Business West November 2010

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HOBSONS BAY BUSINESS AWARDS HOW NOT TO GO FOR BROKE KEEP A HEALTHY WORKPLACE

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ISSUE 5 NOVEMBER 2010

FROM THE EDITOR EVERY so often you come across someone who is just so larger than life. Christina MacGregor reminds me very much of those formidable Victorian women who, armed with nothing more than a parasol and true grit, sallied forth to carve out the British Empire in far flung places such as Kenya or ‘Inja’.

I first met Chris in 2001 when as a member of Melbourne West Area Consultative Committee I had the daunting task with then ACC executive officer Michael Iaccarino of sounding her out about becoming the chair of the ACC. Chris was to lead the ACC with distinction for the next nine years until a change of government in Canberra saw the ACC disbanded and replaced with the Regional Development Authority.

“

and innovation in our region. I enjoyed the experience of site visits and being shown through by people quite clearly dedicated to their business.

In the end it is always a shame that there is only one Business of the Year as we met many winners. For the Paz family, to win the Hobsons Bay Business of the Year was another chapter in a remarkable story that began when Norma and Valentin Paz migrated to Australia from Argentina in 1978.

Roads Minister Tim Pallas was the inaugural speaker at the recent Business West/Sanctuary Lakes lunch and he outlined the State Government’s future transport plans for the West.

Strategies this edition focuses on health – the health of your workforce, and the health of your business.

WorkSafe Victoria’s Chief Executive Greg Tweedly explains how we, as business leaders, can contribute more to the wellbeing of the workplace.

It is always a shame that there is only one Business of the Year as we met many winners‌

Charlene Gatt has written a terrific interview of this force of nature who has had to overcome discrimination and tragedy to build a successful business as a woman in the tough and competitive world of road transport. So much so that in 2006 Chris was named the Australian Freight and Logistics Industry’s Personality of the Year.

A year later Wyndham named Chris Citizen of the Year for her contribution to the community. A great role model, for men as well as women.

This issue also highlights the Hobsons Bay Business Excellence Awards, of which Star News Group and Business West are media partners.

I had the privilege of being on the judging panel and it gave me an added insight into the amazing depth of talent, determination

Today, the Paz Group of Companies operating out of Brooklyn has notched an impressive portfolio of projects – Federation Square, Southern Cross Station, Crown Casino, Point Cook Town Centre among them – as well as developing a highly-successful domestic home division. Last year, Paz Group was awarded the Master Builders’ Association of Victoria Excellence in Construction award for stonemasonry.

And Jason Stone, a forensic accounting specialist from Lawler Draper Dillon, spells out the uncomfortable warning signs of insolvency. Read what he has to say, and make sure your business continues to stay healthy.

Jim Lawrence jim.lawrence@starnewsgroup.com.au

And this month, this inspiring family business celebrates 25 years in business.

A great effort and worthy winners of the Hobsons Bay Business of the Year.

I’m also delighted to report that Star/ Business West have also been selected as media partners for the 2011 Melton Excellence in Business Awards.

Star News Group is committed to helping promote the role business plays in our communities. We’re happy to work with councils in highlighting recognition of business in our region.

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CONTENTS 4-5

BIG MAC Queen of the Road

8

DRIVING FORCE Melton in top gear

10-11 SMOOTH SAILING A seat at the captain’s table

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Real estate in the blood

30

FIT FOR WORK Tips for a healthy workforce

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EDITOR Jim Lawrence jim.lawrence@starnewsgroup.com.au

HOUSE CALLS

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EDITORIA EDITORIAL Charlene Gatt charlene.gatt@starnewsgroup.com.au charlene.

ADVERTI ADVERTISING Charles Cha les Ferraro F charles.ferraro@starnewsgroup.com.au Mobile: 0421 555 404

INSOLVENCY The early warning signs

DESIGN Mark Dinnie mark.dinnie@starnewsgroup.com.au BUSINESS WEST 17 Assembly Drive, Tullamarine 3043 Phone: 9933 4800 Fax: 9933 4844

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Business West is a division of Star News Group Pty. Ltd. Celebrating our 101st year as a family-run business. Proudly Australian-owned and independent.

General Manager/Editor-in-Chief Geelong-North West Division, Jim Lawrence.

Produced and published

by Paul Thomas for Star News Group Pty. Ltd. ACN 005 848 108.

Star News Group Trading Terms and Conditions can be found on www.starnewsgroup.com.au

COVER: The Paz family and colleagues celebrate winning Hobsons Bay Business of the Year.

Picture: NICOLE SULTANA Pages 15, 32-33 BUSINESS WEST

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BIG mc

BY CHARLENE GATT SHE’S a beauty among the beasts.

Christina MacGregor, 65, is head of MacGregor Logistics, a family owned and operated national logistics business based in Sunshine.

It’s the kind of workplace where open-toed heels are a workplace hazard, but that doesn’t stop Ms MacGregor from adding feminine touches to an otherwise male-dominated business.

Apart from her perfectly styled hair, nails and dress, there’s the leather chaise lounge that greets visitors from the minute they open the door, to her office that is furnished with leather couches, a piano and a dining table doubling as a boardroom table.

498512-SH45-10

“Where ever you go in life, people are going to look at you and they’re going to sum you up by how you present yourself, how

you speak, how you share a meal, your table manners – all those sorts of things, and then they’ll put you in a box,” Ms MacGregor said.

“Are you going to be stupid enough to let them judge you a moron or idiot, or are you going to make the best effort you can to say to these people ‘put me in the higher box, because I want to succeed and I will succeed’.”

But don’t mistake her for a girly girl. This one has balls. She loves nothing more than to stick it to men who think women aren’t capable of such a manly role.

And she has her own forklift licence to prove it.

“I love it, because we can show other people how much better girls can do things,” MacGregor said.

“We think of all of the little things. Fellows can be far more strategic, and I’ve had that thrown at me once, but strategy isn’t going to give you the results you require to make the service improvements you need. That’s operational.

“That might not be the case all the time, but girls are good at the big picture, but they are also brilliant at the small detail that makes all the difference.”

Her position is light years away from the 15-year-old who left high school because she failed fourth form to work in the note issue branch at the Reserve Bank of Australia.

“Girls in those days, all we were trained to do was to become a wife… so why keep me in school any longer?

“My parents thought it was wonderful that their daughter worked in a bank, even though it wasn’t a traditional banking role.”

Ms MacGregor thought otherwise. In fact, she hated the position so much she would spent most days in the sick bay with a migrane.

Following that she held jobs as a waitress and a Playboy bunny at the Playboy Club, and then looked after the promotions division for Rothmans.

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“

But don’t mistake her for a girly girl.

This one has balls…

Chris MacGregor… chick on a mission.

Picture: DAMJAN JANEVSKI

It was there she met her future husband Bill Featherstone She was 23 and he was 44.

Featherstone.

21 years older than I, but I just “Bill was 2 took one look at him and said ‘that’s the man I’m going to marry’”. m The pair joined forces to set up their freight logistics company more than 35 logis years ago, combining their surnames to call c it MacFeather MacFeathe Transport Management Ltd, or MTM. “Because Bill took so long to marry me, and ev everybody knew me as Chris MacGregor, I just said, ‘I’m not going to now be Mrs Featherstone, I will remain as Chris MacGregor’, and he said ‘that’s fine, as long as you don’t turn off the sex,’” she laughed.

Bill took control of the company, leaving Ms MacGregor to take care of the administration and costing work.

But when Bill suffered a series of strokes in 1990 and could no longer work, Ms MacGregor took the reins.

The first thing she did was change the company name to Chris McGregor Freight Services.

“When Bill fell over and I had to come back to the company, all the guys in the industry said I’ll never make it on my own, so I immediately registered a trading name to say to everybody that I will make it on my own,” she explained.

“Then we got tired of people asking for Mr MacGregor, and I had to explain that Chris MacGregor was actually Christina, which is why I had Christina MacGregor signed on all the trucks to say ‘hey, I’m a chick’.

“I just got so fed up with all the blokes out there suggesting that because I was a female, that just wiped me out from having a go.

“It was tough, it was challenging, it was exciting. If you don’t put a value on yourself, nobody else will.”

When Bill passed away 10 years later,

things got even harder.

“I still talk to him every day, and I miss him like crazy but at least now I can talk about Bill without bursting into tears, which took about five years to do,” she said.

She has since built up the business and moved it Sunshine to accommodate her fleet of 10 trucks and 20 employees.

Her workforce is 60 per cent men, 40 per cent women.

With over 150 clients – including Corona, Oyster Bay, Becks and several food brands – she is now looking at expanding the business in the next five years.

Her contribution to the transport industry was recognised in September 2006 when she was named the Australian Freight and Logistics Industry Personality of the Year.

That same year she was a runner in the 2006 Queens Baton Relay.

In 2007, the Werribee resident was named Wyndham’s Citizen of the Year.

Not content with resting on her laurels, Ms MacGregor has also worked tirelessly to improve opportunities for young people and small business operators in the West.

She was chairman of the BIZeWest steering committee, led Melbourne’s West Area Consultative Committee and was chair of the Melton/Brimbank Local Learning and Employment Network.

In 2003 she and son Martin donated $100,000 to the Wyndham Lodge Community Nursing Home, the organisation that had provided accommodation for Bill, to double the size of the facility.

Ms MacGregor now considers herself semi-retired, because she no longer works weekends and takes holidays.

Now Martin – who spent every weekend and holidays working for the family business as a kid – is the general manager and future of the company. [BW]

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Lachlan Fisher… set for a long innings.

Picture: SARAH MATRAY

H WZAT!

BY CHARLENE E GATT

AS CRICKET season approaches, Lachlan Fisher’s workload goes into a spin.

The 54-year-old runs Kingsville company Fisher Bats, where he has devoted nearly 20 years of his life making hand-crafted cricket bats for the West, country Victoria and a small overseas market.

Mr Fisher learned the trade in the mid-80s and opened up Fisher Bats along Williamstown Rd in 1992. He moved to Geelong Rd about four years ago.

“It’s (business) plateaued over the last few years because it’s highly competitive and you can imagine the cheap labour costs in India and Pakistan have kept the price of bats well down, which doesn’t allow for Australian labour costs,” he said.

“I survive because we’re very lean, I do everything myself – retail, manufacturing and so forth. That’s how we keep the costs down.”

He has one part-time employee to help out in the store.

Mr Fisher has hand-made over 12,000

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BUSINESS WEST

bats since starting up the company, which sin caters largely for individuals. l His store stocks about 150 bats with varying prices. The rest are made by demand.

Mr Fisher said it takes about three hours to craft a bat from start to finish.

“People want to speak to me, a lot of our customers want something different that they can’t get in most shops, like a lighter bat or a longer bat.

Suburbs Churches competition, devotes up to 60 hours a week during the busy July to March period.

He uses the three-month quiet period to recharge the batteries.

“Retailing is not difficult, but the manufacturing, when you’re on the machine and hand-making, is quite physical.”

Perhaps unusually for a business, Mr Fisher is not interested in expanding the business in the future.

