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Media Publications
12/04/2024 The Australian – How Bowens Nailed Hardware Home Delivery
Family owned Bowens’ Uber inspiration has shaken up the staid world of hardware delivery and it’s all thanks to a chance conversation with the former boss of electronics chain JB Hi-Fi.
11/09/23 The Property Pack – Bowens Partners with Uber Direct in Construction First
Family-owned timber and hardware business Bowens has inked an innovative new deal with Uber Direct that sees hardware items delivered to work sites and homes in under 90 minutes for a $10 flat fee.
11/09/23 Scene.com.au – Bowens & Uber Partner to Bring 90-minute Hardware Deliveries to Victorian Builders
From September 5th, 2023, Bowens’ customers will be able to order last minute hardware supplies from all stores that are serviced by Uber Delivery for a $10 flat fee. This fast and affordable delivery service will enable builders and trades the convenience of receiving products to jobsites without having to stop work.
07/09/23 Commercial Real Estate – Bunnings invests $75m in a changing home-build market
Bowens managing director John Bowen said a lack of skilled labour had encouraged the development of prefabricated components, but said the conditions that prompted greater levels of prefab – as in many European countries – did not exist in Australia.
07/09/23 Australian Financial Review – Bunnings invests $75m in a changing home-build market
I don’t think what works overseas necessarily is appropriate for the Australian market, Bowens managing director, John Bowen, said of the influx of truss manufacturers in Melbourne. Bowens, alongside Dahlsens Building Centres and Independent Hardware Group are the leaders of timber truss manufacturing in Australia.
20/03/23 Star News – Tradies in the toilet
Clyde has ranked number one in portaloo rentals, with new data from AIM Hire and Building materials giant Bowens showing Clyde tradies log the most hours on site.
19/03/23 Herald Sun – Boom Down the loo
Bowens Director, Andy Bowen, noted increase portaloo demand for Drouin, Garfield, Warragul, Lang Lang and Phillip Island across the past 18 months.
13/03/23 realestate.com.au – Portaloos reveal where most Victorian tradies are on the job, and looming building sector issues
Bowens in collaboration with Aim Hire have revealed a novel portaloo index for where Victoria’s tradies log the most hours, which has Clyde in Melbourne’s southeast as number one with 441 (6 per cent) of the rentals.
13/03/23 news.com.au – Portaloos reveal where most Victorian tradies are on the job, and looming building sector issues
Building materials giant Bowens in collaboration with AIM Hire have revealed almost 7000 temporary toilets were occupied on building sites across the state last year, 96 per cent of those available.
09/03/23 Bloomberg – Akeneo Honors PXM Champions at Akeneo Unlock 2023
Akeneo granted an Ambassador Honor to Bowens, a market leader in supplying the largest variety of quality timber and building supplies in Australia. Bowens now has a strategic advantage over competitors and as it more quickly grows its online store and its eCommerce customer journey.
03/03/23 B&T Magazine – Finally! Women Leading Tech Finalists Revealed
This year, Bowens Digital Marketing Manager, Chrystal Dias, is one of 10 finalists in the Marketing Category for The Women Leading Tech Awards, presented by Atlassian. This award recognises and supports gender diversity and representation in the tech industry.
01/02/23 Dynamic Business – The 2023 blueprint for attracting and retaining top talent
Vesna Brown, Head of HR at Bowens, speaks to maintaining and keeping a productive workforce by ” priding ourselves on putting our team first and giving them the tools to build meaningful careers as well as connections at Bowens.
28/12/22 Gizmodo – You Only Actually Need to Own 1 Power Tool
So, you’ve moved out of your parents’ place, and now you need to set up your very own toolkit (…) The big question is, which power (and other) tools do you actually need to own, and which ones are better to borrow/rent? The author, Alice Clarke, had a chance to speak to an ambassador for Bowens and professional builder, Jeconiah Peni, to discuss which tools everyone needs to own.
15/12/22 CMO – How this marketer is building a digital future for Bowens
Family-owned building supplies business sees eCommerce become a hefty contributor off the back of its digital marketing smarts.
15/12/22 Bowens – New store update – Cheltenham
Bowens will be opening their 19th store in Cheltenham in February 2023. Bowens, Australia’s leading provider of high quality building supplies and timber, marking the third new store opening for the brand within 6 months.
06/12/22 Local living – Hundreds attend Bowens Warragul official opening
Bowens Warragul was officially opened last Wednesday with hundreds of people joining in the festivities.
25/11/22 Financial Review – Australian Financial Reviews Fast 100
The Fast 100 also notes nominal growth, and on that measure the building materials supplier Bowens came out on top, the family business growing from $367 million revenue in 2019-20 to $511 million in 2021-22, a $144 million increase.
20/09/22 Local living – Bowens opens new Warragul store to support West Gippsland builders and the community
Australia’s largest provider of high-quality building supplies and timber, Bowens, opened a new store in Warragul, marking the seventeenth store in their state-wide network.
