Mount Isa has Mark Campbell to thank for convincing a national company to invest more than a million dollars into local industry.
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Born and bred in Mount Isa, Mr Campbell has spent the past 20 years working in the mining sector.
Mr Campbell saw an opportunity to develop the local supply market, so he approached industrial hardware supplier ATOM to open shop in Mount Isa.
ATOM chairman Jason Johnson flew up to the north west to meet with Mr Campbell and was so impressed he spent the plane ride home developing a business plan on the back of an envelope.
“Mark approached us and told us there was a gap in the market, and we really backed him. We checked out his credentials and thought this is someone we can build a business around,” Mr Johnson said.
“We could see that our business model would work here, provided we had the right local person.
“The original plan was to open a small to medium size business, but we were lucky enough to land two major Glencore tenders at about the same time we were opening,” he said.
ATOM’s Mount Isa store is best describes as the “Bunnings for industry”.
You can find everything from giant spanners and gumboots to angle grinders and safety goggles in the giant retail space.