Enterprise Connect Success Stories

CASE STUDY 1:

BUSINESS REVIEW – Plastic Technology, Reservoir, Victoria

Plastic Technology is a recycler and manufacturer of low density polyethylene film, tubing and bag products. It turns post-consumer and post-industrial waste into resin, which is used to manufacture plastic sheeting for sale as building and barrier film, agricultural film, and commercial and industrial film. Established in 1986, the company currently has 49 staff.

Colin Holmes, Managing Director, explained that the company’s 100% recyclable products had a big future, but the key was to improve operational effectiveness.

“The Business Review provided us with a great opportunity at the right time. We were confident that we had the right model in place, but were keen to have fresh eyes and a new perspective on our business. And we were right. We got a lot out of participation in the program.

Paul Smarrelli, Business Adviser for Partner Organisation NORTH Link, has extensive experience in manufacturing and it showed, particularly in the areas of operational and financial efficiency. When we received his report we were surprised and pleased at his level of understanding of our business and the plastics industry in general.

Paul was very easy to speak to. He explained the process and new concepts in plain English and was clear in his recommendations – there was no jargon. He visited us on site for a tour and to meet with the management team. A lot of the information he needed was already available on our internal reporting system, as we’d done the hard yards on that some time earlier.

Some of Paul’s suggestions were already on our minds, but having an external expert highlight them made a big
difference.

We started implementing Paul’s recommendations the week after we received the report.

The main recommendation that Paul made was for us to relocate part of our recycling business from our Campbellfield site to Reservoir, so that all our recycling machines were operating in the same place. This presented us with logistical and staffing issues, which we were able to resolve, but led to significant cost savings and operational efficiencies. Staff are happier, because they don’t have to travel between sites for certain shifts, and they boosted their skills sets, with opportunities for multiskilling through consolidated teams. And we are saving the rent on the factory we no longer use.

Our sales team changed its focus away from our established client base. We started to look at new markets for our various product groups and also began approaching different levels of government and industries that may be interested in our environmentally-friendly products. Internally, we restructured our management team and looked hard at our labour overheads, making savings where we could.

This whole process was very positive for us. Paul made some valid criticisms of the way we were operating but he did it in a constructive way. Because of his recommendations we moved quickly to streamline our production and reduce costs. As a consequence, we’ve been able to reinvest increased profits into the business.

It was a very positive and enlightening experience, and we are already seeing the rewards.”

Plastics Technology was provided with a Business Review during 2009 by Enterprise Connect Partner Organisation NORTH Link and Business Adviser Paul Smarrelli.

CASE STUDY 2:

BUSINESS REVIEW – The Graffiti Eaters
Bundoora, Victoria

The Graffiti Eaters is an industrial cleaning company
that specialises in removal of graffiti, stains, posters
and chewing gum, cleaning of facades and pavements,
and cleaning restorations after fires. Application of
anti-graffiti coatings are also part of the service.

Mark McKenzie’s family purchased the company in
1989 when it had just one truck. Today a total of 25
staff operate in Melbourne, Geelong, Sydney,
Wollongong, Central Coast, Newcastle, Adelaide,
Gold Coast and Brisbane.

“Our business offers a specialised cleaning service.
There is plenty of competition but we have our own
chemical technology and system of doing things. We
face some unique challenges. Our team work with
chemicals, electricity and high pressure water, and
often work up high. This involves risks, so they need
months of training before becoming fully operational.
We are fully quality, OH&S and environmentally
accredited with very robust proven systems. Some of
our team are more than 3000 kms away from head
office, so our systems need to be good to maintain
control.

We joined the Business Review because we are keen
to grow the business and ensure its future success. It
seemed like a great opportunity. Paul Smarrelli,
Business Adviser for Partner Organisation NORTH
Link, spent time here analysing what we do, looking at
our books and talking with our team. He asked me to
justify why we do things a certain way and that put me
on the back foot a bit at first. I thought we did things
well so the challenge for me was listening to new
ideas and applying them to our operations.

