours over the past 20 years: “Originally it was a red chassis with silver bolsters. The two-tone blue has remained the same and we have changed things a bit – to an orange chassis and blue bolsters.”

The changes have been small and subtle, but effective: “About two years ago when we put on our first long-nose truck, a Kenworth T659, our driver Ra Te Ngahue, who drives this truck, designed some new graphics. That set the way forward and then we created the new company logo on the doors. 

“My wife and a friend who does some signwriting played around with some ideas and came up with the outline of a Kenworth with dual stacks behind the name. That’s how that came about, and I think it looks good,” says Mark.

The M.A. & L.P. Picard trucks are painted in Prodrive Rally Blue with a contrasting teal stripe. A specially mixed orange is used for pinstriping detail and on the truck and trailer chassis.

“Over the years Goose (Glenn) Haddock has painted quite a few of them and he does an awesome job,” says Mark.

The most recent additions to the Picard fleet are a pair of new 8x4 Kenworth T610s with a new T659 due to go on the road this month. Those trucks have arrived painted in the company colours from the Kenworth plant in Victoria.

“We’ve mainly had Signs Direct Whakatane for our signwriting over the years, but the last three trucks have been done by Darren Caulfield here in Rotorua – closer to home,’’ says Mark.

He believes that the colour scheme and quality of the graphics and finish gives the company a strong presence: “You get a lot of comments from it and people know who you are.”

The fleet consists of 14 loggers, two bulk metal trucks and the only truck not in the blue and orange colours – an Isuzu contracted to Foodstuffs, on an Auckland-Rotorua run. Kenworth, Freightliner, Mitsubishi and Volvo marques are represented in the Picard colours.

Mark says it can be hard work keeping the paintwork sparkling on the hard-working loggers: “We do use a truckwash company and our team take a lot of pride in their trucks. They have high standards when it comes to cleaning and maintenance,” he says.

“We have a T659 that’s over two-years-old now, but you wouldn’t know it. It still looks like new.

“Kenworth finishes the trucks nicely, but we get Willie Malcolm at Malcolm Cab Solutions in Rotorua to do some stainless-steel shrouding and add a few extras.

“Some drivers are like magpies and they like shiny stuff. I’m not opposed to that,” says Mark.

“I’m happy to put the shiny stuff on if they like it, because I know they will look after it. Happy drivers are the way to go.’’

Patchell Industries and Southpac Trucks also play an important role in assisting the Picard operation: “We’ve had a range of gear over the years, but in the last five years we have gone with all Patchell’s gear as they are very professional and great to deal with,” Mark says.

“Southpac Trucks in Rotorua over the years have been very helpful and are also great to deal with for parts and advice.

The trucks operate out of a Ngongotaha yard, but Mark says they will travel North Island-wide for work. For four years, for instance, the company ran log trucks out of Whangarei.

While the trucks look great, Mark’s attention is mainly on making sure they are running great, as well and he spends most of his time working alongside his son Dion in the workshop.

Says Mark: “We do almost all of the mechanical maintenance ourselves – engines, gearboxes and diffs. About the only thing we can’t do is the computers.

“We have an awesome and dedicated team here at M.A. & L.P. Picard. We are fortunate to represent some local, professional and well-established logging companies within our industry.

“Lisa and our transport manager, Nici Hinz, do the dispatching and keep up with all the paperwork. That frees me up so when I’m not in the workshop I’m either out looking for new work or I’m the general dogs-body.”