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NEWS
Isuzu hauls for Bobcat
Bendigo dealer of iconic US skid-steer brand, Bobcat, teams with Australia’s best-selling truckJason Delecca, Sales Manager at Bobcat of Bendigo (BOB), is fortunate to represent one of only two retail outlets in Victoria to exclusively stock American-made Bobcat products.
The bustling regional hub of Bendigo – positioned in the geographical centre of Victoria – is home to the expanding family business he’s taken charge of.
Jason’s father Ron and mother Leigh established the business from humble beginnings in the back blocks of Bendigo.
"We started out when my father went out on this own and started his own business as a mechanic back in the late seventies.
"He initially worked on cars, trucks and quite a lot of earth moving equipment and machinery. In the early eighties he was approached by one of the execs from Bobcat to become a Victorian dealer and the business has really taken off from there," Jason said.
"During that first 15-20 year period we were doing all types of service work as well as machinery sales, although over the last decade or so we’ve focused solely on the Bobcat product."
Trading for close to seventy years now, Bobcat is nothing short of an institution within the excavation and construction industry, a fact not lost on Jason or his team at BOB who saw an opening in an untapped market.
"There are a handful of Bobcat dealers throughout Australia, but here in Victoria it’s only us and one other supplier in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne. From a coverage point of view, we take in all of regional Victoria and up into south western NSW, so it’s a huge footprint," said Jason.
"The main stock we’re selling all the time is our Bobcat skid steers and excavators – we also run a full spare parts and service department.
"But one of the biggest components of the business, and the reason we purchased our first Isuzu truck, is our rental business. Bobcat rentals are a growing component of the business and that particular Isuzu truck spends most of its time driving around the countryside dropping off and picking up our rental fleet."
In working to meet demand and expand this arm of the business, Jason and his father Ron were guests at a recent national drive program in which Isuzu Australia Limited (IAL) showcased their new NLR 45-150 Servicepack from Isuzu’s popular Ready to Work Range. It was an experience which prompted Jason to take a closer look at the full Isuzu line-up in search of a field-service vehicle.
"We were actually looking quite closely at the NLR Servicepack for a while, but after looking at towing capacities and power output, specifically in the context of what we needed it for, we jumped up in size to get the bigger engine and more power with the Tradepack, and also, for our needs, the three and a half tonne tow capacity was a real winner."
The extra power (114kW at 2600rpm and 419Nm at 1600 to 2600rpm) and a towing capacity of 3500kg means Jason and his team simply have more options in the field, be it towing out a dead machine or floating parts and attachments to a call-out.
The heavy duty aluminium tray comes with integrated load restraint points, and the removable drop sides and rear tailgate make loading and unloading a little easier for Jason’s rental team.
"Historically we’ve had larger European trucks for our heavier work and we got used to having premium safety equipment so in going with Isuzu, it was a conscious decision to ensure our workers had the same sort of protection in the event of something going wrong. That was really important to us," he said.
"Safety has really progressed in the trucks, and it’s also something that Bobcat has had a really strong focus on for many, many years too. Bobcat was actually the first manufacturer to introduce a safety restraint for the operator, and the first to put a roll over protection system (ROPS) onto a skid steer as well. They really were the pioneers within the industry in terms of working hard to keep operators safe."
So while Jason espouses the merits of safety in his pitch to his own customers, he does one better by practicing it every day within his business and the equipment they use.
The NPR Tradepack covers all bases too with Isuzu’s Electronic Stability Control (IESC) headlining a safety suite that includes driver and passenger airbags, ABS, ASR, reversing camera and cornering lamps.
Overall, the Tradepack represented a comprehensive package that Jason couldn’t look past, but there was one pivotal factor that really sealed the deal.
"The deciding factor for us moving over to Isuzu was going with a local supplier in Poyser Trucks here in Bendigo," Jason explained.
“We know, being an earth moving supplier, that quality dealer support is really important, and we wanted local support as well. They were probably the two biggest components we were chasing when looking to buy.
"The guys at Poyers have been fantastic. From a workshop standpoint as well – I can’t commend them enough on how good they’ve been and how good they continue to be as well.
"Both trucks have the five year extend warranty and we wanted to make sure we could get all our service and maintenance work done at a local provider – to try and keep business strong here in Bendigo.
"Bobcat has been the market leader in the skip steer segment for many years and still continues to hold about 40 per cent market share," Jason said.
"So similar to Isuzu, we tend to hold market share in our main product line and people have a genuine affection for the brand because of its quality and what it can do."
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Written byTrucksales Staff
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