Rebuilding the Business 1986 - 1994 - Abigroup

Cultural
continuation
RON LOVETT 1978 - to date
EXECUTIVE MANAGER - SOUTHERN REGION
In 1987, Abigroup was ailing and looking for a cure. Its building capacity needed a boost,
as did its presence in Victoria, and a company called Robert Salzer Constructions Pty Ltd
would prove to be just the tonic.
Ron Lovett joined Salzer as Construction Manager in 1978 and witnessed the company’s
development first hand. ‘Salzer began in 1969 and was owned and run by Bob Salzer, an
immigrant from Austria. I applied for the job through a top head-hunter and had to do
psychological testing, which was very unusual back then. But it showed to me that Bob
was serious and it was a good indication as to his personality.
‘Next, I came down to Melbourne from the country, met a few senior managers and that
was it. He’d already done his homework beforehand. He offered me the job, and the next
thing I knew I was around at his home, walking past the grand piano in the parlour out
to the sun deck, with Nola [Ron’s wife] having a cup of tea with Bob and his wife Betty.
It was all very civilised and a great welcome to the Salzer family. Then on my first day
at work, he pulled me aside and said, “Ron, I’m paying you enormous money and I’ve
had to increase all the other management wages – now make sure you earn the business
some money”. He was an affable, gentle and creative person, who beamed positiveness
and was also deadly serious about his business and he wouldn’t accept second best. But
he was also a believer in people – at 27 I was about to run half of his business!’
Salzer’s first job back in 1969 had been building 15 Collins Street, Melbourne, a multistorey
building that was the first high-rise apartment block in Melbourne’s commercial
business district, and it set the tone for the success of the business. But it was a business
with its owner at the fulcrum – not unlike Abignano Ltd with Jim at the reins. ‘A couple of
weeks after starting, I asked to see the figures on the jobs I was managing – I saw a key
part of my job managing projects as making sure each of them were profitable, as I had
done with my previous company. But Bob asked me why I wanted them, so we discussed
it for a while until he told me, “Don’t you worry about that – I’ll tell you if you’re losing
any money.” Sometimes I’d see his perfectly-kept, handwritten ledger book in his bottom
drawer, but for years he wouldn’t let anybody manage the profit and loss except himself.
It was amazing when you think that we were a complete Master Builder with probably
300-plus people on wages and multiple big projects on the go.’
The seventies and eighties were a very active, aggressive time for the unions in the
building and construction game, but Salzer had a good reputation that kept them largely
out of trouble. ‘We paid the team well with outstanding performance and loyalty being
rewarded. It meant that people liked working for Bob because he kept his word and was
genuine. They felt part of his family because he related to you regardless of your position
in the company and consequently, we had very few industrial issues.’
‘John [Cassidy] and his team
understood our can-do mentality
and consequently this alignment of
culture along with the continuity of
employment meant that we were
able to carry on being successful.’
REBUILDING THE BUSINESS
RON LOVETT
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