Awards recognise diverse businesses

WHAT do bread, aluminium and boats have in common?
Dandenong manufacturers of all three products are nominees for the city’s premier business award.
The Greater Dandenong Chamber of Commerce announced Rapid Aluminium, Country Life Bakery and Access Dinghies as its three latest nominees for the Premier Regional Business Awards.
Rapid Aluminium managing director Reinhard Gregg started his company in the late 1980s as a small player in the powder-coating industry.
The company began specialising in supplying aluminium and targeting customers who purchased aluminium but sent it elsewhere to have it powder-coated before again retrieving it for installation.
The company both supplies and powder-coats and offers a quick turnover time for its customers.
It has grown from eight employees in 2000 to 26, and its slogan is ‘small enough to know you, big enough to serve you’.
Bread manufacturer Country Life Bakery and Flinders Bread bakes a range of bread marketed towards health-conscious people.
It began life in 1989 when owners Barry and Jan Hawley bought Country Life Bakery and supplied its healthy loaves to specialty shops around Melbourne.
The company says the bread is now stocked by leading supermarket chains as well as health shops following a 16-year increase in popularity.
The business had to rebuild in 2002 after fire ravaged its Dandenong factory, but lost only two days of production over 12 months.
Country Life supports the Coeliac Society and has a range of gluten-free and low glycemic index-rated breads.
Dandenong South’s Access Dinghies rounded off the nominations and was commended by chamber members for its work in making boats that boosted participation in sport sailing.
The company’s passion for easy-to-sail boats has benefited disabled people who otherwise could not sail.
Further to its nomination, Access Dinghies announced that organisers of the 2008 Beijing Paralympics chose the Dandenong South manufacturer to build the boats to be used in its sailing competition.