Since 1970, Marathon Tyres has proven itself to be a trusted Australian business — operating predominantly along the east coast — specialising in earthmover tyre supply and servicing.
Marathon Tyres works with big names like Rio Tinto, WesTrac, Abigroup, Bengalla, Ditchfield, and the Australian Defence Force across the mining, construction, industrial, and military and port sectors, delivering complete tyre management services from its eight branches or on-site operations.
100% family owned
CEO Greg Nesbitt’s father first established Marathon Tyres, so Greg has seen how the business has evolved, which has influenced his own decisions about how it should succeed into the future. Since ensuring that Marathon Tyres is 100% family owned after a brief change in ownership, Greg has increased the size of the business, focused on securing more work on a contract basis, and put a lot of effort into building relationships with his 150 employees and Marathon Tyres’ suppliers.
Innovation in safety practices
One of Greg’s most innovative moves as CEO has been to lead the development of a software package that has improved safety practices while making processes more efficient for customers.
We’ve developed our own software package which we’re using internally, but we want to actually sell that out to the market and it’s a product called TMASS. It’s a time management software but it’s also a safety system as well.
The software, TMaSS, is designed around safety checks and secure access to information. Its cloud-based technology means companies can get information about any job and any stage from their web browser and the iPad app makes it even quicker and easier to navigate from, wherever they may be.
Greg says, “We’ve developed our own software package which we’re using internally, but we want to actually sell that out to the market and it’s a product called TMASS. It’s a time management software but it’s also a safety system as well,” says Greg. “The aim is to ensure that our staff are following our training and safety requirements. We work a lot with FIFO (fly in, fly out) workers on remote sites, as well as people based at the depots outside of the cities. We’ve found that by having the TMaSS system in place, it brings our workforce closer to management and to the customer in these types of environments. It has really improved our ability to ensure our people are doing the right thing in the workplace and keeping safe.
Greg acknowledges that there have been challenges for the business associated with the recent downturn in the resources sector. But, through its strong partnerships, Marathon Tyres has been able to seek out and take advantage of opportunities in all its markets. It relies on its business relationships to continue to grow in those markets.
“I think we’re at the bottom of the cycle, certainly with mining. I think we are well placed to grow with that. There’s good growth potential in civil construction: the government has spent a lot of money on roads and infrastructure and we’ve got really good potential to grow with that and we will continue to be a valuable supplier to the ADF, the Australian Defence Force,” Greg says.
“Our major supplier is Michelin and when it’s a family business they really want you to succeed. Sometimes suppliers are just as important as customers.”
Marathon Tyres key facts
- Company name: Marathon Tyres
- Headquarters: Sydney, Australia
- Number of employees: 150
- Industry: Automotive & Aviation