Big Things Grow Here: Environmental Industries & Isuzu Trucks

There’s an art to making big picture plans come to life—and when it comes to developing the lush public spaces that grace the cities and towns of Western Australia, there’s also a level of trust involved that’s only granted to a few. 

It’s a trust that local landscaping and constructions specialists Environmental Industries holds close to heart. 

They’re a family-owned and operated business that has built an impressive portfolio, with scope reaching from high-profile state and local government projects such as playgrounds, parks and sporting fields, through to commercial land developments and streetscapes that wind along the Perth’s beaches right out to the cities and towns of the Pilbara. ​ 

Roots in the region 

Brendon Winterbourn, General Manager of Environmental Industries is proud of the company’s history in the region and their family’s story in building a dynamic business that’s supported with highly trained staff, quality equipment and several offices in Perth and Newman (servicing the Pilbara). 

It all began back when Brendon’s dad, Barry Winterbourn, picked up the tools in the early 80s, launching the company with a contract for works along the Burrup Peninsula just outside of Karratha. 

“Our clients are specifically looking for environments that people and the public will be excited to use, so the sites we build and maintain need to be inviting to encourage people into the space,” Brendon explained. ​ 

“We've done many large projects over the years such as the grounds for Fiona Stanley Hospital, the Crown Towers in Perth, along with Central Park in the CBD, to name a few. 

“Things really began to take off for the business in the early 2000s, back then we had four trucks and a few utes on the road. 

“Now we have a combined fleet of about 100 vehicles including 40 Isuzu trucks for our staff across multiple projects.” 

Long-term fleet strategy 

Environmental Industries has come a long way in terms of capital assets from Barry’s lone ute during the 80s and the early noughties. 

These range from light-duty trucks such as a newly collected NLR 45-150 AMT Traypack with customised tail lift, through to heavier FVZ 240-300 Autos specified as a water truck and a garbage compactor. 

Sustained business growth has meant the equipment lockers are expanding quickly to stay level with demand. Brendon shared details of a master plan in place with Major Motors Forrestfield and Sales Dealer Peter Dewar to move the entire transport operation over to Isuzu Trucks product. 

“We have a long-term plan with Major Motors to keep operating Isuzu Trucks and continue building the fleet to meet our needs,” said Brendon. 

“The consistency in customer service and reliability is one of the reasons we go back time and again to Isuzu and Major Motors—we want to be dealing with the same person to build that lasting business relationship.” 

Keyed for success 

With the business currently utilising approximately 95 per cent of the fleet to maintain project spaces once development has been completed, Brendon explained that a large part of the strategy is upgrading their remaining utes to light-duty trucks. ​ 

“The business is transitioning away from utes towards light-duty Isuzu trucks for a number of reasons—they have better durability, we can fit more on the back of them, and we find they tow better than a ute. 

“The smaller trucks, such as our NLRs, are perfect for three team members on a job site to travel to location with mowers and landscaping equipment loaded in the tray.” 

The business finds Isuzu’s short wheelbase Ready-to-Work NLR 45-150 AMT Traypack—with GVM of 4,500 kg and GCM of 8,000 kg—a useful turnkey solution for carrying out their massive grounds maintenance roster. 

Featuring a payload of over 2,000 kg and tray space large enough to load equipment and tools for the day, the NLR Traypack also offers a generous towing capacity of 4,000 kg, making an efficient exercise out of towing heavily loaded trailers. 

Six-speed AMT with both fully automatic and clutchless manual operation modes rounds-out a package that is driveable on a car licence, meaning a wide range of Brendon’s staff can get behind the wheel at any time. 

Working for the future 

For further ease of use, Environmental Industries have added customised hydraulic tail lift which work with the Traypack’s removable drop sides for loading equipment and green waste. 

From the view of dealership Major Motors, Sales Dealer Peter Dewar said the focus will remain on providing best-in-class transport solutions to support Environmental Industries and their clients in the years to come. 

“Our two companies have worked together for a long period of time, and over that time have built up mutual trust and respect for one another.” 

“Personally, I am very proud to have worked closely with Environmental Industries for almost 35 years. ​ 

“Collaborating with them on their fleet requirements and watching the business become the success it is today has been really rewarding.”