EXTRACT OR BLAST YOUR WAY WITH ISUZU

Identifying opportunity is definitely not a skill that Joseph Miller lacks. For Joseph, through working for himself most of his life, in excavation, general maintenance and starting a successful tow truck business with his two Isuzu SBRs, he has always been on the lookout for his next challenge. And this is where the story of Extract or Blast began: in 2017, after Joseph had taken up work driving the Hawkesbury River Car Ferries (HRCF) through New South Wales regions such as Mortlake, Sackville, Webbs Creek, Wisemans, Lower Portland and Berowra. For HRCF, one of the more relentless and recurring issues they faced were the mounds of muck and moss that would accumulate on their ramps. Aware of Joseph’s knowledge and background in maintenance, HRCF approached him about high-pressure jet cleaning of the ramps. And thus, Extract or Blast was born—with the blasting side of the business operations first established, followed by the waste extraction aspect. With the establishment of Joseph’s new business and his new contract with HRCF, he needed a vehicle that could carry his equipment—ultimately the Isuzu Trucks brand to once again support his operations. Joseph then set out for an Isuzu 2014 NLR 200 Traypack (NLR 45-150 Traypack)  transporting a high-pressure water cleaning unit on the back. With his Isuzu NLR Traypack, Joseph grew Extract or Blast more and more, providing much needed high-pressure jet cleaning services, blasting away at hard-to-clean surfaces. Joseph’s quick and natural progression meant he could up the business ante—incorporating the waste extraction side of his business, providing waste extraction services that see the extraction of sewage waste, as well as extracting waste to unclog greasy kitchen pipes and anything else. With the waste extraction side of his operations, Joseph needed to upgrade his Isuzu NLR 200 and add an extraction unit—all the while needing to keep the truck space-friendly. “I needed a truck with enough power, but still small enough to fit on the ferries, the ramps and be able to drive into customers’ front yards,” Joseph said. With these requirements of power in a compact form, the Isuzu N Series was the obvious choice.

Pictured: Joseph Miller and his Traypack

Joseph shared, “I went to Gilbert & Roach Newcastle in Gosford and bought the Isuzu NPR 75-190, which gives me both the power and payload I need to transport my equipment. “And my new NPR is also compact enough for me to access tight areas. “I also invested in an extraction unit with a 2,500-litre tank and, on top of that, a better high-pressure cleaning unit; this new unit is quieter, allowing me to work past the daily noise-restriction curfew, which my previous unit was too loud for. “When you’re a small business like me, you need that kind of edge to make it.” For a light-duty truck, the NPR 75-190 boasts an impressive gross vehicle mass of 7,500 kg and a gross combination mass of 11,000 kg. This not only allows Joseph to drive the truck right to job sites in hard-to-reach places, but also lets him cart his equipment on the back of his truck, and that’s alongside the 2,500 litres of waste he might extract on the job. “The truck’s got a lot of power, it’s a good little truck”, said Joseph. With his new truck, Joseph’s next step was to deck it out with Extract or Blast’s business logo, which he explained has worked wonders to generate work. “It definitely attracts the right attention! I do in fact get calls from people who have seen the truck and the number on the side of it,” enthused Joseph. Standing out from the crowd has other perks, like being easy to find at the supermarket! According to Joseph, his NPR doubles up as an everyday vehicle as well, it’s not just all work with the Isuzu truck. With the constant use of the truck, the odometer never stays stagnant, but Joseph said that hasn’t been a problem. Joseph explained, “It’ll drive about 600 kilometres a week; I use it for everything, so I’m often driving an hour each way to the ferries, plus all the other work and duties that come with life. “Isuzu has always been reliable, with dependable trucks… you can get a truck part just about anywhere as they have the most dealerships. “So downtime hasn’t been an issue! My Isuzu truck gets serviced by my local dealership, Gilbert and Roach Huntingwood, and the guys down there are pretty good. “When they do a service, they go over every nut and bolt. “Just like me when I provide a service, I provide more so people keep using my business—and that’s what Isuzu does too,” Joseph said.