The Richards family have a long history of supplying the Australian agricultural sector. The present owner, John Richards, is carrying on the family business commenced by his father before World War 2 and the tradition of family ownership continues with both of John’s son’s involved in the business today.

Stephen Richards has a diploma in Ag science and manages the St Arnaud site, where the spare parts division of the business continues to operate. Stephen also manages the manufacturing area in St Arnaud where sprayers of less than 2000 litres capacity are built.

Roger Richards is a mechanical engineer and leads the research, design, and product development divisions of the company as well as taking an active role in the management of the Ballarat site where sprayers of greater than 2000 litres capacity are built.

The new purpose built Ballarat site is adjacent to the freeway between Melbourne and Adelaide, with connections to excellent transport facilities as well as providing easy access for customers and suppliers.

Ballarat’s large population has a long history of manufacturing providing an excellent staffing resource for GoldAcres, and is one of Australia’s largest inland cities and is located just over one (1) hour from Melbourne’s Tullamarine airport. The Ballarat complex also includes a demanding proving track and a large customer and staff training facility. An additional storage and parts distribution area is also under construction on the 13-acre site.


The challenge to design environmentally responsible chemical application equipment is being met head on by GoldAcres engineers. Groundbreaking developments in direct chemical injection technology is saving chemical, fuel, and time on sprayers around Australia, as well as having a large impact on the disposal of unused chemical.

Goldacres is also adopting environmentally sustainable work practices in manufacturing. Initiatives include the collection rainwater from the vast factory roof to lessen the demand on town water supplies in Ballarat, recycling of packaging and manufacturing waste materials, the use of sustainable electricity and participation in Ballarat’s SmartGreen project.

SmartGreen is an initiative of the University of Ballarat, and seeks to bring together SME’s who are concerned about the environmental sustainability of their business activities. The SmartGreen work group at Goldacres is exploring new ways to lessen our environmental impact using the experiences of innovative companies such as Interface Carpets and others.

The newest development in this line of efficient chemical application equipment is the EF Series Prairie Advance Sprayers.Bristling with new features that make spraying easier, safer and better for the environment.

Goldacres, delivering the right solution for efficient and cost effective chemical application.