2 | VEC Civil Engineering
VEC Civil Engineering | 3 VEC Civil Engineering is one of the leading civil engineering and construction businesses in Australia. Established in 1994, the company has grown steadily throughout its life and has become renowned for its innovative approach to bridge building, road and rail works. According toManaging Director Kees van Ek, the company’s success is a result of its strong client focus, its innovative approach to projects, the invaluable experience of its team, and their “embedded culture of delivering on promises.” “I’ve always concentrated on the clients,” he says. “I’ve forged very close relationships with them in order to understand their problems, and enable them to understand ours. Our whole team has worked hard to keep those relationships strong over the 19 years we’ve been operating.” Kees comes from a long career in the building industry, starting as a brick layer and working his way up. Along with his wife Pam, he first established VEC under the name “Van Ek Contracting.” He says that it was determination, hard work, and the support of a few dedicated employees that made the business an early success, and enabled it to grow quickly from a small and unknown entity into the major bridge contractor in Tasmania. BREAKING DOWN BARRIERS Today, VEC’s diverse operations are managed through offices in Tasmania and Victoria – which makes them well positioned to deliver projects across Australia and even overseas. After many years of diversification, the company has come to specialise in bridges, rail, civil and water infrastructure and steel fabrication. No matter what type of project they are undertaking, however, VEC is committed to creating sustainable client relationships. According to Kees, they create those relationships with their flexibility and adaptability – by operating as a “single-source contractor” as much as possible. In particular, VEC is adept at “breaking down
4 | VEC Civil Engineering the barriers” between the design and construct stages of a project. Their design engineers work closely with the team on the ground, in order to achieve the company’s vision of “designing to build, rather than designing and then building.” VEC clients benefit from that unity, which can be lacking within other civil contractors. They also benefit from constant interaction, Kees adds. “It’s all about communication,” he says. “We sit down with clients and discuss everything, and then we keep in touch with them. We let them know what the project problems are and offer solutions, without throwing the contract at them all the time.” “As a contractor you can see a variation and go very hard at it because there’s money in it, but we do the opposite,” he continues. “We avoid variations, so that the contract sum at the end of the job is pretty well the same as the contract sum at the beginning of the job.” VEC invests heavily in the company’s strong team and the clients reap the rewards. Currently, the company employs approximately 100 people, a number that comprises a “diverse mix of experience and youth – from the best graduates to knowledgeable and highly skilled long-serving employees.” “We all work as a team,” Kees says, describing his corporate culture – which he compares to a football club. “We’re all very important, and we all work together. The fullback not only has to stop goals, he also has to set up the goals for the forward on the other end. So he has to read the play all the way. And the forward has to read the fullback the same way.”
VEC Civil Engineering | 5
6 | VEC Civil Engineering
VEC Civil Engineering | 7 “I’ve really concentrated and tried very hard to foster a similar attitude in VEC,” Kees continues. “We bring together highly trained academic people with our labourers, and we make sure they work together and respect each other.” “We’re all in it together,” he says. “That’s the culture we’ve tried to bring into the company.” INDUSTRY RECOGNISED Throughout the years, VEC’s success has been repeatedly recognised through a number of business and excellence awards. Some of their notable wins include a Strategic Innovations Award, a Telstra Small Business Award, as well as numerous others from the Civil Contractors Federation (CCF) and more. Most recently, at the 2012 CCF Earth Awards, VEC took home two high honours – they were a state and national winner in Category 1, and a state winner for Category 4. The Category 1 award, for projects valued up to $1 million, was given to their Stitt River Rail Bridge Transom Replacement. The Category 4 award, for projects valued between $20 million and $75 million, was earned for their noted work on the Kingston Bypass. “We really value that, because it’s recognition for the team,” Kees says of the company’s multiple victories. “It means a lot for the guys that work on those jobs. It means they’re among the best in the business, and it makes them more enthusiastic to do another good job.” Kees credits VEC’s award-winning streak to their flexibility, and their penchant for coming up with alternative, more efficient methods of delivery. Those qualities often enable them to finish Concrete Moonah 6272 6274 Lindisfarne 6243 7355 Kingston 6229 4022 Launceston 6331 7555 Longford 6391 1833 With a broad range of concrete and aggregate products, supported by our global strength, national coverage and local presence, if you need the job done - we’ll make it happen. High quality concrete and aggregates for any building project Orders and enquiries: www.hanson.com.au Bell Bay 6382 1948 Scottsdale 6352 2166 Devonport 6424 1341 Ulverstone 6425 4477 Burnie 6431 1474 Aggregates Flagstaff Gully 6243 8077 Calder 6442 3129
8 | VEC Civil Engineering Kees van Ek Managing Director
VEC Civil Engineering | 9 projects ahead of schedule – which was the case with the Kingston Bypass, despite the hold-ups with Aboriginal heritage areas they encountered. “We resolved those as the job went on,” Kees says. “There was an Aboriginal site in the middle, and we had to manage our way through that with great difficulty. It really tested some of our people, but we got through it and still finished ahead of time. That’s a real achievement.” In general, Kees says that its VEC’s focus on providing creative solutions that has continuously earned the attention of industry bodies like the CCF. Moving forward, the company will continue to emphasise that ability, and Kees predicts that award recognition will continue to follow. AN ENDURING DRIVE VEC has always grown by forging lasting relationships and diversifying into new markets. According to Kees, that legacy will continue into the next generation and beyond. Currently, his main goal is to pass on his passion for construction and thus see the business continue to thrive after his retirement. “Construction is an interesting industry, because you and your competitors all tender for exactly the same things,” he says. “So it boils down to leadership, drive, and fire in the belly to make you stand out.” “That makes the construction industry unique and very difficult,” he continues. “And if you look at the history of the industry, there are very few construction companies that survive beyond their original founders, or beyond the family. Most of them close down because they lose that drive.” “My dream for VEC is to pass that drive onto our management team, which we are actively working on,” he concludes. “I want the business to remain well respected and survive beyond me. That’s a big task, and a huge challenge, but I think we can achieve it.”
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