The Victorian Transport Association (VTA) is extending its deepest sympathies to the family, friends, and colleagues of Gary Neal, who passed away this past July.
Neal was a well-known and respected figure within the transport industry through his connections with the family business, A.R. Neal Transport.
Neal entered the transport industry as a driver with A.R after leaving school, servicing Australian Paper Mills, which had become a substantial customer on the eastern seaboard of Australia.
He eventually participated in a management buyout of the business with Bruce Holmes and Ray Woodward in the 1980s, with the business progressively growing to become A.R. Logistics and expanding into rail.
Neal remained at the helm of the operation until 2000, when it was sold to Toll Group.
Under his leadership, A.R. Neal set new standards in the industry and was very active in the VTA, winning the Australian Freight Industry Award (AFIA) two years in a row for National Fleet Operator of the Year.
VTA CEO, Peter Anderson, expressed his gratitude for Neal’s contributions to the industry.
“We acknowledge Gary’s many significant contributions to the Australian freight and logistics industry,” he said.
“Gary is survived by his wife Mary, and children Simon, Kate, Richard, and James, to whom we offer our sincere condolences.”
A.R. Neal Transport was established in 1910 in Richmond by Neal’s grandfather, Arthur Richard Neal, to initially transport coal.
His grandfather’s first job was to cart coal with his horse and dray from Spencer Street Railway to Dunlop Rubber at Montague Street.
At the time, he was responsible for unloading a railway truck on his own in one day. He would load and unload the coal himself by shovel.
Through the following decades, the transport company continued to grow.
When World War II arrived, which classed transport as an essential service, many A.R. Neal Transport employees seconded to work for local armed services by carrying bombs from Richmond to the wharf.
In 1976, FCN Transport Pty Ltd formed, compromising A.R. Neal Transport in Melbourne, Finney Bryce Transport in Brisbane and Cook and Sons in Sydney.
Combined turnover of A.R. Neal and FCN Transport exceeded $10 million for the first time in 1983, just before Gary Neal, Bruce Holmes and Ray Woodward bought into the business in 1986.
In 1996, ARN Logistics, consisting of A.R. Neal Transport, FCN Transport, and international freight forwarding company, Australia Link, formed and commenced interstate rail operation.
The Group then won the award for National Fleet Operator of the Year award at the AFIAs that year and did it for the second time in 1997.
The post Vale Gary Neal appeared first on Trailer Magazine.