Family values drive business excellence for local hire company

CHRIS and Teoni Carney, the husband-and-wife team behind Geelong Access Hire believe it is their commitment to honest service that has enabled the business to continue growing over the past five years.

Launched in 2020, the business supplies access equipment, like scissor lifts, forklifts and cherry pickers, to individuals and outfits of all sizes. In February, it expanded to include a dedicated servicing arm.

“We stick to our word… We’re not going to lie about something just so we can get the business,” Chris explained.

“We really appreciate our customers and the clientele that we have got — makes us work hard every day to make sure we’re doing the best we can to supply those customers.”

For the business, which relies on word of word, it’s a recipe that has built it a loyal customer base.

This year, Geelong Access Hire has also been recognised as a finalist in the Geelong Business Excellence Awards, sponsored by LBW Business + Wealth Advisors.

It marks the second time the business has entered the awards, and the second time it has been named a finalist, which Teoni said, offered a welcome opportunity to celebrate the business’s achievements in a new way.

“This year, we thought about what we’ve done in the last few years and how much the business has grown and all the accomplishments we’ve made and wanted to showcase that, so it wasn’t just us appreciating that.

“We can sit here and pat ourselves on the back…but [we wanted] to put pen to paper and put it out there so other people could see what we’ve done.”

Chris said the business had come away from its first awards experience in 2023 with valuable feedback from the judging panel.

This feedback, he said, was taken onboard and actioned, and has inspired the business to restructure, increase the size of its vehicle fleet and shift into its own facility.

The Carney’s have also carved out dedicated space to take time off the job.

But as the business continues to go from strength-to-strength, it is the team and the work culture they’ve cultivated that brings Chris and Teoni the most pride.

“We have the best working environment… It’s somewhere you want to come to work,” Teoni said, describing the team as “a big family”.

“A lot of people struggle with getting up for work every day and there’s days where you’d like ‘I don’t want to go’ — we don’t have that here. We all enjoy coming to work.”