Rebuilding the Business 1986 - 1994 - Abigroup

Employees
come first
PAUL McGILVRAY 1987 - to date
COMMERCIAL MANAGER,
GATEWAY UPGRADE PROJECT
Paul McGilvray is the Commercial Manager on one of Abigroup’s biggest projects: the
$2.12 billion Gateway Upgrade Project in Brisbane. He has come a long way from his
formative years in Canberra where he completed his trade as a carpenter. In the mideighties,
he was made redundant following the completion of the Australian Defence
Force Academy, but he didn’t let it slow him down. ‘I had a young family and a mortgage,
so I straight away went to the social security office and got an in-fill job. A few weeks
later I got a call from an ex-colleague who was working at Hughes Brothers. I joined
them as a building cadet and went to work on the new Parliament House. Our contracts
were for the fitout of the Prime Minister’s office, the member and guest dining room
and the cabinet room. I still remember the ceiling of the cabinet room, it was inlaid with
detailed veneer that was all done on the Hughes Brothers’ premises. It was impressive
stuff.’
Formed by Tom and Bill Hughes in 1946, Hughes Brothers was a building company
based in Port Kembla. In 1953 they won work on the Snowy River Scheme, which led
to the company’s diversification and expansion - with offices in Sydney, Canberra and
Newcastle as well as Port Kembla - and work across NSW and ACT through the seventies
and eighties. ‘The Canberra office was probably four or five full time staff. We were a
tight group. During my time at Hughes Brothers (and later as part of Abigroup) I had
the opportunity to work on a number of the landmark buildings around Canberra. I
remember renovating the Queen’s room before her visit, and we couldn’t touch the
walls after they were painted or we’d need to repaint them to make sure there were no
fingerprints or marks.’
But whilst the work was satisfying, the Hughes Brothers’ business was obviously in
financial difficulty. ‘We finished Parliament House and had submitted a number of
contractual claims. I went down to the Port Kembla head office to work as part of the
team negotiating the claims. Just prior to Christmas we were told that the directors had
accepted an offer from the client to settle. We were told that the business needed the
cash for the Christmas holiday pays and that the settlement was about ten per cent of
the submitted value. I remember driving home to Canberra disappointed at the outcome.
They were worrying times in many ways.’
In 1986, Abignano became Abigroup, and one of its first acts under the new banner was
to buy the Hughes Brothers business. It was a strategic decision because it meant taking
on the Hughes Brothers debt, but the aim was to develop Abigroup’s building capacity
in NSW – and as a long-term decision it has proven fruitful. ‘I was surprised about the
buyout, however it was like a second chance in some ways and it was business as usual
for us in Canberra. Most of our work was with the ACT Government and whilst it wasn’t
large in dollar terms, it gave us the opportunity to work on iconic buildings and keep the
team together.’
Paul could see the personal opportunities that might come from being employed by
Abigroup – a much larger and diverse operation than he was used to. ‘While I enjoyed
‘I had my wife and kids on site
filling sand bags, climbing scaffold
to try and divert a disaster. We
succeeded.’
REMEMBER...
• One and two cent coins are withdrawn from
circulation, forcing shopkeepers to
round off items to the nearest five cents.
• An historic High Court ruling in the Mabo case
recognises Native Title to land.
REBUILDING THE BUSINESS
PAUL McGILVRAY
66