WINDOWS Magazine Spring 2017 | Page 24

WINDOWS | MEMBER PROFILE 01 With an unshakeable faith in technology, Alumil Oceania has rapidly become a driving force in the Australian window industry. Business Development Manager, Eren Kanli, and National Sales Manager, Dimos Paspaltzis, reflect on the history and future of this forward-thinking company. DEDICATED TO INNOVATION ALUMIL OCEANIA W hen Eren and his father founded Alumil Oceania in 2015, their timing was perfect. The southern hemisphere proved to be the next market and a natural progression for this well- established and rapidly growing company. Today, Alumil conducts global business on a truly impressive scale. “With 12 factories in six European countries, Alumil is now the biggest privately owned company in south eastern Europe,” notes Dimos. “Alumil has 630,000 m 2 of global real estate, as well as 230,000 m 2 in manufacturing plants and a 33,000 m 2 global distribution centre.” “The company runs 11 aluminium extrusion lines, two anodising plants and nine powder-coating lines, totalling 80,000 tonnes of production capacity,” adds Eren. “Alumil also makes recycled aluminium into billets for extrusion into industrial profiles and aluminium systems globally.” Alumil supplies its global markets, including Australia, from its head offices and major administrative department in Greece. “Alumil’s distribution facilities are extremely efficient – the head company can truck product from Greece to Turkey, for example, in five to six hours,” Dimos reveals. Although there is still frequent exchange between the local and overseas branches, Alumil Oceania’s level of independence has steadily increased. “In the beginning, we utilised the advanced infrastructure of Alumil Greece from the inception of each project to final delivery,” Eren remembers. “We used to send them the plans, 22 Spring 2017 whereby they calculated the material required to make the windows and doors accordingly; they essentially functioned as our back-office support. “We’re now firmly established as our own self-sufficient subsidiary, with our own stock,” Eren continues. “We serve the Australian market from Europe, utilising the company’s state-of-the-art extrusion plants in Greece to bring the best-quality product to our customers. Eventually, we will have a network of warehouses throughout Australia.” Dimos makes no secret of Alumil Oceania’s extensive ambitions. “We’re here to be national players,” he asserts. “We already serve all Australian states, plus New Zealand and the Pacific region. We’ll keep our headquarters and logistics in Sydney in future, using that location as our base for further expansion.” Dimos and Eren have each brought a distinctive skill set to the company. “As Alumil’s National Sales Manager, I have a degree in Production and Management Engineering from the University of Crete in Greece,” Dimos says. “I worked in head office for eight years, starting with technical support, then progressing to commercial.” “Dimos’s engineering knowledge throughout this time has been invaluable,” notes Eren. “His technical background has earnt him enormous respect from our extensive customer base, who know they are in capable hands.” Eren began with Alumil on the ground floor. He entered the window industry as a young man, working for his