Modular Wall Systems™ joins Treasurer’s media conference to talk growth and jobs

It was a flurry of excitement at Modular Wall Systems™ last week as Honourable Scott Morrison MP, Treasurer of the Commonwealth of Australia, returned to our factory to host a press conference about Australian jobs and business growth.

new-warehouseThe Modular Wall Systems™ story is one of continued success and our CEO, Nick Holden, was proud to tell his story to the media. The media contingency included television crews from Channel Nine, SBS, SKY News, and a reporter from 2GB radio. The media were interested in learning about how the Modular Wall Systems™ business began in 2004 and has since steadily grown at double digit pace. As the business increases its residential market share and explores new commercial and infrastructure markets, business growth at Modular Wall Systems™ is set to surge in 2016. In the last 12 months, Modular Walls Systems™ has doubled its staff and is on track to reach a turnover of $10 million.

The construction of our new factory and offices in Kurnell is taking shape. Once operational, it will be four times more productive with increased manufacturing capabilities and new products launching. We anticipate the business to more than double its staff within the next two years and look forward to helping grow the local economy. It was a pleasure to welcome Scott Morrison back to our factory and we thank him for giving us the opportunity to appear on prime time TV.

Top of the Town Noise Abatement Solution, Sydney Town Hall, CBD

A notable trial of gas turbines to generate electricity to power a heating and cooling system atop of the historic Sydney Town Hall – the official ‘home’ of the Council of the City of Sydney is a remarkable milestone, almost as historic as the building that has housed the Council since 1884. As part of this historic Trigeneration System installation, a noise attenuation screen was required around the plant deck on the rooftop to alleviate all unwanted noise. The screen required to extend above and below the new steel deck containing the gas turbines. The acoustic specification by Resonate Acoustics required the noise barrier to be constructed from materials to achieve an internal absorption surface with a NRC rating of 0.9 or above and the external imperforate material to achieve a minimum RW25. Finally, the noise mitigation solution had to be aesthetically welcoming and complement the pre-existing and historically significant building structure.

The solution offered by Modular Wall Systems™ included a 3.6 metre high steel structure that held our proprietary AcoustiSorb™ 75mm panels. These panels have a perforated face to absorb sound waves within its core material, resulting in an NRC rating > 0.9. A set of 2.4m wide double doors were also required and constructed from the AcoustiSorb 75mm panels. Modular Wall Systems™ installed the required panels in carefully planned site visits across a 4 day period. This precise planning meant the construction of the noise barrier was able to occur without hitch or additional contractors. The pre-finish ‘paper bark’ coloured panels ensured there was no requirement for painting following installation. The colour matched harmoniously with the existing and historic building – much to the delight of the client. Modular Wall System™ managed the entire process from concept drawings, detailed design and engineering through to installation, which is why they are Australia’s leader and fastest growing manufacturer of commercial acoustic walls.

Modular Wall Systems celebrates next round of judging at the 2016 Good Design Awards and Manufacturers’ Monthly Endeavour Awards

Modular Wall Systems™ is thrilled to announce it has been nominated for a number of awards this year. AcoustiSorb™, a sound absorbing panel, has been shortlisted for the 2016 Good Design Awards while EnduroMax™, a high performance commercial acoustic wall panel, has been selected as a finalist for the Endeavour Awards. Good Design Australia is Australia’s longest standing national design award and promotion program. With over 50 years of design benchmarking, the program focuses on raising the standard of design and innovation on a local and global scale. AcoustiSorb™ is also in the running to receive a Good Design Selection and/or Good Design Award. Results will be announced at the Good Design Awards Gala Night at the Overseas Passenger Terminal in Sydney on May 27. Nominated for the product design: hardware and building category; AcoustiSorb™ is a new composite acoustic wall panel designed to significantly reduce noise in all directions, helping to create a peaceful environment for residents and workers affected by noise.

Supported by Manufacturers’ Monthly, the Endeavour Awards celebrates the diverse success and innovations in the manufacturing industry. EnduroMax™ is now a finalist in the industrial product and best technology categories. Designed to tackle the growing issues relating to urban noise, this ultra-high impact and vandal resistant solution offers superior acoustic performance and is ideal for urban expansion projects like roadways, rail corridors and high traffic areas.

EnduroMax™ was recently pre-approved as a supplier to the Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads to address the growing urban noise issues along major highways and road corridors. This government department has extremely stringent supplier criteria which EnduroMax™ passed with flying colours. Nick Holden, Company Founder and CEO, is committed to developing new, cutting edge solutions that meet the needs of any boundary wall project. It is an honour to have our star performer in sound absorption products progress this far in the judging process. Fingers crossed for a winning entry!

