'Instrumental' worker achieves milestone

Originally written by Rhys Tarling, published by Farm Weekly 2 April 2026.

Matt Moulden, a key player in establishing McIntosh & Son's Katanning branch, recently achieved the rare milestone of 25 years of service.

In that time, he's established a deep trust with grain producers and operators thanks to his wealth of technical and mechanical knowledge as a workshop foreman.

Growing up on a farm in Woodanilling, Mr Moulden had a keen interest from a young age in exploring a career in agriculture.

"They were into cropping and livestock, which was pretty much what everyone else was doing," Mr Moulden said.

"It was a small farm, and when they came out of the recession in the mid 1990s, that's when I started swinging spanners."

Mr Moulden was already an established and well-regarded technician at Bolto's, where he also completed his apprenticeship, before McIntosh & Son acquired the branch in 2001. At the time, it was a small crew of five staff.

"I started with Matt in 2005, when we had about 12 staff, and at that stage he was well and truly a highly skilled technician," McIntosh & Son general manager Devon Gilmour said.

"He very quickly became one of the premier spray specialists of our Katanning branch."

McIntosh & Son's Katanning branch had a modest start, and Mr Moulden was instrumental in helping that branch grow over the years. It was not an easy task.

"Back in the day, when we had just the 12 staff, and we were figuring out how the new branch was going to develop, Matt was key to helping us establish what was required in terms of new facilities," Mr Gilmour said.

"New branch developments aren't like a house where you can look at lots of different plans and just pick one and build it; we designed it, and Matt was instrumental in helping us design workshop layouts.

"But as much as anything, you can only grow a branch with reliable customer service, and our customers have had a long history with Matt Moulden; he's absolutely fundamental to the support our customers give us."

Mr Moulden said his experience in building up the workshop, which took up a lot of time and effort, ended up being the thing that "helped me grow up really quick."

"Machinery has undergone a massive change (over 25 years)," Mr Moulden said.

"Especially in regards to capacity, the size of them, and the technology is the biggest change.

"Going from working on working on the twin rotors, the TRs, right through to the CR11s, it's chalk and cheese.

"And seeing the sprayers go from 20-metre booms to 48m."

But if Mr Moulden were to point to the single biggest change he's seen, it would be auto-steer.

"It (auto-steer) was in its infancy when I started, and now it's almost mandatory," he said.

Mr Moulden shared his thoughts on how the season has been shaping up so far.

“We're a bit lucky we had a good year last year, which helps.

"As far as our workshop goes, we're still flat-out."

For the forseeable future, Mr Moulden will remain as a workshop foreman at McIntosh & Son's Katanning branch.

"Unless I win the lotto," he said.

"But they (McIntosh & Son) have looked after me, and I appreciate what they've done for me."