The 75,000th Volvo built in Australia
A commemorative handover, badged for the occasion.
2023, keys from Volvo Group Australia
As told in Volvo Trucks Australia's May 2023 press release, linked below.
Buying Volvos since the 1960s
More than 40 in the fleet at the time of the handover.
Andrew and Vicki Hill take delivery of the 75,000th Australian-built Volvo.
The milestone
One truck out of 75,000
Earlier in 2023, Gary Bone, Vice President of Volvo Group Australia, handed Andrew and Vicki Hill the keys to a milestone machine: the 75,000th Volvo truck to be built and delivered in Australia. Volvo Trucks Australia told the story in a May 2023 press release; this page is our short version of it.
By Volvo's own telling, we've been buying their trucks since the business started in Maitland in the 1960s, the same era Paul and Netta Hill bought into the local Esso fuel distributorship. Sixty-odd years on, the badge is still on the bonnet: at the time of the handover there were more than 40 Volvos in the Hills fleet.
Milestone trucks make a good photo, but the reason behind them is plainer and better: gear that looks after drivers and keeps turning up for work. That's been the buying policy the whole way through. The longer story of the business is on our history page.
In Andrew's words
Why it's still Volvos
At the handover, Andrew told Volvo Trucks Australia why the fleet keeps coming back to the same maker:
"We're keen advocates of quality and safety – we only hire the most experienced and skilled professionals right across our business – and we expect the tools we give our people to be the best available. Volvo's trucks are the safest and most reliable in the market."
"We're in the business of transporting fuels and vegetable oils, so we've got a clear interest in the development of biodiesel and sustainable aviation fuels. That's where the future lies, and we'll be carrying them in tankers pulled by Volvos."
The relationship didn't stop at 75,000: three new Volvos at Beresfield head office, May 2025, fitted on site with pump systems, driver fatigue monitoring and GPS tracking before entering service.
The original story
This page is our own retelling. The full press release, with Volvo's side of the handover, is on the Volvo Trucks Australia site, and the trucks themselves are on our fleet page.
The seat side of the story
Somebody has to drive it
New trucks keep arriving, and every one needs a professional in the seat. If reading about the gear got your attention: the hourly rate is printed in every ad we run, the training is paid and done properly, and you don't need fuel experience to start.
A pit stop at Gunnedah, between regional runs.
More news
More from around Hills
Chain of command: keeping Coolangatta Airport fuelled
Jet fuel, seven days a week, on four dedicated A and B-double units, and the MAN prime mover that joined the run in 2023.
"Truck driving is the only career for me", says Townsville truckie
Scott "Chub" Hawker drives road trains for Hills out of Townsville. Big Rigs asked him why he wouldn't do anything else.
Since 1960 · Family owned
Need something moved?
Tell us what needs carrying and where it has to go. The team at our Beresfield head office will come back to you with the right answer, not a runaround.