“We do a lot of bats for young teenagers who are tall but there’s nothing of them, so you’ve got to carve the bat so the balance is right for them. I get a lot of the difficult work.”

“If we pumped a huge amount of money into it and got retailers we could wholesale to, then production would have to increase and then your quality would suffer,” he said.

Mr Fisher said the club market had died out about 15 years ago, but said he had a big country market and his online catalogue has a small following in the UK.

“We’re a boutique industry, you can’t do anymore unless you upsize and employ more people and bring in machines to carve out the bats. We’ve hit a plateau, I’m not getting any younger and I’m happy with where we are now.

We make a living without too much stress.

“We have a lot of Australians go and play over there and they take a couple of our bats and we get a following there.”

Mr Fisher, who used to play recreationally for the Altona Roosters in the Western

“It’s taken me 15 years to get good at it, I’m quite happy to keep going for a long time,” he laughed. [BW]

IS THE

ROAD FUTURE “Melbourne’s CBD is generating an unsustainable volume of peak-hour travel,” he said. To deal with this, Mr Pallas said the government has committed to working to create employment and improve transport lines.

“Nearly half of the money committed in the Victorian Transport Plan (VTP) is being made in the western suburbs of Melbourne,” he said.

The plan is set to shape the next 12 years’ worth of projects for the state, at an estimated cost of $38 billion.

BY ALESHA CAPONE ROADS and Ports Minister Tim Pallas outlined the State Government’s future transport plan for the western suburbs at a recent Business West/Sanctuary Lakes lunch.

Mr Pallas gave a presentation “Vision for Transport 2020 in the West” at the Sanctuary Lakes Golf Club.

“We’re here today in a time of great opportunity and great challenge for the western suburbs,” Mr Pallas said.

“It’s fantastic to see the idea of the development of a business community in the western suburbs.”

The Tarneit MP said “the fundamental challenge” in the West was population growth, with Wyndham’ population set to grow to 275,000 people by 2026.

Mr Pallas said many jobs within the metropolitan area were concentrated within 30 minutes of the Melbourne CBD or eastern suburbs.

“Getting transport right, especially for the Western suburbs, is critically important,”Mr Pallas said.

Among the projects Mr Pallas outlined were the Regional Rail Link, WestLink, the Federation Trail, the M80 upgrade, the Kororoit Creek Rd upgrade and the Laverton Rail upgrade.

He said the estimated economic return on the VTP would be $153 billion over the next 50 years. [BW]

More pictures, After Hours Page 33.

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Grant Harrison… planning $6 million expansion.

Picture: SARAH MATRAY

DRiVING

FORCE

BY CHARLENE GATT

MELTON Toyota is proof that timing is everything in business.

Keith Harrison was running a petrol station in Melton when one day in 1972, a Toyota executive drove into the service station and asked him if he knew of anyone who would open up a Toyota dealership.

Keith put his hand up.

Thirty-eight years later the Melton Toyota brand is thriving as Melbourne’s oldest singleowner car dealer, with his son Grant now behind the wheel.

What started off as a small dealership with five staff, a workshop and spare parts area has turned into a thriving five-acre family business with 42 employees.

The dealership sells over a thousand new cars a year, 400 used cars and does about 400 direct deliveries to car rental companies.

It also supplies fleet vehicles for Victoria Police, the State Government, Australia Post and Hertz.

To cap it off, the dealership enjoyed its second-best sales month on record for the month of June.

So it’s ironic that Grant, who took over from his dad about 10 years ago, got the sack from the business he now calls his own when he was 15.

“Myself and a friend were outside washing cars in the yard and we had a fight – which we always used to – so dad said ‘right, go home,’” Mr Harrison remembers.

“We were getting paid $2 a day and we were caught wrestling on the ground in the car yard.”

Luckily, the dismissal lasted only a day.

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BUSINESS WEST

Mr Harrison took on a mechanic apprenticeship straight out of high school and worked his way through the company after leaving high school.

His mum and wife have previously worked for the company, while brother Nick runs the neighbouring Hyundai and Suzuki dealerships.

Mr Harrison has followed in his dad’s footsteps and continued expanding the company, opening up their new five-acre premises – only 200 metres down the road from the original site – four years ago to coincide with the release of the new Toyota Camry.

The dealership is so successful Mr Harrison has already drawn up preliminary plans for a $6 million on-site expansion to include another showroom for used cars and 4WDs and more workshops.

Construction is about two years away.

“We’re bulging at the seams,” Mr Harrison said.

And the industry is standing up and taking notice.

In 2002 Melton Toyota won the prestigious Toyota Presidents Award, which is awarded to dealerships that excels every facet of the business – sales, parts, service, business administration and customer service.

The dealership also won Best Medium Business in 2006 and 2007 at the Greater Western Chamber of Commerce Awards, the Best Large Retail Business at the 2007 Melton Business Awards and Business of the Year the following year.

This year, Melton Toyota was inducted into Melton’s Hall of Fame and won three awards at Toyota’s Southern Region Excellence Awards, while assistant sales manager

Robert Richardson was inducted into the Toyota International Hall of Fame.

Business manager Maureen McGuinnis, who has worked for Melton Toyota for 30 years, said the company’s secret to success was sticking to its family roots and employing local people.

About a quarter of all employees have been with the company for more than 15 years.

Ms McGuinnis said the company made a conscious decision to retain all employees during the Global Financial Crisis despite a drop in sales, and is now reaping the benefits.

“It impacted on sales more so than our services and parts division because people were put off buying new vehicles, but we’ve found since the recovery that enthusiasm is back and people are starting to purchase again,” she said.

“We were very lucky that we weren’t severely impacted by the Global Financial Crisis and we made a very important management decision and that was not to let any staff go, because we believe our biggest problem in the future will be a shortage in the skilled labour force.

“We did have a bit of downtime, but we got our workers to do bits of other jobs and now that it’s picking up, we don’t have to employ anyone. We’ve kept those good people.”

The company suffered a $750,000 setback during the March hailstorms this year, with hail damaging 180 cars on-site and some minor damage to the showroom.

Mr Harrison said some customers got discounts up to $10,000 on some of the damaged cars. All but four have since been sold. [BW]

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Andrew Singer… look out for icebergs.

Picture: DAMJAN JANEVSKI

SMOOTH 10

BUSINESS WEST

SAILING

BY CHARLENE GATT IT’S the only place where your night is guaranteed to be a disaster.

Williamstown’s Titanic Theatre Restaurant has been entertaining diners for the past 16 years with its depiction of that fateful night in April 1912.

Now owner and captain Andrew Singer wants to ensure the legend of the Titanic lives on as he prepares to hand over the helm in the next few months.

Mr Singer, 60, who lives above the 1200 square metre restaurant spanning three levels, is keen to take a backseat from the demanding job and wants to lease out the business.

“There’s only one condition – it’s very important that the blueprint is followed,” he said.

“What I’ve created here, over a long period of time, is a tried and proven method.

“I don’t want this place to founder like the real Titanic, but I need to get some time off.

“I need to find another crazy operator, because the ordinary, garden-variety restaurateur is not suited for this. You need to be a very switched-on business man. You need to be brave, imaginative, and half-mad.

“It (living upstairs) has its advantages, and its frustrations. I can never knock off.

“Often I Nov wonder I own the business, or 2010.ai–1do 25/10/10 10:55:43 AM does the business own me?

“When the time comes, I will miss this place, because it is my baby.”

Mr Singer started trading as the Prince of Wales restaurant and bar 21 years ago but slowly went broke after the arrival of new businesses and the sudden death of his wife.

Some time later, Mr Singer’s fascination with the Titanic tragedy led him to host a onenight-only dinner recreating the final meal on board.

“

It’s the only place where your night is guaranteed to be a disaster…

Buoyed by the success of the evening, the dinner became a more regular event, until Titanic Dinners were held every Saturday.

Initially, the dinners were held in the small dining area (now known as the steerage area) to resemble the first class dining room and there was a two-header theatre show and some “primitive” special and sound effects.

“I knew that people loved to be entertained, and I liked that era. Every soap opera has got love and disaster and villains and whatever and I thought the combination of the greatest

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sea drama ever told, with all its intrigue and all the ifs and the curiosity factor has remained in the hearts and minds of millions,” Mr Singer said.

“Our clientele can be 10 years old or 90 years old and the Titanic is the obvious story.”

And then came James Cameron.

The 1997 release of Titanic spurred Mr Singer to expand the business, and he opened up another floor to create a steerage deck and a first class dining room, and also added the Captain’s Table to the mix.

The business can have up to 300 people for dinner a night.

Mr Singer said he had slowed down the additions in recent years and said the business was now in “smooth sailing”.

The proof is in the pudding. Mr Singer said he was almost booked out for the rest of the year.

“I am so lucky that the whole thing has worked, because we could have put a lot of money into it, and it could have flopped.”

He said he has “lost count” of how much money he has poured into the building to make it look like the infamous ocean liner.

Ironically, the only ship Mr Singer has been on is the four-week boat ride he made when he migrated from Hungary in 1972. [BW]

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11

HOUSE Craig Stephens… I’ve always loved property.

Picture: SARAH MATRAY

BY CHARLENE GATT HE’S the head of a fourth-generation family business that has served the inner West for the last 87 years.

Jas H Stephens managing director and auctioneer Craig Stephens is building up the business at a time when real estate around Yarraville, Seddon and Williamstown is booming.

The company has just spent $250,000 fitting out their new office in Williamstown, which Mr Stephens describes as a cross between an art gallery and an open plan workplace.

The 110 square metre office, which was inspired by a series of offices in the UK called Foxtons, has a clean desks policy and does not have advertisements for houses on their windows, so that passers-by can see inside.

It’s a big leap forward for the company, which has run out of its Yarraville headquarters since Mr Stephens’ great-grandfather James Henry Stephens set up the business in 1923.

“When we came to Williamstown six months ago, we wanted to showcase how we do business, and I think this office best represents that,” Mr Stephens said.

“My philosophy is you can really tell how any business runs by its reception area.”

But real estate wasn’t Craig Stephens’ first choice when he left high school.

A young Mr Stephens studied a Bachelor of Commerce, majoring in Economics and Commercial Law, at Melbourne University.

At 18 he bought his first house on McKay St, Yarraville, for $18,000 and later sold it for $43,000.

Mr Stephens said the property was now probably worth about $550,000.

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BUSINESS WEST

CALLS

“I’ve always loved property, I’ve created my wealth through investment properties and I believe that’s the best way to create wealth,” he said.

After university, he then worked as a merchant banker in Sydney before spending five years in London with the firm Merrill Lynch.

Mr Stephens then came back to Sydney in 1991 and moved back to Melbourne after a year to join the family business as a sales person under his father Alan, who still works three to four days a week and is chairman of the company.

The business had three employees at the time and gradually grew in sync with the property market.

“We love the vibe, we love the community and we love the fact that we’ve seen growth with the area coming of age over the last 10 years with a younger demographic coming to the area,” he said.

