Kanyana Engineering on a growth trajectory

Increasing their revenue with a renewed focus and by targeting the mining and defence sectors, engaging the AusIndustry Entrepreneurs’ Programme proved a crucial first step for owners Sharon and Graham Dawe. It helped to map where they wanted to go and the steps they needed to take.

The Dawes established their metal fabrication business in Mandurah in 1997 and the business has grown to be one of Western Australia’s leading sheet metal fabricators. By 2018 turnover had reached $1.5 million. But to expand the business further, the Dawes needed next-generation laser cutting technology, new markets and a plan for growth.

Sharon and her husband Graham first reached out to AusIndustry in 2018 to attract customers beyond their local region. They applied for an Entrepreneurs’ Programme Business Evaluation Service (now called the Growth Roadmap service), which provided a business facilitator for 12 months to help them on their journey.

“I do not believe we would have achieved all our goals without the Entrepreneurs’ Programme and [Facilitator] Gabor’s guidance.”

Facilitator Gabor Hernadi coached the Dawes on setting up their business for expansion. He asked them to think about where they wanted their business to be in five years and how to get there. It led to a better understanding of Kanyana’s strengths and weaknesses and a growth plan. Sharon wrote their five-year goals on her office wall.

These included increasing turnover to $6 million, buying new laser cutting technology, investing in materials requirements planning (MRP) software, moving to larger premises, securing defence work and increasing the number of employees.

They achieved all these goals within four years.

“I do not believe we would have achieved all our goals without the Entrepreneurs’ Programme and Gabor’s guidance,” Sharon says. “He spent a couple of days with us in the first month, but we then worked with him over the phone during the following 11 months.” 

Gabor also directed the Dawes toward other business support and grant programs to assist their expansion. This included a $22,000 AusIndustry Business Growth Grant to 2019 to help implement recommendations in their business evaluation.

In 2018, Kanyana Engineering had three laser cutting machines. As the first step in their growth plan, the Dawes sold two of these. They replaced them with a 10-kilowatt laser fibre cutting unit – the first of its kind in Western Australia. This one machine can do the work of four smaller machines. It has allowed the business to significantly increase its manufacturing capacity, speed and accuracy.

The next step was to ensure the business was set up to take on manufacturing work for the defence and mining sectors. The larger companies it hoped to supply required triple certification for ISO 9001 (quality management), ISO 14001 (environmental) and ISO 45001 (occupational health and safety) compliance. 

Sharon says the process of achieving ISO certification was difficult initially. But she loved the process and found it was an excellent way to document the processes they already had in place.

“We were already having management meetings before we achieved ISO certification. We were recycling. We had employed external human resource management services. So, we didn’t have to change a great deal.”

But they did need to invest in manufacturing resource planning (MRP) software to meet the needs of the mining and defence sectors. 

The Dawes received $22,000 from a state-based Local Capability Fund grant to help pay for MRP software, which cost $70,000. However, the program they initially selected quickly proved inadequate. They returned it and instead bought the leading global MRP program from Lantek Integra, worth $150,000. It took almost two years to finalise the purchase. But the new program offers seamless integration and parts tracking that Kanyana needs.

By 2020 the company had outgrown their original premises. Their four-year search for a larger premises had led them to a 4000m2 workshop, also in Mandurah, and they were now very much in need of the extra space. The new workshop is four times the size of their previous one and offered unrestricted space for laser cutting, folding, welding and fabrication services.

A dedicated fabrication takes up over half of the entire workshop. It also houses three press brakes (worth about $650,000), which fold and bend equipment.

The Dawes sold one old press brake and replaced it with a new automated press four-metre press brake for large, heavy-duty work. A $100,000 grant from the Australian Government’s Building Better Regions Fund helped to fund this new equipment.

The Dawes had improved their business operations and realised they also needed to invest outside of the business. They needed market research to better understand the defence and mining markets they wanted to target. They also needed to learn how to engage with people working in these sectors.

In 2020 the Dawes connected with another Australian Government business support program, the Centre for Defence Industry Capability (CDIC). This helped them identify and address the gaps in their knowledge of defence-related contracting. 

Sharon says they were encouraged to attend as many networking events, seminars, and Zoom webinars as possible. 

“We were well set up to take on defence work. All we needed to do was to make prime contractors – the global defence companies ­– aware of us.”

The Dawes try to attend at least one networking event each month to raise awareness of Kanyana Engineering’s capabilities. They have been picking up work from prime contractors since April 2021. Their efforts to improve the business have also led to new work for METRONET, the state government’s major public transport project in Perth. 

Since the Dawes first contacted AusIndustry in 2018, business turnover has grown from $2 million to $6 million in 2021–22. Staff numbers have increased from eight to 22, with opportunities for new recruits and leadership roles for senior staff. 

The new systems the business now has in place have also released the Dawes from day-to-day management. It enables them to take holidays while other employees step up into oversight roles. 

About Growth Services

Growth services is a collection of services under the AusIndustry Entrepreneurs’ Programme that provide you with advice and funding to grow your business and become more competitive in global markets. There are 3 Growth services:

• Growth Roadmap
• High Growth Accelerator
• SMART Projects and Supply Chains.

Each of these are broken into 2 key stages:

• facilitation stage, which connects you with a facilitator
• grant stage, to fund growth opportunities.

Your facilitator will work with you and give recommendations for your business operations and growth potential.

Growth facilitation is provided at no cost to your business. However, you'll need to invest your time to maximise your engagement. You may need to commit resources such as time and staff, depending on the nature of the project.

Read more on Growth Services and how they might help your business.