INDUSTRY PEOPLE
Across the company there are various roles, but everyone
wears different hats.
“Because we’re a family, we’re the people who you talk
to if you want to buy a piece of machinery, we’re the
people who come and set it up. We’re the people who
will deal with any financial issues. Our clients really know
us and can talk to us on a number of levels.”
One such connection Scott recalls is that while he was
being taken on-site as a child to visit a client, he now has
a business relationship with those same clients all these
years later.
His approach to everything client-related is to
“decorporatize” the way products are sold, or services
are delivered.
Elsewhere, the viticulture sector relies heavily on the
quality equipment supplied by Farmgard. One of the
things Scott loves about the business is the diversity of
clients and businesses and their individual needs.
“I’ve loved growing in the business, and learning about
all the different sectors. You never stop learning, or, more
importantly, wanting to learn. Once you stop wanting to
learn, you’re a bit stuffed.
“We’ve also tried to develop new strategies to support
our clients. They are busy, often they can’t get away to
events like Feildays, which is a major way to showcase
our products but also for the farmers, a way that they can
see what’s new out there. This year we rolled out a “Stay
On The Farm” special for those who couldn’t get away.
We try to see it from their perspective and work with their
schedule as much as possible.”
“We keep at the level of the client, without all the fancy
talk. That is one approach that might work for some,
but we find if we’re out helping out a roadside mowing
Farmgard is still a young company, one
contractor, the last thing they need is a whole “We keep at the level of with a lot of energy and much to give its
lot of corporate talk thrown at them. It’s not the client, without all the client base. The term “hungry” springs to
fancy talk.”
our style at all.”
mind in the sense that Scott is prepared to
reflect on how the services can serve the client. He
The work is widespread, and some projects the Farmgard
believes if the “spade work” is being done out on site,
products are bought for are major roading, farming,
then the client relationships will always be mutually
infrastructure projects. Scott works with clients big and small.
beneficial.
The grader blades of old are now high-tech units, and
every product is chosen for reliability and quality. For
example, the Celli brand is sold through Farmgard, and
one recent application saw some very happy Queensland
farmers getting work done with the rotary hoe.
At home, Scott and his wife have just had their second
baby who is a month old. Perhaps Baby Capper will
soon ride in dad’s truck to visit clients, just as Scott
once did.
The premises in Wiri, Auckland.
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CAM September 2019
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