Nothing good typically comes of a hailstorm, but the dark clouds that unleash havoc on fruit crops around the southern Queensland rural town of Stanthorpe have had one very shiny silver lining.

Prompted by the devastating sight of hailstones pulverising commercial crops of apples and stone fruit, Netpro Protective Canopies began building a business from its factory in Stanthorpe that was not only the perfect foil for Australia’s volatile climate, but has grown into an emerging export success.

In the township of just 5,400 people hugging the Queensland-NSW border some 250 kilometres inland from Byron Bay, Netpro fabricates an astonishing range of custom-made structures, including protective netting for the fruit, wine, abalone and nursery industries; canopies for automotive importers; shade systems for feedlots; and evaporation reduction systems for water storage facilities.

This diversity of products, coupled with Netpro’s determination to design, supply and install customised solutions, has found favour with customers in Australia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Turkey, Uzbekistan, Sudan and Japan. That’s just for starters, with further expansion into the huge US market firmly in its sights.

“It’s a big, big world out there. Let’s go and get it,” says Claude Grayling, Netpro Director and the company’s Sales Manager. “Quality is always our number one priority, but we also like to think big.”

Fellow Director Michael Pradella, who holds the dual roles of CEO and CFO, says Netpro has emerged as an industry leader.

“We have the adaptability and the innovation to be able to tailor-make systems pretty much anywhere throughout the world.”

That includes finding smarter ways to get the job done. Instead of sending staff to oversee an installation in Pakistan, Netpro created an online training portal for the customer. “We taught them how to install a whole system with a number of demonstration videos, and a lot of communication backwards and forwards,” Michael says.

Leading a small, loyal team and with growing demand for its versatile range of products, Netpro’s co-directors sought a bank that could keep pace with their proactive outlook.

“When we were introduced to NAB, they came on board with facilities that would allow us to expand very quickly,” Michael says. “Our previous bank was extremely conservative and our growth at that point in time was very slow.”

Foreign exchange services, letters of credit, equipment financing and personal banking are just some of the services NAB has supplied over the past 20 years, says NAB’s Agribusiness Manager for Warwick and Stanthorpe, Terry Duggan.

“With Netpro’s quality, their ability to custom make their product and their efficiency, they’re ripe to expand into more markets,” he says.

But it won’t be at the expense of the quality Netpro is renowned for, Michael says. “Every structure we build is an advertisement for our company. We want not only long-lasting systems, but long-lasting relationships with our customer.”