Brooks Hire
Brooks Hire Service is a family owned business founded in 1979 by Doug Brooks. Since then, it has grown to become a leading nation-wide business specialising in the dry hire of plant and machinery to the civil and mining industries. Management is now shared with his son, Stuart Brooks who is the Managing Director, and daughter Lenore Brooks who is the General Manager. Together, they’ve built a great team of diverse staff members. The company employs over 200 staff members.
In 2021 Brooks Hire expanded to create four separate divisions encompassing transport, access equipment, and equipment sales. Over 42 years, Brooks Hire has achieved sustained growth through sheer hard work and good, honest service. “I try to do the right thing all the way down the line,” said CEO and founder Doug Brooks. “You try to give the customer good value for money and that’s what we’ve done over all of the years.”
Shore Hire
Shore Hire offers one of Australia’s most complete shoring, propping and traffic product ranges, with high quality equipment and components fit for any construction undertaking. Their primary focus is to provide their customers with not only the best equipment in the business, but the safest on-site solution for any project large or small. Shore Hire pride themselves on providing the latest innovative products and services, all fully compliant to the latest industry standards, backed by highly experienced teams of product specialists, riggers and engineers.
As a privately owned Australian company, Shore Hire is a dynamic organisation with a strong focus on customer service delivery. As the majority of their products are manufactured here in Australia, Shore Hire has full control of product quality, and the ability to listen to their clients for equipment improvements, and rapidly implement changes as required.
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Onetrak Rental
Onetrak Rental has continued to grow from strength to strength with a substantial fleet of construction equipment across the Onetrak range including excavators, wheel loaders, crushers, screeners and forestry equipment.
Where Onetrak Rental differs from most other companies is the Rent-To-Buy option allowing customers that are interested in a new machine but want to give it more than a quick demo, the opportunity to rent the machine for a few weeks and then make the purchase should they decide to keep it as a permanent part of their fleet.
We love this innovative approach and shows just how confident Onetrak are in their products and committed to servicing their customers.
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While a glamorous job in some regards, auctioneering proved to be not very well paid. Ken started looking for greener pastures. “I had the opportunity of joining as a sales rep to an Australian company called John Shearer,” he recalls. “They were a very large company in their day, in manufacturing, seeding, and tillage equipment. I served as a rep to them for a number of years and was later transferred to Western Australia.”
And so, our ex-accountant/surf bum from Dee Why found himself spending up to six months at a time selling seed drills in the Middle East. “I went to Iraq and Iran, North Africa and Southern Europe,” Ken shares. “And, at that stage, John Shearer actually had a factory in Rustenburg, South Africa. So, I spent a bit of time over there educating some of the sales reps as well.”
Back home, Ken and his family had bought a property in Northern New South Wales, near the Clarence River, in a little place called Lawrence. “I lived there for quite a number of years, still working on that overseas market,” he recalls. “Then, during one of the major recessions, Shearers went quiet. They asked me to take long service leave, which I did. And I kept asking, ‘What’s going on? What’s happening?’ But they couldn’t come back to me with any answers.”
Finding himself unhappy with the way that company did business, Ken called upon a contact from his John Shearer days to help set up a meeting with Melbourne Tractors. “I went to see if there were any jobs available and they happened to be looking for a salesman,” he recalls. “But I said, ‘If I’m coming to work for you, I want the opportunity to buy into the company at some point’. They both thought that was fair enough – there were two of them owned the company at that stage. Well, long story short, I eventually bought them both out.”
Down the track, Ford and New Holland merged and Melbourne Tractors became a Ford New Holland dealer. “New Holland had an extensive agricultural range in tractors and hay equipment,” Ken explains. “Being in the middle of the city, that market started shrinking. They did have a construction range – loader backhoes and skid-steer loaders. Most of the agricultural dealers were also selling construction equipment but they didn’t know what to do with it. Eventually they decided to appoint a limited number of high performing dealers around the state to officially become their construction and agricultural dealers. We’d proved our worth with them, so we were selected.”
