Relationships underpin PEC’s export growth

Being part of the Gallagher Group has been good for PEC. We have kept our independence but have been able to massively improve our infrastructure and leverage off Gallagher’s credibility in offshore markets.

PEC has always been innovative. Our original fuel pumps, made back in the 1940s, included cutting edge features such as fuel blending and coin operation; a few decades on we were the first company in the world to put microprocessors into fuel pumps.

That same drive for excellence led us to partner with Japanese company Tatsuno. We continue to use their world leading hydraulics in our pumps and have an arrangement where they don’t compete with us in Australasia and we stay out of their key markets around the globe.

We’ve had big growth in Australia, now having an 80 percent market share.

While our relationship with Tatsuno stretches back 30 years, our sales and servicing arrangements across the Tasman are much newer.

Using an exclusive agent worked well for a time, allowing us to focus on our core strengths in design and development and leave marketing and customer relations to our representative on the ground.

But when our install base became too big for our agent to service and our one serious competitor was winning work to service our products, we realised it was time for a change.

Now, we have around 14 providers who service our equipment, but only some handle sales. Dealing with a range of providers is more complicated – you have to be disciplined about conveying your expectations and it takes more time.

But the best thing is that if a service agent performs badly our customers can choose someone else. Now, their key decision is which service provider to choose, not which pump to buy, and that helps future proof our business in Australia.

With limited room to grow market share in Australia, we’re focused on developing new products for our existing customers.

One of those is a “green” offering – vapour recovery technology that is safe, cost efficient and easy to retrofit. We’re aiming to have it on the market once tougher legislation takes effect in New South Wales later this year.