SADB
On track to double business
Another Campbelltown City Council success story
SADB was established in 1995 by Michael De Vizio as an off shoot to his father Vince De Vizio’s Business, SA Tree and Stump Removal. On the back of an envelope Vince and Michael created the idea of SADB and from humble beginnings with only three staff, SADB has grown into a well-known SA Civil Construction Company employing over 80 staff members.
At the heart of this growth is a people-first philosophy that is displayed throughout all components of the business. In fact, Vince De Vizio, now retired, still walks into the office every day to keep connected with both the business and the people.
Michael Fioravanti, General Manager of SADB, also subscribes to this principle. Aided by his business performance improvement background, Michael has further growth plans in place for the company. ‘One of the things we are focused on at the moment is creating efficiencies in the business through continuous improvement philosophy,’ Michael shared.
Hand in hand with team growth also comes new space requirements. ‘Today we have many millions of dollars’ worth of equipment,’ Michael explained. ‘We have to have the people, assets and plant required to facilitate employees being able to do their job. Our greatest assets are our people.’ With their previous locations at Campbelltown, Newton and Payneham no longer able to accommodate their needs, the business moved to a new site at Newton in 2009, where they now enjoy 13,500 sqm of space.
While the business has enjoyed many good times, the pandemic has had short and long-term impacts. As an essential service, the SADB team were still required to support the State with the upgrade and installation of vital underground assets. At the height of the pandemic, SADB made a commitment to do their best to keep all their staff gainfully employed.
After seamlessly navigating being asked to continue working in unprecedented conditions, SADB now faces the challenge of attracting the right talent. ‘Part of the fallout of Covid is that there was obviously no population growth or movement. We are now seeing the aftereffects of that. Trying to find people to hire is proving a massive challenge,’ Michael said. However, as SADB is a well-established company they can offer permanent positions, in which they strive to employ staff who are local to Campbelltown and surrounding communities.
In the last two months alone, SADB has been able to employ 9 people. For Michael, the magic number would be another 15 employees. ‘We are fortunate to be in an industry that has got a lot of work. One of the limitations is that we only have so many people to deliver this work. The project is only as good as the contractors involved,’ Michael explained.
Thanks to his background in business performance improvement, Michael is continually working on ways to improve both small and large facets of the business. One such improvement centres around the attraction strategy. ‘A major marketing focus at the moment is working on representing ourselves as an employer of choice. We want to show that we are an organisation that looks after our people,’ Michael said.
Such is the integral nature of people to SADB; improvement strategies encompass both potential hires and current employees. ‘I’ve been here 15 months, and the first thing I did was an organisation re-design,’ Michael shared. ‘I had a look at the structure to see if we had the right foundation for current and future growth and looked to employ an operations coordinator to make sure that the people in our plant are being used in optimal ways,’ he added.
Michael and the team are also in the midst of developing a proper fleet strategy. This means putting policies and procedures in place that stipulate the image SADB wants to reflect. ‘There is almost no part of the business that we are not currently reviewing,’ Michael noted.
By having weekly and monthly meetings with management and field staff, at the heart of this change is making sure that internal communication and education is paramount. This way, whether working in the office or out on site, everyone feels comfortable in their role and supported.
While SADB is on track to meet the goal of doubling the size of the business over the next 7 years, equal credence is given to elements of people, efficiency and business development. All of which lays the foundation for the team to confidently and competently provide specialised services in civil works, horizontal directional drilling, project management and more areas for many years to come.
‘When it comes to our business, location is important,’ Michael noted. Having moved to the Newton area in 2009, SADB has been able to enjoy increased space, a centralised starting point in terms of location when having to travel for meetings or out to the site and, importantly, access to the great food prevalent throughout the Campbelltown City Council area! ‘The Council is really adept at providing support and opportunities to local businesses,’ Michael added.
Keeping the community top of mind, SADB is also a proud supporter of the Little Heroes Foundation, which supports seriously ill children. Sponsorship has also been provided locally to the Hectorville Cricket Club, Rostrevor Old Collegians’ Football Club and the Campbelltown Council Stage Finish of the Tour Down Under. ‘We sponsor a lot of organisations,’ Michael noted. ‘Our philosophy as a company has always been to invest in the community and have a community focus. I think that trickles down from being a family-owned and operated business,’ he added.
Business tips
Michael’s business tips are:
- Invest in people. People are the core of your business and the reason why strategies you want to implement succeed or fail. Taking the time to value communication and education helps people embrace new ideas and champion the business.
- Do what you do and do it well. However, always look at how you can do it better. Small, incremental changes consistently over time will help you improve. A continuous improvement mindset will ensure you never get too comfortable.
- Make space for recognition. Businesses can spend a lot of time problem-solving and pointing out things that are wrong. We also need to make sure that we are positively recognising the investment and commitment of individuals and teams. Recognition can be verbal or shown through the likes of a small gift.
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