As time went on, Kobelco decided they wanted to sell into Australia themselves, which meant setting up a dealer network. “They appointed dealers throughout Australia and we were lucky enough to be one of those,” Ken says. “That was a pivotal moment.”
This took Ken’s business footprint up to three locations – two in Melbourne and the one up in Ballarat. “Then, about 11 years ago, we also acquired the ASV franchise, which is Posi Tracks. It was a good second string to our bow,” he says. “At that stage, they had an unsatisfactory dealership network in Brisbane – they weren’t happy with what was going on there. So, they offered me the franchise up there.”
Melbourne Tractors is also one of the largest dealers of ASV in the world. “We know they’re far superior to any other compact track loader,” Ken says. “We took on that brand when it wasn’t flavor of the month. We had to work hard with demonstrating the Posi-Tracks. Now we hardly ever demonstrate. People just know they’re the best out there.”
Despite all his success, Ken says it hasn’t always been easy going growing a business. But the secret, he says, is to just keep going. “We’ve had times where the economy has taken a big step back and a lot of people get scared. Customers get nervous and put off buying a machine while they wait to see what happens,” he says. “But I’ve always taken the positive attitude that we can work our way through anything. Fortunately, that’s always paid off. Because we don’t stop, we’ve been in front of the event when the economy turns around – whether that’s with a new premises or new machinery etc. We’ve always been ready to pick up and run with it.”
With a solid team of ten reps in Victoria and four in Brisbane, the depth of experience within the business is second to none. “We’ve got people who have been here even before I was involved,” he shares. “There’s one guy has been here 35 years. And one of the office girls about 28 years. I think the average length of employment in Australia is about three years. I’d say we’d be averaging eight to ten.”
So, with his kids coming up through the business and a succession plan in place, what does the future look like for the man who started it all? “The business itself is only going to expand. We’re always looking for opportunities, whether it’s with product or other dealership opportunities. We try and keep the business fairly liquid so, if something comes up, we’re in a position to go after it,” Ken shares. “And personally, I still enjoy working here. I’ll probably take a little step back. That was the reason for appointing Peter Keley down here as General Manager. He’ll work in conjunction with Kane, looking after the Victorian side.”
Over the past five years since buying that first Kobelco machine, D&D Lumsden has enjoyed phenomenal growth. “There’s been a lot of development happening around this area,” Daniel explains. All the housing developments and estates going up. So, we had plenty of work going on.”
D&D Lumsden’s fleet has, of course, grown too, in line with demand. “We’ve got 16 excavators now,” Daniel says. “There’s only three Hitachis and the rest are all Kobelcos.”
In terms of the technology, Daniel says it makes a big difference. “You’ve got to try and keep up with the times these days,” he says. “With all the features they come with – there’s that many different things they come with now – you can sit in there and you don’t even realize you’re sitting in an excavator for a day. They just keep improving and improving them.”
Any conversation involving Kobelco always comes around to the fuel consumption at some stage and this one’s no exception. “We’d definitely rate it on fuel,” he says. “When you do your sums, every litre adds up. As the owner of the machines, it comes down to maintenance and fuel. That’s the bottom line.”
Beyond the Kobelco fleet, D&D Lumsden also boasts some other top gear. “We’ve got three Bobcat Posi-Tracks,” Daniel says. “Two brand new ones and an older one. They’re always on the go, always going somewhere. So, they help with getting the work as well. And if you can do one thing, you can do the other, so the customers tend to stick with you.”
With such a wide range of gear, there can’t be too many jobs the business couldn’t tackle. “No, we can tackle pretty much anything that’s put on the table at the moment, which is good.” Daniel says.
When it comes to purchasing all the gear, Daniel and Drew have split it down the middle. “We both do the purchasing. He deals with the Bobcats and I deal with the excavators,” Daniel explains. “So, for me, I deal a fair bit with Marty down at Gato. He’s really good. You just ring him up and get a quote and it’s done in a couple of hours, usually.”
A fleet of well-maintained, top-of-the-tree gear doesn’t hurt either. “Every time we get the opportunity for a machine to come back to the yard, we bring them in for a full detail,” Daniel says. “It makes a difference when the machines look good when they roll up. And the Kobelcos are a smart looking machine. They’ve done well in that category with how they present them. They’re easy on the eye.”
