Neville Coyne, the co-founder of what is today known as Coynes Freight Management Group Pty Ltd says it dawned on him that to “get ahead” he needed to become his own boss.
In 1950, he purchased his first vehicle, an old GMH, which he used to join his father, “Bobby” Coyne, delivering The Age newspaper.
The pair soon become successful in delivering parcels to homes and businesses.
Mr Coyne’s vision for the company was about expanding and providing a diverse range of transport services for businesses and residents in Melbourne and its outer suburbs.
It wasn’t long before Coynes was delivering parts to the Ford Motoring Company, in Campbellfield, and then taking spare parts from Ford and delivering them to the dealerships. By the end of the partnership, when Ford started using its own vehicles, Coynes had a fleet of 12 vehicles.
Trying to further increase business, Mr Coyne placed an advertisement in a daily newspaper offering the expert removal of pianos.
“Well, gradually we became experts,” he said.
“Uncle Harry and I did 11 pianos in one day. At roughly five pounds per piano – that was a fortune back then.”
“We then married up with a transport company from Sydney and we did delivery work for them until they sold out to a larger operation.” A solid business relationship continued with the new owners.
“They in turn had a custom brokerage arm but decided after a time to appoint an existing customs agent from Melbourne to handle this part of their operation,” Mr Coyne said.
“This led us to break into waterfront cartage in a meaningful way.”
My Coyne is proud of how Coynes has continued to grow.
“The way Coynes has carried on without me is a tribute to those who work there,” he said.