Blackrock Industries
Steven Fordham, finalist in the Indigenous in Business Award category 2019
The Ethnic Business Awards are Australia’s longest running and most prestigious business awards program. For three decades these awards have highlighted the myriad of benefits that cultural diversity and multiculturism brings to our nation, including the rich heritage of our First Australians, the Aborigines. Mr Joseph Assaf AO, the founder of the EBA Foundation, is a migrant himself. He has been dubbed the “father of multiculturism” and has been applauded and lauded for his work in this field.
Each year the Ethnic Business Awards shine a light on the stories of inspiration of our finalists. Here is the story of Steven Fordham of Blackrock Industries. We met him at Supply Nation’s Connect 2019 and encouraged him to nominate for the EBA’s Indigenous in Business Award. That began our journey together and we share now his story.
The 2019 annual award ceremony was held at the Four Seasons Hotel Sydney. As a finalist in the ‘Indigenous in Business’ category we featured the story of Steven Fordham, who is the owner of Blackrock Industries, and a proud Kamilaroi man who comes from Muswellbrook in NSW. He started this company in 2016, along with his partner Glen Finnan. With only $20,000 to their names, Steven set out to achieve his dream of running his own company. At the time, starting a business in an unknown field with minimal funding was a huge risk for the two of them, but it eventually did pay off. As a young boy, Steven was told that he didn’t have long to live and would succumb to a brain tumour “that was a size of an egg”. He was diagnosed with dyslexia in Year 10 and had to leave school due to it. These experiences changed his outlook on life and heavily influenced his thinking. This led to him spending most of his time focused on living freely and helping others.
Steven started his work as a boilermaker originally, but noticed the growth of the mining sector and took the opportunity to start his own business providing manpower and equipment to support Mining and Civil projects across the Hunter Valley. One of his main aims was to increase the employment of Indigenous Australians. Racism has been a feature of his life but Blackrock Industries is focused on trying to improve the social and business environment in Australia, hoping to make it a more inclusive and open one.
As his business took off, he decided to diversify into various other industries but his reasons for doing so weren’t just limited to succeeding in business alone. Steven highlighted that success would give Blackrock Industries a chance to assist different social groups such as people with disabilities, multicultural people, refugees etc. Blackrock Industries also places a huge importance on diversity and equality in their workforce, by employing majority Indigenous peoples and highlighting equal female participation in the business.
Steven has also initiated ‘Second Chance for Change’ which is a project that aims to provide Indigenous incarcerated men the opportunity to engage in long term, stable employment opportunities which in the long run will help with reducing recidivism rates.
“You can’t find the best employees, you create them. The only way we are going to fix the system is going out there and doing things ourselves.”
Since being a finalist in the Ethnic Business Awards, Steven has gone on to win the prestigious NSW/ACT Young Achiever of the Year at the 7NEWS Young Achiever Awards in 2020. The award is designed to recognise the positive achievements of young people, and at only 28 years of age Steven has a very bright future ahead. He has also been recognised by the Muswellbrook Chamber of Commerce & Industry Business Awards for the last 3 years in a row.
Being selected as one of only four finalists in the Ethnic Business Awards Indigenous in Business award was an enormous honour and fitting recognition for Steven and when selected he wrote the following:-
“They say my people came from the dream time; but this feels like my dream time. My life has been on such a journey from the time I was a kid to where my life is now. We would not have achieved what we have without the support of our staff who are part of this dream. The opportunities Blackrock Industries gives to not only me and my business partner, but my mob also is very rewarding. This award means a lot to us; not for the bragging rights but to be recognized for our achievements and all the hard work our team puts in each and every day. This award showcases these achievements. When I found out more about the EBA awards; I looked at the previous winners and their stories and thought; this is a great opportunity to showcase diversity and inclusion within the Australian market.”