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recently turned its engineering expertise toward an ambitious new venture – an idea that sparked four years ago, when its leadership posed the question: what other industries could Barko’ s machines serve? The answer led to the creation of Kraken Machines; a new brand extending Barko’ s technology beyond forestry into scrap and recycling, construction, and disaster mitigation work such as hurricane and wildfire cleanup.
“ We realized that we weren’ t participating in any of these more industrial industries,” reveals Rupar. While Kraken Machines’ base models share visual DNA with Barko’ s merchandising and utility loaders, targeted revisions and configurations adapt them for entirely different working environments. Crucially, Barko also recognized that entering new markets meant building new relationships from the ground up.“ We’ re currently developing a new dealer network focused on these other industries, rather than forestry,” Rupar notes. The strategy is already proving beneficial, with the company unveiling its latest Kraken Machines model – mounted on a wheeled undercarriage – at a scrap industry expo in Louisville, Kentucky.
However, that diversification wasn’ t purely a leap of faith, as Rupar elaborates:“ We have a very methodical strategic plan process that we work through. We continuously strive to keep Barko stabilized, and ensure the company is still around to serve future generations within these industries.” Extensive market and competitive research revealed an underserved niche: smaller scrap yards priced out of the oversized machines dominating the market.“ We saw an opportunity to introduce a smaller machine into the markets,” he tells us – a machine that smaller operators could put to work immediately.
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From Proven Components to Purpose-Built Systems.
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BTRAC has supported BARKO since 1987, evolving from a supplier of proven Red Dot HVAC components into a collaborative engineering partner developing purpose-built climate solutions for demanding heavy-equipment applications.
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