“Consider the team to be apart of your family ”

Since its founding in 2005, Damian Duke, Managing Director of BRL Contracting has provided superior Commercial and Shopfitting solutions for more than a decade, specializing in bespoke joinery packages. They provide a comprehensive fit-out solution, including design and construction, as well as the provision of skilled tradesmen and management to meet their clients' needs. Their 1300 m2 Melbourne facility is designed for manufacturing premium joinery and is known for providing clients with the highest quality workmanship.

Damian's lifelong dream was to one day own and operate his own construction company. Therefore, he began his career at BRL Contracting as an apprentice and worked his way up through each position so that he could gain a better understanding of the industry and acquire the expertise necessary to operate the company. For him, obtaining his trade certificate was of the utmost importance because working in the construction business was something he took pleasure in doing, and it provided him with the self-assurance that he could be successful.

Damian’s business partner Matthew White is also involved in the day to day operations of the company as Managing Director. BRL have Managers in all departments including Accounts, Projects, Sites, Procurement, Operations and Estimating.

Following that, they have their team of setout/draftsman, machining and manufacturing, as well as installation teams with years of industry experience who can make anybody's concept a reality. Their crew is knowledgeable and skilled in all elements of shop fitting, ensuring a professional outcome with the highest level of service and management. With a strong emphasis on client happiness and exceptional craftsmanship, they take great delight in always giving the greatest result.

They exude a strong sense of family, while maintaining a professional demeanor, which gives them an advantage over other businesses that do not have the same people skills. Damian’s philosophy is to work as a team to create a solution for any problem that may arise. Damian does not discriminate against anyone on the basis of their position, and he makes it a point to pay his male and female employees the wage they deserve.

Damian’s management team makes certain that they utilize the information of all parties to make certain that the next move they take as a team is the correct one. Due to the changes they have made, their business is now robust and secure, which is a tribute to the team's hard work. At this point, they finish tasks ranging in price from $1,000 to $2,000,000. Damian knows how he is doing based on the attitudes of their employees and the P&L for their projects.

They service all areas of their industry from retail, commercial, and maintenance; Which includes works from such industries as pharmaceutical, domestic, as well as demolition. The biggest issue they deal with is other companies under-pricing a project and then relying on variations to make up the difference, but BRL overcome this by sticking to their guns, and the clients end up coming back to them. As an example, he describes the impact that COVID had made on the construction industry. Businesses adapted their methods of operation and reassessed the prices at which they offered their services.

Damian believes that keeping his finger on the pulse of the firm, is the most effective approach for him to identify any problems that may be developing, in order to head them off and make the necessary adjustments in order to maintain the business. It is necessary for them to carry out this task to keep up with the volume of work that they completed each month. His main goal is to buy a larger factory because the business has outgrown the two buildings it is currently utilising right now.