Diversity is a word that typifies the progression of the Perkins Group throughout its 53 year history.
For the first 25 years, under the guidance of founding partners, Neville and Jim Perkins, Perkins Bros Builders worked in and around Bunbury and the south west delivering various commercial, residential, industrial, and civils projects and establishing a solid reputation. I took over the reins in 1995, continuing to grow the business in the south west in all of those business sectors and adding a Perth office in 2003 and we rebranded as Perkins Builders.
In 2005 we diversified into a West Australian commercial aquatic construction business. This quickly grew with offices being added in Victoria and Queensland branded as Commercial Aquatics Australia. We have more recently added an engineering design consultancy, Aquatic One, to form the third arm of the Perkins Group of Companies.
Throughout the journey we have continuously adapted to the requirements of the various markets and delivered numerous significant projects including Next Gen Kings Park, Bunbury Catholic Cathedral, Roy Hill Remote Operations Centre, Perth Airport International and Domestic Terminals and Bannister Downs Dairy, to name just a few.
In recent years Perkins has diversified in its procurement methods with many projects being undertaken under design and construct, early contractor involvement, managing contractor or negotiated partnering arrangements rather than traditional lump sum tendering which has inherently developed significant procurement expertise.
Being a regional business, we have always been conscious of supporting our community and have supported local businesses, community groups and charities. As our horizons have expanded, our support has broadened to include Telethon in WA via the Lexus Ball and the Tabitha Foundation in Cambodia. We are more conscious now than ever before of our role in the community and our responsibility to use our influence to positive effect.
We have recently launched our Perkins Indigenous Engagement Policy (PIE) which states our desire to increase business and employment opportunities for the aboriginal community whilst supporting education and cultural awareness to break down barriers. We currently have three indigenous employees and are contracting with several aboriginal owned businesses and this upward trend will continue into the future.
The three values that we promote in the PIE are ‘Relationships’, ‘Respect’ and ‘Opportunities’ and these are consistent with the culture we have been developing in the Perkins Group for over 50 years. These guide our attitude towards diversity, flexibility and inclusion that underpin the business in every aspect; the people we employ, the projects we undertake and the clients we create partnerships with.
Diversity is not only healthy, it is essential in order to remain relevant in an ever changing world.
