By Victoria Stone-Meadows
The adage ‘without trucking Australia stops’ is especially true for outer suburban growth regions. Hallam truck parts business Truckline has a very special woman behind the wheel, who has her roots firmly in the Casey Cardinia Region.
Casey Stewart grew up around trucks. Her father drove trucks, her grandfather drove trucks, she and her brother would compete to be the first to call out the make and model of a truck when travelling with their dad on the highway, and she has worked her way up through the ranks of the trucking industry.
Long story short, Casey Stewart is all about trucks and is currently Truckline’s territory business manager for Victoria and Tasmania.
Australia’s largest retailer of aftermarket truck and trailer parts, Truckline supports all makes and models of North American, European and Japanese commercial vehicles.
Despite being a heavily male dominated industry, the Kooweerup woman has never let her gender get in the way of her hard work and determination in the trucking industry.
“My grandfather and father were both truck drivers for their entire working lives,” she said.
“I grew up in trucks, around trucks and learning about everything to do with trucks, so when I was 15 I knew I wanted to work in the industry. Family friends in Clyde, Helen and Ian Castles, gave me a start in their truck and trailer parts business,” Casey said.
For about 10 years Casey spent her time working with Ian and Helen on and off and learnt the importance of a hardy work ethic.
“Helen was a hard task-master but at 15 I had a lot to learn and I will always be grateful to them for giving me a start and teaching me everything I needed to know,” she said.
“I actually rang and thanked them when I got my current role,” Casey said.
Casey’s practical knowledge about truck parts and their function within an engine came from learning on the job while working alongside her father and grandfather.
“A lot of the older drivers would come in and say ‘I need a part, don’t know what it’s called, come out to the truck and I’ll show you’,” she said.
“They would take you out to the truck and point out the problem part and explain what it did – it was the best way to learn.”
Casey now has returned to her hometown of Kooweerup with her husband – who also drives trucks – after working in various truck-related businesses over the year.
Six years ago she started at Truckline in Hallam as a spare parts salesperson and since then has risen though the business to where she is now.
She said there were times when being a female in the trucking industry made her job difficult but her attitude to her work always made her a valuable asset to any team she worked with.
“In the early days of my career I had to have a thick skin, customers would come in and if there was a male behind the counter with me, they’d make a beeline for him which was frustrating,” she said.
“I found that by working hard to prove myself, I overcame the stereotype – I gained respect by learning and doing.
“I’ve personally done all of the roles that fall within my team so I can confidently manage team members in those roles.”
She said her approach to her work was very pragmatic and she didn’t place unrealistic expectations on her team.
“I never ask anyone to do something that I can’t or haven’t done myself, and I put customer service at the centre of everything,” she said.
“My team is very customer-focused; we’re almost a little bit old-fashioned in how we approach service. Going that extra step for our customers is just what we do,” she said.
Casey chalks up some the credit for her amazing success in the industry to the workplace culture of Truckline.
She said the cultivation of staff that really cared and had practical real-world knowledge of the industry meant their customer service was top notch.
“Our philosophy is that we focus on good old-fashioned customer service, combined with our broad and diverse knowledge of European, Japanese and American trucks and trailers,” she said.
Through her long days and years of hard work, Casey learnt how valuable it was for anyone to have dedication and commitment in their chosen field.
When asked what advice she would give to other young females looking to join the trucking industry, Casey said as long as you worked hard, you’d be all right.
“This industry lets you be yourself, there are no pretences,” she said.
“I was told to find something that I love and then it would never feel like work, and that’s honestly how it is at Truckline – it’s all about working for a great company with great people.”
“It’s a small industry, everyone knows everyone, and it really is like a family full of good, hard-working honest people. I can’t imagine working in any other industry.”
She said trucking was an important part of the Australian industrial landscape and anyone should be proud to be a part of it.
“The line ‘Without trucks Australia stops’ is absolutely true – I take my hat off to truck drivers, it’s a hard job where you don’t get to see your family much and you could even lose your life like my best friend did,” she said.
“I don’t think most Australians realise just how tough it is. I’m really proud to be part of it.”
Never afraid of a little hard work, Casey said she would definitely take on the challenge of stepping further up the hierarchy if the opportunity presented.
“You never know,” she said.
“They might need a woman at the top to shake things up.”