It’s a far cry from the working class migrants that flooded Jas H Stephen’s Yarraville office in the 1940s, 50s and 60s.

Today, Jas H Stephens sells, on average, about one house per day. It also has 900 homes on its rental roll.

Last year the company won the Large Residential Agency of the Year at the Real Estate Institute of Victoria’s Industry Awards for Excellence.

Mr Stephens said the company was now selling many more properties for over $1 million than it did two or three years ago, with the average sell price jumping from $211,000 to $565,000 in the last five years.

He anticipates housing prices will continue to go up in coming years, with the inner West comparatively cheap to the other side of the city.

“We’re very close to the CBD, it’s only seven kilometers away and it’s still very good value, secondly, the period style of home here is always popular, and people really

love the community feel here,” Mr Stephens said.

“A lot of people come here to go out for dinner now, or they go to the Sun Theatre – 10 years ago, they wouldn’t do that. It’s one of Melbourne’s best kept secrets.

The company is also front and centre of Footscray’s Banbury Village project.

Jas H Stephens are the sole agents for the development, and will spend the next three years selling 370 off the plan apartments and houses.

It’s for this reason the company branched out in April with its Williamstown office along Douglas Parade.

Mr Stephens said the second office was a natural progression for the business, but insisted there were no plans to expand into the outer West or franchise the boutique Jas H Stephens brand.

“We moved to Williamstown because we believe our brand name fits well with the Williamstown, Newport market,” he said.

“We think there’s a big difference between the outer West and the inner West and we’re quite comfortable with having the two offices.”

Another point of difference is the twopiece jazz band it hires to play at its Yarraville auctions.

Yet another is Mr Stephens’ work ethic.

Apart from going for a swim every morning at 6am, he also has a few “non-negotiables” – like working from home every Wednesday, and taking his six weeks annual leave – to spend time with his family.

Mr Stephens has four children, Lara, 15, Briana, 13, and twin boys Lachlan and Mitch, 11.

“Family comes first. If you don’t make an effort, this job can become all-encompassing,” he said. [BW]

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LITTLE

Michael Iuele and sons Paul and Fabian… among the tree tops.

Picture: DAMJAN JANEVSKI

SANTA’S HELPERS!

BY CHARLENE GATT IT’S the hobby that turned into the family b i N lt Ch i t T business.

Now th the M Melton Christmas Tree Farm is gearing up for one of its biggest seasons yet.

It all started when proprietor Michael Iuele, who spent the 70s and 80s selling Christmas trees at Victoria Market, started planting his first crop on a farm in Plumpton in 1984.

The Melton Christmas Tree Farm opened to the public with its first harvest in 1988, with help from his seven children.

The Italian-born Michael continued to run the farm on the side until 2000, when demand grew and sons Paul and Fabian joined the business full-time.

“Fabian could see the potential,” Paul, 36, said. “Dad was always keen, but he needed the help.”

The trio has spent the past decade building up their 40-acre Christmas tree farm, which has up to 50,000 Christmas trees growing at different stages.

The trees are watered using recycled water th hrough a dri p irrigation system, which through drip kept the e companyy and the trees thriving he drought. during the One year, the farm lost about 3000 trees when the drought started to take hold.

The family also has a 208-acre farm with a dam and some cattle, and preliminary plans to hold a farmers market and trout farm on the farm.

As the silly season approaches, the Iueles open their doors daily from October right up until Christmas Eve and well into January for the Orthodox Christmas.

The trio spends the rest of the year pruning and weeding the trees, as well as general maintenance around the farm.

Each tree takes five years to reach six or seven feet, which is the most popular size among clients.

“There isn’t anyone out this way that grows Christmas trees,” Fabian, 29, said.

“We’ve got a great concept here. We price

tag all our trees and give people a handsaw so they cut their own tree. They can spend all tree.”” day searching for the perfect tree Customers flock from all over the West and as far as Toorak and Richmond to buy the trees.

It’s hard manual labour, but the trio wouldn’t have it any other way.

Except for maybe when there’s a family tiff. “You have your days, but the beauty of it is when you argue, you have to get over it,” Paul said.

“We’re a pretty close family.” So much so that the family plans to move from Fawkner to make the farm home.

“In this type of business, you have to,” Michael said. “It never stops.”

And at 72, Michael doesn’t either. And he certainly has no plans to retire.

“Even if I only do half of what I do now, I’d be happy,” Michael said.

“I enjoy it. If I stay home I get sick.” [BW]

Hobsons Bay City Council would like to congratulate all nominees and winners of the 2010 Business Excellence Awards. And the winners are: A diverse array of exceptional businesses entered the awards this year and showcased their business excellence.

Environment and Sustainable New/Start Up Business Hospitality Home Based Franchise Tourism Manufacturing and Industrial Transport and Logistics Not for Profit/Community Retail Professional Services Good Access Mayoral Achievement Award Business of the Year

Hampton Sustainability Lantern Ghost Tours Nosh@Newport Kim Walsh-Marriage Celebrant Quest Williamstown North Scienceworks PAZ Group NQX Freight System Newport Organic Collective Inc Burbank Group Pty Ltd TLC Aged Care-Marina Mosaic Restaurant Famous Blue Raincoat PAZ Group

Make sure

Want to stay connected in your business community? you experience Then sign up for all the latest news and information around Hobsons Bay. Simply send an email to business@hobsonsbay.vic.gov.au to subscribe today!

a Hobsons Bay business today!

498510-SH45-10

14

BUSINESS WEST

Claudio and Walter Paz… Looking to expand.

Picture: NICOLE SULTANA

ALL IN THE FAMILY

BY CHARLENE GATT

BROOKLYN’S Paz Group of Companies has taken out the 2010 Hobsons Bay Business of the Year.

The family owned and run business is one of Australia’s leading stonemasons and has decades of experience on a diverse range of projects, including shopping centres, residential apartments, road works, factories, institutions, aged care and retail facilities.

The business also received the award in the manufacturing and industrial category.

Matriarch Norma Paz was thrilled with the award.

“I’m so proud,” she said.

“Considering that we started from our house, it’s really fantastic. When my husband and I moved to Australia, it was to achieve what we have finally done tonight.”

The Paz Group of companies incorporates Baron Forge Contractors, Baron Forge Constructions, PazStone and the Stone Liquidator out of its 6500 square metre manufacturing plant in Brooklyn.

Qualified stonemason Valentin Paz and his wife Norma started Baron Forge in 1985 with

their sons Claudio and Walter, focusing on tiling, paving and stonework.

The business took off in 2002 with the launch of Baron Forge Constructions, adding civil landscaping works to its portfolio services.

The construction division has the capacity to manage small to medium sized boutique commercial, civil and domestic projects from start to finish.

The company then added PazStone to its line in 2005 to cater for a demand in natural and engineered stone in the domestic market.

A decision was then made to rebrand the Baron Forge name and form the Paz Group of Companies.

The company has between 80 and 140 employees depending on workloads.

The Paz Group has carried out works on Federation Square, Southern Cross Station, the ANZ headquarters at Docklands, the Point Cook Town Centre and Crown Casino.

Domestically, the business has serviced a range of builders, including Porter Davis and Metricon.

Last year the Paz Group was awarded the Master Builders Association of Victoria’s Excellence in Construction award for stonemasonry.

“It galvanizes the business, it gives it a little bit of focus and some kudos and recognition of all the hard work everyone in the business has put in,” general manager Mario Siketa said.

The Paz Group is now looking at expanding its reach interstate, and has established an office in Western Australian and will do the same in Queensland in coming months.

The group has also opened a new showroom in Mitcham last month and is fitting out another showroom in Springvale. Another one is on the cards for Bendigo.

Today, the business is run by Claudio and Walter as well as other family members and will celebrate 25 years in business next month.

“It’s a very closely-knit business, and there’s a lot of family working in the business, but it’s still a situation where people are here on their merit, not just because they’re family,” Mr Siketa, who is Claudio and Walter’s brother-in-law, said. [BW]

BUSINESS WEST

15

RiGHT ON CUE

BY CHARLENE GATT THIS Hoppers Crossing company is in front of the eight ball when it comes to innovation and design.

Billiard Tables by Design has been custom making pool tables, bars and accessories for the past nine years for an ever-growing market of young families with big houses.

Husband and wife team Andrew and Margaret Latella set up the business in New South Wales and moved to their Old Geelong Road warehouse and showroom three years ago.

“It’s a huge emerging market over here, lots of young families, and it’s close to the freeway for our transport, so it (the move) was ideal for us,” Ms Latella said.

Both have over 35 years experience in making billiard tables.

“My father was in the trade, so it was like the family business. He said to me, ‘you can’t design something if you can’t make it, because you have to understand the concept of the whole thing,’” Ms Latella said.

“You can do anything with a pool table.

“Some of the stuff we do is just beautiful.

It’s completely different to anyone else. We’ve made them look like champagne glasses, we’ve converted an old motor car into a pool table.”

Ms Latella said stainless steel bases were now in vogue, as were pool tables with lights.

“They (customers) just want something different, so I go out to their house, or they’ll send me photos, and then I do a couple of different designs and we go from there,” Ms Latella said.

The business caters largely to a residential market in Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland, and has also supplied to New Zealand, the US, Japan, Bali, Hong Kong, Greece and Jordan.

It also supplies tables for display homes.

Margaret designs the tables and Andrew and their two employees make them.

Ms Latella said the company sells about 30 designer tables a year and up to 40 standard tables a month.

When it gets particularly busy, Margaret pitches in.

The custom-made tables can take up to eight weeks to make.

“There’s not a lot of choice on the market,” she said.

Ms Latella said the Global Financial Crisis had no impact on the custom design business but saw a 35 to 40 per cent drop in their standard market.

“We wanted to get away from the run-ofthe-mill (billiard tables). When they started making them in China and they cheapened the product, we thought we’d stay with a good base for tables and go for an elite market.

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BUSINESS WEST

The GFC saw the Latellas plans to expand on the backburner.

“We’ll see how next year ar pans out, but if our designer area gets anyy busier then we’ll have to, whether we want to or not.

“At the moment we’re space. e juggling space We can’t fit any more stuff in here.”

But before they do that, the Latellas plan to break a three-year drought and take a welldeserved holiday next January. [BW]

Margaret Latella… eye on the ball.

Picture: SARAH MATRAY

THE CARNIVAL’S

Rozalee Erceg and Brendan Ford… front and centre of all the Flemington action.

Picture: DAMJAN JANEVSKI

BY CHARLENE GATT THE Spring Racing Carnival brings an economic uplift to Australia in excess of $700 million, $400 million of which comes to Victoria.

Brendan Ford and Rozalee Erceg are front and centre of all the action, working year round to maximise the business opportunities the Spring Racing Carnival offers.

Mr Ford, the general manager of sponsorship and corporate development, devotes his year looking after corporate marquees and corporate suites.

He starts debriefing with sponsors immediately after the Spring Racing Carnival to renew sponsorship contracts for the following year. For bigger sponsors, the renewal process can take place two years in advance.

All sponsorship packages are tailormade and range from branding to supply based sponsorships like beer, soft drink and coffee rights.

