Business features

When Austrian-born Tony and Edith Paarhammer were building their Australian home a pretty Ballan in 1990, they found they could not get their hands on a double-glazed Tilt & Turn window anywhere. Despite its popularity in Europe, the UK and the US since the 1970s, the Tilt & Turn - a window which securely opens in two different positions - had yet to be introduced in Australia.

“We were surprised by many things when we came here,” Edith Paarhammer said with her still-strong Austrian accent. “I think Australia was very isolated for quite some time.”

Noticing this “gap in the market”, Edith and Tony formed their own business under the ‘Paarhammer’ name to use their skills to produce high-quality, custom-made house fittings, and to eventually sell the double and triple-glazed Tilt & Turn windows to the Australian market.

The new company’s first office space was a rented property on private land. “But we decided that we wanted to be on an industrial estate rather than on a private property to be able to receive deliveries, and to be taken seriously.”

In 1990 there were only a few other factories on the Ballan Industrial Estate when the Paarhammers built the original purpose-built factory which they have extended twice since. “We still all help each other out with expertise or machinery.
 
In the beginning, Edith focused on kitchen design and officework, while Tony and a small staff concentrated on manufacturing the quality custom-made furniture, kitchens and windows.

Over the years, the company has grown and launched a number of industry firsts. Paarhammer make the best energy rated window in Australia, they can also manufacture timber windows for bush fire prone areas.  And with the right combination of fittings and glass, their windows can reduce noise up to 80%.”

Tony can handle custom-made energy-efficient 10-metre wide bi-fold doors, and up to three-metre high slding doors. The company was also the first to introduce triple-glazing into Australia, which Edith said “insulates as well as a brick wall”. The fittings are imported from Germany and wood sourced from responsible Australian and Certified European timber suppliers. Recently they were the first window company in Victoria to be awarded with the FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) Chain of Custody certification.

“In the beginning, 90% of our business was in kitchens and furniture,” Edith explained. “A few years ago it was the opposite. Now windows and doors are all we manufacture.”

Product awareness grew substantially following the introduction of the 5-star rating for the building of all new homes. “In the beginning it was the homeowners who knew about the window products and wanted it. Awareness with the architects and builders came later. Now we have some good architects onboard.”

By the end-1990s, the company’s European-style timber windows gained the highest Australian Window Association (AWA) endorsed Window Energy Rating Scheme (WERS) rating in country. “We have our windows tested,” Edith said. “In Australia it is not mandatory to have windows tested, but we do it to give our clients piece of mind.”

The company found it also needed to educate the market regarding the benefits of the Tilt & Turn windows at first. The Paarhammers have actively promoted the company’s window and door products by sending out marketing collateral, attending trade shows and presenting at seminars.

“We have a small product display room here, but we had a large display area at the East Melbourne Building Display Centre. They are relocating to the Collingwood Football Club and we expect to be part of that. We also have agents in South Australia and Tasmania, but we deliver our products Australia-wide.

“Tony and myself also give seminars through the Building Display Centre, at the Seymour Alternative Farming Show, and at different Home Shows at the Exhibition Centre in Melbourne. The talks are on the future of energy-saving windows and doors and how to chose the right ones for your situation.”

The company continues to expand on products and services as the market develops.

“Being still a small company it is easy for us to change,” Edith enthused. “When we see an opportunity we chase it. We now do entrance doors with e-lock, which work with integrated home security systems and can have fingerprint and eye recognition, or motorised sliding door Giants.”

Tony and Edith’s 1990’s move from Vienna to Australia was initially intended to be just a five-year overseas stint. They chose to settle in Ballan, which they had visited on a trip to Australia a few years before.

“We always wanted to live in the country,” Edith said. “We looked at the map and noticed that Ballan was very central to major population centres like Ballarat, Melbourne, Bendigo and Geelong.”

From what was intended as a short stint, Paarhammers are in Ballan to stay. “After more than 18 years, ‘we’re not going anywhere now’,” Edith said with a laugh. “I must say Ballan is home for us and we’ve made so many good friends. This is a very passionate community.”

Edith believes that any disadvantages that the company may have experienced in the beginning due to its regional location no longer exist.

“Initially prospective clients may have though that people in the country may not be on the cutting edge of technology. But we have proved ourselves. We now have good relationships with architects – they come to us.

Salzburg-born Tony and Tirol-born Edith are leading the company to grow further. “We are in the process of building new manufacturing facilities about triple the size just around the corner,” Edith explained. “At the moment we have a three to four-month waiting period – we can’t make our clients wait any longer than that.”