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It has been more than 30 years since Eastern Spreaders was established in Kerang, Northern Victoria in October of 1989 by Albert and Joan Freeman, and their secretary Maree Jobling.
The company commenced business distributing Marshall Multi Spread fertiliser spreaders, which Mr Freeman had help develop in 1979 with Roesner Engineering in Harvey, Western Australia.
The Freemans son and current Eastern Spreaders director Stephen Freeman said their spreader fleet was initially utilised to spread gluggy gypsum.
"Since that time they've been developed to spread all types of material including seed, fertiliser, gypsum, lime and other bulky materials such as manures and compost," Mr Freeman said.
"With our Marshall range we now cover an area stretching from east of the Spencer Gulf in South Australia to Queensland," he said.
Marshall Multi Spread have a range of spreaders from two and a half tonne through to 16 tonne in either PTO or hydraulic spinner drive with ground drive conveyors with options of roll tarps, three metre axle spacings, load cells and i4M variable rate control.
Mr Freeman said In 2000, Eastern Spreaders were approached by NDEco to distribute there range of TMR Vertical Feed Mixers which range in size from 11.5 cubic metres to 48 cubic metres triple auger mixers.
"They come in either front door discharge for feeding onto feed pads or troughs or side door discharge with a three metre elevator for feeding into self-feeders for the beef or sheep industry.
"NDEco have a couple of features that other mixers on the market don't have, such as the 24in curved carbide knives which last up to 3500 hours to the stepped floor in the twin and triple auger machines allowing the augers to overlap, which allows for a total transfer of feed from front to rear and a total clean out of the mix."
In 2017, The Renn Mill Co. approached Eastern Spreaders to distribute there roller mills and other grain handling equipment across Australia.
"Renn have built up a reputation of high capacity top end roller mills with sizes from 12in with a capacity of 13t per hour of wheat, right through to triple 48in mills of very high capacity. The most popular mill is the 24in which has a capacity of 26 tonnes/hour of wheat and 13t/h of barley.
"The Renn mill has a chill cast roll measuring 16in in diameter, which is then machined and grooved, making a very true roll so as not to miss any grain from being rolled. There is varying options for discharge augers and they come in either PTO or electric drive."
Eastern Spreaders have also been distributing the Rotowiper weed wiper from New Zealand since 2011 for the Riverina, Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia.
"The Rotowiper works on the principle of spraying chemical onto a rotating carpet, which is designed to absorb and hold the chemical which wipes the weed that needs to be killed. It is height adjustable and only kills what comes in contact with the carpet with no spray drift, therefore leaving the pasture to keep on flourishing. These machines come in either trailing or linkage units of 1.8m up to 12m wide."
Mr Freeman said Eastern Spreaders prides itself on there service and spare parts backup to keep any of there machines running with a minimum of downtime should there be a breakdown.
"There would rarely be a time when there isn't a part available ex-stock at Kerang. We have a fully equipped workshop with the manpower and equipment to handle anything from a major rebuild to minor glitches that may only need to be solved with some coaching over the phone. We have fully trained staff that problem solve and repair any problem with the i4M computer controls or other electronic issues that may arise."
He said in recent times it has been a highlight of Eastern Spreaders to now be now with the third generation of clients.
"A lot of clients have become friends, along with the people that we deal with from the manufacturers. From the early days from when we had very basic machines to the computerised controls and electronics we've had to adapt to, to keep up with the way farming has gone, Eastern Spreaders are looking to keep this tradition going with the third generation of Freemans coming on board to keep the company competitive."
