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The West Australian’s New Homes Magazine, recently chatted with Adam Schaal, General Manager for New Homes at Summit Homes Group about winning the Lyn Bennett Memorial Project Builder of the Year at the 2022 Master Builders Association Awards.

What did it mean for Summit Homes to win the Lyn Bennett Memorial Project Builder of the Year at the 2022 MBA awards?

To win the Lyn Bennett Memorial Project Builder two years in a row, in the midst of the pandemic whilst seeing a significant lift in building activity nation-wide, is an achievement we’re immensely proud of.

Given the pressure on our supply chain and the economic and environmental challenges the industry has faced, the people of Summit Homes Group have come together to continually learn, grow and adjust their way of working.

Our people are the reason why we have won this award for two consecutive years. Our core philosophy is ‘Built Around People’ and whilst it’s been high pressure for our industry, we aim to live by this philosophy each day.

It’s been a busy two years responding to the current market conditions but in that time, we’ve ensured our business remains agile, improved our processes, invested in our people and we’ve worked hard to get our product mix right so we are well positioned for the growth we’re continuing to see.

What did the past two years look like for Summit and what was achieved to eventually win the awards?

We invested in continual improvement, using these high-pressure times to assess our processes, products and ultimately, we have remained responsible by not over subscribing with volumes.

We’ve launched over 150 new designs across the group to assist in making the building process more streamlined and efficient for our clients.

Our floorplans are collaboratively designed by experts on the Summit Homes team; from our architects to town planners, ensuring that we provide the most premium designs in market.

What do you put the success down to?

The last year has been a learning curve for everyone in the industry and there have definitely been times when the team have found the influx of business challenging.

Our approach to managing the unprecedented pipeline of demand was to put transparency at the core of their decision-making processes.

Teams across every discipline came together to think of strategies outside of the box, one of those strategies was embracing our BrickHybrid building method which is an evolution for the WA construction Industry.

We are proud to offer building method choices whilst considering sustainable ways of building homes. By using these building methods, we have improved building periods and energy efficiencies significantly.

Backbone Steel is subsidiary of Summit Homes Group, located on-site at the Myaree offices. This means that we have direct access and capability around innovations in construction methods and what they will look like in the future.

In fact, Summit Homes Group is a fully integrated company with building brands including Summit Homes, New Generation Homes, Easystart Homes, Summit South West, Summit Renovations, Summit Developments and Summit Granny Flats.

As well as a number of subsidiary businesses in plumbing, roofing, ceiling, finance, land estates. This integration provides us with more control over supply chain, access to labour and materials whilst providing value for our clients.

What does the year look like for Summit – and what do you think it will take to take out the award again next year?

It’s no secret that we love building homes for Western Australian families.

When people genuinely enjoy their job they produce high quality work, so we are continually focused on creating a great place to work for our employees, which we’ve seen lead to a fantastic result for WA homebuyers.

It’s why we invest in our people because ultimately, it’s our people who enhance the build journey for our clients.

Over the past two years we’ve laid a strong foundation for the group to grow. I’m proud of how we’ve handled the government stimulus whilst remaining financially responsible to both the business and our clients.

What put Summit apart from other builders? What do you do to go above and beyond?

We’re continually rolling up our sleeves to ensure everything we do is of the highest standard including sourcing only the best of local trades, products, suppliers, and administration and construction teams to help buyers build their new home.

We have a proactive team of people who are invested in ensuring our clients enjoy their building journey and who are committed to upholding the Summit Homes Group brand – a place where our staff our proud to work.

How many employees make up the Summit Home Group team? Across what departments

We have over 400 employees who work for Summit Homes Group across 16 disciplines.

We also engage with 450 local contractors, that all paly a very important role in making things happen.

We are immensely grateful to all of these people and appreciate everyone’s efforts in these high-pressure times.