Jeff Payne is the Whites Rural territory sales manager for Tasmania. Jeff relocated from Queensland 11 years ago. Since starting at Whites, Jeff Payne has made it his mission to travel every country road in the Tasmania. “Living in Hobart means that I am on the road every week and spend a lot of time on the Midland Hwy travelling North. I have found that one of the best ways to meet farmers is to drive the back roads whenever I can.”
Over the last four years, Jeff has visited every rural / hardware store across the state. “Driving the roads and seeing the farms around each store’s area, lets me know the common fencing and potential demand. This is a great conversation starter when I visit the stores.”
The launch of STOCKade’s ST315i cordless batten stapler gave Jeff a big reason to continue travelling off the beaten track. “Having a demo ST315i meant I now had a reason to stop and chat to any farmer or fencing contractor I saw building fence.” Jeff explains how pulling out the stapler and fixing off a dozen posts was a great way to break the ice. “The farmers had never seen anything like it and were keen to grab hold of it and give it a go. It was amazing how many would call up their local store the next day and order one.”
Phillip Baker is one such farmer. “We had an older model Paslode on farm which took the smaller and thinner staples, but with cattle continually rubbing and putting their heads through the fences these staples were breaking. When Jeff came out and demonstrated the ST315i I saw that it was exactly what was needed to do a proper job. I made my mind up as soon as the demo was over and said yes. I have put through over 16,000 staples and just having ordered more. I have had no problems at all and find it easy to use.”
The ST315i has been a strong seller in Tasmania with both farmers and fencing contractors. Jeff explains, “The amount of fence sold never appears meet the market demand. I still see lots of old barbed wire and rusty fences wherever I drive. I thought that the ST315i would be enough for most contractors, but I am seeing less batten fencing and more fabricated wire fence built every month. With its barbed 50mm staples, the ST400i is the ideal tool for those putting up lots of fabricated wire fence and stiff stay fence.”