About Us
A Brief History of Tohora
Started by Steve Bullôt, a vastly experienced Transport Engineer with considerable regulatory experience from almost ten years as Senior Engineer Heavy Vehicles with the NZ Transport Agency. Tohora Enterprises Ltd offers an advisory service to companies and organisations looking to maximise their value in the Heavy Transport field by ensuring they are fully compliant at all times at the lowest possible cost. This service is offered to all those in the Heavy Transport sector and all those who operate vehicles over 6 tonnes commercially, whether looking to invest in new equipment or maximising the use and efficiency of existing equipment, to take advantage of the country’s increasing reliance on road transport to meet the ever growing freight task.
Tohora Enterprises offers a Fleet Management System development and implementation service to enable transport operators to meet their compliance requirements, improve their ORS & protect their TSL in the simplest and most cost effective way possible. We can also assist companies or individuals wanting to be appointed by the Agency as Inspecting Organisations to meet the Agency’s Quality Management criteria.
With their long history of involvement in the manufacture and operation of heavy vehicles, Steve and the team at Tohora Enterprises can also provide a production engineering service to assist heavy vehicle manufacturers to maximise throughput, quality and consistency while minimising waste and ensuring the most efficient use of resources.
The Story of the Whale
I have been using the Tohora name and whale logo for all of my endeavours, both business and
recreational, since the mid 1970s. It all began when I was building my first Formula Ford from a fairly well worn old Valour that I bought in Auckland. Once the car was in my shed we started a major rebuild that included new bodywork that was more aerodynamic but also quite a bit more bulky than the more minimalist body that the car originally wore. This all took some time collecting bodywork from various sources. The main bodywork was off a Lola T342 that was matched to an engine cover from, I think, a Bowin P6, all painted black with gold pinstriping. After all this work the car looked much bigger than when it went into the shed and when we pulled it out the first thing one of my helpers said when he was able to step back and take it all in was ‘F***, what a whale!’. Well, I couldn’t really call my race team ‘Whale Racing’ so, after a bit of thought we came up with the Maori word for whale, Tohora. Tohora Racing has a much more melodious sound so its been Tohora ever since but I must be clear, Tohora refers back to that original race car and not to me as some unkind people have suggested!
Steve Bullôt
Steve’s career with heavy vehicles began as a
Production Engineer with Todd Motors on the team developing the first NZ assembled Mitsubishi Fuso
heavy trucks, helping set up the line, developing the
build sequence and preparing and monitoring the assembly process. Other vehicle related roles followed; at NZ Motor Bodies he designed and built buses and coaches for both the NZ and export markets, at HMC he managed the manufacture and fitting of Palfinger knuckle boom truck cranes, at Lowes Industries (NI) Ltd he managed the
design and manufacture of fuel tankers, fire appliances and other specialist vehicles. Later he engineered the productionising of the Australian designed and developed Bushmaster IMV, a state of the art protected mobility vehicle. This included setting up a bespoke assembly line complete with all tools, jigs, fixtures and assembly processes including process sheets and the implementation of quality systems to meet the stringent requirements of the Australian Defence Force. This experience combined with his almost 10 years as Senior Engineer with the NZTA, responsible for HV regulatory issues including the implementation of the HV Brakes Rule and the development of the HV Brake Protocol, gives Steve a unique understanding of the heavy
vehicle operating environment. Steve is also an approved Energy Efficiency Conservation Authority Fuel Management Advisor.
Steve Bailey
Steve is an accomplished automotive engineer and an effective regulatory administrator with a broad range of skills and experience. His involvement with heavy vehicles is also lifelong with his father having operated his own trucking business.
Steve was employed by the NZTA for over 12 years, mostly as Technical Coordinator for Heavy Vehicles. Steve has a proven ability to identify, research, design and implement new inspection and maintenance processes and procedures to enhance compliance and road safety and to assist the industry make the best advantage of the Land Transport Rules that affect the road transport industry.
While working at the Agency he worked with Steve Bullôt to develop significant legislation and processes including the HV Brakes Rule, the HV Brake Test Protocol and the new CoF service delivery model in 2014.
Russell Walsh
Russell can trace his association with road transport back to a transport company that was operating in Wellington in 1908. A qualified motor mechanic, diesel mechanic and auto electrician he became Wellington Transport Manager for NZ Post in 1990 followed by a period as National Fleet Manager. This involved him with the transition of some transport operations from company drivers to contract drivers and the intercity linehaul services. He then spent a few years doing contract work including operational auditing, cost improvement and accident analysis for many organisations including MITO in a standard setting role and with the NZ RTA before joining LTNZ (now NZTA) where his roles were varied and included supporting the introduction of the Operator Licencing and Work Time and Driver Licensing Rules. Russell was also employed by EECA on its HV fuel efficiency programme.