Whether it’s on the road or on the racetrack, the Uhlenberg name is hard to miss. They are a tight knit group that share a passion for the ‘big gear’, Speedway and stay true to their family virtues - and for that, they are this month’s Southpac legends.

Uhlenberg Haulage was founded in 1966 by Mike and Carol Uhlenberg, but its origins extend back further to Mike’s father, James (Tim) Uhlenberg, and his 80-acre dairy farm in Mangatoki.

“Tim was a farmer but had a love of machinery,” says Daryl Uhlenberg. “He always had engines and cars like DeSotos and big American V8s, and that rubbed off on dad.”

Mike Uhlenberg was born at Eltham in the Taranaki in 1939 and spent his childhood on his parent’s dairy farm. Evidently not overly academically minded, his father Tim told him that he could leave school if he gained an apprenticeship. So, at the age of 15 Mike signed up to the first apprenticeship he could find and became an apprentice linotype printer at the local Eltham Argus newspaper.

However, while working as a printer (which he hated and resigned on the day he completed apprenticeship), Mike also helped Tim, who by now had purchased a bus company.

“Dad was repairing the buses by night and driving them on tours and sports trips at the weekends. He enjoyed driving but didn’t like waiting around for his passengers,” says Daryl.

Mike then began work for the local dairy company, as a tanker driver by morning, and spent the remainder of the day washing and maintaining the small fleet of tankers. However, two years later Mike headed for Wollongong Australia where he gained full time employment as a truck driver and that’s where he saw ‘big rigs’ in action.

Prior to leaving for Aussie, Mike had met local girl Carol Williamson who then regularly joined him overseas. They returned to NZ to marry in 1966, opting to live at Bell Block.

That same year Mike and Carol decided to become self-employed, so they purchased a petrol Commer from Ken Pardington and a Goods Service Licence with a Ministry of Works contract. They had to sell their car and furniture and get a loan from Carol’s father to pay for it all.

At the end of each day’s work for the MOW, Mike and his truck began moonlighting after hours - carrying commodities for local farmers, and in just two years the rural transport industry side had grown so much that Mike purchased more Commers (both new and second hand) from NP dealership WR Phillips and contractor Dennis Butler. As a bonus, the Butler truck came with a much-needed Goods Service Licence.

Having seen the larger American-sourced trucks while working in Australia, (plus his inherent love of American vehicles from his father), in 1971 the couple purchased a second-hand Kenworth K923, which they used on native logging as well as Pinus Radiata (for export to Japan) through to Port Taranaki.

“Critics thought the Kenworth was too big for carting logs, but it didn’t take Mike long to work out that big equipment was the way to go,” says Daryl.

This was to prove true when the Kapuni gas field began producing New Zealand’s first LPG and Uhlenberg’s big machinery could carry the large loads to Auckland with ease. However, the job wasn’t without its challenges, when Mike and Carol put in an order for a brand-new Kenworth from the local dealers, they were told to ‘bugger off and stop dreaming’.

“Dad had to see them twice before convincing them they could afford the Kenworth and let him put his signature on a sales agreement for a brand new W924 Kenworth.”

In many ways Mike was a pioneer of line haul trucking in NZ as it was illegal to cart against rail for 30 miles initially and then 50 miles prior to deregulation, so he had to obtain weekly permits to carry out this work.

“Dad said that on runs to Auckland he rarely saw any people or cars and really didn’t see any other trucks, particularly nights and weekends. The only others around were the odd stock truck and Car Haulaways.”

To help with efficiencies and meet demand, the new Kenworth was double shifted by Mike and two regular drivers for some years - long before this practice was the norm of the industry, another pioneering moment.

In September 1978 the Uhlenbergs purchased Eltham Transport, giving them two depots, an office and workshop, a big improvement on the ‘backyard operation’ they had before.

Business growth was huge in the 80’s as the LPG market increased and the Uhlenbergs purchased the local fertiliser store to complement their rural cartage division (they sold that side of the business off again through the 80-90s).

Carol was managing the admin of the company and Mike still drove regularly while juggling the management of staff and clients. He also enjoyed being in the company workshop maintaining the fleet to his high standards.

It was in the early `80s when Mike built a new depot on Bridge Street, Eltham, which included a large workshop, more comfortable office block and an area for parking the increasing fleet. They purchased new W models, two of which are now in the Uhlenberg classic collection.

