CMV Truck & Bus Dandenong is in proud partnership with Prestige Civil Group, delivering hard working and reliable UD Trucks to handle their tough application work.
Prestige Civil Group’s founder, Pat O’Sullivan, started his own Prestige Paving business at the impressive age of 21 and hasn’t looked back. Having been at the helm of his civil construction operation for two decades, Pat understands all too well the need for durable, comfortable and reliable trucks, and proudly operates 10 UD Trucks.
Watch the video below to learn why Prestige Civil Group trusts UD Trucks to help deliver consistent and high-quality work to corporate and government bodies.
Pat left school when he was just 14 and started working at his father’s asphalt company, then in 2004 he established Prestige Paving.
“School just didn’t work for me,” says Pat. “By the time my mates had finished school I could quote up jobs and I had started a business. I’d fix a few potholes here and there with a wheelbarrow and a shovel.”
After buying his first truck Pat secured contract work with Scott from Guy Road Constructions, working on footpaths in the Melbourne area.
“Scott became a bit of a mentor for me,” says Pat. “He said ‘Pat, if you do the right things and make some smart moves you can do all right out of this job’.”
This was a pivotal time for the business and with great mentorship and his own personal integrity and work ethic, Pat’s operation was growing from strength to strength.
After 20 years of hard work, dedication and a vision of growth, the modest one-man operation has evolved to become Prestige Civil Group with a fleet of 60 vehicles. This full-service civil construction company has a team of 150 and is constantly looking at ways of expanding.
“I’ve always looked at opportunities that complemented the other things I was already doing,” he notes. “I had contracts with councils and I was buying concrete through the major suppliers and the service was pretty poor to us little guys.”
This led Pat to create his own concrete plant, much to the disbelief of his supplier at the time.
“I didn’t even think about mixing concrete and I had no idea to be honest. I just thought I’m going to do this to show them I could,” he recalls.
Pat’s entrepreneurial spirit continued and he looked at ways to complement his business.
“Because I’ve got a concrete business, I think about what else goes with concrete such as reinforcement steel. I knew I can sell steel to the guys who buy concrete.”
This was followed by the creation of a transport division providing bulk cartage services of products such as crushed rock for both clients and other suppliers.
“I built a soil recycling department, because we ripped out so many nature strips doing footpaths, I thought we could recycle this soil and re-sell it,” explains Pat.
Prestige Civil Group operates in demanding environments and the company's trucks face a range of tough applications daily. The decision to rely on UD Trucks stems from the need for vehicles that not only endure, but thrive in these challenging conditions.
“We used to have an old UD and it was bulletproof,” says Pat. “I bought a couple of the UD Quons for my livebottom semi-trailers and once I got into the Quons and the UD Croners I haven’t looked back.”
He adds, “Those UDs are the comfiest trucks I’ve driven and we run them all through the business now in all avenues like our civil side.”
Pat has chosen to work with the CMV Truck & Bus Dandenong team since their first truck delivery in 2019. Since then, both parties have collaborated to ensure that Prestige Civil Group were purchasing trucks that could handle the hard applications that are thrown at them.
“We give them a hard time and we’re filling them up with asphalt and concrete and they stand up to the test,” he says.
What began as a one-man operation performing road repair services has grown to be a respected provider of civil and road maintenance services to small and large corporate entities as well as state and local government bodies.
Pat believes that nothing is more important that his staff. He priortises their safety amongst all else and also introduced an incentive program in reward their efforts.
“I’m proud that I’m giving back, and I really do care about my people. This industry is like any other, there are some bad operators out there, but that shouldn’t ruin it for the rest of us,” says Pat.
“I just want my company to be respected. I want it to be looked at the way I looked at and admired certain other companies on my journey.”
The team at CMV Truck & Bus Dandenong are thrilled to have been able to support Pat and the Prestige Civil Group team through their growth journey, and we look forward to continuing to work together well into the future.