Episode 11: How a Texan Goat Farmer Sparked Aquamate’s Global Expansion - with Danny Di Iorio

This episode of Owner Insights features Danny Di Iorio from Aquamate - a business whose journey has been far from linear. A believer in the ‘seven-year itch’ and regularly shaking things up, Danny had a strong first chapter with Aquamate, helped by a large-scale drought in Australia that boosted demand for their steel water tanks. But when the drought broke and the GFC hit, turnover declined for almost a decade.

That downturn led Danny to rethink the business, but a move into the Oil and Gas industry didn’t go well. Many lessons were learnt, and a refocus on being the best in the world at something got the business back on track. The catalyst came from an unlikely source - a Texan goat farmer, prompting Aquamate to develop a flat-pack design that opened the US market.

Today, the US accounts for 30% of Aquamate’s $12 million revenue and is expected to overtake the Australian side, all still manufactured in Adelaide. Aquamate is now exploring a Big Science project in South America that could require up to 4,000 tanks - and with global demand rising, Danny is gearing up for the most ambitious chapter in the company’s history.