09/09/22 Business Daily Media – Australia’s Biggest Trade Expo is back in 2022 with Bowens
The Bowens Building and Innovation Expo, Australia’s biggest trade Expo, is back, bigger and better than ever on Wednesday, 7 September at the Royal Exhibition Building in Melbourne. With an emphasis on enabling builders to increase their speed of construction and reduce reliance on trades through innovation, the Expo will welcome over 5,000 builders, tradespeople and industry professionals to learn more about the future of building.
04/09/22 Australian Property Journal – Super funds stepping up to invest in social housing
Australia’s largest provider of timber and building supplies, Bowens, welcomed the federal government’s $1.1 billion commitment to support 180,000 fee-free TAFE places in 2023.
01/09/22 Human Resources Director – Albanese announces TAFE $1.1 billion injection
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese chose the first day of the Jobs Summit to announce a $1.1 billion training package to fund an additional 180,000 fee-free TAFE places by 2023. Director and Chief Investment Officer of Bowens, Andy Bowen said that it was a positive step forward addressing ongoing national labour shortages.
23/08/22 The Property Scene – Bowens saves Australian builders time and money with the adoption of eInvoicing
Bowens is the market leader in supplying the largest variety of quality timber and building supplies in Australia and is one of the first private businesses to introduce eInvoicing (electric invoicing) capabilities. Available across all e-commerce and in store customer account orders, Bowens early adoption of eInvoicing demonstrates the brand as a key driver in digitising and evolving the construction industry for the builder.
22/08/22 accountantdaily – Hardware firm gives e-invoicing huge thumbs up
Victorian construction supplier Bowens believes it is one of the first private companies to install e-invoicing and said its success should inspire other businesses.
24/06/22 realcommercial.com.au – Bowens embarks on $50 million expansion amid home construction boom
Timber and building supplies group Bowens has accelerated its expansion plans to meet demand during the housing construction boom, investing $50 million in its store network…Bowens will open its 17th store in August in Warragul, 100km south-east of Melbourne, after buying and refurbishing a 10,700sqm former Bunnings site.
24/05/22 Gazette – Bowens to open in Warragul
Mr Bowen said most of the company’s customers are medium to small sized building companies, many of which operate in Warragul and surrounds. However, anyone can purchase their products.
29/04/22 The Property Tribune – Victorian building supplier to spend $50M in new and refurbished stores
Bowens, a family business that already operates 16 stores in Victoria, will open three new sites in the state and refurbish an additional four in a move the company’s director and chief investment officer Andy Bowen said was in direct response to the current post-COVID construction upturn.
28/04/22 realestatesource.com.au. – Bowens nails Melton site as part of $50m expansion plan
Bowens, a family business that already operates 16 stores in Victoria, will open three new sites in the state and refurbish an additional four in a move the company’s director and chief investment officer Andy Bowen said was in direct response to the current post-COVID construction upturn.
28/04/22 The Age – ‘Perfect storm’: Housing boom triggers Bowens hardware expansion
Bowens, a family business that already operates 16 stores in Victoria, will open three new sites in the state and refurbish an additional four in a move the company’s director and chief investment officer Andy Bowen said was in direct response to the current post-COVID construction upturn.
28/04/22 The Sydney Morning Herald – ‘Perfect storm’: Housing boom triggers Bowens hardware expansion
Independent hardware chain Bowens will spend $50 million on a major store expansion throughout Victoria as the industry weathers the combined pressures of a construction boom, rising prices and supply shortages.
08/03/22 9 News – Women tradies working to smash bias out of the construction industry
The days when women were rebuffed and discouraged from working in trades fortunately appear to be behind us, but there’s still plenty of bias to break when it comes to females in the industry.
25/02/22 Eventbrite – How Creators are Celebrating International Women’s Day with Events (And How You Can Too)
With almost 130 years of experience supplying hardware to the construction industry in Victoria, Bowens is committed to encouraging the next generation of women to get involved in traditionally male-dominated professions.
11/02/22 The Australian Business Review- How Melbourne hardware firm Bowens has thrived and survived
John says his greatest learning from his father, who in his heyday famously knew the names of every staff member, was “to be honest and to engage with people beyond just the work they are doing.”
01/02/22 The Fifth Estate – The prefab timber and building supply business is booming
Today, Bowens is among the biggest 150 privately-owned companies in Australia. It has 16 stores throughout Melbourne, it has a lightweight timber prefabrication business that Bowen claims is the most technologically advanced in Australia, and it’s got a major digitalisation strategy underway.
25/01/22 PV Magazine – Building materials company Bowens invests $1.2 million in solar and sustainability future
Victoria’s Bowens has invested $1.2 million in a large scale rooftop solar installation along with power factor correction units in order to cut its carbon emissions and promote sustainable practices in the construction sector.