I thought I’d been working ‘on’ the business instead of
‘in’ the business for a while. But Paul pointed out that
troubleshooting and solving problems was still working
in the business. What I really needed to do was step
back, do some strategic planning and make sure that
things happened.

So one of the first recommendations we implemented
was a new corporate structure. Now there are five
people reporting to me instead of 25. I’ve promoted
someone to a new position of operations manager,
responsible for daily operations, recruitment, auditing
systems and problems.

We also changed the meeting structure. Being a family
business, we hadn’t included staff in meetings to do
with finances. Now we meet weekly with senior staff, set
agendas and let them know how the business is
travelling financially. It’s already giving us results. For
example, our workshop manager noticed that some of
our interstate operators were a bit heavy-handed with
chemicals, which was costing us, so that has been
reined in. More formal training for key staff has been
introduced and, in the future, we want to work on a ratio
of indirect to direct staff.

Paul had some confronting things to say and that was
great. I don’t get that perspective or level of feedback
from anyone else. Team members were really positive
about the process and we’re all getting excited about
the future and the new activity we’ll be generating. I
would highly recommend the Business Review initiative
to any business owner. It has been very valuable for our
company.”

The Graffiti Eaters was provided with a Business Review
during 2008 by Enterprise Connect Partner Organisation
NORTH Link and Business Adviser Paul Smarrelli.

CASE STUDY 3:

BUSINESS REVIEW – Punch-IT Systems
Thomastown, Victoria

Punch-IT Systems utilises innovative engineering design methodologies to develop a wide range of new aluminium and steel-based component products, from concept through to manufacturing and delivery. Established in 1999, it employs 10 staff.

Using the R&D skills of parent company Integra Systems, Business Development Manager Erika Hughes explained that Punch-IT Systems focuses on lean, new manufacturing technologies. But the company was in need of some strategic business management support to deal with its expansion.

“Recently, we were going through a rapid growth phase and experiencing ‘growing pains’. After beginning a strategic business planning program with an independent consulting firm, we signed up for the Business Review program. We’d heard about the program before and knew that there would be some results that would be really valuable for our strategic business plan.

Paul Smarrelli, Business Adviser for Partner Organisation NORTH Link, came to visit us and spent a few hours interviewing the management team. But it wasn’t just an interview. He offered us some fantastic ideas to help us, on the spot. Within an hour he’d given us some tools and insight that we were desperate for but didn’t know how to access. He had the knowledge and experience that we needed and his insights were incredibly valuable.

The Business Review process itself was easy and straightforward. Paul’s report listed a range of recommendations and an action plan for implementation. He picked out the most salient points and addressed them in detail, looking at what needed to be done and if there were any applicable external funding options.

The benchmarking process highlighted where we were different from other companies. We were aware of some of the improvements needed, but some were surprising to us. The percentage and ratio results were compared with our industry and we could see where we were out of balance and where our cost structures needed to be reviewed.

An example of something that seemed simple, but has assisted us greatly, was recommendations about our premises. We were aware that it was too small, but Paul showed us how critical it was for us to move – we’d already exceeded our capacity and needed to start planning a move very quickly. His report told us what capacity was needed and how much space we required to fit with our five-year growth plan, and that was invaluable. He also helped us to set realistic sales growth targets in specific industry sectors.

The report showed us our ratio of sales per employee compared with the industry average, and that will ultimately impact on our growth. The benchmarking data is valuable both for hindsight and for future planning. The actions that came out of the report we are beginning to implement as a management team, and we can measure our success against those.

This report will now feed into our business plan, which will help us control our future direction and manage our growth. Now we have a clear vision for the future, and background information to make our goals a reality.

Paul has been an amazing support to us and we hope to continue this relationship into the future.”

Punch-IT Systems was provided with a Business Review during 2009 by Enterprise Connect Partner Organisation NORTH Link and Business Adviser Paul Smarrelli.