Under the hood

In the second profile for our Australia’s 50 Most Innovative Manufacturers campaign, we look at Temora, NSW-based Smith’s BBQs. Brent Balinski spoke to owner John Smith.

Made to last. Compact. Easy to start. Easy to clean. Safe to use. A high temperature when set on high and low temperature on low. Solid cast plate. Protection for use in windy environments.

To be a good barbecue, it must tick these boxes and a few others, believes John Smith.

Smith has been in the barbie biz since 2015. At first he had them made by a contractor in China, then brought production home after lead time blowouts led to lost opportunities in the post-lockdown domestic tourism boom.

(More on the experience can be seen in this 2022 @AuManufacturing article.)

“From that time when I made the decision, it took two-and-a-half years by the time I found the machines, imported those, set up the factory to take the machines, got council approvals and so forth,” he tells us.

After opening the Smiths BBQs factory in the Riverina town of Temora in September 2023, the first models went out in April this year. 

There’s a limited selection of BBQ makers in Australia, observes Smith, and even fewer making portable BBQs, which are his focus.

“And the few that do, they’re… quite expensive,” he says. 

“One brand is over double the retail price of ours. And the aesthetics of them are nowhere near on the level of our designs.”

Do you think you belong on @AuManufacturing’s list of Australia’s 50 Most Innovative Manufacturers? Apply to be recognised in this exclusive group here. It’s completely free to enter, and we’ll be celebrating the announcement of the 50 Most Innovative list and the award winners at a special breakfast event on May 7 at Crown Melbourne, during Australian Manufacturing Week.

Demand has been okay at this early stage, and Smith estimates he’s shifted about 600 units so far, mostly exported to New Zealand for RV and caravan users.

He says there’s been interest from the US and Europe, but to get serious about exports he would need a capital boost for machinery, stock and staff. Smith says financing has been difficult, but doesn’t rail against the banks and expresses hope that a bigger company might invest in his.

As for innovation, he points to features the company has developed in service of some of the needs mentioned at the top of this article, particularly around compactness.

He nominates a hinge system for easy removal of the BBQ hood, which also allows for attachments like a collapsible hood extender, which itself can fold up to be 55 millimetres wide and fit inside its protective carry bag

“But when you unfold it, it will easily fit onto the bbq and raise the hood so you can cook food such as a large turkey,” he explains.

He says development work is inspired by what he perceives as shortcomings in his competitors’ products.

After many years selling cooker cabinets and trim kits to prestige brands including Smeg and Bosch, followed by consulting work for some of the same companies, Smith has seen that an enterprise’s size and the ability to solve a given problem aren’t the same thing.

An innovative company, he believes, is one which “can have a look closely at their competitors and see what the market’s missing” he says, adding that design skills are part of this.

 “[Bigger companies] usually call you when you need a problem solved. And to have the capacity to be able to find solutions to problems: that helps, big time.”

This episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations is part of our annual Australia’s 50 Most Innovative Manufacturers campaign. In it, Smith tells us about the company’s investments in automation, what he thinks it would take to go global, and more on exactly makes a good BBQ.

Australia’s 50 Most Innovative Manufacturers is an annual campaign by @AuManufacturing. The current version has been made possible through the generous support of Australia Wide Engineering Recruitment, TXM Lean Solutions, the Industry Capability Network, Bonfiglioli Australia, the Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre and the SmartCrete CRC. You can nominate here (there is no administration fee) until March 15. 

Episode guide

1:22 – career story, beginning as a TV and video repair then designing and making stoves sold by Bosch and others.

5:27 – what makes a good BBQ?

6:58 – Some areas where Smith’s has chosen to innovate, responding to perceived shortcomings among competitors’ BBQs. 

8:45 – How the company has fared under difficult economic conditions.

10:10 – Production technology investments.

11:28 – A fibre laser welder has been “magic in a box” for the company.

13:08 – Funding is a constraint when it comes to growing the business.

14:31 – Solid potential in the US and Europe, but it would need investment in stock, staff and machinery. An equity partner is one possible solution.

16:02 – What makes a company innovative?