Business As Usual At Australian Gold, ETS

INDIANAPOLIS—Founded in 1984 on an Indiana farm by Trevor and Edna Gray, ETS, Inc. and Australian Gold became industry leaders offering world-class products and customer service. The companies have evolved dramatically over the years; however, the Grays and their employees always remained focused on, and committed to, their partnership with each and every customer.

Adapting to a changing and evolving market has been the key to success for the company that celebrated its 20-year anniversary in July 2004. Fast forward to August 2006 when the Grays announced they had sold their interests in Sunshine Holdings, Inc., the umbrella company of ETS, Australian Gold and Helios, to its current sales executives and local area investor MH Equity.

A few months after the sale, LOOKING FIT® had the chance to chat with Australian Gold’s John Keiffner to find out the details of the transaction. Key to the message is this: Other than the change of ownership, it’s business as usual for ETS and Australian Gold.

The new company, now called New Sunshine LLC, is led by CEO and President Steve Hilbert.Board members include Hilbert’s wife, Tomisue, as well as Rollie Dick and Jim Adams.

The day-to-day operations of Australian Gold and ETS will be left to the trio of industry veterans instrumental in building the AG and ETS brands into the powerhouses they are today. Leslie Hartlieb is the CEO and president of Australian Gold; Bill Pipp is the CEO of ETS and Helios; and Keiffner is the vice president of sales and marketing of Australian Gold.

“We are going to continue to run the companies as we did before,” Keiffner says. “The board’s challenge is for us to continue to run the operations, increase our sales and find better ways to accomplish future goals.”

According to Keiffner, everything is status quo and the two companies will continue to operate from their separate locations in Indianapolis. “Nothing has changed other than the ownership,” he says.

Salons can expect the same product innovations from Australian Gold, Swedish Beauty, Colorology, Caribbean Gold, ETS and Helios. Be sure to stop by the Australian Gold/ETS pavilion at the ITA Tanning World Expo to discover new products and innovations for the upcoming 2007 tanning season.

For more information, visit www.australiangold.com or www.etstan.com.