Despite being in the road transport industry for more than 40 years, Ian Baker of Tauranga-based Diamond Deliveries is still delivering La-Z-Boy chairs rather than putting his feet up in one.
The owner of the successful furniture transport business has seen it all since he started out based in Auckland driving a Mobil Oil TK Bedford truck in 1976.
He transferred to the Bay of Plenty in 1982, bought his first Mack truck and became one of Mobil’s fist owner drivers.
Ten years later, Ian decided he’d had enough of life on the road and decided to hang up his keys.
He liked the idea of a different type of business such as running a motel but was lured back when Diamond Deliveries came up for sale.
Under Ian’s stewardship Diamond Deliveries dabbled in Wellington and Auckland and at one stage had 43 staff.
Nowadays the focus is back in the Bay and the family business – owned by Ian and wife Liz with daughter Vanessa also an integral part of the team – boasts 14 vehicles and 25 staff.
It retains its niche of delivering furniture from manufacturers to retailers and from retailers to the end user with Morgan’s – the maker of the iconic La-Z-Boy – as one of its biggest and most enduring customers.
While that hasn’t changed over the years Ian says he has seen massive change on and off the road in in the industry particularly in technology, regulation, environmental issues and traffic.
“There were hardly any regulations when I started out but now compliance is huge. Traffic volumes have gone crazy – we had visions of doing 10 private deliveries a day in Auckland but struggled to do five because of traffic,” Ian says.
Ian is clear on the positives and negatives of the industry he has been part of for more than four decades.
Ian credits the support of National Road Carriers, of which he is a long time member, with making the industry a better one to be in.
Ian also values the fuel discounts his NRC membership provides and the availability of insurance and other financial benefits and services.