18-Jul-2011
Don McKenzie says he couldn't program to save his life, yet the Queenslander's "hybrid technology" company is on the cusp of big things, not just locally but internationally.
The 28-year-old's Stream Group last week topped the state Telstra Business Awards and will represent Queensland in the national Business of the Year competition. Mr McKenzie was 24 when his father backed him in the start-up of Stream, using software that he had developed for the family construction company to better manage the workload.
"After we started doing catastrophe work, I just saw an opening in the marketplace so we sold the construction company, set up Stream with that technology and got our first job in 2008," he said.
The growth has been significant, jumping from 2000 jobs that first year to 35,600 for the 2011 financial year.
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04-Nov-2011 - Stream NZ announced as winner in Industry Awards
Stream Group NZ was announced as the winner for the Innovation of the Year award during the General Insurance Industry Awards, held in Auckland on November 3.The Award's judges and sponsor, IBANZ, were impressed by Stream's delivery of an innovative, streamlined approach to the insurance claims management process, and the company's growth over the past 12 months.
Entering New Zealand in mid-2010 through the acquisition of Freemans NZ, the Canterbury region earthquakes delivered a demanding first 12 months for Stream Group NZ. David Norriss, who has been leading Stream's Christchurch earthquake operations, says "It's certainly been a hectic time for everyone, but we've been able to establish the effectiveness of our system, especially for high-volumes."
Norriss dedicated the award to the employees of Stream, saying "It's an honour to be recognised by the industry. Everyone at Stream has worked so hard over the past year."
Stream Group NZ now services 100% of New Zealand and has offices in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch.
22-Sep-2011 - ActionCOACH MyBusiness Nomination
Stream Group has been annouced as a finalist for the PwC Best Medium Business as part of the ActionCOACH My Business Awards. With only five finalists chosen for each category Stream is extremely proud to have been nominated.
Stream has had a successful year with award nominations and wins, and the My Business Awards nominations further evidence that Stream's growth and hard work over the past year are being recognised within the Australian business community.
Managing Director, Don McKenzie, says "Stream is all about development and growth. It was a crazy start to the year, and we had to establish new processes and employ and train a huge number of staff. But we're though it now, and we're a stronger team for it. I feel it's predominately down to the team's flexibility that's led to the recognition we've receieved."
For more information on the ActionCOACH My Business Awards, and a list of the other nominees see the My Business website.
01-Aug-2011 - The buildings may be broken, but their spirit is not
The past ten months have given residents of the Canterbury region repeated reasons to lose hope; fortunately, though, they are able to see the lighter side of this dark period. Stream has recently reinfored its Christchurch team with a a number of Australian Building Consultants; sent over to Christchurch to help deliver results to the insurers sooner. Ever on the lookout for interesting or quirky ‘kiwi-isms’ one of our Consultants was given a ‘bandaid’ by a customer.
The bandaids were printed by a New Zealand printing company “just for fun”. David, from CQ Printers, advised that although the bandaids are not physically going to make a difference to the structures, it’s enabled people in the region to have a laugh. The company likes to participate in projects that are a bit different and they decided to do something for their suffering district. They’ve had an overwhelmingly positive response from people, enjoying emails and comments praising and thanking them for lightening the mood for many during this trialing time.
