MOVE Museum at Shepparton recently celebrated the opening of their Trucking Hall of Legends with the second annual Chairman’s Dinner.
During the evening, tribute was paid to the local trucking legends who have passed in the last 12 months.
These men – Fred Borg, Ian Cootes and Sam Sali – not only supported MOVE, but also the communities of Shepparton, Mooroopna and surrounding towns where they grew up, and where they learned the life lessons that would be so pertinent to their future success.
The evening presented a fascinating insight into these men and their lives in and beyond transport.
A true legend and pioneer
Fred Borg was born in Mackay and grew up on a sugarcane farm. As soon as he was of an age that allowed some independence he moved to Sydney where he met his wife to be, Margaret. Together they set off travelling, working seasonal jobs in various parts of the eastern states, including Cowra, Mildura and Shepparton.
They liked Shepparton and in 1971, permanently settled in the area. This is where Fred’s first introduction to the transport industry occurred. He worked at a local fruit operation, JD Morey & Sons, where he initially drove for the company, moving onto running the cool rooms but quickly settling on running the transport operations of the business.
Fred’s ability to develop relationships with Morey’s customers saw this business grow to incorporate around 15 to 20 trucks, a big operation for those days.
Fred soon realised that there were bigger opportunities in the transport industry and in 1978 Fred’s Interstate Transport was born. Using the relationships forged at Morey’s, Fred initially used owner-driver’s to transport his clients’ products. Being the lateral thinking he was, Fred quickly realised the benefits of owning his own vehicles and in 1979 took delivery of a brand-new Kenworth K125 with a Cummins 903 engine.
Fred’s relationship with Kenworth and Cummins has stood the test of time and continues into the modern day operation. Couple this with Fred’s association with Barker Trailers and you had a business model that allowed Fred to grow the business rapidly in line with his customers’ success and growth. This included his beverage, building and packaging customers – some of whom still remain today.
Fred took delivery of his first SAR in 1982. In son, Danny Borg’s recent podcast on Copy Southbound, he makes mention of how much Fred loved his SARs and how they became a major part of the fleet.
At his peak, Fred grew the business to 85 single trucks. With the introduction of B-doubles in the early ‘90s the fleet was rationalised to 65 units which is essentially where the business is today.
Fred was passionate about the industry and along with a number of other operators, had joined the Long Distance Road Transporters Association (LDRTA) to dispute the Interstate Drivers Award. He felt that the association wasn’t doing enough and along with three other local operators – Sam Sali, Cosimo Roccisano and Doug Treece, formed their own organisation, the National Transport Federation (NTF). The NTF later merged with the LDRTA to become NatRoad in 1994.
Fred was passionate about relationships and son, Danny recounts many stories about trips interstate to meet with customers – often not even talking about rates or performance – but just to see how things were going, and to have some social connection that solidified the rapport.
He also hated changing industry and was often known to say, “We need it, but what a load of bullshit it is”.
Fred worked on the principle that if you employed good staff, had the right equipment and looked after your customers, then the rest would take care of itself, and this still rings true in the business today. Fred stepped back from the operation of the business in the early 2000s, but with a lot of pride and interest, still kept his finger on the pulse, and would talk with his boys multiple times during the day, finding out what was happening or offering advice when needed.
His love of farming, both during and post his involvement with the business saw him successfully run a cattle operation and in later days invested himself in racing horses. He loved the outdoors with hunting and fishing two of his great pastimes.
Fred was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease around 2012 and although this progressively prohibited his ability to get himself around independently, he was still as sharp as a tack in his mind and this often caused him frustration.
Fred’s Transport’s 150th new Kenworth, a 60-inch T909 – although not starting out that way – became a tribute and dedication to Fred with a magnificent airbrushed mural of Fred adorning the back of the sleeper. That truck was handed over to Danny, Grant and the whole family at MOVE, in what was a very emotive time.
