Deals On Wheels #454

No chance
of
missing
this truck at night
It was a tough shoot trying
to capture all 400-plus
lights on the Kenworth,
especially during the
horrific fires in the local area
derail a person. However, Frank and his new
wife Christine were following their passion
– there was no stopping them. Frank found
a way and bought his own fruit shop within
the Fyshwick Markets. They closed the old
shop down and gave it a complete makeover,
reopening as Go Troppo. If this were a
Hollywood film we would be at the part
where Frank and Christine get rewarded for
all their hard work with patrons lined up to
buy from the enthusiastic passionate young
couple and the money would roll in. Nope, it’s
not that kind of movie.
The competitiveness of the industry,
with almost more undercutting than the
transport industry, meant Go Troppo
struggled. But Frank continued to stock only
the best quality, in the best condition and
with a professional display. Luckily, Frank
had a strong wholesale clientele which
helped keep the shop, Frank’s passion, afloat.
After about 12 months, however, even
Frank began to waiver. Then the strangest
coincidence happened. “I’d just spoken to
my wife and my brothers,” Frank recalls.
“They said they would support me if I lost
everything. Then it was like a light came out
of the sky, and all of a sudden the business
turned.”
FLAGSHIP KENNY
It was this pivotal point that changed
everything for the Commisso family. The
store grew, another store was added, the
turnover in the stores grew, the wholesale
customer list grew and with that so did
the transport needs. Getting the product
delivered from the farmers and major
markets on time became paramount. In order
to ensure the best service, Frank Commisso
Transport was formed and the first flagship
Kenworth was adorned with the FCT name.
While Frank had his local delivery trucks,
1998 saw the arrival of their first ‘big rig’ – a
brand new Kenworth T600. Frank’s history
with the Iannellis meant it was always going
to be a Kenworth and the FCT T600 was a
piece of work. With its single trailer in tow, it
set about picking up only the best produce
from around New South Wales and Victoria
for all the Go Troppo customers.
Since that first truck, there has been an
anniversary model Anteater and then a
classic K104 in the Commisso ranks. From
the K104 it was a big jump up into the
company’s K200 ‘Fat Cab’ which is still in
service, though the T909 bears the majority
of the load these days.
So that is a condensed version of where
the company comes from and a short
explanation behind Frank’s passion for
produce.
Let us jump to passions number two and
three: trucks and family. Frank met Christine
back when he (wasn’t) driving trucks
without a licence. So Christine has been a
part of the team since day one. Every day
of the week you will find her running the
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