The selling process, renewal of sponsorships and the filling of all the corporate suites is finished by late July/early August.

From early August through to Carnival, it’s all about delivering the promise.

“The Melbourne Cup Carnival never leaves you,” he said. Nor is it ever smooth sailing.

A couple of years back the equine flu threatened the success of the carnival.

NEVER OVER This year, the second AFL grand final forced the Victorian Racing Club to postpone the launch of the Spring Racing Carnival by a week and hampered what is traditionally the biggest week for Spring Racing Carnival ticket sales.

“It’s just been a little hiccup along the way.

These things happen, we have to deal with it,” Ms Erceg, general manager of Flemington Business Development said.

“Flemington is an absolute iconic destination. It is really one of the most famous racecourses in the world, and the Melbourne Cup is truly a well-known international event.

“The only constant is change. We never ever sit back on our laurels and take for granted what we’ve got. We understand that we need to keep being on trend. We are our biggest critics.”

The VRC has constantly improved standards of comfort and accommodation at Flemington, with $26.2 million spent on improvements between 2000 and 2004 in addition to the $45 million grandstand completed in 2000.

Then there’s the special focus placed on the biggest race days of the Carnival –Derby Day, Oaks Day, Stakes Day and of course, the race that stops a nation, the Melbourne Cup. The Melbourne Cup was always the most popular race of the year until a new trend emerged in 2001 when both Derby Day and Oaks Day attendances outstripped Cup Day.

When Makybe Diva won the first of her three Cups in 2003, the official attendance was a record 122,736, but that figure has since been surpassed by the Derby Day crowd of 129,089 in 2006.

In 2007, the VRC introduced a new ticketing strategy which would cap attendance figures at 120,000 to avoid overcrowding.

“Our events are all about quality, not quantity,” Ms Erceg said.

“I think a lot of sporting events get very hung up on attendances and attendances are very important, but as the Melbourne Cup has now become a truly international event, and we’re marketing and promoting the event around the world, we want people to come here and have an enjoyable time.”

Mr Ford said the VRC had put a concerted effort into building up Stakes Day to introduce the next generation of race-goers to Flemington and the Spring Racing Carnival.

As a result, it has become the fastest growing race day over the past 10 years.

This year in particular has been a bumper one for the VRC, with the 150th running of the Melbourne Cup calling for even more fanfare than usual.

But like every other year, once the last drop of champagne has been drunk and the last race run, it will be back to the drawing board for these two. [BW]

BUSINESS WEST

17

PORT FULL STEAM

AHEAD

399626-SH45-10

BY CHARLENE GATT THE Port of Melbourne Corporation will quadruple its workload over the next 25 years as it bounces back from the Global Financial Crisis.

The PoMC is forecast to grow to eight million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) by 2035. The port currently moves 2.3 million TEUs. Figures from the PoMC’s 2010 annual report revealed: ■ The port handles around 36 per cent of Australia’s container trade; ■ The port recorded its highest throughput of full containers of 1.8 million TEU; and ■ The port had a total 3157 ship visits over 2009-10.

PoMC CEO Stephen Bradford said : “We came off a low-ish base because of the Global Financial Crisis.

“Melbourne, up to the start of the GFC, grew at eight per cent compound growth for 17 years.

“It (the GFC) had a tiny impact, but you’re doing that in a community and port that’s used to 17 years of growth. It was something new.

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BUSINESS WEST

“Compared to other international ports, Australia came out very well, and we didn’t hit the lows others did.

“We expect the growth rate will be slightly less than (eight per cent), arguably five-and-ahalf to six per cent compound, and it’s also a rule of thumb with container ports that volume is usually twice the national gross domestic product.

“The port will grow steadily each year over the next quarter of a century, and that’s why things like the Truck Action Plan and Westlink are so important to the port and the community.

“Over that 25-year period, some years will have a higher growth than others, but we can’t predict when.”

Mr Bradford said retail, new cars and a strong export base were the port’s biggest drivers and would continue to be over the next 25 years.

He said the projected growth would not substantially increase the 200-plus workforce at the port, but would create a marked rise in knock-on jobs.

The forecast comes after a strong trade surge in the second half of the 2009-10

financial year saw total trade through the PoMC draw level with pre-Global Financial Crisis volumes.

The port enjoyed its strongest January to June period on record with an average 15.8 per cent monthly growth rate on last year’s volumes.

Total container trade through the port increased by 3.7 per cent to 2.237 million TEUs in the full year to 30 June.

Total trade increased 5.5 per cent to 75.4 million revenue tonnes thanks to a 27.4 per cent increase in the new motor vehicle trade, with the port handling over 1000 cars a day on average.

A 6.4 per cent increase in loaded containers shipped to and from the port also contributed to the rise.

Record-breaking figures for the month of August saw the port reach a national monthly total container trade of 210,985 TEUs. To top it off, the $720 million Channel Deepening Project, which was finished ahead of time and under budget, has removed a number of the physical barriers to enable ships of the appropriate size to access the port. [BW]

MiNDING THE

STORE

Rose Lawson…

Jack of all trades.

Picture: SARAH MATRAY

SHE started out as a receptionist and worked her er way up to centre manager. And according to Rose Lawson,, it was all a case of being in the right place at the right time. me.

CHARLENE GATT reports…

THE 54-year-old has run Werribee Plaza for the past two years, a position worlds away from the receptionist duties she took on 24 years ago.

“I was a long time in reception and I loved that job, I hadn’t really aspired to do this,” Ms Lawson admitted.

“I think I’ve extended myself beyond what I thought I could ever do, because I’ve always been a bit of a behind the scenes person, working from the heart of it but not actually running it.”

She started off working Thursday nights, Friday nights and Saturday mornings, but as Rebecca grew, so did Ms Lawson’s workload and responsibilities.

“It was a lot, lot smaller, it was a very friendly centre and it was like a big family because everyone started together, and everybody knew everybody,” she said.

The first time Ms Lawson stepped away from her receptionist role was in 2002 when Werribee Plaza underwent its first redevelopment.

The British-born woman moved to Australia with her family when she was five and lived in Deer Park until she returned to the United Kingdom for three years while in her 20s.

Ms Lawson received some OHS training so she could work alongside the contractors and soon found herself taking on an operations and administrative role.

Despite jobs at the State Savings Bank and later an insurance company back in Australia, Ms Lawson’s first job in Britain was at a pub.

Then she became the assistant centre manager.

She then worked for Australia House in their Department of Finance and continued that role when she moved back to Australia, shortly after marrying.

Ms Lawson took leave to give birth to her only child, Rebecca, and it was then that she took a role at Werribee Plaza, which had been open for a year.

“That was my first real promotion; because at that stage I was a jack of all trades really.

I quite enjoyed that because you got to know the business really well.”

Two years ago, Ms Lawson took the top job.

Ms Lawson said the role had been daunting to start off with, but said she had good support from Pacific Shopping, who own Werribee Plaza.

“In a shopping centre, the day to day running changes everyday,” she said.

“A lot of it is retail focused – being on the floor, talking to retailers, making sure that the building’s looking good and that the contractors are doing their job.

“You’re with the public, you’re with retailers, you’re meeting people all the time and I think you need to be a people person to do the job.”

One thing Ms Lawson is very passionate about is the $500 million two-stage expansion of Werribee Plaza.

The plaza is set to double in size over the next six years and will include a two-level Myer department store, an ALDI, a new mall area running south to the existing mall and an extra 1500 car parking spaces, including underground car parking.

“I’d like it to be the centre of the West for retail, because it’s got the potential to be that, and I’d be very, very excited to be here during the development and excited to see it grow to the potential I know it can be.

“I think it will be great for the area to have that sort of retail choice that we don’t have at the moment.” [BW]

Temporary Staffing Permanent Placements Maintenance/Engineering Resources 24 Hour Service TELEPHONE: 03 9369 4459 12/22-30 Wallace Avenue - Point Cook VICTORIA 3030 info@capturerecruitment.com.au www.capturerecruitment.com.au 484480-SH45-10

BUSINESS WEST

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Chief Operating Officer Peter Murphy… taking the group into the 21st century.

Picture: SARAH MATRAY

“

It was considered a an airy-fairy idea would later become at the time, but wo business. the future of the bu

GROUND

THEY’RE Australia’s leading construction and demolition materials recycler – now, the Alex Fraser Group can add Business of the Year to the mantle. CHARLENE GATT reports…

BREAKERS THE Laverton North company scooped the pool at the recent Wyndham Business awards, taking out the top gong as well as the large manufacturing company category.

And with a 131-year history of growth and an international reputation as a pioneer in recycling, it’s easy to see why.

In 1920, and after 44 years at the helm, Mr Fraser decided to retire and return to London – his country of birth – and he handed the reins to his clerk Archibald McKellar and company accountant Rivers Le Gould, who took over equal shareholding.

“It helps us lift the profile of our business, which all helps with selling more material,” Chief Operating Officer Peter Murphy said.

When Mr Le Gould died some years later, Mr McKellar was left with four new partners – Mr Le Gould’s four sisters.

It all started with Alex Fraser, who in 1879 began a firm of metal brokers in Queen St, Melbourne.

During the Depression Mr McKellar bought out the Le Gould sisters and became sole owner of the company.

It was a lucrative and mercurial business controlled by the Melbourne Metal Exchange (MME), of which Mr Fraser was a founding member.

His son Archie joined the business in 1950 when his father’s health was failing and took over the following year when Mr McKellar died.

Prices fluctuated on an almost daily basis and Mr Fraser and his fellow MME members controlled the entire output from Barrier Mines as well as other important mines throughout the country.

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BUSINESS WEST

Silver, lead, zinc and tin were the main metals.

The changeover marked a change in the company.

Business was tough, so Mr McKellar Junior looked out for new opportunities.

He established a thriving army surplus

materials and equipment recovery business that sustained the company for some years.

quantities of concrete rubble – one of the biggest contributors to landfills around the country.

Guns were turned into hydraulic rams, silver was liquated from various items of war surplus, Rolls Royce Merlin fighter engines were stripped down to deliver, among other things, pounds of silver from their big end bearings.

Jamie reasoned that as it consisted of aggregates, sand and cement, with the correct processing, it could be returned to that state again and reused.

Before long orders flowed in from a broadening market and production increased to full capacity.

The group has various divisions, including Construction and Demolition Materials Recycling, Demolition, Asphalt, Recycle Bin services, Steel and Salvage sales, Mobile Crushing, Environmental services and special projects.

Since then the company has carried out contracts for the Albert Park Grand Prix track, the foundations for Crown Casino and another section of the Western Ring Road.

In 2008, the company reached a major recycling milestone, producing 20 million tonnes of recycled construction and demolition materials.

The company’s innovation has earned it a slew of awards, including the Gold Banksia Environmental award in 1995, the Wyndham Business of the Year in 1998, the Telstra and Victorian Government Small Business of the Year and the AusIndustry National Manufacturer of the Year in 1998 and the Australian Business Award for Environmental Leadership in 2000.

The challenge now is to continue to expand the company into the 21st century.

