2023 Thought Leaders: Mark Ferguson

What are the three biggest challenges or threats facing your industry in 2023?

One of our biggest challenges right now is the recruitment of skilled personnel. We are actively training our next generation of technicians through apprenticeship programs but it’s a slow process. We need ready-to-go, skilled technicians to service our growing customer base.

Rising energy costs are also a challenge, putting pressure not only on our business but those of our customers. With constantly rising energy costs, viability of compressed air as a major power force for industry is under some question. We at Kaishan are totally focused on improving the energy in to air power out ratio to reduce the cost of producing compressed air for a sustainable future.

There is also some uncertainty around industrial relations at the moment. Government planned IR reforms are a concern as it seems this could put further pressure on expenses and therefore profitability. We already have a massive problem with the skills shortage causing wages to rise. Business needs certainty to encourage investment. These IR law changes may dampen future business development, in my opinion.

Can you discuss the ongoing impact of skills shortages on your industry and solutions being implemented?

An ageing workforce is a risk both from a health perspective as well as in a succession planning process. Attracting and retaining skilled personnel is an ongoing challenge for all industries but especially in expanding businesses like ours.

As our customer base continues to increase, we are constantly faced with expanding our service division to cope with growing demands. This requires a structured recruitment processes, robust training programs and personnel retention strategies.

What opportunities do you predict for the growth of your industry in 2023?

I see a massive shift in demand for more energy-efficient products. As energy prices keep skyrocketing and emission reduction targets increase, government and industry pressure falls on us to deliver more efficient products into the future.

We are already seeing this with demand for variable speed drive compressors growing rapidly. We took the decision to focus on our variable speed drive PMV products as our frontline offering. Customers are fast realising that you only pay for the compressor once, but have to continually pay power costs for the life of the unit. It is therefore good business sense to utilise compressors that offer the most energy saving technologies.

How are you ensuring supply chain resilience during these times of global uncertainty?

We hope to ensure resilience through forward planning and predictive sales management. We will maintain adequate stocks of major product lines, parts and accessories in our warehouses around the country.

Kaishan’s network of offices and distribution centres around Australia, plus a global manufacturing capacity that currently produces 95,000 compressors per year, helps maintain ready supply significantly.

How are you ensuring resilience against climate change and associated extreme weather and natural disasters?

Nobody can predict the future, but we are getting ahead of the game through our energy-efficient variable speed products that can save customers around 50% of their energy costs compared to conventional machines.

Our growing mobile service divisions are also on call to handle any downtime emergencies with all types and brands of air compressors and systems.

What plans do you have in 2023 for an energy transition to renewables?

It’s going to be more difficult for our industry as compressed air requires a lot of input energy to produce and deliver, but it is the safest, most convenient and efficient energy source available to industry. We will continue our focus on improving compressor and system efficiency, therefore giving industry the best opportunity to reduce overall energy usage now and in years to come.

What are your carbon emission reduction goals for 2023?

This is something we are constantly working on as an industry group. There are many things we can do including reducing packaging, greater use of recyclable materials through to better service planning and programs. Our company also manufactures power generators that convert waste energy into usable electricity allowing companies to produce a growing percentage of in-house power whilst reducing emissions.

Our products are currently producing more renewable energy than the energy our compressors take from the worldwide grid. That’s definitely good news!

For over 35 years Mark Ferguson has worked with a myriad of compressed air equipment applications across Australia. Starting in the industry as a Graduate Engineer, Mark has been involved in all aspects of compressed air including sales and marketing, design and manufacture through to business leadership.