Southpac Legends

Neil Weber has been in the transport industry for over four decades, through good times and what he calls ‘the dark days’. 

He’s helped keep logging trailers on the road, created innovative solutions, increased safety and even given us an All Black - and for that, he’s a Southpac legend.

Unlike many in the industry, Neil Weber can’t claim to come from a long list of truckies, however, he did get the truck driving bug early.

“My late father [Graham Weber] was actually a farmer but we always had a farm truck to do hay and stuff like that, so I was driving trucks when I was about 9 or 10 years old. And you know how farmers are on a farm, they’re pretty innovative t... ... 

To say Trevor Jackson has had a rollercoaster ride in life wouldn’t be strictly true. Like any company, his Pahiatua-based trailer maker, Jackson Enterprises, has had its share of ups and downs, but overall it has built an enviable reputation for innovation and quality and has enjoyed steady growth.

In a literal sense, though, Trevor’s life is a rollercoaster – courtesy of a full-size, 380m track he has designed and built on his rural property. The project took three and a half years to complete and had its maiden run just a few months ago, on New Year’s Eve 2021. Trevor was the guinea pig for the inaugural ride and recalls the sensation: “I strapped myself into the four-seater ... ... 

Retirement isn’t a change, rather it’s a transition according to Eric Carswell.

The well-known and respected On Highway Business Manager for Cummins New Zealand will step away from the transport industry at the end of the year.

But at age 71 he’s not retiring altogether.

“I have never really felt my age. I see retirement as a transition,” says Eric. 

“I live at Karaka Lakes in South Auckland, and I operate a small business. I mow local parks and I’m going to be semi-retired lawn mowing contractor.”

Eric will depart from an industry in transition and from a company at the forefront of those changes.

It’s been a varied road for a lad from Gisborn... ... 

Greg Sheehan is a name that’s synonymous with heavy haulage in this country, and in particular the art and science of piloting over-dimension loads. The subject of this month’s Southpac Trucks Legends was for many years a board member of the NZ Heavy Haulage Association and between 2007 and 2009 served a two-year term as Association chairman, becoming the the first-ever pilot representative in that role.

During his time as a board member he was heavily involved with the planning and rollout of the BESS (Bridge Engineering Self Supervision) scheme. BESS represented quite a change to the way overweight and over-dimension permits had been handled previously, he explains: “Up till t... ... 

With a truck driving career that spanned over half a century and his last truck clocking up over 2 million clicks, Carl Urlich has certainly gone the distance. An inspiring mentor to many, professional, reliable, loyal to a fault but always a true gentleman, farewell Carl Urlich, you Southpac Truck Legend.

Carl left school at the early age of fifteen and started his working life as a butcher in Puketaha, however, the moment he turned eighteen his real career started, which was behind the wheel of a truck. 

Carl’s first driving job was with Puketaha Transport where he transported general goods and took to it immediately. In fact, according to all, truck driving was mor... ...