A growing demand for pumps has Alex Pedemont, from NSI Pumps in Barooga, under pressure.
But this local bloke is going with the flow and getting the job done, thrilled that he’s able to call the country home again.
“I did my fitter and turner trade out of school, working on machinery and then went on to do my Mechanical Engineering degree. I spent nearly a decade working in design and testing at Kubota in Melbourne,” Alex said.
With work trips to learn from the best in Germany, Japan and the United States, Alex was absorbing as much knowledge as he could before he and his wife Bianca made the move back to Barooga in 2021 and purchased the business.
“I’m from Tocumwal and knew that I wanted my kids to grow up in the country, and with my background, I knew there was a big demand in agricultural engineering around here,” he said.
With his dad Phil, appointed as chief all-rounder, Alex got busy making his mark on the irrigation industry relocating the business from Numurkah to Barooga in this year.
“This is a reliable farming area, there are big ag operations in the district and always a need for pumps; in floods, in droughts, people always need to be moving water,” he said.
NSI Pumps specialises in pressure pumping systems that cater to horticulture, vegetable and tree crops as well as flood pumping for the rice, dairy and grain industries.
According to BOM, 2022 was categorised as ‘exceptionally wet’, with the NSW state-averaged annual total being the second-highest on record since 1900.
According to Alex, it was a busy time, not only because his family now included two babies, but because he was getting non-stop orders for pumps so that farmers could shift water off crops.
“I did as much as I could to help pump water off farms in 2022, whereas this year has been a big irrigation season with plenty of water availability and a lot of rice going in and farmers flooding cereal crops and pastures,” Alex said.
Like the seasons, Alex understands that every operation is different and aims to customise pumping solutions for farmers, whether that’s diesel, electric motor, PTO or solar set-ups.
“We’re seeing a lot of intensive operations popping up that require pressure pumping systems and I think this region is going to see a lot more development in the coming years,” he said.
With Bianca managing ‘the books’ and the kids, the Pedemonts have their hands full, but as they say, when it rains it pours (and it’s always good to know a bloke with a pump).