THIS article is submitted by Aussie Pumps Victoria Area Manager, Davy Schrijvers.
Davy is responsible for not only supporting what Australian Pump Industries call the “Gold Distributor” network but also working with key dealers to better understand the wide range of applications for the company’s product range.
Davy is relatively new to Australia but comes to us having experience the same levels of weather variability that Australia is going through now.
Climate Change Reality
I come from Belgium where in the last year I’ve seen the reality of climate change.
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Floods, heatwaves, even bushfires in Western Europe are rare events.
Watching climate change in Australia appears to be the mirror image of what the northern hemisphere went through last summer season.
Gippsland is famous for its dairy farmers and milk processors.
Particularly in the Gippsland region we see a dependence on livestock-based industries.
I’m used to that because we have much the same thing in Europe.
I didn’t experience the last Australian drought but I can imagine what a catastrophe it must have been, especially for dairy farmers to wind up having to ship their cattle off to slaughter when things got desperate.
I’ve heard many stories from our dealers and distributors around Victoria about just how devastating it was.
Bushfire Time Bomb
Our great distributors in the Gippsland region all understand the need for bushfire preparation.
The reason why they support our Aussie Fire Chief and its pump family, is because they know the product simply delivers better performance than our competitors.
I didn’t realise that when I first started with Australian Pump, but having done a comparison on the competitor products, it’s easy to see that our pumps offer real capability and value.
I’ve learnt a lot and I understand from our dealers how dangerous it can be to live in an environment where there is a huge fuel build up.
It only needs a few days of temperatures above 30°C with gusty winds to become a potential holocaust.
Aussie Dealers Are Ready
I’ve been working with great people like Brett Ramsey from Mansfield Pump Shop.
Brett explained to me why our Fire Chief and Mr T twin impeller pumps, and in particular the electric start versions, are so popular.
I learnt that compared to other leading brands, the Fire Chief simply outperforms all others.
Based on its quality, it probably outlasts competitor brands too.
I understood that the free extended warranty that we give is also important to farmers or homeowners wanting to protect their property.
The Aussie Fire Chief is not only regarded as being the best lightweight portable fire pump in the world but also has features that are not replicated by any other brands.
For example, the Fire Chief has a “big belly body” that incorporates a 7 inch diameter impeller.
That big impeller delivers 75 metres head, or in its twin impeller configuration, a 90 metre head.
Customers tell us that it’s not how much pressure you’ve got from the fire pump but how much flow at pressure that counts.
Although I’ve only been in Australia for a short time I’m impressed by Aussie’s big 3” Twin Impeller pump that produces 200 litre per minute at 80 metres head.
That’s astonishing and probably the size of pump the CFA should be using for reliable forest fire fighting.
I also noticed that we only use Honda engines for petrol drives.
Honda has been a great partner for Aussie Pumps over the years and Aussie is recognised as a Honda Platinum Partner.
Aussie Supports the CFA
Since being in the job I’ve learnt a lot about the volunteers who are the backbone of bushfire fighting in Victora.
I understand that the bushfire volunteer phenomena is quite unique to Australia.
I’m in awe of the people who give up their own time to support their communities and often wind up fighting fires a long way away from their own turf.
That’s awesome and Australian Pump are running a competition again this year for CFA volunteers to submit, on behalf of their brigade, comments on what motivates them to become a volunteer.
We’re already getting some terrific entries and offer a significant prize in the form of an Aussie Fire Captain pump for the brigade that wins.
Tanker Pump Specials
We know that in a drought or fire season, transferring water safely and efficiently is one of the highest priorities.
You can’t fight fires without water and that means keeping up with the demands of the brigades.
Likewise, in a drought transporting water efficiently becomes critical.
Without water there is no food, not just for animals but for us humans as well.
Our dealers are impressed by the quality of what we do and particularly the wide range of transfer pumps for water carters.
Our company builds big heavy duty cast iron semi trash pumps for water carts.
They feature front opening ports so you can clear out a choke from the pump without disrupting pipework.
Diesel engine drive versions are available and more recently hydraulic drive are being preferred for those customers who have PTO hydraulic drive capability on their vehicles.
The product range has pumps that will handle up to 2,200 litres per minute (lpm).
That means trucks are filled quickly and water delivered fast.
Aussie’s Dairy Support
One of the first things I learnt from our Gippsland dealers is the need to support the dairy industry.
We’re coming up with a program which will deliver them the ultimate in not only cleaning equipment but also in wastewater handling pumps as well.
An example of the latter is our heavy duty, self priming centrifugal trash pumps that can be either engine or electric motor driven.
Big machines like the 4 inch Aussie GMP model B4XR-A/ST can deliver up to 2,200 lpm and, reach heads of over 30 metres.
On the other hand, new developments include a big 3 inch high pressure semi trash pump, powered by 22 kW three phase motor, that will deliver over 1,000 lpm and maximum heads of over 75 metres (that’s 100 psi).
These pumps are ideal for dairy farm applications and can be used from everything from transferring effluent to yard wash down.
Why Aussie Is Different
When I first started with the company I quizzed the Chief Engineer, John Hales, as to what the difference is between Australian Pump and the big corporates.
John told me in no uncertain terms that he’d spent decades of his life designing great products.
“We asked customers what they want and give it to them” is what he said.
Since joining Aussie Pumps, I’ve had a great time working with the Victorian Distributors.
Their respect for the Aussie product in terms of quality, value, availability, and support has been nothing less than extraordinary.
Find your local Aussie Pump Gold Distributor online at aussiepumps.com.au.