Fred Borg was a hard taskmaster who set extremely high standards for both himself and his business. He was a lateral thinker who problem solved situations in countless ways. He was a successful and motivated businessman and was a devoted husband, father, father-in-law and grandfather.
‘Legend’ and ‘pioneer’ are titles that get mentioned often these days but Fred Borg certainly earned the right to be known as both and the business today is testament to this.
Deserving of the highest respect
Ian Cootes AM was born in Kyabram in 1941 and at the age of 11 moved to a property north of Wangaratta, where he helped with the farm work, including taking lambs to market, carting wheat and digging out stumps.
Ian’s son, Geoff recounts that Ian said many times throughout his life that the only qualification he really ever had was as a wool classer. But his fascination was in watching the continual flow of trucks running on the Hume Highway and this is where his passion for the transport industry began.
But before he immersed himself in transport he left the farm at the age of 19 in 1960 to join the police force. The story is that he moved to Melbourne to avoid becoming a full-time farmer. In 1964 he married Dot, who was a great support for Ian, and in 1965 the dream of owning his first truck came to fruition. And it came in the most entrepreneurial and innovative way.
Ian wanted to cart fuel, so he literally knocked on the door of the BP head office in St Kilda Road, Melbourne where the company informed him that they had work for him if he purchased a truck – and he did, an AB-184 International, with this leading to service station deliveries across Metro Melbourne. With that, IR Coutts was born.
Most people would be unaware that Ian signed his contract with BP on the same day as Lindsay Fox and with this, began a respectful and mutual friendship that lasted decades.
During most of the 1970s the program for Ian involved driving all week, Saturday deliveries, where sons Geoff and Paul would help out, and Sunday was for servicing and washing the trucks. The fleet had grown to three Kenworth, one Mack, one ACCO and one Dodge.
The 1980s saw steady growth and during this time Ian was building a customer base and staff that would be treated like family, with many becoming close friends. It was in the 1990s that the business grew rapidly with the fleet always immaculately presented and with the strong employee culture and respect for customers, the business had expanded to have a presence in all mainland states of Australia.
During this time Ian took delivery of the first three iconic Kenworth T900’s that were produced by the factory in Bayswater. 1998 was another monumental milestone that saw IR Coutts take over all of the Shell fleet in Australia on the one day, with this including the storage and delivery of fuel to Melbourne and Adelaide airports.
It was at this point that IR Coutts was Australia’s largest tanker operator and a dominant player in the transport industry with over 800 highly respected employees and 325 immaculately presented vehicles.
Ian did a lot of business travel during these years and formed long lasting relationships. To Ian, the fuel depot manager in a small country town was just as important as a CEO of a large multinational oil company. He was a genuine and loyal person with unquestionable morals and ethics.
But Ian did not just focus on his business. He was also a director of the Australian Road Research Board and played a crucial role in raising the safety and efficiency standards for dangerous goods transport. He was also president of the Australian Liquefied Petroleum Gas Association and served on the board of the National Bulk Tanker Association.
The business was sold in 2000 and Ian was inducted into the National Road Transport Hall of Fame in 2003. He was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 2016 for significant service to the road transport industry and to the development of improved safety and efficiency standards.
Ian also dedicated himself to many charitable causes and was a significant benefactor to many charities, including the Alfred Hospital, where he was chair of the board for many years, and the Variety Club, raising millions of dollars for those who needed it the most.
The cruel disease that is dementia took hold in Ian’s latter years. Whilst on a trip to Queensland with his son, Geoff visiting Wickham Freight Lines and Emerald Carrying – two companies that he desperately wanted to visit – Ian called his long-term supplier of tankers and ordered four sets of fuel tankers. Such was the excitement of the salesman that word quickly spread that Ian was getting back into the fuel transport game. Geoff had to move fast to clarify and explain the situation.
Those who knew Ian say that he was a real gentleman, a man of his word who had impeccable manners and presentation. He forged relationships that stood the test of time and his generosity presented in ways other than financial and involved giving time to anyone who needed it.
