After 30 years in family-run earthmoving business, Simon Collins branched out independently with the establishment of Olympus Equipment Sales, which supplies custom-made wheel loaders Australia-wide.

Mr Collins said the company has been running for 18 months, but he has been importing the Chinese-manufactured product for the past six years.

"It has been renamed from Hercules after I moved away from the family business. The changeover was smooth as I upgraded the products to a higher specification to improve on what I'd sold before but still at a competitive price as I have the support of the factories who supplied me," he said.

The company is run from Loganholme, in Queensland, which is where the loaders are assembled and sold. They also have distribute through M.E.S Mini Excavator Sales at Charmhaven on the Central Coast of New South Wales, Neale Goad Auto Group in Ballarat, Victoria, and the Olympus Holding Yard in Kadina, South Australia.

Olympus Equipment Sales specialise in wheel loaders ranging from one tonne lift to seven and a half tonne lift capacity.

"Currently, we have 12 loaders in our range from 110hp up to 295hp. We also supply all the Olympus loader and excavator attachments required for the construction and agriculture industries.

Mr Collins has also been working with several Chinese companies to remarket a range of Olympus mini excavators, which are due to be released in the next few weeks.

"This is very exciting for us as I've been involved with mini excavators most of my life and to market such a high quality brand at such a competitive price is something that doesn't come along every day."

He said having been involved with selling Japanese products over the past 20 years, to be a part of the pioneering of the Chinese equipment being built now from the Japanese technology, is a great feeling.

"Instead of trying to lead with computer technology like the Japanese and American giants, the Chinese use basic Japanese components less the computers, in essence building reliable machinery without the hassle of computer fault codes.

"Our customers want a product they can fix - with some knowledge of machinery - if it breaks down, instead of having to rely on tech support to come out and solve a fault code, along with the hefty bill that comes with that service."

Mr Collins has been operating and selling earthmoving equipment since he was in his late teens.

"I was operating front end loaders and excavators in the sand mining sector before I even had a car licence. I moved into selling earthmoving equipment in my early 20's and with my knowledge of the equipment I'd amassed, I've never looked back."

He said establishing his own business has been a highly rewarding experience.

"I supply a premium loader product at a fraction of the cost of the bigger name brands and I've been involved in the design process of the loaders that are used in different areas of Australia.

"Over the years our customer feedback has led to the creation of new products to help them carry out their tasks more effectively. Our focus is on custom building to our customers requirements."

Mr Collins said Olympus can custom build a loader for a customer within eight weeks at most.

"We can tailor a loader to incorporate long reach booms for high tip, extra large cooling packages for hot tropical areas, heavier sub frames for extra heavy duty works and planetary or electronic ZF transmissions, the list goes on. We specialise in customer requirements not a set, standard product."

He enjoys being able to travel the country, go to the rural towns, exhibit at the trade shows and represent the Olympus product.

"It's great to meet and chat to our customers each year to find out how their Olympus loaders are going, and to find out what we can do to help them run their businesses even more effectively."