Momentum Spotlight: Specialised Plumbing Centre

Luisa Marinelli, Company Manager, leading the Specialised Plumbing Centre team during the 2023 Alignment Session.

At Your Business Momentum, we take pride in celebrating the incredible businesses we work with. In this edition of Momentum Spotlight, we feature Specialised Plumbing Centre (SpecPlumb), a family-run business that has been a cornerstone of the plumbing supply industry since 2007. Under the leadership of Ken, Director, and Luisa, Company Manager, SpecPlumb has become synonymous with expertise, reliability, and genuine customer care.

Since becoming our client in April 2020, SpecPlumb has demonstrated resilience, innovation, and a deep commitment to their industry. Recently, Luisa shared some insights into their journey, the unique aspects of their business, and her vision for the future.

Q&A with Luisa Marinelli, Specialised Plumbing Centre

1. Tell us a bit about your story and how you came to be here?

Specialised Plumbing Centre is a family-run business and opened its doors in May 2007 with a focus on providing the hard-to-get gear and fittings for maintenance plumbers. Like all progressive businesses, we have changed with the needs of the industry and evolved to two stores strategically positioned in Albion and Acacia Ridge, offering products for commercial, civil and maintenance plumbers as well as builders and home renovators.

Ken, the Director, is a plumber with over 40 years of plumbing experience and takes pride in helping plumbers using his knowledge and insight, especially those new to the industry. In 2020, I made the decision to move from a teaching career of over 30 years to steer the company through Covid and beyond. I love my new playground. Ken and I have surrounded ourselves with great staff with positive can-do attitudes.

2. Please tell us a bit about your business and what makes it unique?

Our three uniques as listed below only tell part of our story and our why:

• Our product knowledge
• Endeavour to deliver within 1.5 hours
• We know our customers, it’s personal

All our staff consistently train and upskill to ensure the advice given is relevant. All plumbing supply businesses aim for efficient delivery times, but we actively keep our customers informed of arrival times and any changes. We know all our customers by name and know how they operate, what products they prefer, and how to get them out of tricky plumbing situations. We have sponsored customers in their charity events, they attend footy matches with our staff, and we visit their jobs on-site to ensure everything is going to plan.

We also have staff who study at university, including Business, IT, and Engineering degrees. Their schedules work around their university commitments. These young students bring diversity and depth to our workforce and, for them, a career pathway.

3. What has been your greatest learning as a leader?

My greatest learning is that I am always learning. I have a collaborative leadership style and involve many members of the team to be part of some decisions to ensure acceptance and success.

Change management has been a huge component of what I have been doing for the last four years and understanding and applying models and theories to continually improve all facets of the business. Understanding why change is needed, planning for it, implementing it, and then evaluating its success is done each time. Change can be hard for anyone, and the workplace can present a different level of complexity.

For successful change, leaders need to be resolute with their decisions, keep open lines of communication, but above all, know when to make quick, effective decisions and when to take time to ensure positive outcomes.

4. If you were to start all over again, what would you do differently?

Although leaders need to prioritise strategy to progress their business I could have spent more time on the ground understanding the operations of my new business environment. Spending this time may have accelerated the urgency of replacing old and inefficient technology, but I got there in the end, and we haven’t looked back. We love our new inventory management software.

5. Where do you see the opportunities for the future in your industry?

Specialised Plumbing Centre has only scratched the surface of opportunities in the plumbing industry. Technology is a major driver in our business and in the industry and software that helps plumbers do their job more efficiently is at the forefront of our current project.

E-commerce, trade portals and social media are continually being developed in-house to reach and attract new clients. Additionally, we are acutely aware of the countdown to the Olympics and the amount of new construction still to commence. Opportunities are still coming our way.

Specialised Plumbing Centre’s story is one of perseverance, adaptability, and forward-thinking leadership. Luisa’s insights highlight not only the strength of their past but also the exciting opportunities that lie ahead for SpecPlumb and the plumbing industry as a whole.

At Your Business Momentum, we’re proud to partner with businesses like Specialised Plumbing Centre, supporting them in achieving their goals and driving growth. Stay tuned for more inspiring stories in our Momentum Spotlight series!

About Momentum Spotlight

Our Momentum Spotlight series celebrates the incredible organisations we’ve had the privilege of working with. Through their stories, we aim to inspire others to embrace growth, leadership, and innovation in their businesses.