Henry’s Happy with his Isuzu NNR Traypack

Henry describes himself as a bit of a ‘jack of all trades’, comfortably applying his skills to carpentry, brickwork, tiling, painting, bathrooms, kitchens, renovations, extensions, irrigation, and landscaping, all with the assistance of his NNR 45-150 AMT Traypack Crew.

“I was born in Kenya, where I worked as a builder for six years before moving to Australia in 2012,” Henry said.

“Since then, I’ve become the sole proprietor of Built By Henry. I am happy to do the small and the large jobs – you name it, I can build it.”

Most of his clients come from word-of-mouth recommendations and he’s kept so busy with these that he says he doesn’t need to advertise.

“I have requests for services across the country from New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia, to South Australia and even Tasmania. I’ll see where I end up,” Henry added.

“I’ve had lead-on jobs from clients working in Kalgoorlie, who own houses in Sydney that need work.

“I may even be heading to Adelaide for my next job and that is a result of a recommendation from someone I worked for in Queensland.

“I have a lot of work already booked. That’s why I have the Isuzu NNR 45-150 AMT Traypack Crew.

“It does all the hard work, and I do the easy jobs,” he joked.

In terms of tools and equipment, Henry’s story is like one that has been told a hundred times over. He started off with a ute but found it just did not deliver in terms of payload, towing capacity or efficiency for the business.

“You can’t run a carpentry business in a ute and trailer,” Henry said with conviction. “It’s just not possible.

“With this Traypack crew model, I can comfortably carry other workers to site, including all my gear, tow a trailer and still have no issues with weight.”

When asked about his reason for choosing an Isuzu truck, Henry gives a small chuckle.

“Back in Kenya, if it’s not an Isuzu, you don’t touch it.”

Despite his predisposition to the brand, Henry did his research on the Australian truck market for two years before settling on the NNR 45-150 AMT Traypack Crew from Isuzu’s Ready-to-Work range. 

He finally walked into Goldfields Truck Power Isuzu in Kalgoorlie last year to pick up his new workhorse.

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“It’s the best thing ever,” Henry said. “There’s a lot of savings from changing from a ute to a truck.

“For one, I save a lot of time. I no longer need to muck around going backwards and forwards like I did with the ute, carrying materials.

“It is also fuel efficient… there’s actually no difference in terms of fuel consumption compared to the ute, but I get additional power and towing capacity.”

Running Isuzu’s hearty 4JJ1-TCS four-cylinder engine at 110kW of power and torque of 375Nm, the NNR 45-150 AMT Traypack Crew comes with enough power, and more than enough capacity for Henry’s needs with a GCM of 8000kg.

“I can now carry all my tools in the truck, all my necessary materials in the trailer, and tow everything to the site in one go.

“Even the client is happier—they see you working all day at the site instead of going in and out to collect materials.

“They know they're spending their money well.”

To Henry, upgrading from the ute to a truck was a real game changer for the business. He enjoys it so much that he is thinking of investing in another.

“I’ve got my eye on an Isuzu Tipper, so I can easily dispose of all the waste with a push of a button.

“When you've got the NNR Traypack Crew, you've got everything,” Henry added.

“It’s an office, a lounge chair and a grand set of wheels – all rolled into one.”