YOU wouldn't normally associate cardboard with the Andes mountain range in South America, but then again Queanbeyan's National Capital Cartons & Packaging isn't your everyday business.
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Rob Preston and the team just contributed a piece to the National Art Gallery of Australia which featured in the Golden Incas exhibition. It was a cardboard display of the Andes and featured as a backdrop in a children's activity room.
With the help of his talented son Sean, Mr Preston's also had displays go on show at the Portrait Gallery of Australia and is currently working on a piece for the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney.
Mr Preston first entered the business in 1977 with his brother as a paper merchant supplying ink and other neccessities to businesses like the Queanbeyan Age and he's astounded as to how far his family-run business has come.
"Even five years ago I never would have dreamed about the sort of things we are doing now," he told the Age earlier this week.
"It really opens people's minds as to what can actually be done in this field."
The business primarily deals with protective packaging, but also provides wine makers with bottles among other things. Mr Preston said he was looking to expand on the amount of manufacturing currently performed by the business as well as increase the number of machines in operation in Queanbeyan over the next couple of years.
He said he enjoys being based in Queanbeyan and offering various services that many businesses can't.
"We deal with a lot of small businesses trying to get off the ground and lots of smaller orders and that's not something all companies in our field do," he said.
"My family lives in Queanbeyan and we like being based in Queanbeyan. It's good to be involved in the community and it is also a good hub for business.
"Working in Queanbeyan means we are also able to keep a lot of the control here and that's especially important. You don't want to do some of the work and rely on others to finish it off because you lose that control.
"We're now supplying to regional NSW, we do a lot of business in the ACT and even have business in places like Sydney."
The team were based in Fyshwick for 32 years before relocating to 86 Yass Road five years ago.
He said that location was another plus.
"I think we've got a really good location here. It's accessible to cars, we have parking, and it's also good for trucks coming in and out."
National Capital Cartons & Packaging is located at 86 Yass Road Queanbeyan. For more information call Rob on 6299 1992 or email rob@nationalcapitalcartons.com.au.