Mr Murphy said the Alex Fraser Group will demolish its current offices and build up a new subdivision, workshop and entrance at its Laverton North plant over the next year. [BW]

In 2006, Managing Director Jamie McKellar was awarded an Order of Australia medal

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But most projects also produced large

Today, the Alex Fraser Group has six major recycling centres in Victoria and Queensland and an annual turnover of around $80 million.

D

Every demolition job produced steel, timber, bricks, rubble and other reusable salvage.

The Alex Fraser Group implemented the idea for the Vickers Ruwolt project in Richmond and hit paydirt when they scored the contract for the Western Ring Road project.

WESTERN RING ROA

But it was not until the early 1980s that the company was to embark on one of its most significant and ambitious projects and set the course for the future of the business – and one of the most significant sustainability initiatives seen in Australia.

The John Swire and Sons Group bought another 24 per cent share in February this year.

ZACARA COURT

With the knowledge the company now had in various metals and salvage, Alex Fraser Pty Ltd moved into the demolition business, dismantling and recycling hundreds of redundant buildings, factories, gas works, power stations, and other structures.

It was considered an airy-fairy idea at the time, but would later become the future of the business.

RADNOR DRIVE

In the 1970s the third generation of McKellar’s joined the business – Jamie in 1972, followed closely by Robbie in 1973 and Peter in 1977.

The same year, the John Swire and Sons Group purchased 51 per cent of the shareholding in the Alex Fraser Group to ensure the continued growth of the business.

HUNTER ROAD

Ships propellers made of manganese bronze were bought and resold along with a vast array of redundant equipment.

for service to the community through the development of construction waste recycling and his commitment to environmentally sustainable industrial practices.

*All maps, areas and prices are approximate and are given as guidance only.

investa.com.au/paramount BUSINESS WEST

23

SMALL TALK TWENTYMAN YOUTH worker Les Twentyman will be guest speaker at the Western Region Business Club’s Christmas event next month.

Mr Twentyman has dodged a petrol bomb, been stabbed twice and survived a shotgun being held to his head over the 25-plus years as a youth worker.

He has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars through his charity, the 20th Man Fund, to build the charity’s first accommodation units in Sunshine, and aims to establish a second crisis accommodation unit in the West.

This year Mr Twentyman was chosen to front the cover of the 2010-11 Melbourne White Pages Business and Government Directory for his help with disadvantaged children and teens in Victoria.

The Western Region Business Club’s Christmas event will be held at Whitten Oval on 7 December from 6pm to 8pm.

GMCC MARY Todorov is the new president of the Greater Melton Chamber of Commerce.

Ms Todorov, who runs customer communication and relationship solutions company MT Communications Australia, was voted in at the recent GMCC AGM last month.

The new executive team also includes vice president Tom Dickson (Get Printed), secretary Caren Watts (Practical Outcomes), treasurer Julie McCallum (Retire Invest), and executive members Shane Gledhill (Hocking Stuart) and outgoing president Sue Lazar (Gourmet Morsels).

WOOLWORTHS PLANNING minister Justin Madden has announced planning approval for 10 new Woolworths home improvement stores across Melbourne and in Ballarat.

A Burnside store on the corner of Western Highway and Westwood Drive is one of the developments to receive planning approval.

Construction has already started on another site in Braybrook, which will include 7813 square metres of trade supplies and retail space, a 2207 square metre nursery, a 2274 square metre trade section, a cafe and upstairs office space and more than 400 car parking spaces.

The stores will feature all the usual hardware, renovation and DIY

stock, but will also sell a range of whitegoods, including washing machines, dryers and televisions.

Mr Madden said the developments would provide a $130 million boost to the Victorian economy and would create 1800 construction jobs and 1300 full-time and part-time positions.

RING ROAD CONSTRUCTION has started on the next section of the $2.25 billion M80 Ring Road Upgrade between Furlong Rd, St Albans and Sunshine Avenue in Sunshine North.

The new two kilometre section will see two extra freeway lanes built in each direction and the widening of the bridge over Furlong Rd, with work expected to be complete by 2013.

Work is already underway between Calder Freeway and Sydney Rd and a contract for works between the Western Highway and Furlong Rd is due to be awarded soon.

VICTORIA UNIVERSITY VICTORIA University’s Tourism and Hospitality courses have become the first in Australia to receive quality accreditation from the European Foundation for Management Development.

Its tourism and hospitality courses achieved a top quality rating after assessment which consisted of in-depth review of individual courses through international comparison and benchmarking.

The university hopes the accreditation will attract more international students for its courses.

WILLIAMS LANDING PRELIMINARY works have started on the new Williams Landing train station and road overpass.

The initial works will pave the way for major works to start early next year to construct the new premium station on the Werribee line.

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BUSINESS WEST

A Victorian Government initiative

SMALL TALK It is being constructed between the existing stations in Aircraft and Hoppers Crossing and will have a new customer service centre, enclosed waiting areas with toilets and about 500 car parking spaces.

NEW SUBURB THE State Government has approved a new suburb in the West.

The 217 hectare residential development will be known as Taylors Hill West and will accommodate about 2300 new homes, two schools, a maternal community centre and five kilometres of off-road walking and cycling trails.

Melton Council is already talking to one developer about a 180 block development on the site.

SIMS

entertainment and activities and will conclude with a fireworks display.

Applications are now being accepted from businesses to promote themselves or sell quality new items such as plants, clothing, leather goods, pottery and ceramics, home wares, giftware and general art and craft items.

Site costs are $40 for businesses and $25 for community group sites and applications close at 5pm on 10 December.

SMARTPHONES BUSINESS users of smartphones such as the iPhone and BlackBerry say they value the extra connectivity these phones provide, despite this meaning they are on call for work more frequently and for longer hours.

A survey by Dr John Hopkins from Victoria

“The increased responsiveness that this brings was the most valued advantage that these phones deliver to business users. It allows them to complete more tasks in more places. Work is no longer regarded as a place where we go, it is an activity that can be performed anywhere.”

The features that users said they would like to be able to use that were not currently available included multitasking, editing Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents, Flash Player and project management tools.

V/LINE The V/Line station is due to open in 2012 and will be situated along the Melton Line, between Rockbank and Deer Park stations.

The two new “dross” presses at Laverton North will benefit the environment by preventing hazardous salt and aluminium oxide waste going to landfill.

The train station will feature a new park and ride facility with approximately 200 car parking spaces, as well as easy access to bus stops and a taxi rank.

The $1.97 million machines were partly funded by a $773,000 State Government grant.

LAKESIDE LIVE

Lakeside Live will be held on 22 January at Lake Caroline, Caroline Springs from 4pm until 10.30pm.

The event will include carnival rides,

“Smartphones offer multiple lines of communication, all channelled through a single device and interface,” he said.

CONSTRUCTION on the new train station at Caroline Springs has started.

SIMS Aluminium have installed state-of-the-art recycling machines that will cut the amount of hazardous waste going to landfill by 95 per cent.

MELTON Shire Council is looking for local business and community groups to host stalls at their Lakeside Live event in January next year.

way users communicate, behave and do business.

University found that around-the-clock and on-the-go access to email, calendars, contacts, the internet and GPS were the most valued features of the devices.

Dr Hopkins, an information systems lecturer, surveyed 182 business users of smartphones in Melbourne to examine how the mobility these devices offer affects the

The design for the new train station will also include extensive lighting and closed circuit camera security surveillance (CCTV) at and near the station, including the car parks, bus stops and approach paths to the station.

Over 200 suggestions were received following a competition to name the new station. The name of the station will be announced later this year.

New train stations are also being built at Williams Landing, Lynbrook and Cardinia Road in Pakenham.

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OPENED in September 2009 with the latest in guest services and facilities, Mercure Melbourne Caroline Springs is your local hub for stylish dining, accommodation, business meetings and conferences. Mercure’s five dedicated meeting spaces cater from 10 to 300 guests, from seminars and board meetings to weddings and private dinners.

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A BUSiNESS WEST PROMOTIONAL FEATURE E: h6615-re01@mercurecarolinesprings .com.au Visit www.mercurecarolinesprings.com. au for more information.

WERRIBEE FUNCTION CENTRE

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Mercure Melbourne Caroline Springs is located at 234 Caroline Springs Boulevard, Caroline Springs.

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The light filled venue overlooking the Werribee Racecourse is suitable for any size gathering, such as cocktail functions, trade shows, conference or formal events seating up to 650 people seated, or 1400 for stand up events.

Whether it’s for a special birthday, wedding, christening, Christmas party, debutante ball, engagement, formal, wake or graduation, the Werribee Function Centre caters to all events.

The Sanctuary offers boutique function capabilities with a full range of corporate meeting facilities for conferences, engagements, weddings, 21st special birthdays, cocktail parties, christenings, confirmations, product launches, wakes and much more.

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Choose Werribee Function Centre for your next event.

Offering set menu and beverage packages, buffet or breakfast options, customers can choose the option which suits them best.

Look at this view from your conference room at The Sanctuary at Sanctuary Lakes Club.

The Boardroom Lakeview Room The Terrace Function Rooms The Sanctuary Private Room

tranquil environment provides perfect The h tranq tr ranq nquil ui en uil envir vvir vironm iironm nment nm en pr ent provi ovides ovi des es th tthe ep erffect ct destination to focus your energy on your business, letting our team mind your business, so you can concentrate on yours.

Contact the Events Coordinator to plan you next event on 03 9394 9495 or events@sanctuarylakes.com.au or visit www.sanctuarylakesclub.com.au BUSINESS WEST

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Q&A PETER HUDSON Peter Hudson was born in the old Werribee hospital, attended Werribee Primary School and then Caulfield Grammar School and did a Bachelor of Economics at University of New England. He worked at Laverton High School for five years until taking up the opportunity to join his two brothers in the family dry cleaning business. The trio developed the business into a large multi-faceted dry cleaning and industrial workwear operation trading as Hudsons Dycleaning Group, involving some 13 locations and 150 staff, many from Wyndham. He has served as a councillor and mayor of the City of Wyndham and has served on many committees and advisory boards, a cultural foundation and two significant community fundraising programmes. He currently chairs two foundations – the Wyndham Community Cultural Foundation and the Western Bulldogs Forever Foundation, and is chair of the Committee for Wyndham, and the Drycleaning Institute of Australia Ltd. DESCRIBE A TYPICAL WORKING DAY. I don’t think there is a typical working day for me, as it is so diverse but I will give it my best shot.

Up and at ‘em by 7am, I will head to an early morning meeting (1 to 2 days a week) as I find this enables me to free the rest of the day up to other things. I may perhaps have a catch up meeting for some of the organisations I work with 3 to 4 times per week.

I will be in my office/at work 6-8 hours a day for 3 days of the week. I try to be free on Fridays as it gives me time to spend on directly as I need in the organisations I represent.

I am rarely home early, generally between 6 and 7pm HOW DO YOU RELAX AWAY FROM WORK? I am not the relaxing type as I think I am at work all the time in my head. I take all the day’s activities with me whereever I go, which I think is a little unfair on my wife Maxine at times. I am motivated by all the things I am involved in and probably would not have it any other way.

