By CASEY NEILL
BRAD Huggett turned to boxes to bring his family from Zimbabwe to Australia.
The 34-year-old started Rebul Packaging in Hallam about nine years ago and was last month recognised for his efforts as a finalist for the Young Manufacturer of the Year title at the Victorian Manufacturing Hall of Fame Awards.
“I was certainly very surprised.
“There’s not many times in your life you get to have the word ‘young’ in front of an award,” he said.
“When you’ve been doing this for nine years you certainly don’t feel young.”
Mr Huggett said it was great to be surrounded by amazing manufacturers at the 26 May awards ceremony at the Crown Palladium.
“To see a room filled with brilliant people who are doing amazing things in this country,” he said.
“You hear a lot of bad news about the manufacturing sector, and when you walk in and see what these businesses are doing, to be even remotely aligned or in the same room as them is absolutely phenomenal.
“We hope to be one of them some day.”
Mr Huggett came to Australia from Zimbabwe on a student visa and then obtained a working visa.
“My parents were stuck in Zimbabwe, looking for a way out,” he said.
Starting a business was the best option and his friend – a packaging engineer – came up with a new box design.
“We thought ‘that’s our ticket, that’s what we’re going to try’,” he said.
Mr Huggett went to South Africa, built the machinery, sent it to Australia and started making boxes.
“It’s an alternative to wooden crates,” he said.
“Essentially it gives the same strength as a wooden crate but in a design that’s lighter.
“It’s made from recycled materials and it’s recyclable.
“There are no fumigation issues in sending it overseas.
“It tackles a lot of issues that wooden crates have.”
He set up in Hallam because if its freeway access.
“We deliver the crates all over the city,” he said.
“But also the Dandenong-Hallam area in my opinion is the capital of industry in Australia so it seemed like the best place to be.
“Most of our clients are around the area. We supply to a lot of manufacturers.”
Mr Huggett plans to grow the business and set up internationally.
“It’s not far away, I think in the next couple of years we expect to have some international manufacturing happening,” he said.
“We hope to licence the technology overseas.”