Modular Wall Systems™ welcomed a visit from Treasurer Scott Morrison MP

Last week Modular Wall Systems™ was thrilled to receive a visit from Federal Treasurer and Liberal MP, The Hon Scott Morrison, and the Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Small Business, Kelly O’Dwyer. The Ministers took time out of their busy schedules to tour the factory, chat to staff and discuss business policy with our executive team.

With the government focused on innovation as one the key drivers for economic growth in Australia, the Ministers were interested to learn how Modular Wall Systems™ exemplifies innovation success and discuss the challenges and opportunities facing the manufacturing sector in Australia today.

With Modular Wall Systems™ innovative products playing a disruptive role in an otherwise defensive industry, the company is an emerging leader in the modular building industry. Their product range is considered an alternative to traditional building products where aesthetically appealing noise walls and acoustic solutions are required.

The visit was an opportunity for the Ministers to receive first hand insight into what makes Modular Wall Systems™ a current business success story and how the company thrives on opportunities to solve the complex, invent the new, and deliver the breakthrough solutions and products our customers and stakeholders desire. Modular Wall Systems™ has worked hard to become a leader in the modular building products industry and has built a strong market position by delivering an innovative product range that offers a genuine cost effective alternative to traditional materials.

Nick Holden, Company Founder and CEO, is dedicated to continually designing and inventing new and superior products – resulting in significant business growth. Of particular interest being discussed in the visit were the expansion plans for Modular Wall Systems in 2016, and the new manufacturing facility currently being built at Kurnell. The Ministers also heard more about Modular Wall Systems’ scalable manufacturing operations that will see the business growth and productivity outputs increase significantly once the new purpose built factory is completed. It was a pleasure to welcome Scott Morrison and Kelly O’Dwyer to The Modular Wall Systems™ factory in Sydney’s Caringbah, and we thank them for taking the time to visit and learn more about the benefits of our acoustic Modular Walls Systems™.

CEO Magazine Feature – Shaking up an industry

A business idea that came about by chance has evolved into a highly successful operation thanks to its founder’s penchant for innovation and pushing the boundaries.

In 2004, young entrepreneur Nick Holden took an opportunity that, unbeknown to him, would lead him to great career success. He appeared on the ABC’s television show The New Inventors to showcase his concept of a composite boundary walling system, which was developed while he was renovating a house to on-sell, and passers-by took notice.

“Council restrictions stopped me from building a brick wall out the front of the house that I had bought. I wanted a masonry look, and they were unwilling to compromise,” says Nick.

With his father in a successful manufacturing business, and having access to his tools and machinery, Nick overcame this hurdle by creating what was to blossom into the first commercial version of a composite wall that looked like rendered brick but satisfied council’s requirements of not having any continuous foundations. “From there on, I got a lot of interest from people passing by,” Nick comments. Based on this interest and a passion for manufacturing, Nick started making the product from inside a small factory unit, and Modular Wall Systems™ was born.

nick-ceoSeveral months later, Nick came across an advertisement for The New Inventors and decided to give his idea a shot in front of the panel of judges. “I thought I would apply and have a go because it would be good publicity and couldn’t hurt,” he explains. “At that point, I, was the business. I made the coffee for myself, I answered the phone, I did the accounts, I manufactured the product, and I trained the installers. However, after my appearance on the show, literally the following day, I received hundreds of phone calls from people wanting to purchase the product.”
The positive response was overwhelming and demand was quickly increasing, so Nick realised his boutique operation had to scale up, and fast.

Today, Nick is proud to say that Modular Wall Systems™ is on an upward trend to turn over AU$20 million, employs more than 30 full-time staff, and has thousands of happy customers and contractors all over Australia. The business has also just completed construction of a new modern manufacturing facility, which is four times larger than the previous one.

“I look back on the rapid growth we have achieved and wonder how I ever survived! But I do what I do because I love it. I bounce out of bed every morning to design and manufacture new products and machinery.

“There was nothing else like it in the market place before we kicked off in 2004, so I suppose we invented what is now the modular wall category. I could see the market potential for the product growing, which only inspired me to work harder and faster.”

Nick has grown the company’s product portfolio greatly since 2004, and into other diverse areas of noise abatement. He is always encouraging his team to stretch the boundaries and to come up with new ways of doing things. “Innovation has been, and will always be, a crucial part of the business,” he says. Nick believes in unwavering persistence: “Make every second of your day count and never give up if you believe in the outcome. If you are not an expert in that field, then make yourself one.

“Our brick-and-masonry alternative modular wall range continues to be a large portion of our business, and when residential customers realise they can build a wall that looks identical to masonry for half the cost of bricks, it’s not surprising, really. We have recently launched an architectural-look fencing product called SlimWall, which is only 50 millimetres thick, lightweight, quick to install, and is cost effective given its aesthetically superior to traditional timber or metal fencing.

