Wayne completed his Textile Canvas Making Apprenticeship at Pickers Vinyl & Canvas with the original George Pickers in 1980. Wayne left Cairns for Sydney in early 1982 and upon his return to Cairns, Wayne went back to work for Pickers again, this time with Mark’s Dad and Uncle, Robert & Peter Leitner.
Wayne was previously an installer and quoter, however you’ll mostly find Wayne today inside the Pickers Vinyl & Canvas manufacturing plant as Foreman, overseeing the factory & quality control of all shade sails for commercial and residential.
Tobruk Memorial Pool was a standout project for Wayne, across the 6 x weeks of manufacture, Wayne said ‘there was many hours spent cutting the Monotec 370 series shade cloth” an overall 6-week project inside the factory. Installation was fast and efficient, with the Tobruk Memorial Pool being completely emptied for the install, we had an array of cherry pickers in the pool for the sails to go up, during this down time Tobruk refurbished their pool tiling.
Tracey Whalan started working at Pickers Vinyl & Canvas when she was 21 years old with Mark’s Dad and Uncle, Robert & Peter in 1985. Tracey’s husband, Wayne Whalan, was the one that got her the job where she was predominately cleaning shelves. To this day, as Director of the company, Tracey still assists the team members in cleaning shelves and managing the Administration of Accounts and Human Resources.
Portofino was an award-winning project in 2018 for Best Tension Structure under 250sqm and is a standout project Tracey remembers vividly. The timeframe was quite difficult as the client was adamant that the job be completed in time for the Christmas and New Year period, but after a lot of hard work this project was successfully completed in time. We all worked long hours at night, all day Saturday & Sunday and Tracey even assisted in welding this big cover so it could be installed by the due date. Above & beyond, to come out with an award win, was well deserved!
• Qualified in Textile Fabrication
• Tradesperson in Canvas Making
• Elevated Platform ticket holder
• Forklift Licence holder
Mark is one of the Directors at Pickers Vinyl & Canvas of 17 years and the son and nephew of the previous owners, Robert, and Peter. It’s the only job Mark has ever known, skilled in design, shade sails and waterproof covers. “I consider myself an all-rounder and I can do any part of the job, but I especially enjoy seeking the ‘outside the box solutions’ and find I’m best suited to the design and project team for most of my time” says Mark.
The most exciting job Mark completed was The Habitat in Port Douglas due to the complexities in design, manufacture and installation based on the sheer size of the cover, where it took a semi-trailer to deliver from our Mulgrave Road workshop.
• Quality customer service
• Shade sail quoting
• Team training on latest products
Travas has a wealth of knowledge in his field of retail expertise, being in the industry for over 25 years. Travas has strong roots within the business and has been an integral part of the Pickers family for decades. Travas has extensive managerial and people skills and takes pride in his work. Responsible for the upkeep of the retail showroom and is an artisan of visual merchandising. Travas, loves a challenge and will strive to make any of your ideas a reality. Well versed in any product from swags to boat covers, nothing is impossible for Travas and looks forward to hearing from you.
• Qualified in Textile Fabrication
• Experience in Drafting
• Forklift Licence holder
Rikki is a qualified Draftsperson at Pickers Vinyl & Canvas, working alongside Mark in Textile Fabrication. Rikki is the talent behind custom draw covers, which are designed after a measure in a 3D layout so the team can accurately install post design and manufacture.
• Qualified in Fashion Design
• Qualified in Textiles
• Qualified in Pattern Making
Kym has been providing her expertise for over five years with Pickers Vinyl & Canvas as a Machinist, with many logistical challenges in her role of scheduling jobs, based on their time and size. Kym is an expert at consulting with clients on how to make things and sew them together.
• Working at Heights ticket holder
• Elevated Platform ticket holder
• Forklift Licence holder
Andrew is our fearless installer, predominately working on-site and at heights, he is capable of any project. Fully trained and holding a ticket in Working at Heights you’ll find Andrew mostly working in our commercial sector installing large sails and structures.
Bernie is one of our qualified Trades with over 16 years’ experience in the industry of Canvas Textiles and Shade Sails. Bernie really excels at assisting our DIY customers with ideas and working alongside our team in Marine Hooding as well as sewing. Customers appreciate the knowledge Bernie can share with them in relation to custom-made covers for your vehicle or boat, as well as any of our smaller products such as box covers, gun bags, marine upholstery and much more.
Nick is our newest team member as our first year Apprentice in 2021 and his role is a bit of an all-rounder to learn as many aspects of the canvas making job as possible, especially welding. Nick is happy to assist all team members and absorb as much training as possible.
Previously a Printing Machinist for another local company in Cairns, Nick was inspired by Textile Making and Canvas Goods and hoping to be the next Draftsperson or Master Craftsman at Pickers Vinyl & Canvas in the future.
