August 2013 Business Times

BUSINESS NETWORKING: Frankston | Mornington Peninsula | Dandenong

AUGUST 2013 | $4.95 (GST INC.)

PARTNERS IN PLASTIC COMPANY PROFITS FROM OTHERS’ WASTE

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ISSUE 37 / AUGUST 2013

FRANKSTON / MORNINGTON PENINSULA / DANDENONG

TONY MURRELL KEITH PLATT MARG HARRISON DAVID HILET MELANIE LARKE SIMON BROWN Design MARLON PLATT

Publisher / Director Editorial Director Sales Director Managing Director Material production / Prepress

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Inside Clocking the tide: Keeping tabs on the rhythms of the sea.

Departments 20

Road train: Bombardier trucks a train to Adelaide.

Columns

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. corporate acquisition & sales News 4, 5 . corporate counsel Busy Bites 6, 7 services Networking snaps 8 Business Directory . business debt 23 recovery

law Networking: Ivan Misner . employment 10 Health: Mike Ellis 18 . commercial property law Markets: Richard Campbell 19 Managing: Hamish Petrie .22 franchising

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DISCLAIMER: Information in BusinessTimes contains general advice only. No article or column has been prepared taking into account any individual reader’s financial situation, investment objectives or particular needs. Readers should personally consult professionals for advice on any matter, including investment, health and the law. While all care is taken, BusinessTimes accepts no Level 3, 454 Nepean Hwy Frankston responsibility for errors or omissions in the published material.

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PEOPLE

n Bizzquiz Alan Wickes is Frankston through and through. A Frankston businessman, he played football for Frankston and Collingwood. After playing for the Magpies, Wickes returned to coach Frankston. He has headed the Frankston District Junior Football League and is currently chair of Proudly Frankston, a campaign encouraging the people of Frankston to show pride in their community. Wickes currently operates Thinking People, specialising in planning for small to medium businesses, strategic innovation and operational efficiency and effectiveness. He is a strategist for sporting leagues and clubs as well as community and public entities.

ALAN WICKES, Principal of Thinking People, consultants and advisers.

Tip for success ... understanding the performance gap in your business; a simple formula.

I am inspired by ... people who put their families and community first.

Anyone starting a business should ... have a written and measurable plan.

I’ll know I’m successful when ... people come to me for my services.

My mother and father always told me ... hard work never hurt anyone.

I wish I had ... completed my education.

I wish I had not ... ignored professional advice.

HIGH LEVEL PLANNING Approval for an 11-storey building in Nepean Highway, Frankston, and the nearby eight-storey headquarters for South East Water signal a u-turn of the city’s strategic plan.

Developers have been able to hold sway despite Frankston City Council’s long held desire for high rise inland of the highway and smaller buildings close to Kananook Creek and the beach.

A new structure plan released for comment in July will guide development over the next 20 years.

The plan provides for 17,000 new dwellings to be built by 2030 and may include 56 metre high 20storey towers in the city centre.

The $50 million 11-storey building given the green light at 446-450 Nepean Highway includes 10,534 square metres of offices, 704 sm of shops, a cafe, four two-bedroom apartments and parking for 84 cars and eight motorbikes.

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I dreamed of being ... an elite footballer.

My first paid job was ... banking.

In 10 years I will be ... still supporting the community.

Our business planning entails ... engagement with the key people in the business.

In 10 years’ time I’ll still be supporting the Frankston community.

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BusinessTimes Frankston / Mornington Peninsula / Dandenong | August 2013

MUNICIPAL BUDGETS

Councils lift rates 5.9 per cent Three south-eastern Melbourne municipalities – Mornington Peninsula, Frankston City, and Greater Dandenong – will each lift their rates by 5.9 per cent in 2013-14.

The rises outstrip last year’s increases when Mornington Peninsula’s rate went up 3.9 per cent, Frankston’s 4.6 per cent and Dandenong’s almost 5 per cent.

Frankston and Dandenong commercial and industrial properties face rates 25 to 150 per cent higher than residential properties.

Mornington Peninsula has struck a general rate covering residential, commercial and industrial property, but a higher rate for vacant land across the three property categories.

Unforeseen employee superannuation liabilities have impacted the budgets of the three councils.

They have had to use cash reserves and borrowings to pay super liability bills totalling about $27 million.

For the first time Victorian councils will be collection agents for a fire services levy previously paid by insur-

LITTLE VALUE IN RATES, SAYS REAL ESTATE AGENT Industrial property owners in Frankston City receive little value for the 25 per cent premium they pay on council rates, according to real estate agent Geoffrey Crowder.

Crowder told the annual budget meeting of council on 15 July that while money “is splashed around (central Frankston) … for the umpteenth time”, no money is allocated for the industrial area except $45,000 for a sign on EastLink. There is nothing in the fiveyear estimates either, he added.

“Businesses are doing it really tough, it’s a battle to survive, to maintain employment levels.”

Crowder said businesses in shops, offices and factories, employers of the city’s ratepayers, were paying 25 per cent on top of the general rate because council “took an easy option to pay for the ($50 million) aquatic centre”.

ance companies (details Page 21).

A peninsula ratepayer group has said the shire’s collection from ratepayers is closer to a 7.7 per cent rise taking into account the hike in the compulsory municipal charge from $160 to $180, a 12.5 per cent increase.

Mornington Peninsula Ratepayers’ and Residents’ Association describes the shire’s move as “a cunning marketing ploy” intended to mask the real increase in rates.

Frankston City’s municipal charge has risen from $126.30 to $133.75. Greater Dandenong does not impose such a charge.

Mornington Peninsula’s municipal charge is expected to yield $17.3 million.

MORNINGTON PENINSULA

Businesses are doing it really tough, it’s a battle to survive...

GEOFFREY CROWDER, Real estate agent, addressing Frankston City Council

He said the council was not prepared to increase residential rates by an average of $35 “so that everyone paid proportionately”.

[Last year Frankston extended the 25 per cent premium on the general rate paid on central Frankston commercial properties to commercial and industrial properties throughout the city.]

“They (council) decided to target our employers and justified it by saying that they had the ability to pay because rates are tax deductible for businesses.”

Crowder said if councillors were in

SHIRE’S general rate: 0.19660 cents in the $ of CIV. The rate for vacant residential, commercial and industrial property is 0.23592 cents in the dollar of CIV. FRANKSTON CITY’S residential property rate: 0.002801 cents in the $ of Capital Improved Value (CIV). Commercial and industrial properties will pay the residential rate plus 25 per cent.

GREATER DANDENONG’S residential property rate: 0.0021343 cents in the $ of CIV. Commercial and industrial properties will pay the residential rate plus 75 per cent and 150 per cent respectively.

• Councils’ budget details: P.15

any doubt about the tough times facing business, they should chat to real estate property managers about rent arrears, lock-outs, bankruptcies, unrenewed leases and closures.

“It’s the worst we have ever encountered and if the premises are vacant and can’t be let, the owner still pays council rates, land tax, insurance, security, maintenance and mortgage commitments. They can, and do, go broke.”

Crowder questioned the value of the city’s $1.8 million commitment to bicycle paths and called on council to explain any continuing liability associated with the Stevensons Rd, Cranbourne, tip legal action following a methane gas leak in 2008.

The long-time Frankston agent also claimed that council over the years had sold car parks in the CAD for about $50 million and paid off debt rather than fund replacement parking.

He estimated central Frankston today has a shortfall of 1500 spaces.

August 2013 | Frankston / Mornington Peninsula / Dandenong BusinessTimes | 5

BUSY BITES

Leases for Transfield Transfield has renewed it fiveyear leases for two depots with Mornington Peninsula Shire.

Annual rent on the depot in Watt Rd, Mornington, is $142,000 while that for the one in Pound Rd, Hastings, is $20,000.

