Francis’ shuts its doors after 115 years

At its peak, Francis Transport was a regional powerhouse with depots also in Wangaratta and Derrimut (Melbourne), a testament to the family’s grit and never-say-die attitude through two world wars, the Great Depression, recessions, the global financial crisis and countless industry upheavals that saw less resilient operations shut down.

Third-generation owner Mark Francis said while it was sad that the business would cease to exist, it was time and the business had a great run.

“With myself being 68, my brother Ray who runs the Derrimut depot in his late 60s and our mum who is still a share owner in her 90s, it was just time for us to finish up and retire,” Mr Francis said.

“We tried to sell the business but unfortunately there wasn’t any buyers, so we’ve had to make the call to close the doors.”

Francis has always been a family-owned.

In 1910, Arthur Francis Sr. started the business with horse-drawn carts, hauling freight and beer in the Rutherglen area.

By the 1920s Arthur had purchased a Ford and an International so the company began hauling wine from Rutherglen to the railhead in Rutherglen using a Ford TT truck.

In 1923 Francis’ began loading wine barrels in Wahgunyah and in the 1930s the business upgraded to a three ton International, state of the art in its day, for the Rutherglen to Melbourne route.

Additionally, the local greengrocer would often travel with them to select fruit and vegetables from the markets to take back home to sell in Rutherglen.

Then in 1953 Mark’s dad Arthur (Pod) and Leonard (Hec) Francis took over the business.

Mr Francis joined the business 15 years ago after 30 years working for a pharmaceutical company in Melbourne, Sydney and overseas.

As the business says goodbye, there are close to 80 vehicles with the Francis’ well-known red and white signage sprawled across it, including 24 prime movers, around 35 trailers and 12 rigids.

“We’ve hauled everything from Uncle Toby's to timber, to transformers to MARS Petcare, to James Hardie building products, a lot of wool and in Melbourne, groceries,” Mr Francis said.

“Just general bits and pieces as well as beer to a local pub really.

“There's always been challenges; the transport industry has come under increasing scrutiny and compliance.

“Compliance is ever increasing, with regular audits from the authorities.

“You need to be very much on top of that to make sure it's well maintained.

“It's also a bit different now because in the old days, we used to basically deliver to all the shops. That's dropped right off because it's all being done by the larger companies.

“In the past, we used to have little trucks, which used to deliver to every shop and butcher.”

There have been many memories over the company’s expansive history, but best of all was the induction to the Hall of Fame of two of the businesses directors.

They, alongside the staff they employed, are the secret to the longevity of the business.

“My father Pod (Arthur) and uncle Hec (Leonard) were inducted into the Shell Rimula Wall of Fame in Alice Springs for their contributions to the industry, which was a great time for the whole family and business,” Mr Francis said.

“Loyalty to Hec and Pod has always been shown by the business's very low turnover of staff with today’s staff consisting of 35, including 28 drivers.

“We’ve always tried to maintain the "old school" and look after our staff as much as they look after our business.

“That’s why I’ll miss just working with the people; a lot of our employees have been here for 20–35 years.

“Our employees have contributed very much to the company's success on the basis they've been quality drivers all the way through. They knew what they were doing.

“We deliver good service, we've always tried to provide a service of being on time and listening to the customers.

“Our employees have been loyal and they've given good customer service as well, so it’s a combination of all of them.”

When searching Francis Transport on Google, it is not hard to find several recommendations and evidence of their reputation for caring deeply for their employees and families.

“We've tried to help the community over the years as well,” Mr Francis said.

“We have sponsored nearly all the clubs and functions, whether it be football clubs to golf clubs to bowling clubs to wine expos; each year we spend thousands of dollars on donations/sponsorships.”

So what is next for Mark Francis?

“I'll probably stay in Rutherglen, but while the doors of the business will be closed, we've still got a lot of work to go yet before we are completely done with the business,” he said.

“All of the assets are to be sold, trucks to be cleaned and prepared, and all equipment prepared.

“After all that's done, which won't be finished until sometime in October, then we'll look at what happens with the land, buildings and that sort of thing.

“Quite a few of our employees have got jobs lined up, which is also great.”

With a smile in his voice, Mr Francis wanted to leave one final message to the community that welcomed the family and business with open arms mor than a century ago and continued to support them.

“We'd just like to thank all our customers and all our employees. Thank them for their loyalty and support,” he said.

“Corowa has been a great place to base our business and we thank the community for all of their support of our business for 115 years.”