The Construction Source Australia

Welcome to the latest issue of Construction Source Australia, the magazine that highlights the best of the best in building and building products across the country. In this edition, we’ve shined our spotlight on some of the developers and builders behind some of the country’s most acclaimed projects. The company on our cover, Resimax Group, is a prime example. They are widely regarded as one of Australia’s most dynamic, innovative, and diversified property groups. Over the years, they have delivered a long list of exceptional residential communities in Melbourne’s growth corridors, and going forward they are poised to deliver a great many more. For more on their story, and the drivers behind their rapid growth, we spoke to Aziz ‘Ozzie’ Kheir, the company’s founder and managing director. Resimax’s tagline is ‘Property Revolutionised.’ We talked to Ozzie about what that means and we highlighted some examples of their revolution in action. For instance, Resimax was the first company in Australia to introduce built-to-rent with detached houses – up until they did it, developers had only ever done built-to-rent with apartment blocks. We discussed that innovation and the motivation behind it, and we discussed some of the projects that will feature designated built-to-rent homes. That list includes their upcoming and already-awardwinning Eynesbury community, where they are transforming the titular township into “into a fully self- contained world,” with vibrant town centre, walking tracks and hiking trails, a luxury hotel with a conference centre, and even a world-class day spa. The other developers, builders, and building providers featured in this edition have similarly exciting visions. AusSteel, for example, is Australia’s number one residential steel frame supplier, and they have achieved that status as a result of CEO Darren Onley’s philosophy, which is to ‘be better’ and ‘build better.’ When Darren purchased the company, he estimates that AusSteel was producing one whole house frame per month. Now AusSteel has three factories and can produce seven house frames per day in each factory. We talked to Darren about the innovation that’s powered that growth. McColl Smith Projects, meanwhile, is a commercial builder in Victoria that has also gone from strength-to-strength in recent years. According to founders and co-directors Dominic McColl and Jerad Smith, that’s a credit to their transparency and followthrough. We talked to them about what that means and about some of their recent award-winning projects. For more on those companies and their stories, and more on other forward-thinking and innovative companies across the country, just keep reading. All the best, The Editorial Team We will keep adding business units that enhance our offering and separate us from our competition. “ ” Editor From The Dear Reader,

NOVEMBER 2024

The Construction Source Australia With a readership exceeding 136,000 senior executives, The Construction Source Australia takes immense pride in providing an enticing platform to amplify your message to the most pivotal audience – your valued customers. Whether your aim is to promote an exciting new condo development, attract crucial financial investments for upcoming projects, or establish a commanding brand presence, we’re here to assist you every step of the way. To explore opportunities for featuring your company or showcasing your latest project in The Construction Source Australia, please reach out to our Group Publisher. Jermaine Poulsen e:info@theconstructionsource.com.au The Construction Source Australia Suite 11.01, Level 11, 175 Castlereagh Street, Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia info@theconstructionsource.com.au ABN: 42 976 059 923 Executive Publisher Jermaine Poulsen COO Alexandra Box Editor in Chief Zach Janes Director of Operations Jacqueline Van Belois Business Development Managers Douglas Thomson Chad Hamilton Tara Dutrizac Production Manager Brennan Midghall Digital Strategist Pranim Thapa Administration Manager Belyn Quijance-Dorero

NOVEMBER 2024 Industry INNOVATIONS Product of the Month The Kights Scanner RESIMAX GROUP Property Revolutionised AUSSTEEL PTY AusSteel builds better MCCOLL SMITH PROJECTS McColl Smith Projects believes transparency is the key to success PGA RENDERING Mastering the Art of Cement Rendering in Sydney CIR CONSTRUCTION Redefining Excellence in Industrial and Commercial Construction IN THIS ISSUE NOVEMBER 2024 AUSSTEEL PTY CIR CONSTRUCTION MCCOLL SMITH PROJECTS

NOVEMBER 2024 Aluminum expected to accelerate worldwide adoption of electric and self-driving vehicles Material takes on an ever-widening role in tomorrow’s vehicles For more than a decade, concerns about fuel efficiency have been encouraging OEMS to replace steel with aluminum on vehicle bodies, doors, trunks, hoods, bumpers, crash boxes, brakes, cables and wheels. With the advent of electric and autonomous vehicles, OEMs worldwide are discovering new uses for aluminum. The need for battery casings and heat exchangers in electric vehicles, combined with autonomous vehicles’ demands for high visibility and structural integrity, is expected to exponentially increase the use of sheet aluminum in tomorrow’s cars, trucks and buses. Supporting the transition to battery-powered vehicles Four major design challenges confront OEMs in their transition to electric vehicles. Extending vehicle range Improving battery and passenger safety Increasing passenger comfort Optimizing cooling systems for lithium-ion batteries The substitution of sheet aluminum for steel helps resolve OEM concerns. Industry INNOVATIONS

