THE SHOW GOES ON AT NORWOOD

By Adam Coyle

We caught up with Adam Coyle, Creative Manager at Norwood Industries, to understand how they have adapted to the unknowns of operating during COVID-19, what they have learnt in the process and why the horticulture industry is so special.

What has been the biggest challenges for Norwood during the pandemic?

As a business we probably didn’t appreciate how reliant we are on air freight. Removing commercial airlines has meant industry becoming over reliant on the mail man driving all those packages across the country. Freight times have been pushed out to the frustration of our customers. It’s hard when you want to do the best by them, and you can’t help. This year things have been taken outside of our control.

Everybody is tired, emotionally and physically, we’re suffering fatigue born out of the pandemic. You can visibly notice the toll it is taking on our team. Whether it’s down working from home and trying to teach their children, to not being able to see friends and family, or even the simple joys of having a coffee at the park. People are exhausted and need a holiday. Hopefully we can all have one of those soon too!

Our team have been incredible in the manner they’ve adapted to the most challenging of years. But they are human and the measures we put in place to operate in a COVID-Safe fashion meant our team was often depleted. As a business we felt a sense of duty to take all symptoms seriously to avoid any potential outbreak.

What measures have you had to adopt to tackle them?

Hard work. Every person in the business has done their upmost to be supportive and help their customers. Everybody has come together and taken it upon themselves to do the right thing. As a collective we could not be prouder of how the staff have coped and the effort they have gone to. From our COVID Safe Plan to wearing masks, using sanitiser and practising responsible social distancing. All of these contributions have kept us open, brought us together as a team and lead to a deeper connection with our clients.

How has Norwood faired overall in business terms?

Considering the unprecedented events this year we are extremely proud that we have not only been able to continue to operate and support our customers, but we’ve also kept our staff employed. We have not had to send one-person home due to the pandemic. To this end, financially we have survived in part due to forward planning and by having funds available for unforeseen circumstances.

What have you learnt that you will take with you?

We will never take for granted what an essential worker is. It felt like the luck of the draw in some cases and we could just as easily have been closed as open. We lobbied the local government state government and even the federal government to keep our doors open. I think it is this drive in the face of adversity that will stick with us.

One of the most wonderful things this whole experience has reiterated is how much our customers care about us. On the day Victoria’s restrictions were announced we had calls from customers across the country. Yes, they wanted to know whether we’d remain open, but also to make sure we were okay and that they were there if we need a chat. This goes beyond business. It shows that as an industry we really are a family, made up of family run businesses. While we may not always agree we are always there for each other.

Out of adversity comes opportunity; have you been able to identify new opportunities for Norwood?

Like many others in the industry we have observed the trend stemming from having more people at home and their gravitation towards gardening. That’s a positive and an opportunity to come out of the current situation. People all over Australia are getting into their backyards, enthused to grow plants and food.

Have you felt the boom in public demand for horticulture?

Undoubtedly! And I think everybody who reads this will attest to that fact.

Do you think this boom is temporary or long term?

I see this as a long-term trend. Travel is going to be off the agenda for a while and people will continue to seek out comfort in improving their homes and gardens.

At the beginning of the pandemic we experienced a rush of orders and were perhaps caught a little off guard. We need to start planning a little earlier to be prepared and to get our orders out more efficiently. Hopefully we won’t be working under the same restrictions either.

How would you summarise your relationship with the horticulture industry?

Horticulture is what our business is built on, it’s at the core of what we do. We have been part of the industry for a long time and it’s not just about business, we are always happy to have a chat or share some advice.

We are looking at new sustainable products to bring to market and closing the loop for polypropylene. We are always looking at avenues to steer the market in a progressive direction, after all, our success is dependent on the success of the industry.

What’s special about the horticultural industry and the people who populate it?

They are family. A lot of the growers are family run, multigenerational businesses. It’s a very tight-knit industry, and everybody knows everybody. I think that’s fairly unqiue. It hasn’t become a corporate juggernaut obsessed with the bottom line and no regard for how something is grown. I really do hope that the industry keeps that. People care about the produce and meat they consume, why shouldn’t they care about the plants and food they grow in the same way. Price shouldn’t drive us to do the right thing and I think as an industry we push as much as we can for that.

If you had 2020 all over again and you could go back and do anything differently, what would it be?

I’d have taken an overseas holiday earlier in the year!