A Goulburn based, family-owned and operated agricultural contracting business has depended on the reliability, durability and all-round performance of Toyota Material Handling Australia (TMHA) forklifts for decades and recently continued its long-standing relationship with a new purchase.
Straw Services Australia primarily produces agricultural bedding products for the poultry industry, and for the entirely of its 36-year history has partnered with Toyota forklifts to ensure its processing facility in Goulburn runs smoothly.
In late 2024, Straw Services purchased a brand-new 8FG25 counterbalance forklift which joined the existing 7-Series the company had been using for years, continuing a tradition from the company of choosing ultra-reliable 2.5-tonne diesel Toyotas.
Straw Services director Anthony Beck said the reason for having such an extensive, ongoing relationship with TMHA was a mix of reliable and predictable performance, and excellent aftersales support from the TMHA team based in Queanbeyan.
“We’ve never had any other forklifts, to be honest,” Mr Beck said.
“I started off renting 2.5 tonners which is what I’ve always had, the diesel ones. The last acquisition is about my fifth or sixth Toyota forklift, and I chose to keep the other one I have because Toyota Material Handling out of Queanbeyan have also done my servicing, so I’ve always had that really good back-up of parts and service, it’s always been timely and efficient, well priced, and I like the quality of the Toyota product.”
The pair of forklifts get used to move pallets of wood shavings, rice husks and straw around the Goulburn processing facility, operating in a mixed indoor/outdoor environment which exposes the machines to the elements including dust.
“We work in a pretty dusty environment, it’s pretty harsh – it’s not all concrete, a lot of it is just gravel – and so these little forklifts have always stood up pretty well,” Mr Beck said.
“The little diesel motor has always been extremely reliable, the fork itself is just a well-balanced fork.
“We’re outside as much as we’re inside, and these little things work extremely well – we put them through their paces, I can tell you.”
Along with the dependable performance of the forklifts, a key reason for Mr Beck and Straw Services staying with Toyota has been the exceptional service and aftersales experience provided by TMHA area sales manager Mark Elvins and his team based in Queanbeyan.
Mr Elvins has a long-standing relationship with Mr Beck and Straw Services, having been a part of TMHA’s team for the last 19 years.
“Mark knows his product really well, and he knew what I wanted and ordered the new one factory-fitted which saved money,” Mr Beck said.
“The team out of Queanbeyan, and Charlie the service man they’ve got on board is a really highly skilled, good bloke – when you leave him to work on your machine, you know it’s going to get done. It is hard to get good techs these days, and he is a particularly good tech.
“I think the Queanbeyan branch understands their customers, they listen. If every one of my suppliers were as good as those blokes, I’d never have any problems.”
Along with the team in Queanbeyan who can perform regular scheduled servicing on the Straw Services forklifts, TMHA also has a dedicated service technician based in Goulburn for more immediate needs – an indication of the extensive service and maintenance network which Toyota provides for its customers.
Mr Elvins from TMHA stressed that good relationships with customers are cultivated by providing excellent service that makes them feel respected and valued.
“We try and make it as easy as possible for our customers, and that’s what it’s about – we appreciate their loyalty,” Mr Elvins said.
Expansion is on the cards for Straw Services, with 2025 shaping up to be an important year for the company with a new project underway which is set to help the business grow.
Mr Beck indicated that an expansion may mean adding a new forklift to the fleet, which would mean adding a third Toyota model on site.
“We’re expecting to increase the size of our business through 2025, we’ve been working on a project over the last 12 months and hopefully it will come to fruition this year, and we may even need another one with the way we’ve been going,” Mr Beck said.
“For me it will be another Toyota if that happens. We rely on these things, they’re working every day and working pretty hard, and without them we’d be in a fair bit of trouble.
“So it’s a great product, I just put my money where my mouth is a few months ago and if I’ve got to do it again later this year then it would be a no-brainer.”
The team seeing what their new 8FG25 is capable of