STM has been kicking goals since branching out in 2008 into the earthmoving equipment industry – a decision that has proved to be a great one, which has helped to reshape the face of the business and guarantee its success.
Prior to that the family-owned business had been operating for a good 28 years as an International Harvester dealer; from there they grew to have Mitsubishi-Fuso and Iveco trucks under their banner. But when the decision was made to also move across into the earthmoving game by becoming the Kobelco excavator dealer for Sydney, it opened up doors to also become the Sydney dealer for ASV Posi-Track in 2015 – an opportunity which has gone from strength to strength over the last three years. That history alone indicates how well a job the family has done within their business in recent times.
THE RANGE
They currently employ approximately 76 staff at their impressive Smeaton Grange premises and provide a one-stop shop for new and used sales, service and repairs, spare parts and finance. The range today includes: Fuso, Iveco & International Trucks, Kobelco excavators, Cummins, ASV Posi-Track loaders and Terex site dumpers.
The team at STM also sell a majority of attachments from suppliers like Doherty, Elite, Geith, Salmon, EI Engineering, Hogan, Norm, Digga, Soosan and Blitz.
STM’s aim is to offer their customers quality attachments to complement their brands. They might not stock the cheapest attachments but they can definitely provide a fantastic quality package.
ASV AND STM
The relationship between STM and ASV, although relatively new with only three years working history together, has been successful beyond its years. Partly because of the quality of the machinery and the high level of support provided by both parties with their service back up, and product and technical training, but also because of the common thread and philosophy both companies understand and share. They believe that when it comes to meeting the needs of their customers, whether it’s meeting tight deadlines for deliveries or working late hours to ensure minimal downtime, a high level of service and expertise must always be delivered.
When having the opportunity to sit down and talk shop and all things earthmoving with Roy Papallo, Director of Sales and Marketing for Sydney Trucks & Machinery, he shared: “Being a smaller player around larger competitors opens up some unique opportunities. Like being able to offer a very personal approach to our customers, and then maintaining those relationships over time. We pride ourselves as being a one-stop shop, and we often provide our clients with packages that include a machine with attachments, truck and trailer – a lot of our larger competitors may find it difficult to provide a tailored offering like this.”
You very quickly understand the importance of customer service and relationships when chatting with Roy. Whether you’re buying a mini excavator or a dozen of their biggest and best, everyone is made to feel like a valued and important customer, which is something some of the bigger players may have forgotten.
When asked what advice he could give to potential clients looking to buy/hire equipment, Roy said, “Make sure you do your research, sometimes the cheapest option isn’t always the best. Look at fuel consumption, total cost of ownership, servicing costs, productivity etc.
“Technology will play a large role in the industry very soon with the demand and in some cases requirement of Tier 4 engines.
There has also been a lot of demand for machine guidance control (GPS), which we have seen a drastic increase in the past few years. So do your research, not just for what you need now but what requirements you or the industry may have in the near future.”
STM has its eyes firmly set on continued growth and development of its existing brands over the next 5-10 years and they feel like all the chess pieces are sitting in the right places to do so, with their great partners and products they currently have in place. Sydney in particular has a lot of infrastructure works currently underway and with more scheduled for the future, along with a constant demand in the residential and industrial construction industries continuing, these elements combined will go a long way to helping STM achieve their goals.
[colored_box color=” yellow”]For more information visit stmc.com.au[/colored_box]