Over The Fence #22 - December 2022

FENCE OVER THE

ISSUE 22

VIEWPOINT

Welcome to our December edition of Over the Fence.

I hope you enjoy reading all the stories and the wonderful examples of people living our values and working hard to support our customers.

It is certainly a challenging season. The current weather pattern is making for a wet and late harvest in many areas. While commodity prices remain very strong, there are a number of customers that are well behind their program. We can only hope that we get a drier period that allows for a reasonable harvest.

As 2022 draws to a close, we are very grateful for the achievements that have been made right across the business. Our sales growth and market share continues to develop. We have invested heavily in property improvements and system upgrades, and we have recruited a large number of new people that have started with the company. I am very proud of the effort from our Product and Logistics teams who have done an amazing job to get the amount of equipment here this side of Christmas. Our Parts fill rates continue to improve, and this was recognised in our customer research as a growing strength.

And most importantly, we are very appreciative of our great team of people. We ask a lot and know that you come to work to do a great job for our customers. It is what sets us apart. Thank you for everything you do.

I wish you and your families a safe and enjoyable time together over the holiday season. I look forward to working with you all in 2023.

Richard

When the RUBBER hit the road

We really know how to nail Our Purpose - Gearing Up Farmers to Succeed – when something goes wrong and needs to be fixed urgently for a farmer who is about to start harvesting.

On Wednesday 26 October at 3.07 pm, our Esperance team was with a farmer to hand over his new CLAAS LEXION 8800. But something didn’t sound right, and after a check, it was taken back to the workshop for further diagnosis. What looked like a component failure turned into a horror story of a full engine failure.

The farmer’s ready-to-harvest $12 million canola crop was potentially at serious risk.

Esperance Branch Manager Damian O’Neill says his senior technicians quickly connected with Regional Technical Manager, Andrew Shorten. Their in-depth analysis ensured CLAAS could see all the correct processes were followed, and they quickly agreed to supply a replacement engine.

Our Way - In It Together

When the crop’s ready, big dollars are at stake for the farmer, and the clock’s ticking across multiple time zones, that’s when you need to know your team has your back.

Landpower Melbourne Parts Manager Andrew Hurley, Product Manager Steve Reeves, and Technical Specialist Dieter Thresh, supported by Peter Jones and other colleagues along with Marcus Schmidt (CLAAS Australia), got on the case to find an engine. Bingo –Hamm in Germany came up trumps.

Getting an engine from one side of the world to the other, then fully installed and operational while the crop waited, was going to be a major mission. Having scrambled around to find airfreight space, the right packaging and paperwork were critical to move quickly through the red tape.

With engines classified as ‘dangerous goods’ (due to being used with fuel and oil), the paperwork had to be perfect to meet the stringent requirements of the pilot and airlines. The team couldn’t risk the engine being left behind on the tarmac.

Continued overleaf

Newsletter for the Landpower & CLAAS Harvest Centre Team

Message from your CEO, Richard Wilson

Ash Reichstein from Laurina Farms standing beside the failed engine.

hit the road

Our Way - Front Up

Meanwhile, back in WA, Damian and his team were in contact with the farmer at least twice a day to let him know how things were tracking. Damian said that they’d fronted up with the worst-case scenario for each hurdle they had to overcome from day one.

Once the pilot and airline accepted the new engine, it left Germany on 28 October and was in Perth on 1 November; less than a week since the team had first heard that sickening engine sound.

Our Way - Keep Growing

Having the right paperwork and processes saw customs clear the engine quickly for pickup. A great believer in challenging people, encouraging the right mindset, and giving them a reason to shine, Damian had sent 2nd-year apprentice Alex Beeby on the 8-hour drive to Perth the day before.

Alex was waiting at the airport to load and strap down the engine as soon as it was cleared. Meanwhile, back at the workshop, Service Technician Nigel Hynes had the harvester prepared and waiting for the new engine. Nigel had cancelled his days off to control the job from start to finish. With apprentices Alex and Tyler Berry, they worked long hours to get the engine installed.

Damian said the wet weather over that weekend also helped – it enabled Nigel to slow some of the work down to ensure they were being extra meticulous. By 6 November they were ready for the run-up, but not quite. CLAAS KDT Tech Sebastian Beck from Germany was roused to get the codes from the Mercedes factory to unlock the communications module. They were now good to go.

Up and harvesting

On 7 November – just 12 days after the original engine had made that heart-sinking sound, the machine was delivered back to the happy farmer. With harvest underway the Esperance team kept a close eye on progress and continued to be on hand 24/7 for ongoing adjustments.