I certainly do enjoy a drink and some quiet time after a long day but I do need to be involved and busy to feel fulfilled and the only time I find myself not chewing over business or Community involvements, is when I get away for a holiday for a couple of weeks or more, which we do a couple of times a year.

WHY DID YOU JOIN THE COMMITTEE FOR WYNDHAM? I joined the Committee as a Foundation Member 11 years ago as it offered the chance to help develop Wyndham in a completely different way. The Committee is a member funded organisation, non party political, is open to any one to join and seeks to bring about positive, strategic change to our great City.

We were the second Committee for to establish after the Committee for Melbourne, and we are now part of a growing fraternity with Committee for’s now in Perth, Sydney, Geelong, Ballarat, Portland, Auckland (NZ) and more on the way.

We have been working very hard on three key areas in recent times, being Water for our City, Transport, particularly roads as part of the Victorian Transport Plan and the enhancement and appropriate development of the Werribee Employment Precinct.

This in particular is vital to Wyndham as it seeks to accommodate the growth and need for employment in what is the fastest growing region in Australia.

A RECENT BERNARD SALT PRESENTATION REVEALED WYNDHAM IS ONE OF THE FASTEST GROWING REGIONS IN AUSTRALIA. WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE TO ACCOMMODATE THIS GROWTH? The Bernard Salt presentation using the Eureka Tower 87th floor and the West being the backdrop, was confronting in many ways and at the same time very exciting.

Bernard spent some months researching this presentation, engaged for the project by the Western Bulldogs as part of their commitment to the West of Melbourne. It showed that combined

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BUSINESS WEST

with our neighbour, Melton, we are now and will continue to be for many years to come, the fastest growing region in Australia.

We need to greatly improve our transport infrastructure, both road and rail. This will give our constituents better access to their place of work and better opportunities to seek other work should they desire. This is a given in the more established areas of Melbourne where you can access a tram, train and have many options for which road you will take to work. We do not have such options and our public transport services have a way to go to catch up.

There has been a great leap forward with the release Peter Hudson. of the Victorian Transport Plan, involving immense expenditure committment on Road and Rail Infrastucure, including the Regional Rail and alternatives to the West Gate bridge.

Future employment within Wyndham is essential, and to that end a key component of that should be a well researched, community connected, development of the Werribee Employment Precint into a key 21st century, viable employment zone.

Wyndham is going to require a big commitment to health care, particularly with respect to planning for a major enhancement of what is an excellent hospital at Mercy. Our future population cannot be sustained with a hospital of that size.

HOW WOULD YOU SELL THE WEST TO A PROSPECTIVE BUSINESS INVESTOR? The West of Melbourne is the foremost opportunity for Business and Investment in the country.

This region will take the bulk of the growth that Melbourne will experience in the next 10-15 years.

There is no doubt that this is the place to be.

IF YOU HAD TO INVITE FIVE PEOPLE TO A BUSINESS LUNCHEON, WHO WOULD IT BE? Janet Holmes a Court, Bill Gates, Muhammad Ali, Campbell Rose, Winston Churchill.

WHAT IS YOUR BUSINESS MANTRA? The harder you work , the luckier you get. Try to be fair and even handed to every one you meet, as it will repay you in spades throughout your life.

SELLING THE

WEST

BY CHARLENE GATT HE CALLS himself a salesman for business in the West.

Now Andrew Ferrington, Executive Director of the Department of Innovation, Industry and Regional Development for the North West Region, has the office to match the mantle.

The department branched out last month to open up a dedicated office in the heart of the West at the old Harvester building in Sunshine.

About seven people from the department work from three offices within the building, alongside other tenants including Health West, Youth Now and MEGT. Mr Ferrington will oversee the Sunshine office plus the Victorian Business Centre in Bundoora.

“This (Sunshine) is where Victoria’s industry started. Industry’s here, so we’re coming out

to industry. That’s where business happens,” Mr Ferrington said.

“For a long time, we’ve faced industry fairly clearly and fairly squarely, but this is about getting to where industry is rather than just me sitting in Exhibition St expecting people to come to me.

“Being out here means we actually understand the issues and the problems companies have. We’re in the thick of it.

“This is part of the backbone of Melbourne.

We’re on the major road and rail arterials.

Yes, there’s a lot of transport, distribution and logistics industry here, but there’s also a growing services and a growing white collar business here. It’s the middle of blue collar, industrial Melbourne, but it’s a genuine growing of the services sector.

“Whilst we’ve had a presence in the West and the North and the South for years, it’s great to see the commitment of the government to raising that.”

And with a third of Melbourne’s industry based in the West, Mr Ferrington’s logic is right on the mark.

Major international printing group Vistaprint, juice company Preshafruit, Sleepyhead, Jakmax and Apprenticeships Victoria have all made Brimbank home recently, while business across Maribyrnong, Melton, Wyndham, Hobsons Bay and Moonee Valley are also enjoying similar booms.

“What does the West have in abundance?

It has labour, it’s got real estate, it’s got connection to the city and it’s got connection out of the city. That’s the sales proposition. In many ways, it’s got it all.

That’s the advantage of the West,” Mr Ferrington said.

Last year, the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development’s western region office made Whitten Oval its temporary home, with plans to relocate permanently in the West.

Andrew Ferrington…

In the thick of it.

Picture: SARAH MATRAY

And at least two State Government agencies are expected to relocate to an asyet constructed office block in McNab Avenue in Footscray.

It is believed State Trustees and City West Water will occupy a 15,000 square metre office that will be built on the 1.3 hectare disused site.

“It’s inevitable that government (departments) move out of the CBD,” Mr Ferrington said. [BW]

Get moving and give us your feedback on WestLink Linking Melbourne Authority is conducting a $10 million planning and consultation study to consider the route for WestLink – Melbourne’s next major road connection linking the Port of Melbourne to the Western Ring Road.

We have now chosen a preferred route that includes a longer tunnel to minimise impacts on the community.

Give us your feedback by completing a feedback form online at www.linkingmelbourne.vic.gov.au, phoning us on (03) 8562 6800 or visiting the Info Hub in Footscray.

We welcome your feedback at any time, but to best inform our planning study we need to hear from you by Friday 19 November.

To find out more about the WestLink planning study and other major projects in the west, visit our Info Hub in Footscray. The hub is located at 61 Irving Street and opening hours are Wed 10am5pm, Thu 11am-6pm, Fri 10am- 5pm, Sat 10am-1pm.

BUSINESS WEST

498516-SH45-10

We want to know what you think about this route as part of our planning and consultation study.

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STRATEGIES

FIT FOR WORK THE KEY TO A HEALTHIER WORKPLACE WorkSafe Victoria Chief Executive Greg Tweedly explains why WorkSafe, through WorkHealth, is shining a light on health and wellbeing in the workplace and how local business leaders can step up to the challenge.

GREG TWEEDLY Greg Tweedly is CEO of WorkSafe Victoria, and oversaw the development of the WorkHealth program, a Victorian Government initiative which aims toreduce the incidence and impact of chronic disease among the workforce.

Greg is also Director of the Personal Injury Education Foundation and Chair of Heads of Workers Compensation Authorities.

Before becoming CEO of WorkSafe in 2003, Greg held senior positions with the Transport Accident Commission including Chief Operating Officer. WorkSafe Victoria recently won the 2010 National Employer of Choice Award for the public sector.

WorkSafe can be contacted on 9641 1444 or 1800 136 089 (toll free).

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I recently met with a group of Western suburbs employers to discuss, as peers, the role that leaders can play in promoting good health at work.

There’s a compelling case for using the workplace to promote better health, and businesses across Victoria, and indeed the world, have been quick to embrace workplace health promotion as the next great competitive advantage.

After all, it’s a commonly held notion that a business’s most valuable asset is its people, and there’s plenty of evidence out there to show that healthy, happy employees are great for business performance.

But with recent findings from WorkSafe Victoria’s WorkHealth program suggesting that around 40 per cent of working Victorians are at risk of developing type 2 diabetes or cardiovascular disease, the need to address health in the workplace has become more about long-term sustainability and resilience than just one-off activities.

In Melbourne’s West, the number of people found to be at risk is closer to one in two, and many of the employers I spoke with at the meeting – from the likes of Victoria University, City West Water and the Western Bulldogs – are seeing our WorkHealth program as a unique opportunity to tackle these health issues before they become a significant risk to business and the broader community.

WorkHealth aims to reduce the impact and incidence of chronic disease among Victorian workers by offering free, confidential checks in workplaces, and providing support to employers in developing health and wellbeing programs.

The 15-minute checks examine risk factors for type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, two of the most common and preventable chronic diseases, and arm workers with the information they need to improve their health.

After delivering more than a quarter of a million checks to workers across more than 16,000 workplaces, we’re building a detailed picture of the state of health in Victoria’s workplaces, as well as learning what ingredients are needed for businesses to see real and lasting improvements in health.

The impressive take-up of WorkHealth checks across Victorian businesses shows that employers are increasingly viewing the health of workers as a critical business asset and can see the financial and cultural benefits of healthier, happier and more productive staff.

We have also learned that the most critical factor in realising these benefits is having clear, concrete commitment from leaders and senior management.

Invariably, great participation, and therefore meaningful outcomes, hinges on the willingness of leaders to set the example by getting involved themselves.

As a leader, when you are the first in your business to step up for a WorkHealth check, or you make time to join the lunchtime walking group on a regular basis, this will be noticed by your team. It also sends a clear message that it’s acceptable, and admirable, for them to make the time to look after their own health.

We know that it can be hard to make even the most basic lifestyle changes and sustain that change.

However, if we, as business leaders, can take steps to make healthy choices available and accessible as part of the working day, then this will go a long way to creating a healthy workplace culture.

Greg Tweedly Chief Executive WorkSafe Victoria

STRATEGIES

HOW not to GO FOR

BROKE!

INSOLVENCY – THE EARLY WARNING SIGNS THE small to medium enterprise (SME) market was quite resilient defying the trend throughout the global financial crisis.

■ Late payments to creditors outside trading terms

With a supporting approach from the banks and the Australian Taxation Office, coupled with low interest rates and the use of the GFC as an excuse, most managed to get by.

■ Seeking payment arrangements with creditors

However; in recent months the SME market has seen an increase in insolvencies.

Now, with the global financial crisis mostly behind us, it appears poorly performing businesses and individuals are starting to feel the pressures of increased debt levels and insufficient sales to sustain them.

As a result, these parties are either finding themselves being wound up or forced to make a voluntary appointment of an insolvency practitioner.

The problem for many of these businesses is that identifying or admitting financial difficulty often comes too late. It is not easy to admit defeat.

However the price for not taking action sooner rather than later could ultimately spell the demise of the business.

Taking early action, might mean survival, at least in part, and might even avoid a formal insolvency appointment.

Recognising the early warning signs of a potential insolvency is not always easy, however there are a number of key areas of a business which may be examined and an early assessment could be the key to survival.

