When he needs to get a point across, Andrew Burdett can be blunt as a brick. And fair enough. After all, shy and retiring types aren’t usually at the helm of a highly successful family business. Getting a point across has, however, also become a lifesaving passion for the forthright Burdett since a close encounter with the ugly ‘C’ word. Cancer!
Whatever you call it, a wee or a widdle, a pee or a piddle, a slash, a splash, a leak or a snake’s hiss, it’s all the same and rarely rates a thought with most of us until one of two things happen.
One, desperation! You know, the sort of desperation that makes your eyes water and you think you’re about to burst a valve and spring a leak. Literally and physically!
We’ve all been there, no doubt, and gratefully it’s a desperation easily fixed by a quick trip to a convenient toot or failing that, any tree, truck, shrub or scrub near enough to hide the hose or drop the drawers. True, easier for boys than girls but even so, still not a particularly big deal in the big scheme of things. Either way, the relief is instant.
Dad was a truck driver, Mum was a nurse and they started from home on a five-acre block not far up the road from here, with one second-hand truck.
Then there’s the second thing. Let’s call it distress, because that’s what happens when things get tough. Really tough. Deadly, in fact, with no instant relief anywhere on the radar. That gut-wrenching and potentially tragic moment when suddenly, desperate or not, you realise there’s something flowing down the stream that shouldn’t be there. Is that blood?
It is at that moment when, again, one of two things happen.
One, you do nothing. Write it off as ‘just one of those things … been drinking too much … probably strained something … maybe age is kicking in.’
Or, you do something. Quick!
Andrew Burdett chose the latter but only after a non-negotiable nudge from wife Jodie to get to a doctor, fast. So, he did and it almost certainly saved his life.
Burdett’s was founded by Andrew’s Dad and Mum with one second-hand truck doing deliveries of sand and cement to concreters, farmers and landscapers. Images: Alastair Brook
Now, with the sort of will that helped him build a hugely successful family business, a pragmatic Burdett has joined with Beat Bladder Cancer Australia to hopefully save others by creating awareness of the need for an immediate response. In effect, by turning the sides of tippers into mobile billboards with a simple, profound message: ‘Blood in your pee, see a GP.’
Obviously enough, Andrew had no idea something as sinister as bladder cancer was brewing inside. He’d even been on something of a health kick for the previous few years. Nonetheless, there was no hiding the fact that at 53 years of age and in the act of simply doing what came naturally, he one day peered into the porcelain and saw more than he ever wanted or expected to see.
Shock, he told me, couldn’t even begin to describe the sudden sense of anxiety at the sight of blood in his urine. Fear would follow soon after as the diagnosis of bladder cancer was quickly confirmed.
It was a time and an experience he was keen to recall as we sat in Burdett’s head office at Langwarrin about 40km south-east of Melbourne’s CBD. Five years had passed since we’d last seen each other; a random meeting in a bar in Louisville, Kentucky, of all places. Back then we were on separate trips to the US for the 2019 Mid-America Truck Show and Andrew was among a bunch of truck operators who’d made the trip across the pond hosted by a major truck brand. Typically, the boys were having a big night out. Truth be told, we all were.
However, he readily admits a lot had changed since that night in Louisville. For starters, after turning 50 he’d quietly conceded to himself – admittedly, after an overdue check-up with the local doctor – that after living hard, working hard and playing hard for most of his working life, it was time to show the body a little more respect.
Their fear was I’d just drop with a heart attack or stroke and quite honestly, I started to realise those things might be on the cards if I didn’t change.
Nothing too big, mind you. No sudden insertion into Lycra or budgie smugglers, just an active awareness to back off the bad habits that always seemed to run in sync with each other.
“When I drank, I smoked,” Andrew said abruptly, “and the more I drank, the more I smoked, especially on weekends or pretty much anytime I was away with the boys. No doubt about it, I pushed it hard at times and really, I was probably no different to a lot of other blokes around my age.”
Gathering his thoughts for a few moments, a candid Andrew Burdett continued, “The family was pushing for change, too. The drinking was one thing, for sure, but they could see the 14 and 15 hour days, almost every day of the week over so many years, were starting to have an impact.
“Their fear was I’d just drop with a heart attack or stroke and quite honestly, I started to realise those things might be on the cards if I didn’t change. So, I gave them both up, drinking and smoking.”
The benefits were soon palpable and by his own admission, the husband, father and grandfather was not only in better shape than he’d been for a long time but was enjoying more quality time with his family.
Andrew says he’s learned to “smell the roses” after being diagnosed with bladder cancer and has joined with Beat Bladder Cancer to create awareness of the issue. Images: Alastair Brook
On the home front, life was simply more sedate and there was much to look forward to. Heaps, in fact, especially with six grandchildren.