The Construction Source Australia The lighter the vehicle, the longer its range. According to Ducker Worldwide, aluminum is expected to contribute more than half of the anticipated vehicle mass reduction demanded by electric vehicles (EVs) to extend range. Ducker reports that in North America alone, aluminum content in EVs will increase to nearly 565 pounds (256 kilgrams) per vehicle by 2028. The larger the vehicle, the heavier the battery and casing required to optimize the EV’s range. It is the larger EVs, i.e., sedans, SUVs, taxis, trucks and buses, that will realize the greatest benefits from a steel-to-aluminum conversion. In the U.S., a vehicle’s gross weight determines which class of commercial driver’s license (CDL) will be required. Without lightweighting, some EVs could demand a higher-class license or additional endorsements due to the added weight of the battery. In older European cities like Brussels or London, some bridges and tunnels only allow vehicles up to 3.5 tons in weight, a target that is very difficult to meet for larger EVs without lightweighting. For heavier material transport EVs such as trucks, weight reduction enables an increased payload, providing a significant monetary benefit. Generally, the larger the vehicle, the higher the payback. Particularly relevant for larger human transport EVs such as buses and taxis, the weight reduction made possible through aluminum provides the added benefit of reduced CO2 emissions and improved air quality, of value not only to vehicle operators, but to the communities they serve. The thermal and anti-corrosion properties of aluminum make it ideal for battery frames. Sea-water resistant, highly formable, highly surfaced aluminum alloys provide the strength necessary to pass side-impact crashworthiness testing, protecting passengers and the battery should impact occur. Casing floor plates made out of aluminum are not only strong, but also capable of resisting corrosion related to weather exposure. These characteristics enable aluminum battery casings to resist weather-related deterioration and impact from road debris, minimizing the risk of related fires and further securing passenger safety. Optimizing battery and human safety Extending range Dispersing heat The batteries used in EVs produce energy while charging and decharging, requiring the use of heat exchangers to dissipate heat. But the types of heat exchangers used in vehicle air conditioning systems are inadequate to meet this new challenge. Aluminum clad brazing (which connects multiple layers of aluminum together to disperse heat) requires heating in a controlled atmosphere (e.g., a vacuum) to achieve optimum joining. Aluminum heat exchangers designed specifically to meet the challenges presented by electric vehicles can use as many as five types of aluminum sandwiched together, with the layers providing gradient properties to optimize cooling. These specialized processes and materials address OEM concerns, ensuring adequate dissipation of the heat generated by battery-powered vehicles. An experienced aluminum processing partner can help OEMs specify the right process and alloys to meet specific vehicle temperature thresholds, ideally working side by side with OEM engineers early in the design process to maximize the performance of electric vehicles. IT IS THE LARGER EVS, I.E, SEDANS, SUVS, TAXIS, TRUCKS AND BUSES, THAT WILL REALIZE THE GREATEST BENEFITS FROM A STEEL -TO-ALUMINUM CONVERSION .

NOVEMBER 2024 The luxury sedan market will likely be the first to transition to self-driving electric vehicles. Passenger comfort and safety, and an expansive view of the surrounding environment, are expected to be top priorities for this market. The hefty B pillars used in conventional vehicles to meet structural requirements for crashworthiness are undesirable in a self-driving scenario. To enable large windows and an unobstructed view without sacrificing passenger safety, lightweight aluminum will be the strong material of choice. Supporting the eventual transition to autonomous vehicles In addition to the design challenges presented by EVs, society’s demand for sustainable solutions will likely continue to be a driver in the transition to aluminum-lightweighted vehicles. A Forschungsgesellschaft Kraftfahrwesen mbH Aachen (fka) study, using a Volkswagen Golf as its reference vehicle, determined that an electric aluminum-based vehicle could meet the same safety standards as its steelbased equivalent, while emitting 1.5 tons less greenhouse gases over its lifecycle, taking into consideration production, a total driving distance of more than 93,000 miles (150,000 kilometers) and eventual recycling. Ongoing environmental concerns Conclusion Aluminum alloys are ideally suited to the design challenges presented by electric and autonomous vehicles. By aligning with aluminum partners deeply experienced in developing processes and alloys to meet demanding performance requirements, transportation vehicle OEMs are accelerating the pace of EV and self-driving vehicle adoption throughout North America. .

The Construction Source Australia

NOVEMBER 2024 Business World Australia

The Construction Source Australia Business Worl d Australia

Property Revolutionised

Strategic Focus, Dynamic Solutions Your expert partner in Dynamics 365 solutions. At Focus Dynamics Group, we are dedicated to delivering high-quality solutions that help you optimise your operations through Microsoft Dynamics 365 technologies. As a Microsoft Solutions Partner, we specialise in the implementation, support, and optimisation of Dynamics 365 Business Central (BC), Finance & Operations (F&O), and Customer Engagement (CE). As a Microsoft Solutions Partner, we can help you take advantage of Microsoft’s funding programs for workshops and implementations, ensuring that you get the best value from your investment. Book a free envisioning workshop today! Email: info@focusdynamics.com.au Web: www.focusdynamics.com.au What We Do End-to-end services to ensure that you can maximize the benefits of your investments • Implementation: From initial setup to full deployment, our team provides a structured, stepby-step approach to ensure success. • Support & Optimisation: We offer ongoing support and identify areas for improvement and optimization. • Integration: We create a cohesive and unified technology ecosystem that enhances data flow and business processes. • Customisation & Development: We can tailor the system to your specific needs, ensuring alignment with your business processes. How We Can Help We are here to help your business transform and achieve measurable results • Streamline Operations: Automate business processes, reduce manual intervention, and increase productivity. • Improve Decision-Making: Integrated analytics and real-time data to support smarter decisions that drive growth. • Enhance Customer Experience: Deliver exceptional customer service, improve sales processes, and drive customer satisfaction. • Achieve Scalability: Solutions that scale with you, ensuring you can handle increased demand and complexity. NOVEMBER 2024

