50 years and going strong

WHAT started with the sale of a secondhand piece of machinery has grown into a highly successful business spanning 50 years for the Cunningham family. 

Agricultural manufacturing business Delmade was originally based at Deloriane and was started by agricultural contractor and farmhand David Cunningham in 1974. 

The business was initially called DJ Machinery and focused on repairing and remodeling secondhand equipment to make sure it could cope with the tough Tasmanian conditions. 

The business expanded to selling new equipment and to manufacturing a range of rollers and harrows. 

In the 1980s, David Cunningham’s son, Rohan, who is now the managing director, joined the business and they started manufacturing more of their own equipment. 

“I think it really started with a secondhand piece of equipment he bought at auction then he took it home and painted it and sold,” Rohan said. 

Between 1982 and 1994 four facilities were purchased in Deloraine as the business continued to grow and the focus on manufacturing the Delmade range increased, commencing with popular Offset Disc Range in 2000s.

Nowadays the business it still very much family owned and operated and the third generation of Cunninghams are part of the management team. 

This includes Hamilton Cunnigham, who works as production manager, and Brittany Cunningham, who is the marketing manager.

In 2007, the business underwent a major expansion, with the construction of a purpose-designed factory at Westbury. 

As demand for the Delmade equipment continued to increase, in 2010 the family rebranded the business to Delmade. 

Mr Cunningham said all the Delmade equipment is made on site from start to finish, including the engineering and design phase.

Hamilton said some of their most popular equipment these days includes tillage implements such as offset discs and subsoilers. 

As the capacity of tractors has increased, the Cunninghams have had to adjust the size of their equipment. 

Brittany said a good example were offset discs, which started at a fairly modest size, but now includes large folding models suited to the broadacre operations in mainland states. 

Hamilton said some of their most popular products include offset disks, rollers and ripper pipe layers. 

They are also selling a more tipper trailers and have expanded their range to include several different size capacities. 

Mr Cunningham said the customer base has also grown significantly over the past five decades. “It has certainly got bigger,” he said. 

“Originally we were manufacturing for the local Deloriane area, then it went statewide and now we’ve got machines between Cairns and Dover.” 

They also now export some machines to New Zealand. 

The family have continued to invest in new technology and in 2019 they built a second large shed for sand blasting and powder coating. As well as improving efficiency, the new facility means they now have control of the quality of the equipment from start to finish.

“It has given us control over the quality of the finish, but it has also reduced our lead time,” Mr Cunningham said. 

“We can finish our manufacturing, powder coat it tomorrow and assemble it the next day. “So, it’s almost reduced our lead time by at least two to three weeks.” 

Mr Cunningham said they had also invested in a new robot welder, which will help them improve efficiency over time. 

Reflecting on the history of the business, Mr Cunnigham said producing reliable equipment was a key to their long-term success. 

“I think consistency is probably one of the key words,” he said. 

“We’ve always been consistent in what we’ve built, and our service has always been consistent.” 

Brittany said taking on board feedback about what the equipment needs to perform well was also important. 

“That original disc is still out in the paddock, so listening to customer feedback and implementing it is one of the main things,” she said. 

They now employee about 20 people and since moving to Westbury production has grown. Like many agricultural businesses, Mr Cunningham said seasonal conditions did impact on sales. 

“We’re certainly affected by the weather and the commodity prices,” he said. 

“They’re the two main driving factors of highs and lows.” 

One of the enjoyable aspects of the business has also been dealing with multiple generations of farming families. 

Mr Cunningham said it was not unusual for them to have dealt with grandfathers right through to grandchildren in some operations. 

“It’s interesting seeing the younger generations coming through and the changes they’re making.”