On 14 October, we opened the doors of our Forrestdale facility to mark 20 years of designing and building innovative, quality transport and agricultural equipment in Western Australia.
Hosted by our directors with the help of the whole team, it was a day we had been looking forward to for a long time. We spent it with the customers, suppliers, business partners and friends who have backed us since the start. Among them was Ashley Lord, the Goomalling grain grower who became our very first Tornado customer.
We were also joined by Mrs Lisa O’Malley MLA, standing in for the Minister for Agriculture and Food, Jackie Jarvis, who recognised our long alignment with the State’s manufacturing strategy and wished us well for the next 20 years.
Where we started
We founded Duraquip in 2005, but our history in agriculture goes back a lot further. Growing up farming and contracting out of Gnowangerup, we had plenty of frustration with machinery that was not built well enough for the job. A semi-trailer that let us down badly was the catalyst to Duraquip.
“We were struggling with logistics on the farm and identified a need to build a dual-purpose multi-compartment semi-trailer that would provide a solution, not only for us, but for the entire farming industry,” Rod said.
The brief was simple. It had to be safe, efficient, easy to use and built to last a lifetime. We built the first prototype in 2006 and put it to work on the farm. It proved itself, and that gave us the confidence to build the next one and sell to the public. Steve & Ashley Lord became our first customers in February 2007. There are now more than 300 Tornado units working across Western Australia, South Australia, Victoria, Queensland and New South Wales.
The Tornado was just the start. Between our own experience in the field and customers bringing us problems to solve, we have never stopped seeing room for innovation and product development. Every product since has been designed to solve a problem. Today we also deliver solutions across seeding equipment, liquid fertiliser handling, side tippers, water cartage and end tippers for the agriculture, mining and haulage sectors.
Guests who attended the event also got a first look at our newest release, the Hurricane, which was on display with our very first Tornado, showing our ability to continue innovating and developing products to meet industry needs. We will share more on that in the coming months.
Still built in WA
The heart of our production is still Gnowangerup, a vital economic engine for the Great Southern region, and we now employ more than 60 people across our operations. Our Forrestdale facility supports national demand as a metro sales office and central logistics centre for spare parts.
“We are totally committed to our WA manufacturing base,” Rod said.
Relive the day
We have put together a collection of photos from the day.
Thank you to everyone who joined us on the day, and to every customer, supplier and partner who has backed us over the past 20 years. None of it happens without you.
The day was a great chance to reflect on Duraquip’s journey, and on where Duraquip is headed.
We are looking forward to what the next 20 brings.
