During DeckExpo one of our members, IG Railing invited the NADRA team to dinner.
We were honored by Mark Behnecke’s kind words during dinner and wanted to pass on his story about
“The Power of Partnership Honoring NADRA’s role in our industry”
How NADRA change my life…
When it started.
In the Australian Summer of 2003 (late December from memory), l came up with my first entrepreneurial idea while building a deck with some great friends, Craig and Warren, one weekend. We would later sit back, enjoy a BBQ and a few drinks, and gloat over our achievement! The deck ‘came up a treat’ as we say down under, and like all good projects, celebrating our achievement was as much fun as the build!
One by one we installed each decking board individually; it was taking us forever. So, l quietly walked away, picked up a piece of scrap deck board, laid it across 5 decking boards that had already been installed, drilled a small hole above every gap, and hammered a standard framing nail through each hole. The nails would become my spacers. l then attached another timber offcut which formed a handle. We used that jig as our spacing tool for the rest of the project. The second half of the install took half the time! The following Monday l called a patent attorney who l found in the directory, two weeks we filed a patent application for a deck spacing tool, l called it ‘The Deckking’. l had no idea what l was doing or what I was in for! We had reasonable successes with this invention, Stanley tools branded and launched it for me throughout Australia, but I partnered with the wrong distributors and it eventually it fell by the wayside – many lessons learned!
That idea ignited my love for product innovation and decking, and that love would eventually turn into my passion. So much so, in 2004 l bought an airline ticket, flew to America, and attended my first Deck Expo in Vegas. This was the first time l laid my eyes on a composite deck board; l was like a kid in a candy shop, l had no idea composite decking even existed. While sitting at an outside table during the Expo l pulled out my computer, pretending to look like l had it all worked out! As luck would have it, two other gentlemen ended up joining me the same table. A fellow Australian, Phill Hutt who would also become a member of NADRA many years later, and the legendary, Bobby Parks. Little did l know both these gentlemen would become lifelong friends, and Bobby become a business partner with me at IG Railing some 20 years on. Phill and l are fellow board members of the equivalent of NADRA in Australia – ADHRA, Australian Deck and Handrail Association of Australia. Our goal is to emulate what NADRA is today.
Joining NADRA.
I first heard of the NADRA organization in 2013, back then you could count the number of Australian’s who knew of NADRA on one hand, but l felt I had to join. I wanted to be a part of a community who shared the same passion as l did, l wanted to learn from the best. Later that year the NADRA Deck Awards were held in Baltimore, so l decided to enter a project my company done, jump on a plane as see how things would turn out. Before l left home for the Awards, my wife Jess pulled me aside and said, ‘Enjoy yourself, have fun and good luck; but remember everyone is watching – you’re the new kid on the block, take it easy’. l don’t think they were her exact words, but l got the gist of her point and its importance. I’ve always wondered, how do wives know this stuff? We were lucky enough to take home first place for one of the awards. Winning that award, literally change the course of my life.
Being the first deck builder from outside the US to win an award will always hold a special place in my heart and is something l now look back on with extreme pride. North America and NADRA is home to some of the best deck builders in the world, so to even sit in the same room as these guys was very nerve racking. When our name was announced as the winner, l didn’t know what to do, l remember thinking ‘what happens now’? Later that night Shawn Miller came up to me and said, “Congratulations Aussie, well done Sir’, let’s get our picture taken”, to this day Shawn and l are great friends.
As luck would have it, at the 2013 NADRA after party, l ended up sitting at the same table of another two lifelong friends, and now business partners, Pat & Julie Noonan, what are the chances? We spoke for hours about life in general, these often turn out to be the best conversations. Some 6 years later; in 2019 we would work together on a joint Australia/US venture.
How IG Railing was born.
In 2018 my second entrepreneurial idea popped into my head, Spartan Railing, which would later be rebranded IG Railing as its best known today. l knew the only way l would be able to break into the US market was to have a partner based in the States. I sort advice from quite a few people within the NADRA family as to whom would be best to pitch my dream to. It was during these conversation, Pat & Julie’s name continued to pop up. So, after finding Pat’s number, l decided to take my chances and give him a call. I shared my vision and ideas and from day one and laid it all on the table – after all what did l have to lose? it was all or nothing! as the saying goes. Three months later at 10.00am my time, l take a call from Pat and Julie. Pat says “Hello”. and asks, ‘Mark do you have a beer in your hand’, to which l replied, ‘Mate it’s 10.00am, way too early,” and we both start laughing. Pat then says two words ‘We’re in’. I instantly got goose bumps. From that moment on, I knew something special was about to happen. Pat then continued the conversation by adding ‘We are only in if l can convince a good friend of mine to join us, his name is Mike Kunard’; or as l now call him ‘The Freak’. Mike and l would speak nearly every day for the next 3 years. Over that period, there were tough times, tough calls and strong conversations were had, but at no time did we question ‘Why are we doing this?’. Many times, our conversations wouldn’t even be about work, they would be about life. It’s those conversations that ultimately helped us form a successful team, conversations that formed our friendship.
I must also take a moment to thank Terry and Stan from “The Deckstore” in Canada. These guys believed in my idea from day one, but as they had irons in other fires, we weren’t unable to join forces, but they still sell IG Railing today and love the product.
Friendship before work.
What are the odds sitting at the same table as Bobby 20 years ago, and the same table as Pat & Julie 9 years ago, and today being business partners! The common theme is we were friends before business colleagues.
Partnering with Pat, Julie and Mike has been a hell of a ride thus far, adding Bobby to our team in 2023 really was the icing on the cake. Years prior to Bobby joining, l rang him to say Hello, and to see how things were travelling. I told him about my crazy idea of one day being able to sit on a deck and watch TV on a glass handrail. To this day Bobby still remembers that conversation, look where we are now! I asked Bobby if maybe one day he would consider joining our team, but in true Bobby fashion, he said ‘Mark, l really appreciate your offer, l truly do, but l respectfully have to decline. I have made a commitment to Versatex, they are a great company and good people, and l need to follow that through’, hence the reason he is so respected throughout the industry.
The NADRA family.
I would like to make special mention of the Beaudry family. Their tireless work and commitment have given every member, sponsor, and like-minded person within the industry, an opportunity to become who they are today. A great mentor of mine once told me, ‘Mark, never think you succeed by yourself. At some point along your journey, someone, somehow has helped you reach your goals. So, when you’re sitting back one day, reflecting on how you got here, remember who helped you”!
I will be forever grateful to NADRA for the opportunities it has given me. I’m lucky enough to be a part of a community where like-minded people celebrate others’ success, and innovation, hard work and high standards are the cornerstones. But more importantly, l have met some amazing people, who l now have the privilege to call friends. When the time comes to reflect on my life – NADRA will be one of the first organizations I think of.
Mark Behnecke
Mob: 0402 270 139
