Family Business Keeps Wine Industry Coming Back for More

Location:	South Australia
Country:	Australia
Client:	Kangarilla Road Winery, McLaren Flat
Builder:	Southern Vales Sheds (Amace Industries)
Products Used:	LYSAGHT TRIMDEK® LYSAGHT CUSTOM ORB®

A McLaren Vale steel shed business is using steel building products from BlueScope Lysaght and the skill of its workforce to provide a cost effective storage solution for South Australian wineries. Amace Industries was established in 1991 by Mario Amabili and his son David. Trading as Southern Vales Sheds, they set up the business to cater for the growing demand for rural sheds in the district.

"We established the business with a family focus," Mario Amabili said. "Apart from my son David, my wife and two daughters also work in the business. Our customers know this and they know they are dealing with people who are part of the local community."

The company still services the needs of the industrial and, to a much lesser extent, the residential market sectors, but over the last six to eight years it has won a growing share of business in the wine industry.

As the impact of competitive pressures and changing market demand and tastes hit wine makers in South Australia's Southern Vales area, their storage requirements expanded rapidly.

"We built our first wine barrel storage shed about eight years ago when the wineries began to outgrow their storage capacity and we have built more than two dozen since then," Mario Amabili said. "We don't promote ourselves, apart from a very small advertisement in the yellow pages, so the bulk of what we have done is a result of repeat business and word of mouth recommendation."

The company's simple and effective barrel storage solution consists of double skinned and effectively insulated steel sheds purpose built to close tolerances which help ensure an even temperature for their contents.

"Wineries have looked at all kinds of barrel storage solutions," Mario Amabili said. "Some have looked at concrete block and brick walls and others have looked at insulated sandwich panel construction that's often used for cold stores. Our designs provide adequate temperature control for wine barrel storage with a huge cost advantage over alternative construction methods."

The latest wine barrel storage facility built by Amace Industries, a 32 metre by 12 metre building at the Kangarilla Road Winery in McLaren Flat, incorporates all of the experience the company has built up since its first effort.

"We specify steel wall and roof cladding from BlueScope Lysaght because its quality means that our workers can produce a better result," Mario Amabili said.

While not wanting to give away too much about his company's methods, he added that attention to detail played a big role in its success.

The Kangarilla Road Winery barrel storage shed exterior walls are clad in LYSAGHT TRIMDEK® profile rollformed from COLORBOND® steel in the colour Surfmist®.

The walls are lined with R2.0 batts and a further layer of insulating material. A roof clad in LYSAGHT CUSTOM ORB® profile rollformed from ZINCALUME® steel covering a two layer insulation treatment, then clad internally with LYSAGHT CUSTOM ORB® profile rollformed from ZINCALUME® steel completes the envelope.

Openings for sliding doors are kept to a minimum, clad externally in LYSAGHT TRIMDEK® profile rollformed from COLORBOND® steel in the colour Surfmist® and insulated with polystyrene foam.

"We have always made it clear to our customers that we use only Australian made materials and that we only use the best," Mario Amabili said. "Over the years we have experienced outstanding support and service from BlueScope Lysaght and that has helped our reputation."

"We know from discussions with the owners of sheds which we have built previously that our construction methods provide a very stable interior temperature. There is a lot of money tied up in the sheds' contents, so the quality of our workmanship is vital. With BlueScope Lysaght wall and roof cladding we can achieve a very good fit and finish to what we build."