Every failure can be tracked back to either inaction, or a wrong decision.

A well renowned case known as “The Waterwheel case” identified 14 factors in determining insolvency. What we can glean from that case is that commonly it is not just one issue, but a combination of factors that will spell the demise of a business.

The more warning signs that are apparent, the more likely the business is in trouble.

Some early warning signs that might indicate businesses are heading towards a potential insolvency include: ■ Breaking of promises to clients, creditors, and other parties associated with the business ■ The sending of cheques that subsequently are dishonoured

■ Difficulty paying creditors

■ Only making minimal margins on products/services ■ A limited number of clients (customers) ■ Being highly geared and having a strong reliance on borrowings ■ The inability to access alternative finance ■ Playing suppliers off against each other for credit ■ Letters from solicitors ■ Questionable business promotions ■ Forced disposal of assets ■ A lack of sufficient working capital; and ■ Not maintaining proper books of account and costing records The last point is of major importance. The biggest mistake made by business owners is the failure to monitor their cash position..

It is common for all businesses to t fac ace e some financial difficulty every now and then, but ut it is the businesses that take earlyy actitonn tha at usually survive.

Preservation of cash flow is key e . Itt is essential to ensure that a bus usin inesss hass sufficient cash to meet its ob o liga ationns. s Two common mistakes made are: 1. Not having a proper handle on account ns receivable - Business owne n rs need d to o clearly communicate pa p ym mentt termss to their customers, invoice reg gularlyy, an and d pursue debtors immediately whe en te erm rms have been exceeded; and

JASON STONE Business Recovery and Insolvency, Forensic Accounting Services LAWLER DRAPER DILLON Jason has an extensive range of experience and knowledge in the various facets of insolvency and business turnaround with a particularly keen interest in advising business operators, managing companies, insolvency, forensic accounting and business valuation During his time, Jason has been involved in the corporate and personal insolvency areas including receiverships, court and voluntary liquidations, voluntary administrations, part X and bankruptcy as well as informal workouts and advisory where formal appointments were we re nnot ot aapp pp pro opr pria iate te He c can an b be e co cont ntac acte te ed on o 967 79 22 2211 11 PROF PROF OFES ESSI SION ONAL AL M MEM E BE EM BERS R HI RS HIPS PS & Q AL QU ALIF IFIC ICAT ATIO IO ONS S ■ Bac Bac che helo lorr of o Bus u in ines e s es (Acc (A ccou ount ntan ancy cyy) ■ Mem embe berr of o the e IIns nsti t tuute ti t of Chhar arte tere red d Ac A co oun unta tantts in ta Aust Au stra raaliliaa ■ Mem Membe b r of tthe be he Innso s lvvency cy P ac Pr a ti titi tion oner ers Asso As soci ciat attio on off A Aus ustr trral a iaa

2. Providing services or mak a ing sa s les fo or the sake of cash flow instead d of for profit - Such action results in poor or o negat ativ ive margins and is not sustainab a le e. One ba bad d debt could put the nail in i the coffifn..

Business owners who conttinuously mon o itor their financial position and ensure e that a the h ir financial information is up to date, are better placed to address any issuess in a meanningf g ul gf and effective manner.

BUSINESS WEST

31

Hobsons Bay Mayor Bill Tehan presented the Business of the Year award to Norma Paz and her sons Claudio, left, and Walter, from the Paz Group of Companies.

Pictures: NICOLE SULTANA

HOBSONS BAY BUSiNESS EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2010 BROOKLYNâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S Paz Group of Companies scooped the pool at the Hobsons Bay Business Excellence Awards.

The business, which has been open since 1985, took out the Hobsons Bay Business of the Year and the manufacturing and industrial award.

The gala event was held at Williamstown Town Hallâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Ballroom.

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1. Ania Hampton, of Hampton Sustainability, took out the Environmental Award 2. Jacqueline Travaglia and Andrew Wishart, of Williamstown Lantern Ghost Tours won the New/Start-up Business 3. Craig and Beverley Bennett, won the Franchise Award for Quest Williamstown North 4. Williamstown MP Wade Noonan presents the Good Access Award to Jarrod Crowley and Melinda Botros, from Mosaic Restaurant.

5. Marriage celebrant Kim Walsh, winner of the Home-based Business Award, with MC Ian Cover

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6. Marianne Lavelle, Madeleine Ellis and Liz Maasen from the Newport Organic Collective, who won the Not-for-Profit/Commnity Award 7. Lisa and Elliott Daniel from Nosh@Newport, who took out the Hospitality Award for the second year.

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8. Genevieve Fahey and Jenine Fleming from Scienceworks collected the Tourism Award 9. Stuart Morrison, Angela Morelli and Jamie Cousins picked up the Transport and Logistics Award for NQX Freight Group 10. James Wakeling from the Famous Blue Raincoat accepted the Mayoral Achievement Award from Mayor Bill Tehan.

11. Cr Peter Hemphill presented the Professional Services Award to Dianne Skew and Sharon Oates of TLC Aged Care.

12. Cr Luba Grigorovitch with Sam Tucker from the Burbank Group, which collected the Retail Award.

BUSINESS WEST

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AFTER HOURS

TELSTRA BUSiNESS CENTRE

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THE new Telstra Business Centre opened in Niddrie recently.

The night included product demonstrations and a chance to win a Blackberry smart phone.

PICTURES: KRISTIAN SCOTT

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1. Ian McInnes (Telstra) and John Rovas (Managing Director and Licensee Telstra) 2. Josie Mustafa (telstra) and Caroline Di Carlo Cormack (LBSM) 3. Jason Farrugia (Telstra) and Peter Logan Telstra

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4. George Servanis ( Servanis I.T) 5. Daniel Davies (telstra), Ashlee Potts (Telstra), Saurabh Upadhyay (Telstra) and James Rovas (telstra) 6. Joanne Camilleri

WESTERN REGION BUSiNESS CLUB

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BUSINESS leaders from across the West mingled recently at a Western Region Business siness Club networking event.

Angela Murphy from Murphys Transport Solutions was also a guest speaker on the night. ight.

PICTURES: EMILY LANE

BUSINESS WEST

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1. Angela Murphy from Murphys Transport 2. Alex Megas of Family Business and John Spillere of Slater and Gordon 3. Chris Anstey of TLC mentoring and Ken Anstey of Melbourne Tigers Basketball 4. Wes Donaldson of Intercept and Darryl West of Collins and Co. 5. Alysia West of Collins and Co, Stephen Gately of Wyn Bay and Michael Hollowood of Collins and Co

AFTER HOURS

BUSiNESS WEST @ SANCTUARY LAKES 1. Anton Mayer from LeadWest, Gavin Wilson from Match Works and Fred Maddern WPC Group.

2. John Hickman from Victoria University 3. (LR):John Dawson Senior Branch Manager Bendigo Bank, Peter Bourke and Beckie Stokes from Vicwest Community Telco and Charles Ferraro Business West Advertising Account Executive.

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4. (LR): John Dyne Managing director of Homestead Financial Group, Don Costa Director of Elders Real Estate, John Micalef from Cartridge World and Mim Micalef from Carter Cottages B&B Inn.

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6 5. (LR): Campbell Rose Chief Executive Western Bulldogs, Timothy Fawcett General Manager of Cisco and James Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Brien Managing Director of Quality Community Outcomes.

6. (LR): Harry Joura and Bob Boland from Elders Real Estate and Tony Ferreri General Manager Sanctuary Lakes Residents Association.

BUSINESS WEST

35

BW NETWORK Business West Network – a growing directory of local businesses ready to do business with you.

You can join the Business West Network by registering online at www.businesswest.com.au to make sure you receive your personal copy of Business West AND receive a free onetime 30-word listing for your business in a future edition.

DUGGAN PLUMBING 25 Elm Park Drive, Hoppers Crossing 9974 3111 Plumbing and drainage.

ADBRI MASONRY 194 Northbourne Road, Campbellfield 9305 0900 www.adbrimasonry.com.au Adbri Masonry is Australia’s largest supplier of quality masonry products. Adbri Masonry manufactures a large range of concrete products such as; brick, block and architectural coloured block, decorative wall claddings, retaining wall systems, concrete and wetcast pavers as well as an exceptional range of environmental products.

TLIFE ALTONA GATE 38 Coolabah Crescent, Hoppers Crossing 0400 050 400 We offer personalised telecomnmunciations needs to business in the West, we have a sales team that go out to business in the West.

DIVELLA PASTA 4 Bruthen Street, Preston 9416 8112 Pasta and food products imported from Italy VILI’S PIES 38-40 Chelmsford Street, Williamstown 9399 9711 www.vilis.com Sales and distribution of quality meat pies, pastries, muffins, quiches, donuts and cakes/ slices.

FLEXI PERSONNEL 12 Neville Avenue, Laverton 0447 338 218 Flexi Personnel have been in business for 18 years in the Western Suburbs, supplying quality staff to local business. We consist of five units: Trades, commercial, industrial West, industrial North and executive.

PKH ACCOUNTING AND TAX SERVICES Suite 3, Level 1, 53 Cherry Street, Werribee 0434 357 790 PKH is a CPA firm and a registered tax agent.

The client base comprises of small businesses and individuals. Both advisory and compliance as well as preparation and lodgement of tax returns are undertaken. Audits of SMSF, trust accounts and general audits are undertaken.

TEC TRAINING AND EDUCATION CENTRE Suite 9, Level 1, 242-244 Caroline Springs Boulevard, Caroline Spring 0421759428 www.tec-centre.com.au TEC Training and Education Centre’s mission is to provide a professional training and education service to the public and business’s across Victoria. The centre will provide training programs for clients either looking to gain employment, are currently employed and wish to update their skills and knowledge.

OASIS TURF 2 Downard Street, Braeside 9580 2488 We specialise in fertilisers, garden and lawn care.

WILCKENS ROCHE LAWYERS PO Box 18, Williamstown 9397 1300 Professional Legal Services.

SEAGULLS NEST 1 Mason St, Newport 9391 1237 Tabaret, TAB, bar and lounge, Try Thai restaurant, smoking rooms.

WILLIAMSTOWN RSL 128 Ferguson Street, Williamstown 9397 7642 Tabaret, bar and lounge and bistro.

NEWPORT TIMBER COMPANY 112 Maddox Rd, Williamstown 9397 3311 For all your timber building materials and hardware supplies.

PORTAL CONTRACTING 29 Macaulay Street, Williamstown North 9397 7657 Construction professional.

BAY SEAFOODS 9 Holcourt Road, Laverton North 9931 1933 Wholesale seafood.

HOBSONS BAY BUTCHER 68 Ferguson Street, Williamstown 9397 6729 Quality butcher and will make special items by request.

RE-CAR 10-14 Tower Court, Noble Park 8769 0200 Heavy vehicle accident repair workshop.

Carries out extensive truck and trailer repairs to all sorts of heavy vehicles.

SKYLIFT CRANE SERVICES 7-9 Natalia Avenue, Oakleigh South 9544 0744 Crane Hire.

