Steven Steer

Steven Steer - CRANKA Founder / Managing Director

 

INTRODUCTION

Steve Steer or 'Steersy' as he is known to his mates started fishing with his dad and brothers at a very young age and has been a passionate angler all of his life. He grew up in Melbourne, where his father ran a club for boys called the 'explorers' and also an 'explorers' canoe & rafting club, so every spare minute was spent in the outdoors either fishing, camping, canoeing, hunting, hiking, skiing or just exploring a river somewhere. On one of his many trips to Tasmania, he fell in love with the place and the fishing that it has to offer, so in 2003 he and his wife Debbie packed their belongings and moved to Tasmania to live and raise their family. He has fished in all states of Australia and several overseas locations for a wide range of fish species on bait, lure and fly but he still rates the fishing that Tasmania has to offer as some of the best there is. These days, he spends most of his angling time targeting Bream and Trout on hard body’s, soft plastics and fly, but he still likes to chase practically everything that swims from time to time. He has competed in many of the Bream and Trout Tournaments held around the county and he is currently an eight-time Australian Bream Tournament (ABT) event winner and currently holds the ABT Big Bream Tasmanian Record with a fish of 1.84kg. In addition to this, he is a multiple Tasmanian Trout Tournament Winner, has worked as a fishing guide, written for several well respected fishing magazines, tournament cast on a national level, invented-designed-created and managed the sales of world first fishing products, managed a tackle store for several years, has been a guide / guest on several global fishing TV shows and is the founder and managing director of Cranka lures where his current job is to bring you the best fishing lures possible.

SUMMARY OF STEVE'S BACKGROUND AND INDUSTRY EXPERIANCE

From a very young age Steve developed a keen passion for fishing and a love for time spent in the outdoors. With the guidance and loving support of his family and close friends, his passion grew daily and by the age of 12 he was already tinkering with existing fishing tackle in an attempt to improve its fish catching ability. By age 14, he was making some of his own fishing tackle in the form of customized hooks, handmade floats, hand poured sinkers and creating some of his own basic lure and fly designs. Steve became a self-confessed tackle junkie with an insatiable thirst for knowledge of different fishing tackle and fishing techniques. He committed every waking moment to becoming a more accomplished angler and towards developing a greater understanding of fish behaviour and the behaviour of common prey items that fish regularly feed upon. In 1996 Steve quit a well-paid job as a special class electrician to follow his passion and pursued a career working within the tackle industry. Steve spent the next 13 years working in various roles and positions within the Australian Fishing Tackle industry, roles which ranged from the manager of a successful tackle store, working as an angling guide / photo journalist and to managing his own new product, research and development company. It was in this final role that he learned all the necessary skills for successful brand creation, new product design, development and commercialisation. Throughout this 13-year period, Steve also worked behind the scenes on the research and develop of a range of unique fishing lure ideas that had been playing on his mind for many years prior. He worked tirelessly to build up his angling experience, to develop necessary skills, to establish industry contacts and he studied to gain the necessary business acumen that was required for the development and commercialisation of these unique lure ideas. Finally, in September 2009 he registered CRANKA Pty Ltd as a company under which he would develop and launch what was to become the CRANKA lure brand of today!

TACKLE INDUSTRY AWARDS RECEIVED TO DATE

  • JOHN DUNPHY INNOVATION AWARD, Australian Fishing Tackle Association (AFTA) Best in Show Awards 2015 for the SINGLE HOOK CRANKA CRAB LURE.
  • BEST NEW LURE, Australian Fishing Tackle Association (AFTA) Best in Show Awards 2012 for the Original CRANKA CRAB LURE.
  • BEST SMALL STAND, Australian Fishing Tackle Association (AFTA) Best in Show Awards 2012 for the CRANKA TRADE STAND.

 

Steve's Detailed Employment History
Period of employment: July 1st 2009 to current

Company: Cranka Pty Ltd
Position Held: Founder / Managing Director
Duties and Responsibilities
• The conceptualisation of new products, concepts, ideas, designs and inventions.
• The liaison with attorneys for the drafting and lodgement of national and international intellectual
property rights protection, i.e. (Patent Protection & Registered Designs) of new concepts/inventions.
• Conduct extensive national and international research of the target market including:
demographics, economics, wants/needs, participation rates, sales of existing products and more.
• The design, construction, refinement and testing of product prototypes.
• The planning, production and filming of product demonstration videos.
• The business planning and company structuring necessary for product commercialization.
• The sourcing and acquisition of funding needed for product and business development.
• Design and create product Logo’s, all branding, all trade contracts, all advertising materials.
• Design, build and manage the CRANKA website (view website at www.crankalures.com)
• Lead a team of product designers and overseas based manufactures to successfully design, prototype,
test, refine, approve, mass manufacture and deliver a ‘world first’ range of fishing lures to market.
• Design and implement product quality assurance programs for the mass manufacturing process.
• Design and build manufacturing processes required for the mass production of CRANKA products.
• Design and create secure, functional and appealing packaging for the display of a range of products.
• Design, Build and continually update our product trade stand to display all CRANKA products at
national and international industry trade shows.
• Manage and carry out all tasks associated with the ongoing day to day design, manufacturing,
marketing, sales and distribution of all CRANKA products.


