BGC Construction helps build innovative university partnership

BGC Plumbing‘Best SecondYear Apprentice’Looma High School girls winners.Canning Stock Route ChallengeBGC Contracting’s Kimberley Depot was proud to be a sponsor of this year’s Canning Stock Route Challenge.The Canning Stock Route Challenge is an annual event run by the Western Australian Country Health Service.The aim of the Challenge is to encourage schools in the Kimberley region to promote and educate students in thebenefits of good health and nutrition. Type Two Diabetes is a problem in the region and the adoption of healthylifestyle behaviours is a key strategy for the prevention of this and other lifestyle diseases.Each class that participates in the Challenge is provided with a map of the Canning Stock Route and stickersrepresenting wells along the route. Wells are awarded to each team for activities (ie: 15 minutes physical activity =1 well; 1 Healthy Lifestyle Lesson = 5 wells). The team that has completed a minimum of 5 Healthy LifestyleLessons and travelled a minium of 58 wells of physical activity (14.5 hours over 8 weeks) is awarded a prize.On 20th November 2003Brett Davey (BGC PlumbingSouth West Apprentice) wasawarded the MPA South West“Best Second Year Apprentice”award. Brett has been with BGCPlumbing since December 2002,area Manager Mark Wilcox isvery pleased with his progressand nominated him for theaward after his personalobservations of Brett andreceiving much positive feedbackregarding his work from bothclients and sub contractors.BGC donated $150 to two categories:BGC Make a Healthy Food Choice Activity was won by Looma Remote Community High School Girls“Looma Eagle Girls” (Ages 13 – 16 category).The girls won their category by:• Performing dances and preparing healthy food for the community guest.• Putting on a healthy food breakfast for the Looma Eagles football team.• A canoe trip promoting healthy living and exercise and preparing healthy food for the participants.BGC Performing or Visual Arts Activity category was won by Wyndham District High School.The Wyndham District High School students prepared and produced a healthy lifestyle video presentation.Carlson Daniels (Quality/Safety/Environment/Customer Relations for BGC Kimberley) was proud to representBGC in judging the impressive entries of the participants.Brett DaveyWhat brick shortage?In a market plagued by building delays and brick shortages, Blokpavehas released a totally new range of readily available face bricks whichutilise popular materials such as limestone and laterite.This timely release will help alleviate delays in new home construction,which because of brick shortages, can often last up to four months.According to Rino Marsala, Manager Research and Design for BGCHousing, these new products are the result of some inspired thinkingfrom our builders and designers. “Perth’s love affair with limestone andother natural materials is well known, but unfortunately until now, theuse of these natural materials has been restricted by their cost and theirlack of availability in an easy to use form,” he said .“These new products are especially suited to modern homes that relyon more than one material for the construction of their external walls.Our designers look for new products that can be either used alone, or incombination with conventional materials,” he added.Through the utilisation of state-of-the-art technology, the productdevelopment team at Blokpave were able to reproduce the look of pure,naturally formed limestone, in a conventional two course house brickconsisting of 90% limestone. According to Sales Manager Ernie Tesconi,the new ‘limestone brick’ costs no more than a conventional clay brick,and makes it feasible to substitute it in the construction of a typical newhome, at no additional cost.“The process is highly versatile and any natural granular material canbe utilized to manufacture readily usable building materials. For example,when combined with the special mortar the company has prepared,laterite or ‘pea gravel’ from Bindoon creates the appearance of apreformed, cast rammed earth wall,” said Mr Tesconi.Additional products are being developed incorporating building wasteand other recycled materials. Internal bricks, that are to be rendered, canbe manufactured from recycled building materials and other inert wasteproducts resulting in the conservation of natural resources.The new brick products, ‘Limestone’ and ‘Natural Earth’, are inabundant supply and to complement this range, come with all theaccessories such as fractions, sill bricks and angle squints.For more information, please call Blokpave on 1300 360 344.6