Business Micros completed its first software installation in Australia at the end of 2008 and has since been monitoring the fenestration market there to identify any further opportunities in a region …
Business Micros completed its first software installation in Australia at the end of 2008 and has since been monitoring the fenestration market there to identify any further opportunities in a region where PVC-U accounts for only 2% of window and door sales. In May this year, Nick Bailey, overseas development manager at Business Micros, visited that first customer in Perth to provide follow up support and updates, exploiting the opportunity to evaluate the potential now for Business Micros in Australia. Nick says: Aluminium certainly dominates the market in Australia, but there is now a growing band of ambitious, entrepreneurial individuals who are promoting PVC-U and are starting to have some success. Some of the major systems companies are very active as well as some big name machinery and hardware suppliers so it is the obvious next step for us as the leading software supplier to also become involved. At this stage, most of the fabrication businesses are quite small scale, perhaps only producing 50 windows per week, but there is a growing momentum which we are in an excellent position to take advantage of. A number of the people I met were ex-pats from the UK who had been manufacturing windows over here and are now using their extensive knowledge and experience to help grow the market in Australia. There is also a growing awareness of the benefits of energy efficient windows and the aesthetics and costs of PVC-U which is translating into increased enquiries and sales. During his visit to Australia, Bailey also carried out a number of installations of the Business Micros Evolution manufacturing software in Perth, Melbourne, Brisbane, as well as remotely for a customer in the Philippines. Many of these customers knew about Business Micros from their knowledge of the UK market, while others had found out by recommendations from machinery and profile suppliers. It was surprising to see that some fabricators were using machinery without software, whilst others were operating much less efficiently than we generally see in the UK. For example, I visited factories where they were not batching jobs, not fully utilizing off-cuts and holding lots of excess stock, said Bailey. The Evolution software we have installed will make a dramatic difference to them and will certainly give them the right platform from which to expand. Certainly, Duo Glass who were our original customer in Perth, have advanced considerably in the 18 months since we installed their Evolution package and have been able to increase both their efficiency and output per man. Business Micros will continue its efforts in the Australian market, also developing customized versions of its software for Australian profile datasets, as well as setting up a new company Business Micros (Asia) Ltd, with its own dedicated office. Nick adds: The real expansion in the PVC-U market in Australia will only come when the businesses become more automated and are able to upscale their production. We have the commitment and resources to support that programme and we intend to strengthen our relationships both with these existing customers and with new fabricators as they come on board. According to Business Micros, the company has the capacity and expertise to overcome the logistical issues for Business Micros in terms of supporting customers in a different time zone, partly via the NetViewer software which allows its support team to access customers“ software remotely to install upgrades or solve technical problems. Bailey adds: Evolution is obviously just the beginning for many of these fabricators. As the market evolves, we can install our EvoSatellite and EvoCite packages which enable installers to place and track orders on line and our EvoNet management package to advance the running of their businesses. Business Micros has established itself as the leading software supplier in the UK PVC-U market, and we intend to do the same down under. Business Micros already has customers using its software in the US and across Europe and says that its plans in Australia are part of an overall strategy to expand to other international fenestration markets.
