SPECIAL FEATURE--------- Colin Edwards Collision Repairer_50yrs_Jun 2018.pdf · 26–SPECIAL FEATURE – COLIN EDWARDS Over the years they brought many new and innovative products

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WE MET WITH COLIN EDWARDS, FOUNDER AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OF THE GPI GROUP OF COMPANIES,AS HE CELEBRATES HIS GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY IN THE AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY.

Colin Edwards Trailblazing for 50 years

The National Collision Repairer satdown with Colin in 2008 when GPIcelebrated its 30th anniversary. Beforewe catch up on Colin’s past ten years,let’s review his first 40 years in theautomotive industry.

The early yearsColin was born in Sydney and his firstjob was a “travelling salesman” in themenswear industry, selling men’s tiesand cufflinks, calling on menswearstores across NSW and Queensland. “I have some really special memoriesof those days, including driving fromSydney to Cairns on multipleoccasions and calling on customers all the way up the eastern seaboard.

I built strong business relationshipsand many friendships along the way.”Colin moved to Melbourne in 1965 toopen a new office for the company.

In 1968 he joined General PaperIndustries’ automotive division, and so began his love of the industry. Histhen wife was the daughter of thepatriarch of the Smorgon family andthey were shareholders in GeneralPaper Industries, which sold cartonsmanufactured by General Paper Millsand, by natural extension, a range of packagingtape. The refinishindustry wasa large userof masking

tapes and the company saw theopportunity to expand their small automotivebusiness by selling masking tapedirect to the end-user. “I was given the job of managing thedivision and we started out with ex-PMG Commer vans; as we grew, we replaced the vans with largertrucks as the product range increasedand built up to a national fleet of 15 trucks. This was the first major

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van-selling operation to the panel beating trade in Australia.”

Colin still remembers those dayfondly as customers were more loyaland sales people could rely on regularorders from a regular call cycle.However, today he sees decisionsmade to save a few dollars all toooften, which is not always in the bestinterest of the customer. “In thosedays, I would go wherever wasnecessary to replace a driver onholidays or train new sales people.This was the beginning of my career inthe automotive industry.”

Then came the first of the manychallenges that Colin faced along theway. In 1975 he and his then wife wenttheir separate ways and at the end of1976 the Australian dollar collapsed. As an importer competing with localmanufacturers, he knew the businesswould be in trouble. General PaperIndustries decided to close the doorson the automotive division andthroughout 1977 the business began towind down. Although Colin entertainedthe prospect of continuing his careerwith Carborundum, it was not to be.

At the beginning of 1978, as thecompany was in its last stages, hemade an offer to take over theautomotive division on a walk-in walk-out basis. “The deal basically cleanedme out. All that was left of thebusiness was a lease on a 3,000 sq.ftfactory in Sunshine, a body fillermanufacturing machine, a truck andsome sewing machines to make buffpads. I cashed in my super, which was$5,000, and that is how I started GPIAutomotive Products.”

In the early days, there was onlyColin, a woman sewing buff pads andanother woman spending half hertime on office work and the other halflabelling cans and cleaning buff pads –that was the extent of the operation. “I used to make the body filler atweekends and evenings, cut up thesheepskins to make the buff pads andthen go out and sell the product rangeduring the week.”

Colin made a strategic decision to move away from selling to the enduser and focus on the wholesalemarket and after his first year, his latefather-in-law guaranteed him at the

bank for $20,000. “I learnt a lessonvery early in the wholesale businesswhen I concentrated too much of thebusiness with a major distributor whosubsequently reneged on ourarrangement. We steered clear of‘exclusive’ arrangements for manyyears after that experience.”

ExpansionTo grow the business, Colin knew heneeded the input of others so, in 1982,he employed Kevin Veal as asalesperson. Kevin had been a vansalesperson with General PaperIndustries and was keen to come back.GPI’s first company vehicle was an ex-Avis Falcon station wagon bought atauction and the business just took off.

After Kevin joined the business,there were not too many more changes

at Sunshine other than internal staff.Colin taught someone to make bodyfiller and brought someone else in tocut sheepskins. This allowed him to getout and sell more, enlarge the productrange and expand the customer base. “I used to travel Australia with twolarge suitcases of samples and take theorders – a well-trodden path for me,although now it was my own business.Initially, I focused on Sydney andBrisbane and then expanded to thewhole of Australia.” GPI opened its firstinterstate warehouse in Brisbane,although now it has a presence in every state capital.

