inside-out. There’s nothing the customer can throw at them that they’re not going to be ready for.” That’s an example of a large project, but Gilchrist Homes hasn’t had to ignore their passion for energyefficiency. The clients are big on entertaining and have two daughters, so they needed a lot of space initially – but when the daughters move out, a large portion of the home is designed to be effectively closed off in order to reduce heating, cooling and power costs. That’s also an example of a project with a highly-satisfied client. According to Matt, their brief called for “something unique, something stylish, and something they hadn’t seen before.” “Right from the early onset, they said ‘You nailed it,’” Matt says. “They’ve been really enjoying the process.” That’s the kind of relationship that Gilchrist Homes will continue to strive for as they grow – and the company is still growing, Matt says, but at a measured pace. They currently have significant waiting times for new customers, but they refuse to get bigger just because they can. They will only grow as fast as their team will allow. “We’re welcoming new members of the team, but we’re making sure that they’re the right members,” he says. “We’re making sure that they absorb and embrace the culture here and that they become positive culture-shapers themselves.” “We don’t want to have so many new people that it changes who we are,” he adds. “We want to stay relationship-driven. We don’t ever want to become the biggest company, but we always want to stay the best.” Lastly, Matt says they will be expanding their work in the commercial sector. Currently, they have about a $3 million portfolio of commercial projects on the go, ranging from shop fit-outs to a multimillion dollar sporting complex. In the coming years, they expect to do even more work along those lines. “We have some highly skilled personnel who specialize in that area,” Matt concludes. “We expect to continue to develop that side of the company.” JANUARY 2022
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