SME gold: 11 Aussie SMEs that made the Olympics a success
While the athletes get all the glory, the unsung heroes of the London Olympics are the Australian businesses that have helped put the games on.
London 2012 may have had a silver lining for Australia’s athletes, but it was gold, gold, gold for the Australian businesses involved in everything from lighting the Olympic flame to cleaning up the swimming course for the triathlon.
In fact, there’s probably more Australian influence in the London Olympics than the British might like to admit.
Here’s SmartCompany’s pick of the top 11 Aussie SMEs who helped make London 2012 a success.
1. FCT Flames lit the Olympic flame
A small business from South Australia was behind the successful lighting of the Olympic cauldron at the opening ceremony of the London Games.
FCT Flames, which specialises in the design and manufacture of flame effects for ceremonial and sporting events, supplied the gas burning system used to ignite the 204 individual copper “petals” before the burner “stems” came together to form one giant flame during the ceremony.
FCT Flames acting managing director David Rapson told SmartCompany the business built on its history of supplying the flame for previous Games, including Sydney in 2000 and Athens in 2004.
“We started off doing industrial combustion and then the progression was to go to ceremonial flames, which includes large outdoor sporting events,” Rapson says.
Rapson was unable to give more detail about FT Flames’ contract with the London Olympics due to confidentiality agreements or reveal how much the contract is worth.
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