Author Archives: Michael McKern

We might be biased, but we love our new website and logo.

To keep ourselves, our customers and the Bendigo community excited about the McKern Steel name, we decided it was time for a refresh. To that, we teamed up with Yoke, a creative studio with a Bendigo office who leverages their graphic design and web design power from their swish warehouse in Collingwood, Melbourne.

One of our favourite things about Yoke is that their graphic design team spends a lot of time and effort creating a story behind the brand; it’s taught us a lot about the thinking that goes into a logo and a website.

Graphic designer Renèe from Yoke, has been kind enough to share the McKern Steel re-brand story with our blog readers.

The entire brand has a new look that Managing Director Michael McKern says represents the innovative business that McKern Steel is.

“Our 2013 re-brand has sparked an exciting partnership with Yoke. Both Peter [Bendigo General Manager] and Melyssa [Account Manager] have been great to deal with, and the web design has surpassed my expectations. The whole team really know their stuff,” he said.

This website has been a long time in the making; we hope you find it easy to use, on all devices.

Let us know what you think!

www.facebook.com/mckernsteel1/

@mckernsteel1

23 October, 2013  – Last night, the McKern Foundation donated $34,600 to more 11 community groups in its eighth round of community donations.

McKern Foundation, the philanthropic arm of McKern Steel, allows community groups to receive funding to support their ventures and interests. Categories include health and fitness related initiatives, as well as initiatives that drive education, environmental preservation and enhancement of culture.

After four strong years of donations half-yearly, Michael McKern, McKern Steel Managing Director, said the groups all deserved the support.

“Four years ago we set up our own company foundation to give money to the charitable groups, sporting groups and community groups. We do this twice a year and the presentation night is a chance to hear from some of the groups about what they’ve been up to,” he said.

The McKern Foundation has a board who has the difficult task of selecting the recipients for each round, as more groups reach to the foundation for support.

“Its getting harder and harder for community groups to find funding and they’re all appreciative of that support to help drive their community programs,” Michael explains.

Below is a list of the successful participants for Round 8 of McKern Foundation community donations.

If you are a part of or know a community group who could use a little bit of help, you can apply online at http://www.mckern.net.au/foundation/

We have a full-time opportunity for an experienced Building Project Manager/Structural Steel Detailer to join our dedicated and innovative team. Structural detailing and building project management experience is required.

McKern Steel is a solid, locally-owned company that takes great care of their employees and loves to see them succeed! Apply today an opportunity to work with our innovative team who have helped to make McKern Steel Victoria’s premier steel supplier to the Domestic Home Builders market. If you have strong communication skills, people management and the ability to prioritise, we want to hear from you.

To be considered for this position you will also need to be able to demonstrate a capacity to work hard, be innovative, and mechanically and engineering-minded.

Here’s what you’ll be doing:

– Producing shop drawings from customer engineering and plans as per your daily assigned tasks. Design drawings must comply with all industry standards and protocols.
– Liaise with customers to complete shop drawings satisfactorily, quickly solve issues etc.
– The detailer is responsible for following the specific job through to completion to help solve any trouble shooting both quickly and cost-effectively.
– Must work as a team, to get all tasks completed efficiently, and bounce ideas off each other when issues arise.
– Detailers may be responsible for specific project customers at times, and may be required to drive to site for site measurements if and face-to-face customer contact.
– Understand the overall company vision and report back to the managing director.

OH&S REQUIREMENTS

– Understand and maintain safe working practices that contribute to an incident and injury free working environment
– Identify areas for improvement, participate in development or solutions, and assist with their implementation and evaluation
– Accept responsibility for personal safety, comply with OHS standards and procedures, and participate in OHS management and reporting of hazards.

Please contact Michael McKern, Managing Director to apply.

Phone: (03) 5446 9202
Email: michael@mckern.net.au

Applications close 5pm October 30, 2013.

The Bendigo Spirit is playing their first home game of the 2013/14 WNBL season tonight when the reigning league champions host the Adelaide Lightning from 7.30pm.

The unfurling of the Spirit’s 2012-13 WNBL championship banner will precede tonight’s game, but Spirit coach Bernie Harrower says the club can’t afford to dwell on past achievements.

“As much as it’s very special for us to unfurl the flag in front of our fans at home, that was last year.

“Part of my coaching philosophy all along is you’ve got to win 90 to 100 per cent of your games at home if you want to finish in the top two.”

The Spirit’s championship defence got off to a rocky start last Friday night when they were beaten by 12 points in Townsville in a grand final re-match.

The defending WNBL champions went into last weekend’s match underdone, and were disappointed both in the loss and they way they played as a team, according to captain Kristi Harrower.

“It was disappointing, what was probably more disappointing was that we were erratic and just didn’t get through stuff and that’s just not the way we play,” Harrower, who had 11 assists on the game but was restricted to 1-of-11 shooting, said.