Always looking for new ways ofdoing things, Colin noted that in theearly days everyone was usingnewspaper to mask; GPI was the firstto put brown paper rolls in the vans.

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The original GPI factory in Sunshine.

GPI’s current head office in Mulgrave.

The National Collision Repairer – 2 5

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Over the years they brought manynew and innovative products tomarket, the biggest being maskingplastic in the early nineties. Today,plastic film is just the way it’s done.

In the ongoing quest for new andinnovative products, Colin turned hisattention to international suppliers inthe early eighties with his first visit toNACE and Automechanika. This hasbecome an annual quest, as have Colin’svisits to the Taiwan market. Over theyears, global suppliers such as Gerson,Tetrosyl, Loy, Dominion and Eezer cameon board and as the demand grew, sodid the company, which in turn led toeven greater growth. “I remember myaccountant in the mid-eighties lookingat the business and telling me that wewould never get any bigger than a $4million turnover as we would not beable to finance it. Well, we are nowmany multiples of that.”

As the business grew, so did thedemands for warehouse space and, on hisbank manager’s advice, Colin bought his firstfactory in West Heidelberg in 1985,subsequently leasing the adjoining fourbuildings as the business continued to grow.In 1992, an opportunity arose to buy a large factory in Mulgrave which, at the time,was too large but seemed the right thing todo. It is now the GPI Group head office.

DiversificationWith the introduction of speedcameras, roundabouts and greaterspeed controls in the late eighties, Colin

undertook a strategic review of thebusiness as many of these safetyinitiatives were likely to have adetrimental effect on the business.With GPI being so reliant on therefinishing industry and the never-ending pressure to finance the growth,Colin started to think about broadeningthe base of the company to establish asustainable growth model.

“This approach was taught to meby my then father-in-law, VictorSmorgon, who believed in broadeningthe scope of products in your portfoliofor several reasons: always competewith those with 100 percent marketshare as they are unlikely to responduntil they have lost significant share;diversification gives you a variety ofopportunities to achieve budgets andtarget, thus preventing the month-enddiscount approach to achieve sales

rather than profit target. This alsogives you some protection as youspread the risk over different productsand market segments. Gross margin iswhat matters, not just sales. Smorgonalways measured his business onprofit rather than focusing on growthfor growth sake.”

Whilst developing hisdiversification strategy, Colin wasapproached by a neighbouringbusinessman in Heidelberg who wasselling his engineering business for$50,000 on a walk-in walk-out outbasis. The business manufactured andsold bunks for caravans and a varietyof sporting equipment. This encountercoincided with one of Colin’s regulartrips to Taiwan when he came acrossan opportunity in exercise bikes. Colinimmediately saw the synergies withthe engineering business inHeidelberg. “I placed an initial orderfor 50 units at $19.50 per unit, whichwas really the start of the sports andfitness business. We set up separatedivisions for the sports and fitness andengineering businesses, employed a manager to run each business andthey both took off. Now we import at least 10 containers a month oftreadmills, exercise bikes, home gymsand all sorts of fitness equipment.”

GPI also diversified into bicycles,initially with two divisions, Repco andMalvern Star. When they got involvedwith Pacific Dunlop, one of theirmanagers was being made redundant

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Colin with Kevin Veal.

and approached Colin to see if hewould be interested in getting involvedwith push bikes. He subsequentlyjoined the business, and this hasproven to be very successful for thecompany as they now have direct salespeople in Brisbane, Sydney, Adelaideand Melbourne handling the full rangeof Cheetah bicycles, which has grownto 45 models, Flite helmets and a fullrange of bicycle accessories. Thatdivision is now further diversifying intoscooters, mobility scooters for the

elderly and golf carts.Colin also reflects on the time

when GPI started a menswearbusiness and registered the nameDaintree to sell business shirts, sportsshirts and knitwear to menswearstores. “The idea was solid, but themenswear stores took too long to paytheir bills.” This led to a businessselling corporate embroidered shirtsand GPI took over three corporatebusinesses dealing in promotional andlogoed product ranges and brought

them under their umbrella. “I then sawan ad for a company that was makingand wholesaling school wear and theyalso had their own screen-printingoperation, so we bought that. At thesame time, the Daintree businessbecame too difficult, so we decided to concentrate on the corporate sideof the business, now having our ownscreen-printing operation and theschool wear business.”

