About McKern Steel

McKern Steel is a family run business based in regional Victoria, servicing many of the state's top domestic home building firms, across all metropolitan and regional areas.  Our key clients include Porter Davis, Simonds, Metricon, JG King, Henley, Burbank and many more.

McKern Steel customers enjoy the following points of difference:
  • Responsiveness,
  • Accuracy of supply,
  • Simplified customer procedures, and
  • A strong community focus.

McKern Steel has developed a number of new services which has created increased organic growth, allowing us to solidify our relationship with our customer base as we grow together.
Moving from a supplier of simple brick and structural steel - through innovative thinking and new product development - we can offer our clients the added services of:
  • Site measures,
  • Quoting,
  • Balustrading,
  • T-Bar lifting,
  • Galvanising,
  • Fabricated arches, and
  • More.

The key benefit to the customer is a simple relationship where just one call is required for drafting, production, delivery, installation and invoicing to occur.

A market leader, McKern Steel proudly services the vast majority of Victoria’s biggest and most successful domestic home building companies with the aim of providing 100% of these clients steel-related purchasing needs.  The company’s motto “Big enough to be statewide, small enough to be personal” exemplifies the commitment to personal service which has resulted in DIFOT (Delivery in full on time) figures consistently on and around 95%.
McKern Steel’s success can be attributed to:
  • Establishing long standing relationships with major clients,
  • Having an intimate understanding of the market,
  • Providing excellent and responsive service with 9 trucks delivering to Melbourne and other areas daily,
  • And employing and nurturing talented staff.

Servicing Metro clients from a regional base in Central Victoria, can often mean managing client’s perceptions of not only logistical distance, but also the capabilities of the company. We have been able to overcome this by showing a commitment to responsiveness and accuracy of supply, and the result is a proven track record of customer satisfaction.

A customer survey conducted in 2011 showed an average rating of 9.0 out of 10 for overall customer service, which is now the benchmark for the company to improve on in financial year 2011-2012 and beyond.
Maintaining this level of satisfaction depends on continual improvements in back office processes (eg streamlined creation of daily “run sheets”) and dedication to accuracy of supply (eg digital photography to document every customer delivery).  Our staff follow the policy of attending to grievances immediately and collaborating internally to ensure a swift positive outcome for the customer.
Michael and Joe McKern conduct regular customer meetings to ensure any current or potential issues are dealt with in a civil and timely manner – these visits also enable discussion of new opportunities.  The extraordinary relationship that has evolved with key clients, has led to many national building firms requesting interstate service from McKern Steel, leading Michael and the team to consider the possibility of geographic expansion.
McKern Steel addresses the ever-present risk of price-based competition by committing to providing a premium customer experience and by offering a “full service”, where one touch point can arrange multiple products and services right through to installation.
Michael and the team understand the importance of nurturing personal and community relationships. Some key customers have accessed McKern Steel Foundation grants to leverage additional support for their own pet charitable projects. This goodwill helps to create an even stronger bond.

The recent establishment of the McKern Steel Foundation has helped formalise McKern Steel’s long standing commitment to community support. $40,000 per year is presented to the community in various areas.

Further to the formal contributions of the Foundation, McKern Steel sponsors an array of sporting clubs and community events.

Michael McKern provides hands on work in administering “Our Place” and running the weekly “Eaglehawk Community Brekky”.
Michael is chairman of Empowering Eaglehawk, Bendigo Regional YMCA and FEO (Future Employment Opportunities), and has been actively involved in the establishment of the Bendigo Technical College which provides pathways for apprentices into the workforce.
Michael was proud to be named the 2010 Greater Bendigo Citizen of the Year, in recognition of his hands-on contribution to many community programs.

McKern Steel is a well-established and professional company, with strong buying power and a commitment to personalised customer service.