2006 Rising Stars Winners

Ian Massara, Managing Director

Australian Mine Services was established in 2003 by welding engineer Ian Massara and his partner Julie Smith-Massara. Operating in a traditional and highly competitive industry sector, Ian and Julie have identified a specialist niche. They focus on the fabrication and maintenance of heavy earthmoving and fixed plant equipment and are now poised to expand into the east coast.

AMS has grown rapidly from a standing start three years ago to having a budgeted turnover of $20 million and 120 staff this financial year.

Ned Montarello, Managing Director & CEO

ThinkSmart was established by Ned Montarello in 1996 and is widely regarded as the pioneer of a new industry. ThinkSmart does what banks and traditional financiers have been unable to do – process high volumes of low value transactions quickly and profitably. ThinkSmart’s mix of financial savvy and new technology to re-engineer the credit approval process for small loans has resulted in a highly successful formula.

In 2003 the business expanded into Europe where it operates through the SmartPlan brand. The groups offshore now account for about 65% of revenue which increased from $22.3 million in '04/05 to $29 million in '05/06, with projection to $41 million in the current financial year.

John Pirie, Chief Executive Officer

National Lifestyle Villages, was established in 1999 after company founder John Wood developed a new concept in ‘retirement’ living. The popularity of NLV’s residential communities is based on their ability to offer affordable, secure accommodation combined with the lifestyle attractions of a holiday resort.
 
And it’s working!    In the last 3 years, NLV’s turnover has grown from $18.4 million to $34 million and looks set to achieve $73 million in the current financial year. Following the completion of the sixth village approved for Rockingham and three other villages currently in the planning process, NLV will accommodate 2,775 households or about 4,400 people.

 
Sten Campbell, Managing Director

Established in 1984 and acquired by the current owners, Sten and Rita Campbell in 1992, Designtec’s growth story commenced 5 years ago following the resignation of the original Directors. At that time, Sten and Rita Campbell made a commitment to build a world-class, manufacturing facility for office furniture in Perth.
 
Growing from a $2.6 million turnover and 16 staff in ‘03/04 to $5.1 million and 28 staff in ‘05/06, Designtec is now entering its next stage of development with relocation to a new, state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Wangara.

Matthew Sullivan, Managing Director

IT services firm, L7 Solutions was established by Chief Executive Matt Sullivan and started trading in 2004. In just 30 months staffing levels increased from two to 43 employees and turnover is expected to reach $11.9 million in the current financial year.

L7 specialises in core infastructure IT and advisory services.

Lou DiVirgilio, Managing Director

Established in 1994, DVG Automotive Group has grown to become one of Perth’s largest automotive dealers. It is owned and managed by 7 brothers, the DiVirgilios, with each of the 5 major dealerships in the metropolitan area managed by one of the brothers, with the oldest brother Lou acting as Group Managing Director.
DVG’s turnover has grown from $179.3 million in ‘03/04 to $251.4 million in ‘05/06. DVG currently has 300 staff. Turnover is expected to reach $285 million in the current financial year.

John Irwin, General Manager

Formed in 1995, Footwear Industries began manufacturing safety footwear under the Steel Blue brand from a small factory in Bassendean. With no customers and no orders and in an industry that was renowned for cheap products, they aimed to produce the world’s most comfortable safety boot. And they did!
 
Steel Blue now sells almost 800,000 pairs of boots per year. Turnover has grown by more than 60% from $19.9 million to $32.4 million in the 3 years since 2004.

Terry Iannello, Tony Iannello and Sam Cinalli, Founders

From humble beginnings in 1982, the TCC Group has expanded from a home office employing 4 people to become a leader in the corrosion control and scaffolding industry. It now resides on 9.9 hectares of land in Kwinana and employs over 600 people.

In the last three years, turnover has increased by more than 50%, growing from $61 million to $93 million. TCC is now expanding its operations into the eastern states, with operations in Victoria and Queensland.

 

Kylie Radford and Richard Poulson, Founders
 
Morrison was formed the day its two founders, Kylie and Richard walked along Fremantle’s Market Street and had a vision that pulled together three fundamental principals, a good idea, astute management and location. Today, that vision is a chain of highly successful fashion stores in WA and NSW with operations extending into Queensland, Singapore and New Zealand.
 
Turnover has increased more than 185% in the last 3 years from $2 million to $5.7 million, with staff numbers increasing from 10 to 25 during the same time.

Nathan Harman, Managing Director

Formed by Nathan Harman in August 2003, ZettaServe specialises in niche areas of desktop management, software packaging and wide area networking.
ZettaServe’s turnover has grown from $300,000 in ‘03/04 to $3.9 million in 05/06, with growth to $9 million forecast for the current financial year. In the same period, ZettaServe has grown from five employees to 40.