Samaras Structural Engineers

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4 is a longstanding market leader in the delivery of complete steel structure fabrication. For roughly 40 years, they have been handling projects across the entire spectrum of steel fabrication, providing solutions that meet even the most challenging of customer requirements. The company was first founded in 1974 by brothers Michael and Ignatius Samaras. They commenced in a small workshop with only a handful of employees, servicing only the local area. Today, has one of the largest facilities in the country a huge 75,000 square metre purpose-built site at Gillman, South Australia, which includes a massive undercover workshop of 24,000 square metres. Within those facilities, Samaras Structural Engineers has the equipment and expertise to perform and control all aspects of major projects in house. Their services include: project management, shop detailing, steel fabrication, abrasive blasting and protective treatment, nationwide delivery, off-site assembly, and structural steel and precast erec-

5 -tion. In addition, Samaras has one of the largest crane hire fleets in Australia, while also offering shutdown and relocation, general building, and design and construction services. According to Chief Financial officer Chris Krotiris, the company now regularly takes on complex, architecturally-designed projects that require up to 600 tonnes of steel. Not many of their competitors can take on jobs of that size and scope, which is one of Samaras key competitive advantages. Another advantage, Chris says, is their customer focus, which is at the forefront of everything they do. We really put the customer first, he explains. That s our philosophy. That s a huge distinguishing factor between us and our competitors nationwide. Customers know that when they come to Samaras, they will get 100 per cent commitment. They know we will go beyond the call of duty. We really like to ensure we leave no stone unturned, both from an operational perspective in terms of project delivery, but

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7 also from a risk perspective, Chris continues. Customers can feel very confident that when they bring us on board, that not only are we going to deliver a good project, but we re also going to mitigate and manage the risks all the way through. That s so critical to builders, who are our main customers. It makes their job so much easier, and it s a strong focus of ours. back up their customer-centric philosophy with concrete results. By taking a partnering approach, they ensure the clients objectives are all achieved, and projects are consistently done on time, on budget, and on schedule. As a result, the company tends to form strong and long-lasting relationships with the people they work with. Chris says that s particularly important in South Australia, which he describes as a relationship driven state. Australia generally is, but South Australia is in particular, he says. So our ethos is all about making sure we engage with customers the right way. That also means telling them the truth and having hard conversa-

8 tions but the hard conversations are fair, and all about creating a win-win outcome. When we have a problem together, we come up with a solution together. Customers really appreciate that. One way Samaras earns that appreciation is by getting involved with clients at the early stages of a project, so they can help valueengineer the design, and save the client money and time down the road. Chris says they have earned a lot of repeat work based on that ability. VALUE ENGINEERING Over the years, Samaras Group has been involved in a long list of high profile steel fabrication projects. Recently, for example, they helped complete thelandmark SACA Adelaide Oval Western Grandstand Redevelopment, which was recognised with a prestigious 2014 Steel Excellence Award. That s a nice accolade to receive, and it reiterates the good work that we do, Chris says. We don t work for awards, however. We don t start a job and say, Let s make sure

9 we get an award for this. But awards are welcome by-products to what we re doing. It reinforces that we re doing the right things, we re producing good work, and we re developing good relationships. The real reward is personal, Chris adds. It comes later, when they drive around the city and see completed projects like the Adelaide Oval which he describes as one of the best sports stadiums in the country. To see it, touch it, and see so many people getting joy out of it knowing that we were a huge part of that is a really satisfying feeling, he says. Getting recognised for that is just icing on the cake. In partnership with Built Environs, SACA, Aurecon, Cox Architects, and HAS- SELL, Samaras helped complete the Redevelopment on schedule and on budget, providing local and international cricket lovers with a 14,000-seat grandstand, members bar, and dining room all in time for the recent Ashes Series. For their part, successfully fabricated and erected the 6,000 square metre Diagrid Roof Structure,

10 which included six 35-tonne primary trusses cantilevering from the rear of the grandstand, supported by roof columns that were cut into the upper bowl. According to Chris, that roof structure has spans of up to 55 metres, while only weighing roughly 432 tonnes. As such, itrecognised as one of the lightest roof forms in Australia for such spans. Design workshops were conducted to develop and finalise the final steel roof design,and the final design and documentation, Chris recalls. Early design development involvement with the design team, engineers, architects, and the client also enabled us to provide crucial input and 3D Modelling to ensure the final design was constructible and met client objectives. Chris explains that trial assemblies of the Diagrid Roof Structure were conducted at the company spurpose-built site at Gillman prior to installation onsite, ensuring risk-free perfect alignment of the roof structure during the onsite activities. That was the most critical part of the job, Chris explains. We have such a big yard, so once we fabricated the materials and just before we painted them we assembled the entire roof in yard. So we knew that when it got to site, every bolt and every piece of steel would fit like a jigsaw puzzle. And if any issues did arise, we could iron them out before they hit the construction site. That was a huge critical advantage. The customer was very satisfied with that. According to Chris, Samaras Structural Engineers wanted to be part of the Adelaide Oval project as soon as it was announced,

11 and they were lucky enough to be involved with the builder right from the outset. The company was able to offer their value-engineering services right from the design stage, and Chris partly credits their successful result to that fact. He also credits the award-worthy product to the company s other stakeholders their skilled staff members, as well as their dedicated roster of subcontractors and suppliers. As part of their mission statement, Samaras aims to form exceptionally strong relationships with both those groups. They want to be both an employer of choice as well as a customer of choice. We have very good relationships all around, Chris says. It s very easy to just focus on your customer relationships, because they re the ones paying you the money, but that s not our attitude at all. We take a very collaborative and partnership approach with everyone we work with. We like to go back to the same people, because that culture translates to good quality and good performance. In the future, Chris says Samaras will continue to subscribe to that philosophy, and continue delivering successful results on iconic projects like Adelaide Oval as a result. Projects like that one are right up our alley, he explains. There are only a handful of fabricators in the country that can do those, because they are so architecturally complex and the fabrication requirements are so precise. You need a certain skillset, level of competence, capacity, and capability in order to deliver and that s what Samaras Structural Engineers has.

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