For Gold Coast based transport business Fortyseven Industries, when it comes to keeping their fleet of truck and dogs fuelled and ready to hit the road, Woodham Petroleum is miles above the rest.
Woodham Petroleum is an independent, family-owned Australian company, with a continually growing network of unmanned Diesel Stops.
The fuel provider currently has 45 unmanned Diesel Stops operating 24/7 across New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria and the Northern Territory.
Woodham’s approach is to remain flexible in the way it works, with a commitment to listening to customers – whether they run one truck or a fleet of 50, there’s no limit.
Family owned and operated; Woodham Petroleum has been going strong for over 40 years. It was started by Jim Woodham in 1981, with his son Matt Woodham taking the reins in the mid 2000s.
Fortyseven Industries is also family owned and operated, headed up by Brendon Claridge, who works alongside his wife Tatum, daughter Lamiah (23) and son Kinser (20).
Originally from Tasmania, Brendon, 47, has grown up around trucks. Back in the Apple Isle, his father owned a log truck business. And Brendon followed suit, getting his truck licence by the age of 19.
As he explained, “The logging industry was experiencing a decline so that’s when I decided to move up here to the Gold Coast with my family.”
He began driving tankers for a friend’s business, before going out on his own in the tanker space and building that up to eight trucks over eight years.
Ready for a change, Brendon decided to sell his trucks and get into truck and dog work – starting Fortyseven Industries about four years ago. “I moved away from tankers and decided to get into tippers. This is local work, five days a week, where you’re home on the weekend, instead of being a 24/7 business,” he said.
Fortyseven Industries operates a fleet of 17 truck and dogs, all running under Performance Based Standards (PBS) for increased payload capacity. There’s a mixture of Kenworth, Mack and Volvo trucks.
“We started out doing civil construction work but now 90 per cent of our work is quarry work,” said Brendon. “It’s all out of our Yatala depot, generally within a 100-kilometre radius.”
Within that area alone, Brendon says Woodham Petroleum has three unmanned sites available to his drivers.
“All of our trucks use Woodham Petroleum – it’s the convenience, the price, and how easy they are to deal with,” he said.
“They use a HID Tag system, so it’s all computerised – and if there’s ever a computer issue, it just takes one quick phone call and it’s fixed straight away.”
When asked how Woodham Petroleum compares to other fuel companies, he replied, “There is no comparison, because they’re miles ahead in terms of price and the tanks are easily accessible for us.”
Along with fuelling his fleet through Woodham, Brendon revealed he also has a car transporter that follows the race circuit. “We go all over the east coast for the speedway circuit, so can fuel up at Woodham’s various sites.
“I raced before, and my dad raced before me and now my son Kinser has been racing for the past five years, including the past two years in the sprint car.
“That’s also how we came up with the name of the business. The race car number is 47 and that’s the year my dad was born.”
Small to medium transport companies can reach out to Woodham Petroleum for great service and very competitive pricing. You’ll also get to deal with real people who want to assist and a private 100 per cent Australian owned company.
Woodham Petroleum is continuing to invest in their network with new sites opening in 2025 at Barcaldine, Tully, and a new and upgraded site at Cloncurry including toilets and showers.
For more information, visit woodhampetroleum.com.au.