1932
Opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge
JLP was established in the late 1930s by John & Lyla Pierce with a single vehicle and a commitment to provide quality service. During the Second World War, the company supported strategic civil projects in Townsville, including the Townsville Airfield and the critical Darwin road link. This early involvement in national infrastructure laid the groundwork for a culture of operational discipline and reliability.
Following the war, JLP expanded into construction and infrastructure logistics, before entering the petroleum sector in the 1950s through a long-standing partnership with Atlantic Oil. Over the following decades, JLP diversified into transporting chemicals, agricultural goods, and fast-moving consumer products — steadily building capability and scale.
In 2017, JLP refined its strategy to focus exclusively on bulk tanker road transport. This strategic shift positioned the company as a specialist provider of dangerous goods logistics, backed by a legacy of quality service delivery and uncompromising safety and compliance standards.
Today, JLP remains a family-owned enterprise with a head office in Sydney, and employs over 300 talented personnel. This includes drivers, workshop technicians, professionals in finance, administration and safety who, together with an experienced leadership team, deliver service excellence to our valued customers.
For over 75 years, John L. Pierce (JLP) has set the standard in bulk liquid transport across Australia. From humble beginnings with a single truck in the late 1930s to becoming an industry leader in fuel and dangerous goods logistics, JLP’s story is one of resilience, innovation, and unwavering commitment to safety. Three generations on, the company continues to thrive on the same values that built its reputation — reliability, integrity, and precision. This milestone is not only a celebration of JLP’s history but also a testament to its ongoing dedication to shaping the future of safe and efficient transport.
In the early 1950s, Lyla Pierce — wife of founder John L. Pierce — took a pioneering step to make the company’s fleet safer. Concerned about driver visibility at dawn and dusk, she collaborated with the Dulux family to develop a custom colour that would stand out on the road. The result was the iconic “JLP Yellow,” a vibrant hue designed for maximum visibility long before high-visibility standards became common practice. Today, JLP Yellow remains a proud emblem of the company’s heritage and its enduring commitment to safety and innovation — a colour that tells a story of care, foresight, and family ingenuity.
