Halo and Horsepower: Angel Transport’s Ayna Amina talks trucking

A hard start

Starting off was no easy thing, Ayna says.

“When I first started at 19 years old, I didn’t enjoy anything. I was thrown in with a truck driver because this is the way my dad thought I would learn about trucks – going with a driver out on the road and just learning how things are done.”

But it turned out her driver was also a rookie driver.

“We went out together and we were learning together – how to open the truck, how to open the tail lift, and at that age it was easy. But I was a fast learner.”

Then it was back to the office to learn about the business side – the most challenging part. This included the law, tax, and employment regulations. On top of that was promoting the business.

Being a woman from a diverse background was especially challenging in a male- dominated industry.

“I would say that was the biggest challenge because this brown Indian girl cold calling all these big tycoons, trying to sell her service – hey, we are a third-party business, we’ve got trucks available if you are stuck, call us and we will get you some trucks on hire.

“Sometimes I would cry myself to sleep because nobody would listen, or someone would have said really mean things to me. I would have left a message for a call back – no call back, email, no reply, and that was heart-breaking that night.

“Obviously, people thought, what sort of skills does this Indian girl have in the transport industry? And one day I was really upset where I was told off, like we don’t want to do business with a brown Indian girl. That was awful”

Ayna’s dad provided the reassurance she needed.

“When I was really upset that day, my dad was like: ‘It doesn’t really matter, Ayna, what anyone says, you do what you do, and you do the best.’

“It was a lot of hard work and a lot of effort just telling myself that I can’t let this get to me because I need to go somewhere, I need to be somewhere one day.

“It was very hard. But after building trust and reputation in the industry, it has helped me to be what I am right now, so I think everyone in the Auckland transport industry knows Ayna.

““I have been through the hard yards, know how to open a curtain, tail lift, pallet jack, or operate a hand trolley. So that’s how I’ve learnt.

“I knew that the service was required in the industry, that people did want to have a back-up trusted third-party, and I’ve proved to them that this is the third-party that they can have, where they could trust the professionalism.”

Winning the Outstanding Contribution by a Woman in the Road Transport Industry award in 2019, was a turning point.

“When I was won that award, that’s the day that I realised hey, all that hard work, and the effort that I’ve put into my business had actually paid off.”

This year, Ayna is celebrating her 20^th year in the industry with Angel Transport. It is also her 39^th birthday this year.

“It is hard work. It is gruelling. It’s just proving to everybody that you mean business. You know what you’re doing. And you have to put your head up every day and know what you’re talking about.

“Now I deal with major transport companies, and we are there as the only trusted third-party operator… Anyone can beat my cost, but nobody can beat the service that Angel Transport provides for them.”

For more information about Angel Transport and the services they offer, visit www.angeltransport.co.nz or call 09 279 3000.