In a time when some Gloucester businesses are laying off employees or closing down completely, Drifta Camping and 4WD is expanding and continuing to employ.
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Owner Luke Sutton contributes the success of his business to a strong marketing presence on social media which includes short videos showing the products being used.
The business has doubled in size in the last three years with staff numbers currently around 60 and predicted to grow to 80.
“Growing a business is 10 times harder than running a static business,” says Luke.
A large online presence and the ability to ship the products around Australia and other parts of the world are some of the main factors to Drifta’s success.
Luke says his knack for design is also a key factor. Some products are created from ideas he’s had for equipment or accessories not available on the market. His inventions for camping and four wheel driving come to life in his factory.
“You need to have something to motivate you everyday,” says Luke.
About 75% of Drifta’s workforce are under 25 years old with about 50% being in some stage of an apprenticeship.
Luke hires a large number of apprentices because he wants to create a workforce that can build his designs, his way and not be stuck in a set way of fabricating.
It also makes a good work culture as so many of them are working toward the same goal.
His apprentice workforce is so large, TAFE provides a teacher to attend Drifta once a week. There is a classroom set up on site for the first year cabinet making course to be run out of.
Luke says he chose to build his business in Gloucester because of how close it is to the coast and how cheap the industrial land is. He wouldn’t have been able to run the same scale of business if he had set up shop in Newcastle.
Drifta is looking to build more factory sheds and hire more staff, in the near future.
