Meet Joe.
Joe’s one of our sales team members, in his 70’s and still giving 100%! Many of our customers will know Joe for his great sense of humour and infectious like-ability. He will always tell you straight, give great advice and make sure you crack a smile. He’ll have a coffee and chat with anyone as if they’re a long time friend, whether it’s a potential customer or not, he’s just got that kind of warm personality and genuine interest in people.
We sat down with Joe to ask him a few questions about how he keeps his youthful energy and manages to still be 75 and not out! You can watch the video below or read the transcript of our conversation.
Transcript:
‘A Chat With Joe’
Introduce yourself!
J: I’m Joe Coleiro and I’ve worked at Littlehampton Bricks and Pavers approximately 11 years.
How do you stay so young and active?
J: I’ll be 75 in May and I think passion comes within you. I enjoy people. I enjoy talking to people and trying to help people.
Has anything changed in the industry since you started?
J: One of the things in the industry that’s changed since I’ve been in it is the way they manufacture bricks nowadays. Most other companies just don’t do what we do. For example sort bricks by hand so that we make sure the product is 100%. We don’t just get them out of the kiln, wrap them up and send them out.
In order to move forward you have to be innovative. An example of that is that we are now trying to produce what we call a ‘slither’ (ultra slim face-only brick), so that they can be stick on or tilted up to a building.
What was your first project?
J: I think the first project I did was with Con Bastiras (Architect), he built a house with our coachhouse which was at Hyde Park. He’s used us a couple of times and since then it took off. That sort of brick (Coachhouse) is unique, and this is why it’s so popular.
Any advice for people building?
J: The advice I would give to people if they’re building -and I will be building very shortly as well- is to do their homework and see exactly what they really want. As far as colours and type of products. For these sort of items they should really ‘take stock’ and what they choose is gonna stay with them for the rest of their lives pretty well. So you’ve got to be very careful with what you do, whether it’s internal in the building or external.
Any final ‘words of wisdom’?
J: The only advice is to make sure you listen, that’s the advice I give to everybody. Whether you’re producing or selling. You gotta make sure you listen to what people are saying so then you produce what people want. And it’s come to bare too with Melbourne now. We send a lot of bricks to Melbourne and it’s coachhouse. That has taken off very well in Melbourne as well. So it shows that particular brick will never go out of fashion.
Thanks for the chat Joe and congrats on the milestone of 75 and not out! We hope you stay with us for a few more!!
Project of the month.
This month we’ve chosen a project using the brick Joe spoke about a lot: Coachhouse. It’s one of our darker colours and lends itself to a lot of modern architectural designs.
Given it’s unique, stylish chocolate, charcoal and brown tones it’s no wonder it’s so popular. Below are a few photos from projects using the coachhouse brick.
The below photos were sent to us by one of our distributors in Victoria: Hume Bricks and Pavers.
Their website – humebrickspavers.com.au
Have you got photos of a project you completed using our products? Send your photos to us! We’d love to feature them.
Email to: sales@littlehamptonbrick.com.au
Welcome!
Welcome to our new account customers: Adamo Building Concepts Pty Ltd, Specialized Homes, Washington Constructions Pty Ltd, Niche Homes, The Relaxed Garden.
Thanks for reading our June 2017 newsletter and supporting Australian manufacturing and Australian business.
We look forward to speaking with you! Our phone number is 08 8391 1855 or you can email us at: sales@littlehamptonbrick.com.au or visit our showroom. More details can be found on our contact us page.