Aussie Portables certainly hasn’t been short of work opportunities in recent times.
Aussie Portables certainly hasn’t been short of work opportunities in recent times.
The 100 per cent WA-owned transportable building manufacturer has experienced significant growth on the back of the state’s boom, doubling the number of projects in which the company is involved during the past two years and lifting staff numbers from eight to 40.
General manager Nick Carrington, who joined the company two years ago to form a partnership with the founder of the family business, said the majority of the extra business was the result of WA’s strong economic conditions.
And if his order book is any indication, Mr Carrington expects this upward trend to continue.
“We have lots of projects going forward, mainly in the construction and resources sectors,” Mr Carrington told WA Business News.
“We’re keeping up pretty well. We’re always looking for new clients, and we have the capacity to take on more.”
Among the company’s major projects are the portable structures for Multiplex’s construction of the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre, and the Kwinana desalination plant, as well as the Burswood Peninsula project with GCS Site Services.
The company has also provided portable structures for a number of regional projects across the state, from Rio Tinto’s Dampier Salt project in the north to the Albany Grain Terminal upgrade in the south.
In addition to acquiring ongoing business through the formation of relationships with major construction and resources companies, the company also pursues a large number of government and private tenders.
Mr Carrington said about 10 per cent of the company’s work was secured through government tenders, with the majority coming from the Department of Housing and Works.
He estimates that the company would compete for between 60 and 80 tenders a year, both government and private combined, with a success rate of 70 to 75 per cent.
Mr Carrington said applying for government tenders was highly recommended for growing companies looking to secure future business.
“For smaller companies, government tenders are the way to go; it guarantees work and also helps with cash flow. It’s definitely a good place to start,” he said.
Mr Carrington said most tenders generally followed the same format, regardless of government department.
Mr Carrington completes the applications himself, only requiring outside consultation from an engineering firm.
“I do all of the sales side, as well as procurement, pricing, tendering, quoting, purchasing materials, pretty much overseeing the whole process. It’s a very hands on role,” he said.
While Mr Carrington believes completing government tender applications is relatively straightforward (and gets easier the more you do), one of the drawbacks is the ever-increasing time between lodging applications and projects coming online.
He says this is due to the sheer number of projects and applications being processed.
But whether for government departments or private contractors, the application process is fairly consistent, with tender applicants benefiting from industry standards for such procedures across the board.
“The process is pretty well standardised across the industry and the way they procure transportable buildings,” Mr Carrington said.
With tender projects maintaining and ensuring future projects and cash flow, the company is able to re-invest funds back into the company, particularly into research and development.
Aussie Portables is currently eyeing several new markets, including residential transportable homes using a modular construction model, with a focus on the lifestyle villages market.
The company is also looking to expand its park home and cabin business, and is working towards developing a cost-effective environmentally sustainable housing model.