Resimax Group is widely regarded as one of Australia’s most dynamic, innovative, and diversified property groups. Over the years, they have delivered a long list of exceptional residential communities in Melbourne’s growth corridors, and going forward they are poised to deliver a great many more. According to Aziz ‘Ozzie’ Kheir, the company’s founder and managing director, their rapid growth is a credit in part to their end-to-end service offering, which encompasses all elements of the property lifecycle. The “fullcircle” service, Ozzie explains, enables Resimax Group to move faster, adapt quicker, and realize innovation better than a lot of other companies in their space. “As one of the largest privately-owned property developers in Victoria, we’re proud to manage the entire development process in-house, maximising efficiencies and affordability for everyone involved,” he says. “We strategically offer full end-to-end service capabilities – from land acquisition, design, development and construction, to marketing, sales and property management,” he elaborates. “So, we are uniquely placed to deliver the fusion of affordability, quality, and scalability. This also positions us to deliver cutting-edge property investment solutions that others cannot.” Ozzie is not the first member of his family to have a passion for building. His parents, Joseph and Mary Kheir, started a small family business in the mid-1970s called ‘J & M Kheir Builders,’ which built family homes in and around the northern suburbs of Melbourne. Throughout his childhood, Ozzie watched his parents work tirelessly to develop THE CONSTRUCTION SOURCE AUSTRALIA

their business, and he ended up inheriting not just their passion, but also their work ethic and values. The same goes for his four siblings – all of whom now work together within Resimax Group. Originally, Resimax Group was founded as ‘Northern Developments.’ Under that banner, Ozzie began building townhouses in and around Melbourne. He then acquired his first large-scale land lot in the suburbs of Tarneit, in Melbourne’s booming western growth corridor, where he subsequently developed 358 lots. Inspired by that success, he expanded the company’s capabilities and made the pioneering move to integrate building and real estate by forming inhouse companies called ‘Tick Homes’ and ‘Leap Real Estate,’ respectively. He ultimately renamed the integrated development company Resimax Group. In the years since, Resimax Group has maintained a firm focus on property – though they have also successfully diversified into a range of affiliated industries, including investment, hospitality, hotels and media. Within the property sector, Resimax Group has delivered some of Victoria’s premier communities, and they are in the process of delivering many more. All of their projects have their own unique points of difference; all of them are appealing to buyers and tenants for different reasons – though there are commonalities, Ozzie says. All of Resimax Group’s past, present, and future communities are “ideal for all people who are looking to be part of a friendly, vibrant, and progressive neighborhood,” and the company’s portfolio is “the embodiment of our commitment to excellence, for purchasers and partners alike.” NOVEMBER 2024

A current project that demonstrates that excellence – and that exemplifies Resimax Group’s progressive approach – is Eynesbury, an established community just 40 minutes from Melbourne’s CBD. Eynesbury features an historic homestead, a championship golf course, natural wonders, and charming streetscapes – it’s a “true destination,” Ozzie says. Once Resimax Group has seen through their masterplan, that community will also boast a vibrant town centre, walking tracks and hiking trails, a luxury hotel with a conference center, and even a world-class day spa. “Our vision for Eynesbury is bold, exciting and quite literally one of a kind,” Ozzie says. “With a commitment to transforming the township into a fully self- contained world, a true destination in its own right, there’s a lot for residents to look forward to.” In 2023, at the prestigious UDIA Awards, Eynesbury was named a finalist in the ‘Masterplanned Community’ category. Resimax Group and their in-house design team have also won several design awards for the community to date. Resimax Group also pioneered the introduction of build-to-rent (BTR) detached houses within their communities, aiming to expand the availability of family homes in the rental market. Previously, BTR projects were exclusively associated with apartment developments. To date, Resimax Group has delivered nearly 500 BTR homes across their communities, with more planned for the future. This initiative exemplifies their commitment to innovation and their philosophy of “doing things differently.” THE CONSTRUCTION SOURCE AUSTRALIA

