Murray Bridge entrepreneur has turned a hobby into a six-figure income with Kennewell
A Murray Bridge CNC machining company has helped Old Mate Designs’ Ben Smith turn a side hustle into his main gig.
This sponsored story is brought to you by Kennewell.
Ben Smith’s idea was a simple one: take a product already available in stores, make a higher-quality version and see if anyone would like to buy one.
In just a couple of years, the Murray Bridge entrepreneur has experienced success beyond his wildest dreams.
His herb grinders, sold under the name Old Mate Designs, have flown off the shelves – he has shipped almost 4000 of them to customers in 43 countries, and made hundreds of thousands of dollars in the process.
Key to his success is the fact that he is able to manufacture them at a superior quality, and competitive price, at Kennewell CNC Machining in Murray Bridge.
“It’s pretty tricky to prototype them and get them made, just because of the quality and the tolerances, so to try and outsource that (work) wouldn’t have been viable,” he says.
“Because Kennewell have got a robot cell, it brings the cost per piece down and allows me to compete with China and other countries.
“There’s a bit more investment up front, but it all pays off when you have a production run of a couple of thousand.
“Kennewell’s are good like that: they can do batch work, they can do small prototype runs, you can go from the concept stage right through to mass production.”
Old Mate Designs’ grinders are made from medical-grade stainless steel instead of cheap aluminium, and spin freely around a bearing similar to those you’d find on a skateboard.
Ben, who is a machinist himself, originally started the business as a side hustle while working at Kennewell.
These days he splits his time between the two businesses, and has his own manufacturing space at Kennewell’s workshop on Sturt Reserve Road.
“There are a few more products and ideas I can run past the engineers here, they throw their thoughts and ideas in and we all have a conversation about making quality products,” he says.
“It’s good having other experienced people here who know about engineering and things that you can liaise with.”
So if you have a product idea you’d like to try out, be like Ben – contact the Kennewell team and see if they can help you make it a reality.
“Anyone can walk in with an idea in their head, Rory (Jackermis) can draw it up, they’ve got a slew of people out there machining, and if they can’t do it they can get it done (elsewhere),” Ben says.
“We can compete with the world here in Murray Bridge.
“People say we don’t do manufacturing in Australia any more, but we do.”
- Contact Kennewell: Email quotes@kennewell.com, call 8532 4977 or visit Kennewell at 8 Sturt Reserve Road, Murray Bridge between 8am and 4pm on weekdays.
- More information: kennewell.com.
- Read more: If you can imagine it, Kennewell CNC Machining can manufacture it
Advertising to more than 20,000 highly engaged locals can do wonders for your business. Call Murray Bridge News’ Jane Intini on 0418 835 768 or email jane@murraybridge.news.
Peri Strathearn
