The finishing touch
High-end joinery making its mark
A GEELONG high-end commercial joinery contractor that has quietly built a stunning portfolio of bespoke projects is outgrowing its North Shore base.
Jacaranda Industries has been involved in landmark developments such as the $300 million expansion of the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, Victoria Racing Club’s $128 million The Club Stand at Flemington Racecourse and the
$105 million Conservatorium of Music at Southbank.
Director John Giles said
Jacaranda chased commercial finishing work for the country’s biggest construction companies, such as Lendlease, Multiplex and Probuild.
“Our scope incorporates anything from joinery, to bespoke items and really unusual but large works that reflect the architect’s and client’s vision,” Mr Giles said.
He said the complexity and individuality of its $7 million work on the VRC’s world-class The Club Stand, which involved the finishing work on an array of bars and dining facilities, exemplified the company’s capacity.
“`Every item was unique and with vast array of finishes,” Mr Giles said.
This year Jacaranda followed up that job by completing the new Colours Stairway at Flemington.
In addition to its 3500sq m joinery factory at North Shore, the company has satellite offices in Melbourne, where 90 per cent of its business is based.
It has also started manufacturing Solid Surfaces, a product widely used as a substitute for stone and granite that has the major benefit of being seamless and can be formed to remove corners and joins. It is commonly used in areas that require high cleaning standards, such as hospitals, parents’ rooms or airports.
Its main focus is on Corian, a product from US company CASF, for which it has an agreement to manufacture.
About 18 months ago it also became the only national distributor of the Novawall System, Novawall is a US company that has a special track system that allows architects to select fabrics as a finish but behind the fabric is insulation, providing an acoustic solution for use on walls and ceilings.
Mr Giles said the complementary arms of the company allowed it to provide a suite of services and a turnkey solution for clients in relation to high-end finishes.
Founded in Grovedale in 2003, it moved to North Shore about 12 years ago.
Up to 50 of its workforce of more than 120 are employed in Geelong with the company making a decision to commit to the city and its local workers about seven years ago despite most of its work coming out of Melbourne.
Finance director Andrew Southwood said the company, which turned over $35 million last financial year and is planning to grow to
$45 million in the next two to four years, needed to ensure its facilities were capable of reflecting its growth opportunity.
“I believe with increase growth over the next two to three years, we have a great opportunity to employ for more local staff,” Mr Southwood said.
Mr Giles said Jacaranda Industries was “100 per cent” committed to a future in Geelong and its local workers.
“The uniqueness of the skill base and their buy-in to our business . . . that is the biggest reason why we have kept our business here,” he said.
Those skills have also been on show in the Somewhere Other exhibit, which recently won a Timber Design Award in the stand-alone structure category.
Jacaranda Industries is keen to do more work in Geelong with the Epworth Hospital in Waurn Ponds its last major job in the city.