From left, Matt Nettleton, Lauren Wade and Aaron Stokes were the three panellists at the SEMMA Lunch with the (clever) Winners this week. 53131
By Bridget Cook
GREATER Dandenong worker Matt Nettleton made a risky offer when he moved to Australia from Canada in 2006. While completing his Enterprise Development course in Canada, Mr Nettleton met the owner of Corex Plastics, Dandenong.
“When he returned to Australia, I emailed him saying ‘can I come over and work with your company for three months, and if I don’t add value to your business in those three months, I’ll pay you back everything you have payed me’,” Mr Nettleton said.
“I got an email back saying ‘I love your attitude, we’d love to have to you’.”
Mr Nettleton didn’t have to pay back anything, he improved the company’s productivity by 50 per cent and lead times by 30 per cent. He is now the continuous improvement manager at Corex and this year became a finalist in the Victorian Manufacturing Hall of Fame – Young Manufacturer. This was one of the inspirational stories told at the SEMMA Lunch with the (clever) Winners held on Tuesday at Sandown Racecourse.
The lunch involved MC James Sturgess asking the three panellists, Mr Nettleton, Lauren Wade from Sign-A-Rama and Aaron Stokes from Icon Plastics, questions about their journey to success.
The event was popular with school groups, with Year 10 and VCE students packing the room.
Mr Stokes, 23, told the group how his “hard work” paid off. Mr Stokes started working at Icon Plastics as a casual while completing a full time Advanced Diploma in International Trade and Marketing.
“I was at work at 6am for a few hours, then I’d go off to TAFE, then back to work after and would finally get home about 8 at night,” he said. “But it all paid off.”
