Topcon Positioning Systems’ network of major independent Australian dealers have joined forces to form a new company – Aptella – creating the country’s largest and most experienced specialist in the precision positioning business.

The formation of Aptella has also resulted in one of the largest Topcon distributors in the world, with the company operating from new national headquarters – currently under construction – in Melbourne.

Coming together to form Aptella are ABC Lasers (Queensland), Laserquip (NSW/ACT), Laser Beams (Victoria/Tasmania), Ross Instruments (South Australia/Northern Territory) and Stadia Instruments (Western Australia).

All the principals and staff of the former independent dealers have combined to establish Aptella, and will continue working in the new company, which will cover the civil construction, survey, building and GIS sectors.

The new company has a staff of more than 120 people throughout Australia, with the directors alone having more than 170 years of combined industry experience, dating back to 1975.

According to Aptella, no other supplier of precision positioning products in Australia will be able to match the depth of industry knowledge, experience and support capabilities, combined with Topcon’s world-leading product quality and innovation.

The principals of each of the former dealers are the shareholders of Aptella, and are continuing as state managers in the new company.

Former dealer principals and now shareholders include Mike Forrest (Queensland), Brian McLoughlin and Garry Fleming (NSW) and Bob Bent (Victoria), all of whom pioneered the introduction of the first laser-based and automatic machine control systems for the construction industry in the late1970-1980s, followed by 2D grader and sonic systems in the 1990s and more recently the latest 3D-GPS systems.

Others include South Australia’s David Gow, who started in the industry in 1985 as a laser repair technician before becoming the principal of Ross Instruments in 1997, and Garry MacPhail, a qualified engineering surveyor, who managed Topcon’s WA branch for 12 years before starting Stadia Instruments with Bernard Cecchele in 2001.

The development has been warmly welcomed by Topcon Positioning Systems, with Ray O’Connor, president and CEO of Topcon Positioning Systems, praising the efforts of the dealer principals in establishing Aptella.

“We applaud the forward thinking of these innovative dealers in combining their expertise, experience, dedicated work forces and operation footprint to better serve our customers and potential customers throughout Australia.

“Topcon offers its congratulations and full support for the new organisation now and in the future,” he said.

A company spokesperson said that Aptella would provide Topcon’s construction, survey and GIS sector customers with a dramatically increased level of service, as well as new extension technologies and services to improve their businesses bottom line.

“We’ll have many more locations and many more people on the ground, while maintaining the industry-leading levels of support, experience and service that customers have always received through the previous independent dealer network,” he said.

“Aptella combines the many decades of experience from Topcon’s state dealers into one, focussed, powerful, national company.

“No other organisation in Australia can match the depth of knowledge, product range and experience in the supply of lasers, machine control and surveying equipment, and GIS systems that we can bring through Aptella.

“And in addition to our knowledge and expertise in supplying, servicing and supporting Topcon precision products, Aptella offers Australia’s largest hire fleet of lasers, survey and machine control systems.”

The spokesperson said there were a number of reasons driving the formation of Aptella.

“Increasingly we are dealing with large national contractors, often on a daily basis, who work locally and across state borders. Now we are able to provide a seamless, consistent level of service anywhere in Australia.

“In addition, over the past few years, as separate businesses, the principals have been working more closely together, sharing information, hire equipment, spare parts, and so on – so this is a logical development from that point of view.

“And while each of the state dealers had their own comprehensive service and repair facilities, two dealers – ABC Lasers and Laser Beams – had gained accredited Topcon Regional Repair Centre status, which all the other dealers have been accessing as well.

“By joining together into a single organisation, we are now much better placed to take advantage of the economies of scale and synergies we can achieve,” said the spokesperson.

“This development will also mean substantial advantages to our customers.

“As GNSS-based machine control, survey and GIS products move into the mainstream construction, surveying and infrastructure-management sectors, there is increasing demand from our customers – and future customers – for strong, sophisticated dealer organisations with the expertise and resources to provide the service and support levels required,” he said.

“Not only will our customers have the assurance of doing business with a larger, more substantial company, offering increased financial, human and technical resources, but they will also be dealing with a single national distribution organisation.

“This, along with a world-leading suite of products is a substantial differentiator that is unmatched by any of our competitors.

“And at the same time, through the on-going involvement of all the former dealer principals as shareholders, we will maintain our friendly, personal, hands-on service for all customers – from owner-operators and one-man survey companies, to the largest contractors, survey practices and public sector organisations,” he said.

“As individual dealers, they have always taken pride in delivering on their promises, on time to be the supplier of choice – and we will continue to do so as Aptella.”