A message from the Deena Syed, President of the Armadale Chamber of Commerce
One of the most important questions any business owner can ask is not simply:
“What business do I want to build?”
It is:
“What does the market actually need?”
A recent development involving Austral Bricks provides a very timely example.
In 2023, Brickworks ceased brick manufacturing at its Cardup facility after years of sustained losses. At the time, the economics of continuing production simply did not stack up.
Three years later, the market looks very different.
Western Australia is experiencing significant housing and construction demand, and brick supply has become a constraint for builders. Detached home construction has increased substantially, while WA's remaining major brick manufacturer has struggled to keep pace with demand.
The result is that the WA Government is now providing up to $4 million to support the recommissioning of the Cardup plant, with the reopening expected to increase WA brick production capacity by approximately 10–15 per cent.
For me, there is a much bigger business lesson here.
Markets Change — and Opportunity Changes With Them
Something that was commercially difficult three years ago can become strategically important today.
The product did not fundamentally change.
The demand changed.
Population growth, housing construction, supply-chain constraints and increasing pressure on building capacity have created a new economic environment.
That is something every business owner, entrepreneur and manufacturer should be paying attention to.
Too often, we begin with an idea and then try to find a market for it.
Perhaps we should reverse that thinking.
Look at the market first. Find the problem. Understand the demand. Then determine what your business can do to solve it.
Follow the Economic Signals
Western Australia's economy is giving businesses some very clear signals.
WA's domestic economy grew by 3.2 per cent in the year to the March quarter 2026, while private demand grew by 4 per cent. Business investment increased by 5.3 per cent, and dwelling investment increased by 9.2 per cent to $13.6 billion. More than 25,000 new homes were approved in the year to April 2026.
These figures are not simply economic statistics.
For business owners, they are signals.
More homes mean demand not only for bricks, but potentially for trades, fabrication, transport, logistics, equipment, maintenance, landscaping, technology, professional services and the hundreds of businesses that sit within the broader construction supply chain.
The same thinking can be applied across other growing sectors.
The WA Government has identified priority areas including defence, clean energy, building and construction, advanced manufacturing, care, tourism and hospitality as important areas for future workforce and economic development.
WA's broader economic diversification strategy also identifies opportunities across energy, defence industries, mining equipment and technology services, health and medical life sciences, primary industries, tourism, international education and space, supported by areas such as advanced manufacturing, technology and supply-chain capability.
For businesses in Armadale and our surrounding region, the question should therefore be:
Where can we participate in these growing economies?
Don't Just Look at Industries — Look at the Gaps Around Them
You don't necessarily need to become a defence manufacturer because defence is growing.
You don't need to manufacture bricks because construction is booming.
The greater opportunity may be somewhere within the ecosystem surrounding those industries.
A growing manufacturer needs suppliers.
A construction boom needs trades, materials, transport and professional services.
A growing health and care sector needs technology, training, facilities, equipment and service providers.
Clean-energy projects need engineering, fabrication, electrical capability, maintenance, logistics and specialist contractors.
Major industries create secondary and tertiary demand around them.
That is where many small and medium businesses can find opportunities.
Think About Grants the Same Way
This is also important when businesses start looking for government grants.
A grant should not be the starting point for a business idea.
The starting point should be a genuine economic or community need.
Government funding programs are generally established to achieve particular economic, industry or community outcomes. WA's current programs, for example, include initiatives designed to encourage local manufacturing, economic diversification, investment, jobs and increased capability within strategically important industries.
The 2026–27 State Budget also includes significant investment in areas such as clean energy infrastructure, advanced manufacturing, modular housing, industrial infrastructure and locally manufactured products.
That doesn't mean operating in one of these industries automatically makes a business eligible for funding. Every grant has its own objectives, eligibility requirements and assessment criteria.
But there is an important strategic principle:
If your business is solving a demonstrated problem, responding to genuine demand and contributing to an economic priority, you are in a much stronger position to investigate whether government support may be available.
In other words:
Don't build a business around a grant. Build a business around demand — and then determine whether grants can help you accelerate it.
Start Looking Beyond Your Current Customer
Another opportunity for local businesses is government procurement.
The WA Government spends around $30 billion annually through procurement, and WA Industry Link exists specifically to help local businesses understand and participate in government contracting opportunities.
For a capable local business, government, major projects and larger companies can therefore become another potential market.
But businesses need to prepare themselves.
That means developing capability, systems, compliance, workforce capacity, strong financial management and the ability to demonstrate that they can reliably deliver.
What Does Armadale Need Next?
This is the conversation I would particularly like businesses in our region to start having.
Instead of only asking what businesses already exist in Armadale, we should be asking:
What will our community and economy need over the next five to ten years?
Where are the shortages?
Where are customers waiting too long?
What products are being brought into WA that could potentially be produced locally?
What services will growing industries require?
Where are supply chains vulnerable?
What capabilities do major businesses and government projects need from local suppliers?
And what could we manufacture, build, service or deliver here?
The Cardup brickworks story demonstrates how dramatically demand can change.
A manufacturing facility that became commercially unsustainable in one economic environment can become strategically important in another.
For entrepreneurs and existing businesses, that is a reminder to keep watching the economy around us.
Our Opportunity as a Business Community
At the Armadale Chamber of Commerce, we want to encourage businesses to think beyond today's operations and consider where tomorrow's opportunities may emerge.
Our region has entrepreneurs, manufacturers, trades, professional services, technology businesses and family-owned companies with enormous capability.
The opportunity is to connect that capability with genuine market demand.
Follow the demand.
Look for the gaps.
Understand where the economy is growing.
Build capability around real problems.
And when your business is aligned with a genuine economic need, investigate the grants, procurement programs, partnerships and investment opportunities that may help you grow.
Because some of the best business opportunities are not created by inventing something the market might want.
They come from recognising what the market already needs — and being ready to provide it.
Deena Syed
President
Armadale Chamber of Commerce
