How did you first start your career at TradeCorp?
I was a car dealer first, my father was also a car dealer, and when he died in 1988 I closed the dealership down because we weren’t making much money. From there I did a deal with the Australian Cane Farmers Association selling them batteries, and they asked me if I could get some shipping containers.
I didn’t have any money at that time, but I took a punt and spent the whole lot on 41 containers which I bought in Singapore. But then I had to work out how to get them to Australia. I went to Singapore and was up and down high rise buildings trying to sell the idea of giving my containers to shipping companies to use them for free to bring them to Australia.
Luckily on the last day before I was about to leave a bloke turned up to one of the offices. He said he couldn’t get them to Australia, but he could get them to Papua New Guinea. I looked at a map and thought well New Guinea is closer to Australia than Singapore! From there, I got a call from another shipping company that put me in touch with a paints company, which bought the whole lot. So that was how I got started.
How or what has changed the most in your sector over the past 35 years?
You’d never be able to start a business like this now, there’s too much competition. For example, these days there’s only a select few that you can do a deal with based off a verbal agreement. There’s a lot of scammers everywhere. The old fellas that I started with are very honourable. A lot of the sons of the old generation are dishonourable or lazy. I don’t think any of them could start a business like mine.
What would you like to do once you hang up your boots?
I’d like to sell my business in Australia, but I would want to keep a bit of equity so I’ve got something to do, and stay on the board of the company that buys us. I think when you retire you’ve got to have something to do. And then I’d go and do a bit of fishing.
What do you like most about your job?
I go to the office every day, I drive from the Gold Coast to Brisbane, and I love going in because I love the excitement, including the boys in the boiler room, they’re making sales and ringing the bell every time they sell ten to one customer.
I’ve always loved working with the sales team. I also enjoy helping younger people grow. I have some really great people working for me. My managers are great people, and we employ approximately 80 people across the country.
TradeCorp carries approximately six to seven thousand units in stock. We own them all, we’re not a broker, and we wholesale to the dealer network, and are always looking for good, active dealers around Australia.
One thing I’m looking for is to talk to trucking companies that can use our containers to reposition around Australia from Sydney to all locations north and south. We’ve got depots in every major location in Australia, including Mackay, Cairns, Townsville.
Tell us a little bit about your family?
My son’s got a business in Indonesia, my daughter’s got a business in Hong Kong and they’re both completely independent, and they’re both very hard workers.
I love spending time with my granddaughter, little Sophia, she’s 13 months old, she was born in Singapore. I call her “wild tiger”. She’s my first granddaughter from my son and his wife. She’s just starting to walk now.
What are some of your interests in your personal time?
Fishing I love, but I don’t have many interests. I enjoy working, I love working with my sales managers and my salesmen. I like going shopping on Saturdays. I go to the fruit markets and I buy from the cheap section, the fruit doesn’t look any good but it tastes the same!
What’s one piece of advice you’d want to share?
Be honourable in your trading, but the main thing is just work hard. If you’re a young person, work hard and have a goal. And don’t waste money! Instead of buying fancy cars they can’t afford, young people should put the money on a house deposit.
When you leave the house, turn everything off, like the lights and the air conditioning.
This article appeared in the April | May 2025 edition of DCN Magazine
