Tinkering tailors new life engines

ENGINES aren’t the things that drive HM GEM Engines to success.
The Greater Dandenong business is one of only two engine remanufacturers in the nation and is clearly the leader at what it does.
HM GEM Engines was inducted into the Victorian Manufacturing Hall of Fame by Manufacturing Minister Theo Theophanous at a Gala Dinner in Melbourne on Monday night.
HM GEM founder and managing director Bruce Parker began the business in 1969 after he fell in love with engine tinkering during a mechanical apprenticeship.
Mr Parker, now in his 60s, has since developed a business that can take an engine from a car or truck or other vehicle that has reached the end of its lifespan and remanufacture its parts to give it performance comparable to a new engine.
“It means taking an engine that has run its normal life cycle, dismantling it, cleaning the major components, machining those major components to original equipment specifications and reassembling the engine with the (remanufactured) parts,” he said.
And HM GEM does it at a third of the cost of a new engine.
But Mr Parker said it was the people power keeping the company running and achieving its goals that he valued most.
The company has received a Prime Minister’s award for Employer of the Year on four occasions, particularly for its policy to give non-skilled jobs solely to people with a disability.
The company has 160 employees at its Dandenong site and Mr Parker said 15 per cent of employees had either a physical or mental disability.
“They are among our most valued employees,” Mr Parker said.
Mr Parker said another contributing factor to the company’s success was the support offered by local networking groups including South East Networks (SEN) and South East Melbourne Manufacturers’ Alliance (SEMMA).
“The support networks such as SEN and SEMMA and the provision of their services to manufacturers in the area are second to none anywhere in Australia,” Mr Parker said.
“Credit must also go to the forethought and strategic planning by state governments of past and present, to develop this part of the state the way they have.
“We are seeing many new companies spring up in the region as a result.”
Mr Parker said the ‘dirty, dumb and dangerous’ stigma that affected manufacturing was unfounded in the present day.
“Housekeeping (of a shop floor) is a key issue, as is lighting, and correct ventilation,” he said.
“The workers of these days enjoy good working conditions that are very different to the way manufacturing was a few decades ago.”
Mr Parker said the biggest challenge to HM GEM’s future would be the skyrocketing costs of petrol.
He said people would be less inclined to use their vehicles and even to pay for the upkeep of them, ultimately affecting HM GEM’s business.
Mr Parker said the Hall of Fame induction’s significance would stretch beyond his company.
“It’s a great thing for our people, and great thing for Dandenong and the south-east,” he said.
“It certainly gives our people a buzz to know they’re recognised as belonging to an organisation that has been inducted into the Hall of Fame alongside other very significant manufacturers in this state.”