We were here to talk with the owner, Phil Cooymans about his rapidly growing business. Phil has owned the business since the late 1990's and moved to this location, a former panel and paint sprayshop, in 2018.  It was Phil's connection with the local business community which contributed to the 'first dibs' offer to purchase this building.

Adelaide Pressed Metal specialises in Pressed Metal Designs which are based on dies which had been created over a century ago. We discovered that the pressed metal industry is within a broader trade category of Ceiling Fixers, and this is how Phil started as an apprentice.

There were so many things we wanted to talk to Phil about.

How did he come to own this business from his early beginnings as an apprentice, given that he started his career with fibrous ceilings and not pressed metal?

Phil described his early days as an apprentice where he moved around different divisions - which provided him with broad experience and learning. The core skills of ceiling fixing are transferrable between fibrous ceilings and pressed metal, so this was a great grounding.

He then completed further study at TAFE where he secured a builder's licence. As a result of having experience in a a range of different workplaces, Phil seemed to be in the right place at the right time and then able to take up opportunities when they came along.

In the late 1990's Phil started Adelaide Pressed Metal to accommodate the growing need for a quality pressed metal product with only around 36 designs. In 2010 when the opportunity to acquire the original pressed metal dies from SA company TW Inghams was offered to him, Phil was able to purchase all the dies securing the future and authenticity of the pressed metal product and expanding the product range to the largest in Australia. As the only Australian company to still have original dies, some dating back to over 100 years, Phil believes this is one of many competitive advantages he has in his industry today.

How did his business come to grow so quickly?

Walking into the showroom, there is an impressive list of locations they have expanded to around Australia and beyond.

Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney, Tasmania and Auckland, with Johannesburg opening soon.

Phil explained that there were a number of factors which have contributed to the extraordinary growth of his business.

• the core skills of his trade gained through apprenticeship and ongoing continuous education and 40 years experience
• he was able to purchase all the historical original dies – and now all the heritage architects and others working on restoration projects know about him
• many historic buildings around the world (but particularly in commonwealth countries) have historic restoration projects which are needing work now
• the internet and technology - people can find him! In the past it would have been easy for those wanting restorations to assume that this was all a lost art. However the power of search on Instagram and Facebook, together with all the information on his website have made him accessible and visible all over the world. The images from his work showed people searching for authentic restorations that there was a place which still had the dies and the knowledge to undertake these complex projects
• advances in technology have made it quicker and more cost effective to create exact reproductions of original products
• there is more, not less demand for ceiling fixing skills as building practices are changing. According to Phil, 80% of fixing work in construction is now done by ceiling fixers

All of these things contributed to having foundations and being in the right place at the right time in terms of the business being poised to grow.

The list of current and recent projects keeps growing, and can be viewed on his website, but we had to specifically mention that it was Phil and his team who restored our very own Woodville Town Hall. Projects where he can then come in as a guest and say 'I did that' is something that provides a real sense of pride for Phil.