One of the truly special things about Hamlan is that we’re local through and through. And we’re not just talking about the staff, we’re so dedicated to supporting local business and local people that when it comes to our trades and our suppliers, we’ll choose a local company every time.
Our local perspective is one of our Hamlan Hallmarks — the six elements of design, construction and delivery that tell our story long after we have gone.
Hamlan is Geelong’s largest locally owned and operated builder — we employ more than 50 permanent staff and 150 onsite subcontractors. We’re a family-owned business — and understand the importance of how our builds support so many other family-owned and run businesses across our region.
Hamlan General Manager Andrew Carroll says as a family business, Hamlan’s aim is to give back to families within our community.
“Our aim is to create a business that not only works efficiently within our own town but can provide the best work-life balance to our staff and subcontractors — and our extended Hamlan ‘family’,” he says.
“We want to provide a return on investment to our clients by providing as much support as we can to community initiatives and organisations that work towards strengthening our great region.”
“Hamlan has a fierce loyalty to the region and supporting our community will always be a priority within our core business.”
This local perspective is a unique point of difference when looking at the range of volume builders on the market. A Hamlan home not only represents the quality product, craftsmanship, design and service you’ve come to expect from Hamlan but also represents the support we offer Geelong’s wider community through our suppliers and trade subcontractors, as well as community groups.
Local suppliers and subcontractors
There’s a number of reasons why Hamlan only use local suppliers and subcontractors. Firstly, we’ve recognised the flow-on effects that supporting local has on the greater community.
“A big advantage of working for a builder like Hamlan is that it supports the whole community of Geelong, every one of our subcontractors is local,” Hamlan Building Manager Bernie Wiesebrock says.
“We want longevity, we don’t want to have a subcontractor work with us for only one job, once we use a subcontractor we want to use that contractor for life!
“We have used some of our trades for 20 years plus. How good is it for a subcontractor to know that they have work from that company for the long term?”
It’s this approach that has led to us building long-lasting relationships with some of our local suppliers and subcontractors — some who have worked with Hamlan for 20 years.
Senior Site Supervisor Cory Bauer says that working with the same local subcontractors and suppliers allows Hamlan to maintain the high quality of work that they are known for.
“There’s trust and respect between us and our subbies, trades and suppliers,” Cory says. “We’ve had long relationships with them and they understand how we work and our high expectations and standards.”
Hamlan’s Operations Manager Josh Liston says that Hamlan’s approach to choosing local every time won’t be changing any time soon.“We’re forever approached by new businesses but the common answer to these businesses is that it’s not just about the dollar,” Hamlan Operations Manager Josh Liston says. “We support local businesses and local suppliers, and we will continue to do that.”
Josh says a great advantage of working with local people is simply how it affects the efficiency of the business and ultimately how Hamlan builds homes.
“We’re not bringing things in from Melbourne, we’re dealing with the same person day-to-day right here in Geelong, and they are part of our team,” he says.
Local landscapes
Our local staff understand our region and its many advantages and challenges. For more than 35 years, Hamlan has built a range of homes in many different landscapes – from breathtaking clifftop houses and inner-city urban homes, through to homes on sloping blocks, acreage homes and custom builds.
Josh says this in-depth knowledge and experience helps Hamlan confidently face any situation.
“There’s not that many surprises left, given the experience Andy, Bernie and I bring — there are not many situations that we haven’t dealt with,” he says.
“But that experience means we also have the capacity to deal with what’s put in front us — whatever the situation.”
Cory says that by living within close proximity to your work you gain an invaluable insight into building in the area.
“By being accessible means that if something needs to be done, it will be done and at the right quality,” he says.
“Geelong is still a small town at heart, someone will always know someone who can help. And it’s those connections that mean if something needs to be done it happens fairly quickly.”
Local lifestyles
Our staff have strong connections to the Geelong region — whether they’ve lived here for 10 years or their lifetime — we draw from their experiences and lifestyles and incorporate that into the designs of our homes.