Employment Period : October 2008 to February 2009
Business: Steve Steer (Owner Builder) House Construction
Position Held: Owner Builder
Location of Property: Golden Valley, TAS
Duties and Responsibilities
• Planning, Drafting and submission of building plans
• Interior Design including creation of 3D Computer Designs
•All Carpentry, Plumbing, Plastering, Tilling, Electrical and Painting work associated with building a three bedroom / two Bathroom house
• Remote ‘Stand Alone’ solar power system design and installation
• Furniture Design and Building
• Kitchen Design and Building
(please see some examples of work done in following photographs)

 

Period of employment: June 2004 to June 2007
Company: Fishmania Pty Ltd Trading as ‘GOTONE’ fishing tackle
Position Held: Store Manager
Location of Employment: GOTONE tackle store, 144 Hobart Rd, Kings Meadows, TAS
Duties and Responsibilities
• Stock; analysis, selection, loading, arrangement, control and purchasing
• Customer Service and Sales
• Conduct Customer Education Seminars and workshops
• Manage Staff Duties and help with book keeping duties
• Advertisement creation and placement
• Setup and man a trade stand at AGFEST each year

 

Period of employment: March 1st 1996 to December 2003
Company: SLS Products PTY LTD (trading as Precise Angling), Melbourne, Vic
Position Held: Founder/Managing Director
Duties and Responsibilities
• The conceptualisation of new product, concepts, ideas and inventions.
• The liaison with attorneys for the drafting and lodgement of national and international intellectual
property rights protection, i.e. (Patent Protection) of new concepts/inventions.
• Conduct extensive national and international research of the target market including:
demographics, economics, wants/needs, participation rates, sales of existing products and more.
• The design, construction, refinement and testing of product prototypes
• The planning, production and filming of a prototype demonstration video
• The business planning and company structuring necessary for product commercialization
• The sourcing and acquisition of funding needed for new product development
• The learning of skills required for product miniaturization, customization and commercialization
• Lead a team of product designers and manufactures to design, source and manufacture a total of
162 custom components necessary for product customization/miniaturization. Components
designed and developed included a custom Liquid Crystal Display, custom Microprocessor,
custom Circuit Board and custom Miniature Bearing to name just a few of the 162 components
• Design and implement product quality assurance programs for the mass manufacturing process
• Design and build manufacturing processes required for the mass production of this product
• Design and create the packaging for the product including a custom backing card , instruction
manual and unique blister package design
• Design and build a trade stand for the market launch of the product
• Manage the ongoing day to day manufacturing, marketing, sales and distribution of the product

 

Period of employment: September 1st 1995 to March 1st 1996
Company: LMP Electric’s, 24 London Drive Bayswater VIC 3153
Position Held: Fully Qualified A Grade Electrical Mechanic
Duties and Responsibilities
• Contract special class electrical installation and maintenance of plant facilities at the Boronia
(Victoria) site of Glaxo-Welcome Australia. One of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the
world.
• Computer installation and cabling
• Machine robotics and programmable logic control installation, cabling and maintenance
• High speed production/packaging machinery instillation, cabling and maintenance
• The design, construction and installation of custom built motor control switchboards/control panels
• Project estimation and quotation
• Installation, cabling and maintenance of sterile environment control systems
• Design and installation of automated high rise warehouse storage and distribution systems
• Cabling and maintenance of flameproof installations

 

Period of employment: January 11th 1988 to 31st August 1995
Company: J.G. White Electric’s A.C.N. 006367 915, 24 London Drive Bayswater VIC 3153
Position Held: Apprentice then Qualified, A Grade Electrical Mechanic
Duties and Responsibilities
• Contract special class electrical installation and maintenance of plant facilities at the Boronia
(Victoria) site of Glaxo-Welcome Australia. One of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world.
• Computer installation and cabling
• Machine robotics and programmable logic control installation, cabling and maintenance
• High speed production/packaging machinery instillation cabling and maintenance
• The design, construction and installation of custom built motor control switchboards/control panels
• Project estimation and quotation
• Installation, cabling and maintenance of sterile environment control systems
• Design and installation of automated high rise warehouse storage and distribution systems
• Cabling and maintenance of flameproof installations
• Mr Steer was heavily involved in the installation and cabling of high speed production lines required
by Glaxo-Welcome pharmaceuticals, in their non-sterile packaging plant. This project was runner up
in the 1995 National Contractors Association excellence awards.

