One of WesTrac’s haulage partners, TJ Clark & Sons, is marking a major milestone in 2024, celebrating 90 years of transporting Cat® machinery across NSW/ACT.
First established in 1895 by Tom Clark, the fourth-generation business is now an integral part of NSW’s heavy haulage industry, originally servicing the transport needs throughout Sydney for engineering firm Waugh & Josephson.
In 1934, Waugh & Josephson was awarded the Caterpillar® dealership for NSW/ACT marking the start of a long and successful partnership between TJ Clark & Sons and the Cat brand.
TJ Clark & Sons Manager Tom Clark says this is not only a testament to the company’s capabilities but is also a reflection of the solid industry relationships built over the years which have been crucial to the business’ success.
“We are thrilled that after 90 years, TJ Clark and Sons is still the number one choice for Cat haulage in New South Wales,” Tom says.
“The relationships we have built go back decades and we maintain them simply by doing what we say we will”.
“This, along with our team of professional drivers and modern equipment, enable us to provide a quality service that meets and exceeds customers’ expectations.”
WesTrac has worked alongside TJ Clark & Sons for 20 years since there appointment as the NSW Cat dealer in April 2004, and Product and Application Manager Gavin Handley says the haulage company has been dedicated to the success of WesTrac customers during this time.
"The fact that TJ Clark and Sons has been the NSW Cat dealers’ choice for heavy haulage needs for 90 years highlights what can be achieved when providing a quality service to customers”.
“From everyone at WesTrac we would like to thank TJ Clark & Sons for their dedication to ours and our customers success over the years and we look forward to many more years working together.”
Reflecting on the past 90 years, Tom says the heavy haulage industry has undergone significant changes due to technological advancements, infrastructure improvements and increases to trailer capacities, but safety remains their number one priority.
“Just recently we took a Cat 315 Excavator to a site roughly 300 kilometres north of Broken Hill, with creek crossings and adverse road conditions requiring us to unload and reload the machine more than six times,” he says.
“All of this was completed safely, with the machine arriving to a delighted WesTrac customer – one thing TJ Clark and Sons has always prided ourselves on is safety.”
The Sydney-based family-run company specialises in interstate, regional and local heavy haulage operations for an extensive range of loads including standard and over-dimensional haulage.
The fleet currently comprises 10 prime movers, two tilt trays and 20 trailers, including flat tops to drop decks, swing wing and platform floats with axle combinations of up to 10 rows of eight and capacities of more than 150 tonnes.
Tom says the team’s favourite piece of machinery to haul is any Cat D6 Dozer due to their versatility but admits all Cat products are incredibly robust.
“Cat machinery is without a doubt the best product out there – Caterpillar is constantly delivering a quality product, and the technology is always improving over time,” he says
Looking ahead, Tom says TJ Clark and Sons will continue supporting Caterpillar’s haulage requirements through their partnership with WesTrac safely and efficiently well into the future.
"We highly value our relationship with WesTrac, they are an exceptional company that connects well with their staff, customers, and suppliers.”
