Bob Kucera

Bob Kucera

Former Minister for Disability Services; Sport and Recreation; Citizenship and Multicultural Interests; Seniors

    WA's top regional small business named

    6/11/2004 10:58 AM
     
    6/11/04

    Albany’s Reeves & Co Quality Butcher has earned the title of Australia Post WA Regional Small Business of the Year.

    The company was named top regional small business at the Perth Convention Centre by Small Business Minister Bob Kucera.

    Mr Kucera said the awards night brought together small business award winners from across the State, including the Goldfields, Great Southern, Mid-West, Peel, Pilbara and the South-West.

    “Small business plays a vital role in building the State’s economy and we should acknowledge and celebrate the achievements of our best regional small businesses,” the Minister said.

    “Small businesses stimulate local economies through their provision of goods and services, generate employment and add to the social fabric of the community.

    “To be successful in small business, you have to be able to combine a range of technical, entrepreneurial and management skills with time, devotion and hard work.

    “Successful small business operators are innovative and continually improve their productivity and performance to remain competitive.”

    Mr Kucera said Reeves & Co Quality Butchers owners Mark and Tamara Bradley saw an opportunity to create a niche for their business by taking a regular butcher shop and transforming it into a boutique butcher and fresh provisions store.

    The Minister said the result was a thriving business that employed local people and had experienced a 10-fold increase in customers in the past 10 years.

    “Reeves & Co Quality Butchers is a great example of how innovation and commitment can make a small business stand out from the crowd,” he said.

    Mr Kucera said the regional awards enhanced the series of small business award programs sponsored by the Small Business Development Corporation (SBDC) and conducted throughout WA by local chambers of commerce and Business Enterprise Centres (BECs).

    “The support for this awards program is a credit to the motivation and pride of small businesses in the State, coupled with the support and encouragement of chambers of commerce and BECs,” he said.

    Winners in all categories were:
    • Home Based Business - Hidden Valley Forest Retreat (South-West)
    • Micro Business - Elliott’s Small Engines (South-West)
    • Business with 5-10 Employees - Reeves & Co Quality Butcher (Albany)
    • Business with 10-20 Employees - Wilson Machinery (Albany)
    • Business Enterprise Centre Achiever - Bay Merchants (Albany)
    • WA Regional Small Business of the Year - Reeves & Co Quality Butcher (Albany).
    • The WA Regional Small Business Awards are sponsored by Australia Post, Planet Creative, GWN, Telstra Countrywide, WA Business News and the SBDC’s Home Based Business Network.
    Minister's office: 9213 7000