Building on Experience, Focused on People
A Business Built on Trusted Partnerships, Integrity, and the Heart of the Community
For Brad Nairn, the path into construction was not necessarily mapped out from the beginning. His working life started with an apprenticeship as a two-way radio mechanic, but it did not take long for him to realize that his future lay elsewhere.
A move into outdoor construction while working for a friend proved to be the turning point. Nairn soon struck out on his own, starting a business at just 23 years old and taking on projects such as decks and retaining walls. That entrepreneurial beginning eventually evolved into something much larger.
In 1997, he established Nairn Constructions, creating the foundation for a business that has now operated for almost three decades. Alongside it is Manly Concrete, which Nairn and his wife have operated since 1999.
Longevity is evident not simply in the age of the businesses, but in the people who remain part of them. Two Nairn Constructions employees have each been with the company for more than 20 years. At Manly Concrete, one team member has been with the operation since 1983 and continues to work three days a week in his seventies.
“He’s the best concreter we’ve got,” Nairn said.
Across the two businesses, the team currently numbers approximately 35. At different points, however, that workforce has climbed above 100. Experience taught Nairn that bigger does not automatically mean better.
“Having more people doesn’t mean you make more money. It just creates more stress and more headaches,” Nairn said.
Today, the emphasis is on operating within a niche the company understands, maintaining control over projects and protecting the quality for which it wants to be known.
Honesty and Safety at the Core
After decades in construction, Nairn has developed a clear view of what makes a company sustainable. At the heart of that philosophy is straightforward communication.
“You’ve got to be upfront. We need to be upfront with our clients, all stakeholders. So, if we can’t do something, we tell them we can’t do it; we tell them why we can’t do it. And we try and work out a way it can be done,” Nairn said.
That transparency becomes particularly important when construction schedules are disrupted by circumstances such as weather. Rather than allowing unrealistic expectations to develop, Nairn believes clients should understand what has happened, what can realistically be accomplished and when the work can be delivered.
Even more fundamental is safety.
“The most important thing, especially in construction, is everyone works safely,” Nairn said.
Construction regularly involves situations where pressure to meet deadlines can collide with practical realities on site. Nairn’s position is unequivocal: employees should never feel compelled to undertake work they believe is unsafe.
“If it looks wrong, more than likely, it is wrong. And don’t be forced to do something that you’re not comfortable doing. We work out a way to make that happen,” Nairn said.
Finding the Right Scale
Nairn Constructions has undertaken a broad spectrum of work over its history, including significant state government and local council projects. More recently, the company completed its own five-storey, 18-unit development at Redland Bay.
That experience has helped shape its next chapter. Nairn is actively considering sites for another development while the construction team temporarily shifts its attention toward smaller residential renovations following the demands of the Redland Bay project.
Manly Concrete operates on a different scale of activity, potentially managing as many as 15 jobs simultaneously. Coordinating those projects requires careful allocation of people and resources while keeping client expectations front of mind.
Finding skilled workers remains one of the persistent challenges.
“Always on the lookout for good workers, always on the lookout. But yeah, they can be hard to find,” Nairn said.
That challenge could become more pronounced as major infrastructure activity accelerates across South East Queensland. Nairn has already watched competition for labour transform the market during previous major Brisbane projects, with high-paying work increasing pressure on trade availability and pricing.
He expects another period of intense competition as Olympic-related development ramps up.
“Demand for labour and everything in South East Queensland is going to be at a high premium, very high premium, which will inflate prices and everything else,” Nairn said.
Technology That Makes a Difference
Technological change in construction does not always produce straightforward improvements. Nairn points to developments in engineered timber products as an example of the new structural possibilities available to builders, while changes in concrete materials can present their own difficulties.
“We find a lot of the concrete that we use these days is not to the same quality as it was years ago,” Nairn said.
Where technology has unquestionably transformed the company, however, is in communication and administration.
Managing a workforce of 35 people is considerably easier than it was two decades ago. Information that once required extensive phone calls and manual coordination can now be distributed in minutes. Payroll provides an equally striking example. Work that once required two or three employees can now be completed by one person in approximately four hours.
“It’s just so much more efficient,” Nairn said. “There have been some huge advancements for sure in technology and the IT side of things.”
Nairn wants to take that efficiency further. The business is investing in systems that capture information from the job site and allow management to better understand problems when they occur.
Rather than accepting existing software as the complete answer, the company has spent years working toward an internal solution.
“You go out, and you buy a software system or whatever and it’s all got a part fix. It only half does something here or whatever. There are so many systems out there like that,” Nairn said.
The goal is a system capable of documenting what went wrong, why it happened, and what actions are required to prevent or minimize a recurrence. Progress continues with the assistance of IT specialists, although Nairn readily acknowledges that the ultimate system remains a work in progress.
Relationships Over Transactions
Relationships have also become one of the defining threads running through Nairn Constructions.
After 25 years of working with people throughout the industry, Nairn has found that relationships frequently matter more than the supplier name above the door. When a trusted contact moves to another organization, the business may follow because that individual already understands how Nairn Constructions operates and what it requires.
“It’s building those relationships. We find not so much with the companies, but the people that we’ve been dealing with for the last 25 years,” Nairn said.
Some supplier accounts themselves stretch back 15 or 20 years, further reflecting the long-term approach that characterizes the business.
That preference for established relationships is now influencing Nairn’s strategy for future construction work.
After years of competing for traditional hardline tenders, he is increasingly interested in working directly with people he knows and trusts.
“I’m looking to partner with people who I’ve got relationships with in developing assets for them that will be long-term, that they use within their business,” Nairn said.
The company is also considering opportunities to develop assets for its own use. Alongside those ventures, smaller renovation projects remain attractive because they can provide solid returns without imposing the same pressure that accompanies major, highly complex construction contracts.
“Simply working with people we know to try and deliver outcomes, good outcomes,” Nairn said.
The People Who Built the Business
Ultimately, Nairn’s outlook returns to the same principle that has helped sustain the businesses for decades: people.
Of the approximately 35 employees currently across Nairn Constructions and Manly Concrete, Nairn estimates that between 15 and 20 have been with the businesses for at least 15 years. In an industry known for workforce movement and fierce competition for skilled trades, that retention speaks strongly to the culture the company has worked to establish.
For Nairn, taking care of employees is not an abstract corporate value. It is fundamental to creating a company where people want to stay and where they are equally invested in the success of the business.
“I think for any business, the most important thing you’ve got is people who work with every business. You’ve got to look after your people,” Nairn said.
“If you don’t look after your people, they won’t look after you,” Nairn said.
Almost three decades after Nairn Constructions began, the business is consequently looking forward without abandoning the principles that brought it this far. Its future may involve new developments, trusted partnerships and increasingly sophisticated technology, but its foundation remains remarkably traditional: do quality work, communicate honestly, operate safely, build lasting relationships and value the people doing the job.
“We’d like to think we provide a good work environment for everybody and that we look after them. They do the same for us,” Nairn said. “That’s why I think the most important thing in any business is people.”
AT A GLANCE
Who: Nairn Constructions
What: A construction business established in 1997, operating alongside Manly Concrete and undertaking development, construction and renovation work.
Where: South East Queensland, Australia.
Website: www.nairn.com.au
