One of the secrets to Scania’s success in the agriculture sector has been the partnership with extremely effective and responsive independent authorised dealers, and none more so than Nick Rowe at Country Link Mobile Mechanical Service.

Country Link was started by Nick’s parents, Justin and Vikki Rowe, with Nick buying his father out of the business a few years ago.

Armed with a substantial collection of customers arrayed within 250 km of Goondiwindi, from Wee Waa to Condamine, and some even further afield, Nick has continued the Country Link tradition of being available to his customers 24/7.

“When our customers call out of hours, it’s not to chat, it’s because they have a problem, and they need it solved quickly. Time is money and there’s always a degree of urgency in these calls, so we do our best to get them running again remotely or get on the road to sort out the problem.

“With Scania engines the problems have been few and far between and I am pleased that with all the electronics and longevity that is engineered into all Scania engines, it’s rare to get a call-out.

“All of our customers appreciate the need for regular maintenance and the benefits of preventative maintenance as well. They want the engine to start when they press the button and stop when they turn it off. Work cycles are intensive, there are few Scania engines outside of farming that run 24/7, but with the correct service programme, there should be nothing to worry about,” Nick says.

Nick’s customers operate around 200 Scania engines, and his business looks after around 100 further non-Scania motors, so there’s never a quiet day at the office. His team of eight run Toyota LandCruiser Utes with full mobile workshop fitouts and spares, while wife Mikaela runs the office, also wrangling four small children, including a new-born.

“Scania has become a popular choice among farmers especially cotton growers,” Nick says. “Word of mouth is a very positive endorsement, and at Country Link we also strive to ensure we never let our customers down if they need us. It is true I have been called out on Christmas Day in the past, but this is what you must do to back up your claim to look after your customers. The crops don’t know it’s Christmas, and they need water,” he says.

“As a representative for Scania I am delighted to see more farmers replacing their worn-out engines with Scania units, and the range of engines being selected underscores the suitability of the different configurations for our requirements in Queensland and Northern NSW.

“The genset business is also growing and I can see even more potential for these in the future. High efficiency and low fuel consumption is going to be more and more important as fuel prices continue to be volatile, but also clean running engines, emitting less CO2 will become more important to growers who must play their part in reducing the carbon footprint of their produce,” Nick says.