People, technology behind Gradian goals

People, processes and technology are three exciting pillars behind the recent growth and goals of Shepparton-owned civil construction company, Gradian Projects.

The company launched its newest business, Gradian Hydrotech, in December last year, to add to its acquisition of Milcast in 2018.

With a desire to grow regional employment and re-invigorate home-grown manufacturing in the region, managing director Deepak Singh said their growing workforce was the platform for new and exciting innovations for their customers.

“People come first and it’s been a busy period for us making sure we can get our culture aligned to our goals and the processes and systems to deliver for our customers,” he said.

The investment in these processes has resulted in new product lines, such as box culverts and modular bridges like those recently installed in Numurkah.

But it is the ability to bring technology to the table which excites Mr Singh and his fellow director Mathew Ryan.

This includes a soon-to-be launched e-commerce side to the business to streamline the process of order to installation in the field.

“We’ve employed technology and are soon to launch a platform for e-commerce on our website,” Mr Singh said.

“We think it’s a real game-changer in many ways because now, a farmer, anyone can put together what they need for their product and begin the order process right away.”

By being able to cost and order materials for projects such as bay outlets, head walls and rice flumes, customers are able to have a hands-on approach to costing their project and getting it started straight away.

“We want to do things differently and make a difference and the e-commerce aspect of our site is one way, but we will still have a platform to liaise with customers who want to send in their designs and get started almost straight away,” Mr Singh said.

“Projects are always going to need managing and tailoring to a degree but we want to use technology as best we can.”

Gradian Projects was born just over three years ago, when in 2017 Mr Singh and Mr Ryan started their own company, with their own vision to impact the industry.

In 2018, Gradian acquired Milcast, a Finley-based precast concrete business, from Murray Irrigation Limited.

“That was a huge step for us. It allowed us to start seriously investing in local businesses and retaining small manufacturing in our own backyard,” Mr Singh said.

With a view to expanding its customer base in the north-east and central NSW markets, the focus is on making 2021 a landmark year for the fledgling company, intent on putting Shepparton on the map and using the resources of people and processes to make a difference.

“These are exciting times,” Mr Singh said.

“We have momentum now after three years and it’s all going to impact our customers in a positive way.

“We look forward to continual innovation in our industry