Trucking identity awarded
• Calvin ‘Bimbo’ Jones with wife Susanne, and Shane Fairhall (NTI).
By Daisy Baker
November 02, 2022
Local identity Calvin ‘Bimbo’ Jones was honoured at the Tasmanian Transport Association’s gala dinner and awards night on Saturday, receiving the National Transport Insurance (NTI) Industry Achievement Award.
Bimbo and his wife Susanne service deliveries from the last remaining sawmill in the region, with their fleet of Western Stars and Kenworths, including five specialised walking floors and a flat-top trailer.
With truck driving in his blood, Bimbo started out as a young teenager, perched up in a ten-yard tipper navigating the steep North-East logging country.
Barely able to see over the steering wheel, the truck’s owner gave him an old army slouch hat to make him look a little older, before he set off down a gravel track with his first load of gravel.
Bimbo said the award came as a complete surprise.
Bimbo’s neighbour and local transport journalist Howard Shanks nominated him for the award.
Susanne was in the know but kept it under wraps when they attended the gala dinner together, following a transport conference earlier in the day.
“Then they called my name out for the big award. I’m still on cloud nine,” he said.
In presenting the award before a crowd of 200, NTI Tasmanian business development manager Shane Fairhall said Bimbo has made a significant contribution to the industry.
“At 18, he was driving interstate in a 1973 single drive International, hooked to a bogey-axle trailer with general freight Melbourne to Sydney for Lanes,” he said.
“Returning to Tasmania after 12 months, Calvin formed a transport company with wife Susanne.
“A little over four decades later and the transport company, CR and S Jones, has transformed along the way to one of the prominent Tasmanian timber haulage companies in the state.
“He is a long term and active member of the Tasmanian Transport Association, and one who is ready to share his knowledge and experience to support young people entering the industry.”
Bimbo said he is grateful for Tasmanian Transport Association (TTA) executive director Michelle Harwood who has been an invaluable industry liaison.
Bimbo is a passionate advocate for making truck licenses more affordable.
“A 20-year-old hasn’t got $3,500 to get a license and I want them to do something about that,” he said.
In more than 40 years of business, he said his proudest achievement is having his wife and family supporting him every step of the way.
“It’s a very hard game and you cannot last in that game without that support,” he said.
“I always said when I went into business that I would like to turn over $1 million. That came quite early on and I’ve been happy with everything that’s come after that.”
Bimbo said he has sold off two parts of his business in the last 12 months, keeping three to four trucks in operation in a bid to slow down a little.
He said their quality staff, including Julie Saunders, and drivers Simon Jones and Travis Butterworth are an asset to
the business.