As 2016 is upon us, Uhlenberg Haulage enters its 50th year in business.
It all began way back in 1966, when Mike and Carol Uhlenberg purchased a second hand Commer truck, complete with a Ministry of Works cartage contract, based at Bell Block, New Plymouth.
Within a few years the fleet had grown to three trucks, carrying metal and fertliser around rural Taranaki.
Logs was the next commodity that Mike and Carol geared up for - carrying export pine to Port Taranaki, as well as native timber to various mills in the area.
Soon after, the cartage of LPG from Kapuni to Auckland began in the early 70's. this contract resulted in the Uhlenbergs being pioneers of long distance haulage within NZ.
The purchase of Eltham Transport Co in 1978, saw Uhlenbergs increase the fleet size and depot capacity, with the line haul of LPG and other products being the mainstay through the 80's, still alongside the rural and general cartage work.
Refrigerated cartage was added to the list of tasks in the early 90's, this was the decade where each member of two generations of the Uhlenberg Family had the pleasure of working together in the business, before Carols tragic death - as the result of an accident in 1997.
To this day Uhlenberg Haulage is a family run operation, with ownership and management being handled by brothers, Chris, Daryl and Tony. Mike is in retirement, but is still a regular visitor to the depot, with his keen interest in the UHLIES fleet being as strong as ever.