Joe has over 10 years’ experience in concrete structures game. While starting off as an estimator, Joe quickly learned what things really cost after a few years on site experiencing the trials and tribulations in the formwork industry.
It was either shearcourage or what some may call a moment of madness, that lead Joe to start up his own structure company. Which he has never looked back mainly due to the reason that he’s in too deep to ever get out.
Over the last 4 years, Joe has attained a medical degree in clinical psychology (not acknowledged by the State Law though) dealing with other people’s self-inflicted problems and some of his own if he gets around to it.
Besides running the HR Department (it does exist if anyone asks), Joe overseas the day to day running of the family owned business which he has taken the advice of the late Kerry Packer of “work with people smarter than you”. This ensures he is surrounded by great team members and can’t make too many bad decisions on his own.
Nominated as ‘Part time father of the year Award’ for five consecutive years by his wife and three young children, Joe’s ambition is to one day find the person who said “anyone can have a work/life balance” and have him wake up at 3am each day for work and get to sleep by 11pm every night.
But the end of the day, Joe loves coming to an environment where every day is never the same. Being beaten up one day, to then wake the following morning and the world is once again a beautiful place.
He doesn’t always know where he’s going, but he knows he’s always getting there.
In the construction industry we hear many stories, many rumours and much BS. But when Joe Kasalo heard of the rumour that there was a man in our industry dubbed as “The Man Who Knew Too Much”, well Joe had to find him.
Once found Mr Bruce Lu, the man who knows everything (almost, still needs improvement on his parking), Bruce was a breath of fresh air to Kascorp who rarely misses a thing on his estimates. From every detail on every page, to discrepancies in designs from head engineers, Bruce will meticulously scour through the entire project to ensure its as perfect as can be.
Not only does he complete estimates accurately in record time but includes high level programs that provides our clients some level of comfort in their submissions
If you question his accuracy or measure rest assured you will be proven wrong, as many times Joe and Ian are. The only estimator in the industry polite enough and ethical to assist with any questions our clients may require.
Being in his late 20’s, Bruce has spent 35 years of his life providing Builders with “Break Ups” and “Break Ups” and more “Break Ups”, to ensure that they don’t have to do any work themselves and it comes directly out of Kascorp’s overheads as it ‘loves’ to provides a free estimating service.
Joe openly and unashamedly declares to the Kascorp team, that Bruce is his favourite without doubt. In Bruce’s employment contract, Joe stipulated in a clause some say a little unorthodox and his lawyers question its legality, which states
-“clause 2.32 – Should Bruce for no apparent reason push, punch or kick any employee in any unprovoked attack, that employee is to immediately apologize to Bruce for any hurt or stress that Bruce may be suffering from after his actions.” This is not negotiable!
Most genuine and honourable member of the team.
After completing university, Anthony spent the next year wondering what he even studied.
Luckily for him the Formwork Gods bestowed Anthony with the gift of finding his first role working for one of the legendary Icons/Characters in the formwork industry. Where he learned that madness was the norm and common sense was punishable.
However, Anthony’s education in the field allowed him to master his craft and write three bestselling novels on “Why are you doing it wrong?”.
Anthony’s role is one of the most difficult in recorded history, managing construction workers is a challenge that is unforgiving, taking calls at 9.00pm during dinner and then 6.59am as staff call in sick last minute.
As the numbers rise and surpass triple digits, Anthony has single handily introduced systems and procedures to ensure sites are resourced adequately with minimal risk of delay or cost to run a successful project.
Knowing all team members skillsets on site, material stock levels in our yards and ensuring Kascorp’s subcontractors/suppliers are working to the same timelines planned in advanced, means if something doesn’t go according to schedule be sure someone will receive a call from Anthony.
However, with all his strengths of running a tight operation, Anthony still struggles to deal with Joe Kasalo on a daily basis. Questions asked repeatedly,“what is it you’ve actually done productive today” or “can you just leave it alone, you only make things worse”, come out of Anthony’s mouth on most days.
But they have a love / hate relationship that’s why it works so well in business. Where Joe loves Anthony for doing everything, and Anthony hates Joe because his life is made more difficult because of Joe.
Nick was granted full refugee status and arrived in Melbourne over 5 years ago as he fled a war-torn like city named Sydney in NSW. He often talks about the difficulties he experienced in Sydney growing up such as traffic conditions, bad tasting coffee, limited AFL matches and he even stooped so low to become a member of the Greater Western Sydney Giants.
