When Geoff Thorp stepped into the role of Managing Director at TURCK Australia New Zealand in July 2025, he inherited a business with a strong reputation, a loyal customer base and more than two decades of successful growth; but he also saw an opportunity to reposition the company into its next phase of evolution.

With extensive experience across industrial automation and technology sectors, Thorp has spent his first year focused on sharpening strategy, strengthening leadership and creating a culture designed to support sustainable long-term growth. His approach combines operational discipline with a strong emphasis on people, collaboration and customer outcomes.

“As industries across Australia and New Zealand embrace digitisation and AI, we need to go beyond the ‘automation norm’ to adapt and grow with our customers. As a result, we are uniquely positioned to play a much bigger role not simply as a provider of automation components, but as a solutions provider, helping customers navigate increasingly complex operational challenges,” says Geoff.

Building a Stronger Foundation for Growth

One of Geoff’s first priorities in the role was to establish greater clarity across the organisation. “My focus has been on strategy, people and culture to ensure sustainable, long-term growth,” he shares.

While TURCK was established internationally in Germany in 1965, its presence locally began as a smaller start-up operation and has since developed into a well-established, medium-sized business with offices located in Victoria, New South Wales, SA, Queensland, Western Australia and New Zealand. The team currently comprises of 30 team members across engineering, customer support, supply chain, technical support and sales.

As part of the global TURCK network, the Australian and New Zealand business benefits from the strength of a family-owned company that is recognised worldwide as a leader in industrial automation. TURCK specialises in sensors, fieldbus technology, connection interfaces, RFID systems and human-machine interfaces (HMI), helping optimise factory, process and logistics automation by bridging the gap between physical production environments and the cloud.

Early in his tenure, Thorp restructured the leadership team, clearly defining functional responsibilities across finance, sales, customer service and technology while encouraging stronger collaboration between departments. He also introduced greater operational discipline through improved business processes, performance metrics and data-driven decision-making.

“Transparency has been a major part of that journey,” he says. “We now regularly share business performance, priorities and progress with the entire organisation so everyone understands where we are, where we’re heading and how they contribute to our success.” The result is a more connected organisation with stronger accountability and clearer direction.

Investing in the Market

People remain at the centre of Geoff’s leadership philosophy. “My priority has been to build a culture that’s accountable, transparent and collaborative - where people understand what’s expected of them, feel supported to grow and are aligned around delivering strong business outcomes.”

To support this vision, TURCK has expanded its team across Australia and New Zealand, strengthening customer support in key growth regions including Western Australia and Central and Far North Queensland. The company has also enhanced its New Zealand presence through expanded distribution partnerships and local support capabilities.

Alongside recruiting experienced industry professionals, Geoff is committed to developing future talent. “One recent initiative involved bringing a graduate engineer into the business while completing their final year of university studies, giving them practical experience in real-world industrial applications. We hope to do more of this in future.”

“Our growth is highly targeted,” he adds. “We’re investing in the regions, capabilities and skillsets that align with where our markets are growing, ensuring we continue to deliver responsive, technically robust support to customers across industries.”

From Component Supplier to Automation Partner

Perhaps the most significant shift under Geoff’s leadership is the company’s evolving market position.

“Ultimately, TURCK is evolving from a component supplier to a solutions partner, focused on helping customers harness connectivity, data and intelligent automation to improve performance, reliability and scalability in their operations.”

As industries face increasing pressure from labour shortages, productivity demands, sustainability goals and global economic uncertainty, automation has become a strategic necessity rather than a future aspiration.

“A shift toward smarter, more connected and more flexible automation is underway,” he explains. “AI at the edge, open architectures and data-driven decision-making will fundamentally change how industrial businesses operate.”

Importantly, TURCK’s technology philosophy centres on openness and interoperability. “Customers are increasingly seeking solutions that integrate seamlessly with existing infrastructure rather than requiring complete system replacement,” he says. “Our ability to connect with almost any platform or technology ecosystem allows customers to adopt new capabilities without starting from scratch. That flexibility is becoming incredibly valuable.”

Looking further ahead, Thorp sees TURCK playing an increasingly important role in helping customers navigate industrial transformation. “Our vision is for TURCK to be a critical enabler of Australia and New Zealand’s industrial future through the use of decentralised automation and control platforms, systems and solutions - helping customers become smarter, more connected and more efficient.”

For Geoff, success will ultimately be measured not by products sold, but by the value created for customers. “We want to be known as a trusted partner that helps customers solve real operational challenges - whether that’s remote operations, workforce shortages, productivity improvements or sustainability goals. If we can contribute directly to their long-term competitiveness and performance, then we’ve achieved what we set out to do” he concludes.

More information available at: https://www.turck.com.au/en/

TURCK Australia and TURCK New Zealand are also proud distributors of Banner Engineering - https://www.bannerengineering.com/.