A chat with Craig on Brewtech’s seventh birthday
So, this month to marks seven years of Brewtech. How do you feel about birthdays?
Birthdays? Personally, I don't like birthdays. But for Brewtech I'm very proud of it. I could never imagine we would be here. If you told me three years ago that Brewtech would have a marketing department, I wouldn’t have believed you. I want to celebrate Brewtech’s Birthday because it's not just a celebration of time passing, it’s a celebration of everyone.
So, what made you want to start a company all those seven years ago?
I've always fixed coffee machines, ever since I've arrived in Australia really. I worked as a chef in England and it just wasn't appealing to come to Australia with the weather that it has, and get stuck in a kitchen all day, every day, seven days a week. So, I started working for Veneziano. I was just cleaning their coffee machines at first, and then after a while I started fixing them. After working with Veneziano, I started a couple of companies and then Brewtech was born. Basically, it's the only thing I've ever known since being in Australia, and I just love the industry.
Do you think, like being a chef where you have a signature dish, you can have a signature skill as a coffee machine technician.
I absolutely think you can have a signature skill but being multiskilled is a must. Brewtech is still very much a part of the hospitality industry, and in hospitality you must be a jack of all trades. If you're working in a cafe, you have to be a cleaner, a barista and a waitress. You have to be everything!
Totally! Did you ever imagine that Brewtech would grow into what it has become today?
Absolutely never. I saw Brewtech as a three- or four-man band servicing Melbourne and metropolitan areas with the occasional Victorian regional run. When I started Brewtech from our garage, I couldn't foresee having a cafe and a workshop, let alone having 25 people across three states and looking to expand to Tassie and Adelaide. I think our success and growth has been because of who we are not what we are.
Can you think on back pivotal events that really sent Brewtech on this trajectory of success?
Yeah! There are two forks in the road. The first fork was deciding to start Brewtech on my own with pretty much no money and the second fork was the La Marzocco relationship. When I decided to start Brewtech, I was determined to work solo, with no partners. So when I went home and said to Selena, ‘there is potential of having a business partner’, you can imagine how that went down.
It was a somewhat leap of faith, both locally and internationally. There were lots of tears and lots of crying along the way and I think that is what has made Barry and I as strong as we are today. Even internationally, I was able to share when I was upset and when I was excited and for them to listen was important to me. It took a long time to do but that made us better for it I think.
What is your proudest achievement over the last seven years?
That's a good one. I am most proud of the family and the culture we’ve built. I've always believed that it should be people first and business second. I want people to have fun. I know that work can be really stressful, and occasionally we’ll all go home thinking, ‘that was a big day’.
But if you go home thinking ‘that was a really great day’ more often than not, then we're doing something right. I really can't stress, it's people first and business second, always. My proudest achievement is continuing the small business culture as we grow.
What are you looking forward to in Brewtech’s future?
Continuing to grow and continuing to hire fantastic people. Continuing to learn off the people we hire and the people around us. I would love to see Brewtech a national company in the next few years. I would love then to look at overseas opportunities.
and is there anyone that you'd like to thank
I think that I’m responsible for bringing all these incredible people together. So, I’d like to thank myself for that.
Totally! Thanks for having a chat with me today!
No worries!
