NSW - Telstra Australian Business Awards

“We are passionately committed to promoting healthy lifestyles and changing people's lives, so they look and feel their best.” – Ariel Gonzalez, Managing Director.

While working in the not-for-profit sector, Ariel Gonzalez was saddened by the number of people with disabilities who were overweight and leading unhealthy lifestyles. In 2007, he set up Motivate You Fitness and Personal Training in south-west Sydney to include special needs exercise programs for the disability sector. He also ran one-on-one sessions and boot camps for the wider community. Ariel has grown the business by adding value for clients beyond a few hours of exercise each week, including tailored programs and sales of supplements, apparel and equipment. Motivate You supports clients with lifestyle advice and encourages boot-camp clients to mentor each other between sessions. Ariel believes he has succeeded by applying the principles of personal fitness – overcoming failure, operating outside of one’s comfort zone, discipline and determination – to his business. Motivate You now has five employees and operates in north-west Sydney, the Central Coast and the Hunter region, with plans to expand interstate.

“Our unique and sustainable nature experience delivers the ultimate wow factor and is perfectly adapted to Australian people and environment.” – Sandrine Gaymard, Founder and Business Development Manager.

High-wire expert Frederic Galimard and business partner Sandrine Gaymard see trees as an opportunity for adventure. The pair launched Ecoline in 1998 to design and build unique, tree-based activity structures before deciding to open an entire adventure park. It took five years to plan the facility, find the right location and negotiate with the NSW Government to sign over crown land for commercial use. In 2008 Ecoline opened its first TreeTop Adventure Park in Ourimbah State Forest on the Central Coast. Visitors explore the forest on flying foxes and suspension bridges, while children as young as three can experience the tree canopy safely on an innovative pulley system called Ecotrack. A second park opened in Newcastle in 2009 and a third is underway near Melbourne. Now with seven employees and more casual staff, Ecoline markets to corporates, schools and families and is looking to patent and market its unique Ecotrack design globally.

“A key lesson has been the value of innovation. You must be prepared to be brave and to innovate to achieve success.” – Wayne Houlden, CEO.

Coffs Harbour software development firm Janison helps teach more than one million people around the world. Established in 1998 by Wayne and Jacquie Houlden, Janison develops, produces and hosts online learning systems, portals and assessments. The business began catering to TAFE colleges and small registered training organisations with its self-developed Janison Learning System, one of the first online learning tools in Australia. Janison now supports the e-learning needs of 100 local and international clients and has seen consistent annual revenue growth of 20 per cent. It has developed remotely-synchronised learning servers for ships and battle units in the New Zealand Defence Forces, supports an online global leadership academy for Deloitte, and has completed an e-learning rollout for vocational and technical education in Vietnam. Janison’s rapidly growing hosting network includes servers in Sydney, Dallas, Shanghai, Beijing, Hong Kong, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Ho Chi Minh City, all supported from the Coffs Harbour office.

“Our goal is zero glass waste and to return as much glass as possible to uses that capture the intrinsic value of the glass.” – Collette Harkins, Chief Financial Officer.

Colmax Glass was established in 2005 by engineer Peter Harkins and his wife Collette, to crush, clean and grade recycled glass more efficiently than any other plant. Based in Maroota, north west of Sydney, the company processes waste from glass recyclers to produce up to 100,000 tonnes of clean-graded glass each year for use in bottles, fibreglass insulation batts, water filtration and other everyday products. Colmax is the only processor in Australia taking completely unrefined glass waste that would normally end up in landfill and turning it into the highest-value resource possible with minimal wastage. In five years, the company has built four plants in four states, grown from five full-time staff to 32 and increased annual turn-over 10 fold. Collette says Colmax’s technical innovations have been refined by building its own plants, visiting glass operations in Europe and the United States and seeking potential customers who could use glass as a substitute for another raw material.

“We believe the trees are the stars of our products.” – Sandrine Gaymard, Founder and Business Development Manager.

Ecoline’s Tree Top Adventure Parks allow people as young as three to glide through the canopies of natural forests. When setting up their first park in 2008 in the Ourimbah State Forest, operators Frederic Galimard and Sandrine Gaymard had to convince government authorities that their venture would not harm the natural environment. No trees are drilled or nailed through and each tree is inspected annually by external arborists. Sandrine says if their adventure courses were removed, there would be no sign they had been there. Each year, more than 45,000 visitors experience nature at new heights on flying foxes, suspension bridges or Ecoline’s own, unique pulley system, Ecotrack. Certified by Ecotourism Australia, the parks operate with rain tanks and solar panels, and the Central Coast site runs entirely on solar power. Schools are given discounts and some have even built park visits into their curriculum, while Ecoline supports charities, such as Canteen, with adventure days.

“A key lesson has been the value of innovation. You must be prepared to be brave and to innovate to achieve success.” – Wayne Houlden, CEO.

Coffs Harbour software development firm Janison helps teach more than one million people around the world. Established in 1998 by Wayne and Jacquie Houlden, Janison develops, produces and hosts online learning systems, portals and assessments. The business began catering to TAFE colleges and small registered training organisations with its self-developed Janison Learning System, one of the first online learning tools in Australia. Janison now supports the e-learning needs of 100 local and international clients and has seen consistent annual revenue growth of 20 per cent. It has developed remotely-synchronised learning servers for ships and battle units in the New Zealand Defence Forces, supports an online global leadership academy for Deloitte, and has completed an e-learning rollout for vocational and technical education in Vietnam. Janison’s rapidly growing hosting network includes servers in Sydney, Dallas, Shanghai, Beijing, Hong Kong, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Ho Chi Minh City, all supported from the Coffs Harbour office.