BGC Bulletin - December 2020

BULLETIN Buckeridge Group of Companies - BGC news and reviews

Building the future of bricklaying (Read more on page 4)

Issue 16 - Dec 2020

Issue 16 | page 2

BULLETIN Message from Daniel Cooper, Chief Executive Officer As we near the end of this tumultuous year it is worth reflecting on what we have worked through. We have faced many challenges with the onset of COVID-19 across the world and locally had to deal with the impact on our business and families.

There have been large changes at BGC as we set ourselves two prime goals when we became aware of the crisis. The first and most important was to keep all of our staff and other stakeholders at our sites safe.

The BGC Crisis Management Team was established very early back in March.

I was so pleased in the way we rallied and worked together to ensure safe workplaces. We had not dealt with anything like this before and the ingenuity of our team was clearly on display. When sanitiser, masks and toilet paper were in short supply, BGC staff scoured the state and found enough to keep us running, sharing this across the business.

We confirmed the value of good communication flowing both ways in the company with businesses sharing safe work methods for dealing with visitors and remote working and the Crisis Management team keeping everyone updated regularly.

We all made personal sacrifices and I personally thank each and every one of our team for their contribution to keeping us safe and maintaining a sound business. We had to adapt very quickly to remote working. I must sincerely thank our IT team who had to convert one thousand staff to be able to work remotely in the space of a few days, they were also tasked with combining all of the residential teams from J Corp, BGC Residential and Ventura into our new offices at 67 Walters Drive.

You may be interested to note that through all of this our underlying safety performance has improved significantly as we push towards our goal of Zero Harm. We implemented behavioural based

safety programs such as “Take 5” through every single business in BGC and reduced our injury rates substantially.

Our second main goal through the crisis was to maintain a sound business and ensure we emerged from this crisis stronger. Our strategic focus was to strengthen our “core” BGC businesses and we saw the acquisition of Midland Brick which is awaiting ACCC approval in December this year. We also completed the residential strategy where we amalgamated all of our residential groups into a single BGC Housing Group from 11 separate office locations to a single office in 67 Walters Drive Osborne Park and a single office in Bunbury. A focused residential business with the state’s leading display centre, BGC Home. Our IT team and the Residential business have been working furiously to overlay a single residential system with the first rollout successfully completed in November for three of our brands.

Together with the industry we lobbied both State and Federal Government for housing stimulus and the success of this will lead to many jobs throughout WA as we build out the homes sold during this period over the next 18 months.

We have made difficult decisions to exit our “non core” BGC businesses and restructure these for future success. We divested properties such as 20 Walters Drive and exited or restructured businesses where we were not adding value.

The success of any company is entirely due to its people and as most of us take a well-earned break into Christmas it is worth reflecting on the teamwork, effort and focus on always delivering for our customers that you have all done so well this year. BGC has emerged stronger and more stable based on the efforts of every single employee.

To all our staff, supply partners and customers, have a safe and Merry Christmas with your friends and family and I look forward to seeing you back next year for whatever that may hold in store for us!

Issue 16 | page 3

BGC Leadership Forum BGC Leadership Forum The recent BGC leadership forum was a truly historic day as it marked the commencement of the BGC Way – an initiative to drive purpose and value across the wider organisation.

Meeting at RAC Arena (proudly built by BGC Construction) a number of senior executives and managers across BGC were in attendance to network, discuss their own businesses, and look to the future.

Presentations and key discussions included a financial summary update, an update on BGC manufacturing divisions, and a summary of the BGC Housing Group merger.

And finally, there were some great discussions and lessons on leadership.

The event was energising and showcased the best of the BGC Way.

BGC Housing & Brikmakers

Issue 16 | page 4

Building the future of bricklaying Above L-R: Daniel Cooper, Michael Bartier, Senator Michaelia Cash, Vince Scarvaci, Blair Marsh and David Robinson.

Building the future of bricklaying through new apprenticeship program BGC is proud to be investing in building the future of bricklaying by committing to the creation of up to 50 new bricklaying apprenticeship opportunities in Western Australia within the next two years.

Our business units of BGC Housing Group and Brikmakers are excited to be partnering with the Australian Brick & Blocklaying Training Foundation (ABBTF) to contribute to the pipeline of skilled bricklayers being trained in the state.

