Investing in people for an innovative future

Extending the life of fences has always been the hallmark of the Waratah brand and its products. Waratah delivers fencing solutions through a network of people who talk to farmers & contractors every day about their rural fencing challenges. Whether it be a Waratah employee in the only vertically integrated Australian steel mill, your local reseller contact or a fencing expert from the largest fencing sales support team, you can be confident you’ll be drawing on the wealth of fencing experience that only 130 years can provide.

The Longlife Blue^® wire range was launched almost a decade and a half ago & it represents just one of the major innovations that has arisen from the research & development that Waratah conducts. The technical engineers behind the market leading Longlife wire products are a mix of some of the longest serving employees in the business & a select number of high performing university students that enter the graduate program.

Malcolm Robertson, the lead engineer on the Longlife Blue wire coating project almost 20 years ago, is now in his 37th year with Waratah. Malcolm mentors a new generation of graduates who complete a 6 month rotation at the Newcastle mill in NSW and collaborates with some of the best corrosives experts across the globe.

“We fully understand that the quality of our work determines the overall performance of a fence line and it is a responsibility we don’t take lightly. One of the tasks of longer serving staff members is to empower the up and comers to take the same mindset with their work. We are very proud of the innovations we have made in fence wire coatings and to see the benefits of these coatings for farmers after so many years of “real-use” performance is very rewarding."

Testing and proving the products in the laboratory can only go so far – Australian rural conditions vary so much, the benefit of a team calling on farm and feeding back information about product performance is invaluable. Malcolm is currently working alongside newcomer to the Graduate program, Robin John, who says he hasalready gained invaluable experience.

“I’ve been working with Waratah for almost 12 months now and it’s inspiring to be surrounded by a group of co-workers who take such pride in the work they do. Everyone at Waratah comes to work with the goal of producing the best possible outcomes for our customers.” The core range of Waratah fencing products are manufactured at the Newcastle and Geelong based facilities.