Grainswest - Tech 2025

Tech 2025 grainswest.com 35 few kilometres from the family farm where he grew up, Brad McGhee sits on an old office chair. It is next to a work bench in a shop he slowly modified to support his business as an independent mechanic. Once a cold storage shed with a dirt floor, the metal-clad building is now heated and boasts a cement floor and insulated walls. He also installed roof trusses and carried out additional engineering to qualify for commercial insurance. When GrainsWest visited his shop, McGhee’s heavy-duty red service truck was backed into the main work bay. On another day, he might, for example, have a front-wheel- assist tractor in for servicing. Outside of the shop, he is constructing a lean-to that will be used as a parking spot for personal vehicles. His house is a stone’s throw from the shop’s entrance. He and his parents no longer farm, but the property where McGhee lives and works looks much like a typical farmyard. While he described the improvements he’s made to the shop, his partner and one-and-a-half-old son interrupted briefly to say goodbye. They were headed into nearby Drumheller where McGhee completed two years of training as a mechanic at a John Deere equipment dealership. McGhee has been self-employed since 2017. After working as a dealership mechanic for nine years, he grew frustrated with corporate policies and inefficiencies he perceived in the dealership environment. Combines are McGhee’s specialty. He conducts inspections and preventative maintenance on 20 to 30 units per year. He also supports the owners of these combines during the harvest season if they need emergency repairs and then takes on miscellaneous projects such as engine overhauls that farmers bring his way. Haying equipment, tractors and sprayers round out a year’s work. While he does carry out time-sensitive equipment servicing in his shop, he mainly uses it for less urgent jobs. These might include rebuilding engines and transmissions on older, non- critical machinery. Most days, depending on the time of year, McGhee drives the red service truck to jobs in farm fields or his customers’ own shops. Self-employed for almost eight years, he has no problem finding customers. In fact, he is able to selectively take jobs that fit his business model. He also gravitates toward customers who value mutual respect. “My rule is I like to work for people that I can sit and have a meal with,” he said. “And I am booked six months out.” Like any good businessperson, McGhee knows he must provide customers with a necessary service at a fair price. When a machine fails beyond a farmer’s mechanical knowledge, the obvious option is to call the appropriate equipment dealership. However, McGhee and his fellow independent mechanics believe they can make farms more efficient. They do this by optimizing their own skill set, but also actively develop the mechanical abilities of their customers. FIXERS INDEPENDENT FARM MECHANICS FILL IMPORTANT NICHE BY SARAH WEIGUM PHOTOS BY ZOLTAN VARADI