History

Planera is a family run business managed by two brothers, Steven and Brett Robertson. They have worked exclusively in the residential sector since 2002, but have more than 30 years of experience in cabinet making. There is quite a bit of history behind their story and we need to look back to the 1950’s to see where it all started.

In the 1950’s, a young Alex Robertson completes his carpentry apprenticeship at T.S. Gill in Heidelberg. Himself the son of carpenter, Alex was proud of his skills and true to his craft. He starts to work immediately in his trade and expanding upon his skills wherever the opportunity presents itself.

Fast track 20 years into the 1970’s and Alex, now married with children, is working on a site at the same time that an architect is asking around for a supplier of precision cabinetry. Alex was confident that he could supply the architect with what he needed and offered his services.

It was not long before his reputation for custom joinery and cabinet making outgrew his garage space and Alex moved into his first commercial premises in Richmond with business partner Branko, under the name “Albrank”.

Their reputation and demand continued to grow throughout the late 70’s and early 80’s and the quality and precision of their work was preferred by many large commercial architectural and design firms.

In the early 1980’s, Alex bought out Branko’s share of the business. The quality, reliability and craftsmanship remained the same and the business continued to develop a solid reputation in the corporate and commercial sectors.

In 1985, Alex’s eldest son, Steven joined the business. He had grown up in and around the workshop floor so it was a natural progression for Steven to be involved with the trade he had known since he was a kid. It was also at this time that they bought 3400sqm of floor space in Richmond to accommodate a growing demand for their product.

The premises in Madden Grove was a shell of a warehouse, located next to an abattoir. It required a complete refurbishment before operations could commence and Alex worked night and day to get it ready. The site was ready for work in early 1986.

At this stage, Albrank were entrenched in the industry as a leading commercial supplier of joinery. They were outfitting banks, law firms, accounting firms and large premises across the city.

Supplying this end of the market came with high expectations and Albrank Architectural Joinery was considered one of the leading providers in this arena.

But for Alex, it also came with a lot of pressure, paperwork and confinements. By the late 1990’s Alex had decided that he no longer sought the large commercial jobs and began to downsize his commitment in this arena. He wanted to get back to working with people, not organisations.

In 2002, Planera was born. With Alex at the helm, and both sons, Steven and Brett involved, they planned to continue supplying the same level of quality to discerning homeowners seeking quality and reliability.

They were able to bring years of large scale production and attention to detail into a more intimate and manageable level of operation. The level of care remained the same, but they were now supplying residential architects and builders with their services.

Alex retired from the business in 2008, but the craft of his trade remains true in every piece of joinery or furniture that leaves the floor. Steven and Brett continue with the tradition and invite you to visit the Richmond showroom and witness Planera’s quality first hand.