Best in business

By Lia Bichel
HOW are David Beckham, Elton John and the Queen linked to Dandenong business? The three stars all ate cakes created by the chef of Complete Wedding Cakes – which was one of the latest inductees of the Premier Regional Business Awards.
Last week, CW Cakes made the list of worthy nominees along with muesli and snack bar guru Popina Food Services and superior water pump specialists Techsys Corporation Pty Ltd.
The trio has developed products which have shot them to success.
CW Cakes has been running for 30 years, but has gone through a significant transformation in the past three years under the reign of new owner Helen Baihelfer.
Ms Baihelfer, who always had an interest in decorating cakes, took over the business with support from her husband, after her youngest child approached school age.
The business excels in three parts – store sales, made to order cakes, and classes, which has grown from about 15 students a week to 170 students a week in the past three years.
Ms Bailhelfer said she hoped to expand CW Cakes to locations in Melbourne, and eventually throughout Victoria.
Also proving itself as a leader in its industry is Popina Food Services. Co-founder and managing director Arnold May grew the business from having one customer to thousands since the 1980s.
Today, it remains in the same industry as those early days and is predominantly a manufacturer of muesli-based cereals and muesli bars. It moved to Dandenong South in 2006, where it occupies a 10,500 square metre facility.
While Popina Foods is prospering in a number of ways, the company intends to create more products using BARLEYmax and to add further products under its Goodness Superfoods brand.
BARLEYmax is a unique type of barley with enhanced nutritional benefits developed by the CSIRO as part of its ongoing grains research program.
The company views exceeding $50 million in turnover as a reality in the near future.
The last of the three inductees, Techsys Corporation Pty Ltd, has also proved itself as a worthy nominee.
The company began in the 1990s, and was focussed on supplying control systems for the pump industry. This remains the key focus. The company’s managing director, Wayne Archard bought out his colleague and his brother-in-law Peter Sutherland has become part of the team as general manager.
The staff are a specialist team with a combined industry experience of over 50 years in the field of pumping and water distribution.
Techysys Pty Ltd moved to Dandenong in 2002 and has now grown to 14 employees with a turnover in the multi-millions of dollars.
Sharing the spotlight was Victoria Caskie who was named Youth Enterprise Nominee.
Water Minister Tom Holding also attended the event.
He spoke about the advances, socially and industrially, the City of Greater Dandenong had made in the last decade.
The winners of the Premier Regional Business Awards will be named at a Gala Dinner on 16 March.