Chapman & Slattery stands the test of time

One of just two remaining agricultural dealerships in New South Wales’ Hunter region, Chapman & Slattery has withstood all the many and varied trevails of the agricultural industry over its 64 years of operation, including the rise of area’s massive mining industry.

The family-owned business and New Holland dealership currently employs 12 people, and is a trusted specialist in haymaking, forage, seeding and tillage equipment.

Opened in 1957 in Singleton by Brett Slattery and Ray Chapman, the dealership has progressively widened the area is services as the Hunter began to transition to mining in the 1970s and farm numbers began to dwindle.

“As a longstanding business in the Hunter, we’ve watched the area move towards mining and away from farming, decreasing the number of haymakers, dairies and farmers,” Mr Slattery said.

“Many farms were not being farmed, but the hills were being mined. While mining has brought additional revenue to the local economy, we’ve seen the closure of many dealerships across the region. It’s also meant we’ve had to compete for quality talent in the agricultural machinery space, an issue that is seen across other technical industries.

“As dealerships have closed, we’ve naturally expanded our customer base and service radius, with 60 per cent of our settlements being outside our postcode.”

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Longstanding relationships

With an established reputation as experts in hay and foraging, Chapman & Slattery has developed an extensive list of customers and clients, some of which have been with the dealership from the beginning.

“As a part of the community, we have established deep-rooted relationships with farmers across Singleton, Muswellbrook, Scone and beyond,” Mr Slattery said.

“We have worked closely with our multi-generational customers over the last 64 years, dealing with their fathers and grandfathers, maintaining face-to-face customer visits to understand their business and work together to solve an issue.

“Chapman & Slattery sees repeat business from our loyal customer base, but our expertise and dedication to service is shared through the broader industry to our competitors, who often reach out for advice due to our established history in the industry.”

Built on trust

One longstanding client is Singleton’s Idano Farms. Owners Rob and Sally O’Hara turn exclusively to Chapman & Slattery to source their New Holland hay equipment, and are quick to sing the dealership’s praises.

“Idano Farms has been a customer of Chapman & Slattery for as long as I can remember,” Rob said.

“The sales service and reputation of the dealership is second to none. Chapman & Slattery is a wonderful family-orientated dealership that we love working with. We’ve consistently purchased our New Holland hay gear from Chapman & Slattery for more than 60 years, and we will never look anywhere else.”

Family focus, community minded

Since the opening of Chapman & Slattery, the business has maintained its family feel, employing within the Chapman and Slattery families, as well as the children of local farmers.

“My wife and I are the sole proprietors of Chapman & Slattery, and our son Cameron manages the workshop as a New Holland serviceman,” Mr Slattery said.

“We’re committed to employing locally, including employing farmers and their children. Growing up in the industry provides a deep understanding of the machinery, how to look after it and how to solve many of the issues we face, which contributes to the success of the dealership.

“Since opening the dealership, we’ve built a strong rapport and relationship with New Holland thanks to our extensive knowledge of their products and our unwavering dedication to the farming community. We often take advantage of the New Holland finance offerings available and promote these to our customers, including the current 0% finance across the entire hay tool range - some of our most popular products.”