Ryza Garbacz is no stranger to thinking big – the Managing Director of NEACH tells us about his company and its role in forging a new future for welders.
NEACH was founded in 1975 and has gone through many transitions throughout a remarkable 50 years of continuous operation.
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The business has played a key role in many South East Queensland projects across that time. Ryza took on the company in 2011, growing NEACH into one of Queensland’s top fabrication businesses working on Tier 1 and Tier 2 building projects.
“When I first got involved with the company, we were dealing with projects that had a low barrier to entry – there were a lot of backyard operators making emotional decision about pricing which wasn’t a rational environment to operate in,” he said.
“What we decided to do was develop our accreditation and upskill to a highly capable company that could operate on challenging projects delivering complex infrastructure”.
“The type of work we do is mission critical. One example is the Exhibition Show Grounds train station that supports thousands of people at the Ekka each year in Brisbane.
“Our clients want certainty; our product has to be high quality every time. It takes time to develop trust and respect with our customers to do this type of work, they don’t just select anyone to do it. It’s a select market.”
Onwards and upwards
Ryza wasn’t kidding around when he wanted to tackle big-time builds, with NEACH working on major South-East Queensland projects including the Exhibition Train Station, Gallipoli Barracks, Sunshine Plaza, Fitzroy to Gladstone Pipeline and the complex Cross River Rail project.
“In terms of planning, we’re looking to the future and seeing what kind of growth South-East Queensland is capable of,” Ryza added.
“So many people are moving out of cities and into regions, particularly in South-East Queensland.
“We’ve also got the Olympics coming in 2032, so there’s a stack of things we’ve got to complete in South-East Queensland to get ready for the games. “We’ve positioned NEACH for that market, which is going to need plenty of heavy complex infrastructure.”
Laying the foundation
Welding is one such trade that’s grappling with the skills shortage, with thousands more needed in the coming years to handle demand. “Trade availability has been deteriorating between 2016 and now in my personal opinion,” Ryza said.
“We initially tried to deal with that problem by offering higher wages, but that approach really didn’t work – the people just weren’t there.”
Four years ago, NEACH decided to build its own talent pipeline and increased it’s apprentice intake.
“Historically we had put an apprentice on every year … about three years ago we started putting on two apprentices a year,” Ryza said.
“We employ about 40 people and that varies depending on workload, our talent pipeline is fostering stronger workplace culture and producing top quality tradespeople”.
He said the program has helped NEACH keep up with its demand, as well as craft a nurturing environment for the entire company.
“There’s a good culture too – they’re really competitive and there’s plenty of good comradery going on,” Ryza said.
“They’re very eager to achieve, including on a lot of the technical aspects.
“They’ll often get me to test them on something.
“It’s been really pleasing to see that talent pool building for us, but also that it’s the right kind of culture.” While enjoying the Noosa sunset may be one thing, the sun is only just rising where Ryza and NEACH are concerned.