GPI then took over the Simpsonsports clothing brand, whichspecialised in tennis wear and startedto import tennis and squash racquetsfrom Taiwan. However, after two yearsthat agency was relinquished. “We thenbought two companies, for stock value,that were retailers of school wear withseven retail shops! I have subsequentlysold all of them, but I did have visionsof setting up a school wear supplybusiness for the whole of Australia. Theonly reason that did not eventuate isthat I could not allocate enough of myown time to it.” It is apparent thatwhatever business GPI has been in overthe years, there have been numerous

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Colin loves interaction with his customers.

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opportunities. Colin has been adept atidentifying them and has been braveenough to take his chances.

“Although GPI began as anautomotive-only business, ourdiversification strategy has led to us nowhaving eight divisions across quitedifferent markets. Automotive is nowapproximately 35 percent of the groupand even today is still the largest division.”

The past ten yearsWhen we asked Colin about thechallenges of the past ten years, hedraws an interesting comparison withGPI’s formative years. “In the earlieryears, the business faced the challengesof growth and financing that growth,worrying about banks and othercreditors, receivables, bills due and so on.However, we always treated our bankmanagers as partners in the business andkept them well informed. No one likessurprises and we call this ‘expectationmanagement’. Things are quite differentnow that we are running a cash-positivebusiness, which we have achieved

through strong margin management.”One of Colin’s challenges is still to

be able to recognise opportunities andbe brave enough to “take the punt”and have a positive, can-do attitude.“Having the right mindset is a criticalaspect in business, and in life ingeneral.” This is really how GPI endedup in the fitness business – Colin sawthe opportunity and “backed himself”– and now they have a multi-million-dollar fitness business unit. Althoughthe journey was a lot less smooth, itwas a similar story with their entryinto the corporate clothing business,which started as a menswear businessand morphed into a business with a more focused market segment.“Sometimes you don’t get it quiteright, but we were always braveenough to try different things.”

The group has increased its staffnumbers by over 50 percent in thepast ten years, growing from 124 to 194fulltime employees. The majority ofthis has come from acquisitive growth.“We took a majority share in the Apollo

bicycle company, which representsalmost half of the headcount growth,and a more recent acquisition of abicycle store added another 10 staff.”The business also continues to groworganically, but it is through acquisitionthat it takes the quantum leaps. “Weactually operate 14 warehouses, someof which we own, and again this is areflection of the growth of thebusiness. We always look for a balancebetween investing in property andleasing premises and we always look to reinvest our money in the businessto support the business.”

In 2013, after 45 years in theindustry, Colin was nominated for a National Collision Repairer LifetimeAchievement Award. He was voted in by his peers and was subsequentlyinducted at the awards ceremony inMelbourne. I had the privilege of being aguest on that day and I can honestly say,even then he was NOT lost for words!

Reflecting on the Group today,Colin reiterates the importance offocusing on margin management and

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not just price. “We have gross margintargets and will only go to the marketfor price if we see these marginsunder pressure. We can always justifythis, and our distributors trust us.” Asan importer-wholesaler, one of thebiggest single factors impacting GPI iscurrency, although the business hasevolved to take forward cover andhedge against this risk, to some extent.“Every morning, the first thing I do ischeck the exchange rates as we aretransferring money virtually every day.”

Colin shows his soft-spot for theautomotive division – which is notsurprising as this is where it all began.

Over a 50-year period that started in1968, the automotive business hasgrown every year, which is quiteremarkable notwithstanding thebusiness cycles and some challengingeconomic times. “We have expandedour product range, focused on abetter-quality mix and now haveapproximately 5,000 SKUs [stockkeeping units] in the automotive

business, up from roughly 3,000 SKUswhen we spoke with David in 2008.”

Defining the GPI Automotivebusiness today, Colin reiterates one of hismantras: “Philosophically, we sellproducts that are used yesterday, todayand tomorrow. We don’t sell equipmentor paint – we sell consumables, and ourmajor categories include masking tapes,abrasives and fillers.” One of GPI’s

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Colin at SEMA always looking for new products and catching up with old friends.

