Friday, February 15, 2008
A great Australian icon has today been officially recognised for being fully ‘home grown’. The famous Melway, Brisway and Sydway street directories have been officially endorsed by the Australian Made, Australian Grown campaign, a unique distinction among street directory suppliers.
In a special ceremony today at the headquarters of Ausway (the group of companies that owns Melway, Sydway and Brisway), the CEO of Australian Made, Australian Grown Campaign, Ian Harrison, presented three certificates to the group.
“I am delighted to be presenting Ausway with this certificate and to welcome such an iconic Australian product to the Australian Made, Australian Grown Campaign,” Mr Harrison said. “By using the logo on its street directories, Ausway sends a clear signal to its customers about the company’s commitment to Australia.
“Ausway joins some of Australia’s leading and most innovative businesses, who use the logo on almost 10,000 different products sold here and to the world. These are businesses, like Ausway, who understand that consumers – not just here but increasingly also in export markets – want to buy Australian. I am thrilled to see the logo now used by Ausway and I am sure the thousands of consumers who find their way around our country every day by using these street directories will be too.”
Research conducted by Roy Morgan Research in 2006 shows that 67% of Australian consumers consciously buy Australian made whenever possible or often. That’s a good endorsement for Ausway’s lifelong commitment to staying fully Australian.
“Ausway has prided itself on being wholly Australian-owned and made since its inception in the 1960s,” says Brad Young, marketing director for Ausway. “Being a family run, local company Ausway prides itself on being able to utilise the services of local businesses and support the local economy. Joining the Australian Made campaign is a badge of honour, to proudly align ourselves with other like-minded businesses. It’s also a statement to educate consumers that the most comprehensive street directories available are also made right here in Australia, allowing a more informed purchase decision.
“Buying Australian Made keeps more money in Australia. More money spent on Australian Made goods means more Australian jobs and a healthier Australian economy.”
Beyond the loyalty associated with being Australian, Ausway sees genuine benefits for the consumer in keeping it local – for example, shorter lead times compared with printing offshore, enabling street directories to be more up-to-date than their competitors. There are also noticeable quality benefits in working closely with dedicated Australian printers rather than going offshore.
Ausway also has a number of advantages of keeping production in Australia such as being able to keep lead times to a minimum and ensure that late changes to the roads are all included in the directory. Another benefit is the ability to work closely with the local printer to ensure high quality standards are maintained throughout the printing process.
For a product to qualify to use the logo with the descriptor Australian Made, it must be:
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‘substantially transformed’ in Australia [i.e. the final manufacturing process must take place here], and
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50% or more of the cost of production must be incurred in Australia.
For a product to qualify to use the logo with the descriptor Product of Australia, it must meet the following criteria:
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all significant components or ingredients must originate from Australia, and
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all, or virtually all, of the production processes must take place in Australia.
Though Ausway has always been proudly Australian, today marks a great milestone as the company is formally recognised for its long term contribution to the domestic economy.
For further information on Ausway and the Australian Made, Australian Grown Campaign, please contact:
Grant Arnott
The Media Pad
810/610 St Kilda Road
Melbourne VIC 3004
T: 03 9510 1497
M: 0407 861 795
E: grant@mediapad.com.au