From childhood car sketches to aftermarket leadership, George Kyriakopoulos has enjoyed a rewarding full circle journey through Australia’s evolving automotive industry

As a teenager, Bendix – TRICO Vice President Asia Pacific, George Kyriakopoulos, enjoyed reading Wheels Magazine and drawing cars, coming up with designs he hoped would rival the best from Pininfarina and Bertone.
“I always wanted to be an auto designer – I was drawing cars all the time, but perhaps reality and insufficient skill prevented me pursuing this as a career. It is a well ingrained habit though, even today when I doodle, it always comes back to cars,” George said.
Growing up in the inner southeastern suburbs of Melbourne, George lived the red versus blue rivalry which prospered at the time through home-grown heroes, Falcon and Commodore. He was also a passionate motorsport supporter, and particularly a fan of Peter Brock.
With his father being a ‘Holden man’ ever since immigrating to Australia from Greece in the 1960s and owning a succession of General Motors products including FB, HQ, and ultimately Commodores, it is no surprise that George’s first car was a Holden.
“I had a green VC Commodore with green velour interior – it was the higher spec SLE with single spoke steering wheel and under the bonnet was a 3.3l (202ci) six. It didn’t have a lot of power but enough to spin the wheels, well at least one wheel,” George chuckles.
“I spent a lot of time cleaning and polishing it – Saturday was polishing the car day.”
With University beckoning (and car design now in the rearview mirror), George leaned towards finance, eventually settling on Commerce where he completed his degree at the University of Melbourne, before entering the workforce as an auditor.
Part of the role involved travelling to client sites, and it was during a visit to a customer in Footscray that disaster struck.
“I finished work that day and when I went back to the car, it was gone! I was devastated. My father and I spent the next couple of days looking around Footscray to see if there was any sign of it, but we couldn’t find it,” he said.
“The Commodore was ultimately replaced by a two-door SAAB 900, which was a very different car but cool and interesting, and I used to get a lot of attention and comments about it.”
George’s alignment to the Commodore nameplate wasn’t over however, with just about all future company cars being Commodores.
“The only blip was the allure of a Barra turbo-powered Falcon, after all, everyone wants to know how the other half lives right?” George smiled.
George gained exposure to manufacturing industries early in his career, an experience that was invaluable when he later moved to more senior finance and managerial roles including at Pacifica Group and of course Bendix, which has a proud and enduring local manufacturing history.
“I had a boss at ICI Specialty Chemicals who said, ‘George, if you really want to learn, you have to get out of head office and familiarise yourself with all aspects of the business.’ So, I went from Treasury Accountant in the city, to Business Unit Accountant at Deer Park where the products were actually made,” George said.
“I took in the manufacturing process and learnt about the challenges; I sat with the people who operated machines and I gained a much better – and I would say more complete – picture of how the operation worked. I still take this big picture approach today.”

George arrived at FMP Group – Bendix in 2006 as Group Finance Director during a time when local auto manufacturing was still healthy, with Mitsubishi, Ford, Holden, and Toyota enjoying strong volumes.
Bendix was a major supplier of braking components to these manufacturers at the time.
As everyone knows, the following decade saw major changes in local car building, meaning suppliers to the industry had to pivot.
Fortunately for Bendix, plans to diversify its product portfolio and business model were already well under way.
“Local automotive manufacturing is of course greatly missed, but it is not mourned,” George said.
“By the time local manufacturing had petered out, we were in a good position, our transition to auto aftermarket supplier had begun and we were well placed to move forward.
“We took the rigours and disciplines of supplying OEMs and applied these learnings and processes to the aftermarket.
“For OEMs you were controlled by them in terms of what they required, as a manufacturer of aftermarket products we control our own destiny – at the end of the day though you are still developing products for others, and customer expectations remain high, especially for a brand like Bendix that has always held a leadership position in the industry.”
A decade on from the closure of large-scale local auto manufacturing, the industry continues to evolve with the last 12-18 months seeing many new car brands launch in Australia and New Zealand, not to mention greater availability of alternative drivelines including fully electric and Hybrid power trains providing huge choice for consumers.
According to George, the local automotive landscape is not just about choice of brands, but about choice of vehicle type, and he attributes the region’s diverse car parc to a thriving and innovative aftermarket scene.
“We’re seeing greater adoption of alternative fueled cars, but I think that this will eventually plateau – to some degree these vehicles have a shelf life,” he said.
“In Australia and New Zealand, people use their cars in very different ways and applications; think of the tradie who has a dual cab 4×4 both for work and for recreation.
“We also hang on to our cars for longer, it is not unusual to see 15- or 20-year-old vehicles on our roads that are impeccably maintained, and that’s thanks to the quality and range of products and services offered by the aftermarket.
“You can upgrade older vehicles with aftermarket parts and they’re like new or better.”

George said that the company’s approach to continuous improvement and innovation, combined with a local manufacturing and engineering presence, positioned Bendix well to take advantage of new opportunities.
“Our customers inspire and motivate us to develop new products and further improve our current portfolio,” he said.
“We’re the only friction material manufacturer with the facilities and expertise to undertake the testing we do, specifically for our local market – it is extremely in depth, and our offering is very much engineered and developed from the ground-up to suit local conditions.
“Through our various product ranges including General CT, EV-Hybrid, 4WD/SUV, Heavy Duty, Euro+, Ultimate+, Ultimate 4WD, and Street Road Track, we have most vehicle types covered – and we hope to further increase our catalogue.
“Additionally, we cater for motorcycles and heavy commercial vehicles, and then we have our range of full brake upgrade kits for off road and performance vehicles.
“More recently we have launched secondary park brake options and electric brake controllers through our Ultimate Tow ranges as well. These complementary technologies are an area we’re looking to grow.”
For George, it is not just about high octane. On the weekends four wheels are swapped for two, and horsepower turns to pedal power, and you will find him among the throng of middle-aged men in lycra on the popular St Kilda to Mordialloc route in bayside Melbourne.
“Cycling is a great way to stay fit and clear the head after a busy work week,” George said.
“Although what I do, really doesn’t feel like work, it is more of a passion. Automotive is such a great and exciting industry, once people are in the field, they’re involved for a long time.
“There are many opportunities and I would encourage young people to consider a career in the industry at any level.
“My journey has come full circle – as a teenager I sat in my room drawing cars and thinking about car racing, now Bendix is involved at the highest level of Australian motorsport through Bendix Racing…and with a General Motors brand. I even had a say in the design of the livery!”

To learn more about Bendix, visit www.bendix.com.au