In the 40 years that has followed, the Adelaide owned and operated business has become one of SA’s business success stories, employing 151 people and with a fleet of 122 vehicles on the road.
Behind the business, Ken Hall is a family man, a traveller, a mentor, and the kind of guy who is never afraid to rise to a challenge. From running half marathons, to managing to divide his time between his passions of work and family life, to creating industry-changing innovations, Ken maintains his greatest challenge is managing himself and his desire to learn and have life experiences.
“Managing my focus, consistency, energy, the joy of the day and the application to stick to what I plan to do are my greatest challenges” he says. “I have always said you need to hang your hat somewhere and commit to something and just get on with it. Staying challenged and moving forward for me is what it has always been about”.
And Ken is absolutely not afraid of just getting on with it. With 40 years in a trade that he loves, as a young boy he was inspired by teamwork and witnessing first hand his own father working alongside others.
“I spent a lot of time with my father while he worked, and in lunch sheds with groups of workers I’d get to observe how the teams interacted and listen to them talk about life. I also struggled with school, so I knew that I wanted to be in the trade industry, surrounded by people.”
His own personal struggles with what he later learned was dyslexia affirmed to Ken the importance of being a mentor for those coming through the industry. “Being there to smile and be proud of what you do each day, everyone deserves that opportunity” he says. In his own time Ken continues to be involved with organisations and corporate boards in a volunteer capacity with this same view to give back and be part of something bigger.
“Being involved with other things outside your immediate focus area in life is important because it opens your eyes to everything else, you meet a range of new people and you get to help others and continue progressing”.
I have learned that nothing stops in life, you are progressing no matter what age you are.
Ken Hall
It is this steadfast commitment to continuing to grow that has been a driver for Ken since day one and throughout his whole journey. Knowing from early in life that he sought a life of experiences has meant Ken is constantly looking for new adventures and to learn new things about himself.
“I have learned that nothing stops in life, you are progressing no matter what age you are, and this has kept me wanting to make sure I keep progressing no matter what comes in front of me. I’m learning new skills every day and I plan on continuing that, no matter what age.”
Celebrating 40 years
“I started the business when there was no internet and before mobile phones. All I had was an answering machine and that made it very difficult to build a service based business, especially starting as one man in a van with competition who had many staff. Before computers, we used to have large sheets of butcher’s paper on the desk to keep track of the schedule and the plumbers and to keep up with the work coming through. The major change over the years has been in communications. I think as you get older, being able to keep up with change is paramount. The greatest thing we can have in life is experience.”
