Comace Case Study
For over 29 years Comace has provided high quality commercial construction, joinery and maintenance services from their St Marys premises.
Formerly known as The Woodworks, Comace and its 26 staff have completed thousands of fit-outs, renovations and maintenance projects for clients across the commercial, retail and institutional markets.
Comace performs ongoing construction and maintenance with Woolworths, Coles, K-Mart, Westfield and Centro and its joinery division regularly services major construction companies including Hansen Yuncken, Badge Construction and SJ Weir.
Comace was the first company in South Australia and the second nationally to achieve accreditation from the Australian Shop and Office Fitting Industry Association.
Key issue
Managing sales and human resources
Comace has faced several challenges in growing their business including managing sales and employment growth, looking at ways to ensure a quality end product whilst reducing production costs as well as successfully developing new products and integrating process introduction.
Comace approached Innovate SA when applying for the Innovate SA administered Small Business Development Grant to help fund additional plant and woodworking machinery.
Key outcomes
Advisory services and increased capacity
A review of the existing machining capacity was completed with Innovate SA making several recommendations to increase the throughput and encourage Comace to purchase additional auxiliary equipment.
As part of Innovate SA’s advisory services, Comace has embraced lean manufacturing processes and also received assistance in achieving its various certifications including AS4801 and ISO 9001.
As part of the targeted training and mentoring provided through Innovate SA, Comace has completed several programs including Strategic Sales & Marketing for CEOs and Strategic Finance.
Comace also participates in a number of leadership programs as a direct result of their interaction with Innovate SA.
Through the Enterprise Connect Review, Comace has assessed the effectiveness of its manufacturing procedures and systems and has implemented benchmarking tools.
Feedback
“I’ve been in business for nearly 30 years and the service Innovate SA provides has allowed us to ‘get back to basics’ and help us grow.
“We have been able to identify the company’s strengths and weaknesses, assess where we are now, where we want to be and how we’re going to get there.
“The staff and advisors at Innovate SA are brilliant and are never more than a phone call away."