Ian Coutts truly was a transport legend – a pioneer of the bulk tanker industry and someone who was deserving of the highest respect from all.
Ian’s fourth truck purchased – a 1973 Kenworth W925 S2 is on permanent display at MOVE, having been purchased off its second owner by Ian’s son, Paul in 1996. The truck was completely restored to original condition and specifications and presented to Ian as a surprise.
A giant of road transport
Sam Sali – a man who was instrumental and prominent in the transport industry and a dedicated community leader.
Sam was born in 1937 and with parents and brother, Alan migrated to Australia. Although the country was in the grip of the great depression, the Sali’s saw the country as a land of great opportunity.
Alan purchased his first truck in 1946 when he turned 18 – a KS5 International. With Sam being nine years younger, he watched Alan work non-stop through his first summer fruit season, working hard and developing contacts.
Sam’s work ethic and desire to get involved even at this early age was born from watching and learning from Alan. Sam commenced and completed his motor mechanic apprenticeship and in 1956 he and Alan joined forces in a family business and S. Sali & Sons was born with the purchase of a six ton Bedford truck.
Sam would maintain and load the truck and Alan would make the trip each day to the Melbourne market. A fact is not commonly known is that the S in S Sali & Sons was not for Sam, but his father, Sabri. Quoting Sam, “Dad lent us money to get started, so we thought it only fitting that the business was named after him.”
Sam’s sense of family and absolute devotion to them was displayed back then and continued all the way through his life. Family means everything to him. 1958 saw the purchase of their first semi-trailer, and a single axle Diamond T, and by the mid-1960s and with the fleet expanding, the focus turned to interstate transport.
Sam drove for much of this period, along with helping to maintain the fleet, with this continuing through into the 1970s. Later in that decade Sam began working on a managerial side of the business, still with Alan by his side guiding and mentoring him.
Customers through this period included the Ford Motor Company, BP Australia and CSR. The business also subbied for Mayne Nickless and then Toll on the BHP account. All of these customers were publicly listed companies who knew that Sam and Alan could be relied upon. If there was a problem, or one of these companies needed a truck on short notice, they spoke with Sam or Alan direct, and the problem would be solved.
Along with Sam’s passion for the business came the opportunity to be involved with the advocacy and promotion of the industry. Along with Fred Borg and two other local operators, Sam became a foundation member and director of the National Transport Federation in 1986.
He was instrumental in the restructuring of the long distance driver’s award as well as the introduction of enterprise bargaining to the industry. Sam was certainly ahead of his time. The NTF and the LDRTA merged in 1994 to become NatRoad and Sam continued to serve as a director of NatRoad until 2001.
Quoting current NatRoad chairman, Paul Fellows, “Sam Sali was a giant of road transport and a passionate champion for our industry.” NatRoad have recently renamed their National Young Driver of the Year Award in honour of Sam. It will now be known as the Sam Sali National Young Driver Award.
In 2003 Sam was awarded one of the Australian trucking industry’s major awards – the National Award for Outstanding Contribution. He was inducted into the National Road Transport Hall of Fame in 2010.
But Sam’s dedication to service extended to more than just the transport industry. His sense of community was evident through his long-standing membership of the Shepparton Rotary Club for over 50 years, with 100 per cent attendance. Legend has it that even managed to make an appearance just before and after the birth of his daughter, Linda.
Sam’s contribution to Rotary earned the esteemed Paul Harris Fellow Award for his contribution to the local community. He was also a lifetime member of the Shepparton Albanian Society.
Sam passed away in January of this year with his funeral held at MOVE, seeing the largest crowd ever gathered at the museum, such was the respect and standing he had.
Sam Sali was a tireless worker on so many fronts and he was awarded many commendations for this. But more importantly he will be remembered as a man with a big heart who put his family, staff, customers and the community first. A short man in stature but one who stood tall in front of all who knew him.