The History of M. T. Andrews Auto Freighters

Maxwell Thomas Andrews, commonly referred to as "Shag," was born in 1948 in Kempsey, New South Wales. After growing up in the Coffs Harbour region, he returned to Kempsey in the early 1970s to work as a driver for his brother, Eric.

In 1973, Max established his own enterprise, MT Andrews Auto Freighters, specialising in the transportation of vehicles between Sydney and Kempsey from his residence in Frederickton. However, his initial truck, a red J2 Bedford, proved inadequate for the task due to its lack of power. To overcome this issue, Eric and Max ingeniously installed a V8 Ford Motor from Eric's speed boat into the truck, along with a Ford 500 radiator to ensure proper engine cooling. The bonnet was securely fastened by belts to hold everything in place…

As the business flourished, Max purchased a second truck in 1974, a green Chev. He was then able to hire his first drivers, including Charlie Ashworth, who remains with MT Andrews Auto Freighters to this day as the manager of the Sydney depot.

By 1992, the company was thriving, and Max occasionally employed his four brothers as drivers and mechanics to operate their fleet of five trucks. In 1997, Max finally acquired land and a shed to establish a depot in Kempsey, complete with storage facilities for customer vehicles, an office, and a workshop to service the continually expanding fleet.

With Max's astute business acumen, a Newcastle depot was opened in 2004, and an additional five trucks were purchased, bringing the fleet total to ten. Subsequent depots were established in Sydney (2006) and Melbourne (2010) to cater to the burgeoning Melbourne-Brisbane market, resulting in a fleet of 22 trucks. In 2015, yet another depot was inaugurated in Pinkenba, Queensland, accompanied by the expansion of the Kempsey depot. At that point, the fleet had grown to encompass 24 trucks. From its humble beginnings in 1973, MT Andrews Auto Freighters evolved into a thriving company in 2020, comprised of 27 trucks and trailers, multiple depots, and a workforce of 49 employees, which includes nine family members.