Ullrich Aluminium Sydney South is on the Mark

If you’re driving around NSW and see a super shiny Harley cruise past with a lady passenger on the back, fast asleep in the worlds’ most comfortable seat – don’t stress! It’s probably Mark Pilling, our clued-up and helpful External Sales Representative from our Ullrich Aluminium Smeaton Grange Branch driving and his wife, Colleen, resting her eyelids.

Mark rides his Harley like he treats his customers – with plenty of respect to ensure a smooth journey.

Mark and Colleen have been riding Harleys for decades, before their daughters, Kiryn, now 31 years old and Kaitlyn, 26, were born. Now that the girls have grown up and flown the coop, the Pillings spend their spare time riding Mark’s beloved Harley. (Please note that Mark loves his family just as much as his Harley!)

Covid border closures have thrown a slight spanner in the works but for now Mark is happy to let down his longer lockdown-style hair and stay within NSW. He squeezed in a 4500km trip in March this year with a group of 14 riders. Exploring Route 66 in the USA is up there on Mark’s bucket list as well as touring all of Australia – border openings pending of course.

Check out Mark’s Harley shimmering in the sun below, as well as the cushioning on that snooze-inducing back seat:

Community Grandaddy

Mark and Colleen are members of Harley Owners Group (HOG), run by Harley Davidson, with one and half a million riders worldwide. HOG is ‘the grandaddy of all community-building efforts, which is very much like Mark himself. Now a proud grandad to Charlotte, 7, and Hudson, nearly 2, he has spent a huge part of his life helping his community.

Mark was a volunteer in the Rural Fire Service in NSW for 8 years and bravely helped with the devastating fires in Sutherland in 1997 and 2000. Mark says, “Looking back, I spent a lot of time in a red truck. I suppose it’s just one of those things – when you’re called, you go. I don’t know how I’d fit it in today”.

The HOG Division that Mark is a part of fundraises for Kids of Macarthur, helping homeless children in the area. An active club member, Mark has had many roles on committees including drafting up the HOG’s rides which can be up to 3 rides per month, and organising monthly fundraising BBQ’s.

Expert in Products and People

Mark has been with Ullrich Aluminium’s Smeaton Grange branch for 4 years and brought his expertise in products and people from 16 years moving up the ranks with ITW Polymers & Fluids, a Fortune 500 company. Mark began with Ullrich as a warehouse supervisor, moved inside to internal sales for a short period then shifted into his current position where Mark says he is mostly, “Out on the road visiting customers and sorting out solutions to their problems… I enjoy helping customers achieve what they want to achieve with Ullrich products.”

Local fledgling company, Garlo Welding and Fabrication, specialises in custom welding for all types of trailers and with Mark’s help, is really taking off. They started out renting one unit, have taken over the unit next door and at the rate they’re going, may take over the whole complex!

Owner Mick says, “Mark comes out, sees what we need and delivers all the components that give us the leading edge. Ullrich has worked side by side with us and has been a vital part of our success”.

Team Effort

Not one to take all the accolades, Mark credits the success of the Smeaton Grange branch to the entire small team, who all come from different walks of life. Mark explains, “When the Smeaton branch was born, Emile Grihangne, who is now based at Smithfield, did the groundwork in establishing customers so I want to thank Emile for the customer base.”

Emile once said, “Being a sales rep is an adventure… A smooth ride one day and a bumpy road the next. For a small branch like Smeaton Grange, the key is the versatility of the staff.” Lucky Mark rides a Harley so is an expert at navigating all kinds of roads!

Mark continues, “Today, there are 5 of us in the office. The branch wouldn’t survive without the rest of the staff. Michelle Pike, who’s been with us for nearly a year, Bilal Mroue has been here for 18 months and transferred from Smithfield, Gavin Lenton has been our truck driver for 10 years and our latest is a young expecting father, Harley Reynolds, who’s been with us for 6 months.”

“We all look after the customers. I spent a lot of my years buying products. What I’ve transferred into the sales role is that we need to treat the branch customers exactly the same way I wanted to be treated when I was purchasing products.”

Smeaton Grange has a Big Customer Range

Ullrich Smeaton Grange looks after a big range of companies and customers from small to large shops. The majority are in the Campbelltown area and include large construction companies with aluminium cladding and façade work, trailer builders, and also Millard Caravans.

Smeaton Grange branch covers customers in a giant triangular-shaped area, south of Sydney. Imagine the top tip of the triangle is Prestons, near Liverpool and the bottom two angles are about 100kms south. The bottom left angle is inland at Sutton’s Forest in the Southern Highlands and the bottom right angle goes all the way to Kiama on the coast.

If you’re in this area and need help with anything aluminium, give our friendly Smeaton team a call today on 02 4646 2200 or visit us at 15 Blackmore Rd, Smeaton Grange.

Posted at 05 October 21