Learn about what motivates the TRG Team in this month’s Meet The TRG Team with Jaco Barnard
Welcome to TRG’s “Meet the Team” blog series! This month, we’re excited to introduce Jaco Barnard, a seasoned professional with over two decades of industry experience, who recently joined TRG.
Inspired by TRG’s dynamic market presence and innovative spirit, Jaco is excited to share his extensive knowledge and collaborate with skilled colleagues to enhance industry practices. His career began in 2004, progressing through various supervisory roles at major mining sites.
At TRG, Jaco aims to improve safety and productivity standards by developing new tools and procedures. He is proud of his achievements, including managing on-site tyre operations for coal mines under tight deadlines. Drawn by TRG’s unique “family” culture, Jaco and his family relocated from South Africa to Australia, embracing a supportive and caring workplace.
1. What inspired you to join TRG, and what excites you most about your new role?
It is a new company storming the market and rattling cages.
TRG has given me the opportunity to share what I’ve learned in two decades and collaborate with some of the most knowledgeable and skilled people in the field, bettering industry practices and procedures.
2. Can you share a bit about your professional background and experience in the industry?
I started in the industry in 2004 as a sales representative for a local tyre outlet getting exposure to a wide variety of applications. Soon after a transfer came up to supervise one of the various on-sites on the biggest iron ore mine in South Africa, thus the earthmover journey started. I was site manager at various underground mines including a few years with a chrome smelter.
The opportunity arose and I headed back to iron ore as supervisor for the mine tyre bay and relief contract manager. We set up new sites in the coal mining area, starting 3 sites simultaneously within 2 months. A big mining contractor approached me to supervise their tyre crew. Later I relocated to the head office as a workshop supervisor on their rebuild projects.
3. How do you plan to contribute to TRG’s mission and goals in your new role?
There is a great lack of knowledge in our industry, I hope to learn as much as I can share. Improving standards in safety and productivity. If we can eliminate the risks involved with one task, we have come a long way. Developing new tools, standards and procedures, keeping an eye on what’s out there in the industry to keep us relevant and ahead of the curve.
4. Can you describe a project or achievement from your previous experience that you’re particularly proud of?
The company I worked for at the time won a tender for three open-cast coal mines’ on-site tyre management. We had a 6-month take-over period to source workers, set up sites, train and obtain mine compliance for over 200 workers and source the required tooling.
A month into the process the client let us know we would be starting up 4 months earlier. Needless to say, what seemed an impossible task in the shortened period, got done. Planning and great teamwork saw us across the finish line.
5. What attracted you to TRG as an employer, and what sets it apart from other companies in the industry?
Myself and my family took a big leap of faith and relocated from South Africa to Australia. Having done the CERTii training in Australia years before, I reached out to a few mates that I got to know through the training. The description of TRG I got from them was very similar… “We are a family mate.” “We look after each other.”
Employees referring to their mates like that about their place of work, it’s almost unheard of.
I was sold immediately.
Living the “family” culture as a company and really caring about employees, is what sets TRG apart from any other.
For Information about how TRG helps support businesses with OTR Tyre Management | Training
