Superiority forged in hard work
SUPERIOR Steel Supplies has shown immense strength to last 26 years and counting after battling through the GFC and coming out stronger than before.
Jeff Tapsall, with wife Nicole, started the Nerang-based business in 1993 after working for more than a decade with Brisbane steel supplier Ashley Moore.
Mr Tapsall started as a storeman at Ashley Moore and worked his way up to purchasing officer.
“I learned about the industry from the bottom up,” he said.
“In the early 1990s, Nicole and I saw an opportunity to start from scratch and have a go ourselves.”
The pair started operating from premises in Nerang, now occupied by Bunnings, with $50,000 worth of steel in stock.
“We had no staff at the start, we did it all ourselves, commuting from Brisbane,” Mr Tapsall said.
“My first sale was a $10 packet of welding rods.”
Mr Tapsall said after six months they were able to put on their first employee and have now grown to 14. In 1995, a facility was opened in Jimboomba, which Mr Tapsall had Founded: 1993 by Jeff and Nicole Tapsall
Locations: Nerang and Jimboomba
Staff: 14
Business: Steel, fencing, roofing and reinforcing product supplier
identified as a growth corridor.
He said his background as a purchasing officer came in handy when making decisions on buying and selling.
“You have to buy right to sell right,” Mr Tapsall said.
“And I have always had a motto: It does not matter what a customer wants, we will go the extra mile to find it.”
He said after seven years they acquired the Ashmore Welding business from a customer and moved to purposebuilt headquarters in Nerang, with both businesses located side-by-side.
“Through hard work, we were able to build Ashmore Welding up from two staff to 13.”
Mr Tapsall said when the GFC struck in 2008, the fabrication side of the business was able to mitigate losses due to the downturn in the building sector.
“We had to diversify and move into a different field with our fabrication,” he said.
“We were successful with different projects and contracts for the mining sector, with clients including Rio Tinto.
“We learnt a lot from the GFC. We held on to all our staff and came out the other end.”
Mr Tapsall said a customercentric focus from both companies also aided the business during tough times.
He said he was positive about the future of the building sector.
“We’re seeing a very strong strike rate on our quotes,” he said.
Mr Tapsall said that was across the residential and commercial sectors.
“Our classification is highend residential – places like Sanctuary Cove, The Sovereign Islands – and all sectors of housing and medium to heavy industrial and commercial projects, whether they be shopping centres or hospitals.”
He said he saw an opportunity to branch out with other forms of fabrication, including stainless steel and aluminium.
For now, he is confident the business will continue to grow, and has one eye on the next generation – his sons Corey, 21, and Bailey, 19 – taking over in