Luck smiled on Glen Gangemi when his name was pulled out of a hat to win a new Toyota HiLux SR5 worth more than $60,000, after being entered in Toyota Material Handling Australia’s Get More Sales Event.
The Sales Event featured discounted Toyota 8FG25 forklifts between June and September 2020, with every purchase qualifying for an automatic entry to win the HiLux prize: a 2020 SR5 4×4 2.8L turbo diesel with a 6-speed automatic transmission Double-Cab in the colour Glacier White.
Owner of Galton Supplies – located in the Townsville, North Queensland suburb of Garbutt – Glen Gangemi bought his Toyota 8FG25 forklift from Toyota Material Handling, Townsville, in June with the knowledge it qualified him for the HiLux draw, but never imagined winning it. Even after receiving a call from TMHA area sales manager, North Queensland, Jason Redshaw, he struggled to compute the news.
“When I got the call from Jason, I didn’t believe him at first,” said Mr Gangemi. “He said he had some good news and when he said I’d won the HiLux my heart started racing and I had cold sweats. I just didn’t know quite what to think. It was crazy. Quite surreal.
“Even after I’d been told that I won it, I was still sort-of pinching myself, thinking there’s got to be some kind of catch. Even when I went to pick it up, I had my wallet, thinking I’m probably going to have to pay for something. It wasn’t until I got the keys and they said ‘off you go’ that I thought ‘that’s it! It is real’ “.
TMHA’s Jason Redshaw said he was also thrilled by the experience. “It’s not every day you get to tell someone you know that they won a $60,000 HiLux, so it was exciting for me as well,” said Mr Redshaw.
“I wanted to tell Glen in person, but he was way out in the country at his farm, so I had to call him. At first, he went silent and after a moment he said he thought I was joking? I told him I was absolutely serious. He was quite amazed and said: ‘nothing like this ever happens to me’ “.
“I’ve seen him a couple of times after that and he’s so appreciative of winning it. I’m pretty sure he’s still smiling, now.”
Galton Supplies is a family owned-and-run business specialising in the manufacturing of steel door frames and doors, supplying to commercial projects throughout Queensland.
“We’re the only supplier south of Cairns and North of the Sunshine Coast that makes steel door frames – basically one of only two steel door frame manufacturers in Queensland outside of greater Brisbane – so we cover a very large area,” said Mr Gangemi.
“We manufacture steel door frames and supply doors for those frames generally for commercial applications, so we’re always moving steel around, pallets around, doors and frames of course and a forklift is an invaluable tool for us. The previous forklift we had owned was from another supplier, and it kept breaking down on us, to the point that I had had enough of it.
“It was our only forklift, so it was an integral part of our business. And so, when it broke down, it made life super-inconvenient. When you’re running a business, the last thing you want is having to deal with stuff that can be avoided.
“It felt like it spent more time getting repairs than working on my floor. To provide perspective, my previous machine had 100 hours on it in three years. With the Toyota I’ve only had it for about six months and there’s 78 hours on it, already.”
“Now I don’t have to worry about break-downs, and I can focus on other aspects of the business.”
“When it came to getting a different forklift supplier, I looked at the big companies such – as transport companies who lift-and-shift for a living and do thousands of hours annually – to see what brands they prefer, and it came out Toyota had the best reliability.
“I talked to a lot of operators and they said the Toyota forklifts ‘get flogged and come back for more – you never have any problems with them’. That’s exactly what I wanted – something I didn’t have to worry about. So, I rang up Jason at TMHA. I didn’t even look at other brands. I looked at second-hand Toyotas but at their high-resale price I couldn’t justify it over a new one.
“The timing was good because they were running the discount promotion. I thought the price was good value, so I told him to order me one. Jason asked me if I would like him to put an entry into the HiLux draw for me and I said yes.
“With most salespeople, once you’ve signed up you never hear from them again, but Jason’s been really good. He always kept me updated on the delivery and came out to show me how it works.”
Another factor influencing Mr Gangemi’s decision to buy his Toyota forklift was his experience with Toyota motor vehicles. “I’m a fan of Toyotas. I’ve had lots of other different brands before, but they all seem to age quite quickly. I’ve had my HiLux for five years and it still looks like the day I bought it – no scuffs, it doesn’t seem to age. My LandCruiser also presents as brand-new after twelve months. It even smells brand new.
“Toyotas have a lifespan that other cars just don’t have. You still see so many 80 Series and 100 Series LandCruisers getting around on the road and they’re 20- to 30- year-old cars!
“I figured I’m better off spending $100k on a car and getting 20 years out of it than getting five years for $50k and will enjoy the driving experience more over that time-span. Our Toyota forklift is the same. We’ve only had it for six months, but it looks and behaves the same as the day we bought it. Normally after a while you see things are getting used but everything’s still like it was when it came out of the showroom.
“Our Toyota cost more than our old one but I’m looking at it lasting a long time. I’m hoping for 10 years at least and in that time not having to do anything to it other than let the Toyota guys service it.
“I’ve had it for around six months now and it has been perfect. It does everything we ask of it. They guys really love it. If a truck turns up, they’re fighting to get on it.
“It manoeuvres around the shed a lot easier, even though it’s the same size as our old one and the visibility is a lot better, you can see through to the tines.
A lot of little things that combine to make life easier, all-round.”
Not only did Mr Gangemi score a discount on his 8FG25 forklift during the Get More Sales Event, he picked up a Lotto-like win with the HiLux. “I got a really, really good deal in the end,” he said. “I’m sure a lot of other businesses bought more than one, but you only need one to win. It’s like Lotto: you only need one line. I have won Lotto, but this is like a big Lotto win.”
Toyota Material Handling Australia – 1800 425 438
www.toyotamaterialhandling.com.au
