Quality and thumbs the perfect mix
THERE are two things that are immediately apparent from speaking to Germancraft’s owner Tony Grannall.
The first is Tony is not German. In fact he resembles your stereotypical Australian biker more than anything,
The second is his deep-rooted love and passion for Australian manufacturing going back to 1969 when he started as an apprentice cabinet-maker with Parker Furniture.
“It was brilliant, fabulous,” he said.
“It was a really good culture with a focus on quality. We used to import our own timber. It was a magnificent place.”
Twenty-one years later Tony took the lessons from Parker Furniture and set up his own business after moving to the Gold Coast with his family.
He worked a number of jobs in between leaving Parker and moving to the Coast, including managing joinery and caravan manufacturing businesses.
However, after arriving he found there weren’t any roles available.
“There was no work for a bloke like myself and it soon became apparent I needed to start out and do something.
“I had been running businesses for other people and thought, I’ll give it a crack myself.”
His timing was not the best as towards the end of 1990 Australia entered a recession, which lasted until the September quarter of 1991. “Probably you could say that was a bad time to start a business but I took the view that if you can make it in this climate you can make it any time.”
Tony found an empty unit on Lawrence Drive in Nerang and soon moved in.
“The cabinet-maker that had gone bust had a big yellow pages ad with a phone number so I, like a ferret, shot straight in, got the lease and the phone number, and that is where the work came from.”
There were plenty of angry calls from dudded customers but also others from people looking for a cabinet-maker.
Tony said he also endeavoured to rectify incomplete work left by the former tenant at no cost.
“In 99 per cent of cases we fixed the work at no charge and I gave them my card and said: maybe you can refer us to other customers.”
Word of mouth spread and after 18 months Germancraft had expanded to a 800 sqm purpose-built facility in Molendinar. Tony credits the success of the company to a religious-like zeal for custom, handmade quality.
Germancraft uses Blum imported from Germany for its hardware and Laminex for its timber panels.
Indeed, the name Germancraft was chosen because Tony sees “German” as being synonymous with quality.
“Everybody asks me why I called it Germancraft,” he said.
“We all relate to German quality and there is no better engineering or technology than the Germans have.”
Tony said the focus on quality and craftsmanship created a point of difference, especially in the company’s early years.
The business today operates from 2000 sqm in Arundel, where it was the first to build in a new estate in Newheath Drive.
Tony said he could not have achieved the success he has reached without a solid grounding from mentors at Parker Furniture. He wants to pass on the same love for the craft to his own apprentices.
“We have forgotten our manufacturing base in Australia,” he said. “One of the workers I started out with told me, people have been made with thumbs for one reason and that is to make things. Not to push buttons.”