New Field Manager Jumps Fence to Sales

Gallagher’s new Field Manager Dan Loughnane is looking forward to getting to the sharp end of sales in his new role, working with the company’s 10 Territory Managers across the country.

Rather than coming through the traditional sales ranks to his role, Dan is making the move from Gallagher’s product development and marketing team and is looking forward to seeing some of the projects he has been involved in making their mark in the field with farmer clients.

“I was fortunate to be involved in a number of product development projects with a very capable design and technology team, including our most recent project the TW weigh scales which have not long gone to market.”

The project recently claimed the supreme winners’ award at the New Zealand Design Awards. The awards represent the pinnacle of design recognition across the commercial, industrial and consumer goods spectrum.

This is now being reflected in extremely positive sales for the system, and Dan is looking particularly forward to seeing the final product achieve a reputation as the industry standard in coming years.

“We have already been selling a lot of them, and interestingly we have had very, very few problems reported on a product that is very leading edge in every respect.”

As the agri-tech sector ramps up with its technology offerings to New Zealand farmers, Dan looks forward to bringing his product development experience to the Sales Management role.

“Gallagher is certainly intending to lead and innovate within that agri-tech space, and the technology is improving all the time. We are seeing better connectivity in rural areas, and as more equipment becomes part of the Internet of Things, we will see more of the disparate systems and equipment come together quite quickly I think.”

He is heartened by the strength of Gallagher’s Territory Manager team, with over half the staff having greater than five years’ experience with the company.

“The longevity of our sales staff in their roles says as much about them as it does about the company. They have managed to adapt, learn and keep up with the rapidly developing technology and keep their farmer clients informed about it, while they also obviously find Gallagher a great company to work for.”

The sales team have experienced a particularly intense 12 months with 18 new products launched to market, keeping them busy getting up to speed on the wide range of high quality, innovative releases.

As exciting as the high-tech innovation of the TW scales are, Dan is also enthused by Gallagher’s ability to take well established fencing components and re-invent them as a better version of the original.

A typical example is the Insulated End Strainer released this year. Designers have incorporated the ability to insulate, strain and connect the fence line all within the one component.

It eliminates unnecessary joins, ensures optimal tension levels when straining, and increases insulation by 1.7 times over previous models.

“It’s proven our ability to genuinely add capacity and strength to a well-established piece of fencing kit. Farmers appreciate that as much as the high tech products we also produce.”

Dan says the opportunity to work for a 100% genuinely New Zealand company that manufactures, distributes and sells well to Kiwis is a rare thing today.

“I think I leave the product development area in good heart, and it’s great to be moving to the sales process where the rubber really hits the road.”