Established by the Australian masonry industry to ensure the ongoing recruitment and training of bricklayers, the ABBTF is a not-for-profit organisation that relies on funds raised by industry through a levy on the sale of clay bricks, and co-contributions from manufacturers.

BGC Chief Executive Officer Daniel Cooper said that as Western Australia’s largest residential builder it was important for the company to play its part in building the future of the bricklaying industry by supporting and encouraging local businesses to take on apprentices, with the backing of BGC.

“While the onsite practical training of the bricklaying apprentices will be completed with BGC Housing Group’s subcontractors, BGC will assume direct responsibility for the apprentices’ contract and training plan,” Mr Cooper confirmed.

“We have recruited former Master Builders WA business director Graeme Dix to lead our apprenticeship program and ensure we provide the best opportunities, range of work and quality supervision to deliver a positive outcome for all stakeholders.

“We’re delighted to partner with ABBTF to support WA’s next generation of bricklayers.”

While BGC already had plans for 50 new apprenticeships in motion prior to the Budget announcement, BGC welcomed the Government’s $1.2 billion Boosting Apprenticeship Commencements (BAC) wage subsidy initiative.

BGC Housing Group Executive General Manager Michael Bartier explains that now more than ever it is vital that we invest in growing our trade labour base.

Issue 16 | page 5

BGC’s new apprenticeship opportunities

Brikmakers Above: Daniel Cooper, Jarret Francisco, Vince Scarvaci, Thomas Murray, Michael Bartier, Hon. Peter Tinley AM MLA, James Jenkins, Graeme Dix, Sebastian Cartwirght

“Having undertaken a period of transformation in 2020, whilst maintaining our position for the 12th year in a row as the state’s largest residential builder, we are continuing to see a growth in the number of homes we put to site,” Mr Bartier said.

Above: BGC’s latest group of bricklaying apprentices.

“We welcome the Federal Government initiative in encouraging people of all ages to learn vital trades that are the lifeblood of the country’s economy.”

Above: On-site practical training of the bricklaying apprentices.

Cement

Issue Issue16 14 | |page page6 6

BGC Cement wins major supply contract

Above: Kanowna Belle Gold Mine.

BGC Cement – Wins major cement supply contract with Northern Star Resources BGC Cement has proudly secured a contract with Northern Star to supply cement to their historic Kanowna Belle Gold Mine, located 30km north of Kalgoorlie and the Kundana (EKJV) operations, located 35km west of Kalgoorlie.

The two-year contract commenced in December 2020 and will see an estimated 45,000 tonnes of cement per year delivered in total to both sites.

Northern Star is a global-scale Australian Gold producer with Tier-1 class projects, so securing this contract with such a strong and growing company comes as a huge success for BGC Cement.

Rob Turkovic, Key Accounts and Sales Manager at BGC Cement said this contract would add to the Company’s well-earned presence in the Goldfield’s region. “We are very pleased to secure

this agreement with Northern Star and in part accredit it to the growing success of our new state of the art Kalgoorlie facility.”

“BGC Cement is aligned to Northern Star’s core values and we look forward to building a long-term relationship with them and supporting their operations with our high-quality cement products, service and technical support.”

BGC Cement is proud to deal with long-term partner Australind Pre-Mix BGC Cement are proud to build

service the industrial, commercial and

long-term relationships with many of

domestic concrete needs of its

our customers and one of our longest

customers. Australind Pre-Mix have

partnerships is with Australind Pre-Mix.

expanded to also include MJB Industries.

“We really appreciate the loyalty and

Australind Pre-Mix are a huge contributor

long term business from everyone at

to a range of charitable organisations

the Hovey Group” said BGC’s Key

such as Camp Quality, Rotary Club,

Accounts and Sales Manager Rob

Bunbury Speedway, NAIDOC week, and

Turkovic. “The communication both

numerous local sporting clubs.

ways is excellent and that sets the foundations for a solid partnership”.

