Step onto AU Buckets’ yard on the outskirts of Perth, Western Australia and you’re greeted by an impressive sight: thousands of specialist earthmoving buckets and attachments lined up and ready to go.
SINCE 2005, AU BUCKETS has been a proud Western Australian-owned and operated supplier of high quality excavator buckets, attachments and ground-engaging tools.
AU Buckets was founded by Gary Silcock, an industry veteran with a vision to serve the region’s growing infrastructure needs. He started out selling used equipment yet soon realised there was a growing need to hire just the attachments.
“Hire companies purchase a piece of earthmoving or construction equipment but don’t want to keep one of every attachment onsite,” says Gary. “So, that’s where we come in. We do have one of everything.”
AU Buckets carry over 1,200 different excavator attachments in their main yard but with attachments for wheel loaders, telehandlers and skid steers, the total count is closer to 4,000.
“To my knowledge, there’s no business in Australia with that level of stock or expertise,” says Gary. “We strive to make it easy for our partners by maintaining a vast and diverse inventory.”
Their speciality is knowing the machines and what attachments will fit. “In WA, equipment might be sent thousands of kilometres to a job so if you make a mistake and send the wrong attachment, it’s going to be really expensive,” he says. “As an example, a 20-tonne excavator can have up to 30 different hydraulic fittings — so you want to send the right one!” “Our hire customers rely on us to have that expert knowledge and understanding to help them help their customers.”
They’ve now become the ‘go-to’ for hire companies, supplying a range of attachments from magnets for lifting steel to pulverizers and shears for demolition, to buckets designed to work in the harsh Western Australian terrain. “That allows the hire companies to provide a more complete solution for their end-users, while we handle all the specifics of fitting and supplying the right attachment,” says Gary.
Part of AU Buckets’ success lies in their technical expertise and understanding of Western Australia’s demanding geology. “A lot of people don’t appreciate how tough it is over here,” says Gary. “Much of the hire business on the east coast deals with clay or loamy soils, but in Western Australia, it’s hard earth. As a result, attachments sold for one market often don’t survive long in the other.”
This difference drove their rental business model.
“When customers imported attachments from the east, they often found they didn’t last,” Gary explains. “We over-spec our gear for durability because we understand the challenges our clients are facing.”
To ensure customers know exactly how to use the attachments, AU Buckets also provide technical support, online tutorials and educational videos.
“This is critical, especially when equipment is being sent to a site thousands of kilometres away.”
And rather than keep all our knowledge in-house, they share it widely with their partners and customers through their website and online tutorials.
“It reduces mistakes and downtime, builds stronger partnerships and ultimately raises the industry standard,” says Gary.
AU Buckets are also continuing to expand into more technical products and invest in new inventory and technology.
“Every dollar goes back in,” says Gary. “We’re committed to staying ahead of market needs, whether it’s by carrying cutting-edge attachments or improving our digital presence for easier service.”
After more than 20 years, AU Buckets remain a small, family-owned business with 12 people on the team. They’ve deliberately avoided a rigid management hierarchy with everyone wearing multiple hats, chipping in and collaborating wherever they’re needed to get the job done.
“The team work across different tasks,” says Gary. “There are no silos or managers barking orders — we want an environment where people want to come to work.”
Lisa says the program taught her to tackle challenging conversations and find the answers, even if she didn’t know immediately.
“The change in my confidence level from when I started to now, is huge,” she says. “For me, it’s about building deeper client connections, networking with peers, and making it even easier for customers to get exactly what they need.”
Having young people around the business is important for Gary.
“You’ve got to train them up and trust that while they may not do everything exactly the way I would have done it, that’s probably not a bad thing because then nothing would change and nothing’s going to grow.”
For now, AU Buckets remains firmly focused on the Western Australian market for the foreseeable future.
“We see huge potential still right here,” says Gary. “We might branch out one day, but for now, we’re happy to continue growing organically.”