Public roads in Australia exceed 810,000 kilometres in total, and road line marking firm Gunn Line Marking is working feverishly with the financial support of OnDeck, painting as many white lines as possible to keep Victorian motorists safe.
Gunn Line Marking’s Chris Gunn explains, “We put the white stuff on the black stuff and have been hard at it since 2009.” The business operates from Carrum Downs, around 36 kilometres south of Melbourne. Chris employs six-line markers and owns a fleet of four trucks and eight different line painting devices, including a mighty LineTrike computerised ride-on line marker worth around $45,000 new.
According to Chris, the firm marks lines on roads in the Melbourne metropolitan area and south to Portland on the Great Australian Bight. A 30-year line marking veteran, Chris was buoyed by the $3 billion set aside in the Federal Budget for Melbourne’s intermodal terminal and Pakenham and Monash road upgrades. “These infrastructure announcements do help my business,” he said. Gunn Line Marking is currently slapping down the white lines on roads between Geelong and the Bight.
Working with OnDeck and the impact of COVID
As a subcontractor to bigger line marking companies, Chris said slow cash flow can cause issues for his business. “In 2019, to help cover some business costs including wages, we took out a commercial loan with OnDeck after I saw some of their marketing.”
Chris’s trouble is that he is not a preferred Vic Roads supplier, and therefore he depends on the larger firms for work. “We have to wait for payments, which slows up our cash flow at times.
“We’re working on getting prequalified directly with Vic Roads, which will speed up invoice payments. We were almost qualified, and then COVID struck, and this slowed the process down.”
Fewer cars creates unexpected cashflow issues
COVID also had another significant impact at the tail end of 2020 for Gunn Line Markings, but not for the reasons you’d expect. “To support suppliers, VIC Roads made sure we had plenty of work. But because there were fewer cars on the roads during the many lockdowns in Victoria, we got the road markings finished in six months rather than the anticipated year.
“With all the work completed early, cash flow for the last few months of 2020 was very tight. It was strange times, but we were able to reach out to OnDeck for financial support.”
Straight forward, no-fuss service
Line marking specialist Chris has no hesitation in giving OnDeck an “excellent” mark for its level of customer service. “If I don’t understand something, I ring or send them an email, and the information is provided immediately.
“Also, when we need finance fast, with OnDeck, the process is fast and simple. Its application processes are much simpler than the home loan refinance that my wife is working through now. There’s nothing complicated at all about working with OnDeck.”
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