Changing locations — where SteedForm has called home.
SteedForm — like many of our favourite bands, artists and writers — started in a parent’s garage.
In 1977 a man named Noel Basheer commissioned Neil Rasheed to make a chest of drawers, that he made in Mum and Dad’s Linden Park shed.
The chest of drawers that started it all — this piece of furniture still sits pretty in our showroom 41 years later
With an undeniable knack for the art — Neil and his wife Diana started their first business, operating out the back of a small workshop in Ridgehaven.
Diana and Neil at the Ridgehaven Factory
A year later, Peter Staples came on board, and “Steed Custom Built Furniture” was born. For 8 years they created everything — from kitchens, to wardrobes to vanities and (you guessed it) custom built furniture. At this point their business had really started to grow — resulting in a shiny showroom on Glen Osmond Road.
Peter Staples then moved on from Steed Custom Built Furniture, and Neil packed up the crew and moved them to the Francis Road facility in Wingfield.
An old bathroom vanity. Check those crystal handles!
Making kitchens at the Francis Road factory
BBQ lunches at Francis Road
BBQ lunches at Francis Road
After what Neil describes as a happy accident, the company began post forming laminate — this is where the Form is SteedForm comes from. This move into manufacturing marked the end of custom furniture and the beginning of decorative surface manufacturing.
After the purchase of the first Brandt post former from the inaugural AWISA (Australian Woodworking Industry Suppliers Association Limited) trade show in Sydney, it was time to move once more- this time to a warehouse that the company built on Lafitte Road in Wingfield.
This address allowed SteedForm to continue focusing on post forming, and helped develop new markets in Victoria.
Like a child and sneakers — SteedForm once again outgrew this space. And then it came to build and move into the amazing facility that we still call home at 163–165 Cormack Road in Wingfield.
The factory and showroom were actually built by BuildTech — who we still work with today!
The Lafitte Road warehouse being built [left and center images] and the completed facility [right].
With, over 12 machines and 35 employees — this is our biggest home yet. It is one of the major reasons why SteedForm is able to do what we do.
So — from mum and dad’s garage in Linden Park, to a factory in Ridgehaven and three more in Wingfield — there’s one big thing to take away from all these changes in locations.
It’s not the space — but its what, and who, is in it.
A lot has changed, but our commitment to innovation and quality hasn’t. This year we celebrate 40 years in the game, and excitedly anticipate what the future holds.
Join us this year as we take a step back in time to when the pants were tighter and the hair was longer and reminisce on where we started.
If you have any memories to share — get connected with #SteedFormTurns40
