September 2005 - "To see the Passion for the Business is to know the partnership will be an outstanding success. Nothing without heart works."

Said David Rowles President of the Ingersoll Rand Utility Equipment Group during his visit to Clark for the Open Day. "For IR the lack of a strategic planning by our dealers is so often the problem, whereas Robert Hammond and Clark Equipment clearly have a strategic vision of the future."

"In his speech at The Diamond Dinner Rob described that vision, with passion. You've got have more than a passion for the equipment; you must have a passion for the business. If the dealers present didn't sense his commitment to the business they need to have their pulses checked."

"The other thing I enjoyed is that in the States something like 60% of businesses fail at the second generation, and very few flourish. Whereas Rob has taken a business with a solid foundation laid by his father, and grown it, adapting well to changes in the market."

"Mostly the 2 step distribution model doesn't work because the margins are not there to support it. But in a country as vast as Australia the manufacturer can't deal directly with the dealer so Rob has produced a distribution model that is excellent, with margin for the manufacturer, the distributor and the dealer."

"Another major asset of Clark Equipment is its Logistics Centre for the distribution of parts efficiently to the dealer network anywhere in Australasia. Despite the excellence of the products we offer, what makes the difference to the operator is the support - so no matter where you are you can get the support, parts and service technicians needed to quickly get the equipment back on the road."

"The other factor that can be of concern to the manufacturer is that it is often hard to penetrate the culture, to get the attention of the sales people for the new product line."

To provide the focus, we have established new IR divisions for Road Development, with Tom O'Sullivan as Product Manager, and Utility Equipment with Kenny Gong as Product Manager. In both these groups we are building an infrastructure and staff focused on becoming a leading player in these markets. In each region we have employed dedicated salesmen to these products."

David Rowels continued, "I was delighted to see Kenny Gong is the product manger for IR Utility Equipment in Australasia. Chin and I worked closely with him in China with great success as he built the business there. Kenny is the ideal person as the product champion to help integrate the product line into the culture of Clark Equipment. And there are considerable synergies as Bobcat people need compressors, light towers and sometimes compaction equipment."

"In the past you could be a niche player, but there is no longer room for that, so the dealers must keep adapting. We are more and more moving to sell not just a product but a total solution to our customer. So the dealers must become multi product sales people."