Using industrial design and manufacturing expertise to create sanitisation and work from home solutions


Jason Cachia, Managing Director – Evolve Private Capital, Hon Scott Morrison MP, Prime Minister of Australia and Dylan Retif, CEO – DisplayWise

 

DisplayWise, backed by Evolve Private Capital, is a market leader in the exhibitions and events industry. The company focusses on the custom design and build of displays of which 60%-70% are at the Sydney and Melbourne exhibition centres, which have been effectively closed for more than five months.

As a result of the closures, DisplayWise revenues dropped by more than 90% from late February. With 75 employees and over 10,000 square meters of manufacturing and warehouse space across Sydney and Melbourne, the business needed to find new ways to put their existing expertise in industrial design and manufacturing to use.

The result was a range of new products under two new brands that were brought to market within eight weeks.

BARE Hygiene was created to provide businesses and venues with a stylish solution to meet the COVID-19 requirements for hand sanitisation.

“There was a clear gap in the market for premium, well-designed hand sanitisation units, and being designed and made in Australia, we could be quick to market with our solution” said DisplayWise CEO, Dylan Retif.

Prominent brands utilising the units include Commonwealth Bank, MinterEllison, BMW and Audi, who are also taking advantage of the custom branding opportunities available on the units.

With hand sanitisation expected to be a health recommendation for many years, Bare Hygiene will become another core service area of the business for the long term.

DisplayWise was also very quick to launch Pop Up Desks, an innovative range of desks and home office furniture for adults and children.

The range was innovative in being completely ‘screwless’ and taking only 60 seconds to assemble. The release of the range in March was timely, given major suppliers like Ikea and Officeworks were experiencing significant shortages in stock. Using DisplayWise’s own equipment and cabinet makers meant that these could be designed and manufactured in-house.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison recently conducted a press conference from DisplayWise’s headquarters, commending DisplayWise on its success in launching new product lines to keep their team employed.

Australian Investment Council members and their portfolio companies can access a special discount on the purchase of a Bare Hygiene sanitisation unit or a PopUp Desk. Please contact the Australian Investment Council for information on how to redeem the offer.

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