City Green started thirty years ago, based out of Porirua market, selling produce from the family’s 30-acre plot in Levin.
With aspirations to set up a long-term business model that they could eventually franchise, Andrew and David opened up their first bricks-and-mortar store seven years ago and have recently moved to a new site in the heart of Porirua’s retail zone.
Andrew says the business has grown rapidly since the move and puts that down to good location, strong branding and continued customer satisfaction.
“We upgraded to the larger 6x2 Fighter from our previous 4x2 (FK1025), because we needed something that could carry more load,” says Andrew. “The new truck is more powerful [207kW versus 184kW] and great to drive. The double axle on the back gives excellent stability on the road.”
Fitted with a 14-pallet Astrolite Motorbodies curtainsider with Anteco tail lift, the Fighter pulls up to 15T loads of fruit and vegetables twice a day, with 20% of the stock coming from the family market garden and the rest from local distributors.
Operating mostly from their store and occasionally retailing at markets in the Wellington region, David expects the Fighter to do around 30,000km a year.
“It’s been pretty economical so far. We don’t often have to venture too far out from Porirua, since all of our distributors are so close,” he says.
“We’ve both been impressed with the new truck – it’s easy to access, comfortable to drive and simple to manoeuvre. We also enjoyed dealing with Daniel [Beavis] at First Commercials, who managed the whole process for us.”
With a fresh new Fighter delivering their five a day, and then some, plus ongoing support just a stone’s throw away at [FUSO parts and service dealership] Diesel and Equipment Services, Andrew and David can focus on continuing to grow their business.
“Our long-term goal is to keep expanding, but the next few months will be a period of consolidation; we’ll be focusing on building our reputation in the market and servicing our repeat customer base,” says Andrew.
GVM/GCM: 18,000kg/20,00kg
Power/Torque: 207Kw/802Nm
Transmission: 6-speed manual
Wheelbase: 5,870mm
