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Progressive company backs Wangen

Gareth Cowan, General Manager of Progressive Engineering in Southland, has his finger on the pulse of dairying through his company’s rural trade services business.

Progressive Engineering supplies everything from electrics and plumbing to the irrigation and effluent systems that keep one of New Zealand’s major dairy producing regions thriving.

While environmental management has become a hot topic nationally, Gareth says the Southland region is blessed to have farmers who are forward-thinking and a council (Environment Southland) who are very reasonable. “Farmers here have spent a lot of money on robust systems, 90% of them are running good operations.”

Because quality and trust are central to the Southland way of doing things, Prime Pump were a natural supply partner.

“Ben, Cameron and Alan (Petrie) are very good to deal with and they deal with quality products. That’s why, where we can, we support them. They’re fantastic to work with. Not our biggest supplier but the best to work with; they know what they’re talking about, they’re fair and reasonable and if there’s ever an issue, they’re on to it.”

For the last two years, one of the newer Prime Pump brands that Progressive Engineering has stocked is Wangen. The effluent pump, known for its performance and low maintenance, makes sense to Gareth. “They’re a really nice pump. And being slower running is a real advantage. It’s quiet, performs very well and it’s just logical that anything running slower will last longer.”

Gareth says almost as soon as Prime Pump brought Wangen in, he thought it was worth a look. And it’s rewarded his confidence. In two years, he’s seen some fairly “catastrophic” failings with other pumps of the same age, but none with German-engineered Wangen.

“The whole Wangen design is better,” Gareth says highlighting the durable Cardan universal joint, in particular.

There’s an environmental benefit to the pumps too, with the higher pressure producing a finer spray through the irrigators, ensuring no adverse effects.

Progressive Engineering also stocks Prime Pump’s Alpha Pompe, Fagiolatti stirrers, and Varisco brands, the latter having been spec’d for freezing works. “They’re all very good”, Gareth says.

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