A long-term Komatsu employee, Paul took on this role in November 2007, after eight and half years as the company’s NSW Used Equipment Manager.
His joining the company as NSW Used Equipment Manager in July 1999 was actually a return to Komatsu; he’d been with its Victorian branch for nine years between 1984 and 1993 – when he left to spend six years with a major competitor based in Victoria.
Originally from New Zealand, Paul started in the industry as an apprentice diesel mechanic with International Harvester (which later was taken over by Dresser, which in turn was taken over by Komatsu during the late 1980s and early 1990s) in 1975, before leaving for Western Australia in 1979.
In his current role, Paul is responsible for account development and maintaining relationships with Komatsu’s major clients in the construction, quarrying and recycling sectors.
"My job is to focus on offering customer solutions to these major accounts at a corporate level, while relying on local account managers to provide the local sales support in regional and country areas," said Paul.
"After many years in used equipment market, where the business was highly price sensitive – often down to the last $5 – it’s a great pleasure to be working with our major accounts, who are extremely professional to deal with, and are more focused on features and benefits which relate to whole-of-life operating costs, not just the up-front purchase price.
"This side of the business depends entirely on developing and building relationships. At the end of day it’s all about your reputation, integrity and honesty.
"The customer has to trust you and your integrity and if you have no integrity – or the customer doesn’t believe you have – you have nothing," Paul said.