This May marks a significant milestone for Haulotte Australia, as they celebrate 25 years. They also have something else to celebrate, the same milestone for one of their own. Robyne Kerr has been with Haulotte in Australia since it first started in 1999. Not many of us can claim an origin story like this one. She has seen technology emerge, the industry boom and a business go from humble beginnings to where it is today.
Beginning at Haulotte Australia
When she started at Haulotte as the office manager Haulotte was basically unknown in the Australian market. Australia was Haulotte’s first step in a market outside of Europe and as Robyne explains it came with many challenges at the time.
“Being a new company starting in Australia, I felt that it would be a great challenge to help the company get started and use my skills to assist with the progress. In some ways it was good to have only 3 employees, it enabled me to gain knowledge from all aspects of the business, gaining new skills, meeting our customers and gaining new perspectives or being able to think and understand issues from a different point of view” said Robyne.
Robyne's career
From this small start, Robyne has been the pillar of support that guided Haulotte into a new focus of R&D for the global market and customer focus. “In the beginning we only had Melbourne as the base and now we are represented in four states and we now have over 70 employees across Australia. To see the growth that has come from our R & D department, they have listened to us and our customers and recognized we needed to be at the forefront of innovation and safety”, adds Robyne.
Robyne credits the experience itself for a great deal of personal growth and development as she navigates the changes in processes, technology and relationships. “It’s been a great journey that has required dedication and perseverance. I have been able to expand my skillset, I am a team player and I have been able to develop as a leader”, adds Robyne.
Robyne credits the experience itself for a great deal of personal growth and development as she navigates the changes in processes, technology and relationships. “It’s been a great journey that has required dedication and perseverance. I have been able to expand my skillset, I am a team player and I have been able to develop as a leader”, adds Robyne.
Robyne Kerr and Keith CLARKE
Her value has not been lost on her team or the industry itself. Robyne was awarded Woman of Influence at the Hire and Rental Industry Association awards in 2022, in front of a room full of past and present colleagues, she was surprised and humbled by the whole experience.
“It was an amazing honor to be given this acknowledgement because I have such a sense of pride about this industry. I have also been lucky enough to enjoy success with my Haulotte team when we have been awarded Supplier of the Year and Product of the Year on different occasions. These awards mean so much because they are voted on by our peers and customers”, add Robyne.
Robyne’s career has been supported by three stalwarts of the industry and the company, Bernie Kiekebosch, founding manager of Haulotte Australia, Damian Gautier responsible for Asia Pacific region for over 20 years and Keith Clarke, current General Manager for Haulotte Australia.
The value that Robyne adds is not lost on them.
“Robyn exceeded my wildest expectations and made the early days of meeting the many challenges associated with a new business start-up so much easier to deal with. Celebrating 25 years is not a surprise to me, it is a great testament to her company loyalty”, said Bernie. Keith adds, “Today, Robyne has been my rock, with the same support she gave for Bernie. She manages to juggle all the local day-to-day business of liaising with the local customers, to dealing with various factories all over the world.”
Looking to the future Robyne acknowledges it has been a learning experience like no other, but there is always room for more. “I have achieved so much working for Haulotte and met a lot of great people along the way. I have been lucky to have had very insightful people around me who were prepared to give me a go. I have also been given a lot of opportunities that I am very grateful for”. "In the future I want to keep learning, developing and improving. That goes for my team as well, who bring a refreshing energy while still getting the job done. I hope we can grow together and learn from each other”, adds Robyne.
