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 Specialist building, tapware and safety product company Enware has overcome traditional hurdles to local manufacturing by developing a reputation for quality and innovation in the demanding specialist markets it serves.
Enware Australia Pty Ltd has more than trebled its employment in a decade, building a team of more than 170 people committed to its message of “Buy Australian Quality Solutions” and listening closely to its customers to ensure the company anticipates and delivers what they want when they want it.
“We don’t even try to match the strengths of Asia, which are predominantly bulk production runs for mass markets. Our markets are those where there is a strong design component required, a special relationship with the end user and understanding of their needs - qualities that they just can’t buy off the shelf,” said Enware Australia Managing Director Paul Degnan.
The company – which has more than trebled its turnover and investment in Australian manufacturing over the last decade – focuses strongly on plumbing, building and architectural markets with a special emphasis also on education, health, age care, laboratory, food preparation, water conservation, hygiene and safety markets.
The loyalty and following it has built up in these areas is primed to pay dividends as the Government stimulates health and education to soften the economic impact being suffered by most Australian companies – “It’s tough out there for any business at the moment, there’s no doubt about that, but Enware has stayed committed to quality, and keeping skills and jobs in Australia,” says Paul Degnan.
“While many companies in the industry have moved offshore for lower costs, Enware has, as much as possible, committed to keeping core manufacturing skills and technology here. And in these tough economic times, that’s great news for Australia - it keeps jobs here, it keeps more money in the Australian economy and fundamentally I think all Australians know this. And in tough times Australians stick together, we help each other out.”
“We do not compete on price as a priority but on providing comprehensive quality solutions, including those strongly oriented to innovation, top world standards of production and achieving water and energy efficiency,” says Mr Degnan.
“Our 70-year history and the strong reputation of our core products for schools and hospitals have stood us in good stead. These health and education-oriented products are two of our main Australian-made ranges - and ranges that have strong relevance to Government stimulus initiatives in health and education building.
“Enware taps and lab fittings are seen in hospitals, high schools, universities and commercial labs right across Australia. Our vandal resistant tapware and bubblers for schools are right up there with the world’s best - and our hygienic, durable tapware for hospitals has achieved such wide recognition for quality that it has also been chosen for hospitals throughout South Asia, India and in the Middle East.
“While we don’t ask the Government or our customers for special consideration just because we are Australian, but we do take an industry leadership role in seeking a level playing field in our own markets. We do this because it is obviously highly unfair to expect us as a local manufacturer to live up to rigorous Australian Standards – with all the quality and cost implications – and then expect us to compete with companies who don’t bother to comply with any of these responsibilities.
“We positively market our own attributes but we make no apology for challenging the practice of allowing into Australia cheap untested product under the banner of so-called free trade. It’s more like a free-for-all, which in the end benefits no-one,” said Mr Degnan, whose company has invested tens of millions of dollars over the last decade on skills, new plant and research and development as the company expands in Australia and overseas.
Following nationally and internationally its philosophy of custom-designed specialist quality products, Enware has also pursued a programme of import replacement in Australia, offering class design and engineering, strong response to customer needs, innovative problem solving, delivery strengths and competitive pricing. The company promotes the advantages of the competitive whole-of-life cost and reliability of products made in its modern, efficient 4000sq. metre factory designed for batch and project manufacture.
It has a strong network throughout Australia and New Zealand and has established offices in Singapore to grow exports to that country as well as to Malaysia, Indonesia, Hong Kong and Thailand, while also opening a base in Dubai to serve rapidly growing markets in India and the Middle East.
“Our Asian market is of a similar type of market to the one on which we have built our name throughout Australia and New Zealand,” said Mr Degnan. “We believe our formula is one that is capable of international success, in markets ranging from Asia to Europe, and we are constantly seeking out ways to advance our markets across the board.”
For more information, please contact Enware Australia Pty Ltd, 9-11 Endeavour Road, Caringbah NSW 2229 Australia, Ph +61 2 9525 9511 Click here to email us |