So, what advice would Daniel give someone thinking about getting into the industry?
Of course, being brothers – and twins, no less – they’ve had to learn how to work best together. “We don’t do too much work on the same site. Which is a good thing because we get in the shed here and we argue. It just doesn’t work,” Daniel laughs. “But we always have a beer at the end of the day. Work’s work and family life’s outside of work.”
EXCAVATORS
“My family comes from an agricultural farming background and I was involved in the sugar industry from around age 18 through to 24,” he recalls. “My dad was a builder at the time and I just saw an opportunity to move into site prep services and all the associated earthworks. So, at a young age, I started my own business.”
No doubt, it was big steppingstone, starting at a young age, but timing is everything and, with a little nudge, North Coast Contracting was off on its way. “I had that little bit of support from my dad – he pushed me a bit. But it just worked into something really good,” Aaron shares. “And at that time from about 2004 through to 2010, the construction industry was really starting to push forward in the far northern New South Wales area. It was a pivotal time for housing and it has sort of continued on from there.”
And no wonder, you’d be hard pressed to find a more picturesque rural setting to lay down some roots. “It’s just a good laid back, lifestyle – a great place to bring up kids,” Aaron shares. “And it’s got that regional outlook with beautiful beaches and the rivers. The Clarence River is one of the biggest inlet tidal systems on the east coast. So, we’re fortunate to have that on our doorstep.”
That shift in focus also meant finding gear that could handle the job. “The business changed direction around three years ago – we started catering predominantly for the local council heavy patching and road maintenance network,” Aaron says. “So I’m currently running a high flow track loader which runs a Simex PL1000 high flow road mill. We’re also 5.5 tonne excavator (as a combination) and the Toyota Huski SDK9 skid steer, which is the latest plant we’ve just put on. That works alongside the track loader as a finishing and a trimming machine – just to tidy up the small stuff and handle that limited access work. You’ve got to try and have the best of both worlds.”
Aaron says he has stuck with Toyota because experience has shown him it’s a brand you can trust. “Having had that 4SDK8, I knew how reliable and robust they were,” he says. “In a nutshell, the machines are user friendly and you know they’re going to go the distance. You hardly put a spanner to them. You just change the oil and swap the tyres out when needed and the thing will just keep going.”
They also decided to go with Norm Cross Flow tilt buckets from Norm Engineering “The three bolt-on edges give you that increased durability and are long lasting,” Aaron shares. “That wear capability counts when you’re on asphalt and sealed roads. And the tilt function of that bucket makes the job much easier – when you’re on angles and sideways and things like that, you can level yourself up and trim. It just gives the machine a bit more edge and that extra advantage of getting a better finish on a job in a quicker timeframe.”
Speaking of Huski, Aaron says it’s the versatility of the machine that has helped him in his business the most. “It’s simple to use, easy to transport and virtually maintenance free,” he says. “It’s the toughest skid-steer anyone could invest in for an all-rounder unit.”
The Toyota name is virtually synonymous with ‘tough’ – something Aaron reckons the machine lives up to. “The build quality is, like any Toyota, simply first class,” he says. “It’s robust. It’s reliable. You hit the key and it goes. There’s a reason everyone knows the Toyota name.. And that name reflects on their construction equipment.”
But at the end of the day, Aaron says he really couldn’t do it all without his business partner, Tiffany. “She keeps me in check every day,” he laughs. “She’s a really important part of what I do – helping me organise things when life and work gets busy.”
In terms of the future, Aaron says he’s pretty happy with North Coast Contracting’s current trajectory. “Right now, the business predominantly caters to the road maintenance network,” he says. “With rural roads, there’s always that ongoing line of work – shoulders, heavy patches or roadside drainage. And they do reseal prep every few years, too. That keeps me pretty busy.”
