A homegrown machinery manufacturing business that has gone on to sell products internationally is celebrating its 30th year of operation.
K-Line Agriculture is based in Cowra, NSW, and is a manufacturer of high-performance compact discs, rippers, hay rakes, coulters/harrows and trash-cutters.
The company was established in 1993 after local farmer Richard Larsen identified a niche in the market for a broader, more efficient range of tillage machinery.
Using that experience in the farming industry, the family established a line of products that today includes the renowned Speedtiller range.
All products are still produced at the company's manufacturing facility in Cowra and today K-Line Ag products are sold nationally and internationally.
K-Line Ag remained in the Larsen family until 2019, when it was acquired by CNH Industrial, the parent company of agriculture machinery brands Case IH and New Holland Agriculture.
CNH Industrial Australia and New Zealand seeding and tillage national sales manager Dave Gibson said they were excited to celebrate K-Line Ag's 30th birthday with customers and dealers.
"It is a great opportunity to celebrate the growth of this homegrown brand, which manufactures a range of outstanding tillage equipment, including the renowned PowerFlex Speedtiller models," he said.
"As a business, K-Line Ag has grown from initially supplying local farmers in Central West NSW to now selling around Australia, and into North America and South Africa where the products are badged as Case IH. It really is an amazing success story for Australian agriculture and manufacturing."
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Mr Gibson said the need for high-performance tillage equipment had become more important in recent times because of chemical-resistant weeds, soil stratification requiring incorporation of additives like lime, and residue incorporation to feed microbial activity and soil health.
He said these were all issues K-Line Ag had worked hard to address with a range of equipment that tackled many of the challenges facing farmers.
As well as pioneering next-generation tillage equipment, the company is also at the forefront of energy-saving initiatives, with its production plant in Cowra powered by renewable energy following a significant investment in rooftop solar technology.
This generates more than 178,000 kilowatt hours per year of solar energy, significantly reducing CO2 emissions and decreasing the company's carbon footprint.
K-Line Ag's Bill Larsen said the business had started small, but the family's focus from the very beginning was to develop products to stay ahead of the game, that evolved to suit the changing environment, which were of the highest quality and to establish a business model where customer service was a priority.
"Farmer feedback has always been very important to us, too, in the development of our machinery and with every new product I'm pleased to say K-Line Ag continued to grow and our customers kept coming back, which is the highest compliment for any business," Mr Larsen said.
"In 2019, we agreed to a deal with CNH Industrial and I think our experience is really an example of where the big corporate world and a small family company has come together and it's been a great success.
"It's a credit to CNH Industrial and our staff and network who made it all happen, and after 30 years K-Line Ag is still here, and will be here for a long time to come."
CNH Industrial Australia and New Zealand managing director Brandon Stannett said K-Line Ag had been a great addition to the CNH Industrial stable of agricultural machinery brands.
"Three decades on, the K-Line Ag brand continues to go from strength to strength, with a range of products that quite literally breaks new ground in the tillage machinery sector," Mr Stannett said.
"From the very beginning, they have known what farmers want and have delivered, and are an outstanding example of 'Australian-made', becoming a real beacon for Australian manufacturing."
