Cavalier Homes has a reason to be proud as the company gets ready to take on the world market in building quality homes.

After making a name for itself on the Gold Coast in 1991, Cavalier Homes has grown to become one of the largest residential building companies in Australia. The company has also achieved significant exposure in the New Zealand market, and is starting up an office in Malaysia later this year.

Through national and global integration, the company now has over 60 franchises Australia wide and 14 in New Zealand, building about 1,200 houses a year.

Director Gus Bemportato started the company and never thought it would get as big as it is now. But the brand quickly found a niche, offering design-driven housing solutions for people wanting something different at a value-for-money price. “We started as a small building company and grew from there to set up display homes and became a project home builder,” says Gus. “After expanding through to Coffs Harbour, we never looked back. We now build just as many houses in Victoria as we do in Queensland, where we started.”

Cavalier Homes decided to make the move into franchising in 1998, targeting quality-driven builders in key regional locations to come on board as franchisees. This meant new home clients in regional locations could deal with a local builder, supported by the design range and buying power of one of Australia’s largest building companies.

“Our goal was to take project home building into country areas with a brand name,” Gus informs, “so that clients in those areas are dealing with a local identity rather than a big firm that’s in a city office.”

In that respect, Cavalier Homes is similar to the IGA concept – the local person owns and runs the store. “It creates a more consistent stream of communication,” Gus highlights. “We know that they are getting looked after, and we don’t have a high level of complexity with clients around the country. As well as this, in a country town the word spreads quickly, so you can’t afford to slip up and must attend to issues promptly, as your reputation can go down quickly.”

While using the city office as a larger base, Cavalier Homes is making its services very well known in the towns of Bendigo, Ballarat, Shepparton and Albury–Wodonga. “We control each franchise through our national franchising office, which is based in Robina, Queensland, and we set procedures, policies and guides for what our regional offices can and can’t display, and the types of signs they can put up. What we’re trying to do is be consistent everywhere, like a McDonald’s, in that whatever town you are in, you will see the same signage for the same company.”

Now Cavalier Homes has its sights set on taking over the Asian market, and six months ago went over to Kuala Lumpur in the hope of setting up a franchising office with the intention of franchising throughout Malaysia. Dreams became a reality, and the company has set up the office and employed some staff. “We thought it would be harder,” admits Gus, “but we were shocked that everybody over there had already heard of Cavalier Homes, so we got accepted straightaway by the people we were talking to. They want us over there as soon as possible.

“Having a lot of support from our suppliers and subcontractors has made it easier. Many of the suppliers are already over there, which makes it easier to identify with new clients.”

Subcontractors and suppliers have played a crucial role in the company’s growth and success over the past 20 years, and they have therefore supported the company’s decision to expand. “Without the subcontractors and suppliers, I don’t think we would be where we are today,” Gus comments. “They have supported us and helped us produce the quality product that we offer every day.”

Some subcontractors will even be joining the team in Kuala Lumpur, as they set up a training program similar to TAFE there. “They want us to train the local population into the way we build here in Australia,” Gus reveals. “Consequently, we are starting up an apprenticeship program whereby we will set up a college and our subcontractors will train them in all sorts of areas. The Malaysian people are very keen to learn our way of doing things. For example, bricklaying is very ordinary in Malaysia, as they don’t use levels. As well as this, they haven’t got their heads around steel framing which is an area that Australia, thanks to the steel promotion by BHP, is very cluey in. We can help out in so many areas.”

While requiring a great deal of corporate responsibility, obviously the benefits of setting up this kind of training system in Malaysia are extensive for the company itself, and opportunities are many. “Most subcontractors are cost-based for the area they are in,” Gus explains. “So we work with the costs that are in that area, and price the houses to match them. However, working in Malaysia, costs will be a lot lower. The interest rate over there is 2.1 per cent, which is unbelievable compared to what we are paying here. As well as this, if you drive around the city, the amount of construction going on is huge, and on these developments we are able to work to the local pricing.”

In saying this, the company must ensure it is maintaining quality and getting the best subcontractors for the job. When sourcing suppliers, the company goes and physically checks out their work and makes sure they are recommended. “We like references, and we check them out to make sure they can do what they say they can and what we require them to do,” Gus points out. “Then we give them a job; and if they do that okay, we give them more. We’ve got forms and procedures and quality checks that we use throughout our network as well. This not only occurs with the suppliers and subcontractors, but the clients who are buying from us.”

The clients have the opportunity to rate Cavalier throughout the service. “Quite often, our qualities tick very highly,” Gus affirms. “Nevertheless, you don’t always get the right answers you want to hear, but it’s something to help your business if you get an honest appraisal. So the feedback from our clients is very important to us.”

This secure relationship with clients ensures that Cavalier sticks by its motto: ‘Real homes … real people’. The company supplies homes to people who need a home regardless of the house they are looking for and the kind of price range. The company therefore has a very strong following and consumer base. “If you look around the country at how many families are reliant on earning the dollar from Cavalier, it would be enormous,” states Gus.

As a result of this instilled loyalty, the company has dependable suppliers and subcontractors who have worked with the company for a long time. “We give them work, pay them, and ensure that they feel as though they are part of the brand,” Gus assures. “A lot of the subcontractors have been with us since day one, and we just keep feeding them work while they keep producing the product. I feel that I have never changed as a person, and this is the main reason that I still hold great relationships with subcontractors. It is so important not to lose touch.”

“We are also looking at South Africa,” Gus concludes. “A lot of South Africans have invested in Australian properties, so the brand is well known.”

Cavalier is genuine in trying to improve the experience of building, and will continue to put the client at the centre of everything the company and franchisees do across an international landscape.

We will be seeing a lot more of Cavalier Homes in the future as it aims to become the McDonald’s of homebuilding companies.