The care, commitment, and problem-solving of coming together and putting the farmer’s needs at the centre of every action and decision have paid off. Damian says the farmer is so grateful for how they responded, their ongoing communications and support. The story is becoming legendary and

is making the rounds in their local community, and they’re receiving a lot of referral enquiries as a result.

The moral of the story?

» This was a bigger situation than most – but shows how our people respond all day, every day to headscratchers of all shapes and sizes. That’s how we roll.

» Whatever the situation, you need to know you can count on your workmates. That’s what In It Together means.

» Strong supplier relationships help us when we need to pull out the stops. Our everyday management of those relationships – direct and indirect really does matter.

» There are so many more people in this story. Every effort from every person counted and counts every day. We’re all part of Gearing Up Farmers to Succeed.

When Herby Whyte started this business in 1975, it was based on strong, honest relationships to do it better and more efficiently to deliver the right solutions for farmers. And nearly 50 years later, the team’s still nailing it.

And last word from Damian: “I wish I could get around to thank everyone personally for the way they stepped up and did everything they could to help us deliver to this customer. If you put your efforts and mind to solving the challenge, no matter how big the barrier, you’ll defeat it in the end.”

GOOD on ya

Ryan Hodgkinson (Christchurch) recently completed his New Zealand Certificate in Business (Introduction to Team Leadership) Level 3 through Wintec.

Over the ditch, Zul Hadimansah (Katanning) was nominated by some of his team for the Rotary 3rd/4th year Apprentice of the Year Awards, and came runner up. The panel said they had a hard time picking a winner were very impressed with Zuls attitude, knowledge and understanding of his role.

Oh BABY!

We welcome two new arrivals to the Landpower and CLAAS Harvest Centre family.

Callum Hill (Gippsland) and his partner Brianna welcomed Everly Louise Hill in October.

Ben Kairey (Melbourne) and his wife Lana celebrated the arrival of Maeve Thea Kairey on 2nd November.

Pretty in PINK

To mark Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the team in Waikato went “Pink for a Day” and raised funds with a pink themed high tea. Special thanks to Nakita for organising.

Gumboot FRIDAY

Our Christchurch team got together last month in gumboots and gingham to raise awareness and funds for Gumboot Friday.

Gumboot Friday is an initiative created by I AM HOPE to provide kids with free counselling.

Everly sleeping soundly

Maeve is cute as a button

The Waikato Team in their best pink

Great work Ryan

Garth Human and Travis Menghini with Zul on the awards night

Gumboots & gingham!

FIVE minutes with Darren Sandford

Manager - Marketing & Customer Experience

TELL US A BIT ABOUT YOURSELF

Born, raised, and schooled in Canterbury, New Zealand, before leaving on an OE that lasted over twenty years. Lived in countries such as Australia, South Africa, Botswana, and Dubai during that time. I returned to Christchurch one week before the first earthquake and have lived here ever since. I am married with two adult children who both live in Melbourne.

WHERE DID YOU WORK BEFORE LANDPOWER?

I completed ten years with the Caterpillar dealer for New Zealand ‘Terra Cat’, formerly named ‘Gough Cat’. I had multiple roles during this period, with the last four years as GM of Marketing and Customer Experience.

WHAT’S YOUR ROLE?

General Manager Marketing and Customer Experience. With every Landpower team member, we are responsible for ensuring that every time we serve or interact with a customer, the experience creates a positive perception of our brand in the customer’s mind. When we meet the needs of our customers throughout all touchpoints of the lifecycle, we build customer loyalty. It is my role to ensure this happens.

WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU’RE NOT AT WORK?

I play social tennis and like to run the trails, mainly in the back country.

WHICH SPORTS TEAM DO YOU FOLLOW?

Crusaders, All Blacks and most recently, a converted Black Ferns fan.

IF YOU COULD HAVE DINNER WITH ANYONE DEAD OR ALIVE, WHO WOULD YOU CHOOSE?

Daniel Kahneman, a Professor in Psychology, received a Noble Prize in Economic Sciences despite having never taken an economics course. I find the insight into how humans make mental shortcuts to arrive at decisions fascinating.

CLAAS Harvest Centre, Wagga Wagga ran a successful pre-season Combine Clinic ensuring CLAAS LEXION owners get the most out of their machines and was a great chance to swap notes with other operators and meet the local CLAAS Harvest Centre team.

Snowfall blanketed parts of New Zealand as a surprise spring cold snap moved across the country. CLAAS Harvest Centre, Otago looked like a winter wonderland in October!

General

SHOW time!

Northland

Wagin Woolarama Central Farm World South Island Agfest FarmFest

Mystery Creek

Flying the flag at CASINO

Having exhibited at the Primex Field Days in NSW for 30 years, Dover & Sons put on another great display at this year’s event last month. A record number of exhibitors and visitors attended Primex which is held each year in Casino, coastal northern NSW.

