PJ's Concrete Pumping 20 Year Anniversary

CELEBRATING

feature

SOLID TEAM... Established in Shepparton in 2000 by Peter and Rhonda Don, PJ’s Concrete Pumping was started with a single 15m Tadano squeeze pump that Peter would operate around the Goulburn Valley. This year, Peter, Rhonda, their family and team of staff celebrate a magnificent 20 years in operation, providing an essential service to building projects across the region. From left, the PJ’s Concrete Pumping team: Risto Dragicevic, Darby Schmuck, Tim Fletcher, Julie Trevaskis, Mark Barker, Rhonda Don, Peter Don, Keelan Don, Maddison Don, David Tomkins, Kieran Baker, Matt Magor, and David Newby Photo: Nicole Peters

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BIG JOBS... The PJ’s Concrete Pumping team working on the Leitchville Channel Project. Photo: Supplied

Integrity is everything

By Sarah Knight WELL-maintained equipment operated by highly-skilled, reliable and wellpresented staff, has always and continues to be paramount to PJ’s Concrete Pumping.

Combined with the commitment to continuous improvement and the founding core value of integrity to deliver a high standard service: That’s the PJ’s promise.

It’s a promise that has seen the PJ’s Concrete Pumping business record yearon-year growth since their establishment 20 years ago, and one that’s earnt the team their superior reputation as one of the best in the business.

Family-owned and operated, the business services regional Victoria and Southern NSW with a combined staff of 14 and fleet of eight concrete pumps.

Peter and Rhonda are extremely proud to have the involvement of their son Keelan as manager and daughters Ashlin and Maddison in administration.

For 61-year-old business owner Peter Don, the importance of maintaining their high standard of service delivery is more about customer satisfaction than building an empire.

“I’ve always been far more interested in pleasing people, and it’s rewarding to know you have when you can see it on their faces,” he said.

This is a business cultivated by a man,

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self-made in his success, that even in the shortest of conversations you gain a sense of why now 20 years on, the business is still growing and reaching new levels of success.

Humble, loyal and compassionate, Peter Don is the kind of man you’d want to get out of bed to go to work for. His genuine commitment to his team is truly moving, and one he takes very seriously.

“I’m a big believer that employing people full time is a two-way investment, they have the stability they need to build their personal lives and we have people that are invested in and committed to our business,” he said.

“Our team is proud to work for PJ’s and they’re all long-term employees, including administration bookkeeper, Julie, who has been with us on a regular basis for over ten years.

“I’ve never been one to put staff off, even in challenging times. Rhonda and I would rather do without in order to keep staff on - we treat our team as our mates and they are.”

Quick to share his knowledge and guidance, both personally and professionally, if he can help someone out, Peter is happy to do so.

PJ’s Concrete Pumping is a testament to the outcomes made possible when you combine authenticity with passion and determination, acknowledged Peter, before stating that even though he hasn’t come from a highly educated background, there’s not an obstacle he hasn’t been able to overcome.

A family legacy RHONDA AND PETER DON OWNERS

“At PJ’s Concrete Pumping our staff are such an integral part of our business. It’s reassuring when we send our guys out on a job site that they are equipped and competent to complete each job to the customer’s satisfaction, no matter how challenging the task may be.

“They take their job and safety seriously, whether it’s a house slab or a commercial construction site.

“We are very fortunate to be located here in Shepparton to be able to service our customers here, but it also allows us to travel within an hour and a half to numerous towns and locations to pump for repeat and new customers. We are also very lucky to have our family alongside us in the business.

“We take pride in our business and we have pride in our guys - we look after them and they look after us.”

What is concrete pumping?

Some hard facts

A CONCRETE pump is a machine used for the transferring and placing of concrete to where it is required. There are many varied uses of a concrete pump, including domestic, industrial and commercial applications. revolutionised the building industry and has trickled down LABOUR-SAVING: PRIOR to the wide-spread use of from being used in commercial concreting to now being used concrete pumps, many work sites relied on the use of wheel for residential structures. barrows and arduous labour to complete jobs. The ability to transport and pump concrete to very tall structures

THERE ARE TWO MAIN TYPES OF CONCRETE PUMPS:

1

A boom concrete pump is attached to a truck or longer units that are on semi-trailers. A boom concrete pump uses a remotecontrolled articulating robotic arm (called a boom) to place concrete accurately. Boom pumps are used on most large-scale construction projects as they are capable of pumping at very high volumes, due to the labour-saving nature of the placing boom.

