Wickham Freight Lines takes delivery of historic 17,000th truck from Brown and Hurley

Brown and Hurley has delivered its 17,000th truck to long-time customer Wickham Freight Lines.

The Warwick-based family business accepted delivery of the Kenworth T909 prime mover yesterday with key members of Brown and Hurley and Wickham’s in attendance.

The new truck will fit within the Queensland organisation’s long-distance roadtrain fleet of which it deploys over 20 multi-combinations.

It joins 11 other T909s in the fleet and is the second of two recently ordered according to Human Resources Manager Thomasin Roberts.

“This is one of two we’ve had on the order list and we’re pretty excited,” said Roberts.

“The truck will predominantly be scheduled through our roadtrain network running on the triangle from Warwick, Melbourne, Sydney and sometimes across to Ceduna in South Australia,” she said.

The truck, not incidentally the 350th Kenworth it has purchased, will be carrying refrigerated freight.

A 600hp Cummins X-15 powers the 97 tonne GCM rated Kenworth T909, which boasts a 50-inch aero roof sleeper cab.

The partnership between Brown and Hurley and Wickham’s spans nearly 50 years.

Wickham Farms bought their first new Kenworth in 1978.

Kenworth T909 with commemorative livery.

By 1986 it had purchased Brown and Hurley’s 1,000th Kenworth W900.

“They then committed to purchase every thousandth truck that Brown and Hurley sold and this still continues today,” said Scott Walters, Dealer Principal, Brown and Hurley Kyogle, who was part of the historic handover.

“The Kyogle branch would like to extend great thanks to the Wickham Freight Lines team for their continued support and friendship,” he said.

That partnership with Brown and Hurley Kyogle, according to Roberts, has lasted throughout the life of the business.

“We do like to get in early with our vehicle orders with Brown and Hurley and plan out what we need,” she said.

“Usually, we like to work 12 months ahead which has helped us greatly especially during recent years with all the challenges manufacturers and suppliers have had to overcome,” she said.

This new Kenworth T909, which comes with commemorative livery, is one of approximately 30 prime movers Wickham’s has purchased just this year.

Also present for the handover were Wickham Farms Co-Founders Peter and Cheryl Wickham and Brown and Hurley Board Member Kevin Hurley.

Back in June Wickham Freight Lines celebrated the opening of Brown and Hurley’s new parts division in Warwick.

“We purchased our 50th truck from Brown & Hurley in 2001 and our 250th in April 2018 – we’ve seen significant growth over the last five years and we’re planning for the future through quality investments to support our customers increased demand for a reliable service,” said Roberts.

Kevin Hurley and Darren Eather, WFL Co-Director.