“Within the commercial division, we have seen huge demand from blue-chip customers seeking an alternative to concrete, masonry, and other forms of higher cost noise walls and perimeters.
“At Modular Wall Systems, we will always keep pushing the boundaries of innovation. We have recently developed a variety of high-strength sound-absorbing composite panels that have been extremely well received, and we are currently commercialising a new product for the roadway and rail corridor barrier market which is made from over 90% recycled materials.”
While Nick used to be a one-man band in the research and development department, the R&D team has grown significantly, and the entire organisation is instilled with an innovative, can-do culture. From the sales team to the factory floor, Nick has done every job at some stage of his journey, and has built an energetic team that is driven to think about new products, to find creative solutions for customer requirements, and to remain the industry leader.

“As the innovative disruptive player in the long-established and mature industry that is noise walls, everything that we do has to push the boundaries of new design and manufacturing techniques. We create and retain a point of difference—it’s our competitive advantage; it’s why we exist.”

Looking forward, Nick will continue to push hard, while also prioritising the need to nurture vital relationships with key suppliers and trade partners. He says supply-chain partnerships are vital to all of Modular Wall Systems’ operations. “Raw materials are sourced locally, and everything we do is Australian designed and manufactured. The challenge now is to go from being a medium-sized business to a large one,” he concludes. “We are striving to triple revenues in the next three years.”

 

Acoustically Rated Top Mount Wall for Global Foodservice Retailer – McDonalds, Moss Vale, NSW

When leading global Foodservice retailer McDonalds builds a new restaurant they rely on the best and so Modular Walls Systems™ was specified on the plans by Richmond+Ross consulting engineers for this new store construction. The development application (DA) for the site on the corner of Robertson Road and Argyle Street in Moss Vale came with council requirements of a perimeter acoustic barrier wall shielding the drive-thru and car-park activity from neighbouring residents. Given it’s a custom design McDonalds store (that will not be replicated anywhere in Australia) specifically tailored to link the restaurant with the heritage and character of Moss Vale, aesthetics of the perimeter wall was critical.

The solution offered by Modular Wall Systems™ was a 70 metre long x up to 2.4 metre high VogueWall™ utilising the sound reflecting and high impact resistant AcoustiMax™ 75 panels providing a noise reduction of almost 30dBa. The whole wall was fitted to the top of the new core-filled block wall by core-drilling and grouting core-hole post receptors into the block wall. Because of its decorative and versatile design, the VogueWall™ perfectly met the aesthetic requirements.    Testament to the success of this acoustically rated wall is that Modular Wall Systems™ is now assisting the construction team with another acoustically rated wall at McDonalds in Bligh Park by providing a turnkey solution from concept drawings, detailed design through to installation.

It’s Official – Modular Wall Systems™ Pre-approved Supplier to Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads

As the urban sprawl continues to stretch beyond metropolitan centres, communities are seeking ways to protect themselves from noise related issues associated with new developments and the infrastructure that services our growing cities.

Leading innovators of cost effective commercial acoustic walls, Modular Wall Systems™ has announced it has been pre-approved as a preferred supplier to the Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads with its proprietary EnduroMax™ high performance commercial wall panel solution. Designed to address for ultra high impact and vandal resistance with superior noise and acoustic performance related issues, EnduroMax™ was subjected to rigorous testing to ensure it met the stringent criteria of the MRTS15 accreditation.

Nick Holden, founder of Modular Wall Systems™, commented: “The Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads is known to have the toughest specifications in Australia. We are proud to see EnduroMax™ panels that span up to 4.2 metres, exceed these requirements and be considered for future projects within the state. With its superior performance, noise control and aesthetic appeal, we are confident the system will be well received by residents directly affected by urban expansion projects, and adopted more widely by other government bodies, councils and contractors throughout the country.”

Several Australian motorways continue to use outdated building materials to create a barrier between homeowners and motorists. Designed to be a disruptor to traditional wall system materials – such as concrete – EnduroMax™ is built and engineered for extreme and demanding environments. Typically used for road ways, rail corridors, high traffic areas, car parks or whenever superior impact, vandal protection, extended design life or noise attenuation is required. A durable and lightweight panel solution that’s easy to install along traffic corridors so advantageous to civil contractors and installers. Offering high residential visual appeal with commercial performance, EnduroMax™ has no ‘preferred’ side. Both sides of the wall system provide a polished, consistent finish. For further information, contact 1300 556 957 or visit www.modularwalls.com.au

Acoustic Absorption Success at Goodman Fielder Bakery Outlet

Following the removal of a redundant warehouse located north of The Goodman Fielder Bakery warehouse site, neighbouring residential property owners were exposed to the constant drone and vibration from forklifts, dump trucks, skip bin removal and replacement activity in and around the bakeries bread return area. This is an area where reject and return bread is disposed of via skip-bins. Goodman Fielder, being an environmentally conscious asset owner, wanted to act quickly in resolving the multitude of neighbour complaints and engaged an acoustic engineer who in-turn contacted Modular Wall Systems™ for a noise absorption solution. Not only did the solution need to meet the acoustic requirements but with so much operational vehicle activity near this area, safety and clear visibility for all forklift and truck operators was paramount.