Our relationship dates all the way back to their beginnings in 1994 when Australind Pre-Mix (originally named S&J Excavations) was established in

With a keen interest in supporting the local community, Australind Pre-Mix also promote health and wellbeing within their industry as well as actively supporting safe work practices.

order to produce and supply pre-mixed

BGC Cement have always enjoyed seeing

concrete to the Greater Bunbury Region

Australind Pre-Mix growing and thriving

& the South West. This family owned

over the years and has found that such a

and operated business continues to

strong partnership is mutually beneficial

grow rapidly through its ability to

to all involved.

Issue 16 | page 7

“Ahead of the trend” with Affinity windows Affinity Windows have proudly launched a new brand and new purpose – with the catch phrase “ahead of the trend”. The new brand which was launched in September focuses on the belief that everyone deserves to be in a home that is ahead of the trend.

With the residential market experiencing significant growth, this is an exciting time for the Affinity team as several key investments help to re-energise the brand and meet demand.

Backed by the strength of BGC, Affinity is focussed on innovation, and are always looking for new and improved ways of doing what they do.

Affinity continue to deliver improved sustainability and efficiency goals for new homes and superior customer service to all customers and stakeholders.

It seemed fitting to launch the new brand by sponsoring a local event and celebrating a worthy cause, so on the 10th October the Affinity team attended the Mates in Construction Awards at Optus Stadium.

The event focus was on Mental Health and wellness as the event also coincided with RU Ok Day, and this provided the perfect backdrop to celebrate and recognise individuals who have made a significant contribution to their team mates by promoting a positive workplace and taking action to promote mental health.

It was also a wonderful opportunity to enjoy the company of co-sponsor Master Builders Association, represented

by John Gelavis (Executive Director Master Builders Association) as well other industry suppliers, builders and partners.

Above: The team at Affinity Windows.

Safety Awards Above: The 3 stand out winners who provided valuable and detailed improvement ideas.

Affinity Windows - Continuous Improvement and Safety Awards Back in July, Affinity Windows started

implemented during the month of

Many of these ideas are now included

on a major 5S project in all

August and September to remove waste,

in various improvement projects.

workspaces and factory aimed at

obsolete stock, and clutter from the site.

Recently the business celebrated the 3 stand out nominations and winners who

improving safety in the workplace and to gain operational efficiencies in our manufacturing.

The 5S system is about organising spaces so work can be performed efficiently, effectively, and safely. This system focuses on putting everything where it belongs and keeping the workplace clean, which makes it easier for people to do their jobs without wasting time or risking injury.

As part of this business wide project, all employees were invited to provide their feedback and suggestions to improve safety, processes, and operations.

The steps to 5S are: sort, set in order,

The nominations were impressive, and

shine, standardise and sustain. Several

many submissions were detailed,

major clean up initiatives were

thoughtful and practical.

provided valuable and detailed improvement ideas.

It was a first ever event, bringing together all operations, sales, and administration employees together for a group BBQ, kindly prepared and hosted by our management team.

Well done and thank you to Wade Bodley (Manufacturing Manager), Brendan O’Shea (Sales and Estimating Manager), and Ken Courtney (Technical and Product Development Manager).

Issue 16 | page 8

Quarries

BGC Quarries Long-term Success

BGC Quarries – Long-term Success

1

2

BGC Quarry Voyager is one of our long-term projects and a shining example of how multiple business units - and people - can integrate to achieve a successful project.

BGC Quarries has been operating the original Voyager Lakes Quarry since 1990. Extracting and crushing Granite for concrete aggregate, paving blocks, asphalt, road seal, road base and general fill.

Land for Voyager II was purchased in 2002 and the processing aggregate commenced in August 2010. Located in The Lakes area, fiftyfive kilometres east of the Perth CBD, the new Voyager II Quarry was designed for a 50-year life, but it could now be extended with the purchase of Voyager I.

It’s a fascinating story dating back to 2002 so let’s take a trip down memory lane.

Issue 16 | page 9

Quarries Above: BGC’s Voyager Lakes Quarry.

3

4

6

5

BGC Quarries – Voyager II Timeline: 2002 - 2020 1

The land for Voyager II was purchased in 2002

2

Main crusher was built in 2009

3

Processing aggregate commenced in August 2010

4

Water volume in Voyager 1 is estimated to be in the vicinity of 4,400,000,000 litres.

