Kerfab’s footprint in Queensland is growing as the attachments manufacturer looks to better serve customers of all sizes
Having a quality, Australian-made product backed up by boots on the ground to serve its customer base are two steps towards ensuring long-term success.
Kerfab firstly added a business development manager in Western Australia last year to support that state and has done the same in Queensland, with Michael Knight joining the company about six months ago.
Based in Toowoomba, he describes the experience so far in only positive terms and is proud to represent the manufacturer’s range of attachments.
“Every time I walk into a dealer, shop or farm, everyone tells me Kerfab builds good gear that is really solid, they get good reliability out of and they love using,” he says.
“As a business development manager, it’s just a good feeling when people say they love their Kerfab bucket, rakes, forks or cotton spikes.
“Even dealers say to me ‘you work for a really good company’ and for dealers to tell you that, it means their dealings with Kerfab over time have been good.”
Expansion plans
The addition of Knight to Kerfab’s team marks an important step in the manufacturer growing its Queensland presence.
Kerfab has had a northern region sales manager for many years, who is strategically based in Warwick, south of Toowoomba and close to two major highways.
Kerfab’s office footprint in Warwick is set to expand with warehouse facilities later this year, enabling more stock to be held in Queensland for quicker dispatch to customers.
“We’ll have space and pallet racking and we’ll have some stock which will help us with much quicker deliveries of products we sell all the time, but it will also help that we can say we’ve got a presence in Queensland,” Knight says.
“It’s going to speed up how quickly we can do things, so if you want a four-tine bale fork for your ag loader, we can say we’ve got one in Warwick, we can have it on a truck this afternoon and you should see it tomorrow in Toowoomba, Dalby or Brisbane.”
Multiple markets
For Kerfab to have the most popular products available quickly for Queensland customers, it needs to know what these actually are.
Agriculture makes up a significant part of the company’s offering, but other markets such as construction – particularly ahead of the 2032 Brisbane Olympics – and even the waste sector rely heavily on Kerfab attachments.
These markets all have unique needs and expectations, and being there to meet them requires a business development manager to be at the coalface with these customers.
Knight’s background is in agriculture, meaning he understands the seasonality associated with the industry and that farmers require particular attachments at different times of the year.
“I understand that agriculture is quite seasonal so I can prepare for that and the company will be better prepared for it,” Knight says.
“Within my role, I’ll be in front of some of the big dealers, the major distributors and importers of those pieces of equipment who are dealing with bigger agricultural customers and also some of the big construction companies talking about what’s coming up for the Olympics and what is needed.
“I know when cotton is being picked so I know when we’ll need cotton forks and I know when hay is being cut, so we’ll need hay forks.
“I also know when big companies have got a contract for delivering gravel to an Olympic site or the Cross River Rail.
“The first things to hit the ground with some of this big infrastructure is wheel loaders and excavators or a bulldozer and they will put a set of tines and a blade on a bulldozer – we’re in those markets.
“My focus will shift throughout the year and quite often, as with life, there are multiple things going on at once so it’s really finding out what it is the customer needs.”
Support role
Beyond just the obvious remit of increasing sales, Knight’s role within Kerfab in ensuring every customer gets what they need, whether it is a farmer seeking a single, off-the-shelf attachment or a major agricultural contractor or construction company needing several customised products.
Kerfab’s production facility is located in the northern Victorian town of Kerang, where a second factory was also added in recent years to keep up with growing demand.
Having a “great depth of experience” within Kerfab’s team of design engineers means Knight can contact the Kerang-based team and organise customised attachments to suit a specific need.
“I’ve been stepping into the office of some of the large grain handlers, and sometimes the conversation is just ‘we like the look of your new sweeps’, so I ask how many of those they need, what widths do they need and what are they being attached on,” he says.
“All these people have got multiple things going on so it’s up to me to make it simple. That’s one of my jobs – to listen, work out what they need and say here’s our solution.
“We’re well known for planning with large-scale customers six or 12 months out to get what they need.
“Those guys are seasonal as well, so when they need something to operate in December, they will start thinking about it now in January or February and we’re involved in that decision-making process.”
Top products
Kerfab’s range of Australian designed and made attachments includes everything from bale forks, pallet forks, four-in-one buckets, grabs and grapples, lifting equipment and sweepers.
Having such a depth of product means Knight can easily be in a conversation with a major grain handling corporation about their product needs as he can with a rubbish truck contractor about attachments for their fleet.
In that instance, Kerfab has worked with a major rubbish company to ensure its next batch of custom buckets are exactly what they need when it comes time to replace them.
“We’re well known that our buckets are guaranteed to last for 10,000 hours in the rubbish and waste industries,” Knight says.
“They’re already using our buckets – designed specifically for them – and maybe they want to add a bigger edge next time.
“These things run 20-odd hours a day doing rubbish and they may just say they need a hardened edge because they found out that the bottom wore a bit quickly.
“I can then go back to the engineers and ask if we can do a harder, bigger edge on the bottom and the answer will be yes.
“We also sell quite a few buckets to New South Wales grain handling organisations and we’ve designed a couple which are suitable for large volumes – again, it’s asking what it is they need.
“There’s a rolled edge on one of our grain buckets that we did, which the customer uses all the time.
“They also use a high dump bucket because they’re easier to operate, they lift higher and their volume is often bigger.”
Moving ahead
Not only will Kerfab customers soon have quicker access to their attachments thanks to the expanded warehouse facilities, but Knight’s presence means an extra dedicated contact who understands the needs of the agricultural industry.
Having spent six months in the role already, he has no doubt that Kerfab’s products are suited to what farmers in demanding Queensland conditions require.
“What makes Kerfab suitable for Queensland is that we are tough. We build stuff tough and we build it to last, but you have to go the extra mile and ask ‘what is it that you desire up here? What is different about us?” Knight says.
“We’re there to do what the customer needs and when talking to customers, I focus on the reliability and the structural stability and strength of Kerfab products.
“If you’ve got a situation where you need something, I’m the man to talk to and I’ll take it back to our design engineers and back to Kerang where there is a great depth of experience behind me.”
Michael Knight can be contacted on 0407 810 684 while Kerfab’s full range is available at www.kerfab.com.au
