Heavy Haulage Australia wound up after no buyer found

High-profile haulage company Heavy Haulage Australia will be wound up and more than 70 people will lose their jobs, after no buyer was found for the collapsed business.

Heavy Haulage Australia slumped into voluntary administration at the end of June, with administrators Brendan Richards, John Lindholm and Tim Michael from Ferrier Hodgson moving quickly to restructure the business earlier this month.

But Richards said on Friday that Heavy Haulage Australia had failed to attract a buyer that was prepared to operate the business as a going concern, amid continued tough conditions in the resources sector.

“While we received a promising level of initial interest from investors, the continuing fall in iron ore prices and the subsequent pressure on the Australian mining industry has seen that interest dissipate,” Richards said in a statement provided to SmartCompany.

The closure of the business will mean more than 70 jobs will be lost in Brisbane and Toowoomba in Queensland and Perth and Port Hedland in Western Australia.

Heavy Haulage’s assets will now be sold privately. The company’s assets include more than 50 prime movers, 120 haulage trailers, 15 cranes and 40 pilot and light commercial vehicles.

Heavy Haulage Australia has been operating since 1999 and specialised in haulage movements of between 4000-8000 tonne for the infrastructure and mining sectors.

The company was also a prominent sponsor of the V8 Supercars and the subject of a television series on Foxtel called Megatruckers, which was based on founder and “self-made millionaire” Jon Kelly and his fleet, which at the time of filming was reportedly worth $40 million.

Heavy Haulage Australia is the latest in a string of transport companies to collapse. In November 2014 Gregorys Transport fell into receivership, while Roadwise Transport Group entered voluntary administration in May last year.

“This is another sad day for the Australian transport industry but also further evidence that the decline in the mining industry is still very much continuing,” Richards said.

“The outlook for many of the companies with exposure to that decline is troubling to say the least, and further fallout is likely in the near future.”