5

6

Voyager II was designed for a 50 year life, but it could now be extended with the purchase of Voyager I Voyager 1 (Old quarry) was purchased by BGC in December 2018

Total tonnes moved (approx.) (overburden and blasted) 20,000,000 Tonnes sold – (approx.) during this period (Aug 10 – Sept 20) – 15,790,245 Average (approx.) 1,579,00t/year

Construction

Issue 16 | page 10

Multi-Million-Dollar Projects Above: Ashton Apartments project in Claremont.

BGC Construction Awarded Multi-Million-Dollar Projects – Ashton Apartments Construction has commenced on our Ashton Apartments project in Claremont, and BGC Construction are pleased to be working with the Department of Communities and Yolk Property Group to deliver this boutique apartment development.

The development is just 250m from the Loch Street train station and 250m from a bus route running along Alfred Street to the north. Future residents need only stroll 100m to the post office,

dentist, medical centre, speciality shops and 800m to the Mt Claremont Farmers’ Market

collaboration with Yolk Property Group as we worked together to successfully be awarded this project.

The three-storey development will include one, two and three-bedroom apartments for a range of homebuyers, including younger people wanting to buy their first home close to amenities and downsizers hoping to stay in the area.

The value proposition BGC provides, through the support of the Group and its vertical integration, enables the State Government to deliver more dwellings under the State Government’s $394 million Social and Affordable Housing and Jobs Package.”

Robert Gugliotta, Manager Commercial at BGC Construction is pleased to be on the winning team. “BGC is proud of the

Construction

BGC Construction – Shenton Quarter BGC has been assigned a new $71 Million apartment complex in the new Shenton Park Precinct, being built for JV partners Iris and Primewest.

BGC has been actively targeting both of these clients as they have a strong and long-standing industry presence, with a considerable pipeline of future works, and we are thrilled to be awarded this project via tender submission.

Above: Shenton Quarter - a new $71 Million apartment complex in the new Shenton Park Precinct.

“We are pleased on achieving this success, after working extremely hard together with the client, to be awarded this project and being able to bring the construction to commencement. We are looking forward to building our relationship and maintaining our ongoing status as the preferred builder of choice for Iris.” said Robert Gugliotta, Manager Commercial, BGC Construction.

Construction started in early November with the project set to deliver a new and exciting offering to the area. With 157 units offered, over 9 floors, a Coles local store and with the high-end quality specified, brilliantly considered design and extensive communal areas it will be a project that will receive the extensive accolades it rightly deserves.

Issue 16 | page 11

Precast

BGC Precast – Belmont Stables Readers with a sharp eye will notice as they head east on the Graham Farmer Freeway, and just after crossing the Swan River, some high quality precast supplied by BGC Precast at the Belmont stables.

After making samples for the architect, BGC Precast commenced manufacture and shortly thereafter delivered all panels on time to the complete satisfaction of the builder.

Whilst comment from the end user is still outstanding, we have heard it straight form the horse’s mouth that satisfaction is indeed universal.

BGC Precast – South Australia Demand BGC Precast has enjoyed strong

challenges are formidable, given

demand for their quality wall and

the distance to site and the

hollowcore products in Adelaide,

inherent lead times so all these

resulting in a welcome boost to

projects require an extremely

sales volume, and a united pull

close liaison between our PM,

though to other BGC supply units

Mark Moody, and the customer.

such as Quarries and Cement.

Fortunately, when the Eyre

Starting with high quality panels for Bowden Station which are coloured, patterned and sandblasted. Then progressing to 3 multi storey apartment blocks and a large multi storey nursing home, the latter containing 10,000 sqm of hollowcore flooring.

Precast

Phil Surridge of BGC Precast, takes up the story. “The logistical

Highway was closed for a bush fire, we had enough panels delivered ahead of time to avoid any delays in delivery.”

So, to paraphrase a recent comment by a certain Victorian politician when asked to comment on the border closing by SA, “who’d want to go there anyway?”

Well we do, as the pictures show!

Housing

Issue 16 | page 12

Above: Kirsty’s working drawings by Inhouse Drafting and Design Coordinator Matt Nickels.

First Home Excitement

Above: Kirsty Issacs celebrating her purchase of a block of land in Piara Waters.

Above: Kirsty receiving guidance from Commodore Homes Sales Manager Ashley Barlow.

