With the new year upon us, we’ve been reflecting on the year that was. And 2018 was a pretty successful one for BCT Group. If we had to sum up it up in one word it would be growth.
If we’re honest, at times we weren’t quite sure how to handle all the incoming enquiries as the office phone ran hot and our inboxes filled up (seriously, is anyone NOT renovating?) But we continued to focus on our core ethos – building relationships with our clients as well as our wonderful staff, suppliers and contractors.
In 2018 we handed over 11 jobs and when we closed the office in mid-December, we had 6 under construction and 6 more with start dates locked in for 2019. While our jobs varied in size, most followed a familiar pattern – knocking down the back of the house and extending to create a new open plan kitchen, dining and living area (while also sprucing up some of the existing rooms). During the year we had jobs all over the inner west stretching from Kensington to Williamstown with BCT boards popping up on fences in Altona Meadows, Newport and Yarraville.
To meet the demand and keep things running smoothly, our team grew a fair bit. In July, we nabbed the incredibly experienced and talented, Sharon Parker to manage design and relationships. Sharon hit the ground running, drawing on her extensive industry experience to support our clients through the building process.
During the year we also welcomed Cameron Oates and Matt Hubatka as Project Carpenters. Matt had previously worked for us as a contractor and was keen to make his role more payroll official. Our finance man, Paul Murray also moved from contractor to employee and our team of apprentices expanded to include Cooper Johnstone, Daniel Southgate, James Oh and Lucas Palombi. Mark Craig joined us as a labourer and we extended the services we offer by employing a Graduate Architect, Ngan Tran. That’s right, now we don’t just build homes, we help design them too.
In addition to launching the ‘design and construct’ arm of the business, we focussed on streamlining our processes by introducing CoConstruct, the highest rated project management software for home builders. As soon as a job goes 'live', our clients and crew are given access to the platform ensuring everyone is kept in the loop and everything is kept on track.
Other highlights for 2018? Seeing George Di Ciero a.k.a.‘Gorgeous George’ finish his apprenticeship, hosting our first info night for prospective renovators, celebrating our first anniversary in our Seddon office and marking our sixth year in operation!
2019 is set to be another year of growth for BCT Group. We’ll be launching a new design studio to assist our clients with interior design and are looking forward to seeing the first of our ‘design and construct’ jobs come to life! Until then, we’re taking some time off with our family and friends. We’ll be back on board on the 8th of January ready to tackle another busy and successful year!
Thank you to everyone who helped make 2018 such an epic year for BCT Group. It’s been a blast and we can’t wait to create more beautiful homes for inner westies in 2019.