Nine ‘hidden’ corporate players shaping Mackay, Whitsundays

Mackay and the Whitsundays is home to a number of corporate players at the forefront of their industry. We take a look at those who have risen to corporate success, how they got there and their plans for the future. FULL LIST

Greater Whitsundays Alliance CEO Kylie Porter is proud of the innovative spirit coursing through regional Queensland and says we need to do a better job spruiking the achievements of small and medium-sized businesses leading the charge.

“The noise is all from the big dominant industries,” she said.

“And rightfully so because they are dealing in such massive volumes in investment levels.

“But there are lots of other examples of smaller businesses that are quietly making inroads.

“They are really the heart and soul of innovation across regional Australia.”

These ‘hidden’ corporate players do not receive the kind of attention funnelled to ASX-listed big guns such as Mastermyne and Tassal, but their influence is nonetheless substantial.

From banking and commercial law to agronomy and tech, the men and women in our list are working quietly to shape the future of Mackay and the Whitsundays.

And the best thing of all, this list is only the tip of the iceberg.

Kerry Qualischefski and Wayne Berginey – NQ Farmshed

It’s a rainy Friday afternoon in mid May and dozens of farmers have gathered for a barbecue at the NQ Farmshed office in Paget.

Before the sausages and steaks are put on to sizzle, Kerry Qualischefski and Wayne Berginey put on a presentation focused on prices and supply constraints for fertiliser and agricultural chemicals.

Potash, Urea and the flow-on effects from the war in Ukraine are all discussed with a powerpoint presentation.

The farmers sit in chairs, consume the information and ask questions.

The NQ Farmshed business doesn’t advertise itself, but it serves as a crucial supplier and source of advice for many of the region’s farmers.

“We help with their agronomy, we give them advice, we keep them informed on pricing, whether it is fertiliser or chemical,” Mr Qualischefski said in his office away from the presentation.

NQ Farmshed started 12 years ago and has grown to become a major player in the agricultural industry.

Canefarmer whisperers Wayne Berginey (left) and Kerry Qualischefski. Picture: Contributed

The business specialises in cane but also supports macadamia, lychee, banana, soy bean and cattle farms in the area.

“We do all of their agronomy, fertiliser, chemical, the whole lot,” Mr Qualischefski said.

“We specialise in cane and we specialise in anything to do with food,” he said.

“My role in the business is making sure we have product here – so I’m continually talking to suppliers.”

With an employee base of just five, NQ Farmshed has some 600 clients on its books, 300 of them regular customers.

Mr Qualischefski says the business “flies under the radar” and that is the way he likes it.

“We don’t say much, people don’t know really how big we are,” he said.

“We’re pretty proud of what we’ve done.

“I started with nothing.”

NQ Farmshed hosted a number of barbecues that week, in Sarina, Marian, Farleigh and Proserpine, to meet with clients and establish the face-to-face links that are so important in farming.

“We actually sell more fertiliser in the cane industry than anyone else in the region,” he said.

Corey Vaughan – 2Censor

You might not know it, but a remarkable stroke of innovation born in Mackay just four years ago is taking over the world of mining.

Corey Vaughan from 2Censor has invented a probe that can monitor wear inside pipes and chutes.

More than that, it can measure the speed of deterioration and forecast when repair and maintenance will be required.

“Our software has got some AI algorithms built in so that we can give the customer the current condition of the asset that is wearing, but we can also forecast when the asset is going to fail,” he said.

Mr Vaughan came up with the idea in response to a problem he encountered at a Bowen Basin mine site.

In 2018, he started developing the product with the help of some tech gurus in Brisbane.

Tech innovator Corey Vaughan. Picture: Contributed

In 2019, 2Censor was registered and just one year later, the invention was commercialised.

Now, Mr Vaughan’s innovation is embedded in mine sites in South Africa and Chile with some 300 probes already out in the field.

He will travel to Phoenix, Arizona to establish his first agreement with a US company and he has distribution agreements with companies in Peru, Brazil and India.

Mr Vaughan said it was a multimillion-dollar business.

“We’ve got some big global corporate companies at the moment that are actually looking to buy us out,” he said.

He considered moving to Brisbane to realise his dream, but opted to remain in Mackay.

“This place is home,” he said.

Mr Vaughan also has five daughters.

“So I’ve got to keep working,” he said with a chuckle.

Chris Adams – Rabobank

Bankers are sometimes the ‘grey men’ of an economy, but behind the scenes their decisions often determine who expands and who does not.

Chris Adams has spent 20 years at Rabobank and has interacted with thousands of customers over the years.

