Roberts joined Nobles in early 2016 in the face of reduced demand following the end of the mining boom. Talking about the challenge Roberts said: “Nobles, like the rest of the industry, had to face the reality of reduced demand. Most didn’t see the end of the mining boom coming, and when they did the response wasn’t quick enough.
“What I discovered at Nobles was that for the greatly reduced market size, we had an over investment in assets and fixed costs.
“The industry has been around for over 100 years in Australia and not a lot has changed in terms of delivery. The market, at the request of customers, had put assets close to customers to provide immediate service. Understandably customer preference is for a chain sling or wire rope to be at the end of a phone call and available immediately.”
A year on and a new Nobles is taking shape which according to Roberts carries forward the high technical standards Nobles is known for and combines these with a realistic and sustainable product and service offering.
“When I joined Nobles, it was clear the sector was unsustainable. There had to be a reduction in the size and number of branches we operated. The key question was how to achieve this and at the same time deliver acceptable levels of customer satisfaction and sustainable profitability,” he said.
To Roberts’ credit he has retained 13 branches of the original 17 and has focussed these branches on the fundamental customer requirements of service and maintenance. Manufacturing has been consolidated in capital city branches, which has helped to reduce capital requirements and allowed for a reduction in staff numbers, as has the consolidation of stock holding into a single national ‘hub and spoke’ system.
And whilst the process has not been without pain, the changes have enabled Nobles to reinvest in new functional expertise, such as improving business systems, upgrading customer service and sales capabilities and maintaining the largest fleet of technicians in the sector.
A clear set of service and delivery standards has been implemented which gives customers certainty. This includes a commitment to dispatch in-stock items within 24 hours and standard manufactured products within four working days.
Roberts is mindful that the sector is driven by standards and is cautious to change. Yet early feedback is encouraging with most customers supportive. When asked what’s next? Roberts replied: “We see ourselves as Australia’s leading national lifting and rigging specialist. Our primary competitors, like Blackwoods Lifting and Bunzl Safety, are divisions within larger companies. Our focus will remain exclusively on delivering complete solutions for our customers lifting and rigging needs.”
This article was originally published in the September issue of Cranes and Lifting.