Rogan Coffey

By Brooklyn Noble and Brendan Taylor.

“Bite off more than you can chew, and chew like hell!”

One of the many influential quotes we heard from the energetic and inspiring Rogan Coffey, owner of Suggs Timber Machining & Joinery.

The moment we walked into Suggs, we could feel the energy. We were in awe of the beauty and craftsmanship of the wood projects on display and as we were guided by Rogan into the workshop, we then saw the hard work, care, and passion behind it all.

But let's roll back a few years.

Rogan grew up on 3000 acres in Rocky Gully with his mum, dad, three younger brothers and no power or water supply until he was 4 years old. The generator only ran at night to power the kitchen light which Rogan recalled “this set us up to have a can-do attitude in life”. Rogan and his brothers would travel 164km per day to Mt Barker High School where they all eventually graduated from year 12 with what Rogan describes as a “pretty good work ethic”.

Rogan’s career as a carpenter didn’t kick off straight away. After school, with a certificate in horticulture, Rogan and his high school sweetheart, and now wife, Jen, made the move to Margaret River where he worked in the wine industry. While working at the vineyard as a labourer, an opportunity arose for Rogan to manage Wilyabrup vineyard at 20 years old. “I probably wasn’t ready but said ‘yeah righto’ and then worked out a way to do it after that”. At one point managing 70 employees, he was trying to find a balance of respect and not being mates with his young employees, “I don’t know if I got that balance right, but I never got fired”.

Six years on, in their late 20’s, Rogan and Jen moved back to Albany to be with his dad, who was at this time, unwell. Apart from needing to be closer to family, they’d had enough of agriculture and were looking for something new and eventually hoped to start a family. This is when Rogan decided to commence a mature-age carpentry apprenticeship and in the last year of this apprenticeship they welcomed their first child. “People would say to me, ‘What are you doing mate? You had a house, a great job on a winery and living in Margaret River…. now you’re bloody broke, you’ve got a child and you’re an apprentice carpenter at 27. Your brain doesn’t work properly!’”

A few years later, Rogan and his brothers all had trades and careers and were living away from home, while their mum and dad stayed in Rocky Gully cattle farming until 2018, when Rogan’s dad sadly passed away at age 54. “He was an incredible influence on all our lives”. The passing brought emotional struggles to the family and ultimately lead to the decision to sell the farm and move their mum to Albany. “As hard as it was, like most hard decisions, it was the right one”.

Rogan described his dad as a left wing socialist in a liberal right winged town. This is possibly why his dad had such a huge influence on Rogan and his brothers, and we could see the passion for community, life, sport and work ethic that flowed through. “He gave us some rules to live by that I think are really important: ‘Bite off more than you can chew and chew like hell’, ‘Leave everything a tiny bit better than when you found it’ and ‘Don’t get caught in an argument with an idiot because if someone’s watching they don’t know who the idiot is’”. Not judging a person too quickly and taking people on their merits was another important lesson that Rogan speaks to and lives through his dad.

For the 12 Years that followed, Rogan worked for himself as a carpenter, sub-contracting and building his own small team of people. He began training and providing apprenticeships which as of today amounts to 8 people, most of whom are still in the industry. Rogan talked about how, “always having youth around you, keeps you young. Whether that be your kids or your apprentices” and the importance of the positive influence you can have on young minds, “what’s exciting is that you can really mould them, they’re so impressionable. You want them to be able to be emotionally free”. Rogan often says, “even if you only take 2% of what I say on board, you’re going to be better”.

It doesn’t stop there. With three sons of his own and coach of the local junior Sharks footy team, Rogan says, “the same rules apply”. As a footy player himself, along with his late dad and now all three sons, Rogan explains, “it’s a good connection, it’s something we share, and it’s important to share something with your kids”. The way Rogan coaches his team, whether on the footy field or in the workshop doesn’t vary, “people want to belong. I say to them, if you can promise me a buy in, I’ll promise you success. I don’t know what success looks like for you, but it will be something”.

Back to business. It was in 2019 that Rogan and Jen were approached by the previous owners of Suggs to buy the business. They sat on the offer for over a year, before finally accepting. “You can run the numbers as many times as you want and get all sorts of advice, but at the end of the day those decisions come down to two people saying ‘Should we give it a crack?’. And that’s what happened”. Rogan also recalls some advice that was given to him that was another driver in their decision. “Most people in their life get presented with one, maybe two, great opportunities. You can choose to take it up or not”.

So, why timber? We wanted to know what it is about timber that ignites Rogan. “It appeals to all the senses. It’s the subconscious feelings and being surrounded by nature. I’ll pull over on long drives sometimes and just go walk around in the bush for a bit. It’s that, and being surrounded by a natural, raw product that’s going to be turned into something that someone will value for a long time. It's all got a story”. At the end of the day, “no one needs what we’re selling, they just want it”.

There have been many people that have inspired Rogan, but it’s his wife, Jen, that is his greatest motivator. Rogan talks about Jen being the heart of the business. “Jen is such a realist, level-headed, the real brains behind it all and we have a perfect partnership. You talk about me with the energy, but it doesn’t mean anything without the hard work and hard decisions that she puts up with daily. It can be a thankless job”. More importantly, outside the business Rogan describes having a close and successful family unit “We still really love each other’s company”. In business and in life, “we push each other in the right directions. Without her I’d either be homeless or Elon Musk. Probably homeless”.

We know what you’re thinking. Where does Rogan get all the energy? We asked him whether he ever gets worn out. He laughed. “I’ve never run out of juice in my life!” Rogan explained that his mum always reminds him, “I’ve got four sons and three of them have been medicated from time to time, but you’re the only one that should’ve been the entire time”. Rogan says that the way he’s learnt to cope with the extra energy is by loading himself up. Business, sport and family has done that for him.

Rogan admits that he's no superstar. His success comes purely from his drive, energy and passion. As he says, “if you don’t have a trick, tenacity is your trick”.

If you are interested in listening to the full audio of this conversation please click here. It’s a crackup

Sugg's Timber Machining & Joinery
08 9842 2173
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