We pay close attention to elements such as traffic flow, maximising natural light and taking advantage of the views from your block. Depending on the home you choose, our options can include enlarging bedrooms, modifying the layout of your kitchen, or adding a boatshed or pergola to your home.
Hamlan has 23 designs in its Aspect Range and three designs in its Bancoora range. These homes are specifically designed to suit all different landscapes and needs.
For example, our range of split-level designs specifically designed to suit the growing number of sloping blocks that are being released across the region. Our Bancoora range provides elegant design suited to coastal locations. Together with the advantage of our local perspective, we can also custom-build your new home.
Local community
For Hamlan, supporting local isn’t just about business, it is also about supporting the local community and the causes that are close to our hearts. Supporting young people within our community is a cause we’re most passionate about.
Hamlan has partnerships with community initiatives; Grow (a joint initiative between Give Where You Live Foundation and G21 — Geelong Region Alliance), G21, Northern Futures, Geelong Community Foundation and the Regional Industry Sector Employment program (RISE).
Our General Manager Andrew Carroll sits on the steering committee of RISE as the Geelong Master Builders representative. RISE is a City of Greater Geelong program — a solution to Geelong’s industry skills shortage. It’s designed to connect people to skills and jobs — something that the local construction industry is in much need of. RISE is currently a finalist in the 2019 Victorian Training Awards in the Industry Collaboration Award.
“I’m very passionate about getting the right people into our industry,” Andrew says. “Connecting those dots and getting those people to our subcontractors.”
We are also proud to be a member of the steering committee for Northern Futures. We are committed to supporting people from disadvantaged backgrounds break the cycle of unemployment by providing pre-apprenticeships for local youth in the construction industry.
Northern Futures works to address the critical social and economic challenges faced by many people living in Geelong’s northern suburbs. These challenges include high unemployment, poor education outcomes, low household incomes and an increased likelihood of living in public and rental housing.
Northern Futures work closely with job service providers, local industry, government, schools and the community to connect and include people, enhance their opportunities for personal growth and, ultimately, change lives.
Most recently we became a premier partner to the innovative local organisation Read the Play Inc. program, which addresses the health and wellbeing of young people.
Read the Play is delivered to under-16 football and under-15 netball clubs within the Geelong, Geelong and District, and Bellarine leagues. Its sessions focus on mental health and it supports participating clubs in caring for junior members through information, developing positive relationships and encouraging help-seeking.
Summary
Our local perspective is one of our Hamlan Hallmarks — the six elements of design, construction and delivery that tell our story long after we have gone.
We believe our local perspective is a unique point of difference when looking at the range of volume builders on the market. A Hamlan home not only represents quality products, craftsmanship, design and service, but also represents the support we offer Geelong’s wider community through our partnerships with local suppliers, subcontractors and community groups.
We’ve recognised the flow-on effects that supporting local has on the greater community.
It has helped us to build long-lasting relationships with our local suppliers and subcontractors — some who have worked with Hamlan for 20 years. Building these strong and trusting relationships has helped us to maintain the high quality of homes we’re known for.
By being locals ourselves, we’re able to draw from our own experiences and lifestyles and incorporate that into the designs of our homes. We pay close attention to elements such as traffic flow, maximising natural light and taking advantage of the views from your block.
And finally, supporting local isn’t just about supporting local business, it is also about supporting the local community and the causes that are close to our hearts.
Hamlan has community partnerships which include Grow (a joint initiative between Give Where You Live Foundation and G21 — Geelong Region Alliance), G21, Northern Futures, Geelong Community Foundation, the Regional Industry Sector Employment program (RISE) and Read the Play Inc. Supporting young people within our community is a cause we’re very passionate about.
Is supporting local business important to you? Hamlan is the builder for you. Visit any one of our display homes or contact 1300 426 526 to learn more.
