Finalists celebrated at awards breakfast

Warragul businessman Tim Modra shared his insights of running a global business at the Gippsland Business Awards finalists' breakfast last week.

The breakfast is a celebration of regional businesses who have gone through a rigorous judging process.

Mr Modra, a previous winner of the GBA Innovation Award, owns Modra Technology in Warragul, a global leader in carpet manufacturing technology, supplying more than 200 customers across 35 countries.
He told the breakfast crowd that over the years, he learned "success isn't the destination; it's the definition of success that actually changes."
As his company matured, his definition of success changed. Instead of focusing solely on sales and day-to-day survival, he began to value things like building a strong team and empowering others to make good decisions.
He also focused on creating effective systems and processes to develop a business that could operate and grow without his constant involvement.
"Success once meant surviving another week," he said. "Many of you might know exactly how that feels. And as the years passed, though, my definition of success changed. Winning customers became building a capable team. Designing products became building systems.
"Making every decision myself became helping others make really good decisions. Eventually, success became creating a business that continued to grow without depending on me every day."
Other speakers included awards chair Graeme Sennett, Telstra Eastern Victoria regional general manager Jenny Gray and Latrobe Health Services head of growth Zlatan Murathodzic.
Award winners will be announced at a gala event on Friday, August 28 at Federation University in Churchill.
As well as the prestigious Gippsland Business of the Year award, other categories being recognised in 2026 are: Accommodation and Tourism; Retail; New Business; Business and Professional Services; Microbusiness; Food, Wine and Hospitality; Environmental, Horticulture and Agribusiness; Trade, Transport and Technical Services; Engineering, Manufacturing and Construction; Wellness and Personal Care Services; Hair, Beauty and Cosmetic Services; and Healthcare Services.
Eleven West Gippsland business are amongst this year's finalists.
All three finalists in the environmental/horticulture/agribusiness category are Baw Baw Shire based businesses including Gippsland Bulk Spreaders (Drouin), Rowe's Nursery (Warragul) and Ten-Rose International Simmental Fleckvieh (Longwarry).
Other local finalists include:
Engineering/manufacturing/construction - Hotondo Homes (Warragul);
Hair/beauty/cosmetic services - Refined Skin and Aesthetics (Warragul);
Healthcare services - Blossom Flourish Grow (Warragul) and Progressive Physiotherapy Group (Warragul);
Microbusiness - Mac&Ernie (Warragul);
Retail - Aussies Disposals (Warragul) and Pettits Jewelers (Warragul);
Trade/transport/technical services - Mixalis Machinez Automotive (Trafalgar).