Reaching the Peak: the story behind Sir Harold

Everything Region Peak owner Brian Harper does has meaning and purpose, including a Kenworth T909 honouring his father, Harold Francis Harper.

Words by Chris Smith. Photography by Chris Smith.

Walking into the Region Peak depot in Somerton is eerily calming. For a transport company the workplace is strikingly ordered. There is nothing out of place. The trucks and equipment seem to gleam.

I am here to talk to Brian Harper, the owner of transport and logistics firm Region Peak, to get a story about the company’s flagship 2018 Kenworth T909 affectionately named Sir Harold.

I quickly find out that below the calm in the depot is a storm.

Brian’s mind is moving at cyclonic pace with a tsunami of calls and issues to deal with constantly.

His phone call count is a minimum of 200 a day and he doesn’t use a computer. His workplace is his desk, his phone, a wall of whiteboards and paper.

This was once a one truck operation but today it is a mid-tier player growing remarkable quickly. Brian is over every part of the business; he makes things happen.

I am used to talking to truckies and transport owners and expect interruptions when interviewing, that is just part and parcel of my job. However, seeing what I see I welcome the opportunity to interview Brian’s youngest daughter, 22-year-old Brianna, instead.

Brianna is named after her dad and it is as clear as day she shares his passion and enthusiasm for the business.

Just like her dad she bleeds the pink, white and grey that makes up the tri-colours of Region Peak.

Her elder sibling Rochelle chose a different path, law enforcement.

Brianna tells me her dad is her hero.

“When I was at school and was asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, my answer would always be I wanted to be my dad,” she says proudly.

She praises him with giving the family a good life and tells me he is the hardest working person she has ever met and one of the smartest people in transport and logistics.

He, she says, is the go-to person to get things done.

“My dad is one of the hardest working people I have ever met in my life. I don’t just say that because he is my dad,” she says.

“It was very hard as a child not having dad around, but he had an empire to build. Me and my sister never went without, which was good, we are grateful. He is an amazing provider,” she tells ACT.

The same work ethic has caught Brianna and her goals are set high.

“The company has been in the blood since I was born, both mum and dad started it over 30 years ago,” Brianna conveys.

She says she was the child that would want to come into the depot on weekends and school holidays.

“I would be out doing up the trucks. I think I was able to do up a trailer buckle before I could say hello,” she quips.

Her passion hasn’t waned and seems to be stronger than ever today.

Her goal is long term. She wants to take over from Brian and run the business one day and ensure her children and their children keep his legacy alive.

With a teacher like Brian, Brianna is learning from the best.

She says her dad came from a trucking background himself.

“My granddad ran a transport company for over 40 years,” she says.

She reads me an excerpt from a previous story written about the company: “Brian recalls waking up in the early hours of the morning with his brother to head out on the road with his brother and his dad.”

His brother is Richard and his father was Harold Francis Harper. That is who the 909 is named after, in memory of his father Harold.

She explains how the business first started.

“Dad started out with one truck and he was working for himself. Then mum and dad were like, let’s start a business,” she explains.

Over the years the company grew from a one truck operation to the business it is today with 92 employees, 32 sets of b-doubles that run up the highway every night and is open 24/7. It also has a substantial fleet of local delivery trucks.

“It does not stop. The gates do not close, whatsoever,” Brianna attests.

She says the growth has been rapid in the last five years and that a strong team is in place to manage the business including her stepmother, Dona Harper, who has been with the company for a decade and is the General Manager.

She explains her father stays out on the floor as well as overseeing the different departments.

Reg Peak is at the forefront of using technology throughout its business using fleet tracking, speed monitoring and warehousing programs including Fleet Seek and TransLogix.

They also have cameras in all the local trucks.

Compliance is all done by the book.

Ironically, the big difference between Region Peak and other companies is that when it comes down to Brian, everything is paper rather than paperless.

“He wouldn’t know how to turn a computer on, he is a hands-on person. Out there on the floor he would do things that you wouldn’t even expect to happen. That’s why we are not electronic. Brian needs to see the paper and he needs to physically see what’s happening. He can’t sit in front of a computer. One, he doesn’t have time and two he wouldn’t know how to work it,” she explains.

She says her father has a photographic memory and amazing mathematical ability. ”The amount of times I have gone down to him and said do you remember this pallet and he would say yep, I put it here, on the truck, this day, this is where it is from this is where it went, people are dumbfounded he’ll be able to recall what he did with a pallet over a year ago,” she explains.

“This system has been working for 30 years so why would we change!”

For Brianna, in my opinion, she is a poster person for young people in the industry and women in transport with her relentless drive, ambition and passion for the industry.

“I have been working in the company for over three years. I have been in it for a lifetime, as the company is older than me. I have always worked in it beside dad,” she says.

“My role is in operations. I organise the drivers pick-up and drop-offs and things like that. We are very close with all the linehaul boys as well. We manage their fatigue and match it up with our tracking. I also work with pricing and things around that. I am pretty much dad’s go to person. I work very close to him, if there is a problem, we try to solve it”.

