Pictured at the handover of the new driver training truck and trailer unit are from left: Errol Gray (NorthTec programme leader, commercial transport); Keith McGuire (regional executive, Road Transport Association); Hohepa Rudolph (NorthTec kaumatua); Mark Ewen (NorthTec chief executive); Barry McColl (Fonterra national transport and logistics manager); Darrin Rhodes (Fonterra regional transport training manager, North Island); Ernie Gent (Fonterra Kauri representative).

The truck and trailer unit Fonterra presented to NorthTec (Northland Polytechnic) for driver training last month is the third the company has made to a tertiary institution.

At the presentation at NorthTec Future Trades‘ campus, Fonterra‘s national transport and logistics manager, Barry McColl, said Fonterra was committed to putting resources back into the community, particularly those that would benefit the community long-term.

“We‘re really proud to be able to support initiatives that help develop communities and give back to the regions where we operate. These are the communities that our farmers and our people are part of, so being able to help out with resources that bring new opportunities is important to us. Here in Northland there are lots of young people who are seeking employment, and we hope this truck gives them a tool that they can use to gain experience and a springboard into a new career.”

NorthTec chief executive Mark Ewen thanked Fonterra for their generosity in providing what he described as an investment in the industry. He said the polytechnic was looking forward to repaying the investment by delivering high-calibre commercial drivers for Northland.

Ewen also thanked Keith McGuire of the Road Transport Association for the association‘s involvement with the loan of the vehicle, and for their ongoing support for NorthTec.

The other polytechnics to benefit from Fonterra‘s generosity are Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology in the Bay of Plenty, and the Southern Institute of Technology in Invercargill.

The vehicle presented to NorthTec is a Volvo 500 truck and tanker unit with an Evans-built pull trailer. It is on loan to the polytechnic for three years.