Factory still perfect fit for blind makers
HAVING a bricks and mortar showroom and factory will continue to separate Geelong blind and awning maker Brax Window Treatments from the pack, despite ending a link to Newtown dating back to the middle of last century.
The second generation family company is set to close its Pakington St showroom as it consolidates the business in South Geelong.
In a crowded market where other players are increasingly going mobile, Brax is sticking to its roots as a manufacturer, offering clients the reassurance of dealing with a company that has a permanent base, retains control of its product and employs a local workforce.
Owners Cal and David Stewart, who have stepped back from day-to-day operations, are reconfiguring Brax’s Balliang St base to bring everything under one roof and to offer a new showroom and outdoor display area on site.
Ms Stewart said that after weighing up the options, the decision to consolidate was in the best long-term interests of the business and its future as a manufacturer.
“We are a little bit sentimental about the manufacturing side of the business, but it gives us control,” she said.
“If we started buying everything in, you lose control of your turnaround times and what your product is like.”
Not having to rely on external suppliers also creates the flexibility to manage workflow and to prioritise jobs when needed.
The Stewarts have also restructured the business, installing a management team led by long-time company accountant Ian Maxwell. The business has 22 staff.
Ms Stewart said the business had been based in Pakington St since the 1950s with her father-in-law, Allan Stewart, opening the showroom there in the ’60s.
But passing foot traffic in Pakington St is now not the target for Brax with business mostly done in people’s homes after initial inquiries via the phone or internet.
“When people want to see what they are getting, they come to the showroom,” Ms Stewart said.
Brax’s reconfiguration of the Balliang St site, which has been its manufacturing home for 20 years, is under way with the new showroom due to be open by early June.