As Yoogali Engineering celebrates 50 years, they also celebrate the man vital to forging the business's sterling reputation for innovation and honesty.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Giuliano Lanza started Yoogali Engineering with two other partners, Mario Codemo and Gildo Poli, in a small shed on Bilbul Road on November 1,1973.
He was born in the small town of Ramon di Loria, in the Treviso region of Italy, and immigrated to Australia in 1965.
Following in the footsteps of his brother, Lino, he settled in Griffith.
He married his wife Regina in May 1967, the pair had four children: Monica, Zep, Marco and Chris.
During the next few years, Giuliano and his two business partners worked the long and hard hours tirelessly, and business was good.
In 1976, the business moved to Collier Street and in June 1980 they moved to Whybrow Street, where the premises can be found today.
In 1984, the business bought its first crane. One of the highlights for Giuliano came in 1991 when he used that crane to lift the Firefly - affectionally and colloquially known as the 'plane on a stick' - into position in the carpark of the Griffith Visitor Information Centre.
If a farmer wanted it pruned picked or packed, Giuliano and the boys would invent a machine to do it.
- Lanza family
In the 90s, Giuliano bought out his two partners to become the sole director. Over the years, he employed scores of people and trained dozens of apprentices in Griffith.
Giuliano had a passion for his work and that passion lead him to make invaluable contributions to farmers and their agricultural enterprises in the region.
His son Marco described his father in just two words: "work and family. That's what he lived for".
While family and work came first, Giuliano was also a community man, always helping out wherever he could, doing whatever was needed.
In the late 70s and early 80s, he served as a director of the Yoogali Club and the Yoogali Soccer Club.
Up until 2012, a year before his accidental death aged 68, he was active in the community.
He was instrumental in the restoration of the Rotary wheel and restoration of the cross in St Mary's church at Yoogali.
Throughout the entire time, he was using his innovative mind to stay ahead of the times as a business man, with the industrialisation of farming progressing rapidly.
In the late 70s and early 80s, he invented specific machinery to help streamline farmers' workflow and save man-hours.
Many of his inventions are still used today and almost all of them were works of art, with his family calling him the "modern-day Da Vinci".
"If a farmer wanted it pruned picked or packed, Giuliano and the boys would invent a machine to do it," they said.
In the 90s, he started 'Header & Ag Parts Australia', a business which produces replacement parts for headers and services farmers right across Australia.
Giuliano's three sons apprenticed with him in the business: Marco in 1986, Zep in 1989 and Chris in 1997.
"A lot of my memories from the early days of working with dad, was the constant arguments over how it should be done," Zep said.
"It would make a perfect reality TV show if filmed today."
In 2005, the business changed hands with Marco and Chris Lanza taking the reins. They ensure Yoogali Engineering continues to thrive in honour of their father's legacy.
"He was an honest man who loved people," Chris said.
"He treated everyone fairly, and he always said, 'if you say you're going to do something, then you go ahead and do it'. They are the values that the business carries on today."