Meantime, on the other side of the coin, things were similarly buoyant on the commercial scene. Indeed, the business of Burdett Sand, Soil & Stone had stayed strong during and after the Covid period and with the company’s half-century of operation just two years away, a reinvigorated Andrew Burdett was optimistic and excited about the future.
Most significantly, after a great deal of planning and discussion, in July 2022 he’d taken the reins as sole director of the family business that he and his mother Pearl had been running together for more than three decades.
Indeed, P & A Burdett were a formidable mother and son partnership but at 82 years of age and with grandchildren and great grandchildren to be adored and spoiled, Pearl decided to retire from the business she’d started in the early ‘70s with Andrew’s father Billy Burdett.
It had been an inauspicious start to the family business, according to Andrew. “Dad was a truck driver, Mum was a nurse and they started from home on a five-acre block not far up the road from here, with one second-hand truck mainly doing deliveries of sand and cement to local concreters, farmers and landscapers. It was still a mainly rural area back then.”
No doubt about it, I pushed it hard at times and really, I was probably no different to a lot of other blokes around my age.
By the age of 12 or so, the young Burdett found himself spending most weekends on the loader in what was effectively a little garden supply business and while he would ultimately leave school and become a qualified carpenter, full-time involvement in an evolving family business inevitably became a priority.
Long story short, domestic differences saw his parents separate in 1992, Billy taking his entrepreneurial spirit north while Pearl and son settled in to make the most of a business centred in what was becoming one of Melbourne’s major growth areas.
Geography would, in fact, be a huge factor in the company’s rise to prominence as a leading supplier of specialised raw materials and bulk products in Victoria.
“But the business in those days wasn’t a big concern compared to today. Not even close,” Andrew asserts.
Indeed, in a pensive moment he appears surprised, even stunned when reflecting on just how far the business has come since its early days.
The Burdett’s operation has since expanded to around 160 employees, 85 company trucks as well as subbies, 41 pieces of earthmoving plant and three operating quarries. Images: Alastair Brook
“We’ve grown because we’ve been fortunate this south-east area of Melbourne has expanded massively over the years and we’ve been able to take the opportunities as they’ve come,” he says earnestly.
Even so, when asked if inheritance of his father’s ‘entrepreneurial spirit’ has been a contributing factor in the company’s growth, Andrew smiles thoughtfully, “Yeah, I’m probably like him in that respect. I suppose I’m a lateral thinker. I always reckon there’s light at the end of the tunnel even when it’s very dark at times.”
In due course, it would be an attitude that extended far beyond the borders of business.
Nowadays a high-profile entity throughout much of Melbourne and regional Victoria and drawing various raw materials from as far afield as NSW, Queensland and South Australia, the Burdett operation has expanded to around 160 employees, operating 85 company trucks as well as subbies, 41 pieces of earthmoving plant, eight mobile screens for contract work outside its own business, and what he describes as, “three operational sites (quarries) within a 100km radius of the Langwarrin base.”
Across the fleet, tippers range from small Japanese trucks for local delivery duties, to six-wheeler and eight-wheeler rigids and PBS combinations in A-double, B-double and various truck-and-dog configurations for heavy and long-haul work.
We’ve grown because we’ve been fortunate this south-east area of Melbourne has expanded massively over the years and we’ve been able to take the opportunities as they’ve come.
As for the wide range of makes and models in the operation, Andrew says simply, “You might say I like to spread the love a little,” explaining there’s a constant evaluation of the fuel economy and overall suitability of various brands for the different jobs within the group.
Lately, he cites Freightliner’s Cascadia as the benchmark in fuel efficiency yet rates UD’s Quon as the most versatile model in the fleet.
Overall though, the business now moves more than a million tonnes of material a year. The great bulk is sand-based product but as Andrew explains, “The business is basically sand out and other products back.”
The movement of ‘other products’ has, in fact, increased dramatically, “… because whatever sand we take out, 99 percent of the time we’re also bringing something back.”
Meantime, Andrew emphasises that the appointment of experienced plant and raw materials executive Matt Brauwer as general manager of the business has been beneficial in several ways.
Today the Burdett’s business moves more than a million tonnes of material a year, the great bulk of which is sand-based product. Images: Alastair Brook
For starters, it gives him the scope “… to concentrate on business opportunities and look at the bigger picture, particularly with the development of quarries.
“But the other big asset is that I find more time with the family and that’s more important now than ever.”
