Hunter based, Brain Industries, has made two appointments to its growing sales and customer service team.

Ernest Lapornik joins the industrial equipment manufacturer in the new role of Business Development Manager. Nathan Pearson has the role of Product Manager – Mining & Pumps.

Brain Industries Managing Director, Gillian Summers said both men each have more than 20 years’ experience working in the industrial equipment arena or directly with the sectors the firm services.

Ernest has worked in engineering and industrial equipment sales roles. Nathan has worked both for the mining sector or for companies supplying equipment and services to mines.

Gillian said Brain’s team understands its clients’ industry, problems and opportunities. She said this knowledge enables the team to provide or custom build a product to help them to better handle materials, pump the impossible, and keep workforces safe.

With a growing list of Australian and international interest in Brain’s Australian made products, she said the new roles are critical to Brain’s continued success.

“We are continuing to expand our product range and these guys will help spread the word to our existing clients and potential clients,” Gillian said.

“We are exporting pumps to Africa, Asia and the Middle East and, late last year, we shipped self-filling tankers to New Zealand.”

Gillian said the global pandemic and trade tensions with other nations have thrown a spotlight on the importance of Australian manufacturing.

“More businesses are seeing the value in choosing local manufacturers such as Brain Industries.

“We make our products with quality materials which reduces maintenance and improves service life – that makes our products cost effective in the long run.”

She said Brain’s strength was its ability to design and manufacture – in house – customised solutions to solve client’s material handling issues.

“We are expanding our polyurethane products division because of the endless applications this material offers our clients,” Gillian said.

“Brain’s manufacturing prowess was recently recognised when we were named a finalist in the Hunter Business Awards and a runner up in the Hunter Manufacturing Awards.”

Gillian said Brain’s multi-million-dollar investment in its own equipment and expansion of its Carrington engineering facility means Brain’s team do most of the production in house.

“Not relying on third party components allows us to better control quality and deliver fast turn-around times.

“We understand that time is money, especially for clients in the mining, tunnelling and oil and gas sectors.”

Ernest said that Brain is a specialist industrial equipment manufacturer, and often supplies products where others fail – such as its pneumatic pumps.

He said he was keen to remind current and potential customers of the advantages of hiring Brain equipment – particularly for one-off jobs.

“Brain also refurbishes and recertifies products such as conveyor pulleys, which is another way to save client’s money,” Ernest said.

Nathan said Brain’s gravity discharge pumps and pressure discharge pumps were a good example of where workmanship saved clients in the long run. He said a load detecting washer and a Fines Separation Unit (FSU) were two examples of new products that had big benefits for the mining industry and other industries.

“With no internal moving parts, Brain’s pumps are more reliable, wear less quickly and are safe to use in hazardous areas,” Nathan said.

“The FSU we have just delivered to a NSW mine will pay for itself within two weeks.”

The two men will work with Brain’s other Product Managers – David Pandel (conveyor pulleys & conveyor products) and Tom Pattison (pulley lagging) – as well as Brain’s team of 20 including designers, manufacturing specialists and painters.

IMAGE | Brain Industries’ newest recruits – Nathan Pearson and Ernest Lapornik.