“After all,” Ozzie says, “our tagline is ‘Property Revolutionised.’” By adopting the built-to-rent scheme at Eynesbury, and in other developments, Resimax Group hopes to lead the way for all developers in Australia’s detached housing market. “There is enormous potential in the buildto-rent sector as an alternative to traditional homeownership and conventional rental properties; however, the detached housing market has been slow to adopt this scheme in Australia. As a business, we’ve refined our model to leverage this opportunity,” Ozzie says. “At Resimax Group, we have a long-term investment in our developments and communities, beyond reaching settlement. By maintaining an ongoing stake in our developments, we can maintain a unique level of control over the quality and value of stock.” “Looking into the future, we see this designated pool of rental stock as being part of the full lifecycle of our development strategy. The objective of our build-to-rent program is to house tenants in our communities, then transition them into homeowners over time.” Research last year from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed a 15 per cent increase in the amount of lifelong renters aged 25-to-39, when compared to the previous 20 years. Ozzie sees entering the build-to-rent space as a good way to help combat that deepening rental crisis – though he acknowledges it’s not a crisis they can combat alone. “Despite difficulties in the sector, such as growing taxes and delivery costs, Resimax Group is committed to pursuing our build-to-rent development strategy,” he says. “By retaining a percentage of stock in our developments for rentals, we’re able to contribute a pool of brand new, family-sized homes to a broken rental market that is in desperate need of supply.” “However, continued investment and support from state and federal governments is critical for ensuring more developers pursue build-to-rent, and rental supply can grow in line with Australia’s growing population.” NOVEMBER 2024

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According to Ozzie, Resimax Group’s land acquisition strategy is also a testament to their company’s commitment to revolutionising property. As part of that strategy, they recently acquired more than 700 hectares of new land across the western and northern suburbs of Melbourne, with an estimated end house and land value of $8 billion. Those recent deals – when combined with the company’s current portfolio, including their flagship project in Eynesbury – have solidified Resimax Group as one of Victoria’s largest and most active private developers. Combined, Resimax Group has amassed over 1,400 hectares of developable land, all within 50 minutes of Melbourne’s CBD. On that land, they expect to deliver over 22,000 lots in partnership with Tick Homes. Ozzie anticipates that the estimated end house and land value of all delivered and newly acquired land lots will total over $17 billion. New Opportunities WPA are trusted experts in town planning, development management and project management, across all sectors of the development industry. For personalised, client-focused property development services, reach out to us at: Phone: +61 (3) 9466 8819 Email: info@kwhiteman.com Web: www.kwhiteman.com M 0419 922 9 T 03 9466 8 E ken@kwh W kwhitema Your Trusted Partner in Property We're a highly skilled, close-knit team that thrives on genuine communication and collaboration, ensuring exceptional project outcomes across all sectors of the property development industry for our clients. When it comes to Town Planning, we're your comprehensive solution, handling everything from defining your project charter to managing design, coordinating subcontractors, and skilfully navigating negotiations with statutory authorities. In Development Management, we take care of everything, from feasibility analysis, acquisition, planning, design, construction, through to marketing and sales. Our roots run deep in the Melton City Council area. With a proven track record of over 20 projects in the Local Government Area (LGA), totalling more than 6,000 lots, and dozens of permits in collaboration with Council, we have an in-depth understanding of local regulations and a strong partnership with the Council. WPA are proud to announce our appointment by Resimax Group on Eynesbury. WPA has been appointed to manage the rezoning and Planning Scheme Amendment across both the Melton City Council and City of Wyndham LGAs. At Whiteman Property & Associates (WPA), we're more than just trusted experts in town planning, development management, and project management in Victoria. For personalised, client-focused property development services, reach out to us at: info@kwhiteman.com +61 (3) 9466 8819 www.kwhiteman.com NOVEMBER 2024

On their acquired land, Resimax Group’s plan is to progressively make land lots available for public purchase in 2025 and beyond, with 500 of the 10,000 lots held as designated build-torent stock across various projects. Their goal is to construct and lease the built-to-rent rental homes to tenants by 2027, following the roll-out of stock in their current build-to-rent portfolio. Resimax Group intends to move fast, Ozzie emphasises, and he believes they can. Partly because of the efficiency inherent to the company’s full-service offering, and partly because 10,000 of the new land lots are in Precinct Structure Plans (PSPs). Some of those PSP lots already have readily available infrastructure, allowing the company to fast-track the delivery of affordable housing stock, subject to approvals. “Resimax Group has set its sights on delivering a high volume of affordable family homes in relatively quick succession, at a time when housing supply is facing record lows,” he says. Many of these new land purchases were made from 2020 to 2022, during the heights of the pandemic. Despite the challenges of that time, Resimax Group remained bold and committed to their tagline. “We struck the majority of our funding deals during the pandemic, remaining optimistic during a time when the market was fearful and uncertain of the future,” Ozzie says. “As a business, we are constantly looking for new opportunities, and that didn’t slow down after the effects of 2020. Remaining entrepreneurial allowed us to structure the acquisition deals to benefit the business in the long term.” “This strategy will allow Resimax Group to deliver a critical volume of housing in northern and western growth corridors of the state, where land parcels are still affordable and migration is booming.” According to recent data from the National Housing Supply and Affordability Council, Australia is projected to miss its 2029 housing target by 160,000 homes. Once again, Ozzie says that Resimax Group’s goal is to do what they can to help mitigate that crisis, but he believes the THE CONSTRUCTION SOURCE AUSTRALIA

