As fires continued to burn in the ACT, NSW and VIC over the weekend, some sign businesses affected by the bushfire crisis are slowly getting back on their feet.
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| A pre-Christmas job installed in Mittagong by Attention Signs was a true reflection of the Highland Spirit, says owner Hayden Bryant. |
“Work has begun to come through again and I am not at the crisis point I was envisioning just a few weeks back when it looked as though my staff wouldn't get paid,” Hayden Bryant, owner/director of Attention Signs & Graphics, Mittagong, NSW told Wide Format Online.
“While this seems like a good outcome for me, I’m mindful of one of my competitors who's located further south than me. As part of his survival plan, Joe relocated his business to Goulburn, 30 minutes from his regular base. It appears he has continued to trade and remained safe but I can only imagine what additional stress that may have caused to his family and livelihood.”
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| Hayden Bryant, owner Attention Signs |
Bryant relocated Attention Signs from Greater Western Sydney to Mittagong in the Southern Highlands several years ago and now has clients in GWS, the Southern Highlands, Wollongong and Canberra. “There are three of us working within the company and we operate two digital printers. We wrap vehicles, print clothing and have a contract with three regional bus companies for advertising signage.
“My business hasn't been affected in terms of fire damage, however the Southern Highlands region has been effected from both the GWC fire to the north and the Currowan/Morton fires to the South.
“I had my slowest December / January in my 5-year history. When I think of our capacity and the amount of work we normally produce over the holiday period, this year has been much quieter. I even spent a week rearranging the workshop and setting up a showroom.
“With fires on both the Northern and Southern doorsteps, people and businesses have either been preoccupied with staying safe or more cautious with their spending.
“My thoughts and prayers have gone out to all affected by these fires, and I am truly thankful to emergency services of every kind that have responded in various ways. The Southern Highlands is a remarkable place, and the resilience we have witnessed here has been marvellous and makes me somewhat proud to be a part of.”
“It’s starting to come back slowly,” says William Drury, general manager of Ulladulla Printing & Signage on the NSW South Coast. The business offers signage, commercial printing and graphic design throughout the Shoalhaven, South Coast and Australia.
“Our business wasn’t directly affected by fires coming up to the business, other than a few real estate signs that we lost,” Drury told Wide Format Online. “The main affect has been the downturn in trade that the whole town has gone through. With 50,000 tourists not being in our area for a six-week period, that slowed down our financial motor greatly. We feed off those tourism-aligned businesses and they’ve basically stopped, which means the town has stopped as well.
“A lot of businesses in town are doing it tough and we’ve had our eight employees on holidays and leave entitlements to try to help us get through until things start picking up again.
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| "It's starting to come back slowly": Wiiliam Drury GM Ulladulla Printing & Signage |
“It has turned a little over the past week,” Drury says “It’s starting to come back slowly and the town’s starting to move along. We had a reasonable Australia Day long weekend, still down on what it was previously, but a few people came back over the weekend to support our town. It is returning slowly but it will take a number of months I think before it gets back to normal.”
The company is yet to receive any government assistance. “We are looking at getting some assistance - obviously our premises weren’t destroyed by fire but we had a lot of real estate signs out and about in these affected communities that were lost, so we’re looking at getting some funding possibly for those.
“To be honest, we haven’t got any help at the moment because in real terms we’re running off a 30-day account. We’re really going to feel the pressure at the end of February when there will be very little coming in because of the downturn in turnover. That’s when we will feel the pinch.”
It’s been a anxious summer, he says. “We’ve got a real good team of employees here and we just need to work out a way that we can keep them being paid week in and week out so they can honour their commitments with home loans and children and that sort of thing, while also ensuring that the business is still viable during this period.
"It has been mentally draining in that aspect but in saying that there’s a lot more people down here who’ve lost houses and they’ve got a lot more pressure than I’ve got.
“The fact is that it’s just unprecedented, so it’s pretty hard to plan to mitigate against these sort of things. We’re just one of many businesses in town that are going to feel the pinch and I think it’s going to be ongoing for a while until the town gets back on its roll.
“Touch wood, with as many fires we’ve had you’d hope that doesn’t happen again for a long time, but given today’s climate, you just don’t know.”
Further down the NSW South Coast in Batemans Bay, where bushfires forced hundreds of residents to evacuate to the beach, Bay Signs is also waiting on government assistance. “I did apply for the 15k assistance package but we’ll see what happens,” says owner Geoff Richards. “I’m not going to hold my breath, that’s for sure."
Bay Signs was left with no power or water after a bushfire blasted through like a freight train, destroying two adjacent factories in a four factory complex in the town’s industrial area.
“I’ve applied for assistance but bureaucracy has once again taken over and the long and agonising wait begins,” Richards says. “The trouble is we’ve had no income for four weeks which makes life difficult, along with costs involved in trying to establish power and water. Then the day-to-day costs are a killer. I just wish they'd move on my application. Something would be better than nothing and that's what I've got now. On the brighter side, full power has just been restored so onwards and upwards.”
Graphic Art Mart steps up
Richards has been humbled to receive some much appreciated help from industry supplier Graphic Art Mart, which is donating materials to help aid recovery in the area.
“With so many businesses being affected by the impact of the fire, we have been doing our best to help them get back on their feet by donating signage and our time. Now I’ve just received a call from one of Graphic Art Mart’s sales people letting me know that a relief package is on its way to help us maintain service to people in need.
“How good is this! I was totally humbled by this gesture and am so grateful. Things like this help lift spirits and aids in the rebuilding of small communities. It may not mean much to some but it means a lot to me.”
Some estimates of the total economic cost of the bushfires now put the figure at close to $100 billion.