Transfield last year won three 10-year maintenance contracts with the shire worth $192 million.

GST, fire services levy, insurance and municipal and water rates will be additional to the rents.

The latest leasing arrangement came in the same week that Transfield downgraded its profit forecast for the year to $62m-$65m and announced it would shed 113 jobs.

The company had previously estimated its yearly profit at $85m-$90m.

F-bomb dropped Frankston Council is calling its $50 million swimming pool complex the Peninsula Aquatic Recreational Centre. The more name with the acronym of PARC was adopted instead of Frankston Aquatic Recreational Centre and the more colourful FARC. The favoured title was suggested by a member of the public after consultants were paid $10,000 without coming up with an acceptable name.

Perhaps unfortunately, the reverse of PARC is CRAP.

IS THE AUSSIE LUNCH BREAK BEING EATEN AWAY? Increasing numbers of Australian workers are skipping lunch or eating at their desks and catching up on work and personal business, according to research conducted by ING Direct.

The disappearing lunch break comes as Australians admit that work and personal demands are eating into their lunch breaks.

Almost one in three of us (28 per cent) are eating at our desk; a similar proportion (33 per cent) are skipping lunch once a week and one in 10 usually work through their lunch break.

The research reveals that: • The typical Aussie lunch break is between 15 and 30 minutes • 37 per cent of us spend lunch time catching up on phone calls; 31 per cent do personal administration and 30 per cent go shopping while 24 per cent catch up on social media

• Almost one in three use their lunch break to catch up on work Health and productivity expert Andrew May believes that missing lunch or eating on the run could be having a big impact on the overall health of many Australians.

“What I find scary about this research is that many Australians aren’t even seeing the light of day during their work hours which has a detrimental impact on health, let alone productivity and managing stress,” May said. “Taking a lunch break away from your desk, even if it is only 15 to 20 minutes, is a proven way to increase productivity and decision-making throughout the afternoon.”

“On a positive note, 34 per cent of us always take a lunch break away from the desk; 36 per cent never skip lunch and 71 per cent of us are satisfied with our lunch break.”

‘LONG TIME FRIEND’ CATALANO HAS A PIECE OF RAE’S Newspaper boss Anthony Catalano extended his personal holdings in June to include a reported 50 per cent share in the exclusive Rae’s on Wategos hotel at Byron bay, in northern New South Wales (pictured).

The gleaming white Mediterranean-styled building is clearly visible from the water and has a long list of guests on its website, including stars of film (Tom Cruise, Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Meg Ryan), the rock world (Keith Richards, Pink, Led Zepplin, Cat Power), sport (Mick Doohan), models (Elle Macpherson, Megan Gale) and pure celebrity (Paris Hilton). In the same month that the Catalanoled Metro Media Publishing shut down community newspapers in Melbourne’s south-east (“Paper cuts make news in the south-east”, BT July 2013) The Australian reported he paid about $7 million for a stake in Rae’s on Wategos.

Wategos website: “Anthony Catalano long time friend and now business partner with Vincent Rae

has shown his hand by purchasing a share in iconic Byron Bay Hotel Rae’s on Wategos. Another confirmation that the hotel continues to offer the best in boutique experiences and now the two have plans to make it even better.” The website included a link to The Australian. Rae had earlier been reported as seeking $15m for the hotel and planning to retire after marrying French actress Anna Mouglalis. The marriage took place but not the sale, and now Rae and Catalano are business partners.

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6 | BusinessTimes Frankston / Mornington Peninsula / Dandenong | August 2013

TAX MYTHS EXPOSE SMALL BUSINESS TO PENALTIES: SURVEY are allowed to or else have no idea about the tax deductions they can legitimately claim for entertainment expenses.

“At some stage, most business owners have had a friend who has told them a clever way of getting more out of their expense claims, but the reality is a mistake in expense claims could add up to a big expense in the long run,” Raftery said.

“Business owners should be getting their advice from credible sources and, if in doubt, they can always ask the ATO. Contrary to popular belief, asking the ATO for clarification does not put the owner on a watch list, it only serves to ensure they don’t make a mistake in the first instance,” he said.

According to the research, small business owners aged 18 to 34 are most vulnerable to making losses and mistakes due to their lack of knowledge of their taxation rights and obligations.

Also, half of young entrepreneurs (51 per cent) are not aware that errors in their tax return are their responsibility, not their accountant’s, and half are unsure as to whether their business is susceptible to an audit by the ATO. Raftery added that nearly three-quarters of small businesses (72 per cent) incorrectly believe they can claim back taxes paid last year based on losses made this year despite this proposed legislation is yet to pass through parliament.

A few ways to avoid common tax pitfalls: • The ATO runs a free national seminar program for people who are new to business; • Speak to an accountant about the latest regulatory and legislative changes as well as the tax regulations that apply to your individual business; • Don’t assume the same rules apply to a business as to an individual; • Keep business and personal expenses separate by using a dedicated business card; and • Consider accounting software and financial products that efficiently and accurately record transactions.

Hollywood cuts to market forces Everything changes and nothing changes …

A new book The Collaboration: Hollywood’s pact with Hitler describes how studios in pre-World War 2 United States steered clear of using Jewish actors to make sure their films would be screened in Germany.

The book’s Australian author Ben Urwand says studio heads – many with Jewish backgrounds – would meet with German consular officials in the United States to ensure their films met the criteria of Hitler’s Nazi regime.

An article in this year’s April international edition of Vanity Fair states that the script of Brad Pitt’s World War Z was amended to make sure it caused no offence to Chinese authorities, thereby ensuring screening in the world’s largest market.

Paramount Pictures told Vanity Fair that the filmmakers had deleted a reference to emails being intercepted in China.

“China has become the second biggest market, and we evaluate how things play there,” Paramount Pictures vice-president Rob Moore is quoted as saying.

The moviemakers’ approach to marketing gives new meaning to the term “cultural cringe”.

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Long-held tax myths continue to plague Australian small businesses, exposing many to substantial tax penalties.

A nationwide survey by American Express of more than 1000 small business owners found that many subject themselves to substantial losses and the risk of being penalised by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO).

Adrian Raftery, taxation expert and author, said business owners, specifically younger entrepreneurs and those who work from home, risk inadvertently running foul of the ATO because they don’t understand their tax reporting obligations.

According to the research, one in two small business owners has no idea about the write-offs that home-based businesses can claim for equipment purchases, and 40 per cent are in the dark when it comes to tax-breaks for asset purchases under $6500.

Additionally, the majority (65 per cent) of small business owners mistakenly believe that businesses with a turnover greater than $50,000 are required to register for GST, despite the threshold changing to $75,000 in 2007.

“GST and registration for GST is an area that always creates confusion in small business. The rule is that businesses with a turnover greater than $75,000 must register for GST with the ATO. Businesses that fail to do so, or incorrectly register, risk being penalised for their mistake,” Raftery said.

“When operating a home-based business it is important to keep clear and separate records of expenses that relate to the running of the business, and not to confuse them with the everyday expenses related to running a household,” he added.

The research also identified that almost half (46 per cent) of small business operators incorrectly believe they can claim $300 worth of deductions without receipts.

Furthermore, 44 per cent of business owners believe they are entitled to claim more than they

August 2013 | Frankston / Mornington Peninsula / Dandenong | BusinessTimes | 7

NETWORKING

1. BNI Frankston Flyers launched with a lunch at Frankston International on 4 July. Pictured are Ismar Muratovic, of Absolute Business Brokers, and Michelle Gadwell, of bcv financial solutions.

2. Off to a flying start with the new lunchtime BNI chapter are Roland Andersen, left, of the Touch Up Guys, and Danielle and Mirza Mahic, of Mahic Painting Services.