Rabobank operates in agribusiness and has branches across Central and North Queensland, including Mackay.

“We lend in the agriculture space for the long term,” Mr Adams said.

“We take a very long term view in agriculture.”

Mr Adams’ major clients are cane, beef and grain farmers.

“A typical cane farmer might wish to buy the property next door,” he said.

“We would lend him or her the money to do so.

“Provide working capital for that to operate in a profitable manner.”

The branch has some 350 clients in the Mackay region.

Rabobank's Chris Adams has helped to finance the dreams and aspirations of farmers across the region. Picture: Contributed

“We do look after some larger corporations, but it is mainly made up of family operations,” he said.

From start to finish, Mr Adams said Rabobank could “get things sorted” for a client in about a month.

He added the many success stories he has witnessed over the years were the most rewarding part of the job.

“We’re all about increasing the client’s net worth over time,” he said.

“Someone has one property and now they have five properties.

“We have countless examples of that.

“That’s the rewarding part about the role.”

Mr Adams said Rabobank had built up its business on the back of reputation and word-of-mouth.

“We do it by stealth,” he said.

“You don’t see us in much advertising.

“We’re just more word of mouth and us being out and about.

“Word-of-mouth is a more powerful way to grow business.

“Anyone who is in the agriculture knows who we are.”

Russell Dobe – Dobe Farms

The media-shy Russell Dobe could not be reached for comment, but there are shards of reporting that suggest Dobe Farms is a major agricultural business in the region.

For one thing, it is understood Russell and Janelle Dobe purchased Inkerman Station, a large-scale grazing and farming property in the Burdekin, for $11.125m in October 2016 and then sold the property for at least $30m in 2021.

Nick Thomas – Mulgowie

Mulgowie Farming Company North Queensland regional operations manager Nick Thomas helps to oversee one of Bowen’s major growers.

The company started as a small family farming enterprise 80 years ago and now has more than 5000 hectares of production across Queensland, NSW and Victoria.

The company grows sweet corn, green beans and broccoli.

“There has always been high demand for our fresh vegetables year-round,” Mr Thomas said.

“And Mulgowie started farming in Bowen over 20 years ago for winter production to meet that demand.

“Since then the North Queensland operation has grown from a single farm to multiple farms and packhouses across the district.”

Mr Thomas listed high rents and the lack of accommodation as a key challenge in attracting workers to the region.

“We are also adversely affected by the distance to our customers and markets, which are mostly located in southeastern Australia adding transport cost and time to deliver,” he said.

Nick Thomas leads Mulgowie's operations in North Queensland. Picture: Contributed

“Fuel subsidies or alternate freight options play a big part in delivering produce to the customer and support in these areas would certainly help promote business growth in the region.”

Despite this, Mr Thomas said the region held some important advantages for growers.

“One of the biggest factors for success in North Queensland and to a lesser extent Central Queensland is our access to water compared to some of the southern growing regions,” he said.

“As much as we can be short of water, the rainfall reliability is generally good due to the wet season regularity.

“This and the ability to grow ‘summer’ crops over the winter opens a lot of opportunities for supply of product both domestically and overseas.

“We are close to the emerging markets in Asia and if we can gain quicker access to this market with more direct overseas freight out of North Queensland, the agriculture industry can capitalise on the increasing Asian demand for fresh produce.”

Mr Thomas joined the company in Bowen in 2017 and sees more growth on the horizon.

“Mulgowie has exciting plans for growth which will include our North Queensland operations,” he said.

Emma Coburn – Wallace and Wallace

Wallace and Wallace partner and lawyer Emma Coburn is an integral part of Mackay’s corporate culture.

She specialises in commercial law and works behind the scenes for some of the largest firms in the region, including BHP.

Born in Mackay, Mrs Coburn joined Wallace and Wallace in 2015.

“I’m not a terribly adversarial person,” she said.

“I’m more of a negotiator, a facilitator, helping people achieve an outcome that generally everyone is happy with.”

Her six biggest clients are publicly and privately listed mining companies.

In order to prosper in the world of mining, Mrs Coburn said knowledge was key.

Commercial lawyer Emma Coburn. Picture: Contributed

“Understand the industry and understand what pressures they have and what is going on in the industry at a market – that is what really drives their projects,” she said.

“If you’re going to do it keep your finger on the pulse of what is going on.”

The firm has represented BHP for 22 years and Mrs Coburn credits former managing partner Brett Johnson for bringing in such a massive client.

“We just have such extensive corporate knowledge,” she said.

She said her firm’s work with BHP had helped it pick up other mining firms and a “big” renewable energy company.

“The work follows, it’s through relationships.”

