Everything you need to know about FleetCrew’s latest expansion across Queensland

FleetCrew was recently featured in Resources Review, which highlighted the huge and exciting new developments in the major rollout of our service reach across Queensland. Take a read at the article below to learn more:

FleetCrew expands service offering to further support the mining sector

FleetCrew offers the mining industry flexible and ongoing rental arrangements with high-level customer service, providing a fleet of customisable mine spec vehicles that number in the thousands.

The company recently expanded its fleet provision services to include a Cloncurry location, which, along with branches in Brisbane, Dysart, Mackay, and Mt Isa, supply fleet across Australia’s east coast, as well as South Australia and the Northern Territory.

FleetCrew was established after founders Ben Harris and Mary-Ann Strelow identified a gap in the market for the provision of high-quality 4WD vehicles and other specialist light vehicles, where maintenance and customisation of fit-outs was central to the service offering.

As a mechanical workshop-centric business, the company has a full range of customisable Toyota vehicles for hire, with mine site-ready fit-outs, featuring specifications such as VHF radio, in-vehicle monitoring systems, gross vehicle mass upgrades, heavy duty steel trays, and rollover protection systems.

Rental arrangements can range from one day to three years, cater for various fleet sizes, have delivery options available, and are always supported by FleetCrew’s knowledgable and experienced team.

Along with customising its hire vehicles, FleetCrew can also provide weed and seed washes with the accompanying weed hygiene declaration, and an extensive range of site vehicle inspections and certifications.

FleetCrew’s expansion was predicated on finding the right people and/or business partners with values that aligned with the company, co-founder Mary-Ann Strelow told Resources Review, resulting in a controlled growth where the business has been able to maintain its quality and level of service.

Strelow added that while the company’s main business strategy was in the vehicles it provided, it was the crew behind the fleet that saw crucial value creation for the business.

She said: “We set out to provide a new level of expertise in mine spec vehicle hire, where our people took the time to understand the customer’s needs and site requirements.

“People first is the way we expand our business, so we’re keeping control of our quality and our service offering.

“Last year, we expanded our branch network in north Queensland to include Cloncurry, which we will build on our service offering in Mt Isa – we’re excited to expand our fleet in Cloncurry as we move into the dry season, as we believe there are lots of opportunities in the area.”

With industry sustainability considerations at the forefront of customers’ minds, providing the newest and lowest-emission vehicle models is key to FleetCrew’s business looking ahead.

Its fleet is three (to a maximum of four) years old and is continually upgraded with the newest models and technologies.

Co-founder Ben Harris noted that customers working in remote locations needed to have a certain level of robustness to the vehicle, so it was a matter of balancing that with lower environmental impacts.

The company has invested heavily in solar power where it has been able to do so, and also regularly reviews its own sustainability policies and procedures with a continuous improvement philosophy.

Harris said: “Mining is a big part of what we do, but we provide vehicles for a diverse range of industries.

“Over the last couple of years, a very large percentage of our hires have been for renewable projects like solar, wind, and hydro.

“Those projects could be large projects and/or power supply for mining sites that are looking to reduce their own emissions by supplying their mine site with renewable energy.”

Harris said FleetCrew had an excellent relationship with Toyota and was constantly talking to them about new technologies coming forward.

A recent addition to the fleet over the last 12 months has been 12-seater 4WD buses, which have a post-manufacture conversion under second-stage compliance.

This converts the standard 2WD commuter bus to AWD with high- and low-range 4×4, as well as upgraded suspension and wheels for improved off-road performance.

FleetCrew currently offers the new 2024 model V8 manual 70 series range of vehicles and will be adding the option of the automatic four-cylinder range very soon, which have performed well under testing.

Another upcoming addition to the company’s fleet is a range of Fortuner 4WD SUVs, to meet demand for ANCAP five-star-rated 4WD wagons, as well as the newest model of Toyota Prados later in the year.