government also needs to do more. In particular, he says additional resources on a state level need to be put in place now to fast-track PSP approvals. “Parcels of land in progressed PSPs can be fasttracked for development approval. This includes land located close to existing infrastructure, such as train stations and road networks.” “If additional resources are put into place on a state government level now, developers such as Resimax Group can deliver housing faster and work towards closing this housing shortfall over the next five years.” Lastly, Ozzie says it’s important that a good percentage of the homes created to fill that housing gap are detached – because that’s what the people of Melbourne desire. “We know that Melburnians want detached housing. We have looked at the feasibility of townhouses and apartments on a similar footprint, but compact detached housing will deliver something of longer-term value and use to purchasers,” he says. In order to make compact detached housing as affordable as possible for purchasers, Resimax Group has developed a model that involves decreasing the average lot size across their developments to 300-to-350 square metres – which is 20-to-30 per cent less than the average Greater Melbourne residential block size of 429 square metres, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Resimax Group has already trialled this model in a number of their estates and it has proven very successful. “From surveying residents actively building and living in our estates, we have found that a majority are increasingly sacrificing backyard space to prioritise the size and scale of their internal living spaces,” Ozzie explains. “Compact detached housing will be key to the future of housing availability and affordability across the country. The concept of the Australian Dream has changed, and large backyards are no longer critical for family homes, provided there is ample open space for kids to play outdoors nearby.” That provision is why, in Eynesbury as an example, Resimax Group has developed outdoor infrastructure in conjunction with the local council. There, they have included walking tracks, wetlands, playgrounds and outdoor exercise equipment. They expect to include similar outdoor amenities in future developments. Lastly, moving forward, Resimax Group will continue to foster strong and lasting relationships with subcontractors and suppliers at all levels. For example, they have a longstanding relationship with Focus Dynamics Group, a professional services company supporting ERP systems. They are a company with deep, client-side experience, which enables them to offer empathetic approach to problem-solving and ensure their solutions are not only theoretically sound but have been tested in the crucible of actual business operations. Resimax Group highly values that kind of experience in their partners, as they are very big on collaboration and work closely with their suppliers. “At every level of the organisation, Resimax Group collaborates with suppliers as genuine partners in every sense,” Ozzie says. “They are brought along on the journey, actively involved in decisionmaking, and play a crucial role in contributing to our business success.” NOVEMBER 2024

For more on Resimax Group, their past and present projects, their world-class innovations, and how they help customers create wealth through property, visit https://resimaxgroup.com.au For more on their Eynesbury community, in particular – including everything that community has to offer and the latest development news – visit https://eynesbury.com.au/ THE CONSTRUCTION SOURCE AUSTRALIA

AusSteel builds better

NOVEMBER 2024

Throughout his 30-plus years in the steel frame and truss industry, Darren Onley has always strived to find ways to live up to his personal philosophy, which is to ‘be better’ and ‘build better.’ As CEO of Aus Steel – Australia’s number one residential steel frame supplier – he has achieved that goal by developing an innovative holistic approach that reduces waste, minimises wasted time on site, and ultimately ensures a better and more durable product at the end of the day. “When I purchased Aus Steel, I did so with the goal of building an incredible team of forwardthinking team members and building partners,” says Darren. From the start, he says the vision has been to be a catalyst for constant improvement, not just internally, but for the industry at large. Early on in his career, Darren came up in the timber and prefab industry before transitioning to steel frames and trusses. Over the past 36 years – 17 of which he spent in steel – he believes he has experienced virtually every facet of steel frames and trusses. He’s worked on factory floors, in offices, on design teams, and before purchasing Aus Steel he worked with an engineering company that supported fabricators. He was then introduced to Aus Steel by a friend and he liked the system they were using. The previous owners were looking to sell and he was excited for the opportunity. At the time of the purchase, Darren estimates that Aus Steel was producing one whole house frame per month. Now Aus Steel has three factories and can produce seven house frames per day in each factory. The factories are located in Queensland, Newcastle in Northern NSW and their newest THE CONSTRUCTION SOURCE AUSTRALIA

factory is in Goulburn in southern NSW near Sydney. Aus Steel now typically provides materials to residential project builders that do 600-to-700 houses a year. They tend to work closely with these builders in order to optimize the production cycle and ensure optimal efficiency. “We sit down with them and do design work in the early stages to make the designs more efficient. Then we supply them on a regular basis,” says Darren. “We ship all over the place. One of our customers supplies a kit home product that we produce for him, and they sell all over the country.” Builders choose Aus Steel for several reasons, Darren believes. One reason is their technological edge – they have developed their own roll form machines so they don’t have to rely on off the shelf product. “We manufacture here in Australia to our own design specifications. All of our material is a registered design profile as well,” says Darren. “We also ensure that the best quality coil is used on our designs, and this is supplied by Southern Sheet & Coil, one of our valued partners.” Additionally, Aus Steel strives to make things easy on the trades that follow them. Darren believes that’s another reason builders like working with them. “A lot of places will supply the basic product and it’s up to the follow-on trades like electricians, plumbers and carpenters to sort it all out on site. We do a lot of prework so these people have as much stuff as possible pre-done for them before they start.” NOVEMBER 2024

