Over the past few months we have discussed various elements of our business that have been integral to our success. This month I would like to discuss a part of our business that many may not be aware of, and that is our engineering business.
Back in 1980, when we started the business, laser levelling of fields was in its infancy and so was the equipment used to level the land. With the first laser systems we sold we also supplied basic land planes to grade the soil. These were found to be quite ineffective when trying to move dirt over a long distance so we began looking for other options.
In 1981 we approach Col O’Bryan from Swan Hill, Victoria about the possibility of manufacturing his O’Bryan Laser Scrapers. These Laser Scrapers had the ability to cart dirt from one end of the field to the other, but still have the stability to grade to a smooth surface. My business partner, the late Kevin Muspratt (Mussy), was a boilermaker by training so he established our engineering and manufacturing business and we began manufacturing the O’Bryan scrapers under a licensing agreement.
A new market segment emerged when specialist contractors began to enter the land levelling business. These contractors had different requirements for their scrapers that we found the Allfarm scrapers were a good fit for, so we became a dealer for them. In 1991 the Allfarm design was taken over by Horwood Bagshaw and today, we continue to be a dealer for them.
In the late 1990’s we had a number of requests from farmers in the wet tropics for scrapers that were easily transportable down the road behind the tractor and capable of ejecting the wetter materials they were leveling. To meet this demand, we designed and began manufacturing scrapers and blades under the BMS brand. Over the years our engineering business has also manufactured a range of our products, not just scrapers. These include laser trailers, hitches, cushion hitches, and a wide range of brackets for attaching the various GPS systems onto tractors and other machines in a robust and tidy way.
Today our engineering business continues to manufacture a range of Laser Scrapers from O’Bryan and our own BMS branded units, as well as continuing to be a dealer for the Horwood Bagshaw scrapers. This broad range means that regardless of whether you’re a farmer or contractor who is levelling for flood irrigation or removing ponding from your dryland fields, we have a scraper or blade to suit.
Contact your local Vantage representative on 1300 TRIMBLE to learn more.
