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Since 1877, the buck has stopped with the Dahlsens family who own and operate the business.
Across five generations they have fine-tuned their service, always focusing on customer service to win loyalty.
They began when John Christian Dahlsen, a Danish immigrant, arrived in Victoria in 1862, settling in Gippsland’s port town Bairnsdale shortly after. He came with little money, but rich in ideas and energy.
According to family folklore, a lucky gold find led to the beginnings of the timber yard and hardware business.
Mr Dahlsen took delivery of a large consignment of timber in early September 1877 and at the same time advertised his intention of starting of a timber yard business.
Always destined to be more than a country storekeeper, Mr Dahlsen pioneered what became supply and investments in the gold mining, fishing and lake related tourism industries, as well as in timber mills, the Dahlsen shipping enterprise, a department store and contract home building.
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In the 1970s Dahlsens sold a large part of other businesses to focus on their original core business of timber and hardware.
Today, J C Dahlsen Pty Ltd owns and operates 52 locations, comprising trade stores and manufacturing sites for Dahlsens and its other subsidiaries including Dahlsens, Cairns Hardware, Midcoast Timber and Nortruss. Some 900 staff members support the overall business, many of whom have been working for Dahlsens for generations.
Who is the Dahlsens family? Chairman John Dahlsen, has 100 per cent ownership of J C Dahlsen Pty Ltd. John works out out of the Melbourne Support Office, and benefits Dahlsens with his 50 years as a commercial lawyer and an MBA from the Melbourne Business School.
He has a strong passion for customer service and an acute business acumen gained from previous leadership roles.
CEO Geoff Dahlsen, John’s son, qualified lawyer with a MBA, oversees the management of the group. Dahlsens Building Centres general manager Jamie Dahlsen is the son of former managing director Bill Dahlsen (brother of John Dahlsen). With a mechanical engineering degree from Melbourne University, he oversees 25 building centres.
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