Commodore Homes – First Home Excitement project After the launch of the Government Stimulus grants, Commodore Homes’ Marketing Coordinator Kirsty Issacs didn’t want to miss out on this amazing opportunity. So, at the age of 25, Kirsty has made the decision to build independently with Commodore Homes under the guidance of Sales Manager Ashley Barlow.

The team at Commodore Homes assisted Kirsty to secure a sought-after block in Piara Waters Maddox Estate.

Kirsty wanted to be in an established estate like Piara Waters that offers local amenities including schools, a shopping centre and access to a train station, as this build will serve as an investment property in the future.

The 300sqm block which boasts a 15m frontage and was the perfect match for the Commodore Homes home design, The Yokine. The Yokine is a 4x2 with a scullery and an impressive dining/living

area. Kirsty and Ash worked together to include a double vanity in the ensuite, extend the kitchen bench and added a double pantry and splashback window in the scullery. Kirsty has also chosen the Commodore Homes Complete Package Inclusions to place the finishing touch to her home.

Kirsty has been lucky enough to watch her job travel through our back-end systems, from viewing her working drawings with inhouse Drafting and Design Coordinator Matt Nickels to getting regular updates from Sales Administration Manager Bronwyn Bain.

As well as being a fabulous personal journey, Kirsty also believes the experience has helped in a work capacity too. “It has been amazing to experience the behind the scenes work of my build and view everything through the lens of a client, this has provided me with another perspective to my job.’ said Kirsty.

“I have already been through the Commodore Online Portal to make my internal and external selections and used the QR Codes in the showroom to solidify my selections.

“I have been very conscience of budget, and Ash has helped to add significant floorplan changes to satisfy my demands within budget constraints, plus put aside an allowance for Pre-start to upgrade to fancy black fittings”.

You can follow Kirsty’s build journey via Instagram @kirstys_krib

Issue 16 | page 13

Above: Ventura South West team winning top place in all 3 awards categories entered.

Ventura South West Takes Clean Sweep in HIA Awards

HIA Awards

Ventura South West is thrilled to have

is a testament to the great display

be the dominant builder in the SW

won 1st place for each of the homes

product on the ground and demonstrates

helping West Australians build their

entered in the 2020 HIA Housing

the business’s ability to cater for a wide

dream homes.” Jared adds.

Awards, taking out top honours for

variety of home builder budgets.

the below categories: • • •

Jared Stone, General Manager – Ventura

Display Home Up to $230,000

South West says these awards are a

The Ashwood, Australind

tribute to the dedication and hard work

Display Home $230,001 - $300,000

of the talented staff within the team.

The Cow Bombie Display, Dalyellup

“Within such a turbulent year with the

Display Home $300,001 - $400,000

rationalization of our brands in the SW,

The Leeuwin Display Home,

COVID-19 and the Federal and State

Australind

Stimulus grants, it is fantastic to be

Ventura South West entered three homes, in three different price categories and took out top place in all three, which

recognized by the HIA as a builder of quality, well designed affordable homes.”

“Once again Ventura SW proving itself to

“These award-winning designs will help our South West team showcase our product as we move into a stronger 2021.”

The awards night was held at The Dolphin Discovery Centre, Bunbury on Saturday 31 October.

Smart Homes For Living and Aussie Living Homes Win at the 2020 HIA Perth Housing Awards BGC Housing Group has been doubly acknowledged at the 2020 HIA Perth Housing Awards, with awards for its brands Smart Homes for Living and Aussie Living Homes.

Smart Homes for Living display home, The Grand Atrium in Southern River won WA Display Home of the Year in the $240,001 to $280,000 price category and was a finalist in the same category for The Grand Olivia located in Treeby.

Aussie Living Homes won Display Home of the Year with The Aura in Treeby in the up to $220,000 price category and Project Home of the Year in the up to $230,000 price category, for a customer house in Parmelia. Aussie Living was also a finalist for the 2020 Golden Key Award Display Home.

Anthony Staltari, General Manager for Aussie Living Homes, said winning at

the 2020 HIA Perth Awards was a wonderful recognition to the quality of the team behind the brand.

“The recent HIA awards are a significant achievement by the Aussie Living Homes team,” said Mr Staltari.

