Interview with PAT BAIRD

I first met Pat Baird when we had colour in our hair. His larger than life personality and easy going nature made him a natural within the tractor industry. I caught up with him while in Daylesford in Victoria where he and his wife have a successful accomodation business.

Pat has made many friends across Australia and like me I'm sure they will be pleased he agreed to tell his story.

It's been a while since you were involved with farm machinery, tell me just how did you get started in the machinery game?

I actually was ahead of my time and invented the ‘Gap Year’. I told my Father I was taking a year off to rest up after some arduous years at Ardrossan Area School. He obviously didn't agree with my plan and had the local Farm Machinery dealer come and pick me up on the following Monday morning to start an apprenticeship.

My Gap Year only lasted two days, rather than the full year as I had planned.

And what was that first job, and for who?

Apprentice Diesel Mechanic at Ardrossan Motors in South Australia. We were the local David Brown dealers when I first started in 1973. When David Brown was bought out by Case we became the Deutz Dealership and then my boss took on the Ford Tractor dealership. During this time Ardrossan Motors had the Holden franchise and a variety of assorted implement franchises. Victor Kenny owned and operated the business and at the time he was a very well known South Australian machinery industry identity.

Notorious, I remember he had a larger than life personality, can you tell me a bit about it? Did anything interesting happen?

There were always interesting things happening at Ardrossan Motors. Victor Kenny was known as a bit of a ‘Wild Man’ back in those days and he always drove flash cars. It was a great time, a constant stream of interesting people and fun things going on. Vic’s dealership was more like a playground for grownups in many ways. The annual Deutz Golf day that Ardrossan Motors put on for their clients was legendary. Not so much golf but more so for the number of drinks scored.

Did you have a career plan or did it just evolve?

There was no plan at all. In fact I was possibly the worst mechanic that God ever shovelled guts into, and my only aim was to get off the tools. After eight years as a mechanic and sales person with Ardrossan Motors I was offered a role as a Product Demonstrator for Ford Tractors and Equipment. They were getting ready for the launch of their mid Range 10 Series tractors. It was a great job, I was based in Melbourne and working with a great company.

From there I took another role with Ford as their territory manager in North Queensland where Townsville was my base for two years. A change of location to Adelaide followed, again as territory manager. This time however the territory was all of South Australia.

Cutting a long story short I returned to Melbourne and transferred into the Service department. From there to the Melbourne Metro Ford Tractor Dealership as Service manager working for Vin Smith (Top bloke and top operator).

Due to family pressures I returned to SA and became the service manager for the Isuzu truck dealer and then the Volvo truck dealer. Eventually my wife of the time asked me to ‘put some magic into the relationship.’    So I did.           I disappeared.

Following that I returned to Melbourne, taking up the role of Tractor Product Manager with Massey Ferguson, Ursus, and later Fendt as the products in my portfolio.

AGCO Australia Limited was another fabulous company to work for.

Finally after eight years I left there to work in the fashion belt business (of all things). Eventually my wife Anne and I purchased our own accommodation Booking Service business in Daylesford Victoria, where we are both still working today.

Worst day at work, can you tell me what happened and when?

I tend to be an eternal optimist so in many ways my worst day was probably one of the funniest looking back, although it wasn't very funny at the time. I was sent about seventy kilometres down the York Peninsular from Ardrossan to south of Minlaton. I was to do the first service on a Deutz tractor. Late in the day I was driving home on a secluded back road when I was suddenly overcome by stomach cramps. There was no other traffic around, so I pulled over to the side of the road, I scrambled through the glove box and ripped a couple of pages from the cars service manual. I headed into the bush, flipped off my overalls and proceeded to ‘do number two's’. On completion, I cleaned up using the pages from the service book. Flipped the overalls back on and headed for the car. As I got back in the driver’s seat I leaned back and felt a clammy feeling at the back of my neck. I was still a good fifty kilometres from home and being the seventies I had long flowing hair which was also caught up in this mess.

Needless to say, this was the longest drive of my life. Very messy, very smelly and in hindsight very funny

And to balance things the best day at work, can you tell me what happened and when?

There are too many to be able to name them all. One major highlight was hosting Gil McDonald from Southcorp Wines on a three week ‘Junket’ through Europe as a thank you for a two hundred Fendt tractor contract. John Bradley AGCO/MF's sales Director and my boss at the times parting words to me were ‘Gil's not to put his hand in his pocket the entire time you are away’. It's fair to say I didn't let him down. I reckon the company would have struggled to make a profit that year!!!!

Was the tractor industry your first career choice?

No, not at all - I ended up in it by accident.

If not what might have happened?

Throughout my last few years at school I was keen to become A Police Officer. As explained earlier my attempt at inventing the ‘Gap Year’ put an end to that.

How many different jobs have you held during your career?

I've had about eight different employers - Ardrossan Motors, Ford Motor Company, Melbourne Tractors, Metro Isuzu, Voltruck, Massey Ferguson, Tripler Trading Company and currently self employed at Daylesford Accommodation Escapes. With Ford however I had a number of roles in the eight years including Demonstrator, Territory Manager and Service Department Assistant.

Describe your best job ever.

It’s a toss of the coin between Ford and Massey, but I think that Massey wins. I was Product Manager there for eight years looking after Massey, Ursus and Fendt Tractors and enjoyed almost every day of it.

I worked for John Bradley who was a great boss, and I was teamed alongside Ken Heath. Ken is a great bloke and excellent teacher, particularly talented in filling out expense reports.

Tell us about any favourite times or parts of your career?

I loved my participation in the numerous product launches that I was involved in at Massey. The overseas travel to the UK, Germany and France for factory visits was always enjoyable. 

What was the best product or service you ever owned, sold, or worked on?

Undoubtedly the Fendt Tractor range. They are bloody expensive but bloody good products. 

What is the most important innovation you’ve seen?

As far as the area of the business that I was involved in it had to be the Fendt Constantly Variable Transmission (CVT). Both innovative and market leading. 

So, getting back to before your two day ‘gap year’. How far did you go in school, and did you do any study after leaving?

I completed my Leaving Certificate, fourth year high school in 1972. I was so dammed good at it they invited me back again in 1973 to show the next class how not to do it. This was followed by a Diesel Mechanics Apprenticeship. 

What do like most about your work today?

Working for myself I guess. Also I'm dealing with people on holidays so they are generally in a good and happy mood. Seeing guests arrive stressed and exhausted and checking out a few days later smiling and refreshed from a short break in a beautiful part of the country.

Just what is it that you are doing today?

My wife Anne and I own and operate Daylesford Accommodation Escapes. The business is a holiday rental business in the Daylesford/Hepburn Springs region of Central Victoria. We manage about one hundred and twenty or so self contained houses, apartments and villas throughout the area on a commission basis. 

Going back to Ardrossan Motors again, can you remember your first pay packet? How did you feel when you held that first packet in your hands, and can you remember how much it was?

I think it was about $26.00. It didn't stay in my hands all that long though. I think a schooner of beer was about eighty cents in those days so it was gone well before the weekend was over. 

Can you tell us what you see any challenges the industry will face over the next few years?

I'm an optimist but I still believe the next few years will be really tough for nearly all small businesses. I'm well removed from the farm machinery industry these days so I can't offer much input there. 

And is there any advice you can give to anyone considering a similar career?

You need to be passionate to be good at anything you do. If you are in it for the money you've probably picked the wrong game. If you are in it for the right reasons you will thoroughly enjoy it.

Pat Baird can be found through his business at Daylesford Escapes: dabs.com.au on Facebook and Twitter