GMC member and family-owned Geelong consultancy firm SCAADA Group, along with fellow local business Formflow, have been jointly awarded a redevelopment contract for the Skenes Creek Foreshore Caravan Park, located six kilometres east of Apollo Bay.
The works will include construction of a new reception building as well as an amenities block with kitchen facilities.
It is all to be completed by the end of the year, with the caravan park back to full capacity and making use of the brand new facilities this summer. SCAADA General Manager Joe McLean tells GMC use of modular construction will speed construction.
“The park wanted to use its facilities during the summer break for tourists, so it is a tight time frame but that fits in with the positives of using prefab and modular building,” Mr McLean says.
“You’re able to move through projects that we don’t want stuck out in the elements a little bit quicker. It’s a reasonably quick timeline, but we’re really confident we’ll deliver it.”
The project is part of Victoria’s $18 million Great Ocean Road Visitor Experience Uplift state government grant, overseen by the Great Ocean Road Coast and Parks Authority. The caravan park has been operating at a limited capacity since 2020 after an audit revealed several safety issues and hazards that required attention at the park, including the removal of a kiosk.
SCAADA Group Managing Director and owner Dale Smith, who grew up in Geelong, says the team is extremely excited to be part of a fantastic project.
“We look forward to bringing a modern, sustainable touch to an amazing part of Australia with a progressive and enthusiastic client,” he said.
SCAADA is the principle contractor and will work in a joint venture with North Shore-based innovator Formflow, which has developed a revolutionary bending process for stronger and more versatile corrugated sheeting.
“We’ve teamed up with them – we’re both local Geelong businesses and we’ve been looking for a project to work on together for about 12 months. This one appeared to be a good opportunity to utilise both our skill sets as a collaborative group,” says Mr McLean, who married an Anglesea local and has been in Geelong almost eight years.
“I’m well entrenched here now with my family,” he says. “I am always looking to collaborate with local business. We’re a Geelong business with strong connection back to the region and looking to continue to build work and projects within the area, as far as down to Apollo Bay and all the way across to Portarlington, and within Geelong.”
Mr McLean says Formflow’s “cutting edge, innovative and aesthetically pleasing” modular building manufacturing was a good fit with SCAADA’s project management and construction arms.
“It’s an opportunity to provide them with some expertise in that space and deliver as a collaborative group,” he says.
SCAADA – the name represents the initials of Mr Smith and his wife and their four daughters – is committed to social procurement and employs locally, “ensuring money spent by our clients is redirected back in to your local community”. SCAADA provides services in project management, construction and environmental, across three separate service arms: : SCAADA Property, which won the Skenes Creek project, SCAADA Construction and SCAADA Environmental.
Recent projects include an upgrade of a building at Kardinia International School, environmental remediation of industrial site in Melbourne and a range of home modifications supported by NDIS funding across Victoria.
“A client might come with us with one need and tap into one arm of the business, or they may utilise all three. We have an end-to-end approach. If there’s a client or a particular project that does need project management, construction and environmental, it allows us to provide our clients with a really high-end service and a nice consistent approach,” Mr McLean says.
“Dale and I see that approach providing us with an opportunity to tap into multiple projects, to be competitive and keep a growing business in a local region ticking.”
SCAADA expanded during COVID, and is currently busy offering project management and environmental services in NSW after the catastrophic floods earlier this year, providing health and safety and environmental consultancy and project management for ASX-listed Johns Lyng Group, the head contractor, as it helps restore areas around Lismore and Byron Bay.
Around about 12 SCAADA staff are currently in NSW and 15 in Victoria.
“When Dale and I started back in 2017, it was only three of us, so it’s grown pretty significantly through what has been a pretty tough time at periods,” Mr McLean says. “We have a great group of staff with a really strong work ethic and who enjoy being around the business.
“We focus heavily on why we do what we do – we love to solve problems, work closely with our clients and provide a strong outcome. It’s an important part of our role as a consultant, to provide outcome-driven results,” he says.
“It’s a busy, busy time but we enjoy the work we do.”