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3. Among the 80 attending the launch of the new BNI chapter were Stevo Bezbradica, left, of Stevo Bezbradica Solicitors, accountant Jose Alguera-Lara, and solicitor Bernard Mackey.

4. Michael O’Connor, left, chimneysweep, Nicole Jones, of Live young Enterprises, and Jason Webster, of YOR Health health products.

5. Transfer Pricing Solutions hosted a seminar at Ramada Encore Dandenong on 25 June.

From left are James Sturgess, of m+k Lawyers, Robin Surtees, of Austbreck, and Nathan Sturgess.

6. Guests at the Transfer Pricing seminar are Els Heyenga, Geoff Taylor, father of Shannon Smit, director of Transfer Pricing Solutions, and Denise Honey, partner at Pitcher Partners.

7. Business Networking Mt Eliza met for its mid-year dinner at Manyung Gallery on 10 July.

From left Cheryl Cull, of Caring Hands, Jenny Ryan, and Alison Weir, of Herbaceous Flowers.

8. Mt Eliza dinner guests are Julie Quabba, of IBO with ACN, Kevin Johnstone, of Make Designs Picture Framing, and Rhonda Brooks, of Brooks and Associates, bookkeepers.

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9. Networking at the Mt Eliza dinner are Catherine Stock Haanstra, marketing consultant, Alex Stock Haanstra, Australian and New Zealand marketing manager for Karndean Design Flooring, and Caroline and Jamie Buffinton, of Aurora Creative, Mt Eliza.

10. Also at the Business Networking Mt Eliza dinner at Manyung are Martyn Ashton, sales manager of RPPFM radio, Nicole and Greg McClelland, of M.S. Planet Computer Training .

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11. Sundowners’ Networking group had its second get together at The Tasting Station, Rosebud, on 18 July. Pictured are Samantha Goss, of Energy Psychology, Dr Ron Rogers, dental surgeon of Flinders Dental, and Caroline Paulzen, of PowerCoach.

12. Sundowners’ Networking founder Mary Bruce, of Mary Bruce Organic Skin Care (centre), Bronwyn Smith, massage therapist at the new Mary Bruce clinic at McCrae (left) and Rosie Kenney, of Red Hill Gardening Society.

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13. Bartercard Mornington Peninsula was a major sponsor of the Indian and Fijian Community Dinner at Carrum Downs on 2o July. Bartercard owner Shafeek Yoosuff with his wife Sharmila Shafeek and children (from left) Shathir, Shanza and Shazfa

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NETWORKING

Tips for a business mixer Establishing a small business sometimes requires getting people to come to your “cave” to learn more about your products and services.

Throwing a business mixer is a great way to do this. Now, throwing a successful business mixer isn’t easy. However, if you remember that your primary purpose is to facilitate networking, you’ll be okay.

There are many innovative things you can do to make a mixer both fun and successful.

Here are some tips that will help you host an effective, successful business mixer: • If you have a large enough office, throw a business mixer there to get exposure for your business.

• Don’t try to distract from the purpose of the event – networking – by dominating the event with speeches or presentations • Plan the mixer no less than eight weeks in advance. Invite many guests and get people to donate door prizes.

• Allow all to bring information on their products or services. Have one or more large tables set aside with a sign for this purpose.

• Designate several visitor hosts to greet the guests as they arrive. When people start to arrive, make sure all fill out their name tags properly. Have just a few chairs available.

• Conduct a short networking exercise, such as having each guest meet three people he or she hasn’t met before, or having everyone find someone in a similar business and ask one another what their most effective networking tactics/efforts have been.

• Have a Meet Your (Business) Match

Dr lvan Misner*

Networking specialist

mixer with designated areas for specific business professions such as finance, real estate and health care. Or, have everyone pick a card with the name of one half of a famous duo out of a hat. Then, each person keeps meeting people until he or she runs into his or her “partner.”

• At the end of the mixer, spend no more than about 10 minutes doing introductions and giving door prizes.

Those tips above are easy, but there is one other tip that needs a bit more discussion: Body language can be an extremely powerful attractant or deterrent when it comes to building relationships with others.

Could you be unknowingly undermining your networking efforts through your body language? If you are planning to host a mixer at your place of business, you’d better make sure you are not doing this.

Eye contact. Are you making good eye contact throughout the conversation? Or are you looking behind the person to see who else is at the event?

Arm movement. What are your arms doing? Are they folded (“I’m bored”) or tucked behind your back (“I’m interested”)?

Positioning. Are you standing in a manner that is open and welcoming, or

MOVING TO MOBILES Close to 3.3 million Australians aged 18 and over –19 per cent of the population– were mobile-only users at the end of 2012, replacing their fixed-line home phone with a mobile. And the number taking this step continues to grow, according to Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) data to December, 2012.

A range of factors may be contributing to this shift: • Increasingly consumers can now access new, improved and affordable technology.

• Mobile networks are being upgraded to support 4G services.

• Mobile phone plans are becoming more flexible and affordable; and 10 | BusinessTimes Frankston / Mornington Peninsula / Dandenong | August 2013

blocking people out of your conversation?

Are you leaning on something, as if bored or tired? Are you unable to shake hands because you’re juggling a plateful of food?

Facial expressions. Are you smiling, or holding back a yawn? Are you showing interest? What does your face say?

People check you out visually within the first seven seconds of meeting you. With that in mind, try these two actions in the next few weeks to help ensure that you are making positive and powerful first impressions: Look in the mirror before leaving the house and ask yourself, “What message am I sending to those who are meeting me for the first time? What opinions will they have of me before I even open my mouth?”

Become more aware of your body language by getting feedback. What are you saying without speaking a word?

Before you host your own event, take someone with you to a networking function and ask them to provide honest, direct feedback on your body language.

Always remember that the primary purpose as the host of a mixer is to facilitate networking.

If you focus on that, you’ll be on track for mixer success. *Called the “father of modern networking” by CNN, Dr. Ivan Misner is a New York Times bestselling author. He is the Founder and Chairman of BNI (www.BNI.com), the world’s largest business networking organization. Dr. Misner is also the Sr. Partner for the Referral Institute (www.ReferralInstitue.com), an international referral training company.

• Converging technologies and devices allow users to access multiple communication and media services from a single device. And it is not only fixed-line home phones that are being substituted.

The number of fixed-line home internet connections being replaced by mobile connections is also growing.

ACMA has identified a number of reasons why consumers considered disconnecting their fixed-line service: • To save money. (56 per cent).

• Don’t use fixed-line much (30 per cent) • Happier with mobile service (12 per cent).

The number of mobile-only users grew by 20 per cent in the 12 months to December, 2012, consistent with growth rates in the previous two years.

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CITY EVENTS CAN INCREASE YOUR BRAND AWARENESS

Frankston City Council is providing a unique opportunity for business to benefit from the city’s marquee events. These events allow the city to showcase its local businesses, tourist attractions and facilities.

When is comes to festivals and events, Frankston City is the place to be.

Frankston has a key emphasis on holding and attracting first class events, engaging community and business while increasing visits to the Mornington Peninsula region each year. Several hundred thousand visitors attend these events annually.

Each year we see new and exciting events on the annual calendar and within the next 12 months Frankston City will again be the home to Sand Sculpting Australia Exhibition, Victorian Open Stand Up Paddle Championships, Frankston Christmas Festival of Lights, Frankston Waterfront Festival, Ironman Asia Pacific Championships, Ventana Fiesta, The BMX State Titles, Pets Day Out, the Ex-Urban Screens Digital Exhibition ... and much more.

Opportunities are now available to partner with Frankston Events and the city’s businesses are invited to have their names put under the festival spotlight.

On top of these events we can also help businesses take advantage of other big-ticket items, by providing linkages to partnership opportunities with major event organisers such as the Ironman Asia Pacific Championships and Sand Sculpting Australia exhibition.

