Blenners Transport marks 400th Kenworth with T909

Blenners Transport has taken delivery of its 400th Kenworth, with a new T909 marking almost four decades since the North Queensland family business bought its first Kenworth in 1988.

The milestone makes Blenners only the third family-owned Australian company to purchase 400 Kenworths.

Les and Judy Blennerhassett started the business in 1988 after Les, then a banana farmer, bought a truck when he could not find a reliable carrier for his produce. The operation has since grown into a national refrigerated transport business carrying fresh produce, frozen and chilled freight and other palletised goods.

Almost four decades with Kenworth

Blenners bought its first Kenworth in 1988 through Brown and Hurley Townsville. The relationship has continued as the fleet and the freight task have expanded, with sons Roger and Ben now working alongside Les and Judy in the family business.

The company reached its 300th Kenworth in 2021 with a 75th Anniversary Diamond Edition T659. Five years later, truck number 400 is a T909 finished in the company’s familiar green livery.

A T909 for a heavy-duty fleet

The Australian-designed and built T909 is aimed at demanding highway and multi-trailer applications. Kenworth offers the model with multiple sleeper, axle, suspension and driveline configurations, while its long-bonnet layout and large radiator are designed around cooling requirements in Australian operating conditions.

Current factory specifications list nominal gross combination mass ratings from 97 tonnes to 180 tonnes depending on application and configuration, with higher ratings subject to application and engineering approval. PACCAR Connect is also available for remote monitoring of vehicle performance, fuel consumption and maintenance requirements.

For Blenners, the latest delivery joins a transport operation that now combines road and rail services. The company’s published fleet information lists 195 prime movers, including 30 road trains, 284 refrigerated trailers, 50 rigid trucks and 79 rail containers, supported by depots across Queensland.

From bananas to a national refrigerated fleet

The 400th delivery is significant not simply for the number of trucks purchased, but for what it says about the scale of the business that has developed around them.

Blenners’ roots remain in agriculture and temperature-controlled freight. The company describes itself as a national specialist refrigerated carrier, with its linehaul fleet used for frozen, chilled and palletised freight and supported by in-house maintenance facilities at Tully and Brisbane.

Almost 40 years after the first Kenworth joined the operation, the T909 becomes the latest marker in the growth of a family transport business that began with the practical problem of getting North Queensland bananas to market.