Business View Oceania | May 2021

53 54 BUSINESS VIEW OCEANIA MAY 2021 BUSINESS VIEW OCEANIA MAY 2021 HI CKORY permits and begun talking to prospective tenants. This is no small scale project; this is potentially a billion-dollar construction.” Aside from moving into the data centre business, Hickory also has plans to further embrace the prefabrication of MEP (mechanical, electrical and plumbing) within its system, continuing the company’s partnership with global construction firm Mace, and working on new iterations of HBS, which is already on its eighth release. “We’ve resolved how to construct buildings, we’ve resolved how to use interchangeable parts for our projects, we’ve got a very strong manufacturing capability, we’ve got a robust delivery model and now we’re working with some of the greatest architects, designers and service consultants in the industry,” Argyrou says. “Our colleagues, clients and partners want to make change together, build new processes, and help the industry to evolve. Unsurprisingly, the excitement that is being generated today is electric.” The deployment of Hickory’s own bespoke system is part of a paradigm shift away from traditional construction methods. Unlike the typical subcontracting model, Hickory runs their own supply chain throughout its building projects. “We had to own the whole supply chain because in construction, the supply chain often cannot meet the requirements for a production facility,” Argyrou explains. “So we own the transport business that delivers to each site and our people are the ones who designed it, manufactured it, assembled it in our manufacturing facility in Laverton-North and installed it onsite. We control the entire process. we need fewer members of staff on-site than with traditional construction approaches, we were able to continue with several projects and deliver the buildings without delay even while COVID-19 restrictions were causing disruption to other industries,” Argyrou reports, adding, “Crucially, our system does not dictate the design of our buildings. Our system works for most concrete buildings, but the building dictates the parts that we use and we have an assortment of parts and methodologies that can complete most projects. We have a multitude of tools at Hickory that can make any type of building, either conventionally or using HBS.” Not because we’re control freaks but ultimately we need certainty for our clients and ourselves.” As well as certainty, Hickory’s clients also benefit from a more streamlined construction process. “In the construction sector, when we talk about waste, people normally think about materials but waste involves time too,” Argyrou says. “If someone has completed something and it ultimately needs redoing, then that is redundant work. For example, we don’t believe architects should be producing a detailed design for a cabinet when they’re not the experts – the cabinet maker is. Instead, we only want to receive the intent, which can then be sent to a machine to be produced and signed off. Unlike the traditional siloed approach, our design process only takes about 65 percent of the time compared to traditional methods.” Evidently, Hickory is a company that is keen to change and adapt swiftly to new technological and corporate developments. This is clear to see through its ambitious new data centre proposals, which will involve the building, ownership and operation of hyperscale data centres aimed at redefining digital infrastructure in Australia. Argyrou emphasises, “We don’t talk about these things, we just do them. We’ve already purchased land, received town planning PREFERRED VENDOR/PARTNER n DP Formwork https://www.dpformwork.com.au info@dpformwork.com.au We’ve grown accustomed to working with companies of all sizes, and providing hard working people. We enjoy putting our minds together to deliver quality that adhere to the highest standards of our customers.  DP Formwork is a progressive labour hire company, supplying highly skilled labour across Australia. DP Formwork was formed to engage well equipped, highly skilled workers for formwork, labourers, carpentry and concretors.