2

A line pump, or trailer-mounted concrete pump, is either mounted on a truck or placed on a trailer. This pump requires steel or flexible concrete-placing hoses to be manually attached to the outlet of the machine. These hoses are linked together and lead to wherever the concrete needs to be placed. Normally, line pumps pump concrete at lower volumes than boom pumps. They are used for smaller volume concrete placing applications such as home concrete slabs, most ground slabs footpaths and swimming pools.

PJ’s Concrete Pumping offer both types of concrete pumping, with their fleet of eight trucks, ranging from 25m to 42m, able to cover all concreting needs.

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Meet the friendly and professional

KEELAN DON

ASHLIN GRASSO

MADDISON DON

“We hope people are happy to work here. We try to make the workplace as good an environment as possible.

“I’m pleased with where the business is at, and there’s always growth. The Shepparton area is really going to kick goals in the next year or two with housing, and the township is going to grow with larger facilities such as the new school, the SAM and the hospital, and in the commercial side, too.”

“The environment is great. It’s a happy, very family-oriented workplace and everyone’s very friendly. I’m into my 11th year in the family business. I’ve been here since high school.”

“I love coming to work, I feel very privileged to work with my family every day. I think we all want the business to be the best it can be, so we all put in the effort to make it what it is.”

MANAGER

OFFICE ADMINISTRATION

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OFFICE ADMINISTRATION

KIERAN BAKER

MECHANIC/PUMP OPERATOR “It’s a good team environment. I’ve had a few injuries from motorbike riding – I’ve probably had a year off since I’ve been here – which have involved collarbone and shoulder surgery, and Peter’s decided to keep me on and we’ve worked through it.

TIM FLETCHER PUMP OPERATOR

“Every day is different, every job is different, so it’s a different challenge each day. Peter is a good boss, a really good boss.

He’s looked after me a heck of a lot.”

team at PJ’s Concrete Pumping

DARBY SCHMUCK

DAVID TOMKINS

“I hose the concrete boom around for the operator. I enjoy the work, I love it. The job’s great, and so are the people I work with. Peter and Keelan are good people. It’s a good family business.”

“It’s a good job, I work with good people, different people, and I get to go to new places every day. I’ve been here for almost seven years and there’s different scenery every day.”

HOSE OPERATOR

PUMP OPERATOR

RISTO ‘RIKI’ DRAGICEVIC

PUMP OPERATOR “I get to go around and ‘slay the grey’ each day.

I just enjoy pumping.

I did a job like this for five years in Melbourne before coming to Shepparton. And here, I have a good team, good boys and a good boss, good equipment because he looks after his trucks. I moved to Shepparton for the job.”

MATT MAGOR

PUMP OPERATOR/ MECHANIC “I work down in Alexandra and I’ve been a part of the company for three years. I went to Shepparton and trained up to be an operator then came back here. I look after my clients and enjoy the challenges each day.”

DAVID NEWBY

MARK BAKER

“I’ve been a part of PJ’s Concrete Pumping for almost 13 years, working on all sized pumps and last year was lucky enough to become the main operator of the newest and largest addition to the fleet - the 42m Boom. I love my job and we have a great group of guys here at PJ’s. It’s a good feeling when you leave a job site knowing the customer is happy with the effort you have put in.”

“I came to PJ’s, joined the team and became an operator roughly 12 years ago from a concreting background.

The pump I operate is kept in my home town of Wangaratta and I basically run my own show and love the job.

PJ’s has a great team of guys who work in well to get the jobs done. I’m treated like family by the office staff and Peter and Keelan are like my brothers.”

PUMP OPERATOR

PUMP OPERATOR

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20 years of solid growth FIRST TRUCK... Peter Don with his first 15m concrete pump purchased in 2000. Photo: Supplied

PETER Don started his four-year builder apprenticeship at 16 years of age, subcontracted on completion at age 20. In 1982 at the age of 22, he became a registered builder.

2000 Peter Don purchased his first concrete pump (15m) and completed his very first job: The extension of Shepparton’s Parklake Hotel.

2002 The second pump (28m boom) was purchased and used in the extension of the Greater Shepparton City Council’s main office extension.

2002 Worked on Shepparton’s Victoria Park Lake fruit water feature, using pontoons to transport the line to location.

2003 Involved in the construction of Schweppes Stadium in Bendigo.

2005 The third pump (32m) purchased.

2007 The fourth pump (37m) and fifth (25m) pump purchased.

2010 Sixth (28.2m) and seventh (32.2m) pump purchased.

2013 Eighth pump purchased (32.3m).

2019 The newest and biggest concrete pump (42m) purchased.

2020 Family-owned and operated, the business services regional Victoria and southern NSW with a combined staff of 14 and fleet of eight concrete pumps.

