Booming Coast firm’s $2.6m coup

A GOLD Coast company has scored a coup – signing a $2.6 million contract to provide logistics services for a major Melbourne development.

Southport-based One Global Logistics, founded by James Sparke and Christine Sidney in 2010, has signed a four-year contract with Probuild for the West Side Place project.

The four-tower project, which will feature 1376 apartments across two towers in its first stage on the former Age newspaper site at 250 Spencer St, is being built for Hong Kong-listed Far East Consortium.

The developer is also a partner in the Destination Gold Coast Consortium, which is undertaking a $400 million, 53-storey Broadbeach highrise to be known as The Star Residences.

Mr Sparke said the company has contracted for eight projects in the past financial year worth a total of $8.35 million.

He said the company’s client list, which includes Watpac, Grocon and Hutchinson Builders, has expanded as developers have opted to handle the supply chain in-house rather than rely on sub contractors.

“We did a few projects in Melbourne about five years ago and we must have done a reasonable job because word has got around about our expertise in the market, particularly in Melbourne with the tier-one builders,” he said.

“We operate in a niche industry so if you have got the

right network you can be successful.” Mr Sparke said the latest Probuild contract followed work it had undertaken for the construction company on a hotel facade in 2016.

“The latest contract is a landmark deal for us,” he said. “We have got another seven, which have started to commence in the past few months.”

Mr Sparke said there has been a sea-change in the construction industry when it came to the supply chain.

“A lot of the builders now are becoming more innovative in the way they procure materials,” he said.

“So they have control of costs, supply chain, there is more transparency, and there is less variations than they would have on a commission or supply and install model.

“What used to happen is a builder would go to a subcontractor for a facade and say you supply and install the material and give us a price.

“However, a lot of these builders are now buying the materials from manufacturers directly and managing the supply chain themselves.”

Mr Sparke said that meant the middlemen, or subcontractors, were being cut out of the process, leaving his company to deal directly with the builder on logistical needs, such as importing products from overseas. He said that led to greater transperancy when he is pricing jobs and cost savings for the builder.

“It is believed there is a 20 to 25 per cent saving via a direct procurement model across a highrise building,” he said, adding it speeded up the build time as well.

He said, at the same time as this model is being used, a lot of the materials, such as the facade, joinery, lighting, tiles, slate and stone, were being sourced from overseas.

“Most of the materials, apart from concrete, are procured from overseas,” he said.

“So they want a partner that has a skillset in that industry (logistics).

“We’ve been fortunate to be in the right place at the right time.”

Mr Sparke said he believed the Gold Coast and Brisbane was behind Melbourne by about five years in the procurement process.

“Melbourne is the most advanced market. We have been asked by some major construction companies to cost for several projects so I think it is coming to southeast Queensland.”

He said the explosion in work had meant increased turnover for his company and he was looking for 10 extra staff for its Melbourne operation.