Smedley's Industry Icons
Having grown up next door to a drag racer, Ken developed a love for cars and engines. “I loved all things mechanical and still love my cars. I fell into trucks when I went to Volvo for work experience. Cars and trucks are similar by nature but I could never get over...
Smedley's Industry Icons
On 16 August 1965, Noel Beavis, a trainee draftsman, began his employment with Freighter Industries. It was an association that lasted over 16 years. “I can remember thinking, why do they need draftsman?” he recalls. “Every trailer looked the same to me. Then you get...
Smedley's Industry Icons
When Bob Edwards signed on as a heavy vehicle mechanic apprentice in 1962, he had no idea how influential his efforts would be in driving better standards for the South Australian road transport industry in the decades to follow. After a 14-year stint of maintaining...
Smedley's Industry Icons
With a background in mechanical engineering, Alex Stables arrived in Australia as a £10 migrant and worked in development of retail petrol pumps before moving his career at a nuts and bolts manufacturer in Sydney. He decided to move on when the company consolidated...
Smedley's Industry Icons
When Gary Byford was a shy 16 year old starting his apprenticeship at Tieman Tankers 50 years ago, he couldn’t have guessed how the commercial road transport industry would look in 2017 – or that he would play a role in its development. After finishing his...
Smedley's Industry Icons
PACCAR Senior Design Engineer, Ngee Chong, has witnessed much of the heavy vehicle’s evolution. With 27 years of experience as an electrical engineer in the transport industry, Ngee has played a part in the vehicle’s transition from a predominantly mechanical machine... 