17/01/22 Eco Voice – Bowens invests $1.2M for a sustainable future
Investing over $1.2M into the project, Bowens is introducing efforts to improve energy efficiencies across their stores and contribute cleaner energy to the grid through the installation of solar panels and Power Factor Correction Units (PFCs).
11/01/22 Real Estate – Victorian construction boom comes with new-home buyer warning as wait times blow out
One of the nation’s biggest timber providers, Bowens, on Monday announced a $1.2m move towards reinforcing its energy supply with power factor units and solar modules to reduce the risk of summer blackouts affecting manufacturing, and to cut their carbon footprint.
15/11/21 Star Mail – Retiring after 48 years with Bowens
Bowens has a reputation for having long term employees, something Mount Evelyn branch manager Brett Howlett said is a testament to the Bowen family and the opportunities created by the company.
30/10/21 Real Estate – Two-year wait to build amid record Melbourne boom
Bowens managing director John Bowen heads the nation’s largest timber-frame supplier and said while Melbourne’s recent construction sector shutdown had helped them “catch up a little bit”, and mills improving efficiencies by up to 10 per cent since Covid-19 arrived in Australia, the industry that prided itself on being as reliable as “bread and milk” for the past 20 years could do nothing more to speed up production.
22/10/21 Real Estate – Master Builders analysis shows 360 Victorian building businesses insolvent in a year
Bowens timber boss John Bowen, whose firm is the nations leading timber frames supplier, this week said their firm had noticed it took most builders “a week or two to get started”.
14/10/21 Star Journal – Timber legend marks 60
From a lineage of sports champions, Jeff Harvey has scored an incredible 60 years with Bowens…The workplace has been well and truly central to his life and part of his family.
06/07/21 CMO – Bringing digital service delivery to building supplies
For 127-year-old timber and hardware business, Bowens, that represents the perfect opportunity to win the trade and loyalty of a new generation of Australia’s booming building industry.
03/06/21 Honan Insurance Group – Honing In on Our Partners: Bowens
The technology within our manufacturing at Timbertruss is the first of its kind in the world. We have taken automation to a completely new level in the industry, that will revolutionise the way homes are built in Australia.
08/12/23 – Bowens Timber & Hardware Acquires Old Bunnings Melton Property
On Friday, December 8th, Australia’s leading timber and building materials supplier, Bowens, acquired 149-169 Barries Road, Melton West, the site of the old Bunnings Warehouse. Bowens will move from their existing site on Reserve Road, Melton to the new 30,040 sqm site mid-2024.
08/09/23 – Bowens and Uber Partner to Bring 90-minute Deliveries to Victorian Builders
Bowens, Australia’s leading supplier of quality timber and building products, today announced its partnership with Uber Delivery. This partnership will enable 90-minute hardware deliveries for builders, trades and retail customers across Melbourne and regional Victoria.
06/12/22 – Bowens strengthens eastern serviceability in key growth corridor
On Wednesday, November 30th, Bowens will be celebrating its brand new Warragul store with local builders invited to come and join in the festivities. The Warragul store has become the 17th store in Bowens state-wide network as the fourth-generation, family-owned Australian business remains Australia’s leading timber and building materials supplier, with 2022 representing a key year for its network growth across Victoria.
03/10/22 – Bowens acquires local Melton Timber & Hardware, better servicing local builders
Australia’s largest provider of high quality building supplies and timber, Bowens, has acquired Melton Timber & Hardware (MTH) from the existing owners, converting the space into a Bowens Melton store from October 8, 2022.
03/10/22 – Introducing Circa; a design destination for curated architectural products
Circa (formerly Showroom by Bowens) has relaunched as a dedicated resource for architects, interior and product designers. Based in Port Melbourne, delivering exclusive product launches and technical training as well as providing an inspired venue for industry events, Circa is a multi-purpose space ready to inspire and entertain.
23/02/22 – Bowens Women in Trade Event
The Margaret Hickey Award has been developed to celebrate women working in construction, while encouraging the next generation of women in trade.
10/01/22 – Bowens invests in sustainable business
Investing over $1.2M into the project, Bowens is introducing efforts to improve energy efficiencies across their stores and contribute cleaner energy to the grid through the installation of solar panels and Power Factor Correction Units (PFCs).
01/10/21 – Bowens responds to challenges for building industry
In the face of global price increases for supplies and a concurrent increase in construction across the country, Bowens told builders that demand will stabilise, resulting in adequate supply for those projects, giving builders the confidence to plan for the future.
23/06/21 – Bowens growth is beyond the building boom of the pandemic
Bowens, a fourth-generation, family-owned Australian business and market leader in supplying the largest variety of quality timber and building supplies in Australia, is projected to show a 13 per cent increase in revenue jumping from $367 million in FY 2020 to a projected $416 million in FY 2021.
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