She added she enjoyed the “behind-the-scenes” nature of the work and the way her firm had escalated quietly.

“I’ve always enjoyed going under the radar with the type of work we do,” she said.

“I think we’ve surprised a lot of people locally just how well we are doing.

“Just suddenly, people are taking notice.”

Brendan Refalo – Consolidated Engineering Plastics

With the general loss of domestic manufacturing in the political spotlight, it can be easy to forget Australia still boasts some thriving manufacturers.

Consolidated Engineering Plastics, based at Paget, is one such business and managing director Brendan Refalo says constant innovation is the key to survival.

“We have maintained it (the business) by keeping abreast of innovation in materials but also innovation in processing,” he said.

The business has two main business lines.

Diacon Australia develops conveyor guarding products and Consolidated Engineering Plastics offers industrial plastics parts for the region’s sugar mills and mining industry.

The business sources its raw materials primarily from Europe and then processes them at its manufacturing facility.

Established in 1988, the company has an employee base of about 40 workers.

Brendan Refalo is keeping manufacturing alive and well in Mackay. Picture: Contributed

“We’ve just grown through continuing to provide quality service, quality products and innovation to our clients,” he said.

“It’s not massive growth, approximately 5 per cent year-on-year.”

The company has a substantial customer base, in excess of 100 mine sites across the country, from the Bowen Basin to Western Australia and Tasmania.

“We don’t do a lot of articles and things but we do certainly advertise in mining magazines throughout Australia and that’s how we’ve grown our coverage,” he said.

He said skills shortages were a key problem but the business was “born and bred” in Mackay.

“So we wouldn’t be anywhere else,” he said.

“The region gives us a lot of opportunities.

“The close proximity to lots of different industry, both agriculture and mining.”

Moving forward, Mr Refalo said his company would continue to innovate to maintain its growth trajectory.

“We are designing new products,” he said.

“Striving to make sites easier to maintain, lower the cost for the service life of the products.”

Mick Storch – 4PS software

Mick Storch’s 4PS software innovations underpin small and medium enterprises throughout the region.

“It’s compliance software for SMEs to track the management of people – what training and competencies they have,” Mr Storch explained.

The four ‘Ps’ stand for: people, plant, procedure and process.

The program sends out notifications when something is about to expire.

“For plant assets, fixed or mobile, it tracks all certifications, inspections and registration.”

The system’s mobile app means plant inspections can be conducted in the field.

“If you identify a fault or issue, you can record in mobile app and it goes back to the main software and records it inside the software,” Mr Storch said.

Mick Storch is improving safety and maintenance with 4PS. Picture: Contributed

“People talk about paperless, but we actually did it.”

The innovation applies to a wide range of fields, including roads, construction, telecommunications and heavy haulage.

“It’s not limited to the mining industry,” he said.

Mr Storch came up with the idea and then contracted developers in Rockhampton and Melbourne to execute his vision.

He is now in the tenth year of developing the program.

“It never finishes.”

4PS operates under the umbrella of Mackay Safety.

Mr Storch expects more growth in the future.

“It’s very slow and steady, we just keep chipping away at it,” he said.

He has also developed a new software program for the drilling industry, released just last week.

The program, which complements 4PS, is called IPLOD, which stands for ‘intelligent progressive log of drilling.’

“We’ve probably got four new clients in that space,” he said.

David Tranter – TranTech Computers

David Tranter’s TranTech Computers has provided behind-the-scenes IT support for thousands of customers across the region since the business was formed in 2013.

The company services a range of businesses with various IT infrastructure and repairs, from enterprises with 60-70 employees to smaller ‘mum-and-dad’ businesses.

‘Under the radar’ has worked out well for Mr Tranter.

“We don’t really advertise, we just rely on word of mouth,” he said.

“It’s worked for us.

“We’ve grown at a nice steady rate.

David Tranter keeps Mackay's small and medium-sized businesses humming with his IT service and repair business. Picture: Contributed

“Because we deal mainly with business-to-business, recommendations are probably our strongest point.”

TransTech is an important part of Mackay’s corporate culture and it is loyal to Mackay business.

“If we can’t help them (a customer), we push them onto another local firm,” he said.

“We try really hard to keep things local as much as we can.”

Mr Tranter said he would like his business to progress at its own pace over the next five to 10 years.

The key ingredient he looks for is “people who can talk to people.”

“That can be a hard challenge for IT people,” he said.

When asked to describe the corporate culture in Mackay, Mr Tranter replied:

“Who you know will get you in the front door but what you know will keep the relationship going.”

Originally published as Nine ‘hidden’ corporate players shaping Mackay, Whitsundays