A W Vater & Co
Web: www.vater.com.au
In 1950, in Saddleworth, SA, Allen Vater began a small enterprise driving a Fargo truck. In 1957, he and his partner, Doris, created A W Vater & Co, a transport and grain business, in the hope that it would provide a foundation for their family’s future. Their initial activity involved buying and selling chaff, peas and oats and transporting them from Saddleworth to the Riverland. The trip home was made with loads of wood and mallee stumps.
While AW was on his travels, he took the opportunity to supply isolated farmers who had difficulty getting easy, regular access to goods and materials. So AW established a merchandising arm at Saddleworth. A natural progression followed into agricultural machinery, first with a dealership for New Holland, and then with John Shearer following soon after. Most clients were within a 25 mile radius of Saddleworth.
In 1968, Allen and Doris bought their first farming land at Manoora. They achieved a dream in 1972 by purchasing the farm on which AW spent his childhood. At the same time, this gave security for building a solid foundation for the family as a future part of the business.
The company entered the second generation when Allen and Doris’s first son, Roger, came home to work in the business in 1974, followed by Kim in 1975. Their remaining children, Jill, Rick and Tania, joined the team in the 1980s. Allen and Doris had realised their original dream – to provide a future in the family business for their five children.
All siblings became managers within the business. The company now supplies all major brands and services to the wider rural community throughout South Australia and interstate with separate divisions for farming; grain trading and transport; agricultural machinery, chemicals and fertiliser; and general merchandise. Operating in a highly competitive sector, AW Vater & Co has held its own against huge organisations such as Elders and Landmark.
The Company’s community spirit included supporting a fledgling business in the main street of Saddleworth, to make sure locals did not lose essential services.
From very humble beginnings, AW Vater & Co has grown to be one of the most respected, successful and diversified agricultural-based operations in the state...and the third generation is now entering the business.
A W Vater & Co was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2010.