For some, great business ideas are like a strike of lightning. For us it came from working in an industry we knew back to front. Eventually you reach a point where you’re sick and tired of experiencing the same problems over and over, and you start thinking there has to be a better way of doing this.
That’s how our journey started.
It all started when our founder Wes kept seeing the same issues cropping up around demountable buildings. Wes had up until this point been in the industry for almost 20 years, and was frustrated with the continual issues around demountable buildings and crib huts.
“We just kept seeing the same problems popping up using demountable buildings, especially if we had projects in remote or hard to access areas.
When you are in these remote areas, you are quite often in the middle of nowhere. So finding local services becomes a nightmare.
For starters, you needed a crane and driver just to unload the units, which is all well and good but finding one even 4hrs out of a CBD is rarer than hens teeth. A lot of the time you’ve just got to pay prohibitively expensive rates to have one drive-in from too far away.
If you did manage to get past the first hurdle, you’d next have to manage all the various tradesmen required to connect up all the dongas fundamental services, things like water, plumbing, electrical, tanks etc. Getting tradesmen onsite at the best of times is hard, throw a remote project into the equation and it’s fraught with danger.
Time and again we’d find that tradesmen weren’t reliable, or they didn’t want to do it. The excuses ranged from the project being too remote, or they were too busy, the whole issue became a time consuming mess. Unfortunately, you really didn’t have a lot of options, either you’d be shipping them in your own crew, or trying to find a local company. On projects like these, you rely on everything running to a schedule so that the building can be ready for use, but more often then not the reality was, from start to finish it was always a bit of a logistical nightmare.
The other major part of the problem was they just weren’t mobile!
I couldn’t count how many times we were frustrated by the fact we couldn’t easily just move the units. The irony was they’re called “mobile site offices” but the reality is they were anything but. Even if you ignored everything that needed to now be disconnected, moving traditional site offices just presented too much of a major risk.
Companies don’t like to do heavy plant moves, and for good reason, they’re too dangerous. They’re the leading cause of property damage and loss of life. Two things no company wants to be involved in. Which is why they never moved. As much as we wanted to move them, it was always just safer to leave them alone, no matter where the job front had moved to.”
In the back of our mind, we always felt we had the answer. Wes knew that companies needed the equivalent of a modern day caravan in manoeuvrability and flexibility. One that was purpose built to be tougher and more durable, with larger onboard water-tanks, generators, pumping, sewerage, you name it. A caravan that was a complete unit with everything already taken care of, already connected, already done. To be built specifically for the industry and business needs. Of course, the problem was nothing like this was on the market.
So we set to work. We designed it, and then we built it. We knew what it needed to have and we had the passion for the industry. In 2010 we decided enough was enough, and set about establishing Gunsyn Hire with the sole purpose of fixing this issue.
After spending almost 20 years in the industry, there comes a point when you actually just want to fix the problem. You are exposed to it so many times and you know there has to be a more efficient, cost effective way of doing it. That’s really how Gunsyn Hire started out.
We’d like to think we’ve naturally been a company who have always seen things a little differently to most. Where others can accept that it’s just the way it’s done, we’ve always asked questions and strive to make things easier and more efficient for people.
Always embracing change, and being innovative is a large part of what we do at Gunsyn Hire. It’s part of the reason why we’re leading the industry. They are not just catchy words to throw up on a wall as part of our core values, it’s really apart of who we are as a company. We genuinely want to be a part of something that can help shape the industry for the better, and have a positive impact on the very people building our future. It’s why we got into the industry to start with, and it’s why we’re still doing what we love.
They say “when you love what you do, you don’t work a day in your life”. As cliché as it might sound, at Gunsyn we really do enjoy the work we do, and the companies we get to interact with.
Since we started in 2009, the growth and demand for our caravans has continued to grow rapidly year on year, to the point that some of Australia’s largest companies now trust us exclusively to supply their mobile site needs, which is both exciting and humbling.
On any given day you’ll find our fleet deployed across a large number of sites Australia wide. We have some wonderful ties within the civil construction industry helping on tunnels, rail and airport projects. We also have a significant footprint across a range of mining sites, and are witnessing a large spike in renewable energy projects, with a number of solar and wind farm projects.
As for the caravans themselves, the team is exceptionally driven to keep evolving our offering. We are always listening to our customers, getting feedback and refining our units to suit the growing demands and rigors our client put these units through.
Overall, our team is really proud of the units we are producing. There’s a lot of time, effort and craftsmanship that goes into building each unit, and ensuring we have the right mix of features, while maintaining our focus safety, functionality and durability. It’s also wonderful to be able to know every one of our units are designed, produced and manufactured right here in Australia.
Wes is the proud owner and founder of Gunsyn Hire, having established the business back in 2010 when he witnessed a significant need to evolve past rudimentary portable buildings, that where costly and not easily movable.
Wes has worked in the Construction sector for almost 20 years directly and as a consultant in asset management and procurement to tier 1 companies.
Customer service is a quality Wes values greatly, and he prides himself on being able to exceed customers requirements. Having an thorough knowledge of the industry himself he understands the importance of open communication, and always makes himself available to assist clients with any project.
Wes is a proud husband and father of three.
Olivia is our Office Manager, with over 25 years’ experience in an office and customer service-based environments. She started with Gunsyn Hire in 2017 and considers herself an integral part of the business. Not only does Olivia look after all accounts and invoicing, but her keen eye for detail ensures our products don’t leave the yard unless they are of an extremely high standard, both in cleanliness and working order. Olivia believes Gunsyn Hire’s success in the industry is attributed to the company’s ethos of building strong relationships with their customers and genuinely helping them find solutions to their project requirements.
Behind every awesome caravan, is a group of passionate people who love what they do, and the industry they serve.
Good old fashioned values, its what we’ve built our company on. It’s those things you don’t also see but you notice in the feel of a product, in the quality of the build and the materials used, or down to the outstanding service received.
These core values are what we’ve built our company on.
We build trust through responsible actions, honouring our commitments and having honest relationships with our customers.
Passion is at the heart of everything we do, it’s why we are in the industry and our excitement for what we do every day. We’re passionate about nurturing ideas, inspiring excellence, and find creative ways to eliminate obstacles for our clients, and cultivating a growth mindset.
We’re dedicated to sourcing our materials and building our products in a way that is sustainable for the environment. We each have a part to play to ensure our social impact is for good.
We are accountable for ourselves, our colleagues, our clients and our company.
Innovation motivates action: to take risks, encourage curiosity and new ideas. To learn from mistakes, and constantly strive to exceed expectations. Through innovation, we generate solutions for our customers and raise the bar — both within our workplace and throughout our industry.
We focus on removing the unnecessary from our products, process and services until all that remains is essential and useful.
Come along for the ride and connect with us as we share our passion for building world class mobile site caravans.
Join the conversation as we share information and industry specific news every week, about new products and things of interest.