CLIENT INTRODUCTION
“My name Kev Woodbine, Managing Director of HMWS. We are located in Queensland, Western Australia, and the Phillipines – which is where our main manufacturing facility is. We are responsible for providing low voltage electrical installation systems, typically for harsh environment type applications. We also have a product range. We do cable overmolding, electrical wiring harnesses, sheet metal, etc. That’s the scope of what the business does.”
EXPERIENCE OF WORKING WITH ALITA CONSTRUCTIONS
“We initially started off talking to three respective builders. We didn’t choose Alita (Constructions) because they were the cheapest; we chose them because we thought they would create the best solution. Throughout the build, that turned out to be correct. The experience was a little bit slow at the beginning, but once they got underway, they quickly made up [for lost time]. The schedule was really, really accurate. I questioned it a couple of times throughout the build, but it turned out to be right on the money. The delivery dates of each progress payment of the project, and each stage of the project – everything was spot on. This surprised me, as we had rolled off the back of another build in Queensland, which experienced some delays. This build went pretty much bang on schedule, which did surprise me, and it impressed me to be honest.”
DID ALITA CONSTRUCTIONS MEET YOUR EXPECTATIONS
“Yes they did. Like I said, the first couple of months were a little bit frustrating, because we had that Christmas period. I have shared with several people, after reviewing the building, I think we actually exceeded expectations – mainly around the Office finishes. And some of the things I expected we would have to ask for or pay extra for, were just included, which really did surprise me and impress me. And I would say, the cost per square meter, compared to the Queensland build (even though it was a bigger premise) was a fair chunk lower. Truthfully, it was a lower price per square meter than what we built in Queensland, and the Queensland build was only a few months earlier, and it’s definitely a better finish. There were numerous things that the guys just did, without me having to specifically ask for it. That was also important, as it is a remote build for me. I am based over in Queensland, and I travel a lot for work purposes, so I only came over once during the build. Other than that, it was all done over weekly meetings, and correspondence. On the weekly meetings, they kept me up to date, but there really wasn’t a lot of issues to be kept up to date with. They were astute enough to realise that there were significant delays in the electrical applications [through Western Power], so knowing the local council, they put the application in right at the beginning of the build, and by the time it came to moving in, everything was sorted. There were a few variations with Unit 3, but we got those nailed down pretty quickly. To be honest, it was pretty smooth. I came over in October last year, and I really didn’t think it would be ready to move in at Christmas, but by some miracle it was! The schedule that they planned at the beginning turned out to be adhered to, and was spot on.”
WHAT WOULD BE THE MOST WELL-MATCHED WORDS TO DESCRIBE ALITA CONSTRUCTIONS
“They are professional. At the beginning, you definitely get the feeling that it’s the professional end of a small family business. I met the owner in the early stages; they do some charity work, which is not the most important thing, but it shows the character of a company, I feel. The most well-matched words is that they are professional. Their dialogue was simple, and it really helped me out a lot because (as anyone who knows me already knows at any given point in time, I’ve got a million things going on, and these building developments are not my full-time job. I’m trying to do them in parallel with all the other million things I’m trying to do on a daily and weekly basis, so not getting encumbered with constant questions and ongoing challenges was really appreciated – especially not being based in WA.”
WOULD YOU RECOMMEND ALITA CONSTRUCTIONS TO SOMEONE LOOKING TO BUILD COMMERCIALLY
“Yep, already have. Even before it was finished, we got some good people we know in the business. One is looking to expand and grow. I said to him that we were impressed even before we moved in, and told him to come down and have a look at the new build Alita had done for us. I wouldn’t have anyone else to recommend – let’s put it that way.”
~ Kevin Woodbine, Harness Master