Jeffery Cheetham is the managing director and founder of the dental restorative material company SDI. For most of the 1990s its share price hovered around 50¢. Now, with a successful export campaign and the popularity of cosmetic dentistry, SDI shares are $10.50. Investors, including Cheetham, who owns about 45% of the company, have built large fortunes.

The success of the company, which recorded sales of $36.7 million in 2002-03 (an increase of 36% from the previous year) and a net profit of $5.45 million (up 7.2%), has been 30 years in the making. Cheetham started SDI in 1972 and floated the business in 1985 to raise money to pay off personal debts. The company now has a market capitalisation of $245.2 million.