Hutchinson Builders’ Toowoomba team now building $153m in projects across region

The Toowoomba division of one of the nation’s largest building firms has navigated the treacherous waters that make up Australia’s ‘volatile’ construction sector. Here’s how they’ve managed to have $153m in projects right now.

At a time when construction companies across Australia are falling into liquidation and financial distress, Sean Lees believes there is no better place to be building than in Toowoomba.

“I’m grateful to be in a position where we can continue to serve the local community,” the Toowoomba team leader of Hutchinson Builders said.

“I don’t take it for granted and I remember a time when we had to work to keep our books full.

“(But right now) on a day-to-day basis, we’ve got about 1250 workers on our sites at any one time (and) 95 full-time staff.”

Hutchinson Builders team leader Sean Lees, Thursday, March 23, 2023. Picture: Kevin Farmer

Hutchies is riding high on Toowoomba’s diverse and thriving economy, with the construction giant currently working on 17 projects across the region worth about $153m.

It comes as major firms like PBS Building and Probuild have collapsed in recent months, leaving customers in the lurch and subcontractors unpaid.

The company’s chairman Scott Hutchinson, disappointed in Hutchies’ own 2022 performance, warned more instability was on the horizon.

Mr Lees said while Hutchies benefited from having a number of in-house trades teams, the multifaceted Toowoomba economy was really driving its current demand.

“We’ve certainly felt the volatility of the market, I’d be lying if I said it was easy, but we have fared better than other parts (of the country),” he said.

“I couldn’t take credit for doing something special, I think it’s the Toowoomba economy and its multi-pillared status that has allowed us to prosper.

“We’ve got multiple self-performing divisions, and more than most other builders in the country — we’ve still got our own trucks, plumbers, block-layers, and that does give us an advantage.”

Hutchinson Builders Toowoomba Bulky Goods site manager Josh Dietz (left) and project manager Lachlan Bloomfield on site on the corner of James and Neil Sts, Thursday, March 23, 2023. Picture: Kevin Farmer

One of the most recent developments the company has started is a three-tenancy large platform retail precinct on the corner of James and Neil streets in South Toowoomba.

The $6.5m project by Motif Properties Pty Ltd, due to be finished in the second-half of this year, will soon be home to yet-to-be-announced national retailers.

“For us, it’s exciting to see a big piece of James St developed,” Mr Lees said.

“It’s gone through a number of potential uses in the past, but in terms of that activation, it will be fantastic to see it realised.

“It’s been under-utilised until now, so we’re grateful to be a part of it.”

Hutchinson Builders Toowoomba Bulky Goods project on corner of James and Neil Sts, Thursday, March 23, 2023. Picture: Kevin Farmer

But Mr Lees said it wasn’t all rosy, pointing to Toowoomba’s growing housing and skilled worker shortages as potential roadblocks for future growth driven by major upcoming projects.

“For Toowoomba, we’re facing a position where there will be a large number of big projects, like Inland Rail, Boeing and others,” he said.

“They’ll absorb a large amount of the workforce, so my concern is Toowoomba having the available skilled people.

“That’s made another dimension of that challenge, the lack of available housing, even worse.

“If we need a large workforce, that would be easier to manage if there was enough housing.”

Hutchies will soon complete a $5m apartment block in the middle of the Toowoomba CBD, with more higher-density projects likely to come soon.

The company is also planning to move its headquarters to Kitchener St in the near future, after purchasing the building for more than $4m.