Ken Bell caught up with Ben Josephs just after he had tipped off a load of basecourse gravel at the Northside Sand & Gravel yard at Invercargill.

Ben has been working for the Bates clan at Northside Sand & Gravel for two years. Before that, he worked at Ryal Bush Transport, driving a Freightliner Argosy bulk unit and also Central Southland Excavating operating diggers. Prior to these Southland roles, he had worked for Wyatt Haulage in Auckland, coming to Southland for family reasons.

Ben drives a Kenworth T410SAR powered by Paccar’s own MX-13 510hp engine, with 295,000km showing on the odometer. He delivers aggregates and landscaping supplies to clients as well as stocking its busy handyman yard. This truck replaced an older Kenworth T404.

When asked what his favourite stretch of road was, he replied, “The Kaimais.”