Cabinet business building momentum

JOEL Ross is a young man with a steely determination to make his deep dive into the business world a successful one.

The 35-year-old Arrernte father of three established Desert Cabinets and Joinery in Alice Springs last year with a dream of building a sustainable future for his young family.

“I didn’t want to hang around and work for someone else for the rest of my life, I wanted to go and do my own thing.”

And that’s exactly what he’s doing.

After securing commercial premises to run his operations from, Joel has now entered a phase of major business growth.

He recently received a capital injection from Aboriginal Investment NT through its opening round of grant funding. It’s helped him to purchase new equipment, boosting production and allowing him to take on more work.

The arrival of a new CNC router machine has been a major game-changer, allowing him to create flat-pack cabinets, ready for assembly – all with the click of a computer mouse.

“CNC is crucial to cabinetmaking businesses in the modern era if you want to be competitive. Basically, our output capability goes up 10-fold with a machine like this,” Joel said. 

“It cuts up raw boards and flat panels into components and parts with specific shapes. You can make circles, triangles, you can do all kinds of things with it, but it essentially cuts it all up for you and you put it together and go and install it.”

An edge-banding machine has been another vital acquisition, making Joel’s business a one-stop cabinetry shop.

“Support from Aboriginal Investment NT with equipment has allowed me to take on much more work out of every job that I do, so instead of outsourcing 50 per cent of a job I’m making that 50 per cent back so that’s all hours that add up,” Joel said. 

Joel’s now setting his sights on securing a bigger slice of the cabinetry pie in Alice Springs. He’s working closely with larger contractors and tapping into the needs of local Aboriginal organisations to secure work.

Medical provider Central Australian Aboriginal Congress has been a major supporter of Desert Cabinets and Joinery.

“Congress has been fantastic for me. In the transition to getting these machines up and running I was doing mainly maintenance and carpentry for them, hanging doors and fitting locks so they kept me busy in the time we were waiting for these machines, which I’m extremely grateful for. Since then, they’ve given me cabinet work as well which has been great.

“I want to have contracts in place with most local Indigenous organisations. We’re here, we’ve got our hand up, come and talk to us.”

Joel hopes to expand the business by purchasing his own workspace, alleviating the need to pay commercial rent. He’s also keen to become an employer and mentor for other young Aboriginal people who share his passion for hard work.

“In five years, I’d love to have put an Indigenous apprentice through the trade. If I can get someone that is showing genuine interest, I’ll be putting all my time into them and going above and beyond to make them the best skilled person they can be. We need more capable Indigenous tradespeople and, potentially, down the road, more Indigenous business owners. The journey can be hard but it’s rewarding if you’re willing to back yourself.”