EARTHMOVING

Two well respected New Zealand construction equipment companies, with combined histories of over 120 years, are merging to consolidate their focus and enhance their particular strengths. BAS Manufacturing and JB Sales have joined forces and become JB Attachments.

According to chairman, Graham Smolenski and managing director, Tim Balemi, it was a realisation that the two companies had complimentary assets and advantages that led to the idea of the merger in the first place.

“When we looked at it from BAS Manufacturing’s point of view, we had developed a state-of-the-art production facility and strong research and development with one or two products,” says Graham. “Yet, we were weak on sales and had no presence overseas – we were just too small to exploit new technology. JB Sales were way ahead of us in that and, on the other hand, we had a production facility they needed.”

Both Tim and Graham have substantial backgrounds in construction, contracting, and business and believe that a hands on approach allows them to relate to an industry that is well poised to survive, as well as thrive, amidst the ‘global melt-down’.

“Innovation comes from learning from problems in the field,” Tim says. “We all grew up driving machines and understanding how they worked. Dad [Jack Balemi] had a contracting company that he passed on to his sons and he developed a quick coupler that has been made under licence all around the world – in the UK, US, Austria, and South Africa. At the time nobody had one and it opened up all sorts of doors. We moved into buckets and attachments as well.

“Our new coupler is lighter and stronger and we’ve been able to improve other products as well, in terms of strength and design, and having BAS’ production facility means we are able to consolidate our research and development, and manufacturing,” Tim adds.

It is an acceptance of the need for size, strength and the ability to compete, both here and overseas, that signals the success of the merger of the two companies. “To be a real force you need to be of certain size and have the right products,” Graham says. “You can’t get away with insufficient stock with a six week delivery time anymore and to be successful as a New Zealand company in Australia, for example, you have to operate in both countries.”

The solid branding of the quick coupler developed by Tim’s father, Jack, has ensured a strong overseas presence for JB Sales, particularly across the Tasman. “We’ve been in Australia for 15 years and we have some very good supply contracts to OEM customers there already,” Tim says.
As the direction for the consolidated company is to increase its market share with enhanced and technologically advanced attachments and construction equipment, there is every sign that the merger will create a success that may have been difficult otherwise.

“The smarter thing was for us to join up together and we also have a lot of new product to release that is innovative and revolutionary,” Tim says.

For both men the future looks bright despite the torrential gloom of the credit crunch and global recession. As Graham suggests, the real growth area in New Zealand in the near future will be in infrastructure. “After the crash in 1987 we almost went bust and stopped spending on infrastructure – it took us 16 to 17 years to recover from that. Yet now, our core fundamentals are strong and we are poised for the biggest growth in 20 years.”

“The future is good here for us to be a modern forward looking company,” he adds.

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