Hardi sets out to cater to the Australian farmer, no matter what size property they have
A single-minded customer focus and a practice of tailoring each product to Australian farmers’ needs has helped to set Hardi apart, company product manager Steven Lancaster believes.
The sprayer manufacturer employs over 100 people from its production base in Adelaide and continues to both grow and innovate, with last year’s launch of its targeted spraying technology GeoSelect being one example.
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Commander 8500 trailed sprayer
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According to Lancaster, a “genuine focus” on each customer from everyone at Hardi “whether it’s the person working on the factory floor or the CEO” has helped to ensure the company’s growth.
“I’ve been at Hardi a long time and the focus has always been quality of product and customer satisfaction,” he says.
“Everything we do is centred around customer experience and it’s quite a privilege to work for a company dedicated to focusing on that.
“That’s our first priority in everything we do, whether it’s a small pump sprayer, spare part, service phone call or selling a 9000 Rubicon – the customer experience is first and foremost everyone’s priority.”
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Saritor 62 Active self propelled sprayer
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Hardi also launched its GeoSelect technology in mid-2021, which is a selective spraying system that works in tandem with drone images to spray exactly where weeds are in a paddock.
Lancaster says the “cutting-edge and innovative” technology, which Hardi claims can reduce chemical use and costs by up to 90 per cent, has been “extremely well received” since its launch.
“Because we can get our customer experience right, everything else takes care of itself,” he says.
One example of this is the company’s willingness to assist their dealers in setting up new self-propelled sprayers for their customers.
“Every farm is different and it is important that we customise every machine to suit individual farmers’ needs,” Lancaster says.
“For example, we’ve just been out to Walgett and Coonamble in New South Wales. The machine came from the Walgett dealership, and so we sent our product specialist from Adelaide to Walgett to assist the dealership in setting up the machine and to train up the customer to get most out of his new SP.
“We also always ring our SP customers after the delivery and set up to ensure they’re happy with the machine and that it performs as expected.”
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Alpha Evo self propelled sprayer
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Beyond providing a good experience for customers, Hardi has developed considerable depth in its product range to ensure there is a spraying solution for different farming needs.
“We do a full range from a 1L pump sprayer right up to a 9000 Rubicon, so we cover a sprayer for everyone in our range,” Lancaster says.
“We build to the Australian farmer and centre our product range around them.
“Our Rubicon is now being built pretty much all in Australia, our Commanders and Navigators are built in Australia. Our machines are now designed and tested in Australia for the Australian farmer. A lot of our product improvements come by feedback from the Australian farmer as well.
“Right now, the Commander trailed sprayer is our most popular product. It’s the premium trailed sprayer in the range and offers nozzle technology and comes in 6,500L, 8,000L and 10,000L versions, with booms out to 48.5m.
“Our dealers have got a wide range of product they can sell. We certainly tailor to the Australian farmer because they are a lot larger in terms of land in relation to their European counterparts.
“They also use their sprayer a lot more, so we have to deliver a quality product, or it just won’t stand up to Australian conditions and that goes again with our customer experience. If we can’t deliver a quality product, we won’t deliver a good customer experience.”
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Zaturn 300 mistblower
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