30 years of Mapei Australia
A growth plan with ambitious goals
Mapei began doing business in Australia 30 years ago. How has the Group's operations in the local market changed?
Mapei Australia was established in 1993 as a sales office located on the Gold Coast in Queensland. After supplying products to many significant projects, such as the Melbourne Sports Centre, Brisbane International Airport, and the Palazzo Versace Hotel on the Gold Coast, Mapei Australia was commissioned to supply primers, levelling compounds, adhesives, grouts, and silicone sealants for the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games venues. Since then, we have started production locally in 2000 and expanded our operations in all states. Mapei Australia now employs over 130 staff and can produce over 67,000 tons of powder products and 12 million litres of liquid products yearly. As we celebrate our 30th anniversary this year, we are even more committed to meet our customers’ expectations through our perfected products and solutions. It has been a memorable journey with a truly amazing team. Throughout 2023, we will be looking at where we started, what we have achieved, and what our plans are for the future. Towards the end of the year, we are inviting all employees and their families to a special event to celebrate our milestone.
What are the growth targets for 2023 and the years to come, regarding new product ranges and revenue?
Mapei Australia grew from almost 12,5 million euro in 2012 to 68,5 million euro in revenue in 2022. This was a massive growth that went well beyond the market growth rate. Moving forward, we are keen to keep the momentum by growing organically within our existing customers and looking to create new market opportunities.
Tunnelling, concrete admixtures, infrastructures and waterproofing are our key targets for future expansion. We currently have some existing businesses in those segments within the construction industry, but there’s further potential for growth. With the addition of these businesses, we are confident to reach 80 million euro of revenue this year, and we have an ambitious target to reach 124,5 million euro in 5 years.
How are you planning to climb the ladder of top companies in the industry to gain leadership status?
We leverage the following pillars, which are the foundation of Mapei’s global strategy:
Research & Development and innovation: we target to introduce new products and technologies each year to keep our team motivated with new initiatives and provide the industry with new, cutting-edge solutions to the most challenging applications. We have always been highly committed to this sector, our Research & Development laboratory in Brisbane works towards adapting global formulations to meet the local needs;
Specialisation: our team is prepared to assist any size or type of project within our target markets. We provide internal training to help maintain knowledge at the highest level. We have also started CPD (Continual Professional Development) training for industry professionals to strengthen our relationships and increase collaboration when specifying systems for their projects.
Sustainability: we have partnered with the Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA) for over a decade and have promoted lots of initiatives related to sustainability, and we plan to continue to do so in the future. Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC), Environmental Product Declarations (EPD), carbon neutral products and carbon reduction of concrete manufacturing (MAPECUBE SYSTEM) have been some of our key focus areas
Australia is a very big country that calls for a widespread distribution network and an equally extensive manufacturing base. What moves is Mapei Australia making to boost its operations throughout the territory?
Currently, we have warehouses and offices in each state, plus a fully-owned state-of-the-art production facility in Brisbane. Our sales have filled most of our current production capacity, and we need to expand our production footprint at the earliest. To do so, we recently signed an agreement for a 20000 m2 lot of land in Victoria, located in the heart of Melbourne’s western industrial precinct, where we are planning to build our new production facility, with a capacity of over 120,000 tons of powdered products and 12 million litres of liquid products per year. The final step is to establish a smaller plant in Western Australia in a few years.
In response to the lengthy blackout linked to the Covid-19 pandemic and also the emergency caused by various natural disasters over recent years (fires, drought, floods), the Australian government has launched a major infrastructure investment plan: what opportunities are opening up for the Mapei Group?
Mapei Australia has already been active in the tunnelling industry for years. We are supplying products to the tunnels of the Sydney Metro 1, part of the M6 highway, and one of Australia's most significant renewable energy projects: Snowy 2.0 in the Alpine region of New South Wales. This project involves linking two existing dams, Tantangara and Talbingo, through 27 km of tunnels to build a new underground power station. Water will be pumped to the upper dam when there is surplus renewable energy production and the energy demand is low, and then released back to the lower dam to generate energy when electricity demand is high. The aim is to provide flexible, on-demand power while reusing or "recycling" the water in a closed loop and maximise the efficiency of renewables by using excess solar and wind energy to pump water to the higher dam, to be stored for later use. In addition, we have also set up a new team of professionals focusing on the “above-ground" infrastructure projects. Our current targets are structural strengthening and concrete repair systems for bridges and road structures.
A more personal question: you worked at Mapei's headquarters in Milan long before being appointed General Manager of Mapei Australia. Can you tell us about your career path in the Group and what challenges you are getting ready to take on?
I started working for Mapei 18 years ago as an intern. Through my internship in the Mapei SpA’s Research & Development Laboratory in Milan, I focused on studying the movements of self-levelling compounds during their plastic stage. Then I started working full-time in the Tile Adhesives lab under the leadership of Vittorio Riunno first and Stefano Carrà who were great mentors at the start of my career. I believe I was lucky to join a fantastic team of co-workers in the Tile Adhesive lab, who welcomed me as part of a family, making me feel at home and initiating my bond with the company. During my eight years in Milan lab, I had the opportunity to specialise in cementitious mortar technology and formulation. I moved to Australia 10 years ago as an R&D manager under the leadership of Philip Gray, the former General Manager of Mapei Australia, who completely changed my career path. During these years, with the realisation of the need to strengthen the Technical Services department in the Australian subsidiary, I was appointed as the Technical Manager to support customers and target the most prestigious and challenging projects. Philip Gray had great trust in my skills and "pushed" me to support the business more and more, coaching and mentoring me continuously so that I could successfully deal with new challenges. In 2019 I was appointed Deputy General Manager, thanks partly to the backing of the Squinzi family, and since the beginning of 2022, I've been leading the business in Australia as General Manager. It has been a fantastic journey and it is great to look back at what we have achieved over the years. Which other challenges to take on? I think the challenges related to the ambitious 124,5 million target, which involves constructing new premises and continuously strengthening the team in each department, are enough for the moment!
MAPEI-CADEL EVANS: CLOSE TIES
A long-standing partner of professional cycling, Mapei supported Cadel Evans throughout his career: from joining the Mapei-Quickstep Cycling Team in 2002 to training at the Mapei Sport centre under the supervision of Professor Aldo Sassi, former Director of Mapei Sport Research Centre, who made such a key contribution to his career including his win in the 2011 Tour de France. His close ties with Mapei are continuing: Mapei Australia has been Main Sponsor of the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race since it was first held in 2015. Cadel Evans personifies the passion, commitment and constant growth that are in the Group and Mapei Australia’s DNA.
SPONSORSHIPS, TRADE FAIRS AND EVENTS
Mapei Australia has always invested in promoting its brand by sponsoring prestigious events and institutions: it is the sponsor of the Queensland Performing Arts Centre and last year it sponsored the Summer Jam Basketball Streetball Championships held in Melbourne on courts that had been refurbished using products from the MAPECOAT TNS range. Marketing operations also include intensive use of “conventional” media, such as transport advertising, radio and billboards, as well as digital channels like Google ads and social media. Trade fairs are also used as an opportunity to build relationships: this year, the Australian subsidiary took part in the Sydney Build Exhibition for the first time and saw great success from the leads generated at the event. Lastly, there is a focus on training: the Mapei Academy provides a wide range of courses and events for people working in the industry, both in-person and online. In 2022, the subsidiary organised 64 training events and plans to boost these operations in 2023, both for customers and staff.