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challenges today is the influx of cheaper,low-performance tapes in the market,which all too often replace the better-quality brands from GPI. “We see peoplebeing “penny-wise and pound-foolish”, touse an old term. We try to educate themarket that using cheaper products willonly add to the overall cost of the job,but it’s an uphill battle.” GPI also has a fullrange of fillers and Rage Gold is theirpremium product, although they willsoon be releasing a new Rage Gold Ultra.GPI is now one of the largest importers ofbody fillers in the country. The Sunmightabrasives brand is also a key part of theportfolio and Colin believes that GPIcould have as much as 30 percent of theabrasives market in Australia. In thissegment Colin has positioned GPI tocater for both the premium and the low-cost market segments.

On reflectionColin outlines some of thecharacteristics that have made him, andGPI, successful over the years, althoughhe would hardly classify them as “thesecrets of his success”. “Perseverance,taking considered risks, turningopportunities into successes, personaldrive, the desire to succeed andunderstanding the business intimately,have all been important over the years.It all comes down to work ethic, whichis really in the genes.”

It is also clear that Colin has spent a great deal of time on the people sideof his business and throughout his

extensive career. “It is important to treatyour staff as you would want to betreated, have a solid structure and areliable management team. By focusingon these fundamentals, we have astrong retention rate and, in fact, somepeople have left the business for greenerpastures only to return to the fold.”

Colin takes the responsibility forthe staff and their families veryseriously. “I support the people whohave and continue to support us. I have an open-door policy and I’malways happy to hear from my staff,whether it’s good news or not.”

Colin has always had a solid focuson his customers. After all, as he says,deep down he is a salesman and evennow spends much of his time on theroad. “Not too many CEOs do what I do. I’ve serviced Tasmania and SouthAustralia for 35 years. I put it down tomy roots as this was my first ever jobin 1958 in the clothing industry.”

Interestingly, when we asked Colinwho were the biggest influences onhis career, he does not hesitate: “Myformer father-in-law, Victor Smorgonwas one of the biggest influences onmy career and I still recall sittingaround the dining table listening tostories of how things worked in amajor organisation. He really helpedme understand the fundamentals onwhich I’ve based my own philosophy.In fact, my son Peter was also heavilyinfluenced by his grandfather and waschosen to be the Managing Director of

the Victor Smorgon Group.”Colin also speaks fondly of his late

father-in-law who was also a majorinfluence in the early years. “When Icashed in my $5,000 superannuationand he guaranteed me for $20,000 atthe bank, it really was major stepforward for my career and for GPI.”

Where to from here?Once again, we asked Colin aboutsuccession plans (David posed thequestion in 2008), and we received asimilar response. Colin once againrefers to the strong leaders headingup the various divisions and that he iseminently confident that each of thesebusinesses are in good hands. “It isthis group of people that give me thepeace of mind that we maintain acash-positive business model and theGroup in total is in good shape.”

Colin reinforces that as he is stillvery much enjoying what he does andis in good health, he intends tocontinue working. He tends not tospend a great deal of energycontemplating the future. “I don’t reallywant to delve into this too deeply asthere are a number of options. I dowant to say that whatever path wetake, the welfare of the 194 families ofour employees will be top of mind.”

Colin has three international tripsplanned for the second half of this year,which is indicative that he is still on thelookout for further opportunities for theorganisation. “In a very real sense I am

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working on the business and I havedivisional heads, a strong long-termfinancial controller and branchmanagers all working in the business. In the automotive division, GaryHodgson has really stepped up to theplate. It really is a great position to be in.”

Colin continues to position theautomotive division for the future andsees the advent of UV-cured coatings as areal opportunity for GPI Automotive. “Weare the Australian importer of the TeslaCure hand-held UVA curing system andhave established a number of distributorsaround the country.” Whilst a UV-curedbody filler (no hardener) and a UV-curedclear coat are both still underdevelopment, Colin is confident he is well-positioned benefit from such innovationswhen they are commercialised.

In other areas, GPI continues toevolve as they merge the ATSbusiness with Premium Abrasives,continually look to expand theirsupplier base in the fitness division,the bicycle business, albeit a toughbusiness, is also growing and the

corporate and promotional business isexpanding rapidly, mainly through theon-line portals and the growingportfolio of multinational clients. Andfinally, as their quality continues toimprove, China is becoming anincreasingly important supply source.

