50 Years Of Edcon Steel: The People Who Made it Possible

Over the past 50 years, plenty has changed at Edcon Steel.

Our product range has grown, we’ve opened new steel stores, expanded our facilities, and used technology to transformed the way customers can order, purchase, and receive their steel and metal.

But through every stage of that change, one thing has remained constant: the dedication and commitment of our key people. 

Their knowledge, experience and commitment to service has carried Edcon forward, passing expertise from one generation to the next and keeping customers at the heart of the business.

The team behind every order

Every order placed online or in one of our Edcon Steel stores involves a lot of people, all working together behind the scenes. 

Our customer service team and sales reps are often the first point of contact, helping customers find the right products and solutions for their job. Depending on your local steel store, you would have met Helena, Dolan, Elias, Mat, Geoff, Daniel, Nathan, Tom, Ken, Matt, Robyn, Scott, JR or Mark over the years. They know our products, they know their customers, and they’re always ready to help, whether you’re placing a regular trade order or working out exactly what you need for a one-off project. 

Our Branch Managers, Lachlan, Adrian, Brett, and Darren, lead the local teams and oversee the day-to-day operations of each of our steel stores, making sure products are stocked, orders run smoothly, and every customer receives the high level of service Edcon is known for. 

Our storepeople, including Leo, Colin, Daniel, Alapatti, Lee, Filipe, Sam, Jeff and Zac, do a lot of the heavy lifting, picking and preparing orders, custom cutting steel and metal to size, and packing the trucks for the day’s deliveries. Our delivery drivers, Brian, Garry, Dave, Stuart and Rob, get orders safely to workshops, building sites, and customers across our delivery network. 

For structural steel fabrication projects, our Estimator, Luke, turns drawings and project requirements into accurate quotes. Aaron, our fabrication manager oversees the fabrication team, who cut, prepare, and fabricate structural steel to meet customer specifications. 

Behind the scenes, Sally manages our customer accounts and payments, supporting both customers and the wider team, and our leadership team brings together experience from across every side of Edcon Steel.

Operations Manager, Alan, keeps the day-to-day business moving, while our Finance Director, Matt, makes sure Edcon is in a strong position to continue investing in its people, products, stores and services. Our Sales Director, Michael, works closely with our teams and customers to understand what they need, strengthen long-standing relationships and identify new opportunities.

Finally, our Managing Director, Hugh, continues the legacy of his father, Jeff Edmunds. While the business has grown and changed enormously, Hugh has worked to preserve the values his father built on, including perseverance, humility, and looking after people.

Investing in Our People

One of Edcon Steel’s most important investments over the past 50 years has been in our people. By creating opportunities to learn, take on new responsibilities and build long-term careers, we’ve developed a team with an incredible depth of knowledge and experience. Nearly half of our staff have now been part of the Edcon family for more than a decade. Ten team members have been with us for five to ten years, 16 for between 10 and 20 years, and eight for more than 20 years. That longevity reflects the supportive workplace we’ve worked hard to build, but it also strengthens the service we provide. When people stay, their knowledge stays too, and that experience can be shared with colleagues, passed on to newer team members and put to work helping our customers every day.

To learn more about the people behind Edcon Steel, meet some of our team members at different stages of their Edcon journeys.

From Storeman to Director: Matt’s 15 years with Edcon Steel

Matt joined Edcon Steel back in 2011, fresh out of high school. In the years since, he has experienced Edcon from almost every angle. He started as a storeman before moving into counter sales and, after only a few years with Edcon, became one of the youngest Branch Managers in the company’s history. He went on to manage the Brookvale branch for close to a decade before moving into his current role as Finance Manager and Director at Edcon Steel.

Taking on big responsibilities at such a young age was a challenge, but Matt says he never had to tackle it alone.

“I had some pretty good help from Hugh, our Managing Director, from the very start,” he says. “You’ve always had access to the directors. They’ve always been helpful and willing to talk.”

