AS Brad and Kristy Allinson continue to tweak their Hunter manufacturing business to stay afloat in the pandemic, they are determined to champion like-minded companies.
"I believe we need to diversify ... and I think we will learn a lot from survival now and what we have to do now paves the way into the future, because it will be a different world coming out," says Mr Allinson, general manager of Valley Kitchens in Thornton.
The 43-year-old would like locals to be more aware of the local, family-run businesses and resources at their doorstep.
"Multinationals [have] mass saturation of marketing and people think going there they get a cheaper product. At the end of the day they don't," he says. "I'm working to promote local makers and factories, that allows their profile to be raised and gives the smaller guys a voice."
Five years ago Mr Allinson, 43, and his wife Kristy took over the reins of Valley Kitchens.
The company was founded in 1980 by Mr Allinson's father, Bruce, who remains a director of the company, and his former business associate.
Mr Allinson dreamed of being a surfboard shaper but was encouraged by a mentor to do a trade first.
Ergo, he began a cabinet-making apprenticeship at his father's company. He later left to do an electrical trade to reap money in the mines but after eight years realised he missed his old job.
"I loved being a part of helping someone design a new kitchen that was to change their lives," he says.
Valley Kitchens designs kitchens it manufacturers on site, using local materials with the exception of some drawer sides and hinges it imports from Austria. It has also grown its services to include laundries, vanities, walk-in wardrobes, shelving and custom-design furniture as well as assisted living kitchens for those with disabilities.
It supplies kitchens to builders and their showroom is available to retail customers who want help with designing a kitchen and who, he says, are increasingly savvy and demand increasing input.
"That is good," he says, "because let's face it, a functional kitchen is ideal and to me functional is 60 per cent of getting an aesthetically pleasing kitchen. To be able to do what you want to do is therapeutic." [Mr Allinson designed his own kitchen, which features a dishwasher a metre off the floor for easy access].
Mr Allinson says the sector was quietening when COVID-19 hit. He applied for JobKeeper and has managed to hold onto his 30 staff, splitting shifts and adjusting.
"It has allowed us to keep the machines going. We have worked hard to get our staff and employees and to keep them in the past, so it's not an option to use them as a disposable entity," he says.
Valley Kitchens design and make their kitchens in aproduction factory out back and install them. CNC machines are used for the drilling, routing and cutting of sustainable timber sourced at Oberon.
Mr Allinson says his company is passionate about local manufacturing and he queries the strict standards local companies must follow for building in contrast with what he views as laxer laws around imports.
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