 

DETAILED SUMMARY OF STEVE'S BEST TOURNAMENT RESULTS TO DATE

2016 - 2019 Years

The CRANKA Business was too busy for Steve to find the time required to fish tournaments in 2016-2019 !

2015 Year

  • 1st place, Tasmanian Bream Classic Series ‘Team of The Year’ -2015.
  • 2nd place, Tasmanian Beam Classic event, St Helens – 2015.

2014 Year

  • 1st place, Tasmanian Bream Classic Series ‘Team of The Year’ - 2014.
  • 2nd place, Tasmanian Bream Classic event, Swan River – 2014.
  • 2nd place, Tasmanian Bream Classic event, St Helens – 2014.

2013 Year

  • 1st place, Tasmanian Bream Classic Series ‘Team of The Year’ – 2013.
  • 2nd place, Tasmanian Bream Classic event, Swan River – 2013.
  • 3rd Place, Tasmanian Bream Classic event, St Helens – 2013.
  • BIG BREAM, Tasmanian Bream Classic Event, Derwent River - 2013

2012 Year

  • 1st Place, Tasmanian Bream Classic event, Derwent River – 2012.
  • Current All-time record bag of Bream, 10/10 Bream weighing 13.77kg, Tasmanian Bream Classic event, Derwent River – 2012.
  • 1st place, Tasmanian Bream Classic Series ‘Team of The Year’ – 2012.

2011 Year

  • 2nd place, Tasmanian Bream Classic event, Derwent River – 2011.
  • 3rd place, Tasmanian Trout Series 'TEAM of the Year' – 2011.

2010 Year

  • 1st place, Spirit of Tasmania Bream Classic Series, ‘Team of The Year’ – 2010.
  • 1st place, Spirit of Tasmania Trout Classic event, Round 1 Arthur's Lake – 2010.
  • 1st place, Spirit of Tasmania 2010 Trout Classic event, Round 2 Great Lake – 2010.
  • 1st Place, Spirit of Tasmania Trout Classic Series 'Team of The Year' – 2010.

2009 Year

  • 2nd Place, Spirit of Tasmania Trout Classic event, Arthurs Lake – 2009.
  • 2nd Place, Spirit of Tasmania Trout Classic Series ‘Team of the Year’ – 2009.
  • 1st Place, Pro/Boater Division 2009 ABT Qualifier Event, St Helens TAS, 10/10 for 9.64kg
  • ABT Big Bream TAS Record of 1.84kg, 2009 ABT Qualifier Event, St Helens TAS
  • 2nd Place, 2009 ABT Trout Classic Event, Arthurs Lake TAS
  • 2nd Place, 2009 ABT Tasmanian Angler of the Year
  • 2nd Place, 2009 Spirit of TAS Trout Classic Event, Arthurs Lake TAS
  • 2nd Place, 2009 Overall Team of the Year, Spirit of TAS Trout Classic Event.

2008 Year

  • 2nd Place, 2008 ABT TAS Bream Classic Event, Scamander River TAS
  • 3rd Place, 2008 TAS Trout Classic Event, Arthurs/Great Lakes TAS
  • Biggest Trout, 2008 TAS Trout Classic Event, Arthurs/Great Lakes TAS
  • 4th Place, 2008 ABT VIC Bream Humminbird Invitational Grand Final Event.

2007 Year

  • 1st Place, Pro/Boater Division 2007 ABT Qualifier Event, St Helens TAS, 10/10 for 9.39kg
  • 3rd Place, 2007 TAS Trout Classic Event
  • Biggest Trout, 2007 TAS Trout Classic Event
  • 1st Place, 2007 ABT TAS Bream Classic Event, Scamander River TAS.

2006 Year

  • 1st Place, 2006 ABT Vic Bream Classic Event, Mallacoota VIC, 10/10 for10.72kg
  • 1st Place, 2006 ABT TAS Bream Classic Event, Scamander TAS
  • 1st Place, Pro/Boater Division 2005 ABT Bream Qualifier Event, Gippsland VIC, 4/10 for 6.09kg.

2005 Year

  • ABT Big Bream of 1.64kg, 2005 ABT Bream Qualifier Event, Gippsland VIC
  • 1st Place, 2005 ABT TAS Bream Classic Event, Scamander River TAS
  • 1st Place, 2005 ABT TAS Bream Classic Grand Final, Swan River TAS, 10/10 for 11.8kg
  • 1st Place Individual Standing, 2005 TAS Bream Classic Grand Final, Swan River TAS