That he did, picking up government stimulus work as a carpenter subcontractor. Unfortunately, the payment terms were a bit much to handle for a young kid, just starting out. “I was still in my teens,” Reece recalls. “And the problem was, the government paid quarterly. I wasn’t mature enough to handle that type of commitment. I bought a lot of toys – boats, motorbikes, anything a young bloke would want. Then I’d have to go home and ask my parents for money to see me through the next quarter. It just wasn’t working for me.”
What had been a temporary solution soon became a new career path.
As grateful as he is for his current job, planning a future for his family inspired Reece to strike out on his own. “I started Jacob’s equipment because a lot in my life changed,” he shares. “We had my son, Jacob, three years ago. And it’s hard for our generation to purchase new homes and things like that. So, I just thought – while I’m still young and able to work hard – I’d put everything I have into starting my own business on the side. I’d love to hand that over to my son, one day. If that’s the direction he wants to go.”
Reece chose to buy an excavator over other machine types, as he felt it had broader applications. “We started with the excavator because that’s the flagship of any business. So, we got that brand new with a custom-built trailer,” Reece says. “That’s the way to do it, because you can take on more work – anything you can do with skid steer, you can do with an excavator, but more. It made sense to build up some bank, then move to the skid-steer loader – which we did. Then we bought a truck and some extra gear after that.”
Blake spent four years working fulltime in his uncle’s business and doing shows on weekends. But he always knew motocross was a career with an expiry date. “I broke my back twice in 2011 and that pretty much ended my career in that,” he says. “I thought I’d better start knuckling down and focusing on what I’m going to do for long-term.”
Around 10 years into his earthmoving career, Blake started taking on supervisory roles, first with his uncle and then with another Newcastle company, KCE. But he always had the idea to start his own business. “I started thinking about my career and what I wanted to do,” he shares. “And I thought, you know, I’ll start my own company. But I would have needed a hundred grand to do that. Where was I going to get a hundred grand from?”
That machine, Blake says, was the right size for the right price at the time. “I sold it around six months ago, but it was, and still is, a machine in high demand,” he says. “As a mid-range machine, you always seemed to find work for them.”Blake was still working at KCE fulltime when Skelton Earthworks got its start. “I took a pretty big leap and put a fella on,” he recalls. “So, my first employee worked for my company before I did. And straight out of the gate, we had a couple of weeks of rain. It was pretty wild because I was paying him to sit at home while I was still working. All my wages were pretty much paying his wages and payments on the machine. So, that was the first month or something. I was like, geez, what have I done here?”
Blake bought the Bobcat Posi-track from Clark Equipment in Newcastle, where he still deals with Tony. He sold it last year when COVID hit, with a mind to upgrading when the time was right. “I’ve ordered the new Bobcat T66 from Clark about six months ago,” he shares. “So, I’m just waiting for it to arrive from overseas – like everything else at the moment”.
For the rest of his fleet, Blake made the decision to move into the Kobelco range. “Pretty much everything we buy now is Kobelco,” he says. “I met the boys down at Gato in Maryland – it’s a real family run business. They sold me my first 13-tonner around three years back.”
Of course, buying new machines, Blake says, makes a big difference on that front. “When you buy new, you know what you’re buying and the history of it,” he says. “The biggest advantage is the reduced downtime and the fact you know you’ve got that great backup service straight away. Plus, how good does it look turning up with fresh gear.”
The newest additions are two dash sevens. “I bought the 14-tonner straight boom and a 13-tonner knuckle boom,” Blake explains. “We do a lot of pipe laying, and the straight boom gives you that extra little bit of reach – you get further into your trench for those jobs. Then I went the knuckle boom for those jobs where you need a knuckle over. A lot of hourly hire clients prefer to hire that machine because they can do a bit of everything.”
Amazingly, this has all been achieved without much paid promotion. “I don’t really advertise at all,” Blake says. “So far it’s just come through people I’ve known in the industry and their recommendations. If you do a good job and everybody’s happy with you, you start getting calls from random places, I guess.”
Speaking of Blake’s wife, Candy Skelton has also played an essential role in the business right from the get-go. “Oh, she’s a massive part of it,” he shares. “She does all our office work, invoicing and admin. I wouldn’t be able to do it without her.”