“To be recognised by your peers and industry body is a real honour and one that we are immensely proud of.”

“Building a home is a real team effort that involves the whole business from sales through to construction.”

“The awards highlight our continued commitment to our customers, our people and the vision of providing homeownership solutions for all West Australians.”

Anthony Oldershaw, General Manager for Smart Homes for Living, said they’re over the moon to be recognised for their outstanding quality and innovative

design by the leading industry body, The Housing Industry Association.

“Winning this award is a testament to our talented team; the skilled builders, contractors, designers, and manufacturers who put their blood, sweat, and smarts into every home we build,” expressed Mr Oldershaw.”

“Being rated amongst the best in Australia’s residential building industry tells us we’re doing things right, and it’s a vote of confidence from the best in the business, and one we’re extremely proud to receive.”

Issue 16 | page 14

Safety at BGC

Safety at BGC

Safety at BGC

Safety at BGC

Safety at BGC

BGC have always been focussed on

Some recent changes also include:

The number of injuries is reducing, and

safety across all Business Units.

•

Regular HSE Managers

safety is now ‘Business as Usual’

Team meetings.

thanks to the drive from Daniel Cooper

Introduction of Life Saving

and the amazing support from the

Now, there is a new and collaborative approach to safety, which provides the perfect opportunity to share learnings and best practices between each Business Unit.

•

Standards.

•

assessments for the whole of the business.

General Managers now meet regularly with safety discussed at length at

•

different now, as we welcome five new HSE Managers to the already strong

• •

knowledge base.

LEADERS IN FOCUS

JAKE BUSWELL

Licensed Surveyor, Automated Surveys The most successful achievement for me personally was becoming a Licensed Surveyor registered with the Land Surveyors Licensing Board. It takes a minimum of 6.5 years of study to become registered (currently there are under 200 within Western Australia), and without the support of my family and Automated Surveys, this would not have been possible.

Consistent approach to incident investigation throughout the business.

support added to the Housing Group which is greatly broadening our

Systems audits conducted for each Business Unit.

safety team. With additional HSE there is a renewed energy to the group

Safety will be a key element of our upcoming Leadership Training.

every meeting.

The safety team also looks quite

Increased focus on Take 5 risk

•

Business Unit General Managers.

“Of course, there is always room for improvement, but I’ve seen an amazing appetite for safety improvement from all levels of the business.

There is no one silver bullet for a step

Group procedures describing

change in safety. There has to be ‘buy

minimum requirements.

in’ from all levels of the business.” said

And the evidence shows it is working!

CEO Daniel Cooper.

From a business unit point of view, overseeing the implementing of Terrestrial Laser Scanners and UAV within the BGC Group was a proud experience. With the use of this technology, we are now able to rapidly and safely gather large amounts of data including the monthly mapping of quarries and bulk material volumes.

motivated staff members to the allure of the mining lifestyle.

Automated Surveys is currently experiencing a large volume of work associated with the state and federal stimulus packages, and I am really excited by the opportunities arising from this busy time. I am already seeing the benefits of working closely with the BGC Housing Group team to further refine product lines and administration processes now that the BGC housing divisions area all under the one “banner”. We are also able to reduce unexpected delays or costs during the build time.

I know that the biggest challenge currently for many sectors is the mining and construction industry. The WA housing market experienced a difficult economic environment over the last four years (prior to the recent stimulus) and we lost quite a few highly skilled,

Therefore, I am thrilled that Automated Surveys is already setting in motion the further training and upskilling of staff.

Currently one surveyor is completing post graduate studies with the aim of becoming licensed and several staff members are finishing their studies to become formally qualified.

Ultimately, I believe Western Australia is a unique and diverse economic environment.

While there will always be new challenges emerging, I feel that with positive culture and innovation to improve our products and services we can overcome any market challenges and produce quality deliverables.

Issue 16 | page 15

A Focus on the Future Over the last two years, BGC (Australia) has focused on our core – BGC’s vertically integrated building materials and residential construction business. The goal is to improve our efficiency and build a stronger BGC. We also identified the opportunity to divest non-core assets and improve the financial strength of the Group.

Above: The Aloft.

As part of this strategy, BGC has sold certain business and assets that are not required for the future success of its core operations.

