Ronald Royan
Ronald Bede Royan was born in Sydney on September 29, 1933.
He commenced work at his father's mechanical repair and towing business in 1948 and completed his mechanical apprenticeship.
Initially repairing cars, the business commenced truck accident repairs following approaches from insurance assessors and companies who were frustrated at the time taken to repair trucks. In those days 3-12 months was the standard. The company was able to reduce this to a few weeks and business soon flourished.
In 1970 the decision was made to focus solely on trucks and they moved to a much larger premises in Parramatta Road Granville. It was not unusual to have 5 trucks awaiting repairs on a Monday morning.
Growth followed quickly with Ron and his partner Don Andrews investing heavily in expanding their operations.
The first regional branch was created with the opening of Royans Wagga in 1980. In 1983 the company unveiled its first purpose built facility in Dubbo, opened by the then Premier Neville Wran.
The first interstate facility was opened in 1984 in Melbourne when Ron and Don partnered with Brian Church to create Royans Melbourne. A great family partnership now more than 30 years strong. Royans Brisbane opened in 1997 in Wacol and in 2002 the business purchased O'Neill's Truck Repairs in Newcastle, another family business with a strong reputation and history.
Today the Royan Group consists of 6 fully equipped truck and trailer repair facilities Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Wagga, Dubbo and Newcastle, along with Trucking Supplies in Wagga and is the largest commercial vehicle accident repair business in the country.
2018 will mark 75 years in business for the Royans and the business is in a strong position today thanks to the investment in property, plant and equipment, technology and great staff by Ron, Don and Brian, a far cry from the early days in a wood and coal yard in Parramatta.
Ron passed on his Directorship to his son Peter in 1998 and his grandson Ben also works in the business.
ReUnion 2017