Local manufacturer SpotGo has taken out the coveted 2021 Central Coast Business of the Year Award at a ceremony held online in front of over 150 business leaders.
Business owner, Brendan Small, has developed a line of cleaning products at his Central Coast factory, with his specialist barbecue cleaner/degreaser now being sold nationally at Coles and Woolworths supermarkets.
“I was born into the commercial carpet cleaning industry,” Small said.
“My parents owned Aquarius Carpet Cleaning and I started in the business 27 years ago with Dad.
“Within six years, Dad had retired and I took the business on.
“I was constantly noticing spot cleaners my customers were using were causing damage and I decided to engage an industrial chemist to help develop a spot cleaner for carpets.
“On the back of that we went on to formulate another four products.
“After many years of testing and trial in the workplace, we launched SpotGo.
“When my wife Nancy and I began this journey we never gave up striving for the opportunity to have our products (stocked nationally),” Small said.
“It was always our dream and ambition for SpotGo to become a household name and readily available for all Australians.
“We are entirely a family business; we even have Nancy’s parents in the factory helping us bottle up.
“We employ only people from the Central Coast and try to employ older people.
“I am still cleaning carpets four days a week but … concentrating mainly on SpotGo and looking at moving to larger manufacturing premises on the Coast soon.”
Business NSW Regional Director, Paula Martin, said the awards, held on October 8, celebrated the success of hard-working Central Coast businesses.
“A well-deserved spotlight was shone on 52 finalists who have shown how their resilience, perseverance and sheer hard work have seen them through the very difficult year we have just had,” Martin said.
“The 2021 Central Coast Business Awards recognise growth, entrepreneurship, and celebrate business success and resilience.
“We received nearly 100 applications for 10 different categories.
“These awards are a wonderful opportunity to showcase the ingenuity, strength and resilience of Central Coast NSW businesses.
“The last few years have been incredibly tough as businesses have been impacted bushfires, floods and now COVID.
“When we launched these Awards earlier in the year, we hadn’t expected we would be dealing with the current lockdown.
“Like our business members, we too pivoted and delivered a gala event with much glitz and glamour but safe for all our community.”
Winners of the 2021 Central Coast Business Awards will represent the region at the State Business Awards to be held in November.
“Based on the calibre of this year’s finalists, I expect that our regional winners will again do very well at the State Business Awards,” Martin said.
The winners were: Employer of Choice, Ryan & Seton Lawyers; Outstanding Young Business Leader, Amanda Woodbine – Australia Reptile Park; Outstanding Business Leader, Tim Faulkner – Australian Reptile Park; Excellence in Micro Business, LEP Digital; Excellence in Small Business, Riverside Dental Spa; Excellence in Business, Australian Reptile Park (highly commended: Industree Group); Excellence in Innovation, SpotGo Premium Cleaning Products (highly commended: Naughty Noodle Fun Haus Inc); Outstanding Community Organisation, The Glen Centre; Outstanding Start-up, Amelio Health (highly Commended: Ducks Nuts Co); and Outstanding Employee, Zac Bower – Australian Reptile Park.
Terry Collins