As these events take place, our city builds, community pride grows and we are left with lasting memories, put your business in the spotlight.

How your business will benefit Marketing and sales opportunities throughout our event season will maximise your partnership with tailored packages designed to suit your business needs, including: l Presentation rights to property (dependant on level) l Logo ID on festival brochures (15,000 print run) l Logo ID in special lift out of Frankston City News (distribution 68,000) l Special feature in Business Connect Newsletter (bi-monthly to 680 businesses) l Logo ID on advertising in local newspapers (4-week campaign) l Logo ID on promotional road boards (3-week campaign) l Features in dedicated e-news bulletins to Frankston events (6000 database) l Festival Facebook page promotions l Frankston City Council (FCC) website – Festival page feature including logo ID and link to your organisation’s website l Onsite opportunities at events with signage, pop-up stores and competitions. l Invitation to Event Season sponsorship/networking function – post event l Opportunity for subsidised participation in co-operative marketing campaigns l Opportunity for your business to attend New Business Marketing and Sales seminars as part of council’s Build your Business program.

If you are looking to increase brand awareness among our large, local and loyal community, then supporting local events could provide invaluable marketing opportunities that have proven capability to increase business stimulation and perception. Council’s Economic Development team can offer a range of tailored marketing and sales opportunities throughout the event season.

Sponsor Testimonials “During the 2011 Waterfront Festival Fenix Fitness, as an organisation, achieved fantastic success over the two-day event. Both our fitness clubs located in the peninsula region received more than 900 inquiries throughout the weekend as well as a great weekend of brand awareness within our local community. It was a well planned, executed event which we would love to be involved with in the coming years.”

- Andy Chamoun, Regional Manager, Fenix Fitness.

“Over the past two years, Channel Nine News became an Official Media Partner of Frankston City’s Major Event Season, supporting Frankston Christmas Festival of Lights, Frankston Waterfront Festival and the Mad Hatters Tea Party. These events provided Nine News exposure to the loyal community that attend events each year while supporting Frankston City Council with promotion through social media and news crosses. The attendance at these events provided us with the opportunity to engage with Nine News followers by offering interactive promotions at each event.

The events are run in a professional manner and we look forward to strengthening our partnership with the Frankston community and Frankston City Council in the coming year.”

- Jordie Browne, Marketing Assistant, Nine Network.

For more information about Frankston Events and opportunities to partner contact

Frankston City Council Economic Development Department email: frankstonevents@frankston.vic.gov.au Phone: 1300 322 322

August 2013 | Frankston / Mornington Peninsula / Dandenong BusinessTimes | 11

FEATURE: RECYCLING FOR PROFIT

M

Replas

PARTNERS IN PLASTICS

ark Jacobsen has found that it’s impossible to keep up with demand for bollards. These are not your average wooden fixtures found at the end of a timber pier or on a street corner. They are made from recycled plastic, resistant to the sea and termites guaranteed to last at least 50 years.

“We just can’t make enough of them,” says Jacobsen.

Bollards can be square, round or something in between, capped with stainless steel and pre-drilled for adding chains or steel mesh.

While they might be big business for Replas (an estimated 30 per cent of its production), they are far from being the company’s only longlasting outdoor product.

Replas was formed with the amalgamation of Australian Recycling Technologies (ART) and Repeat Plastics, companies which were separately developing the technology to recycle waste plastic. One company was concentrating on industrial waste while the other sought its raw material from councils’ domestic kerbside collections.

Along with big name recycling partners, Replas benefits from the feel-good effect: people, companies and politicians all like to think their recycling efforts benefit the environment.

“Ours is a business, it’s not the environment. But three in 10 people wear green hats, it used to be one in 10,” says Jacobsen, the company’s sales and marketing director Entering the Replas centre in Carrum Downs is a bit like visiting Santa. A winding path made of recycled plastic leads past photographs and images showing the benefits of recycling waste plastic. There are

BY KEITH PLATT plenty of plastic bags hanging around to show the basic, easily identifiable recycling material. There are also shots illustrating how Replas helps reduce waste from the medical industry as well as references to the partnerships the company has formed with such well-known brands as Coles and the Red Cycle program that encourages returning packaging to the place of purchase.

The tunnel (Replas employees have stopped referring to it as the ghost tunnel so as not to frighten youngsters) is an educational adventure leading to a small screening room and a bigger, brighter space fitted out with examples of outdoor furniture, stairs, footpaths and, of course, bollards.

There’s no way the usefulness of recycling can be missed.

Six years ago Jacobsen, a contract sales agent for Replas, “traded-in” his company for a 20 per cent share and a directorship.

Replas has now bought back licences it issued to agents in Queensland and New South Wales, although the licencing system still operates in South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania and New Zealand. The licences were issued when the market for Replas products was not large enough to warrant a stand alone marketing department and at least local agents “had got the heartbeat right”.

Times changed and Replas decided to bring the bigger states under its direct control. Over the past decade turnover has grown from $1 million a year to $9 million.

“The bottom line got better with reduced costs and a change of

12 | BusinessTimes Frankston / Mornington Peninsula / Dandenong | August 2013

‘ Being adaptable is the key to success’

ABOVE: Mark Jacobsen, sales and marketing director of Carrum Downs based plastic recycler Replas.

ABOVE LEFT: Replas sign and products.

management style.” Jacobsen says sales are driven by SEO (search engine optimisation), business connections and with a technologically advanced mobile sales force.

“We don’t sell, we show what solutions we have,” he says.

A blog attached to the Replas website is regularly updated and there is an emailed newsletter. The company is on Twitter and Facebook. Replas representatives are regulars at networking meetings and often invited to speak at seminars.

“We shut an office near the airport and put the rep on the road. The only measure of activity is appointments. Our action plan is consultation with the client.”

A close watch is kept on traffic and responses to the company’s online sites and social media with Google Analytics.

“You can’t manage what you can’t measure,” Jacobsen says.

The big swing to the internet came four years ago when a “whiz kid” friend of Jacobsen’s on leave from one of the big four banks was looking for a “holiday project”. A new website was developed, with Jacobsen bringing in his daughter Rebecca Pottinger to learn the finer points of running the site. Hyperlinks guide potential clients to product videos.

“Attachments [to emails] are dead, especially with councils whose IT departments block large incoming emails,” Jacobsen says.

“Our website contains everything, 50 videos, a blog; if everything is measured, managed and accountable sales will come.”

Replas is one of three companies in the world that can mix polymers in the recycling process, a technology that Jacobsen says “was hard to build, with many lessons having to be learned”.

In response to calls from overseas about its processing methods, Replas is planning on franchising turnkey recycling plants in Europe.

“Anyone can recycle, but they can’t all make good products,” Jacobsen says. “Overseas is our future. The technology we use is simple – we pour plastic into moulds whereas they extrude.

“Our technology got really smart and robots have taken care of the labour problems. We’re not worried about China anymore.”

Most of the company’s 60 staff is involved in manufacturing. There are six in marketing; 15-20 sales; 12 in fabrication.

There are two Replas sites at Carrum Downs (head office and fabrication), research and development is at Lilydale and production at Ballarat.

“We have no overdrafts, own all our properties and machinery, much of which is secret.”

Jacobsen said that he and his two fellow directors – Russell Muller and Mark Yates – believed being adaptable was the key to success.

Hit hard by the carbon tax because of their power-hungry processing system, they adjusted through “better efficiencies, which made us more competitive in the marketplace”.

The 20-50 per cent rise in power costs was offset to some degree by a drop in the price of raw materials when China stopped importing used plastic. While this led to the collapse of some Australian exporters it was “great for us – we’re being offered more [plastic] than we can use”.

