Seeley International, Australia’s largest air conditioning manufacturer and market leader in the design and manufacture of ducted and portable heating and cooling products, has used a win for the revolutionary Braemar SuperStealth in the 2016 Australian Business Awards to urge manufacturers to commit to an ongoing program of innovation if they want to remain competitive.
The company’s Founder and Executive Chairman, Mr Frank Seeley AM said Australian businesses need to take greater risks and place far greater emphasis on innovation to stay ahead of the pack in today’s harsh market environment.
“Australians have had a reputation for thinking outside the square, but that now seems to have faded over time. If we want to see our manufacturing sector survive and flourish then we need to re-grasp our Aussie ingenuity and start setting the pace in what is now a highly competitive global environment,” Mr Seeley said.
“We need to remember the basics of what has made our nation great. We need to embrace the notion of being a bush mechanic that has to think outside the square to get lasting results. We need to be less risk adverse and more willing to have a crack at something, and learn more from failure rather than success,” he said.
He said the company’s win in the 2016 Australian Business Award for its energy-efficient Braemar SuperStealth cooler demonstrates that achieving the impossible “needs a mindset that embraces challenge and change”.
“If I had listened to those who told me that a great idea could never become a reality then I probably would never have started in business. Instead, I have surrounded myself with people who also embrace innovation and are the best in the business – and our Australian Business Awards win reinforces that great things can be achieved when an Australian company is committed to innovation as a base standard,” Mr Seeley said.
“In reality, this isn’t just a win for Seeley International. It’s a win for Australian manufacturers. It’s a win for every entrepreneur and innovator who starts the day wanting to make a difference and refusing to accept the status quo.”
He said that because Australian companies work in high-cost production environment, they have to “innovate like there is no tomorrow”, use world class technology and have the highest levels of automation in their production processes.
“Seeley International is living proof that there can be a bright future for the Australian manufacturing industry – and I challenge Australian businesses to consider whether they could be doing more across these critical areas instead of waiting for better economic conditions,” Mr Seeley added.
The prestigious award win for the Braemar SuperStealth comes after its recent victory in the 2016 Good Design Awards, where it was crowned as a Good Design® Selection winner in the Product Design category (Domestic appliances) in recognition of its reduced energy usage, noise and impact on the environment.
