For more than 30 years, CEO Roy Lavis has guided CEC Group to a position of prominence in North Queensland
Written by Sheridan CrossWhat began in 1977 as a three-person venture operating from the back of a pickup truck has grown over the course of 32 years into the CEC Group – a sophisticated, vertically integrated public company that floated on the Australian Stock Exchange in 2004 and now has more than 400 employees and annual sales in excess of AU $200 million.
The CEC Group operates throughout North Queensland in challenging conditions due to extreme weather that averages 4,000 mm (48 inches) of rain per year. The company has played a role in nearly every major infrastructure project in North Queensland in the past 30 years.
According to the corporate website, the CEC Group “has three core business units – property development, construction and materials. Supporting each of these units are a host of complementary businesses supplying products and services including quarrying, machinery and truck maintenance, building services and bitumen and asphalt spraying to mention a few.”
Founding Director and current CEO and Managing Director Roy Lavis has a career that spans more than 40 years in all phases of civil construction. He remains a key figure in the overall operation of the company with a vision and drive that continues to push the company to achieve unmatched results.
“We were a civil contractor when we started but learned that we had to become a vertical company. The business comes from a lot of small jobs in areas of small populations where there aren’t giant jobs anyway,” says Lavis, adding the average jobs fall in the $1 million-$20 million range.
Lavis is a very personal CEO who knows all of his staff, treats everyone equally and has the knack of attracting good people. Many have been with the company for 20 to 30 years and one family boasts three generations of employees. Lavis arrives at work daily between 6:30 and 7:30 a.m., works weekends and says he enjoys every minute.
“I am basically playing the role of a facilitator. I’m checking whether the right price is going out for a job and getting a pretty raw cross section of the business every day, as well as looking for new opportunities,” he says.
CEC Constructions
CEC Group offers expertise in a wide range of areas, from construction materials and quarry operations to land development and civil contracting. The website says “CEC Constructions has grown into one of Queensland’s leading civil engineering and constructions contractors servicing clients including Federal, State and Local government agencies and private developers.”
As a local operation, the company has a number of advantages. First and foremost, it is intimately familiar with Queensland’s unique environment, weather and communities. Additionally, its highly-mobile teams enable it to work in remote locations on short notice and a well-established network of regional offices provides clients with ease of access to the company’s civil engineering and construction professionals.
According to the website, CEC Constructions works in three main areas: property development (including commercial, residential and industrial developments), infrastructure - services (including water, wastewater, stormwater and services) and infrastructure - transport (including roads, bridges, rail, marinas and airports).
“We will do the work solely completed by the internal people and then we call in subcontractors so that we do not have to buy equipment that is used to do the large amount of work,” Lavis explains.
Additionally, the company maintains its own mechanics to service its expansive fleet of vehicles and, Lavis says, “they know where every gear is at any given time.”
CEC Property Development
CEC ranks as one of the largest residential property developers in North Queensland, currently holding approximately 6,000 parcels of land in current and proposed projects between Cairns and Mackay. Potentially, the company has a land bank that could be divided into well over 10,000 residential blocks. CEC residential property development focuses on high growth land corridors and affordable housing, particularly well-suited for first-time homebuyers.
The website explains that property development and resale includes the identification, acquisition, approval-gaining, and the development of residential, commercial or industrial land and finally its sale to the end purchaser. CEC Group is one of the few property developers in the region with the in-house capability to oversee a development from planning and feasibility stages through to approvals, construction and sales and marketing.
Key projects
“We are doing DOT (Department of Transportation) roads to the north of us and upper build housing in remote communities,” Lavis says.
CEC Constructions is responsible for approximately 35 percent of the construction work for the Cleaner Seas Alliance regional wastewater treatment project. Upon completion, the AU $188 million project will provide the third largest treatment capacity of its kind in the world.
The AU $3.7 million Southgate Service Centre features the BP/Reliance service center as its anchor and will house seven tenants.
High-profile residential developments include: Silkwood Ridge, AU $19.4 million subdivision of 647 lots; Timberlea Grove and Kingfisher Creek, AU $12.2 million subdivision of 405 lots; Oceans Edge Residential Estate Phase 1, AU $7.3 million development of 100 executive style lots; and Northpoint Residential Estate, AU $7.9 million mixed-use development of 74 residential and 14 commercial lots.
CEC Group has expanded throughout Cape York and Western Queensland, geographically isolated areas with mining-related projects as the primary economic drivers.
Etc.
CEC Group has undergone an intense review of operations and rationalization to ensure financial stability and security in order to take advantage of opportunities that arise as the economy recovers and economic stimulus packages for infrastructure take hold.
The company has a centralized supply chain but each division handles its own purchasing. Lavis says CEC relies on an established network of supply chain and logistics relationships. Technology is upgraded on an ongoing basis.
As it has established a strong presence in Northern Australia, Lavis says the company will seek continued organic growth in that region and does not have an immediate need, or desire, for expansion into Brisbane, South Wales or Melbourne.
Retention is strong and, because the company has so many units, training is offered across all divisions. “Because we have so many different arms of the business there are many areas and opportunities for cross training,” Lavis notes.
Thereby yielding customer service of the highest order.
View Digital Corporate Profile of CEC Group in Construction Digital June 2009