Minus 1 grows fleet with 12 new DAF XG prime movers – For Minus 1 Refrigerated Transport, 2025 has been marked by strong growth, including the recent opening of its first Sydney facility and expanding its fleet to cater to increased demand for its transport services.
Family owned and operated, Minus 1 is headed up by CEO and Managing Director, Billy Barba.
It was started by his father Dominic Barba in 1986, with just one truck, delivering chickens across Victoria for Sunrise Poultry. By 1996, he made the decision to introduce linehaul services, moving away from outsourcing to subcontractors and instead growing its staff of employees.
Dominic’s children Billy, Dominique, Daniel, and Michael all work within the family business.
“Sometimes it was just the little things like stopping for a strawberry milkshake, and getting to see and do things while travelling with him in the truck. We only had a few trucks back then, so it was very different to how it is now.”
Billy began learning the ropes when he came on board 16 years ago – and following his father’s retirement, he took over as Managing Director in 2023.
Today the fleet includes over 180 trucks, running as rigids, B-doubles, road trains through to high productivity B-triples.
To support the company’s growth, Minus 1 took delivery of its first two DAF XG660 FTT prime movers in June.
The purchase followed a successful demo earlier in the year, where some of Minus 1’s most experienced drivers had the opportunity to see how well these trucks performed out on the road.
Following positive feedback from drivers, Billy decided to order his first two DAF XGs.
“The feedback has been positive, with power being the main highlight while towing our PBS combinations,” Billy told Big Rigs.
Powered by the 660hp PACCAR PX-15 6-cylinder diesel engine and rated to 97 tonnes GCM, these trucks effortlessly pull heavier combinations without sacrificing power or fuel efficiency.
The DAF XG660 FTT prime movers can deliver a superior fuel burn of 2.2 kilometres per litre. That’s aided by various design elements that help to bolster fuel efficiency – namely the truck cab’s tapered build, air fenders, closed wheel arch covers and adjustable roof air deflectors.
The XG prime movers also feature TraXon’s 16-speed automated manual transmission; and are well equipped with a host of technology and safety features.
These DAF XGs have adaptive cruise control including a frontal collision warning notice, an advanced emergency braking system and a driver airbag.
They also feature 360-degree impact protection, where energy-absorbing crash boxes are built into the bulkhead. The back of the cab features fully integrated rear crash zones to protect against moving loads, a programmed steering wheel movement reduces driver impact, and the dashboard includes impact absorbing zones to protect the driver’s knees.
Adding to this is DAF’s custom-made corner view camera, offering drivers a 285-degree view of the road, from the driver’s seat all the way to the passenger side, greatly improving the truck cab’s visibility. According to the manufacturer, it increases driver visibility by 33 per cent.
Impressed by its first DAF XGs, Minus 1 soon added to its initial order, with 12 of these prime movers now in the fleet.
“Our strongest lanes are along the eastern board. These DAFs will connect increased services from Sydney direct to Adelaide and Perth,” added Billy.
“The fleet is ever-evolving and moving through different states depending on the size of the contract we’re delivering on.”
The additional services come as Minus 1 opened its new Sydney site with a state-of-the-art cold storage offering. Located in Minchinbury, New South Wales, this is the company’s first facility in the state.
“Minus 1 has been operating out of Sydney for a long time,” added Billy. “The need for our own facility came from our growth in the region and needing to support our customers as they also grow. Supporting our team and customers with a world-class facility, that offers both transport and storage, is a game changer.”
The official opening of the new Sydney site took place on Friday November 21, with a special event and ribbon cutting ceremony.
The 20,000sqm facility houses over 15,000 pallet spaces across frozen, chilled and confectionary chambers, 19 recessed loading docks and its own truck workshop. The depot will see over 11,000 tonnes of stock cross the warehouse floor each week.
“The opening marks a new phase of rapid growth for the business, one that offers our 750 plus customers the end-to-end service of not just transport, but storage also. This is the future of logistics and we’re here to be the country’s best and most reliable refrigerated carrier,” said Billy, as he explained the company’s decision to bolster and diversify its customer offering.
“We recognised we needed to diversify our service offering given the volatility in the road transport sector. It was clear we needed to support our people with the right infrastructure and transition from a transport-only offering into a fully integrated, refrigerated logistics business.”
Billy says the current phase of business growth includes purchasing further infrastructure to support company operations, investing in new technology and being supported by the company’s 300-strong workforce.
“We’re a second-generation family business and we’ve come from humble beginnings. This has always been the anchor we need to propel us into our next phase of growth,” Billy added.
“The opening event was a celebration which included new and old customers, staff, and friends and family of the business. It was an opportunity to say thank you to the people who made this project possible and to showcase what the facility has to offer.”
Asked what he attributes to the company’s current growth and expansion, Billy added, “Growth is purely driven by our passion to service our customers and an ambition to value-add across many refrigerated logistics functions.
“The future for Minus 1 looks bright. My focus as the CEO and Managing Director is investing in our people, technology, reliable trucks like our new DAF XGs and continuing to grow our infrastructure in all states.
“We will no doubt look to purchase more DAF trucks as the need and opportunity arrives. They have been an integral part of our service and reliability factor and our truck drivers love driving them.”
Article reproduced courtesy of Big Rigs Magazine (January 2026).
Writer: Danielle Gullaci