Jacobsen says Replas has been “approached for takeover, but we’re still getting our efficiencies right”.

“You should always work to your potential.”

August 2013 | Frankston / Mornington Peninsula / Dandenong BusinessTimes | 13

HOME BUSINESS

Harnessing time and tide Grahame Tiplady in the process of constructing his tide clocks (left) and holding the finished product.

TONY DUBOUDIN*

Time and tide wait for no man so they say. Well, tides have been good to Grahame Tiplady. He has been producing custom-made tide clocks from his Somers home for nearly 15 years.

The association with the sea and tides is appropriate for a man who grew up in West Kirkby on the opposite bank of the river Mersey to Liverpool. Once one of the largest ports in England, West Kirby was the arrival point for many Irish migrants to Britain as well as a major port of departure for those seeking a new life in Australia.

Tiplady came to Australia in 1982 and had a career in the heating control industry, ending up as Australasian sales manager for a company making gas controllers for wall furnaces and space heaters.

The idea for making tide clocks came from a friend and Tiplady set about

designing his own and established Ocean Clocks to manufacture and market them.

He says success has come from his ability to design and produce clock faces with a range of backgrounds and his own method of creating the faces with all the information in an easy to read form.

Tiplady can also use customer-supplied artwork for the backgrounds.

The most popular options include a nautical chart of the east coast of the United States for American customers and Victorian coastal waters. He can also incorporate club badges or company logos as part of the clock face, making them suitable for corporate gifts and clubs.

The tide clocks are made for all the ports on the east coast of the US as well as major ports in Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland, New Zealand and Great Britain.

Tiplady steers clear of Western Australia and South Australia because of the difficulty of coping with areas that have up to four tides a day. He calculates the local tide movements and the differences between major and minor ports. The times are displayed around the blue high tide sections of the clock face.

The clocks come in three face sizes – 116mm, 100mm and 80mm – in traditional porthole design in either brass or chrome.

Matching barometers are available in either finish or size. The quartz movements are imported from Japan and the brass and chrome cases from Taiwan.

Each clock has an extra hand. The tide hand is set on a particular port and once that has been done high tide at a range of other ports can be read off the clock face.

When starting Ocean Clocks Tiplady downloaded information from the internet and then took two years to load it into his computer and organise it into usable form.

“The US business was thriving until the global financial crisis, but since then it has been slow.

“I’m hoping that it will pick up now things are looking up,” Tiplady said.

He has sold more than 1000 clocks and barometers to wholesalers and directly through mail order.

“Coming into to Christmas is the best time for me. One year I moved more than 60 in the lead up to the holiday break,” he said.

The clocks sell for between $250 and $300 and Tiplady prefers direct sales to maximise his profit margin. Contact Grahame Tiplady at grahame@oceanclocks.com or www.ocean-clocks.com *Tony Duboudin is a freelance journalist.

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MUNICIPAL RATES

MORNINGTON PENINSULA Mornington Peninsula Shire Council will collect $131.7 million from rates and charges this financial year as it lifts property rates by 5.9 per cent Rate charges will help finance capital works, infrastructure renewal, loan repayments and running costs. Owners of vacant residential, commercial and industrial land will pay the higher rate of 0.23592 cents.

Council will borrow $11.865m to finance its staff superannuation fund liability as well as capital works, mainly to accelerate its Pavilion Upgrade Strategy.

The municipal charge has been increased $20 to $180 and the optional charge for a 240-litre green waste bin is $130.

The recurringly problematic Southern Peninsula Aquatic Centre project has almost dropped off the shire’s budgetary radar. The only action mentioned was “timely reports to council as required”.

Council’s operating result is a budgeted deficit of $5.681m, expected to be fully offset by raising $5.4 million from asset sales, primarily land, plus projects for which funding has been received in previous years.

Employee costs are budgeted at $60.7 million, about $3.2 million more than last year. The increase is due to the impact of council’s enterprise bargaining agreement (EBA) increment of 3.9 per cent and an increase in the superannuation guarantee from 9 per cent to 9.25 per cent. The budget allows for 666.40 full-time equivalent staff, a fraction less than last year.

FRANKSTON CITY Frankston City’s rate rate increase will help fund a $62 million capital works program this financial year.

The 2013-14 budget is based on an average increase of 5.9 per cent, including a 3.8 per cent rate increase for loan borrowings.

The council is set to borrow $29.8 million, mainly for the city’s $50 million Peninsula Regional Aquatic Centre.

The $7 million funding call from the Local Government Sectors Defined Benefit Superannuation Scheme was a major financial challenge, according to city CEO Dennis Hovenden. The call was made last August and the $7 million was payable on

Artists’ impression of the Dandenong Municipal Building, now under construction.

1 July, this year. Provision was made in last year’s budget report of $6.50 million and in March council decided to draw down on cash reserves of $6.92 million directed to an early payment which resulted in savings of $131,000.

In the 2013/14 budget, cash reserves will be stumped up from proposed short term loan borrowings.

The council has dropped its 100 per cent general rate surcharge on poker machine venues following advice from the state government.

Issues having “a significant impact” on council’s financial position this year include: • Loan borrowing for the aquatic centre, the superannuation liability payment and other capital works projects pushing up the rate increase by 3.8 per cent.

• $1.2 million for costs in 2012/13 and a budgeted $500,000 in 2013/14 for the Stevenson’s Rd, Cranbourne, landfill legal action.

• $1.2 million for set up costs associated with the aquatic centre in 2013/14.

• $1.63 million for the state government imposed landfill levy.

• $460,000 included in waste charges budget for the Federal Government-imposed Carbon Tax Scheme.

GREATER DANDENONG Greater Dandenong Council will collect $87.86 million rate revenue in 2013-14 with just over half coming from commercial and industrial properties.

Rates will fund $23.5 million of the city’s $38.3 million capital works program, the biggest spend being $16.2 million to finish the Municipal Building.

Renewal of aging assets, including roads and footpaths, will cost $13.9 million, reduced this year The waste charge will drop from $230

to $ 225.70 while the state landfill levy will rise from $ 31.20 to $ 33.80 Council is still reducing an unexpected $10.5 million staff superannuation liability dating from August last year.

It is financing the unfunded shortfall in staff super benefits using a combination of cash reserves ($5.5 million paid last December), plus a once-off drop in asset renewal ($2.2 million) and a $1.8 million loan this financial year.

Dandenong’s commercial and industrial properties are rated above the residential rate by 75 per cent and 150 per cent respectively.

The city’s 50,660 residential assessments are expected to yield $41.2 million while rates on 5489 industrial properties will raise $35.1 million. The 3191 commercial properties are being charged almost $10.1 million.

Council’s borrowing in 2013-14 will be $6.7 million, including $4.9 million for works associated with the Municipal Building and $1.8 million in short term borrowings to part fund the superannuation liability. Council will repay $4 million in loans during 2013-14; Chief executive John Bennie said the 2013-14 budget “has been particularly challenging for council … balancing competing needs for maintaining service levels to the community and without compromising the quality of our assets while keeping rate increases to a minimum despite a number of external non-controllable costs which continue to place pressure on council’s expenditure”.

He said these pressures included the defined benefits superannuation call, the increase of the EPA Victoria landfill levy and the estimated increases in council insurance costs and the new Fire Services Property Levy.

August 2013 | Frankston / Mornington Peninsula / Dandenong BusinessTimes | 15

We’re on our way ...

THE IMPORTANCE OF EFFICIENCY IAN STEWART*

Business efficiency sounds boring when compared to innovation, growth, brand strategy, or human capital but it may be the ingredient that actually allows a business to thrive in tough times.

