With a strong presence across Victoria, South Australia, Queensland, and soon NSW, Big Chief Hire is a big deal in the machinery and truck hire space. EEM discovers how a productive partnership with lubrication specialists Alemlube helps keep the Big Chief fleet operating smoothly for its customers.
Nothing is more important to an equipment hire business than ensuring the longevity and efficiency of its fleet. And when a customer is putting their money down for a day of solid work, they expect machinery that can give them their money’s worth.
According to Sergio Eliseo, Workshop Controller at Big Chief Hire, providing this efficiency and value for customers is central to how his employer operates.
Based at Big Chief Hire’s South Australian headquarters in Adelaide’s north, Sergio is responsible for the management of the Big Chief fleet, overseeing its maintenance, and ensuring each machine is running at peak performance for customers. Sergio says it’s a job that keeps him constantly on his toes – almost as much as being a father to two teenage daughters.
“A normal day for me involves meeting with customers, suppliers, running the workshop, as well as liaising with our wet and dry hire managers to prioritise repairs for any machinery that might be going out.
“We work closely with our suppliers and customers to make sure we’re satisfying customer needs, and to address any concerns they have operationally or functionally, and just maintain our workshop – making sure our workshop guys have got what they need, and are clear in what they need to do.”
In his role, Sergio draws on his 30+ years of experience as a mechanic, which began with a passion for all things automotive. An interest in motor racing evolved into a career as a diesel mechanic, which in turn led him to Big Chief Hire, where he progressed into management.
“I really enjoy seeing the personal growth of the staff here at Big Chief,” Sergio says. “And I take pride in increasing the reliability of our machinery.”
As Big Chief Hire continues to grow, Sergio’s team is always kept on their toes as they work to support an ever-expanding and increasingly diverse fleet.
“The fleet continues growing,” he says. “We can provide anything from a 1.7-tonne excavator up to 50-tonne excavators, bulldozers, and 30-tonne dump trucks. We’ve also got little 2-tonne tippers up to prime mover semi tippers, rollers, and compactors from 1.7-tonne to 13-tonne, graders – the list goes on.
“We’ve just started getting into scissor and boom lifts, as well as gensets and mobile water pumps capable of pumping up to 60 litres a second.”
Smooth operations
Braeden Johnson, Alemlube Business Development Manager SA/NT, has been with the company for more than 11 years, and he’s looked after Big Chief Hire since 2020.
“In the beginning, I was working with Sergio and his team, supplying some small fittings, greasing supplies, and little bits and pieces around their workshop as needed,” Braeden says.
“It progressed from there to identifying a problem the Big Chief team was having with their trucks.”
Sergio and the Big Chief Hire team had been plagued by the short life spans of their pins and bushes, a challenge for which Braeden figured he had just the right solution.
“We trialled some single cup lubricators to prove the theory behind it,” Braeden says. “Then we progressed into the full Alemlube Lube System across their water tankers, tippers, and excavators – really just progressing through the whole fleet.”
Sergio says the relationship with Alemlube evolved quickly as the Big Chief team quickly saw the benefits on offer.
“Now, pretty much everything that we buy is fitted with an Alemlube Lube System by our machinery dealer, Northeast Auto Group,” he says. “These systems ensure consistent lubrication into the pins and other critical parts, which helps eliminate any downtime or breakdowns from a lack of grease. And our customers love them because it increases their productivity as well.”
Sergio says it’s a win-win for Big Chief Hire: less downtime, and reduced need for costly repairs – all for what he says amounts to a relatively small investment in Alemlube’s systems.
“Alemlube also supports us really well if we have any breakdowns or issues, their service is pretty well second to none,” Sergio says. “Braeden is always onto it straight away, and he always makes sure to follow up.
Braeden believes the Big Chief Hire team was quickly won over not just by the level of service provided by the Alemlube team, but by the quality of the products on offer.
“We sell quality products imported from well-known and respected overseas suppliers,” he says. “Our national footprint includes BDMs in every state, warehouses in every state, and auto lube technicians in every mainland state. And that helps us support Big Chief, as their national footprint marries up well with ours.”
Efficient solutions
Braeden says the Alemlube Lube System is lightweight, robust, and smart enough to give any competitor on the market a run for its money.
“It’s a quality Italian product backed by Alemlube’s decades of experience in automatic lubrication,” he says. “It’s also backed by our dedicated team of BDMs, operational staff, technicians, and warehouses.”
According to Braeden, Alemlube is equipped to offer everything from tailored kits designed to a customer’s specifications, through to on-site installation and servicing. Lubrication solutions can also be installed at an OEM level from the start, or retrofitted onto older machines.
“The Alemlube Lube System removes the requirement for manual greasing on the machines as they’re being operated,” Braeden says. “The progressive divided design ensures that grease gets to each point in the quantities required. And the fact that the pump is operating while the machine is in use means that grease is lubricating the entire bearing instead of just the part of the grease point that would otherwise be stationary during greasing.”
This means when a customer hires a Big Chief machine, they don’t have to pay for their operators to spend an hour greasing the machine at the start of every day, significantly reducing downtime.
“Our system is doing it for them,” Braeden says. “That means that Big Chief can get more money from their machines, and it means they aren’t spending as much on maintenance.
“It enhances their offering for customers: reliable machines that will do the job when and as needed.”
Customer centric
The Alemlube Lube System can be utilised across not just the transport and earthmoving industries that Big Chief Hire services, but in agricultural and fixed plant applications as well – a versatility that Braeden says keeps his job interesting.
“One day I can be working around excavators and loaders, the next day around crushing and screening equipment, and the next around heavy haulage,” he says. “To work with these industries to provide them with lubrication solutions is challenging, but rewarding.”
Braeden says Alemlube’s progressive, innovative, and customer-centric approach to business only adds to the satisfaction in his work.
“Customer experience and satisfaction are crucial to Alemlube, and vital in fostering trust in our relationships with our customer base,” he says. “Our attention to detail and ‘can do’ attitude combined with quality product are some of the reasons why an ever-expanding customer base trust Alemlube to design, supply, install, commission, and maintain lubrication systems for mobile equipment and fixed plant.”
Alemlube is also a 100 per cent Australian-owned family business, which Braeden says helps maintain a level of care he says can often be missing from larger multi-national companies.
“Alemlube Lube Systems are also designed and installed with years of experience – and they’re very affordable too,” he says. “The price of one of these systems pales in comparison to the cost of downtime or unexpected maintenance expenses.
“Whether you’re running one machine or 100, reach out to the Alemlube team in your region and find out what we do for your business.”
For more on Alemlube’s comprehensive workshop and lubrication solutions, visit: www.alemlube.com.au