Origin Story of the Morrissey Hydraulic Crush
My name is Greg Rolfe, and I run Rolfe Designs with my wife Neiliya, not far from Armidale, NSW. Let's take a step back in time to my childhood. I grew up on a farm called "Wheelholme," between Springsure and Tambo, where we raised crossbreed cattle. Life on the farm involved a lot of tough, slow, and sometimes dangerous work like branding calves and dealing with uncooperative bulls with only basic wooden equipment.
In the mid-1970s, our family bought a calf cradle from the Morrissey Family, and it felt like Christmas had come early. It made branding much easier, even with our old-school branding fire in the intense heat.
By 1980, my parents decided to move from "Wheelholme" to a new place called "Telemon," closer to Springsure. This property was wild and undeveloped, full of cattle that had never been handled. It was hard work with old equipment, but eventually, we got another Morrissey calf cradle, which helped a lot.
In 2001, with our daughters nearing high school age, Neiliya and I moved to Ebor, NSW. We chose this area as it gets a lot of rain, and is close to schools in Armidale. Here, we started another cattle business and my priority switched to ensuring my family was safe from the dangers of working with cattle.
That’s when I started building hydraulic cattle crushes. The first few were simple, but they helped keep us safe. They used a lever action and ran on electricity. I even worked with a friend who’s a hydraulics engineer to make a 12-volt system that could run off a solar panel. This setup meant we didn’t need noisy generators or air compressors, and I could operate the crush remotely, keeping clear of the animals.
I tried learning CAD drawing to improve my designs but instead worked with a young mechanical engineer who helped put my ideas into a computer model. One night, he sent me a picture of a hinge that inspired me to redesign the crush to use smaller hydraulic cylinders and less oil, which was better for the 12-volt motor and used less battery power.
We then figured out how to laser-cut all the steel parts, which made them easier and more accurate to assemble. I even came up with the idea to make the crushes in flat pack form, which simplified manufacturing and shipping.
Next, we needed to test these new crushes in real-life conditions. A couple of friends bought them—one was set up near Ebor and the other west of Armidale. Both crushes underwent heavy use, and we learned a lot about what needed tweaking. The feedback was good, and after four years of trials, I knew we had a great product on our hands.
Knowing this, I had a few choices: make them myself, find a company to produce them, or sell the design. I decided that selling the design was best and thought of the Morrissey Family first since they were well-known in the industry and were not currently manufacturing crushes. After some meetings and a visit to their setup, we made a deal, and I even helped them build the first crush.
Working with Morrissey and Co. confirmed we made the right choice. They were good at what they did and cared about their staff. Not long after, they showed me plans to continue developing the crush further, which was great to see.
Looking back from my days at Wheelholme to now, it’s been quite the journey from simple farm operations to developing advanced cattle management equipment. Neiliya and I are proud to have partnered with the Morrissey Family, and we’re excited to see where this collaboration will go, hoping it makes cattle yards safer and more efficient all over the world. I'm proud to see that they are taking what I started, to new heights and my wife and I wish them all the success.