This week, though, the Spirit gets to play in front of their home crowd at the Bendigo Stadium.

It will be the first time Spirit fans get to see recruits Tessa Lavey, Sara Blicavs, Heather Oliver and Elyse Penaluna in action on their home floor.

Adelaide is also hoping for their first win after their four-point loss to West Coast last weekend, and are still searching for the right mix amongst its group after the departure of reigning league Most Valuable Player Suzy Batkovic.

Over the journey, McKern Foundation has proudly supported the Bendigo Spirit with an excess of $8000.

GO SPIRIT!

Hawthorn and Fremantle face off at the MCG for the 2013 AFL Grand Final at 2.30pm tomorrow afternoon.

As a family-run business, our favourite story surrounds the Hill brothers on opposite teams, tousling for the ultimate reward tomorrow.

Joe and James McKern, sons of Michael, spent many years kicking the footy around at the family home imagining they were on the MCG on Grand Final day and tomorrow, Stephen and Bradley Hill are set to become the first pair of brothers to play against each other in an AFL/VFL Grand Final since 1912.

Alan (Essendon) and Vic (South Melbourne) Belcher lined up over 100 years ago to see the eldest brother, Alan, would win a trophy he would never forget.

If history were to repeat, Stephen – the elder Hill brother – who has now played 107 matches for the Dockers, would end tomorrow the winner.

He says, “mum’s really proud and happy and really looking forward to this week.

“She’ll be supporting both of us.”

The game will be the first time Fremantle has appeared on that one day in September since the club’s inception in 1995, while Hawthorn have won 10 out of their 16 grand final berths, the most recent of which ended in a 10-point loss to Sydney Swans last year.

Fremantle’s relentless pressure and defensive workrate has been its trademark in season 2013, while the Hawks’ plethora of forward options, coupled with an experienced back six, give it strength at either end of the ground.

Along with the Hill brothers making history, there are plenty of other feel-good stories that surround tomorrow’s contest.

Hawthorn fullback Brian Lake, after being traded from a Western Bulldogs team that lost three consecutive preliminary finals between 2008-10, has finally made it to his first Grand Final.

Hawks ruckman Max Bailey’s career looked over after battling recurring knee injuries, but he will line up on Saturday alongside Jonathan Simpkin, who in his first year as a Hawk has the chance to win two grand finals in two weeks, after being best afield in Box HIll’s VFL flag last weekend.

Freo’s inspirational skipper Matthew Pavlich would be one of the most deserving recipients of a premiership medallion if the Dockers are to get up, as a win in Pavlich’s 291st game would leave him only trailing Shane Crawford and Paul Williams as the players who had to wait longest for their first taste of premiership glory.

The six-time All-Australian and six-time club best and fairest winner will make his debut on the game’s biggest stage tomorrow, but says the side’s preparation has been “perfect”.

Likewise, backman Luke McPharlin, who was traded with Trent Croad from the Hawks to the Dockers, and has flourished into one of the competition’s premier defenders.

There will be individual battles throughout the day including Crowley on Mitchell, Bailey and Sandilands in the ruck, McPharlin on Franklin, but grand final day is a battle of more than just individuals.

It is a battle of the collective, when nothing less than a true team performance will do, and a battle of will, knowing that making that next contest or tackle could play a part in achieving a boyhood dream.

McKern Steel MD Michael McKern says the Hawks will win by 21, and will be barracking for Grant Birchall (Hawthorn) to win the Norm Smith medal.

See the rest of the McKern Steel team’s tips below:

• Emma McKern (GM – Admin) Hawks by 10.
• Sarah Foley (Admin) Hawks by 18.
• Amy Green (Admin) Freo by 5.
• Michelle Wilson (Admin) Hawks by 45.
• Karrine Parker (Sub-contractor Co-ordinator) Hawks by 8.
• Phill Cursons (Structural Detailer) Freo by 14.
• Nathan Rogers (Structural Detailer) Freo by 23.
• Michael Coombs (Structural Detailer) Freo by 3 and Essendon to host the after-party!!!

By Melyssa Dunlop and Joel Peterson, September 27, 2013

McKern Steel’s new logo celebrates 37 years in business as they continue to pioneer regional steel manufacturing in Australia. The entire McKern brand – including the foundation logo – now has a new look that Michael McKern says represents the same core values but also a modern vision.

“There’s been a renewed sense of purpose at McKern Steel. We want our logo and website — the heart of our brand — to reflect the innovative business that we are. We’re the same old company that Bendigo knows, with new ideas for the future.”

– Michael McKern, Managing Director

The name and values of the well-established family business remain strong, as Joe, Emma and Samantha Butcher (McKern) all work to shape their dad’s company for the future. McKern Steel Managing Director, Michael McKern, was named the 2010 Greater Bendigo Citizen of the Year in recognition of his contribution to community programs. Michael’s community support has been so large that the McKern Foundation was created, offering regular grants to regional applicants who needed financial support.