By Casey Neill
“After about 38 years in the industry I decided to try and see what I could do with myself.”
So Henry Abraham set up Mica and Insulating Supplies Co (MISCO) in Dandenong South in July last year.
He contacted local and overseas suppliers to ensure he could obtain materials, recruited staff, canvassed prospective customers and found suitable premises.
“I’ve always wanted to be in the Dandenong area because it’s the hub of manufacturing,” he said.
MISCO supplies electrical switchboard builders, motor repairers, electrical furnace manufacturers and more.
“We don’t make the switchboards, we supply the materials,” Mr Abraham said.
“We make to order, we don’t carry stock.”
He said the MISCO difference was getting back to customers quickly, supplying quality product on-time and being cost-competitive.
“We’re much more proactive to customers’ requirements,” he said.
“Every customer has different requirements.”
Mr Abraham said more orders were coming in.
“I was restricted for the first six months,” he said.
“We picked up a fair few new customers
“A fair few came to us through word of mouth.”
The non-compete clause from his previous employer finished at the start of March.
“We’ve picked up a lot of customers since,” he said.
“We’re picking up new business daily.
“All the customers are repeat-customers now.”
At the moment he has three staff members, but hopes that will grow to five in the coming weeks.
On 6 December MISCO received a Greater Dandenong Business Grant at Dandenong Civic Centre alongside four other businesses.
The grant included up to $8000 plus business mentoring and marketing valued at about $2000.
“So far we’ve used the grant for the website, some for a guard on a machine and some for promotional pens and material,” Mr Abraham said.
The Journal will profile each of the grant recipients.
