Faye Lougher had been hoping to do a Just Truckin‘ Around on one of Higgins‘ smart cement tankers for some time and it was her lucky day because Sila Elia was stopped in Shannon when she was passing through. Sila had come from Wellington that morning and was heading to Palmerston North with a load of dry cement. His 2015 Mack Granite with a 12-speed auto was looking immaculate and he was happy to step out of the cab for a chat. When asked how he got into truck driving, Sila said he got tired of being a labourer. “I thought ‘what do I want to do?‘ I enjoy driving and have been driving trucks for about 10 years now.”

While he says the best part of the job has to be the driving, Sila also loves the variety. “I enjoy meeting different types of people and going to different places. There are some nice views in the Wellington hills.” Sila admitted there were a few problems in the industry, but didn‘t want to go too deep into that. “It‘s a demanding job, especially when it comes to operating the equipment. It‘s definitely a skilled job.” The old whether your curry should be hot or mild question saw Sila go for mild.

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