When you talk to this friendly, unassuming guy, he is always brimming with ideas and enthusiasm for his chosen field of expertise.

Over the years, Bruno attended a big agricultural fair in Bologna, Italy to ensure he was up-to-date with the latest developments and trends in the agricultural machinery field.

He checked out products used in the key wine producing areas of Chile, South America and California to see how they could be adapted to transfer the technology to our region.

His unique skills as a first-class welder allowed him to develop and create new machinery and he has won awards for the development of an automatic weeder, a self-retracting reels pruning machine, a rear and front-mounted pruning rake and the list goes on.

There are a few secrets to Guidolins' success if you ask Marcel.

"You have to be reading 12 to 14 months ahead to know which direction you have to lead the business", Marcel said. 

"The drive and the pleasure are in the innovation you get to work in the field.

"Satisfaction comes from the feedback from your customers."

Marcel said there was also satisfaction in seeing that the staff have a passion for the business as well.

"We try to create a good environment for our staff to work in," he said.

"With our smaller team of 12, we offer personalised services.

"We know our customers."

At Guidolin Agrimac it is all about that friendly, old-fashioned service that isn't so easy to find these days.

SOMETIMES you need to take a leap of faith in order to achieve the dream.

It’s a gamble, but if successful it can pay dividends.

Bruno Guidolin, founder of Guidolin Agrimac, can look back and congratulate his 19-year-old self for taking a gamble of a lifetime and embarking on a lifetime of adventure that is still going.

His journey started on the streets of Treviso Italy. It was October 30, 1959 when he arrived in Melbourne with his family to join two of his brothers already living and working in the city.

While he loved the challenge of living in a new country with no grasp of the English language, he did not enjoy the city life. So, the first-class welder began looking for an Aussie life that would suit him better.

It didn’t take long.

Bruno was invited to visit friends in Griffith and the rest, as they say, was history.

Chatting with the Italian contingent at the Yoogali Club one fateful evening he was offered a job on the spot from a Mr Giancotti.

He’d had a chance to look around and knew there was no chance of starving with the fruit and rice growing in the area, so he packed his things and moved to Griffith on May 5, 1962.

After a visit to the area in June of that year, and encouraged by Bruno’s own confidence that life would be better here, his family followed in August.

The large agricultural industry around the Riverina area assured Bruno that he would never be out of work as a welder. His first job was making bulk bins for grain. He and his family dug in and worked solidly for 14 months to save for a house with land in West Griffith.

Just 12 months after that, Bruno took the plunge and started his own business at the age of 23. It was August 1964. He had always wanted to have his own business at an early age and, with a positive attitude, he had looked for opportunities to develop ideas.

Looking back, Bruno can pinpoint exactly when and why he decided to take the risk. He recognised the potential for farming, machinery and building sheds within what was already a big, busy agricultural area.

Adaptability and hard work have always been part of Bruno’s work ethic. He proved that by how quickly he adapted to the new Australian rural lifestyle and learned to read and write English by correspondence.

The first shed, a 12x7.5m structure, was built right next to the family home on Farm 1280 Merrigal Street and Guidolin Brothers opened for business.

Since then, the business has gone from strength to strength, so much so that Bruno finally heeded his son’s advice to change location.

HE’S been a fixture at Guidolin Agrimac since he was running around his dad’s ankles.

Now, he and his sister Yvette are the driving force behind many of the advances of the past decade and what is to come over the next five years.

Marcel Guidolin learned everything he knows from his dad. Bruno is still very involved in the business, but he has loosened the reins a little and delegated most of the day-to-day management to his son and daughter so he can concentrate on life’s little pleasures.

“We’re servicing a new generation of farming practices with technology and efficiency at the forefront,” Marcel said.

“We’ve grown quite a bit.”

It was Marcel who encouraged his father to seek out a new location for the business after it outgrew its original Merrigal Street site.

Now it was time to think strategically. Find something centralised.

In June 2003, they purchased the old Producers Excello Rural Centre at 53 Banna Avenue. Once again, the family provided the elbow grease to clean and renovate to suit their needs.

It took nearly 14 months of hard yakka to achieve a front showroom, rear workshop and steel and machinery storage area.

An extensive range of hardware and industrial supplies, a complete spray shop - hydraulics section and agricultural spare parts and supplies can be found in the showroom.

The total list of products and ranges is enormous and enhanced by the understanding and expertise of the family and staff.

In fact, it is that expertise and knowledge of the products and services they provide that has helped get Guidolin Agrimac where it is today.

JUST like the farmers they cater to, Guidolin Agrimac’s business revolves around the weather.

There have been rapid changes in the area’s agriculture over the past 20 years.

Farmers need to get the job done quickly and efficiently.

That’s why Marcel Guidolin said the Guidolin team was always looking for new developments and innovations to help them achieve that.

“As the agriculture (industry) has its highs and lows, we have to adapt to the markets,” Marcel said.

“We have to either build or supply the machinery to give the farmer efficiencies.

“We have to be at the forefront of innovation. 

“We try to supply and manufacture cost effective machinery which can give them cost saving efficiencies.”

Three years ago, the business took on new franchise Miller – self-propelled sprayers.

They have become one of Guidolins’ main selling items.

They have also introduced a 24-hour on-site breakdown service which is proving handy for the guy on harvest because it means he can keep working.

Guidolin Agrimac has also put in a base station at their site which covers a 50km radius to service people in the area with their GPS requirements.

The last decade has seen them build up their store of products so that when things happen and customers need something, they can their situation sorted quickly.

FOR 50 years, Guidolin Agrimac has brought both Australian-made farm machinery and imported farm machinery and components to Griffith and surrounding areas.

Its years of experience has led it to provide real value for money by not compromising quality for price, which in the long term always proves to be false economy.

The business has doubled in terms of machinery and there is a lot more happening in store.

Guidolin has always specialised in the manufacturing, assembly and repairs along with supporting sales through servicing and great customer service. Guidolin products are sold in every Australian state, either through machinery dealers or direct to customers.

“We’ve concentrated on our product line and stuck with them,” Marcel Guidolin said.

“Spraying – we’re renowned for the best in stocks and product knowledge and service of product and equipment.”

At Guidolins they are all about quality and they know the products they sell and they sell a lot more than just agricultural machinery.

Along with a hydraulics department and spray shop, their range of industrial supplies includes hardware – from your nuts and bolts right through to tool boxes, steel, safety gear, compressors, generators, power tools, welders, building products, oils and grease, trailers and much more.

“We try to help our customers by stocking a large range to suit all their needs – industrial supplies, machinery and repairs,” Marcel said.

“We are a one-stop package.”