There can be few things more satisfying in business than finding an underserviced niche and filling it with solutions of such quality that you become indispensable to your customers.

Three decades ago, Western Australian engineering and manufacturing specialist Geographe spotted an opportunity to focus on designing and fabricating a range of crucial aftermarket parts for the giant machines that power Australia’s multibillion-dollar mining industry.

“We saw the merit in focusing on being the world’s best in our niche,” Geographe CEO Sam Hyder says. “We want to be focused like a laser beam, not diffused like a torch.”

The Bunbury-based company’s promise to its customers – “Our products or tooling will always improve the bottom line, and the user experience” – clearly resonates in an industry where the failure of even a minor component might cost thousands of dollars for every day that a digging, drilling, loading or hauling machine is out of action.

Mining machines comprise thousands of components, including some known to be susceptible to failure and others that are difficult or unsafe to replace. This is where Geographe shines its “laser beam”, identifying vulnerabilities to design a stronger alternative or even a new solution – such as the award-winning ball stud removal tool, engineered to overcome known removal issues on the giant haul trucks that are the workhorses of many mining operations.

“We used to be strongest at replacing wear parts with like-for-like, whereas now we don’t have a single open product development project that’s not trying to enhance the product or fix a design flaw,” Sam says.

Ever the innovator, Geographe introduced advanced robotics into its Bunbury manufacturing plant, and has achieved a high level of automation. Far from costing jobs, Sam believes the switch has helped to guarantee existing employees’ security. “The reason we have over 150 people working at Geographe is because of automation, and our employees’ ability to do great things with it,” he says. “If we didn’t have automation, we’d have far less people and potentially be importing product from overseas.”

Bunbury-based NAB Senior Business Banking Manager Mal Champion helped Geographe with the equipment finance to progressively automate many processes. “They take advice well, they’re very methodical and organised. Everything has to have a benefit to it,” he says.

Underpinning Geographe’s decade-long relationship with NAB are values of trust and support, Sam says. “They understand we know what we’re doing and let us do what we do best, which has been so liberating. They ask really pointed questions, then provide us with the right products.”

Geographe is eyeing opportunities for offshore expansion into the likes of Colombia, Mexico and Canada. There are also plans to open a second manufacturing facility in Perth, helping to broaden the firm’s workforce base, although Bunbury remains the central production base.

“The reason we remain in Bunbury is because of the strength of the character of the people that are in the south-west [of WA],” Sam says. “In looking to the future, we see operating from regional WA as a key ingredient of fulfilling our vision.”