Breakfast turns up heat on nominees

By Shaun Inguanzo
THE manufacturer of the popular barbecue fuel Heat Beads was among this week’s hot nominees for Greater Dandenong’s Premier Regional Business Awards at the Sandhurst Club in Skye.
The awards, run by the Greater Dandenong Chamber of Commerce, acknowledge outstanding businesses in the region.
The winners of the 2007 awards will be announced at a gala event early next year.
This week’s breakfast was one of several held throughout the year to announce nominees.
One nominee, Australian Char, manufactures the world-renowned Heat Beads.
While it manufactures in the Latrobe Valley where coal supplies are mined, the company’s head office is in Dandenong South.
Australian Char representative Lee Gilmour accepted the nomination and explained how the company had worked to enjoy a 20 per cent growth in its export market in the past 20 years, with 50 per cent of total sales overseas.
The crowd listened intently as Mr Gilmour explained how Denmark and Sweden had become the two countries to import the most Heat Beads products after a celebrity in Denmark spruiked the brand name on air several years ago.
Joining Australian Char were Hermitage Homes and A1 Bakery in Lonsdale Street, Dandenong.
Sean Lefoe accepted the nomination for Hermitage Homes while Sami Abdallah accepted A1 Bakery’s.
Following the nominations, attendees enjoyed a hearty breakfast before hearing an inspiring speech from Macquarie Bank executive chairman and former Dandenong resident Simon McKeon.