Stramit (Fletcher Building)

As a proud Australian manufacturer, Stramit is embedded in the Aussie way of life. The bushfires over summer 2019/2020 was truly heartbreaking for our communities, our wildlife and our farming and rural way of life.

As Timothy Broxham, Executive General Manager of Stramit put it: “With a blazing backdrop of fire impacting Australian communities over the 2019/20 summer, tragic east coast bushfires tore through communities, razing homes, destroying farmland and wiping out countless livestock and wildlife.”

“Bushfires live long in the memory and legacies of such a disaster lingers on. For Stramit, many were impacted by the all too imaginable events and felt the lonely helplessness faced with such real adversity.”

In keeping with their grassroots approach, a Stramit Emergency Response Team was established to give everyone in their national team the opportunity to generate ideas and suggestions. This led to the Shed50 rollout.

This resulted in the manufacturing of 50 sheds with distribution and install to replace key buildings in high need areas such as Mallacoota in the East Gippsland region of Victoria where fires shut off the town and thousands were huddled on the beach to escape.

Local community centres like the Mallacoota Pony Club were destroyed.

Club President Stephanie Mew said they lost everything: “Mallacoota is a small community of about 800 people, so when a club like ours is affected like this, it hurts so many – our members range from 3 years old to those in their 60’s.”

But with the support of Stramit, a new shed not only meant their members had a new clubhouse and a place to store equipment, but it also contributes to the restoration of hope in the local community.

Stramit also set up a staff salary deduction and donation scheme, coordinated company funded volunteer days and blood donation drives and organised local site fundraising barbeques across their national network.

Mr Broxham added: “For Stramit, many were impacted by the all too imaginable events and felt the lonely helplessness faced with such real adversity.

“There was, however, another legacy, that of unifying purpose, the power of common good and ultimately the return of ‘we’.”