I was one of five siblings who were brought up living in a country hotel, followed by a dairy farm and orchard, and finally in a beverage maufacuring business in Geelong.  The business was our life. The kitchen table was just an extention of my parents work life. So, as in most family businesses, we learnt about business by osmosis. To understand how a family business works you need to have been there and experienced the roller coaster ride during the ups and downs.

My family business and coporate background have proven to be of value to many. Combined with formal training and experience in dispute mediation and workplace training I bring a pragmatic and insightful capability to family companies.

Family business in Australia are the unsung heroes of our economy. There are thousands of family members operating successful business every day and employing vast numbers of Australians without the publicity of media attention.

Family business are the ones who will eventually lead us back to better economic times. Families put their personal assets on the line and don’t look for handouts all the time. They work hard, always see a positive way forward, they have genuine core values and have a passion to create and build wealth for future generations.

Without the many hard working family business enterprises the country would be in dire straights. Over 80% of registered businesses in Australia are Family owned companies. A key statistic is that only one third of all family business pass to a second generation. We work with families to assist in transition of management.

The list below are some current examples of Australian family business I know of who are quietly going about their mission in life and getting on with things without fuss or fanfare. The next generations are in the board room and ready to move forward.


LUV-A-DUCK GOUP PTY LTD 

Started by Art Shoppe in 1958 and now owned by his daughters Theresa and  Kim . They are operating a world class facility on a 200 hectare farm in the Wimmera they are Australia’s leading producer of duck products sold in all states and exports to Asia, south Pacific and the Middle East. The sales and head office is located in Port Melbourne. The company has formal board of directors in place and employed an external CEO.

MELISHEV GROUP - GEELONG

A muti award winner for quality home construction and innovation Russel Malishev at aged 18  took over the reigns of a carpentry contracting business from his father many years ago in Geelong. Russel has built this company and is now recognised as one of the most rewarded and prestigious building groups in the Surf coast region winning over ninety National, State and Regional industry and business awards. Russell gives of his time to organisations in Geelong and has sat on many boards and industry committees.

A great example of a  successful family business adding value to their industry and to the community

FAGG BROS MITRE 10 GEELONG

Fagg Bros has operated a business since 1854. It is one of the oldest family businesses in Australia and is still owned and managed by fourth generation direct decedants of its founders. Keith and Barry Fagg now own and operate this successful business that has survived its fair share of disaster and tragedy inlcuding fire , and business downturns. They are a Geelong institution and like so many other like them they give more back to the area  than most. More recently, they have engaged  an experienced  external general management ( Mark Edmonds ) as the two brothers look to the continuation of the business in the future.

Te MANIA ANGUS, Mortlake

A great example of a rural farming family who have put structure to their enterprise and are leaders in their industry and set the standard for others to follow.  The Cubbin family, headed by Andrew and Mary and with the day to day opeartions managed by Tom Cubbin and  his wife Lucy and Amanda and Toms' sister Amanda and her husband Hamish McFarlane all have clearly defined resonsibilities and work together to take the enterprise to a higher level of performance.

They have a formal board chaired by an external chairman and meet at regular intervals. They understand the importance of governace and structure in  family business to ensure that family and business operate collaborately.  

www.temania.com.au  

HAYMES

Haymes was established in Ballarat in 1935 and has developed from a relatively unknown paint manufacturer in Victoria to a bustling business supplying premium quality prodcuts through specialist paint shops across the nation.
The whole Haymes family is actively involed in the business including Rodney Walton as general Manager ensuring a family tradition of family ownership and an obsession that will continue to support the Company through the next century. Making the best paint, building the best paint factory, having the best employees and, of course, only having paint sold through the best specialists.

JGKING HOMES

Established in 1985, JG King Homes is Australia's largest builder of steel framed homes and Victoria's fourth largest builder.
Based in Ballarat, is family owned company and lead by John King OAM passionately supported by two generations. The JG King Group is now a fully intergrated, multi-faceted organisation with an impeccable record in design, architecture, project development, manufacturering, construction logistics and sales.

THE SWIM FACTORY - IPSWICH

Peter McMahon and his family operate a succesful facility in Ipswich in Qld. The primary operation is teaching kids and adults to swim. The interesting story here is that the factory was originally McMahons Soft Drinks, started by Peter's father and was one of the top soft drink companies in Queensland. As the soft drink market changed and became dominated by the Multi Nationals Peter saw an opportunity to use the real estate and change direction whilst capitalising on the family name in the area. Now the third generation is involved and commercial activity has spead to other business segments.

APR  Melbourne - www.aprgo.com.au

APR manages a supply chain of leading dismantlers in Australia in the auto repair industry. Its a second generation family business and a great example of a traditional business understanding that the internet is way of the future for managing a business and supporting their clients. Chris Daglis and his team  are innovators and making an investment in the future through technology.

WITTNERS SHOES

A successful third generation footware business with retail outlets all over Australia. The family is a leader in their field and looking positively to continued expansion. They have establsihed a workable succession plan for the furure.

MURPHYS TRANSPORT

Ned Murphy started this national transport and storage business in 1858 with his horses and it is now successfully managed by Angela and her brother Cameron under the chairmanship of their father Gavin. Another example of successful long-term family ownership.

BMD

The BMD Group is Australia’s largest privately owned civil, construction and urban development organization. BMD was established in Queensland by Mike Power, AM in 1979. They are third biggest family owned business in Qld and operate from Brisbane with State branches across Australia. Family owned and operated, BMD has enjoyed strong and consistent growth. They are heavily involved in community projects, sport and the health and wellbeing of their staff. The second generation have now joined the management group that will help maintain the values and beliefs of the founder as the business continues to grow.


HIGGINS

Established in 1949 and based in Melbourne, they are continually growing their offices throughout Australia. Higgins Coatings maintains the key family values that shaped founder Gerry Higgins business. They are always looking to the future with innovative and practical solutions in commercial painting and new business painting and most importantly developing the next generation along the way. They have been responsible for the finish on some of our best know civil and sporting buildings such as the MCG.

AW BELL

AW Bell Pty ltd is a premier supplier of complex metal parts using rapid prototyping, investment casting, sand and production machining technologies. The business was founded in 1952 by Alan Bell and is now run by his son Geoff. As is the case with many family owned manufacturing companies in Australia, AW Bell is now engaged in developing a strategy and plan to implement a succession plan to ensure the business is sustainable and ready to take advantage of opportunities when we emerge from this current economic downturn.

NEWCOMB SAND AND SOIL

A second generation family business based in Geelong. Joanne, Chris, Pamela and Stuart operate a succesful family run enterprise, started by their parents, servicing Geelong and the Surf Coast. They have implemented formal monthly business review meetings along with new processes and systems to ensure they operated within a professional and structured format.

Charles I.F.E.

 A succesful family enterprise in the agricultural and livestock business. As is the case in many regional regions, Melville Charles and his sons operate a leading diversified farm operation where their foresight and willingness to invest in new technology has ensured that the by-products of the livestock segment has become a viable garden products business. They quietly go about their business without publicity and fanfare.

TUCKERS FUNERAL AND BEREAVEMENT SERVICE

A successful family business based in Geelong majority owned by the Cole family.  In July 2011 they won the Geelong Advertiser Busines award for best medium sized business in the region and they have demonstrated  leadership in their business. In recent times Mark Osborne the CEO/ Director has implemented a formal  advisory board to set a new strategic direction for future business sustainability.