THE CONSTRUCTION SOURCE AUSTRALIA

In general, Darren says, Aus Steel’s guiding mission is to make the building process more efficient and easier for everyone involved. “We strive to ensure that not only the first frame, but the 100th frame goes up smoothly and is the best result for both the builder and the homeowner,” he says. “We spend a lot of time with our customers,” he adds. “We believe in collaboration. We really want to make sure we’re doing the best for our builders. That starts with the design phase. We do a preliminary design on their buildings and we’ll go through them and try to eliminate structural steel and design the building as efficiently as possible before the job goes to the council stage. They can get to the job quicker on site.” One example of a major client is Tempo Living Homes. Darren sees them as an example of a client that particularly values how little structural steel their projects require. “We do a lot of predesign work for them to eliminate structural steel in their jobs,” he says. “That’s one of the selling points to Tempo Living’s customers. No big structural steel beams in their builds.” Aus Steel is producing four or five homes per week for Tempo Living. They are currently working together on an over-55 living village in Sydney that includes 55 homes in the first development stage. NOVEMBER 2024

Over the years, Aus Steel has not only formed strong relationships externally, with their clients, but also internally, with their direct team members. These days, that team fluctuates in size depending on industry needs and might include anywhere from 90 to 160 people. According to Darren, some of those team members have been with the company for over a decade. “Aus Steel is built on a foundation of quality team members across the entire production chain,” he says. “Our ‘build better’ philosophy extends beyond the frame and truss business and into the lives of our people.” “We strive to innovate and improve the lives of both our staff and customers. Our ultimate steel building system is a by-product of our people,” he adds. Quality results from quality people ERP software for Manufacturers Harness real-time insights to drive growth and profit by digitally connecting your manufacturing shop-floor au.syspro.com Trusted by 16,000+ customers globally, including: CoreStaff is part of the CGH Group, one of Australia’s leading providers of outsourced recruitment across Australia. Labour hire, Professional recruitment, Targeted search Trades, Operators, Factory & Process Workers, Construction Management, Engineering, Sales, Accounting, Administration Phone: 02 4044 0412 Email: newcastle@corestaff.com.au Web: www.corestaff.com.au THE CONSTRUCTION SOURCE AUSTRALIA

“We’re very big on growth,” he says. “We like to progress people through the business, before we go and outsource other employees. A lot of our staff started out on the factory floor as physical labour and they’ve progressed either into the office to do design work, or they run the factories.” Again, Darren also believes a lot of the company’s success lies with how they collaborate with trades. “We do a lot of work on site with the trades, and if we have a new builder coming on board, we’ll send out a couple of our guys to go and train their carpenters for a few days so they get familiar with our system. We also do a lot of work with their drafting teams and designers. Our guys will go through their projects and show them a better way to do their own design work.” Aus Steel’s people also regularly sit down with the electricians and plumbers in order to seek their input when they are doing designs. “We ask them what height do you want your plumbing noggins and that sort of thing and we work it into the design, which is pretty much unheard of for frame and truss suppliers,” says Darren. Moving forward, Aus Steel’s goal is to continue fostering those collaborative relationships, with trades, employees, and clients alike. As per Darren’s personal philosophy, they also want to keep getting better in every respect. For example, they want to become more sustainable, and they have already taken major steps in that direction. “Whenever we can we use recycled materials. All of our strapping is a recycled product. We also NOVEMBER 2024

THE CONSTRUCTION SOURCE AUSTRALIA

Experts 02 4908 1471 sales@nailgunworks.com.au www.nailgunworks.com.au 49 Arnott Street Edgeworth NSW 2285 IN FASTENERS & HARDWARE do site cleanup. We re-collect any of the scrap left over from the build and recycle that as well,” Darren says. Darren also believes that refining their technology is paramount to Aus Steel’s future success. Again, he says they are already on their way. They recently partnered with SYSPRO, a global Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) specialist, to develop a cloud-based ERP system to replace their manual systems, which were previously based on unlinked databases and Excel spreadsheets. SYSPRO’s ERP is now implemented in all three factories and across all of Aus Steel’s core business practices, including manufacturing, distribution, and finance. As a result, Aus Steel’s team can now more efficiently schedule production processes, they can provide more accurate costing information to clients, and they are able to respond faster to future changes and disruptions in the market through real-time information. Darren and his team have also been working diligently on their newly released product, AusPanel – a framework that is built on efficiency. AusPanel is a complete building system that includes Aus Steel wall panels, Aus Steel floor joist cassettes, as well as Aus Steel roof cassettes. With an aim to save time on site, encourage sustainable practises and continue to provide a quality service that is unique to Aus Steel’s clients whilst offering innovative products. As a company, Aus Steel offer pathways to a modern approach to the construction industry. In general, Darren concludes, they want to keep innovating, much like they always have. They have spent years perfecting their steel frame system, but they believe there is still a lot of room to evolve and improve the total build process. As they continue on their journey, their hope is that more residential builders will take notice and recognize the many benefits of working with steel. “We believe steel is the future of building, but acknowledge that change is confronting, can be costly, and often time-consuming,” he says. “We want to work with builders to alleviate these fears and help them embrace steel as the best solution for their next home build.” NOVEMBER 2024

For more about Aus Steel, what sets them apart, their partners, and their past projects – and to get in touch with Darren and his team – visit their website at https://aussteel.net.au/ THE CONSTRUCTION SOURCE AUSTRALIA

