Three generations of Ian S Roger's family has been involved in the livestock haulage business and the next generation is waiting in the wings to get going if they so desire. Ian S Roger was born at Newton of Forgie in 1943 and has lived there all his life. His father John was a cattle dealer and after leaving school, Ian attended all the local markets with him and developed a great interest in the attendant transporting floats. The arrival of a 3- ton, petrol driven Austin lorry with a Clark and Sutherland wooden body for own account operations at the family farm in 1960, saw Ian S Roger achieve his ambition in driving.

Just like today, back then a livestock truck body was a considerable investment for any business, so the next truck to arrive, a 1962 BMC Diesel, reused the same well cared for wooden float. The BMC lasted six years and gave way to an 8-ton Commer, complete with a varnished cedar wood float with sheep decks.

In 1969, Ian married Rachel who shared the same level of enthusiasm for livestock and haulage as Ian and in 1975 the business name of Ian S Roger first appeared on the side of a lorry, after Ian's father decided to retire.In the same year the new company purchased a one-year old Volvo F86 6- wheeler, which was a technologically advanced motor for its time. One factor that makes the Ian S Roger fleet of vehicles so recognizable is the colour scheme which is truly unique and currently there's no other haulier in Britain that uses their base hue of Rover Sand paint which is an old British Leyland colour.

In addition to bringing up two sons, Graeme and Colin born in 1970 and 1972 respectively, Ian and Rachel dedicated every waking minute to running the farm and haulage business. Their hard graft began to pay dividends when gradual expansion occurrerd towards the end of the decade. In 1981, not long after the death of his father, Ian purchased his first articulated combination and that year also witnessed the arrival of the then new aluminium built floats with folding sheep decks. The frequent cleaning of the livestock containers also moved forward by leaps and bounds, as the acquisition of more modern pressure washers made the drivers' lives somewhat easier.

In addtion to the expanding livestock requirements, general haulage work was also on the increase and always up for a challenge the Ian S Roger trucks began appearing further and wider across the UK than ever before. By the end of the 1980s, Ian and Rachel actively gave up farming at Newton of Forgie to concentrate exculsively on road transport. From that point onwards the farm's 150 acres would be annually acutioned off for grazing to produce good land management and this useful practice still continues today.

After serving engineering apprenticeships in nearby Elgin, sons Graeme and Colin officially joined the family firm in 1991 and 1992 respectively, to help with the ever-growing levels of work, although as boys from an early age, both had shown a remarkable interest in the family's work and most of their free time was spent enthusiastically supporting their parents.

The family take their business roles seriously, but always have time for a wee bit of good natured banter along the way. The healthly mix of responsibility and enjoyment is perhaps the secret of how all four individuals work so well together and they are quick to point out that there are no official job titles used - it's all about teamwork to get the job done properly. In the workshop there is one full time mechanic assisted by an apprentice and around 15 drivers but peaks in workloads often see seasonal staff employed. All the staff live relatively locally and there's always a waiting list for any any vacancies.

The Newton of Forgie farm depot was extended in 2006 and a new wash area and office were added. Most of the vehicles are kept at another depot in Aultmore, where there's plenty of room for HGV parking.

Some years ago, Corgi ,the diecast model makers, approached the Roger Family and asked if they could make a model of one of their tractor units with a livestock trailer. The family readily agreed and the chosen unit was a 2003 Foden Alpha with a Houghton Parkhouse 2/4 deck livestock trailer, scale 1:50. It is now much sought after by collectors because Foden ceased production in 2005 and livestock trailers are much less common than other articulated trailers.