Priding themselves on their long service to the agricultural community, Dover & Sons see Primex as a valuable opportunity to reconnect with local farmers to learn as much information as they share.

Starting in 1900, this multi-generational family business has been going for 123 years(!) and is one of Queensland’s oldest farm machinery companies with branches in Beaudesert and Boonah.

2-4 Mar 23 10-11 Mar 23 16-18 Mar 23 24-26 Mar 23 29-31 Mar 23 4-6 May 23 7-9 June 23 14-17 June 23

CUSTOMER evening

The team in Central Districts ran a successful customer evening with over 220 customers in attendance. It was a great opportunity for everyone to catch-up over a few beers.

Manawatu Mayor Helen Worboys was there to present Tony Brett and Jordan Law with their TrAction Sales Awards.

BLACK out

The team in Christchurch donned their best black outfits for “Black Out Thursday” to help show their support for the World Cup winning Black Ferns.

CONGRATS!

Congratulations to Nick Portbury (Dalby) who just completed his Cert III in Automotive SalesParts Interpreting.

Des Cuzner also recently gained his certificate III in Automotive Sales through recognition of prior learning.

What’s NEWS?

If you have a story or photograph that you’d like to submit for the next issue or would like to be our next “Five Minutes with” candidate, please email Dale Whearty. We’re after people focussed content and both in and out-of-work achievements such as fundraisers, new babies, weddings, sports competitions, fun runs etc.

Des and Nick

SAFETY matters

THANK YOU to our Safer Together Workers’ Forums

All members of the New Zealand and Australian forums have absolutely personified Our Way this year – they have Fronted Up in numbers each meeting, worked collaboratively In It Together so we can all learn and Keep Growing to help keep ourselves and each other safe and well. There is a broad representation from all our businesses across both countries so we can really hear the voice of our people. We enjoy many valuable and robust discussions around what’s working really well in a safety sense, what we are finding challenging and what’s on the horizon. It is particularly rewarding when a challenge is raised by a member and another member steps in with their experience of the same challenge and shares the solution they have worked through and established. This is what the forum is all about.

Each forum meets four times a year, and in early 2023 we’ll be offering the opportunity for new members to join.

Seasonal risk awareness

Risk factors around Fatigue, Driving, Working in Heat are heightened during harvest and the summer months. Please ensure you and your teams are fully prepared and equipped for working in such conditions and plan ahead for all possible scenarios.

For more information, go to Knowledge Farm and follow the relevant path below:

» Health, Safety and Wellbeing \ Procedures \ Fatigue

» Health, Safety and Wellbeing \ Procedures \ Driving

» Health, Safety and Wellbeing \ Procedures \ Temperature \ Heat

Now for a couple of extra-special notices for our Aussie contingent: Snakes – there’s certainly more around with the warmer weather, breeding season (Oct-Apr) and heavy rains forcing them away from their usual habitats and seeking safety around buildings. Never attempt to catch, pick up, move or kill a snake – if you see a snake, back away slowly. A snake will only bite if it feels threatened or is surprised.

Mozzies, mozzies and more mozzies - heavy rain has created prime conditions for diseases such as Dengue Fever, Japanese Encephalitis and Ross River Virus caused by stagnate flood water across eastern and southern regions, and tropical viruses have made their way from Queensland to Victoria. These diseases can be transmitted to humans by an infected mosquito and authorities advise to apply insect repellents and wear loose clothing as mosquitos can bite through tight fitting fabrics.

If you have an increased mozzie situation in your area, please stock repellent in the dealership for staff use and provide all vehicles with repellent sprays / creams / patches for use when out and about.

P.S. I hear the Bushman range of products comes highly recommended for our particular brand of mozzie.

Everyone is asked to review their practices in the above areas to identify opportunities where safety may be discussed, shared and improved, and have deeper conversations particularly with new staff to ensure thorough understanding.

Kylie Petronio Safety & Wellbeing Business Partner

FIVE minutes with Donna Rasmussen

Administration Manager - CLAAS Harvest Centre, Dalby

TELL US A BIT ABOUT YOURSELF

I grew up in Brisbane and moved to Dalby (the country) when I finished school and I have been here ever since, love the country living. I am a wife and mother of two, a son that is eight and a fur baby that is one.

WHERE DID YOU WORK BEFORE CLAAS HARVEST CENTRE?

I worked at Chesterfield Australia (John Deere) in Dalby for 10 years.

WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU’RE NOT AT WORK?

When I am not at CLAAS I am at my husband’s business helping him or attending my sons afterschool activities. But I do love spending time with my family fishing/ camping/motorbike riding.

WHICH SPORTS TEAM DO YOU FOLLOW?

