Mount Isa is about as remote as it gets in Queensland. In the vast flat plains that are the outback of Australia, Mount Isa is a speck of habitation supported by the Xstrata lead mine situated in the heart of town.
Matt Vanderkamp is Mount Isa born, bred and passionate about his town. Barkly Hire is Matt's business, a company which evolved from the family businesses, Barkly Engineering and Barkly Welders. The hire venture commenced in 1998 when Matt acquired a small local access business, Koghan's Cranes.
The company at that time had a fleet of just nine units, but today that has grown to more than 120 pieces of access equipment. Included in the 2012 fleet are booms, scissors, forks, and telehandlers. There is a strong synergy at Barkly Hire with the crane and access customers, or as Matt describes it, the "lift and shift market."
"We service the mine maintenance and construction industries with access equipment," said Matt Vanderkamp.
"And that takes in a radius of about 500km around Mount Isa."
"Barkly Hire is a perfectly sized family business which has achieved critical mass to support the local market. Unlike our major competition, we can respond really quickly to the market with equipment, hire rates and general support."
At the heart of the success of Barkly Hire is the Genie® brand. Matt rates the Genie product as better than most to work in the mining industry.
"Genie products are operator friendly and easy to maintain," Matt said.
"This is a tough area where the operating environment is harsh. If equipment is not up to it, the conditions in Mount Isa will soon bring any short comings to the surface."
"In addition to the extreme heat, the operating climate in mine plants is generally very abrasive and corrosive. This reduces the life cycle of equipment, which we keep for about eight years. We don't do any 10 year rebuilds."