McColl Smith Projects believes transparency is the key to success

NOVEMBER 2024

McColl Smith Projects is an award-winning team of performance-driven construction professionals based in Moorabbin, Victoria. Over the past 10 years, they have grown from strengthto-strength; developing close-knit relationships with clients, employees, and subcontractors, and delivering high-quality built products across the state. According to co-directors Dominic McColl and Jerad Smith, the key to their success has been their transparency and their follow-through – they ensure that deadlines, design issues, and costs are communicated openly with their clients and consultant teams, and then they exceed everyone’s expectations in terms of program and quality. “We pride ourselves on establishing and maintaining relationships within the project group,” Dominic says. “We want the stakeholders from each project to experience the passion we have for building and making the construction process transparent and positive.” Dominic and Jerad started the company together in 2014, following several years of working together at another building company. “I’d been there 10 years and Jerad was there five or six years,” recalls Dominic. “We worked closely together and both felt it was time for something new. Being fairly like-minded we felt it was the best decision for us to progress our career.” When McColl Smith Projects started it was the two of them doing everything from tendering and pricing projects to setting up all the systems and then site managing as well. “It was very hands on and stressful. We learned quickly that in order to THE CONSTRUCTION SOURCE AUSTRALIA

grow we had to have more people. It’s changed a lot since then,” said Dominic. McColl Smith serves the commercial market in Victoria. “It was a conscious decision to stay in that space as that’s where our experience lies,” says Dominic. Throughout their history, they have traditionally worked on government institutional work like schools and universities, but they have in the last couple of years diversified a bit more with private work. At the moment they are doing a project for Callaway Golf’s headquarters in Rowville, as well as working on a project for Bayside City Council. Their focus in the past few hears has been predominantly new builds and shop fitouts, priced in the $2 to $20 million range, with most work coming in at the $10 million value. “We want to try and keep the options open and stay diverse and not stay stuck in the education sector,” says Dominic. “Given that Jerad and myself are hands-on directors, we stay involved,” says Dominic about customer retention. “We do remain in contact with the clients after we’re awarded the project and attend as many meetings as we can. I think that hands-on approach and our availability to stay with the project is key. If things escalate and there’s a problem our clients are always free to call us. I believe we’re fairly transparent and open to discuss things.” “Traditionally in construction, things do go wrong at some point,” he elaborates. “We’re in a position now that it’s happening less and less, but if there is an issue we’re open for discussion and always prepared to work through it. That might hurt us financially but we think that it’s most important to NOVEMBER 2024

establish long-term relationships. That’s held us in pretty good stead over the past 10 years.” This hands-on attitude has produced significant repeat work with the Victorian government for McColl Smith. “We’ve established a bit of a reputation in there, and we do get the internal managers talking to each other and say we’re worth considering,” says Dominic. “Government work uses a vast range of architects and project managers so we get good exposure to different firms. Off the back of that as well, if we do a good job they will use us again. It’s happened a quite a few times. One of the architects and projects that we’re working with currently is a repeat customer.” Having a strong cultural setup within the organization is of vital importance to McColl Smith’s staff of 21. “Construction can have high stress,” says Dominic. “The company sponsors an annual retreat where they take all the staff away for a night. We start with a conference where we go through our short- and medium-term plan through to high level financials, and give the staff a good grasp on where we’re headed and what we’ve achieved.” Dominic believes it’s Important that they offer this level of transparency. “We want our people to see where we’re coming from and what’s achievable. When we give that level of transparency people can see where we’re sitting within the industry. It gives them a bit more understanding of what we’re trying to achieve. We think that underscores our cultural identity when you include people and provide that level of transparency.” Direct Force is your trusted complete solution for high-end residential and commercial construction, featuring two specialized teams. Our carpentry team manages projects from quoting to lockup and labor hire, ensuring seamless project management. Our professional steel fabrication team benefits from advanced staff training and equipment, including CNC drilling, to deliver projects with precision and accuracy. Our installation team, composed of qualified boilermakers, dogmen, and riggers, ensures installations are carried out with utmost trust and reliability. We deliver projects to the highest standards, building strong industry relationships through trust and loyalty. 15 Elliott Road, Dandenong South, Victoria 3175 Phone: 03 8764 6180 Email: enquiries@directforce.com.au Website: www.directforce.com.au THE CONSTRUCTION SOURCE AUSTRALIA

Off the back of the conference, they work around their corporate values and get the staff’s feedback. “It’s important not to preach to people but to get people to provide what they think is important from a values point of view. That’s the main element we use to strengthen our cultural identity,” says Dominic. The directors also have a weekly staff “around the grounds” meeting where the Directors sit in the boardroom and dial in all their site managers every Monday afternoon. “We go over each project and ask for three key items that’s happened over the last week. Each of the site managers onscreen give a report of their job’s achievements,” says Dominic. “Some of the site mangers can feel isolated when they’re based on site and don’t come in to the office. This is a good way to ensure everyone is involved and feels they are part of what we’re trying to build. Our people feel they’re part of our growing business.” This human connection is important to Dominic and Jerad’s relationships with subcontractors, trades and suppliers. “We established good relationships with these groups before we started this business,” says Dominic. “We brought a lot of them across initially that were interested in giving us a go on the smaller scale.” McColl Smith has established a pretty strong network of suppliers and contractors over the past 10 years, and continue to work with the ones best for their projects. That has evolved on the back of hiring new site managers who have a strong network of subcontractors and suppliers of their own, says Dominic. NOVEMBER 2024