Stewart Hart, Executive General Manager, who leads the sales process team stated, “we undertook the sales process to reduce debt and the overall risk profile of the business. By ensuring that we only retain assets that are vital to our ongoing core operations, we have come out of the COVID-19 pandemic in a strong position.

Above: The Westin.

“Additionally, we wanted to maximise the return of capital employed, in order to improve operational performance and financial returns.”

This strategy has already seen numerous benefits to BGC, including enabling BGC to expand, such as the construction the new BGC Housing Group state-of-the-art showroom in Osborne Park and recent proposed acquisition of Midland Brick.

Starting with the sale of The Aloft and The Westin in 2019, the sales process continued with the successful sale of BGC Centre and BGC Contracting in the same year.

Above: BGC Centre.

These four sale transactions alone reduced debt for BGC, and placed it in a position to weather any storm in 2020, which would prove incredibly timely.

During 2020, BGC focused on protecting its people and ensuring that it exited the pandemic stronger than our competition. The sale of 20 Walters Drive, Osborne Park, in August 2020 drove further cash returns for the group to assist with this objective.

So what is next?

“We will continue to look at our property portfolio – which consists of a number of apartments, office buildings and other surplus industrial properties – to identify the opportunity where possible to return further capital,” Mr Hart said. “BGC is in a strong position, and we are positioning ourselves to capitalise on new opportunities when they arise”.

Above: BGC Contracting.

Transport

Issue 16 | page 16

New Technology Drives BGC Transport to greater efficiency BGC Transport has enjoyed rapid

It is this approach that has seen the

Geoff adds “We aim to be as efficient

growth in recent years as it strives to

company become one of the most

as possible because if our costs can be

best serve the customer needs by

capable delivery systems in Australia’s

lower, then our internal customers have

getting the products to the correct

Transport Industry. Right from the start,

more of chance of winning the work.

place and at the right time.

the aim for BGC Transport was to try to

BGC Transport is also at the cutting

get as many Australians as we can into

edge of innovative technology. MT Data

their own home and help make it

is a truck tracking GPS system which

affordable for the average Australian.

allows the business unit to see how

As an integral component of the BGC network, the company thrives on serving internal customers such as BGC Cement, BGC Concrete, and BGC

BGC Transport General Manager,

Brikmakers though brick deliveries, bulk

Geoff Conway illustrates his passion for

cement, bulk quarry materials.

serving the customer when he talks

The business value of BGC Transport has grown quickly, as it serves more internal customers and offers competitive

about the role of BGC Transport, the importance of a quality fleet, and how it benefits the organisation as a whole.

many KM’s are driven and hours worked by the team, as well as highlight any major breaking incidents etc. This gives great visibility over the fleet on any given day. That system integrates with Command Alkon which shows visibility over the stock levels in the 10 concrete

“It is important for us to ensure we are

plants around the Metro area so the

getting the capital we need to keep our

stock levels can be judged and

equipment up to date, which makes for

deliveries made ASAP, rather than

happy employees who have quality

relying on people having to request

things to drive. And the image on the

stock. This drives more efficiency when

road, seeing as we are visible with 100

deploying the right size truck.

The company recently purchased new,

trucks running around with BGC on

There are also plans to launch a similar

more efficient equipment. This in turn

them, is vital. Public image is everything

project for the brick delivery business

leads to further efficiency resulting in

to us, so we always want to have a

which works out the best runs for brick

lower costs to be passed on to others.

good looking and safe fleet.”

delivery. So, stay tuned!

transport rates to secure work.

And while BGC Transport is continuously looking for ways to improve safety within its fleet, the company also focuses on efficiency.

BGC Group contact information:

Head Office BGC (Australia) Pty Ltd 6th Floor, 22 Mount Street Perth, WA 6000

Phone: +61 8 6220 4800 Facsimile: +61 8 6220 4801 Email: corporate@bgc.com.au

www.bgc.com.au

Disclaimer: This newsletter is published in good faith. Although BGC endeavours to ensure that the content is accurate and up to date, no representation or warranty, express or implied, is made to its accuracy or completeness.

BGC Marketing - DEC 2020

BGC is a diversified construction and manufacturing organisation, offering economies of scale, depth of knowledge and robust financial backing across its business divisions.