SEW-Eurodrive celebrated its 25 years in Australia with over 500 guests at Melbourne’s Moonee Valley racecourse.
Staff, business partners and community leaders enjoyed an evening featuring a swing jazz band, a 30-strong choir, and Pavarotti and Celine Dion tributes, as well as a charity auction that included items such as a signed Rolling Stones guitar, an overseas holiday, weekend accommodation and tickets to a Police concert and a signed David Beckham jersey.
The proceeds, together with funds raised at the SEW charity golf event earlier in the year, totalled over $170,000. Managing director Robert Merola presented the cheque to Elizabeth Crowther from the Mental Illness Fellowship (MIF).
The managing director of SEW-Eurodrive’s worldwide sales and marketing, Hans Sondermann, represented the European arm of the company at the festivities. Merola commented on the vision and foresight of the head-office team.
“The trust bestowed on me has been remarkable. It has given me the freedom to build the impressive team of individuals and the facilities we enjoy today. And in Tom Molomby, the chairman of SEW Eurodrive Australia, I have had the benefit of a wonderful mind, a true gentleman and a good friend to help guide SEW on its journey thus far.”
Merola likened his time with SEW-Eurodrive to raising his family. “There were many sleepless nights during the early years, as the company was nurtured through its infancy,” he said. “Then, after 13 years or so, came growing pains, a new direction and a new maturity, coupled with added responsibility. We are now in our prime, with the future looking bright and healthy.”
He thanked the guests–representing industries as diverse as building and construction, packaging, bottling, ports and harbours, mining, timber, automotive and airport logistics–for their enduring friendship and loyalty.
“Despite the changes we have seen, our commitment to customers, staff and community is just as important now as the day we started, and will form the heart of SEW-Eurodrive’s Australian operations for the next 25 years and beyond,” he said.