NRL – North Queensland Cowboys.

IF YOU COULD HAVE DINNER WITH ANYONE DEAD OR ALIVE, WHO WOULD YOU CHOOSE? Jonathan Thurston –legend in my eyes and a very funny man.

GREATEST ACHIEVEMENT/ACCOMPLISHMENT?

The day my son was born, he is our miracle baby!

Say hallo!

Jorn Van Kol (third from left) joined the GRIMME Team in Melbourne in August for a 10 week internship as part of his Agricultural Engineering studies from the Netherlands.

Jorn, who has family in Southern Victoria dairy farming, approached Landpower directly to see if we could facilitate this internship. Luckily with a couple of Dutch speaking members in the GRIMME team we were able to qualify with his Dutch

College to help him complete his internship. During his time with the business Jorn has been a great part of the team working on PD’s, machine installs, and start-ups.

Jorn has now returned back to Holland to complete his studies and we are hopeful he can come back when he is qualified. With this his first big trip away from home at 18 he also picked up some valuable home cooking skills!

WELCOME aboard!

New STARTERS

We welcome the following individuals:

Aaron Riches, Service Technician – GRIMME, Melbourne

Aiden Johnson, Service Technician, South Gippsland

Ansgar Ingwesen, Service Technician (fixed term, exchange programme), Geraldton

Bailey Pettit, Parts Assistant, Wagga Wagga

Daniel Pau, Parts Storeperson, Waikato

Darren Sandford, General Manager – Marketing & Customer Experience, Christchurch

Dean Roestorff, Service Technician, Geraldton

Elizabeth Weatherley, Apprentice Parts Interpreter, Otago

Heinrich Dornbrack, Service Technician, Waikato

Isaac Mitchell, Service Assistant (fixed term), Taranaki

Jack Harrington, Sales Representative, Wagga Wagga

Kalan Nichol, Yardman (fixed term), Otago

Kelly Thomson, Service Administrator, Otago

Ken McDonald, Parts Interpreter, Gore

Lakshi Usliyanage, Finance & Payroll Assistant, Christchurch

Matthew Dunstan, Sales Support, Otago

Matthew Fox, Sales Representative, Dalby

Michael Dobson, Service Technician, Dalby

Pamela White, Marketing Executive (fixed term), Christchurch

Rochelle Watson, Parts Interpreter, Invercargill

Samuel Philp, Service Technician (fixed term), Invercargill

Sheena Sidin, Service Technician, Waikato

Stephen Dawson, Yardman (casual), Taranaki

Tahlee Glasgow, Apprentice Service Technician, Waikato

Vahur ‘Stoney’ Loodus, CLAAS JAGUAR & Greenline Product Specialist, Dalby

William Flittner, Product Specialist LEXION (fixed term), Esperance

William Nadolski, Warehouse Assistant (casual), Melbourne

Zack Cleaver-Donovan, Service Assistant (fixed term), Otago

Welcome BACK

Daniel Stainton, Product Specialist – Demo Driver (fixed term), Melbourne

Issy Stewart, Administration Manager, Esperance (return from Parental Leave)

Nina Hendren, Apprentice Parts Interpreter, Northam (return from Parental Leave)

On the MOVE

Alex Denby appointed to the role of After Sales Coordinator, Bay of Plenty

Carly Shaw appointed to the role of Learning & Organisational Development Specialist, Christchurch

Coert von Wielligh promoted to the role of Service Manager, Bay of Plenty

Desmond Cuzner promoted to the role of Parts Manager, Dalby

Dieter Thresh appointed to the role of Technical Specialist – LEXION, Melbourne

Natalie Lilley appointed to the role of Reception & Administration Assistant, Melbourne

Sam Halliwell appointed to the role of Technical Specialist - CLAAS Tractors AU, Melbourne

LONG Service

We acknowledge the following individuals who have contributed a massive 120 years of service.

30 YEARS

Roger Nehoff, GRIMME Operations Manager –New Zealand, Christchurch 20 YEARS

Greg McKay, Parts Warehouse Team Leader, Melbourne

15 YEARS

Jonathan Owens, Chief Financial Officer, Christchurch 10 YEARS

Alan Wilde, Technical Specialist – JCB & AMAZONE, Waikato

Nick Pope, Parts Product Specialist, Christchurch

5 YEARS

Bradley Whitta, Apprentice Service Technician, Central

Callum Swan, Service Technician, Invercargill

Damian Heagney, CLAAS JAGUAR & Greenline Product Specialist, Dalby

Johann Botha, Service Technician, Taranaki

Liam Kissick, Service Technician, Taranaki

Michael Te Tamaki, Service Technician, Bay of Plenty

Mike Parris, Group Technical Service Manager, Christchurch