“There's a lot of future ahead of us because there's a lot of history behind us.”

In 2023 Queensland Gaskets has celebrated 70 years of manufacturing. The business was established in 1953 by Quentin Quarterman. His son and Old Boy Guy Quarterman (1959) took over the business on Quentin's passing and grew the business through adopting new technologies, growing the capabilities of the business and building long term relationships. Carl Quarterman (1993) took over the business in 2012 and has continued to follow the business values already laid down. Relationships, Quality, Teamwork and Accountability have set the core direction for the business to succeed.

Guy, following Quentin, developed the business with a broad customer base in a diverse range of industries. Queensland Gaskets is known for more than just gaskets. As a specialised cutting company Queensland Gaskets operates a waterjet cutting facility, lasers, CNC routers, and press cutting. This variety in capabilities give the business a wide range of choice when choosing the best way to manufacture to meet customer requirements. It also means a wide range of materials can be processed for many applications.

As the third-generation family owner, Carl has continued to grow this diverse customer base and has added a focus on the Defence Industry over the last decade. "In the Australian manufacturing space, a key challenge for businesses such as Queensland Gaskets is maintaining that competitive edge when you're up against global companies." Communication and strong relationships are vital, alongside the delivery of bespoke services. Sovereign capability is a key requirement to our future defence capabilities and maintaining manufacturing, both large and small scale in Australia is key to our country's future ability to defend itself.

There are other sectors in Australia which are growing and Carl has worked with the team to continue to capture work where it can maintain its reputation as a quality and reliable supplier. When asked about the business position and the future of manufacturing in Australia Carl reflected that it would be challenging but added “There's a lot of future ahead of us because there's a lot of history behind us”.