Living the dream in the small hamlet of Sutton near Middlemarch is local lad Alex McAtamney. Sutton is located about 60 kms from Mosgiel up SH 87 towards Central Otago, and aside from Sutton Transport‘s fleet of mainly Mack trucks, not a great else resides there.

Sutton Transport services the local area and Alex drives whatever is required on the day, be it a spreader, a bulk truck, or like the day Craig Andrews caught up with him, a stock truck, and then a truck load of hay.

Alex had just got back from the Taieri Plains in one of the company‘s Mack Ultra-Liners, having done a load of ewes to a farm near Allanton, and was in the throes of jumping into one of the other Ultra-Liners to drop off a load of hay somewhere on the Strath Taieri, near Middlemarch.

Alex loves this stuff. He has grown up around trucks as his Dad was also in the business, so he knows them inside and out. He has  only had his full licences for about two years but drives like a 20-year veteran.

The Ultra-Liners were new to Tuapeka Transport and have both seen the thick end of two million kilometres.

Alex would like to see more young people getting into the industry. He was lucky as he was basically born into this sort of work and enjoys the social aspect – meeting other people both in the industry and the farmers he deals with – not to mention the fact he is surrounded by Macks. “Great to see these older trucks still out and about earning a keep.”

Asked the vexing question, ‘Mountains or sea?‘ Mountains for Alex. No coastline anywhere near where Alex lives. Plenty of hills though, just ask anyone who has driven a truck up SH 87.

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