Geoff Cements Reputation

He was training young Indigenous and unemployed students in a concreting and steel fixing course.

“I told them that when they finished the course they would be able to build their own house,” Geoff said.

The trainees didn’t believe him, so he set out to prove it could happen.

Mr Clarke is now the director of Chameleon, which is a Central Queensland company using world first technology.

It’s an alternative and more affordable method of constructing complete homes from concrete.

Mr Clarke said the modular system, which cuts the cost of building a home by around $200 per square metre, had the potential to go world-wide.

The company will be put in the international spotlight after he was asked to become a member of the Australia Technology Showcase.

Mr Clarke said while they had received overwhelming interest for the C4 cyclone-rated building, especially after the recent floods and cyclones, to take the small shareholder built company to the next level, they would require support from a large corporation.

“We’ve been inundated with calls following the floods and our resources are stretched to meet the demand,” Mr Clarke said.

“We currently have the capacity to pre-fabricate one and a half homes per month, with the ability to grow to four houses per month. This would create eight more local jobs, an increase from our current six employees.”

He said the business, which was aimed at an owner-builder market, needed the support of the local community to choose the locally owned, operated, designed and manufactured system.

CEO of Capricorn Tourism & Economic Development, Mary Carroll, said the innovative world first module was providing an

opportunity for every individual to achieve the great Australian dream to own their own home.

Mr Clarke said a three bedroom Chameleon modular house on 171.8 square metres was priced from $164,700. He has the skills to train workers to produce the product to meet current demand.

“To increase capacity further, we would need more funding and resources,” he said.

“It has the potential to create hundreds of jobs. I believe this concept could also work well in third world countries.”

The factory, on the outskirts of Rockhampton, is where moulds are used to make concrete panels that contain gutters and down pipes built into the wall panels.

The panels, together with the lightweight concrete roof, are then transported to the construction site where they are erected.

The method allows for the training of local unskilled workers to carry out the majority of the work and does not require a large labour force.

Mr Clarke said the first roof to come out of the plant and offsite to a client was pre-cast last week.