Today, Volvo Australia delivered the 50,000th truck manufactured right here in Australia to long-term client, Lockyer Valley based Nolan’s Interstate Transport.
Assistant Minister for Road Safety and Freight Transport, Scott Buchholz attended the special event and spoke about the importance of the local heavy vehicle manufacturing and the affinity he had for the Nolan brand.
“Today represents the coming together of two wonderful Australian companies, one a genuinely authentic Australian brand and the other a Swedish import that has grown into its own as an Australian brand.
“As a former transport operator, I know the Australian transport and trucking sector has embraced Volvo and Nolans is a fine example of that.
“Both of the companies represented in this room today have a proud legacy in Australian Trucking and I thank Volvo Group for their ongoing commitment to Australian manufacturing and jobs and of course to Nolan’s Interstate Transport, a stalwart of the industry.
“The Nolan family holds a special place in my heart and in my electorate of Wright with their headquarters located in Gatton in the Lockyer Valley. Their Green and White trucks are a catalyst of commerce for the Lockyer Valley region, taking our salad bowl to the rest of Australia,” Mr Buchholz said.
The first Nolan vehicle in the early 1900’s was a horse drawn cart carrying cream, wood and milk across the Lockyer Valley. From humble origins, Nolan’s Interstate Transport is now one of the largest family-owned and operated Transport businesses in Queensland
Mr Buchholz said the success of Volvo and Nolan’s was the ultimate Australian success story.
“Certainly times, equipment, vehicles and safety have certainly changed in the industry since Nolan’s inception.
“But we have two companies, both still going strong to this day and together that are participating in addressing our growing freight task.
“In 2020, that is helping to move an estimated 224 billion tonne-kilometres of road freight across Australia, according to the Bureau of Infrastructure and Transport Research Economics, Mr Buchholz said.
Mr Buchholz said Companies like Nolan’s literally kept shelves stocked while Australians panic bought, and wonderful Australian Made Prime Movers, like the ones behind me kept the wheels turning.
“In the budget and through COVID-19, the Morrison Government has supported the uptake of new heavy vehicles with improved safety technology, by increasing the instant asset write off threshold for businesses for an unlimited number of assets up to $150,000.
“We also introduced temporary full expensing also enables businesses, like transport companies, to deduct the full cost of depreciable assets of any value – dog and trailer – but it must be new.
“It pleases me greatly to see heavy vehicle manufacturing still going strong to this day, almost 50 years later, with one of the pioneers of our local manufacturing scene, Volvo Trucks.”
“Keep on trucking!” Mr Buchholz said.
