Egans: Universities and government agencies nationally discover the defit option

The combination of commercial removal and storage services with an environmentally and cost effective furniture management program is an attractive proposition for large corporate entities, government departments and universities.

Andrew Egan, founder and managing director of Egans, says his company’s unique approach is of particular appeal to the tertiary sector because campuses are like “mini-cities” that are constantly on the move  With student populations upwards of 50,000 in some cases, the demand for removals and storage services is huge.

It also helps that the company can fit-out office spaces with 100 per cent used furniture for between 50 and 150 people – delivering high quality commercial furniture brands at half the price of new.

The Egans team takes care of the fit out from start to finish, working with architects and interior designers to source and install high-quality secondhand workstations, furniture and fittings. Once the fit-out is finished they complete the project by moving the client into the new space.

As well as the likes of the University of Melbourne and the University of New South Wales in the tertiary sector, Egans services government agencies, such as the Australian Taxation Office, and large corporates, such as Carlton & United Breweries. 

Big organisations weren’t always the company’s core customer base. Originally, Egans served as an auctioneer, wholesaling furniture to a network of domestic dealers across Australia who would sell it to the domestic market.

But office furniture has become so specialised – with companies demanding workstations rather than desks – that this furniture is no longer suitable for the domestic market. Fortunately, Andrew says that for both financial and environmental reasons there is a growing acceptance of “not new furniture” in the commercial world.

Starting out in 1996 as one man, a ute and 40 dollars, Andrew says Egans was the first company to combine removal and furniture management in one spot. And this hasn’t changed – he says it’s still the only one.

Andrew says what also sets the company apart from others in the space is that Egans has the “trucks and manpower”, as well as 1900 square metres of warehouse space around Australia.

The company is currently operating in Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide, with plans to move into Brisbane and Canberra in the future.