38 Unita Group

Robert Rowe had been working in his family’s shop fitting business since a young age, before a hunger to strike out on his own gave him the motivation for building Unita Group into a multidisciplinary construction and design firm for up and coming businesses.

The operation includes helps clients develop their business projects, including working on the construction, interior design and fit out, from gyms to bars and pop up shops.

Rowe saw the opportunity to build technology into the production process, starting off by building a project management app in house to track the building progress. Then, after a string of acquisitions including joinery, flooring and equipment businesses, the operation expanded into a fully-fledged construction business with offices in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane.

Unita recorded more than $78 million in revenue in the 2015-16 financial year and employs 195 people.

A tier-two construction licence means Unita can deliver projects in excess of $4 million, and the company is keen to use this as a point of differentiation.

“We have seen the local Brisbane market saturated with non-licensed contractors from other states (such as NSW) who don’t have the same compliance restrictions as those applied to Queensland businesses,” says Rowe.

“To combat this we’ve elected to elevate from our previous category of work and enter the tier-two market.”

Business customers are also increasingly looking for a one-stop shop when creating their brands, making Unita’s multifaceted approach all the more valuable, says Rowe.

“We are now the only company in the country that can offer clients the benefits of full vertical integration and procurement,” he says.

After 12 years in the business, the founder is aware of the great people he is surrounded with each day, and is keen to stick around to foster further growth and work on plans to expand the business overseas.

“We’ll also be increasing our manufacturing base and further integrating these services so we can take them to the next level,” says Rowe.