A business born from hard work and determination, Stattic Heavy Haulage was started by then 21-year-old Harry Christou in 2012 with just one truck.
As he explained, “I couldn’t get a job. I applied at a lot of places and no-one would give me an opportunity so I ended up getting my own truck and creating my own opportunity from there. At first, I was moving containers, then I slowly shifted into transporting construction equipment and then into heavy haulage.”
Now 33, Christou has continued to grow and develop his business, which now operates a fleet of 11 trucks from the company’s base at Werribee South in Melbourne. Its operations are centred around heavy haulage, and transporting construction equipment, such as cranes, building supplies and road barriers, Australia-wide.
Though Christou spends less time behind the wheel these days, he was actually in the truck when he spoke with Big Rigs. “I usually don’t hit the road much myself, but I’m heading to Alice Springs at the minute. I get behind the wheel when I have to, it’s only about once a month or so now, but I do miss it,” he said.
A few years ago, Christou made the decision to implement WHG’s telematics systems across his fleet. “We were actually with another company and then shifted over to WHG when they called and explained their product, which is a far better quality product. You often get cold calls from people, but I’m glad I gave these guys a go,” he explained.
“They offer better customer service and a bigger team. You could tell straight away they offered a superior product. I did a trial with them first and it definitely proved itself.”
Stattic has adopted multiple WHG technologies including solar panel trailer tracking units, live-tracking GPS and the new FleetCAM vehicle monitoring system.
“FleetCAM is one of best things I’ve ever done to my trucks,” Christou said. “If an incident occurs, I can go on and see exactly what happened. it means we don’t need to solely rely on drivers accounts or the public, we can just log on and see for ourselves.
“The FleetCAM system includes forward facing, rear facing and central facing dashcam cameras. Prior to having these, we had issues with people falsely claiming we had hit them; so this gives us piece of mind that if something does go wrong, we can investigate correctly and either defend ourselves or take appropriate action if needed.”
Solar panel trailer tracking units are also fitted across the trailer fleet, which is comprised of four low loaders, five flat beds and two dollies.
“These solar panel tracking units are mainly used for security. If a low loader is stolen, it’s literally half a million dollars in the two trailers I have on. And they’re really not easily replaceable either – I waited two years for these ones. That’s why I have that additional security measure in place,” explained Christou.
“I actually noticed them on another person’s product and realised how good they were. It just turned out that WHG supplies that customer as well.”
Adding to the WHG products used by the company, live tracking GPS systems have had a big impact. “With every truck I have and every truck I buy, the first thing I do is call WHG and they come out and fit GPS and the FleetCAM cameras,” Christou said. “You can’t constantly ring drivers and ask where they are or what part of the job they are up to, so with this we can go online without bothering them and can give our customers information on where their load is or if they are loaded or unloaded. The cameras also give more insight into what’s going on because we can see it all.”
Christou has been so pleased with WHG’s systems, that GPS and FleetCAM have even been added to the company cars too!
“Over the years, WHG have proven themselves to be very reliable as a team. Any time I have a minor issue, they’re quick to jump on board and have even provided us with training when we’ve needed it. WHG is a very good company to deal with.”
With Christou’s passion for specialised transport services and WHG’s leading technology, Stattic continues to expand propelled by safety, efficiency and visibility.
For more information, visit stattictransport.com.au and whg-telematics.com.