City Beat: Brisbane builder bucking spate of construction collapses

There is a lot of negative news in the building trade these days, but one man says the future is looking bright, if you follow this simple advice. And he should know; his company has just secured a major $31.5 million contract doing just that.

THERE is a lot of negative news in the building trade these days, but one bloke who has a more upbeat view is Woollam Constructions boss Craig Percival.

Brisbane-based Woollam, which has been around since 1884 and built the iconic Breakfast Creek Hotel, recently won a $31.5 million contract for a new art gallery in Rockhampton.

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Percival, who joined the company as a young building cadet in the late 1980s, says it’s not about winning a job with the lowest price but focusing on core business values such as reliability, service and quality.

The Breakfast Creek Hotel in the 1930s.

“We have to realise that winning is making a profit margin that ensures a business can run sustainably,” says Percival. “Project competition in the current environment suggests that it’s usually a race to provide the lowest price. But there is a better way: it comes down to trust, relationships and working together.”

Percival came up through the ranks of the building trade, from labourer to foreman and finally the top management job.

“One of the reasons I wanted to be a builder is because I believe the majority of people in the construction industry are typically just decent people who like working together,” he says.