The couple’s three sons all joined the company through the `80s and `90s, but not before all were made to learn the ropes elsewhere - according to Mike’s rules and strong beliefs.

Carol was tragically killed in an accident in 1997, and soon thereafter Mike chose to fade from being the frontman of the business, allowing him to travel and enjoy his hobbies, while the sons became shareholders and eventually took over the operation.

“Mum unfortunately died when she was in her prime,” says Daryl. “Dad carried on for a while and we naturally stepped up to the plate. I don’t ever recall a meeting, we just got on and did it.”

Carol was killed in a speedway accident, and despite the tragedy the Uhlenberg’s have been involved in motorsport (both before and after) for decades with Mike racing a Jaguar in the classics, all three sons racing in various speedway classes. Five of the six grandkids are currently racing too.

“Dad was always an avid supporter,” says Daryl. “In the `80s he owned cars that other people drove (us three boys were still a bit young then), he sponsored people and was actively involved in the Stratford Speedway club.”

Daryl says that his brother Chris built a Stock Car in the `80s and a few years later, once he got a new professionally built car, he gifted Daryl the old one.

“And then my younger brother Tony, when he got into his early 20s bought a TQ [Three-quarter Midget]. He raced that for a bit and then stopped for a good number of years. Tony now drives the family’s sprint car socially; he’s known more for his team’s social escapades than his racing skills.”

Daryl jokes that the brothers haven’t been that successful at racing ‘not for the amount of years we’ve put into it’, but they’ve had a lot of fun.

“When mum died, we were all busy looking after the business, so we didn’t race for quite some years. Then I went to a World of Outlaws meeting at Tauranga, and there were some Aussies and Americans there in Sprint cars, it was a three-day meeting and at night there was some beer involved.”

Daryl says that following a ‘you wouldn’t have the coconuts’ comment, he ended up buying a car off the Americans.

Chris raced that car off and on for a few years with limited success, and then Chris’s two boys and Daryl’s two kids started racing Mini Stocks (12-17 years).

“It’s all very social and relaxed, but we were still doing 30 meetings a year with each car,” says Daryl.

“And then there’s Tony’s boy Cam. He’s in his early 20s, He was born premature, and is still only 35kg dripping wet. But he managed to beat all the odds and also enjoys racing speedway. Through that racing experience, he managed to get his road drivers licence,” Daryl says proudly.

(When not racing) the Uhlenberg’s have continued to grow the business while remaining true to their family values.

“We tend not to have titles, but I look after admin and maintenance (because I’m a mechanic by trade), Chris helps out with operations and both Chris and Tony are out driving,” says Daryl.

The Uhlenberg’s work and play together, so looking in from the outside it would appear that the brothers are always together, but Daryl points out that they don’t simply agree on everything all of the time.

“We’re not all hugely close, although people that know us would beg to differ. We tend to work together every day, we invest together, we run the business together and then on Saturdays we end up at the same racetrack doing the same thing, it’s nuts, but it kind of works.

“Chris only lives a couple of kays up the road, but I can’t remember the last time I was at his house. We do all the same things but don’t live in each other’s pockets.”

Daryl says that they’re not real close, and the three of them have really different personalities, which probably helps to make it work.

“Tony’s a people person, Chris will stand in the background and is quiet and I probably talk too much,” he laughs.

Uhlenberg Haulage has 40 staff now, but still pride themselves on being a small family business.

“We’ve had heaps of opportunities to grow larger than we are, but we have intentionally not taken that path. Just had steady growth,” Daryl says.

The fleet has grown as well, from 14 trucks when the brothers started to 39 now, and they’re all Uhlenberg owned (no owner drivers or leased equipment).

“Again, a bit how grandad was, we’ve got large American trucks - Kenworth, Peterbilt, Mack, and Western Star. It’s just how we are, we tend to buy large, heavy pieces of plant.”

Of the six grandkids, two (Blair and Brad) are now working in the business and maybe that’s a sign of things to come?

“It’s happy families,” says Daryl. “We’ve got a really good lifestyle out of the business, and that’s the way we want it to remain. I see us as caretakers, someone had it before us and someone will have it after, we just want to leave it better than we found it and enjoy life.”

And as for Mike, well apparently, he’s never been one to slow down. He is still a regular visitor to the depot, (often to help out with any jobs or to operate the grader when needed), but also sometimes just to spend time catching up with staff and visitors to the depot. He spends much of his spare time working on his classic vehicles and bulldozers, which he still has a large passion for.