CRITICAL PROJECTS...

The PJ’s Concrete Pumping team working on the Goulburn Weir. Photo: Supplied

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MAJOR PROJECTS ■ Mulwala Ammunition Factory (highest free-standing wall pumped) ■ Nursing homes in Mansfield, Benalla, Cobram, Mooroopna’s Rodney Park, Maculata Place, Harmony Village Shepparton, Deniquilin, Mercy Place Shepparton, Kialla Gardens Retirement Village ■ Kmart Shepparton, Aldi Shepparton, Mooroopna and Wangaratta ■ Woolworths Yarrawonga ■ KFCs in Shepparton ■ GV Health, Shepparton ■ Nagambie Freeway bypass ■ Upgrade to Lake Eildon dam wall ■ Echuca campus of Bendigo TAFE ■ Caltex service stations ■ Shepparton Law Courts (five stories) ■ West Gate Tunnel Project (Benalla) ■ Shepparton Art Museum ■ Fonterra (Stanhope) ■ GV Hotel Shepparton ■ Skate parks in Shepparton, Mooroopna, Benalla, Yarrawonga, and Wangaratta

An integral part of major builds THE management and staff at PJ’s Concrete Pumping have extensive onsite experience across a range of projects and builds from house slab pours to major infrastructure projects.

The following are just some of the flagship projects PJ’s Concrete pumping has been a part of.

GOULBURN WEIR The Goulburn Weir gates are just one of many PJ’s has been a part of to help construct large infrastructure of the local irrigation system. PJ’s had many months of ongoing works with this project.

GOULBURN MURRAY WATER Throughout PJ’s 20 years, they have been a part of the 'Winter Works' which are carried out annually across the Goulburn Valley. From small footings to large and multiple sites and projects, PJ’s has helped re-furbish the region’s irrigation system.

SHEPPARTON COURT HOUSE “To be a part of the Court House construction was great. One of the first multi-level buildings to be created in our business career in Shepparton,” Peter Don said.

From footings deep in the ground for the underground car park to level after level pouring columns, floors and walls, the satisfaction of being a part of the complete ground to top roof build is one to remember for PJ's.

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THE DON FAMILY... From left: Son, Keelan, Rhonda, Peter Don, and daughters Ashlin and Maddison. Photo: Nicole Peters.

The future of a family business LIKE many businesses in the Goulburn Valley, the team at PJ’s Concrete Pumping is anticipating a very busy near future on the cusp of a housing boom, which has seen new land sales hit unprecedented levels. Although the company services the Goulburn Valley, they also have depots in Wangaratta and Alexandra, allowing them to service a wider area.

PJ’s Concrete Pumping owner, Peter In regards to large scale projects, PJ’s Don, said he saw a strong future for Concrete Pumping has worked on the regional Victoria as more and more West Gate Tunnel Project in Benalla for people look to a tree change. two years thus far, working not only on “As Shepparton, along with other the construction of the plant but also regional centres in Victoria and New producing the columns, soundproof South Wales continue to grow, we walls and more for the project. envisage growing with them,” he said.

“With a housing boom comes an “We’ll be involved in the ongoing infrastructure boom, and we at PJ’s work at the West Gate Tunnel Concrete Pumping have the capacity Project in Benalla, possibly for a to provide our business for all facets of year or two more,” Keelan said. building, from residential to commercial projects.”

PJ’s Concrete Pumping is a Peter’s son Keelan, who manages the generational business, with son Keelan business, said, “The housing construction as manager and daughters Ashlin and industry is always there, and we have the Maddison working alongside their steadiness of having volume builders in mother, Rhonda, in administration. town, plus all the smaller builders we like Family is important to Peter’s vision. In to service. another line of work – Donway Caravans “Over the years you often think about – Peter has even named caravan models the big jobs, but if you look back at how after his grandchildren. This sweet many house slabs you’ve poured for tribute is a testament to the importance each builder and each concreter, it’s a of family to Peter and Rhonda and the massive accomplishment for them and vision they have for the long-term future for us.” of their operations.

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FAMILY AFFAIR...

Daughters Ashlin and Maddison work alongside their mother, Rhonda Don, to keep the back-room side of the business running smoothly.

Photo: Stephanie Holliday

EXPANDED REACH...

Work on the Broken River Bridge in Kialla. Photo: Supplied

Congratulations to Peter and the Don family on 20 years!

THANK you all for working hard to build a great business so that we (your staff and our families) can enjoy personal growth and secure employment.

Thank you for allowing us to be part of this amazing journey and we look forward to many years to come.

Sincerely, PJ’s Concrete Pumping and PJ’s 4x4 team

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