Over the past three decades, Lincom has forged a name as a reliable supplier of an array of plant and machinery in the resource recovery space. This year the company is celebrating its 30th anniversary, and while dealing with clients in China and the mining industry was its main source of income in the first couple of years, it didn’t take long for it to diversify.
“Dad started the business in 1995, but by 1998 he started in the crushing and screening space,” said CEO Stephen Watterson.
Watterson himself joined in 1998, having left school and worked in a storage manufacturing facility.
“They were doing roll forming for sheet steel and doors and panels,” he said. “I was a roll former at that business. I never sold anything in my life before I started with dad.”
When his dad, Roy, asked Stephen to join the business, they both agreed it was a good idea and that began the Australian side of the business. What started out as a two-man band has now grown to an enterprise that employs more than 90 people throughout Australia. Initially they were a sub-dealer of the brands they worked with, as Sydney was already covered by the main dealer. Lincom looked after Queensland, Northern Territory, Coffs Harbour North, and Papua New Guinea. Now the company is nationwide. What changes has Watterson seen over the past 30 years? For one, the sheer volume of the competition has increased.
“It’s a big ocean out there,” he said. “But like everything, the good part is competition is good and healthy for every business. You have to educate clients about the unique selling features of the brands that separate themselves from each other.”
Although Watterson is based at Lincom’s head office in Brisbane, he has paid his dues with the company, travelling all over Queensland and the Northern Territory in the early years. It was a good foundation and set up a lot of relationships with his clients that still hold to this day.
“It was the best apprenticeship ever,” he said. “It was an apprenticeship in life. You were learning a lot of things about people up there and business in general. I was a guy in my early 20s trying to sell a million-dollar tractors – it was a big challenge. My father was in the industry from 1982, and he had a big presence up there, so for me the easy part was being able to get in front of customers. It was a good inroad to help me get in there and have a chat with the customers and build those relationships.”
He admits that at the beginning it was not a dynamic sector. Back then, Queensland wasn’t known for its forward thinking in terms of landfill levies, while other aspects of the industry – such as infrastructure – were still in its infancy. However, it didn’t stop Lincom from becoming a solid business.
“It was a long, slow burn initially,” said Watterson. “To be honest, it’s been a good one, because we have put in a fair few plants around the place, and the sector is absolutely heating up.”
He said this uptick is mainly due to pressure from the public to turn waste into value and minimise what is going to landfill. He said an exciting part of Lincom’s business is a few projects that it’s finalising/commissioning, and there are more on their way in.
Materials handling is its main business, and the crushers and screeners from Powerscreen are one of the key product groups in its portfolio. In terms of technology, what have been the biggest improvements since he started?
“The most technology advances have been definitely in the crushing range, as far as things like safety features and operational features,” he said. “With the screening side of the business, Lincom has been a big part in driving forward to make sure these machines comply with local Australian standards and safety expectations.”
He said it is an exciting time to be in the industry. A lot of Lincom’s clients use its crushing and screening machines, with many of them being used in recently constructed resource recovery infrastructure. The company’s collective knowledge means that whether it’s dealing with coal mines, iron ore mines, mum and dad quarries, multi-national quarries, or council quarries, it knows what machine is best suited for what operation. With eight depots around the country, Lincom has a wealth of experience if clients need a helping hand.
“We’ve got 25 dedicated field service engineers, admin staff, parts staff, internal workshop fitters, sales guys, and a health and safety officer, too,” Watterson said. “It’s important to have all that infrastructure behind you, because we pride ourselves on our after-sales and support – I know it’s a cliché – but you’ve got to be able to back it up.”
Watterson still likes to be “on the tools,” so to speak. Even though he is now a director and CEO of the company, he still has relationships with customers.
“I’m not just behind a desk. I believe that real impact comes from direct involvement, and I make it a priority to stay connected, ensuring that our work drives meaningful results,” he said. “I’ve got a great rapport with our customers, and a lot of them are good mates of mine now.”
As for the future, while he is confident that Lincom will do well, the industry could do with a little more love from the various forms of government. This is especially so around new pieces of infrastructure and the compliance issues around getting these projects off the ground and up and running.
“What worries me is how harsh some of these compliances are, yet at the same time the government’s trying to push ahead to really get into this sector and do things,” he said. “On the one hand, you’re getting pushed, but on the other hand, you’re getting pulled. I think there’s definitely going to be a lot of noise around the recycling space.
“This country, being as small and as young as it is, could learn a lot from Europe and the UK and not make the same dramas, issues, and mistakes over again. Let’s go to those guys and look at what they’ve done, what mistakes they made, and where they are now. I think that would be a fantastic outcome to help us in our journey – to get it done right and to get it done quicker.”
Finally, Watterson also believes that two areas the industry can improve on immediately are harmonisation between the states and educating the public. The former is something the industry has to rely on the governments to come to an agreement over. However, the latter is in the hands of the industry itself.
“It’s an education process from people like myself and others in the industry who are putting rubbish in our wheelie bins every day,” he said. “We have to educate people to understand that waste isn’t a dirty word, recycling is not a dirty word, and that there is a resource that we can get out of those products. This will help Australia move forward.”
This article was published in the April issue of the Inside Waste website.