An efficient business will: • improve margins; • be resilient to price competition; • spend resources on innovation, growth, brand, and people; • have greater flexibility and choice; • gain support of key stakeholders such as financiers and customers; and • build capital value because it has know-how that everyone else An efficient business wants. model will identify and Business efficiency doesn’t deal with risks that necessarily equal cost cutting: a business that pursues efficiency will could undermine it, already have cut away unnecessary including volume risks cost layers and may even spend and variable costs. more to achieve its goal. Efficient spending has as its purpose the building of long-term competitiveness rather than sacrificing longer term relationships or investment to achieve short term objectives. This is particularly appropriate where a business is poised on the brink of failure. If the business has the capacity to grow and possesses a long term vision, then cost cutting for the sake of it can be very damaging.

Achieving efficiency in times of volatility can be difficult. An efficient business model will identify and deal with risks that could undermine it, including volume risks and variable costs.

The key to making a business efficient is information - where you are today and what progress is being made to achieve goals, both financially based and quantitative data information resulting from the productive process. Readily and economically available business intelligence tools will assist in reporting this information with appropriate regularity and speed - critical to shortening the time taken to for a business to become efficient.

to help you achieve your business goals.

Some of our experts Professional solutions for the South East

Pitcher Partners, a leading Melbourne accounting, audit and advisory firm, has been helping businesses like yours for more than 20 years.

*Ian Stewart is a business efficiency expert with Pitcher Partners.

And soon, we will be opening an office in the South East Region to provide practical business advice and professional solutions in a location that’s convenient to you.

WHEN IS A RELATIONSHIP DE-FACTO? TANYA THISTLETON*

For more information contact David Knowles or Vicki Macdermid on

(03) 8610 5000

Level 1, 80 Monash Drive, Dandenong South Vic 3175

Independent Member of Baker Tilly International

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www.pitcher.com.au/southeast

Boy meets girl. Boy and girl fall in love and begin a relationship. Sounds simple so far does it not? Boy and girl keep separate homes, but do spend a lot of time together. One day, years later, boy leaves girl and devastated girl goes to the Family Court for property settlement. Unfortunately, boy now says we were never in a de-facto relationship, it was merely an affair.

The Family Law Act provides some guidance as to what constitutes a de-facto relationship, but it is open to interpretation and each case will be decided on its facts and merit.

Thus, just because a couple was not living together does not automatically mean there was no de-facto relationship. On the contrary, with a shared residence being only one of the facts the

16 | BusinessTimes Frankston / Mornington Peninsula / Dandenong | August 2013

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

court takes into account. When working out if there was a de-facto relationship the court will look at the duration of the relationship, the nature and extent of common residence, whether or not a sexual relationship existed and the degree of financial dependence, to name but a few. The public aspect of the relationship is another important factor for the court.

If the two of you kept the relationship secret and never (or rarely) socialised together with family and mutual friends, kept separate residences and separate finances, it is unlikely that there was a de-facto relationship. To avoid doubt you may think about registering the relationship or - being old-fashioned - get married.

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Accountants and advisors Pitcher Partners will officially open their new offices at 80 Monash Drive, Dandenong South, on 8 August. Managing partner John Brazzale (left) is pictured with Vicki Macdermid and David Knowles.

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*Tanya Thistleton is employed by White Cleland and practises mainly in Family Law. She is the author of Just and Equitable, a novel of lust, love and family Law. Tanya has written extensively about family law in Australia and overseas.

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Deliver August 2013 | Frankston / Mornington Peninsula / Dandenong BusinessTimes | 17

HEALTH

It’s time we had that talk I’ve been writing this column for three years and we still haven’t had that chat about your liver. It’s time.

This has been an oversight on my part Michael Ellis* because no aspect of our being cops as Chinese Herbalist much punishment or is responsible for more ill health than this low profile, low Why is there such much maintenance but most underestimated and essential of organs. It’s a daunting subject existential frustration to condense into 700 words, but I’ll give it in the West? a fly. First some quick directions: your liver is in the upper abdomen, tucked in behind your ribs on the right-hand side there. ingest, the more strain for the liver. I’m Directly above it are the heart and lungs. thinking here of everything from recreGo ahead and feel it. Using your right ational drugs like alcohol and pharmaceuhand, curl your fingers up underneath ticals of all descriptions to less recognised your right-side ribs at the front, and you dietary toxins (like sugar, arguably). will come in direct contact with it. If this However, Chinese medicine asserts that area feels overly tight, resistant or uncomeven these are relatively minor stressors fortable, you have a level of liver stress. compared with emotional factors.

Welcome to everybody’s world!

We think of the liver primarily as the The liver is a remarkably resilient organ, body’s regulating or co-ordinating organ. but no organ is as compromised by the Its job is to ensure the smooth movement Western lifestyle. It bears the brunt of everyof fluid, blood, food and “qi” through the thing: stress, drugs, diet – the lot. system, and to regulate all the other organs.

Actually, the liver stressors are pretty Of all the body’s systems, the liver is the much in that order: emotions, then drugs one most influenced by emotional stress, (of all kinds), then diet. and by stress I mostly mean frustration and Those who paid attention in biology class anger. Why is there so much existential will remember that the liver is the body’s frustration in the West? I’d need another chemical laboratory. Defined in 50 words column to explore that answer, but in or less, it handles the nutrients absorbed short, look at our lifestyles and our expecfrom the gut, it removes toxins from the tations, and the great extent to which our blood, and manufactures proteins and other desires are thwarted. substances including bile, which is needed Chinese medicine understands that in the gut to digest fats and is dispensed via anger and frustration, if unresolved for any the gallbladder. period of time, binds up and constrains  It follows that the more toxins – that   liver function, thus producing a flow-on  is, substances damaging to the body – we effect through the entire body. 

 

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    

 This is Your Opportunity 



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After 28 years internationally and 15 years in Australia BNI is the world’s  most successful Referral Organisation.   Members in this region reported over $9 Million in generated business  from BNI last year.

We build referral networks around your business and you benefit with  long  term referral partners that lead to business and profit growth.   Why not attend a meeting your local area where you can meet and  connect with other local business and see what opportunities await you  and your business.   For your nearest group see our website or call 9782 0555

 18 | BusinessTimes Frankston / Mornington Peninsula / Dandenong | August 2013  

That effect is seen in physical symptoms of lack of “flow”. So food no longer moves smoothly through the gut and instead we start to suffer bloating, gas, reflux, colicky pain, irregular bowel motions – that sort of thing. Blood no longer moves smoothly and regularly, so women start to suffer irregular periods, clotting in the menstrual blood, cramping pain, and other “hormonal” complaints.

Fluids no longer move smoothly so we start getting symptoms of fluid retention (familiar to a lot of women around the period, an event under the direct influence of the liver). And because our liver function (qi) is constrained we feel tense, not to mention impatient, sceptical, given to sarcasm, sensitive to criticism and quick to react angrily. The other consequence of this over-stimulated but “stuck” liver is that eventually it begins to overheat.

Then not only do we have symptoms of constraint affecting various body systems, but the heat being generated in our strained, malfunctioning liver starts to play havoc with the body parts directly above it – lungs, heart, head, even the right shoulder.

Many symptoms and illnesses are now possible, depending on your constitution. For example, heat rises directly into the lung system, scorching the fluids of the airways, throat and sinuses, irritating fine membranes, producing phlegm and disturbing lung and thyroid gland function.

The combination of liver constraint and heat easily affects the heart, driving up blood pressure and disturbing sleep; and it affects the head, causing flushing, redness of the neck and face, headaches in the temples or behind the eyes – those sorts of things.

Pondering this, you can begin to understand how Chinese medicine wants to characterise Western defined ailments ranging from hyperthyroid disorder to menopausal hot flushes, to chronic sinus congestion and migraine headaches as firstly involving primarily a stressed liver, and beyond that as having emotional disturbances at their root.

What then is the remedy? Relax more?

