Rodney Stevens

When it comes to hardware, the Clarence Valley has shown its the cream of the crop, taking out two gongs at the Hardware Australia 2022 NSW Hardware and Industry Legends Awards.

Yamba Mitre 10 took home the award for Store of the Year under 2500sqm, while Townsend Mitre 10 Trade Centre’s Barry Plater was awarded Employee of the Year at a prestigious ceremony at Sydney’s Jones Bay Wharf on September 16.

To be named store of the year over five other deserving nominees was a massive honour, Yamba Mitre 10 owner Matthew White said.

“I wasn’t expecting it at all, we were just shocked,” he said.

“When we got nominated, I said to my manager we may as well go, it will be a good experience to check it all out, 

“Then they called my name out and I’m like what, it was a huge shock.”

Mr White said Yamba Mitre 10 were nominated for the award by suppliers and customers.

“We had to do a phone interview with Hardware Australia after we were nominated,” he said.

“We were very honoured to get nominated but we definitely didn’t expect to win.”

The award was judged by Hardware Australia on criteria including; business growth over past 12 months, dedication to team development and training, unique selling points and competitive advances, approach to service, distribution, customer service, and how they promote a culture of people empowering their business. 

A former timber sales manager, Mr White said he found out Yamba Mitre 10 was for sale just over three years ago, as it was one of the stores he looked after from his Brisbane base.

Since he and his wife Alison took over the store, Mr White said they have refined the layout and product offerings.

“We’ve done a lot of renovations and updating of the store and the products, we’ve got a better range” he said.

“The awards came back to the cleanliness and professionalism of the store, our customer service and stock.”

Since the White’s took over Yamba Mitre 10, they said they are proud to have kept their long term staff, which the award also acknowledged.

“A lot of stores got marked down because they kept turning over staff,” he said.

“That was one of the questions we were judged one and we’ve pretty much got all of the staff from when we took over.”

In a challenging baptism into business, the week the White’s purchased Yamba Mitre 10, planes were waterbombing bushfires at Angourie, then the Covid pandemic, followed by floods.

Despite the unprecedented times, Mr White credited his staff, the evolution of the store and the support of the Yamba community for the award.

“We keep moving with the times, adapting and changing,” he said.

“The community has been absolutely brilliant, and the support from the community once they saw we were starting to make changes was better and better.

“It was like they were egging us on a bit to keep improving and that’s what we’ve tried to do.”

Employee of the Year – Barry Plater Townsend Mitre 10 Trade Centre

A journeyman in the Lower Clarence hardware industry, having worked at businesses in Yamba, Maclean and Townsend since 1992, Barry Plater said he was proud to be recognised for his dedication.

His career in hardware kicked off with BBC Hardware at Yamba, then Bunnings at Yamba and Maclean after they took over the BBC stores, followed by Home Hardware at Maclean who bought out Lower Clarence Timbers in Re Road Townsend, which was renamed Mitre 10 when it sold several years ago.

Up against the best in the hardware industry from around the state, Mr Plater said he was honoured to be nominated with three other worthy finalists. 

“I was nominated by our Business Development Manager for IHG (Mitre 10’s parent company) who looks after from here to Taree, Chantel Jackson,” he said.

“I was over the moon just to be nominated in the first place, I didn’t actually think I would win the award.”

Mr Plater underwent an interview with Hardware Australia, where he was judged on his achievements over the past 12 months, product and department knowledge, plus standard of customer service.

“I didn’t know who the other nominees were in the category until I got there and I was up against three other great employees,” he said.

“So it was a bit of a shock to the system when it was announced I won.”

Mr Plater thanked Hardware Australia, his fellow nominees and Townsend Mitre 10 for the award.

There is an official page dedicated to Yamba Mitre 10, which they update daily: https://www.mitre10.com.au/stores/nsw/yamba-yamba-mitre-10-292600