Special Reports

SOUTH Perth dining institution Coco’s is a shining example of how good management can deliver a crowd favourite for more than a decade.

A PAIR of former used car salesmen who tried their luck in the restaurant game has been responsible for some of Perth’s best-known venues.

CLYDE Bevan’s face breaks in to a wry smile when he recalls once saying he would “never own a restaurant because there is no money in it”.

A MAJOR olive grove being established near Gingin is breaking new ground for the local industry by using ‘superdense’ tree plantings.

Nearly $100 million has been invested in olive groves in Western Australia over the past few years. Mark Beyer and Chris Leitch look at some of the looming challenges as the industry matures.

THE Margaret River region is full of success stories, many of which revolve around tourism, wine or fine foods.

THE next big growth area, and the next big challenge, for Western Australia’s olive industry will be the establishment of processing and bottling facilities.

THE rapid expansion of the olive industry in the Moore River region has placed the area’s underground water supplies under acute pressure.

Dozens of talented young people leave Perth every year for the excitement and opportunity of bigger cities. But there is also a steady flow of returnees. What brings them back? And how do they cope with ‘Dullsville’? Mark Beyer reports.

ONE of the common laments of people wanting to return to Perth is that there aren’t enough good opportunities in the local business sector.

WA Business News spoke to some prominent local council leaders facing pressure to develop the coastline.

AFTER 19 years working in high finance in London, Simon Withers has used his return to Perth to make a clean break.

FOR corporate lawyers Geoffrey Grice and Rupert Lewi, the return to Perth has been smoother than for many other professionals.

CREATING a profit-generating football club takes as much hard work from the administrative team as it takes for the players and coaching staff to win on a weekly basis.

AT the end of June 2001 there were 3951 sporting organisations (not including recreation and leisure) that employed 43,154 people. If you include volunteers, this number increases by a further 170,329.

WHILE basketball is not enjoying the high profile it once had, Wildcats co-owner Andrew Vlahov is content with his club’s on and off-field successes.

EVENT tourism, particularly sports events tourism, generates big dollars for the Western Australian economy each year.

THE local cricket season officially gets under way in less than a fortnight yet the Western Australian Cricket Association is still seeking a sponsor at its top, platinum, level.

PERTH Glory’s on and off-field performances in recent seasons have earned it a reputation as the National Soccer League’s pin-up team.

IF you had been stuck on a desert island for the past 20 years, or maybe taken a Forrest Gump-like approach to ultra-marathons, you would hardly recognise the world of sport in 2003.

FOR an industry desperate for funding to help it become globally competitive and innovative, the furniture sector is surprisingly circumspect about the loss of $15 million in Federal funds.

THE furniture industry is first to admit it has long enjoyed the luxury of converting thick slabs of timber into furniture.

WESTERN Australia is Australia’s biggest exporter of timber furniture and the third largest exporter of furniture.

RECENT high levels of two-way investment between Australia and the US would be further enhanced by a free trade agreement, according to the Australian APEC Study Centre.

Trade experts and professionals from around the world gathered in Perth last week to discuss the AUSFTA, the proposed free trade agreement between Australia and the US.

THE Australia-US Free Trade Agreement is crucial to small and medium WA wine producers, who rely on export markets to remain commercially viable.

CHARLES Milazzo, managing principal WA of engineering consultants Connell Wagner, is the winner of a $150 dinner at Gershwin’s Restaurant at the Hyatt Regency Perth.

AFTER 26 years with the Clough group, including eight as managing director, Brian Hewitt is discovering life outside a big company.

Mr Turner’s recent work has brought him into regular contact with Frank Dilizia, operations manager civil infrastructure for John Holland.

GRD Minproc is well known as one of Australia’s top engineering construction companies, but who remembers Wilde Ireland Mining and Process Engineering Services (WA) Pty Ltd?

A SELECT group of just three young engineers received multiple nominations from people outside their current firm.

WINNERS of the 2003 Engineering Excellence Awards, the State’s premier awards for engineering projects, will be announced on September 5.