WEALTH OF OPPORTUNITY

MILLIONS of dollars’ worth of contracts are up for grabs for Gold Coast businesses in the lead up to the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

Minister for Tourism, Major Events, Small Business and the Commonwealth Games Jann Stuckey says the event will be the largest of its kind in Australia in a decade.

This in turn creates a number of opportunities for small businesses, which make up 97.7 per cent of businesses on the Gold Coast according to Stuckey.

“There will be colossal and far reaching benefits, whether they be the significant economic boost, the palpable goodwill and civic pride or the lasting legacy,” she says.

The city will be remodelled with 17 sporting structures, as well as the athlete’s village, creating the need for “hundreds” of products and services.

The Business Opportunities Showcase, in conjunction with Small Business Week, today featured an expert panel outlining the benefits of the Games for local companies.

Speakers included Mark Peters, Carolyn Viney, Phil Colewick and Peter Devenport, here’s what they said:

Mark Peters, GOLDOC CEO

Commonwealth Games partners released a Forward Procurement Plan and Schedule in June, to prepare business owners and maximise potential opportunities.

Peters says small businesses should take advantage of the Forward Procurement Plan’s early release, allowing people to plan for upcoming opportunities.

“We spent a lot of time working with the department to go through previous games and the sort of contracts that will come up and more importantly when they will come up,” he says.

“So you can plan and work with the government and ourselves to identify those opportunities and just as importantly look at how you can work with other companies.

“The reality is not every contract is going to go to a Gold Coast company.”

Peters says GOLDOC is about five per cent into budget spend, with more than 400 contracts and procurement orders going to local companies – worth about $12.5 million.

This includes office design, uniforms, printing, merchandise, recruitment and legal services in the lead up to the Games.

Carolyn Viney, GROCON CEO

GROCON secured the development bid for the athlete’s village in Parklands, with construction to commence early next year.

The construction company will seek world-class partners to create the $500 million facility, a task Viney says is critical to success.

“When we see that tender process, we are interested in the typical capability – which is a given,” Viney says.

“Secondly, we are interested in who these people are, what motivates them and whether they are into the same kinds of things that we are into.

“For instance, working with subcontractors who are as committed to finishing on time as we are.”

Phil Colewick, head of supply chain management London 2012 Olympics

The London 2012 Olympic Games called for the biggest supply chain effort since the World War II and Phil Colewick was at the forefront of organising it.

About $15 billion was spent on goods, services and infrastructure for six weeks of activity, making Colewick the perfect advisor for the Commonwealth Games.

“The more people can get involved and have a chance, the better it is,” he says.

“The Games will come and go, but what you want to do is use that as a stepping stone to continue in the future.”

Colewick says it’s important to build on the legacy of the event and equip business with the knowledge of securing future tenders.

“Think about actually expanding, joining, partnering or collaborating with someone else or a company, to put forward a proposal for a business opportunity.”

Peter Devenport, BDA Architecture managing director

As one of the Gold Coast’s premier architecture firms, BDA Architecture was invited to tender for the $52 million Coomera Sports and Leisure Centre.

Devenport says the team partnered with Peddle Thorpe Melbourne for the submission, to boost industry expertise.

“Fifty per cent of something is a lot better than 100 per cent of nothing,” Devenport says.

“I can recommend to you that the whole idea of partnership and collaboration in our case has been a great one so far.”