The Riverina-Murray region of New South Wales makes the largest regional contribution to the agricultural sector in the state and is the largest source of employment for the area.1
At the heart of the Riverina, lies the urban hub of Wagga Wagga, that finds itself in a central location along the agricultural belt of the Eastern seaboard.
Local tradespeople such as Ben Manwaring, Owner of BM Ag Repairs in Wagga Wagga, often find their success servicing farm equipment in the area year-round.
Ben services the regions around him by about two hours in all directions, performing all repairs himself.
“I repair harvesters with a specialisation in John Deere headers,” says Ben. “I go out around harvest time and fix them up and get all the headers ready for harvest time, travelling all over the agricultural belt surrounding Wagga.”
“I have been repairing headers for over 20 years, and have had my own business for 8 years,” says Ben. “The first year I started out repairing about 40 headers a year. Presently, I do around 80 headers a year on my own.”
Ben has built his business through word of mouth.
“I never really advertise. I started with a good base of customers and have built on that with word of mouth recommendations and repeat business,” he says.
With such impressive numbers on his books, the services BM Ag Repairs provides is particularly important during pre-harvest season when farmers are readying their equipment.
According to Mitch Chaffer, NSW Agriculture Business Development Manager at BSC Wagga Wagga, some of his customers will drive up to four hours to get stock for header repair season and harvest time.
“There are so many agricultural towns in the surrounding area. We carry a unique range of products and have huge amounts of stock in our ag shed out the back for the season. People know us and recognise us,” Mitch says proudly.
For several years now, BSC’s Wagga Wagga branch has been providing belt drive solutions for BM Ag Repairs. During this time, Mitch and Ben have gotten to know each other well and BSC has readily supplied Ben with the necessary parts and services to keep his business running smoothly.
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