BlueRock has quickly become a powerhouse supporting founders, entrepreneurs and families to grow their business and personal wealth since it was founded by Peter Lalor who rounded up a crew of eight accountants to set about doing things differently.
BlueRock has the vision that if you ‘do things you love with people you care about, good things happen’.
The company` is now a purpose-led, values-driven, holistic professional services business that supports businesses and individuals across all of their needs, CEO Vince Giovanniello explained the company further to Manufacturer’s Monthly.
BlueRock’s winning culture grows directly out of the ethic established by its founder Peter Lalor, according to BlueRock CEO Vince Giovanniello. “When Peter began to work with clients, he realised that to provide the best accounting advice, he had to incorporate a diversity of perspectives – including those of lawyers and finance brokers, among others,” Giovanniello said.
This emphasis on diversity of perspective governed Bluerock’s early growth. “Being a small business owner himself, Peter was aware that real-world challenges often cut across various domains of expertise – and so set up a firm that could take a multi-disciplinary approach to problem-solving.”
Instilling this business-owner mindset among the BlueRock workforce is an ongoing endeavour – and a key point of difference to competitors in the field – with BlueRock team members encouraged to pursue ‘side hustle’ projects to give them a better grasp of the realities of business ownership, to put themselves in the shoes of their clients.
Technology in manufacturing
Giovanniello explained that technology in manufacturing is on a curve: some are early adopters and others are more reluctant to bring technology into their processes.
“Some of these manufacturers start as a small family business where they have learned an art form and therefore are reluctant to add new processes, whereas others really embrace it,” Giovanniello said.
“Once we are on board, we have full visibility so it is simple for us to identify areas of growth, and often that can be through technology.
“When a business has a vision for growth, technology is a lever they can pull to deliver the outcomes,” he noted. “We then explore across our key divisions how we can best support them to bring in relevant technology.”
Giovanniello explained that – as is the case for most start-ups and manufacturers – high costs are a restrictor when it comes to upgrading technology.
“It can be a chicken-and-egg situation where they know they need to get more sales to invest in technology, but they will get more sales by investing in technology,” he explained.
“We can look at data to find areas that they will save money.
“For example, a company might have high WorkCover premiums due to high manual handling. By introducing technology that lowers that it could dramatically reduce the costs of insurance whilst also improving output,” Giovanniello said.
Giovanniello explained that technology improvements can actually extend every KPI within the business as a manufacturer will have better repeatability.
By implementing certain technology, it will also improve a company’s environmental impact according to the BlueRock CEO. When implementing strong technological systems, it will lower energy and material costs, which has become so critically important for businesses, particularly when looking to source investment or secure funding.
Grants and funding
Millicent Brearley, associate director in the grants and incentives team at BlueRock delved into the often confusing and diverse world of grants and funding.
“I think manufacturing is a real keen interest area for the federal government right now so that is obviously an area with a lot of possibility,” she explained.
“On a Federal and State level there are new opportunities frequently being announced. Each opportunity usually targets specific industries and types of project activities so we will delve into what is on offer.”
Many governments are targeting sustainability and it can feel sometimes other manufacturers are left behind. But Brearley said this is simply not true.
“Governments have a range of areas they want to improve and that can be anything from job creation and innovation to regional development or a list of key priority industries identified by the National Reconstruction Fund,” she said.
“As a grant consultant, I will look at what a company wants to do, and what the broader economic impacts could be to Australia.
“You do not have to be in green manufacturing just to secure funding, but you do need to understand what the government is looking for – and that is where we come in,” Brearley said.
She went on to explain in greater detail the role of a grant consultant and how her team at BlueRock supports manufacturers.
“We act as a middleman between our clients and the government agencies that provide funding,” she said.
“Often you find manufacturers do not want to give up equity, and bank loans are tough with interest rates so high. So, that is why they turn to us as we know all the different avenues to look into for non-dilutive funding opportunities.
“We know what programs are currently available or are soon to be available and can help ascertain whether what the manufacturer wants to do aligns with these opportunities.” Brearley said.
The grant consulting team takes the time to write the grants for clients. This ranges from the ability to write applications in a way to showcase how a project meets the key assessment criteria of the grant application through to understanding a company deeply to accurately convey what they are doing.
“If a grant is not an exact match to a company, we can advise on likely competitiveness or ways in which a project would better align with the objectives of a grant program,” Brearley said. “We can guide them through this analysis process to find real and achievable changes they can make to given them the best chance at securing a grant.
“Once the grant is secured, our job does not simply end – we stay on for the duration for the project.
“Usually, a manufacturer will have key milestone reports that are required, or might need to request a variation if they change their end goal or the process of getting there, and we can provide advice and assistance with these reporting requirements,” she said.
Brearley said her job is always enjoyable, as manufacturers relish working with the grants and incentives team and are often extremely receptive to any suggestions made by them.
“The grant space is constantly evolving and changing. So, even when something may not be available right now, we can keep them in mind and when something meets their needs we can go after it.
“We do not always have a lot of warning of new funding being announced, but we have a range of other continuous incentives we can turn to like the R&D tax incentives amongst others,” she said.
“We work closely with companies over a prolonged period so we can always look for opportunities for organisations in a range of areas.”
To keep abreast of diverse opportunities, you need a diversity of perspectives. And that’s what BlueRock brings.