Smelling the roses
He sits quietly for a moment. “You know, not that long ago I would’ve said ‘bullshit’ if someone reckoned a walk in the morning would be good for you. But I now know for a fact it makes you more energised. You just feel better.”
Again, he appears to gather his thoughts carefully before continuing and it’s obvious that despite two years passing since the diagnosis of bladder cancer, the shock and realisation of that moment in 2022 remain raw and emotional.
“I thought I was pretty much bullet-proof,” he says sharply, “but then everything seemed to happen so fast.
We’ve grown because we’ve been fortunate this south-east area of Melbourne has expanded massively over the years and we’ve been able to take the opportunities as they’ve come.
“It was only a month or so since I’d done the deal with Mum to take over the business and everything was looking so positive, then this (diagnosis) came out of nowhere. Like I said, shock doesn’t even begin to explain it.”
A quick test with the local doctor was enough to fast-track an appointment with a specialist and from there, an operation to remove the cancer.
“In my case, the tumour was inside the bladder and that’s where I got a second chance,” he explained solemnly.
“The bladder is a sealed unit, just like a football bladder, so the tumour hadn’t spread anywhere else. If it had been on the outside of the bladder, well, I could be pushing up daisies by now.”
Any sense of relief, however, was short-lived. A few months after the first operation, a camera into the bladder revealed the tumour growing again. “That was a real ‘oh shit’ moment, when real fear kicked in,” he says emphatically.
Andrew Burdett cites Freightliner’s Cascadia as currently the benchmark in fuel efficiency yet rates UD’s Quon as the most versatile modelin the fleet. Images: Alastair Brook
Medical specialists, however, remained optimistic other forms of treatment would be effective and fortunately for Andrew, their confidence has been justified.
“Funny though, they don’t use the word remission so I suppose the best way to put it right now is that there’s no active cancer in the area being treated,” he says with what is best described as grateful acceptance.
“I go back every six months for another camera into the bladder to make sure nothing’s growing where it shouldn’t be growing.
“Still, you don’t really know what turns cancer on or what turns it off. It’s always in the back of your mind that it might come back somewhere or other but I’ll tell you what, it makes you very aware of living.”
Suddenly, the emotion is raw and explicit. “Seriously, I have a wonderful support network. My wife, great doctors and nurses, they’ve all been incredible, so calming. But yeah, bloody oath I get emotional about it. It’s your life you’re looking at.”
I suppose I’m a lateral thinker. I always reckon there’s light at the end of the tunnel even when it’s very dark at times.
Yet even in the early days after diagnosis, with anxiety and anguish running amok, Andrew Burdett was aware that quick medical attention was giving him the best shot of beating the disease.
“I wanted to know everything about it,” he emphasised, “so I googled as much information as I could and came across the Beat Bladder Cancer organisation and saw that about 3,000 people a year are diagnosed with this type of cancer.
“Looking back, it was a bit of a light bulb moment and straight away I thought I could do something to help, raise money or something like that but I was left in no doubt that the most important thing I could do was to raise awareness.
“So, it wasn’t rocket science to figure I’ve got mobile billboards on the sides of trucks and trailers, and it was really a no-brainer to get on-board with the ‘blood in your pee, see your GP’ message, particularly when you think that truck drivers are an aging workforce.
“It just made sense to push the message as much as possible, especially for men and women in my age group.”
The fleet ranges from small Japanese trucks for local delivery duties, to six-wheeler and eight-wheeler rigids and PBS combinations for heavy and long-haul work. Images: Alastair Brook
The message has already spread, he adds with a broad grin. “The local footy clubs we sponsor are all over it, too, with signs and logos.
“They see what we’ve done with the trucks and they’ve become aware that many of the people at the footy are just right for the message.
“You know, people who work hard, play hard on the weekends and probably don’t go to the doctors’ enough. All we want to do is make people aware that if something’s not right, get it checked.
“It’s not hard to figure out,” he insists. “The longer you leave it, getting it checked, the less likely your chances of survival. It’s as bloody simple as that.”
Despite everything though, Andrew Burdett remains as brash and blunt as ever.
When you think of all the soil and compost we’ve sold over the years, I’ve probably helped plant a few roses but now I take the time to stop and smell them. It’s definitely better than being under them.
“I’m still the same bloke in a lot of ways and still don’t have much tolerance for bullshit,” he shrugs, “but I am definitely more aware of what’s important. Really important, like living.”
Have you become a better person? The answer is immediate and emphatic. “A hundred percent I am. I’ve learned to smell the roses.”
Then, with a grin as broad as a bucket, “When you think of all the soil and compost we’ve sold over the years, I’ve probably helped plant a few roses but now I take the time to stop and smell them.
“It’s definitely better than being under them.”
