From Gold Coast grit to national glory: the rise of Event Expo Services

When the events industry ground to a halt in early 2020, many businesses faced an uncertain future. Yet for the HRIA’s 2025 Hire Company of the Year – Events, Expo Event Services, it kick-started a period of exponential growth.

Sometimes, timing is everything. Just ask Matt Farthing, the Director of Expo Event Services (ESS).

“COVID was actually a blessing for us,” says Matt. “With events on hold, we used the downtime to invest in our business systems and as a result, we came out of lockdown with a whole business system implemented, despite having no business!”

That was late 2020. Fast forward to 2025 and ESS is a leading national provider of exhibition and equipment hire services…and the 2025 Hire Company of the Year – Events.

The idea for ESS first took shape over a decade ago. Matt was consulting for major exhibitions across Australia but what began as a consultancy, soon evolved as Matt’s clients sought more than just advice; they also wanted him to supply and build their exhibitions.

“It led to me owning my own gear and then renting it back to clients,” says Matt.

In 2019, Matt, with General Manager Michele Marks, decided that 2020 was going to be their first year of evolving ESS into what Michele called, a commercial entity.

At that time, Michele was working full-time during the day, and at night, with Matt on the business. They’d signed a lease on a warehouse and set off in the truck to their first full conference in Canberra in early 2020. The country then went into the first national COVID lockdown, so they drove back to the Gold Coast and locked up the truck.

With the event and exhibition sector effectively shut down, their focus was on setting up the business and creating a blueprint for the future. To keep things ticking along, Michele stayed on in her job while Matt worked part-time in a local bakery. They took advantage of government grants to purchase software and hardware, ensuring the back-end of their business would be ready to go as soon as the sector re-opened.

They also invested in stock and equipment, punting that once COVID was over, there would be someone willing to hire it.

That foresight paid off. As restrictions were lifted and the industry started to recover, the company quickly resumed operations. Michele quit her job, took on the role of General Manager and within four weeks, they’d taken over a second warehouse and office space. Four weeks later, they’d hired their first staff member to handle administration and within six months, a sales and marketing manager was onboard.

By the end of their first 12 months, they had five warehouses in the same street.

“We expanded that rapidly,” says Michele. “Although we had a business plan, we’d reached our five-year goals in just two years. We were growing exponentially so we had to peddle like crazy to keep things going.”

In 2024, they moved into a purpose-built 2,000 square metre warehouse on the Gold Coast. “We thought we’d grow into this warehouse but 12 months in and we’re already full,” says Michele. They’ve now leased another warehouse across the road.

The company also boasts additional warehousing in Melbourne, Sydney and Canberra, with plans to expand further in the nation’s capital.

A little over two years ago, they decided to join the HRIA.

“What we found within the HRIA were like-minded business owners, small and large, all dealing with the same things, day in, day out,” says Michele.

“Since that time, we’ve flourished and grown our business from a team of two to the 25 amazing individuals who work with us today.”

Their decision to enter the HRIA Excellence Awards was strategic and symbolic.

“I’ve been in awards programs before, and I understand the impact they can have on a business,” Michele explains. “This year, we wanted to participate in something that was national, not just on the Gold Coast.”

She says the judging process was both nerve-wracking and validating.

“Hire is new to us, but the judges said from the start that we’d answered all the questions in the submission. That reassured me that I’d put together something comprehensive,” says Michele.

As the 2025 Hire Industry of the Year – Events, Michele and Matt are thankful to the industry that has ‘opened its arms’ to the events side of the sector.

“I am getting more out of the HRIA than I have out

of my other business events associations over 25 years,” says Michele. “We’ve been in a lot of industry associations but this is very welcoming.”

They also credit the collaborative spirit of the hire industry for contributing to their success.

“Everything about our industry is relationship driven. We all work with some of the largest companies in Australia, but we do it in such a way that it’s behind the scenes,” says Michele. “So, it doesn’t matter what kind of shiny building you’ve got or the vehicle you drive up in, if you don’t have the relationships with your clients and with venues, your business is never going to succeed.”

As for the future, their sights are now set on continued national growth and innovation.

“Winning the award in Melbourne was so important for us as a Gold Coast company,” says Matt, “because we’re now in the same conversation as some of the biggest players in our industry.”