Hard labour: Hutchies’ plan to survive building crisis

Construction giant Hutchinson Builders is taking drastic measures to survive in an increasingly cutthroat industry using methods not used by the sector for more than 40 years.

Construction giant Hutchinson Builders is taking drastic measures to survive in an increasingly cutthroat industry, forming its own in-house team of tradies to keep its high-rise projects on schedule.

Hutchinson Builders chairman Scott Hutchinson said a team of 106 concrete form workers had been established from former employees of subcontractors who had gone into liquidation.

The moves come as major national building company PBS Building Group collapsed leaving 80 projects unfinished and owing $25m.

Locked up PBS building site on the Gold Coast

“Due to the instability of the market through insolvencies, we have had to self perform a number of the trades we would otherwise subcontract out, like formwork, ceilings and partitions,” Mr Hutchinson revealed in the company’s in-house newsletter Hutchies’ Truth.

“A looming threat to our business was a shortage of formwork contractors to build slabs and columns which are vital to keep high-rise projects on schedule.

“Hutchies has had to step in to ensure our projects could be completed on time.”

In the past Hutchinson had established its own in-house trades with cranes, hoists and scaffolding to avoid the impact of industry shortages.

The first major project built using its own workforce was a 25-level building in Box Hill, Victoria. Mr Hutchinson said as turmoil in the construction industry persisted, he predicted more subcontractors would be unable to meet their obligations and liquidations and insolvencies would continue to be high this year.

Mr Hutchinson said earlier this week that the industry itself was in a “shambles”. His comments followed news that national construction company PBS Property Group abandoned its projects amid mounting losses, labour shortage and rising costs.

PBS, which has abandoned its building projects across the country, in its annual financial statement lodged with ASIC reported a $2.56m loss in 2022 compared to a profit of $3.26m the previous financial year. “Conditions are the worst I have experienced in my 37 years in the industry,” said Brisbane-based Mr Hutchinson. “There will be more collapses to come. All the subbies have gone broke so we are now employing a lot of own tradies,” said Mr Hutchison. “That is a model that has not been used in the industry for 40 years.”