Adding to the obsession, everything… seriously everything is meticulously and carefully planned. From the name of the company, the naming of the vehicles even to the new wave livery livery have strong back stories.

The company name well Brianna explains that it means “serving all regions always reaching a peak”.

The new wave livery also has significance, it represents the week in transport and logistics.

“The story behind the waves is the Monday it is quiet, then Tuesday it gets a little busier, it goes up, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday is insane,” she tells me her dad’s explanation.

She says she thought her dad was having a mid-life crisis when he changed the company logo and colours to black and blue and implemented the wave motif.

“I said why waves dad, what are you doing?”

“He goes everybody already knows me, so I want them to re-know me as something else,” she recalls the conversation.

“When you have been in something for so long a change is as good as a holiday, and dad doesn’t take holidays, so this change is the next best thing!”

As equipment goes the fleet is made up of a mixture of Ivecos, Western Stars and Kenworths for the linehaul fleet and Ivecos and Isuzus for the local delivery trucks. Most trucks have a five year cycle in the fleet.

With the trailers, they are all single origin coming from Vawdrey.

“For our trailers we go through Vawdrey. We have a maintenance department here and if anything needs repairing on our older trailers it gets done in-house. Vawdrey look after the new equipment under warranty,” she says.

“Dad has been with Vawdrey since Region Peak started. He has an amazing relationship with Paul Vawdrey.”

Brian worked with Vawdrey to create a custom-made trailer which is mated to the T909.

The choice of equipment has been based on reliability and relationships.

In regard to the Kenworth T909, well let’s just say he has a renewed affection for the brand.

“The first Kenworth Dad bought again he called “Miss I never thought I’d”.

He thought he’d never buy a Kenworth ever again, now he can’t stop. He is blown away with Kenworth,” Brianna says.

She says the 909 was Brian’s dream, and that is why it is named after his father. In fact, she says it is rare that the name of one of Region Peak’s trucks is male. The usual naming convention is female.

She gives an example of her dad’s second pride and joy in the fleet, a Western Star named Katori.

“This truck was his first big truck, a stretched Western Star. That was his look at this truck. I still remember when he brought it home, me and my sister were standing out on the front porch and we were like who the hell is Katori, because Dad names all his trucks after family and friends so every truck has a meaning to it,” she explains.

“The truck is actually named after both his daughters middle names put together Kate and Tori,” she elaborates.

“The only boys we have had is the JakeStar which is my cousin, that my dad gets along with well, we had one Shae, that was in memory of my cousin, we had one Ted, that was named in memory of my dad’s best friend. And now Sir Harold,” she says.

The sign writing on this truck is all in gold, rather than silver, to signify this truck is the best in the company, it is the flagship.

All the sign work was done in-house.

“We have a person that is employed here, who drives a truck during the day, when he needs to do sign writing, he is out the back doing that,” she tells ACT.

The bling was done through Kyzer Customs based in Shepparton with input from the T909 driver Nathan Paton.

The work from Kyzer Customs included tank trims with lights in top step.

Open ends on the bottom step and welded and mirror finished top trims.

Stainless bunk extension with Region Peak laser cut out.

Stainless wings with three lights at the top of wings. Headlight backings to suit the T909.

A hinge cover with seven lights.

A smoke bug deflector and side deflectors.

Stainless steer flares.

New under bunk stainless with no foot holes and a new fuel cut out.

Mirror lights were added to suit moto mirrors.

A 13” blind mount visor and stainless elephant ears. They also changed the front indicators to clear lenses and changed the roof lights to White LEDs.

Nathan Paton is one of Region Peak’s best drivers. According to Brianna Harper the truck would never come into the shed with a bug on it. It is meticulously cleaned and polished.

“That’s why he got the truck, because he looks after it. Brian would never let someone else drive this truck. It would have to look 10/10 all day every day,” Brianna says.

For Nathan and his wife Samantha they can not speak more highly of Brian Harper and Region Peak.

“I have been with Brian just over three years, it has been my fourth truck in just under three years.

I have been a bit spoilt,” Nathan tells ACT.

“Brian rings and tells him he wants him to go here and I know damn well that he is going to get it good,” adds Samantha.

“If something happens and I need him home Brian does everything in his power to help out.

“When my daughter was in hospital Brian just said to Nathan take a few days off, take what you need. Any time we have been in any form of trouble Brian has always been there for us. It is literally a family.”

Nathan adds Brian is a fantastic man to work for.

“When he said I am buying it for you, what do you want, I was like alright, how big is the cheque book,” Nathan says.

It wasn’t big enough for a 50-inch bunk, but he did get his ducktail top and high rise air cleaners and of course the Kyzer Customs Region Peak pack.

Rear Vision: where are they now?

Do you know where this truck is today, or have an update on its story? Tell ACT what happened next. We will verify current updates before adding them to the archive.