Breaking into a new market can be difficult, even for an established, award-winning business.
South Australian-based commercial swimming pool company Hydrilla has an enviable reputation in its home state, which means it can win work through established relationship and word of mouth. It didn’t have the same network in Western Australia.
That’s why the company used ICN Gateway to look for opportunities, landing a contract to build two Olympic sized resort pools for Mineral Resources’ Onslow Iron project in the west Pilbara.
Hydrilla submitted an EOI via Gateway hoping to further expand into Western Australia. Winning the tender means the company has been able to establish a foothold in the West.
But winning the project via Gateway has given Hydrilla a “backdoor” opportunity to leverage decades of experience and win work across state lines. So much so that the company now has staff based in the West, travelling between Perth and the remote mine site.
“We’ve come to appreciate that Western Australia is a very big state,” Himal Kandel, Hydrilla General Manager said.
“We are doing more and more projects there and hoping to maintain that momentum.”
Having staff on the ground will now mean Hydrilla can continue to network and build its reputation in Western Australia.
This is also good news for local and Indigenous communities, with Hydrilla committed to employing local where possible.
While some of the work needs hydraulic expertise, the company ‘gives everyone a fair chance;’ when hiring unskilled labour.
Established in 1987 as State Wide Pool Services, Hydrilla focuses on commercial aquatic projects throughout South Australia and Northern Territory.
An expansion in the 1990s saw the company undertake projects in other states including Victoria and Tasmania.
Its commercial design and construct projects have included:
- aquatic centres and public swimming pools
- hydrotherapy and warm water exercise pools
- splash pads and water parks
- apartment pools and elevated construction.
Hydrilla also does commercial swimming pool renovation, repairs, and maintenance, as well as installation and repair of water treatment systems.
It has several national awards to its name, including most recently a Gold for Commercial Renovation and for Commercial System in the 2023 Swimming Pool and Spa Associations’ (SPASA) National Awards of Excellence.
Onslow Iron is one of the largest iron ore projects currently under development in Western Australia. The project is forecast to ship around 35 million tonnes of iron ore per year, with an expected mine life of 30 plus years.
MinRes will deliver all mining services and infrastructure for the project including a crushing plant, autonomous road trains, 150 kilometre dedicated haul road, port infrastructure, transhipping services and resort-style accommodation.
The Olympic sized pools will be part of the resort-style accommodation, which includes a 500-room village at Ken’s Bore mine site and a 250-room village at Onslow.
To learn more about Hydrilla, go to hydrilla.com.au.
