Taking parts sales to online markets
A Kalgoorlie entrepreneur has launched what is being described as a virtual eBay for the mining industry.
Michael Worthington, who has cut his teeth for the past decade as a heavy-duty mechanic on some of the Goldfields' biggest gold mines, has gone to great lengths to protect his idea and last year moved to take out a patent.
The business, Worthy Parts, is no get-rich-quick scheme.
It has been almost two years in the making for the father-of-two.
But the concept took a quantum leap forward about six weeks ago when the website came online.
He declined to compare it to the California-based eBay for fear of being sued by a multi-billion dollar conglomerate, but said there was a market for it in the mining industry, given all companies were looking for savings after wasting rivers of cash during the boom years.
"Everything else these days is online," Mr Worthingtonsaid.
"Everything in people's personal lives goes on Gumtree or eBay and I started thinking why does our industry not work like that.
"There is a huge amount of waste in mining and this is where I am striking a chord with a lot of people."
"Everyone who has been out to a mine site knows the amount of gear that is just lying around that is still valuable.
"Parts are worthless to the person who doesn't want them but valuable to the person who needs them." Among 37 items listed on Worthy Parts' website last week was a Caterpillar loader for $71,500 and a forklift for $7700, but the site covers the entire industry, including drilling accessories and generators, underground equipment and light vehicles.
Mr Worthington takes a small commission from every sale and charges membership fees.
He developed a business plan six months ago while still working full time and said it was an ideal time to launch the "new concept", given the industry had tightened its belt.
His next step is negotiating a deal with a national freight carrier to deliver the products and has been in discussions with the likes of Adelaide-based Northline.
"Kalgoorlie is where the original idea came from because I feel WA is left right out when it comes to parts supply," Mr Worthington said.
"A lot of things come from over east and overseas, and even though we've got so much mining gear here I don't think we're a blip on what's happening over east."
Though early days, industry insiders are already talking up Worthy Parts as a potential future success story, maybe one day emulating the likes of Goldfields entrepreneurs such as Ron Sayers, who started Ausdrill with two drill rigs in his backyard.
That entrepreneur spirit was channelled through Mr Worthington by his current boss Greg Bond, who founded Force Equipment with Barry Stewart in Kalgoorlie-Boulder in 1987.
"Force are a huge company now and Ausdrill is a step above that in terms of size, and he (Sayers) started in the back of Boulder across the road from my Nanna's house," Mr Worthington said.