That support extended across the leadership team, with Matt crediting Hugh, Alan, Mick and other managers with helping him learn on the job and develop as a leader.

It is an approach Matt now carries into his own leadership. Having worked in the warehouse, served customers at the counter, and managed a branch before moving into finance and directorship, he understands the business from the perspective of the people doing those jobs every day.

He also understands the importance of remaining approachable.

“You can always talk to the directors and you can always get assistance from anyone higher up,” Matt says. For him, maintaining that attitude also means remembering that “no one’s too good to pick up a broom.”

Matt has witnessed enormous change along the way. When he joined, Edcon had only three stores. Since then, he has watched the store network expand, premises grow, the number of employees and products increase, and the online store become an increasingly important part of the business.

“It’s just grown and grown, and it’s still growing.”

Yet what stands out to Matt is how much hasn’t changed. Despite becoming a much larger business, he believes Edcon has retained the approachable, family-business culture he encountered when he first walked through the door.

“It still feels the same as it did when I walked in. You’ve got the same friendly faces, happy to talk to you.”

That philosophy extends to customers. When asked what makes Edcon different, Matt’s answer is simple.

“At Edcon, no customer is more important than another customer. We look after everyone equally and treat them the same, whether they want to spend a dollar or thousands of dollars.”

For someone who originally intended to stay for six months, becoming a Director of Edcon Steel carries particular significance.

“It was always a goal of mine to become a Director, so I was pretty happy when I got the tap on the shoulder,” Matt says. “It’s a big part of my life, Edcon. I really enjoy coming to work every day.”

As Edcon celebrates 50 years and looks towards its next chapter, Matt hopes that growth never comes at the expense of the qualities that made him want to stay in the first place. The business may continue to get bigger, but he hopes Edcon maintains the same approachable culture and, above all, continues looking after its customers.

Coming Full Circle: Dean’s Journey Back to Edcon Steel

Dean’s journey with Edcon Steel is a little different from Matt’s. He first joined the business around 15 years ago, working as a storeman at our Brookvale store, cutting steel, preparing orders and serving customers. He stayed for around  five years before deciding it was time to try something different.

“I just wanted to go explore and do something different for a bit,” Dean says.

He spent the next few years working in construction, building valuable skills and gaining hands-on site experience. But at Edcon, good people are never forgotten. We always believe that when you find solid people, you invest in them and create opportunities for them to grow. So, Managing Director Hugh Edmunds made sure Dean knew the door was always open if he ever wanted to return.

And eventually, the time was right for Dean to return. What started as a few days a week in a temporary capacity ended up developing into an entirely new chapter in Dean’s career. With his building and site experience, Dean was asked to assist Edcon’s on-site fabrication team. Hugh then offered him the opportunity to return full-time and, not long afterwards, supported him in starting an apprenticeship as a boilermaker.

For Dean, becoming a mature-age apprentice has meant bringing experience from one part of the construction industry into another. At the same time, the apprenticeship has given him the chance to learn an entirely new set of skills.

Dean credits Edcon’s experienced fabrication team, particularly Tim and Fabrication Manager Aaron, with helping him develop those skills.

For someone returning to the business after years away, the familiar faces also made coming back surprisingly easy: “It was really easy to fit back into the team because I already knew most of the employees,” he says.

There is another full-circle element to Dean’s Edcon story. During his first stint with the company, it was Dean who helped Matt get a job at Edcon after he finished high school. Today, Dean is building a new chapter of his own career and is glad he took the opportunity.

“You’re never too old to learn new things,” he says. His advice to anyone considering a mature-age apprenticeship is equally straightforward. “Get in as fast as you can. Don’t wait too long.”

For Dean, coming back to Edcon has meant returning to familiar people while finding an entirely new direction. And perhaps the best indication that he made the right decision is a simple one.

“I really enjoy coming into work every day. I wake up and I’m like, ‘Yeah, let’s go.’”