And in closingWe asked Colin about the highlights ofhis career, but he was reluctant point toanything in particular. When pressed,he suggested: “Buying the Mulgravesite and centralising our businesses in1992 was major step forward. However,rather than identify milestones, I like tothink more about the journey and theexperience through the years and allthe great people I have had theprivilege of working with.”

There is no doubt Colin is trulyproud of what he and his team haveachieved over the years and the strongtrack record of continual growth acrossthe course of his career. “I have reallyenjoyed the journey and it’s gratifyingto be able to reflect on it all.”

Whilst the results have been

impressive, they have beengenerated through hard work, an investment in innovation, thedevelopment and implementation of strategic business planning andeffective margin management.

“Doing business with the GPIGroup of companies is a continuousprocess. We build strong, long-termpartnerships and have maintained adistribution model for 40 years. Wehave a global reputation as anorganisation that suppliers anddistributors want to deal with. I thinkthat really sums up the business today.”Editor: Although I had met Colin inmy “previous life”, it’s only in thepast 12 months that I have really gotto know him. There is no doubt thathe is an astute businessman whoknows what he wants and how tomake it happen. More importantlythough, Colin is one of the industry’strue gentlemen and it was a pleasureto have the opportunity to share hisexperiences. Congratulations on 50great years in the industry!

Robayne supplies the Automotive, Industrial & Commercial Graphicalmarkets nationally, with an advanced comprehensive range of

innovative product solutions & equipment.

robayne.com.au 1300 ROBAYNE | Welshpool | Bunbury | Henderson | Hobart |

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Comments from other stalwarts of the industry

I have known Colin Edwards for over 40 years. Now, we allknow he is very loud and very bold, but he is also verysincere and generous. His business and life experiences havebeen amazing. I have learned so much from being involvedwith Colin on his journey and I look to him as a mentor. The most important part though, is his genuine friendship,kindness and generosity to my family and me. We wish you many more years, Colin. Terry Feehan, Fix Auto Australia.

I have known Colin for at least 40 years as a customer,competitor, friend and adviser. His passion and energy forthe collision industry is unsurpassed and his success is well-deserved. He has always been at the forefront of newproducts and ideas to improve the industry. Knowing Colin,he will be around for another 50 years! Congratulations on your high standing and achievements in the industry. Ian Lidstone, IDL Containers.

We have been working with Colin since the early ninetiesand have always found him to be a professional and honeststraight talker with broad business experience. It has been a pleasure working with Colin over the years and we lookforward to continuing this into the future. Graham Powe, Safety Equipment Australia.

Colin has proved himself to be an incredibly accomplishedbusiness person, massively growing the business, whilstmanaging to maintain his integrity. One of the many reasonsColin is so respected by his peers is his strong and steadfastcommitment to the Australian automotive aftermarket. He’sbeen as good for the collision repair industry as the industryhas been to him – and you can’t ask any more than that ofanyone. Well done Mr Edwards, I wholeheartedly congratulateyou on 50 years in the industry. I hope you remain a force to be reckoned with for many more years to come. Bruce Morrison, MotorActive.

Congratulations to Colin, whose vision and passion remainsundimmed after 50 years in the collision repair industry – an incredible achievement. We've competed for many years,but with competition comes respect – we've formed a friendship and had a lot of fun over those years. Once again, congratulations on 50 years! Ray McMartin, Sydney Automotive Paint and Equipment.

Colin is a remarkable person who has built an incrediblebusiness through his skill, perseverance, adaptability andhard work. The automotive industry is constantly changingand to survive and thrive in this challenging environment,you must continually innovate and evolve your business andthat has been Colin’s trademark. It is rare in any industrythat you encounter someone who is as universally respectedas Colin. Congratulations on an amazing 50-year career in the Australian collision repair industry! Stuart Charity, Australian Automotive AftermarketAssociation.

I have dealt with Colin from the beginning and, as we haveexpanded around the country, Colin’s experience andinvaluable insight has contributed to the growth of Robayne.His support cannot be overstated and as a valued partner of Robayne, GPI is now one of our biggest suppliers. Clint Smith, Robayne.

Colin with some of his team from GPI.

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