Simplify my existence? Reduce my frustrations? Forgive enemies? Let go of resentments? Do more exercise? Quit alcohol?

Coffee? Take responsibility for my own health? Answer: (j) all of the above. * Michael Ellis is a registered Chinese herbalist in Mt Eliza. Visit www.mtelizaherbal.com

MARKETS

Dyesol: joining the first eleven Our overpaid and under-performing national cricket team is not a bad metaphor for the Australian economy. We were pretty good in our time, but now look over-rated, spoilt and disorganised.

Richard Campbell* Stock Analyst

lurches from issue to issue and then there’s the Newcrest debacle. It wrote down $6 billion to cover the perennially difficult Lihir Mine. Don’t mention the mining services companies. Did no one tell them that China’s 40,000 bank auditors were gobsmacked to discover last year how much money has been either looted, wasted on over-capacity or still stands frozen in hundreds of half finished office towers? It is easy to be an armchair nark, but in all the cases above the issues were either obvious from the outset, or well known to management, recurring or found in five minutes on Google. In the case of Masters it might have been a bright idea to feminise hardware and add more whitegoods to the offer, but echoing stores surely call for a quick management response. Aren’t there already 200 Bunnings stores? The pain of course is suffered by shareholders more than management as even when shown the door, they leave with generous entitlements and carefully crafted references.

But there is always a case for the corporate Ashton Agars. Young and inexperienced maybe, but they hold promise of big scores.

Take the remarkable solar R &D company Dyesol. It has big partners in Corus (the former British Steel), Pilkington Glass, and Tasnee, a petro chemical and engineering company spun out of the world’s richest

* Richard Campbell is Executive Director of Peninsula Capital Management, Tel. 9642 0545. rcampbell@peninsulacapitalmanagement.com.au

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True, there are glimmers of hope down the batting order, but there’s much work to be done. In the corporate world the wickets are certainly tumbling. Orica’s guidance of a profit fall looks like just the beginning of another batch of write downs for its mining services businesses. Two were bought for $1.5 billion in 2006. Now valued in the books at half that, there are more writedowns as global metallurgical and thermal coal prices fall. (China can’t produce half the world’s steel forever). Then there’s Treasury Estates, the collection of wine businesses which include the US based Beringer. It cost $2.5 billion in 2000. This year it will be lucky to make $10m. The write-downs will be $160m with $35m of plonk poured down the drain. Woolworths also stumbled. Start up losses were expected in its Masters chain, but not 80 per cent higher than guidance.

One well regarded analyst expects losses of up to $700m over the next three years. A miss is understandable in any large enterprise, but for a retailer with decades of experience in specialty chains, let alone groceries and fresh food, it was passing strange that the CEO recently confessed to not understanding the market, getting the product mix wrong and to a confusion about seasons.

With some of the lines coming from the 30 per cent partner, the US based Lowe’s, someone didn’t realise our Christmas fell in summer. This was not your flipper, not your wrong’un: this was a ball bowled under arm by Nanna. We could go on. Leighton

company, Saudi Aramco. Dyesol is working to create new business for these groups. It will supply them with very thin solar cells which can be applied like polythene sheets to roofs, glass curtain walls and facades.

By definition there is no capital required for land and the power demand is right there on the spot. The building envelopes will incorporate dye solar cells in attractive colours that will generate power when needed – across daylight hours. Contrary to what might be assumed, solar energy is less dependent on “volume” as in brightness than on frequency. Some frequencies offer more energy than others. This means dull or shaded light yields similar energy as full sun – much like a leaf. The angle of sunlight is no handicap either but it greatly affects the hour by hour profile of silicon panels. Dyesol is now achieving 15 per cent efficiency in a solid state cell with cost likely to be under 10 cents a kwh due to the combination of frequency selection and its low cost manufacturing - a form of printing. The power from these cells is unlikely to be connected to drive trains and trams, but does offer power on site where needed. Now that building codes are changing to mandate energy neutral buildings, the market is large and expanding.

The next step is a supply deal from Corus or Pilkington. Timing is uncertain, but months not years. There is clearly risk in supporting new technologies, especially in such a packed field like solar with literally hundreds of variants, but in this case some careful investigation of the market and the concept may prove worthwhile.

August 2013 | Frankston / Mornington Peninsula / Dandenong BusinessTimes | 19

NEWS

Road train to Adelaide

Road transport was used to carry the first of 22 trains made in Dandenong to Adelaide.

The A-City is based on the award-winning VLocity design and uses energy efficient Bombardier Flexx Metro 3001 bogies from Savli, India, and the Bombardier Mitrac propulsion system from Vasteras, Sweden.

Bombardier says the new train is the first Australian built train designed to meet “the latest European norms for crashworthiness and structural integrity”.

“In addition, the A-City will also meet stringent international fire safety standards, making this among one of the safest passenger rail vehicles in operation in Australia,” the company stated in a new release. Ongoing maintenance of the fleet is also contracted to Bombardier and the trains are expected to be in service “after rigorous safety and on-track testing”.

Bombardier’s headquarters are in Montreal, Canada, and its shares (BBD) traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange. In the financial year ended 31 December 2012, the company posted revenues of $16.8 billion.

BOND ISSUE PROPOSAL FOR COUNCIL BORROWINGS Mornington Peninsula Shire is considering joining other councils in a bond issue to finance borrowings, mainly to cover its Local Authorities Superannuation funding liability.

Twenty seven municipalities, including Mornington Peninsula, have collectively bargained a $232 million loan from the Commonwealth Bank with interest only payments over 12 months. During this loan term councils will consider a permanent funding structure, a bond issue being one of the options.

The shire’s variable rate for its $11.865m loan is 3.52 per cent.

The loan will cover a $10.865m employee superannuation liability and $1m for its deferred Pavilion Upgrade Strategy. The new borrowing arrangement will potentially save $67,000 that could be used for further liability reduction.

Council had to act fast to take up the loan offer, adopting its annual budget on 15 July and drawing down on the loan before 25 July. The collective bargaining strategy was fashioned after the Defined Benefit Superannuation Taskforce recommended that the Municipal Association of Victoria examine a joint tender to access debt for councils.

20 | BusinessTimes Frankston / Mornington Peninsula / Dandenong | August 2013

FIRE SERVICES LEVY NOW A UNIVERSAL PROPERTY TAX

Metropolitan Fire Brigade and Country Fire Authority areas, recognising different costs associated with funding each service; The state government will continue to make a direct contribution to fund the fire services. A fixed charge of $100 for residential and $200 for non-residential properties will apply as well as a variable cost.

The variable cost is calculated depending on the type of property, its capital improved value (CIV) and which fire service covers the area where the property stands.

The CFA variable rates (cents per $1000 of capital improved value) are: • Residential 11.5 • Commercial 109.2 • Industrial 170.9

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Victoria’s Fire Services Levy was removed from insurance premiums on 1 July and will instead be collected through council rates.

All property owners will now contribute to funding Victoria’s fire services, not just those with insurance.

The change was recommended by the Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission.

Every Victorian property owner will contribute through council rates, or in the case of non-rateable properties, through a separate notice.

The levy will be based on the capital improved value of a property and GST and stamp duty have been dropped. New concessions are available to holders of an eligible pensioner concession card or Department of Veterans Affairs gold card (TPI).

The levy rate will vary for residential, industrial, commercial and primary production (farms) properties.

Separate levies will be charged in the

The MFB variable rates (cents per $1000 of capital improved value) are: • Residential 6.9 • Commercial 60.7 • Industrial 95.0 A commercial property in a CFA area like Dandenong, Frankston and the Mornington Peninsula valued at $1.3 million would pay the fixed charge of $200 plus the variable rate of $1419.60 ($1,300,000 x 0.1092 per cent), a total of $1619.60.

