An Inspirational Tale On The Journey To Thermeco

An Inspirational Tale on the Journey to Thermeco. Enjoy this uplifting story on how this family business started from humble beginnings and became a renowned leader in the window industry.

It all began in the late 1970's in Melbourne, Australia, where an ambitious young father of 2 by the name of Geoff (Eugenio) Costabile was working hard for his brother Ralph making flyscreens to support his wife Carmela and two young children.

In 1981, Geoff followed his intuition and decided to start up his own flyscreen business, EC Aluminium. With little money to spare, Geoff reached out to his brother-in-law for a loan of $2000 allowing him to purchase a truck, a few tools and minimal stock. He paid for an ad in the Dandenong Journal which advertised "$9 per flysceen, measured and fitted on site!"  The first two years were successful and eventually EC Aluminium ads were listed in many local newspapers across the eastern area of Melbourne. 

Geoff's wife Carmela who was busy raising their children and running a household was supporting Geoff on his new journey. She would answer all the phone calls, make bookings and do the banking. If Geoff saw a house that didn't have screens on the windows, he'd be there knocking on their front door trying to make a sale.

1985 saw a major shift in business. EC Aluminium had now become Trimstyle Windows & Doors as they became the main contractor for Trimview Windows & Doors, who at the time, were a very well known window company. Geoff created an excellent relationship with Trimview and continued fabricating flyscreens from the truck and was now making security doors from his garage in Dandenong North where he employed his first staff.

With their business and family growing, Geoff and Carmela expanded Trimstyle and subleased a factory on Springvale Road in Mulgrave. The mobile truck business was still running, however it started to slow as the demand of factory work was taking over. The business expanded to window manufacturing, window replacements, glazing and shower screens. 

A few years later they purchased a factory on Centre Road in Springvale where business continued to strengthen. Life continued on. Fast forward to the 1990's Geoff and Carmela now had a big family with 5 healthy children. Trimstyle Windows & Doors was flourishing with more demand and more staff. The business then moved to a larger factory on Newcomen Road in Springvale. In 1998 their son Carl joined the family business. Carl did his apprenticeship and in a short time was a big asset. The family travelled overseas and in their travels grew a deep appreciation for the design and functionality of the window systems found in Europe.

The new millennium called for new beginnings. In the year 2000, Trimstyle Windows & Doors became European Window Company and they secured a new, even bigger location at 15 Kelletts Road in Rowville. With this transition and a major gap in the market for European styled windows and doors, they created another wholesale distribution company called Euro Aluminium. They were determined to find an Italian company that would outsource exclusively to Australia. Euro Aluminium became the official Australian distributor for AluK who were a European leader in the industry and one of the most reputable European system suppliers. The relationship with AluK continued to grow.

A few  years passed and it became evident that the way houses were built in Europe were different to the way houses are built in Australia. It was with this, that Geoff and Carl chose to create their own window and door systems that would perfectly suit and reflect the Australian market. They were extremely fortunate to connect with a well-known window designer in Italy named Luigi Pistoia. Luigi had been designing aluminium window and door systems for over 35 years. This connection was a pivotal part of Euro Aluminium's new journey to designing window and door systems for the Australian market.

In this time, Geoff's son-in-law Danny was now onboard in the ever-growing family business. Over the years, Danny - with the support of his wife Bianca - has been a huge benefit to the company.

From 2002-2006 Euro Aluminium designed 50% of Thermecos current systems. Many companies in the industry had a tendency to purchase aluminium offshore as it was cheaper. It was Euro Aluminium's strategy to purchase Australian made aluminium. They connected with G James and Aluminium Supply Australia (ASA). To this day they have a strong long standing relationship and all of Thermeco's aluminium continues to be sourced from Australia. However, Thermeco have kept the quality and authenticity with keeping all hardware and accessories imported from Europe.

Come 2009 Euro Aluminium became Thermeco! A brand new name to truly reflect the type of systems that were on the market. 'Therm' - Thermal break technology - paired with 'Eco' - sustainable and environmentally friendly - Thermeco. In this time, Thermeco developed more systems and the business grew immensely. More staff were employed including Geoff's second son-in-law Dylan. Thermeco secured the exclusive Australian distribution rights to world leading windows systems, KELLER minimal windows® (minimal sliding door) from Luxembourg and Secco System (steel and brass) from Treviso, Italy. 

Down the track, the essence of family business grew even further with Geoff's daughter Stephanie now joining the circle. Many renovations and amendments were continuly made to make room for more staff and the fast growing team. In 2019, Thermeco extended their factory, nearly doubling it's capacity to hold and move stock. Through the years Thermeco now have many licensees across Australia and recently New Zealand.

Over time, Thermeco continues to strengthen relationships with Italian distributors, local and international partners, Licensees and clients and continue to stay ahead of the market and a leader in the indusrty. The team have also been a part of many outstanding landmark projects across the country and New Zealand. Thermeco have grown and trained a highly talented team which have all been paramount in where Thermeco stands in the industry today. 

2022. We have arrived. A big year ahead with Geoff officially hanging up his work boots and retiring with wife Carmela to settle into their new phase of life, slowing down the pace after many decades of hard work. While Carl has been at the realm of the operation, he will continue to grow and create a business that is meaningful for all involved and has full support from the family. Danny and his family have re-located to NSW where he will help expand the business there.

The future for Thermeco is certainly looking bright! With sustainability front of mind, Thermeco is underway with many exciting improvements on all levels of the business. Thermeco is ever-evolving and will continue to be a big impact to the environment, to the industry, to it's customers and it's people.