15 Aug 2023
Words John Miller Informer 107

Remote Control

For most companies “remote work” means their staff work from home when the office is an easy commute away. But for Northern Interests, “remote work” takes on a whole new meaning.

Ben Seekamp
Northern Interests CEO

The company’s 130 employees work in some of the most remote parts of the country, several hundreds of kilometres away from a capital city.

Roadhouses are the Adelaide-based company’s stock in trade, and Northern Interests has become an expert at running them for the last 25 years. In 1998, Northern Interests acquired its first property, Spud’s Roadhouse, in Pimba about 480 kilometres north of the state capital. Pimba is as small and remote as it gets. It has a resident population of about 15 and lies at the junction of the Stuart Highway to Alice Springs. For truckers and tourists travelling through, Spud’s is Pimba. The roadhouse is the settlement’s one defining feature.

“If you’re travelling through the outback, you can’t do without roadhouses,” says Northern Interests CEO Ben Seekamp.

Today, Northern Interests has seven roadhouses spread across remote towns in SA and NT. Glendambo Ampol Roadhouse is 592 km north of Adelaide; Innamincka Trading Post, the famous resting place of Burke and Wills, is 1,050 km northeast of Adelaide; Marla Travellers’ Rest is 1,100 km northwest of Adelaide; and The Elliott Store is halfway between Alice Springs and Darwin in the Territory. A Northern Interests side company also owns and operates the Puma Port Augusta Truckstop about 320 km north of Adelaide.

In February 2023, Northern Interests purchased Timber Creek Hotel through Resort Brokers’ Kelli Crouch, which lies 285 km west of Katherine in the Territory and approximately 193 km east of the NT/WA state border. Timber Creek is Northern Interests’ second largest site by geographical size and has motel rooms, cabins, and caravan sites, as well as a restaurant and bar. Marla is the company’s largest roadhouse with 48 motel rooms, a caravan park, a supermarket, as well as a restaurant, bar and pool.

Northern Interests’ motto is “servicing the outback,” a guiding philosophy Seekamp says the company lives by.

“We are there to service people,” says the 48-year-old. “You need somewhere to stop to get fuel, get a bite to eat or just take a break from the long drive. If you’ve broken down, you need help. We get frustrated with the unmanned fuel facilities that get placed in the vicinity instead of a full-service business. They’re good at providing fuel but if you get a flat tyre, an unmanned fuel bowser can’t help you.

“We can sell you a tyre or repair your tyre to get you going again. Unmanned fuel tanks are very one dimensional. If that’s all that existed, people would struggle to travel in the outback.”

Seekamp says roadhouses not only provide vital services but also down-to-earth country hospitality that gives travellers reassurance and adds to their outback experience.

“If you’re 60 years old and have just bought a caravan and are about to do your first road trip, it can be pretty daunting,” he says. “On your first trip, you want somewhere that’s safe to park, somewhere to plug in your caravan, and somewhere you can enjoy a nice meal and get fuel.

“We’re also a reliable source of information for tourists, who have questions such as ‘Are the roads OK?’ ‘Is it going to rain?’ ‘How fast should I go?’ It can be overwhelming doing a thousand-kilometre trip with a new car and caravan on a road you’ve never been on. And then there’s a few movies about the outback that put some fear into the equation!”

Seekamp has worked for Northern Interests since 2005. A chartered accountant by training, he worked for a commercial property firm before transitioning into managing roadhouses. In 2012, he bought in as a partner.

So, what makes a good roadhouse? Seekamp says Northern Interests has several criteria when looking to acquire one.

“There are many key aspects to consider,” he says. “Being in a good structural condition is important as getting construction or maintenance work done in the outback is very difficult. It’s difficult in capital cities but throw in five hundred kilometres to the job and see who wants to do it! We’ve passed on opportunities because of the maintenance needed upfront. A lot of outback places can be in poor shape.

“Good staff accommodation is vital, reliable power supply, quality of water, waste systems are all important and not often a concern when buying city-based businesses. “We like to see upside potential and we think our size and experience is likely to help with finding better ways to do things. Timber Creek, for instance, was run very well by its previous owners, however fresh eyes and knowing what has worked elsewhere has opened up opportunities to further improve the site.

“We also look for remote locations that are safe, having police in the town or at the very least mobile phone coverage is important to us.

“Location and distance from other businesses is also another critical factor. You don’t want to be too close to a major city because travellers will just push on to get there. In terms of competition, we look to see who’s nearby. You really want to be at least 100 km away from your competition if the business case is to stack up.

“Having a local community nearby is also advantageous. You can’t only rely on tourists because that trade will peak and trough. Having a community or residents nearby is a definite bonus, like Timber Creek does. The locals give you a good base for business.”

Seekamp says staff accommodation is critical, particularly for backpackers. Northern Interests recently sold its Ord River Roadhouse in Kununurra in the Kimberley region of Western Australia due to, in part, its lack of staff accommodation which made finding employees difficult.

“Backpackers are there to save money,” says Seekamp. “They want basic cheap accommodation. Accommodation is expensive in Kununurra and to pay $400 a week in rent doesn’t stack up for them.”

Seekamp says Northern Interests employees are typically people who like living in quiet, remote towns away from the hustle and bustle of big cities.

“We employ a diverse range of people, some who love the outback way, some looking for a change and a lot of travellers and backpackers,” says Seekamp. “You need to be able to cope with living in a remote area, you can’t pop into the local shopping centre for something to do. Getting a haircut may be an 800 km drive away! It’s rare we get someone who wants a big lifestyle change. It’s likely our staff know the outback, they are travellers or have been travellers, and it’s the lifestyle they want. We recently employed some managers for Spud’s Roadhouse who are currently in remote WA and had previously been working in Nullarbor and Uluru. It’s what they enjoy doing, and the lifestyle they want.”

Seekamp says Northern Interests is always on the lookout for quality people to join our team. “We do have excellent retention with our managers and senior staff members but given the number of backpackers we employ, staff turnover is high,” he says.

“We have staff that have been with the company for a long time. Spud’s Roadhouse has a group that have been there for three to ten years. It has very low staff turnover. 

“At Marla, our management team has been there between five and ten years. About ten staff at Marla have been with the company for many years, the balance of staff may turn over four times a year.”

Another aspect to Northern Interests is giving back to the community. The company sponsors several local sports teams including the Elliott Football Team, Oodnadatta Netball Team, Marla Gymkhana, Olympic Dam Sporting Club, Glendambo Gymkhana, Innamincka Races as well as supporting the Royal Flying Doctors.

“We like to support emergency services where we can,” says Seekamp. “We often help with recovery work for accidents.

“Sometimes we provide critical help, but it can also be something as simple as supplying food and drinks for them. Again, we’re there to service people.” END