If
you ask Roger Size, he works for a small business.
Ask
any of his clients, however, and WD Lewis and Co in Karoonda is one of the
largest and most influential rural machinery businesses in the region.
Such
is the bonus that both expertise and experience is having on their growing list
of clientele.
Traditionally
a region for farmer graziers and old school farming practices, the impact of new
technology is ensuring that more advanced and efficient farming systems are
working their way into the main stream in and around Karoonda.
The
combination of New Holland, FlexiCoil and Morris technology has been a major catalyst
for this development, however, it is the 50-plus years of experience in the
region that has forged the Lewis reputation as a premier supplier of not only
machinery, but farming expertise.
"This
is a third generation business, with a proud heritage of serving the local
farming community," Roger said.
"The
need for our services is growing, and we need to grow with our clientele to
ensure we can continue to deliver the service they have become used to," he
said.
From
a business perspective, Roger said the decision to be come a member of the
United Agri Group will have long term benefits for both the family's business
and most importantly, their clients.
"We
know our clients extremely well, in fact, we consider many to be like extended
family, and we are constantly looking for ways to assist them in their farming
and machinery needs.
"Becoming
involved in the UAG - a group of five dealers in SA and Vic - is going to
bolster opportunities for our clients to grow their understanding of machinery
and make considerable savings in the process."
Like
his fellow UAG members, Roger said the changes have been small to his business
but the improvements are great in terms of operation and managability of a range
of aspects of day-to-day business.
"Having
five members all buying parts as a collective has enabled us to have greater
purchasing power when fulfilling our parts needs. This is important as there are
cost savings that we can now pass on to our customers.
"Also,
the availability of parts has been greatly improved, with the amalgamation of
the five network members," he said.
"In
the past, if a farmer had a breakdown in the paddock and required an urgent part
that was not in stock, it would be up to a two day wait to have it shipped from
Sydney.
"Now
however, there may be opportunities for other UAG members to carry some of these
parts, thus cutting the downtime from one or two days to perhaps four or five
hours."
The
other bonus according to Roger, is that as a group UAG can carry parts such as
high value/low turnover items that one dealer could not normally handle.
"It
all adds up to a system that will provide us with long-term security and our
customers with the many bonuses of an expanded business system."