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Issue No. 3 - December/ 2001/january
Finch Restorations
petrol and patina
Export success doesn't have to be high-tech. An antique motorcar replication business based in the Adelaide Hills finds itself uniquely placed to satisfy international markets for copies of classic cars — and it's feeling the head of American demand.
In his workaday life, Graham Cowley is an executive of The Logical Network, an IT systems analyst servicing many of SA's major corporates. Having a passion for vintage cars, Graham was seduced by the opportunity to both indulge it and follow through on a good business opportunity.
Finch Restorations is a 35-year-old company originally formed in Mt Gambier, which moved to the Adelaide Hills in 1984. Graham's first impression of the workshop was "My God, this is basic!" A primary metalworking tool is the English rolling wheel — no robots here — and the company's prime asset is the skills of its workforce.
Graham, 42, bought Finch in June 2001 from the original owner, in a somewhat moribund condition. Six months later he has more business than he can comfortably handle. The trade ratio has reversed as Graham takes Finch international and he faces some tough decisions on how to expand.
Fine Sports Cars of La Jolla, California, an antique and reproduction vehicle specialist, discovered Finch in early 2001 and leaped at the possibility of importing replica cars at very attractive prices.
They were after a particular model, a V-12 Ferrari whose production run numbered precisely six units during the 1950s. No drawings exist, so replicating them involves laser-scanning the original, cutting a three-dimensional metalworking template and shaping bodywork the old-fashioned way, with hammers.
"It takes 1350 hours to make one, from picking up a dolly to driving out the completed vehicle," Graham says. "[The Americans] are very pleased with our progress. They say, 'We want you to build this one a bit quicker — would it help if we sent you more money?" Finch is making ...
