A very special 100-Year Mack Super-Liner was recently revealed in Sydney to launch a partnership between Smeaton Grange NSW-based Attcall Civil Contractors and The Black Dog Institute.

The striking black 100 Year Super-Liner truck and dog sports a distinctive custom paint scheme in an effort to promote awareness about men’s mental health in the construction industry.

“Mental health is a concern in our industry, it’s a major concern,” says Attcall owner and managing director, Clinton McKinnon. “We thought we needed to make a bit more of an effort and get a bit more behind raising awareness about mental health.”

“The Black Dog institute is primarily a men’s mental health initiative for the construction industry. Our way of looking at it is that our trucks are moving billboards so we just got behind them any way we could.”

The striking paint scheme features a sepia toned Australian flag in keeping with the monochrome theme of the truck. The truck is dedicated to a former Attcall employee who died recently. “This truck is dedicated to a bloke by the name of Charles Simons, or Huddy for short,” explains McKinnon.

“He passed away in 2020, he was a tough guy and all that sort of stuff, but he died because he was too proud to ask for some help. All he needed to do was make a phone call and ask for a bit of help and we would have taken him to the doctor. If he had’ve done that he’d probably still be alive today.

“From that day forward we recognized the need to engage with our employees a bit more, to recognize the signs for when people are struggling a little bit. So we thought it fitting to put his image on the door and dedicate the truck to him as well as use the Black Dog institute to support the cause. “Our business has been going well and It’s about time to give something back, we actually want to lend a hand. And this truck is to say that Black Dog is there for you.”

Kat Holeyman, corporate partnerships manager for Black Dog Institute is enthusiastic about the potential that this partnership has for spreading awareness around men’s mental health.

“Partnerships like this are so important for us at the Black Dog Institute,” says Holeyman, “We are building awareness, having a moving billboard going around Sydney, going out to construction sites and just driving along the road means people are seeing what we do and are talking about what Black Dog Institute is and what resources we have.”

“We may just get someone to reach out. We have come a long way, 10 years ago we wouldn’t have been having this conversation and we certainly wouldn’t be putting something on the side of a truck.

“We still have a long way to go, and that is why stuff like this is so important to the Black Dog Institute, because we need more people talking about mental health and we need more men opening up about their mental health.”