Warwick Lorenz, Managing Director of Australian Pump Industries reflects on the changing weather patterns and the potential impact of climate change in the way we live.
We love PEA magazine because it’s not just a lot of PR about the latest turf care equipment. The content of the magazine has changed since Elaine Sharman became the Editor. She has a wider view that takes into account the ongoing dramas created by climate change and much more than that. Elaine sees the industry from her perspective. It’s significantly broader from those of us who live in it every day! The industry has to change, and it will. I hope this column will provide some ideas on where it can go as we deal with a changing world.
THE AUSSIE PUMP’S PERSPECTIVE
We started this company in the shed in my backyard about 31 years ago. Yes, it was a big shed! We started out on the basis that we thought it would be a lot of fun. We respected the people in the industry, particularly the mower shops, pump shops, and the specialist repairers of small petrol and diesel engines. Coming from a farming family we
understood what farmers go through and witnessed firsthand what it’s like to experience the agonies of a six-year drought. One thing we decided was we wouldn’t behave like the big corporation-owned brands. We would be face-to-face with our dealers and consumers so that we got the benefit of their firsthand experience.
CHANGING WEATHER
Everybody I talk to says that they are well aware that Queensland floods, Victorian Bushfires and the drought in southern NSW and SA are all brought on by the Albanese government. That’s obviously nonsense. It’s a reflection of the changing weather patterns which are tipped to continue. Even while I write this story, we are trying to work out how we can better help the people in central QLD who may have lost a million head of cattle, drowned in the last few weeks. Imagine that! Pause, just for a moment, and imagine you are that farmer looking out over a sea of flood water with half or even more of your herd floating around, swelling up, your life’s work. Queensland has been the hotspot for us now for weeks. We have shipped record numbers of pressure cleaners for the cleanup and pushed loads of Aussie ‘Flood Lifter’ 4” and 6” Honda petrol and Yanmar diesel powered pumps up just to clear the water away as the floods recede.
MOWER SHOP EVOLUTION
This is where climate change is taking us. We believe, and we are seeing it right before our eyes. Mower shops are realising that they need to broaden the product range and that means sell the best, not some second-class load of third world junk that will only get you a bad reputation. More shops are starting to get the idea of selling transfer pumps. You’ll notice that ours, although they’re Honda driven, have a significantly better performance than those produced by Honda in Thailand. Here’s what we can do to help you broaden your business. It’s about quality. We don’t just mean it’s got to look good or be shiny but rather products that have got to perform. Our Chief Engineer, John Hales has a big sign up in his office that reads, ‘We design and build machines as if we were going to use them ourselves’. Show me a big corporation that does that rather than thinking about how they can design the cost out of their products to get some drop through. We are fanatical about the quality of the product and its function.
Our QP402 4” flood lifter is unique. It produces 1600 litres a minute and will draft water through a suction lift of over 8 meters. It’s huge priming tank enables it to achieve real suction. Our 3” transfer pump, QP303 outperforms Honda’s version of a similar product by producing 10 metres more head with the same horsepower! Not only that, but we also build it with a Honda GX200 electric start as an option, a big advantage for emergency service folk, local government bodies or anybody in farming that’s over 65 years of age! All Aussie QP “Quik Prime” pumps are backed up by a unique five-year pump end warranty. Our trash pumps are hugely successful in the mining business with Newcrest, BHP and Rio Tinto being some of our very best customers. We are building specials for them that we wouldn’t expect a mower shop to stock but if you’ve got a mine nearby why not go see them. They want reliable service from a capable operation that keeps its word, just like you would.
GREAT AUSSIE DESIGN
Our relentless drive to build better machines than anybody else in the world is certainly true of our pressure cleaner range. Not only pressure cleaners but drain cleaning Jetters as well, are significantly better than anything we have seen from the United States or Europe. We think about the guy in the paddock using it. It’s all about that empathetic
approach where we imagine using it ourselves. The reason we can do this is because we have been dirty, we have been hurt, we have been working out in the bush on a 35° plus day. We get it, just like you do. That’s what
drives us. One thing’s for sure, people with large pieces of plant, B Doubles, tankers, fuel or water, long haul operators all have a huge requirement for effective cleaning equipment, and we have got it.
AUSSIES GOLD DISTRIBUTORS
We would like to have one Gold Distributor in each town. We have a fraction of the number of outlets as Davey pumps but we are more focused on quality than quantity. We want serious people, who are in the game and are prepared to face the reality of climate change and the need to move into more than just chainsaws and grass cutting equipment. We understand Stihl is number one in chainsaws, who doesn’t own a Stihl chainsaw? Our gear is the pump and pressure cleaner equivalent. Our industry can make a difference, provided we are prepared to do the work
and open our eyes to the fact that there’s more than being in power equipment than just lawn mowers and chainsaws. Get with the best, not the cheap stuff or the overrated and overpriced products of the past. For more information including our movies on practical testing of fire pumps, information about our free Safety Training Programs – you can give that away as a gift to all your farmer friends who have got pressure cleaners as it will increase their understanding, and you just might save them from injury! We are looking to recruit more distributors in areas where we’re not represented adequately. Our lines are open, give us a call on 02 8865 3500 or log on to aussiepumps.com.au
