Tony Pedemont was born on 12th January 1954. Tony was the son of Roy and Beverley Pedemont and great grandson of Joe Pedemont, who was the founder of the Pedemont family removal business in 1895. Tony lived with his parents and 3 siblings residing at Brighton Ave, Campsie NSW on the same block as the depot. From the age of 4 Tony would pick up random items laying around the yard and sat them up on any of the parked vehicles.
Tony started full time work at 15 as an offsider. He obtained his C Class license in 1971 at 17 years of age and obtained his QLD Trailer licence in 1972 at 18 years of age.
At that time, Roy Pedemont Transport was servicing Canberra, the Riverina and Central Western NSW from Sydney. In 1974, Roy Pedemont Transport moved to a new custom-built facility at Chipping Norton NSW, built to suit the growing
requirement of new furniture transportation. From this, a new run was
established from Sydney-Brisbane. The fleet consisted of AECs, Leyland’s, Macks, Bedford’s and Albions with the freight being a mix of new furniture, removals, fragile freight, building insulation and pretty much anything that paid the bills. Roof loads were standard, and all trailers were designed for this.
Like all truck’s drivers, truck stops were an integral part of Tonys life, here is where his lifelong staple meal of T-bone steak and mushroom sauce developed.
In 1976 in QLD, whilst driving a Mack Cab over Rego V9090 delivering insulation, he met his future wife and best friend Dell. They married in 1980 and had five
children.
In 1978, Tony purchased the business from Roy and rebranded to Pedemont
Furniture Transport. At 24 years of age, Tony was now in the world of business ownership, taking on the six truck fleet. Tony was a jack of all trades, from
loading trucks, servicing and repairing vehicles, warehouse manager, driver and liaising with clients. Over the course of time Tony recruited a solid group of
employees, many who worked for him for between 20-40 years.
In the 80s and 90s with business growing steadily, Tony increased his fleet to 15 prime movers and 25 trailers. Depots were also established in Queanbeyan and Brisbane.
Tony assisted with the 1990 Nyngan flood appeal, driving from Sydney to Nyngan with Norman May the ABC broadcaster in the passenger seat.
In 2004, the company achieved the NSW Road Transport award “Master Carrier 2004”.
In the mid-90s, the company integrated shipping containers into the fleet for
versatility and ease of access at delivery points. This would be an early step in the company’s future direction.
Tony is now 70 years old and still comes to work every day to oversee
operations, Tony and Dell are still company directors. The company has 100 trucks/trailers nationwide, 700 shipping containers and employ approximately 100 people.
Tony is known as a visionary who provided mentorship and is a good friend to many in the furniture transportation business. He also sponsored and coached for many local sports teams.
In the words of his son Jack his father’s story is a reminder that with hard work, perseverance, courage and a generous spirit anything is possible.
Inducted in 2024