An industrial property of the same value in a CFA area would pay $2421 ($200 fixed charge plus $2221, calculated by multiplying $1,300,00 x the variable rate of 170.9 cents per $1000 of value).

An industrial property of the same value in an MFB area would pay $1435. To protect consumers during the transition, and make sure insurers genuinely pass on savings, the Fire Services Levy Monitor has been established.

The monitor can investigate complaints about insurance companies. For more information about the Monitor visit firelevymonitor.vic.gov.au or call 1300 300 635.

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August 2013 | Frankston / Mornington Peninsula / Dandenong BusinessTimes | 21

MANAGING

Creating cost leadership

All business owners and managers understand that high costs will kill their profit margin and potentially kill their business.

What can be challenging is to understand how to analyse costs using a strategic review process and to develop a clear understanding of the value that each product creates both in the market and in the bottom line.

Many businesses leaders like to look at the numbers and work closely with their accountants to try to develop a model of their business from a financial perspective.

While this can help, it must be done within the context of the business strategy. For example, if your business competes on the basis of product quality and service, that is product differentiation, then an excessive focus on cost may lead to inappropriate decisions. Clearly, at the other end of scale, if you compete largely on the strategy of price leadership, then cost of your product is paramount. So, the first step is to always make sure that you start by ensuring that the importance of costs is clearly derived from your strategy.

Before starting to review your product costs, you should also confirm what your business offers to customers to ensure that they keep coming back. Repeat business is the cornerstone of long term success and it is sometimes tempting for a business to change or delete a product with high costs when it may be an important generator of customer value. If you start your cost review with these two key factors – strategy and customer value - clearly defined, then you are unlikely to make cost driven decisions that will harm your business.

There are many drivers of costs, including some that are in your control and others that are outside your control. Understanding this for each of your products is important so that you can determine what scope you have to really change the cost base of each specific product. If the costs that are outside your control are substantial, then you can do sensitivity analyses for the drivers of these costs and determine how you can best react when they change. For example, many businesses have substantial exposure to currency exchange rates and, no one can forecast how that will change, so you can only preplan your best tactics to handle your business when they do change.

Remember, too, that it is not just the cost

Hamish Petrie*

Business Consultant

Cost leadership can be achieved when you have reduced your costs to the extent that they are lower than your specific competitors. of your products when they are first ready for sale, but the total cost including any spoilage or wastage that may occur later in the process. These factors can often make a huge difference if the sales products then have to be sold off at substantial discount or completely wasted.

When examining costs, it is important to include the time value of money that is tied up in the supply chain from the time that you first take possession of the raw materials until you receive the money from their sale. Sometimes, the cost of this working capital can be unclear, particularly if you have not analysed it, and set some controls around its management. Time is also important in other ways. Fast moving products generally accumulate less cost, and slow moving products can build costs that eat away at your profit margin. Being able to collect the data necessary for this analysis can often be difficult, depending on your information system’s ability to track individual products. Larger businesses often have sophisticated computer systems to track the movement of products and to calculate stock turnover and efficiency data.

With the progressive lowering of the cost of computer technology and the increase in availability of computer applications, these systems are more available to small business today than ever before.

In many businesses, the cost of people

22 | BusinessTimes Frankston / Mornington Peninsula / Dandenong | August 2013

can be critical and it is often the largest single cost component. While it is tempting to focus on just reducing your people cost by reducing the number of people, it is also important to understand that they are your greatest tool to help identify cost reduction opportunities. If you can create a culture where people are always alert to spot the initiation of costs, then you can harness this people power to reduce costs and improve work efficiencies. Creating a climate of cost reduction through the use of both financial and non-financial incentives is a topic in its own right, but the major driver is the behavior of the business leader, who can throw a constructive cost-focused shadow over the entire business.

Cost leadership can be achieved when you have reduced your costs to the extent that they are lower than your specific competitors. Once you can achieve this state, then you can decide how to benefit from the hard work required to achieve and sustain it. It can become a powerful tool that can allow you to expand your business so that you gain the added benefit of a larger scale of operation.

Finally, a focus on costs can often lead you to reevaluate your strategy as it can often show you how to adapt your product range towards the more profitable products.

This ability to adapt products based on sound cost analysis is critical to the creation of long-term success.

Action Planning Questions: 1. Have you clarified your business strategy and customer value equation before starting a product cost analysis?

2. What are the major cost drivers that are out of your control and what are your tactics to change your business when they change?

3. Do you have an information system that will allow you to understand the impact of time on your product cost structure?

4. Have you established a climate of cost reduction within your people?

5. Can you clarify how to adapt your product range to be able to create a more profitable business? *Hamish Petrie had a 37-year corporate career including 25 with Alcoa Inc. His latest position was VP People and Communications for the Global Alcoa Corporation based in New York.

He can be contacted at hamish@nitroworld.net or on 0404345103. Š Hamish Petrie 2013 s s

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TO FIND OuT WHAT ELSE A TELSTrA DIGITAL buSINESS PACKAGE CAN DO FOr YOu CALL uS OuT ON 1300 (1300DIGITAL 692 874) Or VISITPACKAGE uS AT ATCAN OurDONEW TO FIND WHATMYbuSINESS ELSE A TELSTrA buSINESS FOrDEDICATED YOu THINGSbuSINESS YOU NEED TO KNOW: Our FairPlay policy applies. Digital Business is only available in locations where an ADSL2+ broadband service of sufficient quality to support a digital voice service is available. Availability depends on a number of CENTrE LOCATION 7/1 MOrNINGTON TYAbb rOAD MOrNINGTON CALLtheuS ONof cable 1300 (1300 692 of874) Ortelephone VISIT service uS AT AT Our NEW DEDICATED factors, including length to theMYbuSINESS nearest telephone exchange, the quality the existing and whether the nearest exchange has enough ADSL2+ capacity. Standard Australian numbers excludes some use; such as calls to Sensis 1234, 12234 and 12455; third party content calls; Iterra calls; calls to radio paging; calls to Optus MobileSat; calls to InfoCall 190, 19xx and 12xx, 13 (including 1300 and 1345 numbers) and 1900 numbers The components of your are traderOAD marks andMOrNINGTON registered trade marks of Telstra Corporation Limited ABN 33 051 775 556.

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THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW: Our FairPlay policy applies. Digital Business is only available in locations where an ADSL2+ broadband service of sufficient quality to support a digital voice service is available. Availability depends on a number of factors, including the length of cable to the nearest telephone exchange, the quality of the existing telephone service and whether the nearest exchange has enough ADSL2+ capacity. Standard Australian numbers excludes some use; such as calls to Sensis 1234, 12234 and 12455; third party content calls; Iterra calls; calls to radio paging; calls to Optus MobileSat; calls to InfoCall 190, 19xx and 12xx, 13 (including 1300 and 1345 numbers) and 1900 numbers The components of your TM and ® are THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW: Ouron FairPlay policy applies. is onlyallowances. available in locations where anmarks ADSL2+ broadband service of sufficient quality to supportLimited a digitalABN voice is 556. available. Availability depends on a number of trade and registered trade marks of Telstra Corporation 33service 051 775 Digital Business service must be the same account forDigital you to Business share included factors, including the length of cable to the nearest telephone exchange, the quality of the existing telephone service and whether the nearest exchange has enough ADSL2+ capacity. Standard Australian numbers excludes some use; such as calls to Sensis 1234, 12234 and 12455; third party content calls; Iterra calls; calls to radio paging; calls to Optus MobileSat; calls to InfoCall 190, 19xx and 12xx, 13 (including 1300 and 1345 numbers) and 1900 numbers The components of your Digital Business service must be on the same account for you to share included allowances. TM and ® are trade marks and registered trade marks of Telstra Corporation Limited ABN 33 051 775 556.