At the coalface of the noise source was a 30m long x 5.1 High GuardianWall™ constructed with our proprietary AcoustiMax™ 75 panels which provided outstanding noise abatement. Each end of this wall had clear Plexiglas windows incorporated within the wall panel for safety so that operators could see approaching vehicular and pedestrian traffic on the other side. A secondary wall was constructed along the grain silo loading area and adjacent to the main bakery building. The close proximity between the two structures meant a sound absorbing solution was required. This wall was a 40 metre long x 4.1 metre high BarrierWall™ incorporating our proprietary composite sound absorbing panel – AcoustiSorb™ 75. These panels absorb over 90% of the airborne sound meaning there is no reverberation whilst maintaining a high transmission loss.

Modular Innovations welcomes new investors to fund growth

9 December 2015

 

Modular Innovations is pleased to announce that Evolve Private Capital and Verde Group have agreed to invest in the business to help accelerate growth.

Following exceptional growth in recent years, Modular Innovations has decided to significantly expand its manufacturing operations and corporate headquarters in Southern Sydney. With strong customer demand and a range of new & innovative products currently being launched across all 3 divisions, Founder and CEO Nick Holden decided it was time to bring in external equity funding and to implement a professional Board structure to assist with the transition from a successful small business to an emerging leader in the modular building products industry. “I am excited by the opportunity to accelerate our growth and to expand our manufacturing operations. It was pleasing to see inbound interest from private equity seeking to partner with us on our journey. I am proud of our team here at Modular Innovations and the hard work they dedicate each week to ensure we continue to exceed our customer demands – without which nothing else would be possible”.

Evolve Private Capital is led by Jason Cachia who previously worked for many years in private equity and investment banking, with a focus on partnering with high growth businesses. “I was attracted to Modular Innovations due to its strong market position, innovative product range, superior technology and highly scalable manufacturing operations. Nick’s vision and proven ability to create innovative products that play a disruptive role in an otherwise defensive industry is quite unique. I have seen hundreds of businesses during my years in private equity and the opportunity to invest in Modular Innovations was too good to pass up. The positive culture and can-do attitude visible within the business led by General Manager Jason Harvey are a big attraction for any investor”.

Verde Group is led by Michael Derin, who founded chartered accounting firm Azure Group and has been financial adviser to Modular Innovations for the past 3 years. “Having worked with Modular Innovations to assist with their strategy in recent years, I have gained a good appreciation for the potential of this business. Working closely with Nick, Jason and the broader management team has given me great confidence that Modular Innovations will continue to grow into an Australian manufacturing success story”.

Jason Cachia will join the Board as Chairman and Michael Derin will join as a Non Executive Director. General Manager of the business, Jason Harvey, has also invested in the business and will join the Board as an Executive Director. Nick Holden will remain as the largest shareholder and CEO of the business, and continue to lead the overall business into the next phase of its evolution.

– ENDS –

Download Media Release Below.

 Modular Innovations – Media Release

ThermaMax Designed For Origin Energy

In a first for Australia horizontal gas flares were being installed for a new gas extraction project in remote QLD. Due to the highly sensitive nature of the projects, security concerns and harmful potential should anyone be exposed to the radiant heat Modular Walls designed and installed 15 purpose built thermally resistant enclosures.

Specification

Be able to resist a constant temperature of 120 degrees on the inside whilst the exterior face reached no more than 60 degrees
42 000 m2 of walls where installed
Length 280 lineal metres per enclosure x 15 enclosures
Typical heights from 9 metres – 11 metres

Features 

• High thermal and sound reduction qualities in one panel
• Modular lightweight installation
• Composite construction allows for easy customisation to accommodate job specific thermal requirements
• Over clad with a variety of finishes

With increased urbanisation, environmental and OH&S concerns, mining and energy companies have faced augmented regulation with regards to visual amenity, heat and noise emission, OH&S
compliance and carbon footprint reduction.

In direct response to exacting requirements for a billion dollar gas extraction project, Modular Wall Systems™ developed the ThermaMax™ panel to provide a modular thermal heat control solution that was not previously available. This was specifically used to provide a thermal security perimeter to open flare burn off points. The panel was then over clad with corrugated sheeting to provide a durable and weather resistant finish.