Francis Populin

Francis Populin
C-Cure Systems
MANUFACTURING

Age: 29
Business Est: 1994
Number of staff: 5
Growth: 15%
Turnover: $650,000

C-CURE Systems has capitalised on its unique position in the security industry to strongly establish itself in the competitive Brisbane market.

Founding partner and general operations manager Francis Populin says while the industry has slowed in some areas, the Molendinar-based company has secured large State Government contracts.

An eight-month contract for the Brisbane Aquatic Centre is expected to exceed $150,000.

“Big jobs like that are hard to come by as most contracts are typically around $20,000, but Brisbane has really grabbed a hold of us and won’t let go,” says Populin.

“We’re getting a lot of work from insurance companies as well as doing work for the Australian Taxation Office where risk management personnel just come in and tell you what they need.

“We have had challenges with corporations severely cutting their budgets but most large companies are still taking their security very seriously.”

C-Cure Systems also has an ongoing contract with Gold Coast Airport on the continued terminal expansion.

Populin says the niche his company has found in the security industry has been the driving force behind its continued growth.

“We aren’t overly big but look after big clients. Any larger than us and you’ve got big international corporations like Chubb for instance who cannot give the same level of dedicated customer service we do,” he says.

“The issue for smaller domestic guys is they put a system in for ‘Mr and Mrs Smith’ and then don’t hear from them for two years when they need the batteries changed. As we specialise in corporate based high-end systems most of our clients are repeat customers who always come back to us.”

Populin says the best piece of advice for young entrepreneurs is to ‘set out with the sole intention to be better than your competition’.

“Anyone can do an ordinary job, few do an exceptional one. Two things I try very hard to implement is never make big decisions based on temporary emotions and don’t close your mind to new or old ideas at any stage,” he says.