Hebel Matters

Teaming up with Hebel and each other has opened doors for Gold Coast duo

The low rise multi-residential market represents exciting prospects for business partners Paul Filauer and Brad Glover.

Paul and Brad joined forces in the building industry more than six years ago to establish K&B Lightweight Construction Pty Ltd, which specialises in the use of Hebel systems for external cladding.

Both Paul and Brad had previously run their own businesses in Queensland’s thriving Gold Coast area and both had extensive experience with Hebel installation.

Paul had acquired knowledge of autoclaved aerated concrete products in England before coming to Australia in 1992 where he established Kayron Lightweight Construction, supplying and installing Hebel systems for a diversity of residential and commercial projects.

Brad had learned the skill of Hebel installation in Sydney while doing his bricklaying apprenticeship, before moving north to the Gold Coast where he started BlueHouseConstruction Pty Ltd.  With both men being in the same type of business, their paths crossed and they eventually decided to become business partners.

“It made sense,” said Paul. “We got on well together, had the same mental attitude and drive, and we thought that by teaming up we’d be able to hit the market a lot more effectively.”

They have since proved themselves right, combining their knowledge of Hebel and their business acumen to establish K&B Lightweight Construction Pty Ltd as a well-known supplier and installer of Hebel external wall and floor systems.

Although they still take on some commercial work, the main focus of K&B Lightweight Construction is now firmly on the residential market where they install Hebel external walls, party walls and floors.

Big opportunity in low rise multi-residential area

“There’s more commercial work in Sydney than there is on the Gold Coast,” said Paul. “Overall we’ve seen a big opportunity on the Gold Coast in the low rise multi-residential area. This sector has grown in the past few years and there are some big developments under way in the Gold Coast region by companies such as Sunland and Halcyon. We’re installing Hebel systems for a lot of age care retirement estates, as well as investor style builds and some architect designed houses.”

Sunland Group’s The Heights development in Pimpama, Qld.

 

Among the major projects in which they are currently involved is The Heights, a Sunland Group residential development in Pimpama in the northern area of the Gold Coast, where around 1000 homes will be built over the next six years.

K&B are constructing external walls and zero boundary walls for duplexes in this development using the Hebel PowerPanel^XL system.

They are doing similar work at Gainsborough Greens, Pimpama, where Halcyon is building an innovative golf and residential community for over 50’s, the first of its type in Australia. Five hundred homes will be built here over the next three years.

The K&B crew are also installing the external and zero boundary walls for more than 40 duplexes in another current Sunland residential project at Palm Beach. Sunland is redeveloping the 4.7 hectare site formerly occupied by the Palm Beach Mobile and Tourist Park, with parks, retail outlets and cafes also planned along with several residential precincts.

The demand for their expertise with Hebel keeps K&B working mainly around the Gold Coast and Brisbane, although they are also willing to travel and have completed projects in other areas including Mount Isa, Mackay, the Sunshine Coast and northern New South Wales.

Hebel is clean, efficient and causes less waste

 

In the years they have been working with Hebel products, Paul and Brad have formed clear ideas as to its benefits, such as the fact that it is environmentally friendly.

“It’s a clean, efficient building material,” said Brad. “And there’s a lot less waste on a site that uses Hebel products.”

Another factor is Hebel’s excellent fire rating performance.

“This makes it highly suitable for zero boundaries, and we have a lot of zero boundaries here,” said Paul.

Time-saving is also another important advantage.

“The time saving is significant for the builder,” said Paul. “The scaffolding is down a lot earlier than it would be with traditional bricks and render. This gets the job finished faster, and therefore saves costs.”

While still carrying out work on commercial projects such as new offices for Condev Construction in Brisbane and the East Coast Marina at Manly, Paul and Brad plan to maintain their strong focus on the low rise residential and multi-residential market for the foreseeable future.

“The demand is there and it suits our experience in general and our teaming with Hebel in particular,” said Paul.