Part 1 of 8
What was our plan?
We wanted to show what SMEs could achieve with digital. We decided to purchase an SME and build it into a successful enterprise with a digital strategy at the core.
Part 2 of 8
The business: Cleanawater
Cleanawater specialises in the design, manufacture, installation and service of commercial and industrial water treatment and recycling equipment.

Part 3 of 8
Why did we choose Cleanawater?
It ticked all of the right boxes.
It was an established business
Cleanawater was an established business that had been in operation for 15 years.
It produced quality products
The business had an established history of developing award-winning water treatment products.
Its existing digital investment was small
The company was only making a small investment in digital, offering a baseline to test our digital strategy.
Part 4 of 8
The digital strategy
Here are just some of the digital programs we introduced during the five years.
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Design and Development
Part 5 of 8
The results
During a very busy five years – with many late nights, plenty of great memories and two factory moves – our achievements included:

Part 6 of 8
Insights
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Insight #1
Large companies and governments source suppliers online
Our clients included:
- Three federal departments
- Over 30 local councils
- Some of Australia's largest companies
Part 7 of 8
Summary
After five years, the time was right to sell the business. In doing so, we would demonstrate our final objective: using digital to generate equity growth.
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The Sale Process
Creating a data-driven blueprint
We set ourselves an ambitious 3-month sales timeline. But with a data-driven blueprint for future growth and the support of Lloyds Business Brokers, we were confident of a positive outcome.
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The Outcome
A 10x Return on Investment
67 enquiries, 5 offers and 3 months later, the sale of Cleanawater concluded with a 10X return on our original investment.
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The Future
Achieving similar results for Digital360 clients
With the case study behind us, we look forward to developing Digital360’s solutions and helping our clients to achieve their business goals.
Part 8 of 8
The story
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Cleanawater 2010 / 11 Financial Year
The story begins out in Blackburn, in a small 60m2 factory that we shared with a mechanic.
Milestones
Purchased 50% of the business
New website designed and launched
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Cleanawater 2011 / 12 Financial Year
With growth now over 398% it was time to move out on our own. The next location was a 250m2 factory in Thomastown.
Milestones
Purchased the remaining 50% of the business
Moved to our second factory in Thomastown
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Cleanawater 2012 / 13 Financial Year
Bigger customers brings bigger jobs and so it was time to move again, this time to a newly developed 1200m2 factory.
Milestones
- Growth has reached over 821%
- We win our first 40ft containerised water recycling job
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Digital360 launch May 2013
A great evening with 120 guests at a picturesque art gallery in the heart of South Melbourne. As part of the night we shared the top 10 most powerful digital insights from the Cleanawater case study.
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Cleanawater 2013 / 14 Financial Year
With growth now over 1127% we were gaining industry recognition and winning work from new market sectors.
Milestones
- Water authority approval gained nation-wide
- Our new website and branding is launched
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Cleanawater 2014 / 15 Financial Year
With growth now over 1266% the case study was coming to a conclusion.
Milestones
- Exports generate over 8% of our revenue
- New leads increase to over 30 per week
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Cleanawater 2015 / 16 Financial Year
A 3 month sale process that involved 67 enquiries and 3 offers.
Milestones
- Sale completed by the September 30, 2015
- Sale generated a 10X ROI on purchase price
