By CASEY NEILL
STEPHEN Murtagh has helped Dandenong’s AW Bell Machinery double its sales year on year for the past three years.
This and more saw the 34-year-old engineering manager take home this year’s Young Manufacturer of the Year award at Thursday 6 June’s Victorian Manufacturing Hall of Fame event.
“I got a bit overwhelmed actually,” he said.
“It was quite an honour. It was very exciting just to get the recognition.”
And the excitement continued, with AW Bell picking up the medium company Manufacturer of the Year title.
“I was almost just as excited for that. I don’t think any of us there on the night were completely expecting it,” he said.
“It’s recognition for the work that we’ve done, particularly in really developing a product that’s innovative and being able to export something, particularly in the climate of the economy.
“It’s been really hard for export in the past few years.
“We’ve been able to turn that around and still develop an innovative product.
“Unless we really keep producing these new machines the company will become stale because it’s not putting itself out there as an industry leader.”
And Mr Murtagh has played a big role in ensuring that innovation continues.
He’s responsible for the design, development, manufacture, sales and service of AW Bell Machinery globally.
“The products that are really selling well for us are the ones that you can’t find anywhere else in the world,” he said.
“We’ve got a niche market in that respect.”
He attended a cast expo in the USA in April.
“That was really pushing our product to a whole new industry over there,” he said.
The sandcasting industry will be AW Bell’s next step forward.
“It’s an all-new sector we haven’t really been in,” he said.
“It’s giving us a new bite at slightly different products with that sector.”
Mr Murtagh’s been with AW Bell for about 10 years.
“I feel like I’ve been around for quite a while now,” he said.
“When the design engineering position came up I was really pushing to get that job.
“It was exactly what I wanted – to be able to design machines and have a hands-on role as well.”
He’s thankful for support from chairman Geoff Bell and wife Yvonne Bell.
“The drive from them has always been to really produce innovative products, for not just our own foundry but to be able to sell those products,” Mr Murtagh said.
“Without the drive from the owners and the senior management it’s very difficult to get money for research and development and to do that research.”
At the awards Mr Bell told the audience that another AW Bell employee had previously won the same award, and left a short time after.
“Steve, you are to stay with the company,” he said.
And Mr Murtagh plans to do just that.
“I’ve got a lot of personal interest in it. The success of the business is a big reflection on personal success,” he said.
“A lot of companies you’re a very small part of a bigger picture. I feel like a big part of the big picture.”
