2Brothers Plumbing & Gas Ramps Up Productivity with Isuzu NPR Tradepack

2Brothers Plumbing and Gas may be based at Albany Creek in Brisbane, but founder James Sharvell and his crew don’t stop there, going all the way up to the Sunshine Coast hinterland and down to the sunny beaches of the Gold Coast. They may even go past the border into New South Wales, if a builder requires their expertise there.

As the name suggests, 2Brothers Plumbing and Gas provides all services plumbing, drainage and gas, working on residential and commercial maintenance as well as new architectural builds and renovations.

James began as a sole trader back in 2016 and has been busy from day dot, clocking in most days at 6am and working through to 10pm, five days a week. In fact, in the three short years between 2016 and 2019, 2Brothers Plumbing and Gas grew so much that James turned it into a company that now employs a six-strong work crew of professional plumbers and apprentices.

Despite all the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, this year the business has been busier than ever. As a full-time owner and operator, James values productivity and reliability in all aspects of his business—and found the Isuzu NPR 45-155 Tradepack AMT, the perfect transport solution to compliment his growing team.

“Downtime is a serious issue for my business. If my truck breaks down and I lose a day’s work, I could lose a large sum of profit,” said James.

“Reliability is huge for me, and that’s one of the reasons I went with buying an Isuzu truck last year. They have a solid reputation for being the most reliable truck brand in the industry.

“My dad was a truck driver who owned his own business, and he had always said how good the Isuzus were, even 20-odd years ago.”

But brand reputation was not the sole factor that drove James’ decision to purchase the Isuzu NPR Tradepack.

With a handy 4,500 kg GVM and 8,000 kg GCM rating, power of 144 kW@2,600 rpm and torque of 419 Nm @ 1,600-2,600 rpm, the NPR 45-155 Tradepack packs more than enough juice for 2Brothers Plumbing and Gas—carting everything with ease, from hot water systems through to specialty equipment such as jack hammers, concrete saws and crimping tools used on complex piping systems.

“I'm not going to lie, I actually went around test-driving most of the other truck brands and without exaggerating, the Isuzu Tradepack handled a lot better and had more to offer in terms of power, payload and features.

When asked what he enjoyed most about the Isuzu truck, James said, “Not only did it drive better, but it also came with all the extras. A nice interior, comfortable seats, sat nav and the Isuzu genuine bullbar. It was a good-looking truck.”

“I had thought the Isuzu would be more expensive, being a well-regarded brand. But I also got quotes from the other truck brands, and as it turns out, the Isuzu worked out cheaper!” James noted, with a smile.

And it wasn’t only the purchase price that saved James money. The Isuzu Tradepack has been helping the team work more efficiently, with the extra payload making a big difference to daily operations.

“The truck has been a big time saver for us because we're not constantly going back and forth between the shed and our job,” James said.

“Now my boys load up first thing in the morning and they are set for the day. If we’re doing a job far away, like on the south side of the Gold Coast, it doesn’t make a difference... we load all our gear into the truck and we’re ready to go with heaps of room to spare and no need to come all the way back north to load up on more tools or another hot water system.”

“We no longer pay for delivery costs and we’re now set up to offer a service where we can take away our rubbish instead of hiring in skip bins, which saves us further time and money.”

With the Isuzu Tradepack, James and his crew no longer needs to worry about the lack of space or overloading issues again.

“I started out with two utes, but every tradie with speciality tools knows they can’t keep it all in the back of a ute, just in case it gets stolen or if it rains,” James explained.

“It gives me great peace of mind knowing our big, speciality tools are locked away safely in the truck.”

The Isuzu Tradepack has also inadvertently drummed up more business for 2Brothers Plumbing and Gas, though that wasn’t James’ initial intention.

“The truck really stands out,” he said.

“We wrapped it up nice and we put a silly number plate on it to give it some character. It’s big, it’s loud and it catches eyes… we always get customers telling us they’ve spotted us in the traffic.”

And given the amount of time James and the crew spend on the road driving through town centres and highways, James notes the truck is worth its weight in gold for sheer advertising factor, drawing a lot of good attention to the business.

“Honestly, I just wanted a truck for better haulage and productivity and instead, the Tradepack has done something more. This truck has scored us more work than any of the utes that I've had over the years,” he said.

“In just the small time we've had it, it's helped to market our brand quickly and bring in heaps of additional customers.”

“Buying this truck was one of the best things I could have done for the business.

“The Isuzu dealer was also great to work with—Josh Pennings from Eagle Farm Isuzu made everything so easy and straightforward,” James added.

“I am really happy with the truck and the overall experience. When I’m ready for another truck in the future, I will definitely be going back there for another Isuzu.”