HEAVENLY COCKTAILS DAIQUIRI MACHINE HIRE 4 Gaudin Curt, Werribee, Victoria 0407 053 876 www.hirecocktailmachine.com.au We are a diverse and family owned business, specialising in daiquiri and cocktail machine hire.

Register to get your FREE copy of BUSiNESS WEST now!

Go to www.businesswest.com.au 36

BUSINESS WEST

BW NETWORK GRAFFITI REMOVAL SYSTEMS PO Box 208, Keilor East 9336 0448 www.graffitiremovals.com Specilist graffiti removal and reduction strategies on graffiti vandalism for government and local government.Established nine years.

SINCLAIR XRAY INSPECTION SERVICES PTY LTD 23 Loop Rd, Werribee 9741 0288 www.sinxray.com.au Engineering testing inspection services to oil and gas and chemical industries.

LAWLER DRAPER DILLON 12/440 Collins Street, Melbourne 9679 2211 Full service accounting firm.

TOYOTA AUSTRALIA 155 Bertie Street, Port Melbourne 9647 4222 www.toyota.com.au/home Toyota Australia’s manufacturing plant is located in Altona, where over 100,000 Camry and Hybrid Camry vehicles are manufactured by more than 3500 employees.

PERMA RUBBER PRODUCTS P/L 9 Arvona Avenue, North Sunshine 9312 3706 Family-run hands-on rubber manufacturers providing good old fashioned services priding itself on top quality products at competitive prices. Extrusions and moulded products covering a wide range of applications.

T. CAVALLARO & SONS 98 Hopkins Street, Footscray 9687 4638 tcavallaroandsons.com.au We produce and sell continental cakes and biscuits including wedding cakes with recipes dating back more than 100 years, most famous for handmade pattisserie cream and ricotta cannoli.

DUNAT BROS PTY LTD 23 Chester Crescent, Deer Park 0418 553 658 24 hours electrical emergency breakdown, domestic/commercial/industrial; new/old homes;rewiring;video intercoms…

BRIDAL 23 Chester Crescent, Deer Park 0419 553 658 Dressmaking/made to measure; specialising in bridal and After 5; debutante/communion etc.

ROYAL YACHT CLUB OF VICTORIA 120 Nelson Place, Williamstown 9397 1277 www.rycv.yachting.org.au We are a local yacht club with paying members, marina, function facilities, hold race meeting, provide sail training to public.

TABCORP PARK PO Box 685, Melton South 8746 0604 www.tabcorppark.com.au Home to harness racing in Victoria, Tabcorp Park also offers a four star 41 room hotel, bistro, sports bar and function, conference and meeting facilities.

RIGOLI LAWYERS 1/90 Watton Street, Werribee 8742 3199 www.rigolilawyers.com.au We are experts in family law. We also offer an extensive range of legal services including: commerical/business, criminal, wills and probate, civil and contract disputes, finance and property.

MAMBOURIN ENTERPRISES INC. 4C Pyke Street, Werribee 0409 136 157 www.mambourin.org We provide services to adults with disability.

PINK FOX PO Box 2136, Greenvale 0402 071 260 Pink Fox offers a stunning range of fashion hand bags and accessories to customers via in home shopping. We also offer consultant opportunities to those that want to earn an income and have fun selling through party plan.

BGT 3 Alexandra Street, Melton 9746 7600 www.bgt.org.au BGT is a not-for-profit community based group training company who place apprentices and trainees with a range of small and large host businesses providing on the job training.

JOHN SCHMID AND ASSOCIATES PTY LTD 2/21 Capulet Street, Moonee Ponds 0438 267 748 www.profitmentor.com.au A free consultation with John Schmid will result in the needs and requirements of your company assessed, together with suggested steps to increase profit and cashflow.

AUTOLINK MEDIA 12 David Avenue, Keilor East 1300 161 509 www.autolinkmedia.com Autolink Media provides internet services to automotive related businesses. From a simple website to total management of your online presence. We are SEO specialists, get ranked First page on Google.

GLAMAZON SHOES 127-129 Union Road, Ascot Vale 9372 7777 www.glamazonshoes.com.au Glamazon Shoes specialise in stylish, fashionable and affordable shoes for women in sizes up to 13. Beautiful shoes for bigger feet.

HARVIE’S PLUMBING PTY LTD PO Box 2165 Taylors Lakes 3038 9449 7335 Harvie’s Plumbing (licence 36875) specializing in domestic and commercial, hot and cold waters,and sewerage roof works, gas fitting,and all maintenance and sewer blockages,24hour service, free quotes.

THE COBRA GROUP 6 Shepherd Street, Braybrook 0404 135 205 www.cobragroup.com.au Sales and marketing company.

Register to get your FREE copy of BUSiNESS WEST now!

Go to www.businesswest.com.au BUSINESS WEST

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BW NETWORK AMANTE JEWELLERY PO Box 2064, Spotswood 1300 654 860 www.amante.com.au Sheer style-irresistibly priced gold and silver jewellery. With 3000 pieces of jewellery we have something to suit every style and budget.

Shop when you want in our online store www. amante.com.au

FERGUSON PLARRE BAKEHOUSES PTY LTD 35 Harrick Road, Keilor Park 0419 561 165 www.fergusonplarre.com.au Since 1901 Ferguson Plarre Bakehouses have been baking a delicious range of award winning products and celebration cakes and pastries from over 48 stores across Melbourne.

MERCURE MELBOURNE CAROLINE SPRINGS 234 Caroline Springs Boulevard, Caroline Springs 0437 779 077 www.mercurecarolinesprings.com.au Four star internationally branded and operated hotel - offering 104 accommodation rooms and suites, on site restaurant for breakfast, lunch and dinner; also facilities for events, weddings, expositions and conferences.

BEK BLAKE STYLIST 22 Ganges Court, Werribee 0425 818 678 A self-employed stylist of personal beauty and retail presentation and merchandising, including glamour and bridal make-up, store design and occasional hair styling.

KOMATSU FORKLIFT AUSTRALIA 25-31 Cherry Lane, Laverton North 0413 701 877 www.komatsuforklift.com.au We are a leading forklift supplier in the Western Suburbs.

COMPUTER TROUBLESHOOTERS - ALTONA PO Box 1178, Altona Meadows 3028 1300 28 28 78 www.ctaltona.com.au Local service global strength. Hardware setup, support, troubleshooting, internet and email setup, networking, virus protection and much more.

PULSE DRIVER EDUCATION 0424 807 700 www.pulsedriver.com.au Teaching students how to drive safely, securely and to be alert at all times. Also provide refresher courses for elderly and overseas changeover licence.

ZANÉT COUTURE PO Box 5150, Cairnlea 0411 268 744 www.zanet.com.au Zanét Couture are specialists in bridal and evening wear. We design and distribute feminine, glamorous gowns to suit your body (and budget) for your special occasion.

ENJOY INSPIRE CONSULTING PTY LTD 37 Grandison Street, Moonee Ponds 0449 167 776 Enjoy Inspire provides consulting services for the tourism and arts sectors, specialising in strategic planning, group facilitation and risk management.

SHOWFRONT 28 Export Drive, Brooklyn 9315 3636 www.showfront.com.au Showfront display systems, design and manufacturer, glass show cases, jewellery, cabnets, register counters; Noticeboards, shopping centre kiosk, mannequin Towers, trophy cabnets, metal racking, slat walls, flooring.

Register to get your FREE copy of BUSiNESS WEST now!

Go to www.businesswest.com.au

BUSINESS SERVICES ELECTRICAL

Stop Leaking Showers without removing tiles

O’Brien Electrical has been providing electrical services to the Industrial, Commercial and Domestic industry since 1976.

• Shower Sealing & Tiling • 15 Years in Business • Free Water Detection • National ISO Quality Certified • Marble Sealing & Restoration • Replacement of Polymarble Bases

OUR SERVICES INCLUDE:

www.megasealed.com.au

C838247-JL36-10

• Fault Finding and Breakdowns • PLC • Test and Tag • Installation & Maintenance

15 YEAR

PRODUCT WARRANTY

Call NOW on 1300 658 007

ERGONOMICS

498513-SH45-10

43 Market Road, Sunshine Vic 3020 Ph: 9312 1000 Fax: 9312 1908

brendangrimes ergonomics & safety Keeping Business Safe in the West Telephone: 03 9687 5266 Email: brendan@bges.com.au www.bges.com.au

To advertise your services to the business community phone: 1300 666 808 38

BUSINESS WEST

484478-SH45-10

BATHROOMS

FFOR OR YOUR DIARY

NOVEMBER Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

5

Saturday

2

3

8

9

10 11 12 13 14

Brimbank Business Breakfast. Ultima Function Centre, corner Keilor Park Drive and Ely Court, Keilor.

7.15am – 9am. Free.

Call Brain O’Dwyer 9249 4630 to book.

6

Sunday

1 Retail marketing workshop.

Moonee Valley Civic Centre, 9 Kellaway Ave, Moonee Ponds. 6pm – 8.30pm. $20.

Call Marisa 9243 8866 to book.

4

Friday

7

100 Years of Aviation in Altona Dinner. Altona RSL, Sargood St, Altona. 7pm – 10pm. $25.

Call 9369 1496 to book.

15 16 17 18 19 20 21 Get Your Business Organised seminar. Melton Civic Centre, 232 High St, Melton. 6pm – 8pm. $20.

Call 9747 7200 to book.

22 23 24 25 26 27 28 Wyndham BizNet dinner meeting. Mambourin Enterprises, Bulban Rd, Werribee. 6.30pm – 9.30pm. $25 members, $45 nonmembers.

Call 0418 533 806 to book.

State Government election.

Responsible Service of Alcohol course. East Keilor RSL, 12-16 Hoffmans Rd, Essendon. $75. Call 1300 665 633 to book.

Melton Shire Mayoral Charity Ball. Witchmount Estate, Rockbank. $95.

Call 9747 7200 to book.

29 30

Food Safety Level 1 course. Yarraville Community Centre, 59 Francis St, Yarraville. $95.

Call 1300 665 633 to book.

Got a business breakfast, workshop, seminar or event coming up in December or January?

Make sure it is listed in BUSiNESS WEST’S For Your Diary feature by emailing www.businesswest.com.au

DECEMBER Wedneday

1

Thursday

2

Friday

3

Saturday

4

Sunday

5

Monday

6

Tuesday Tuesda dayy da

7

Western Region Business Club Christmas event.

Whitten Oval, Barkly St, West Footscray. 6pm – 8pm.

BUSINESS WEST

39

Do you need staff?

MatchWorks can offer you a service to fill your employment vacancies FREE of charge.

We do all the hard work for you!

We are based throughout Western and Northern Melbourne, as well as Geelong and Bacchus Marsh.

Contact us today for a no obligation chat.

Airport West 9334 2558

Brunswick 9383 2555

Footscray 9689 6333

Preston 9471 3000

Sunshine 9312 2200

Broadmeadows 9302 1800

Flemington 9376 8266

Melton 9746 6344

St Albans 9367 8000

Werribee 8742 3444

484484-JF45-10