THE CONSTRUCTION SOURCE AUSTRALIA

“We’re always trying to give new contractors a chance. We’ll sit with them, vet them and understand what they’re about, their experience, capabilities, current workload and financial stability. Given that we’re doing a lot of government work it’s important that we do all the checks and balances to ensure everyone is able to take on the necessary work in the time frame and budget while maintaining quality.” They have also invested pretty heavily over the past couple of years on the technology front, mainly for systems they use to deliver their projects, says Dominic. They have five key packages as part of their tech stack says Dominic. They use Buildpass predominantly for Occupational Health and Safety, and as a quality and environment online portal. They use Procure Pro for contract administration and Procor for project administration, lines of communication and document control. Job Pac is their accounting software and Cubit is their estimating software. “We feel it gives staff a good platform to fulfil their roles,” says Dominic. Their diligence and attention to details has been recognized by McColl Smith’s peers. The company received the Master Builders Victoria Excellence in Construction Award awhile back for a school built in Ivanhoe. “We were only a few years into the business so it felt good to win and be recognized as fairly high caliber early on,” says Dominic. McColl Smith recently completed a major project on the Government funded Jacana school for autism. “We’ve done a few projects of that nature (special needs) where there’s high sensitivities around constructing a new building within an NOVEMBER 2024

existing school facility,” says Dominic. “That took a lot of planning and training of the staff on site. For example: If a child were to wander onto the site how would you go about ensuring that child’s safety and getting back to where s/he needs to be?” Dominic said a really strong line of communication between the site manager and school principal is vital in this type of project. “We do daily catchups, for example letting the staff know if there’s a major task coming up like pouring concrete. During the project itself there were a lot of intricacies as to how it was managed.” “The main thing for me is you can see at the end of it a tangible product that was delivered that makes a real difference in these kids’ lives at school. That was quite rewarding.” Another project Dominic is proud to showcase is the Railway Hotel in Brunswick. An old dilapidated building was completely gutted, extended and refurbished to create a great new pub and restaurant venue in the Brunswick area. “It’s quite an attractive building because it takes the old with the new. The client was really happy with the end result.” Dominic and Jerad have a five-year plan set up with their business advisors on moving the company forward. “We’re at a size now where we feel we have a pretty firm grasp on where each project is at. We feel it is important that if we do get contacted by a client that we do have an understanding of where things are at if we need to work through an issue,” says Dominic. THE CONSTRUCTION SOURCE AUSTRALIA

“We don’t have any aspirations to become a Tier 1 size builder. We want to stay the size that we know everyone in the business well and have good, strong relationships with the individuals in the business. We want to maintain a good strong grasp on each project and have a good level of visibility as to what’s going on.” That’s not to say Dominic and Jerad don’t want to grow. “At the minute we have three delivery teams and we’d like to get to the point where we have up to five, consisting of a project manager, site managers and up to two contract administrators per delivery team. We want to grow another 20-30 per cent over the net couple of years. At that point we will be pretty satisfied with where we’re at with 30-35 staff. That’s where we want to cap it.” NOVEMBER 2024

For more on McColl Smith, their people, their past projects, and to contact Dominic and Jerad, visit their website at https://mccollsmith.com.au THE CONSTRUCTION SOURCE AUSTRALIA

Mastering the Art of Cement Rendering in Sydney

NOVEMBER 2024

PGA Rendering stands out as a leading cement rendering contractor in Sydney, with a rich history spanning 28 years. Founded by Pedro Coutinho, the company has earned a stellar reputation for its craftsmanship and expertise. With a skilled team capable of handling diverse projects— from single-story homes to grand multi-level developments—PGA Rendering showcases its ability to deliver top-notch results across a range of scales and complexities. Pedro Coutinho’s Journey Pedro Coutinho’s journey into the world of rendering began in his teens, working alongside his father on small residential projects. Over time, this experience paved the way for tackling larger commercial ventures, eventually positioning PGA Rendering as a prominent player in Sydney’s market. Pedro’s deep-rooted knowledge and hands-on experience have been instrumental in the company’s success. One of their most notable recent achievements was transforming the old library at Scots College into a stunning 16th-century Scottish Baronial style castle. This project required advanced rendering techniques to create a sandstone-like appearance, a testament to PGA Rendering’s ability to handle unique and challenging designs. Pedro considers this one of the most complex projects in his 30-year career. Another significant project involved the refurbishment of the MLC Building, Sydney’s first 60-story structure, where PGA Rendering replicated the original 1970s pebble Crete render using their proprietary PGA white quartz render system. Their involvement in the Sydney Opera House, particularly in rectifying acoustic ceilings, highlights their capability in addressing highprofile and technically demanding tasks. THE CONSTRUCTION SOURCE AUSTRALIA

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