Nick still blesses his lucky stars to this day, after working with the biggest formwork supplier in the world to then joining the Kascorp team after signing an employment contract which he ‘may have’ been informed was a standard site induction form, we’ll let the courts decide on that in the future.
Over the last few years Nick’s ability to murder half the natural rainforest in South America, in order to print every single piece of what he calls ‘B******T’ documentation required to even think about doing any productive work.
New procedures and guidelines have been introduced from Head Contractors to now even Subcontractors, that they must report everything and anything on site, even if it serves no purpose but to waste the companies time and resources in what now has been called in construction circles as ‘Arse Covering Exercises’. We believe this should be taught in childcare and universities.
Being the most reliable, attentive member of the Kascorp team on salary who always comes to work on Saturdays and even all the RDO’s (this has been confirmed from Anthony Edward’s memory bank). Nick’s positive attitude and approachable personality, brings confidence to all that things will be done as best he can do it……….without the whinging associated like most of the pre-Madonnas on site these days. Ooops another HR moment.
The voice of reason and common sense, also the only man in the construction industry that doesn’t carry with him a 50-man orchestra to parade to the world how great and he is to the company and how the world can’t survive without him. He lets his work do the talking which is always noticed by other people who know what work is. Only shortfall is Nick often covers for everyone in the background by completing all their work and not wanting acknowledgement, he has much to learn in the construction industry with those virtues.
Some say Ian was born with a contract in his left hand and a pen in the right hand, writing up he’s own birth certificate and not wasting time waiting on others.
If there is a task to complete, no matter how difficult or challenging Ian Anderson is the front runner to accomplish any set goal.
Often described or regarded as the ‘sensible one’ when attending meetings with Joe Kasalo, Ian’s strength is his strong code of ethics and moral stance which leaves him in high regard with anyone he meets as his honesty will always come to the forefront of any issues raised.
Without doubt the most respected member of the Kascorp team, Ian’s sound knowledge of….everything, provides a great environment for all to learn from.
Having worked for the Head Contractor for over 25 years since the age of 16 years old, there isn’t much Ian hasn’t come across over those years.
Since joining Kascorp from day one in July 2015, this was the first time in Ian’s career that he had worked with the subcontractor and did his eyes open to a world he never knew existed.
Setting up a start-up company from scratch, with limited resources, no trading history, no income into the business for the first 4 months, with 20 immediate employees on the books, unsure what the pipeline of work was coming up or if there was any, would have made most men throw in the towel.
If the challenges above were not difficult enough, Ian had a battle trying to educate Joe on how businesses actually run and the real-life outcomes when one fly’s too close to the sun. It’s taken years but slowly Ian has been able to ‘subdue’ Joe’s erratic outburst and spontaneous decision making, thus ensuring the company grows on the back of some great strategic plans set up, after many years of dedicated hard work by its many loyal team members.
That’s the plan. Sometimes we all must deviate a little to find ourselves back on the right track.
On the brink of depression after Jim’s AFL team the Richmond Tigers loss in the 2018 Preliminary Final. Life looked all doom and gloom, with no reason to go on Jim had an epiphany and said to himself “It could be worse, I could sink even lower and become a Carlton supporter”.
From that day on life was on the way up, the Tigers winning the 2019 Premiership Flag and Anthony Edwards not visiting Jim’s site as often due to its proximately from head office or Anthony’s hide out lair.
Always mistaken as “The Builder” on site by all trades because he generally does do all their work. Jim’s ability to overlook all aspects of the project allows him to foresee what obstacles or issues are in the way that prevent the project from moving forward.
With over 20 years of experience running projects and running after people to get out of his way, Jim proves that anything can be done as long as he tells them what to do! Jim’s battles with concrete, is a love affair that tests his character and will power every day on site, as he demands it to be “on the road, on the site, in the pump, in the slab, in the cores,” some say it runs through his veins to keep him alive.
Jim’s relationship with Kascorp’s Operations Manager Anthony Edwards, is as healthy as drinking a bottle of Johnny Black and then driving your car to the police station to report it stolen, solid I tell you. From time to time Anthony may get upset after receiving Jim’s delivery list for 2 trucks of material at 6pm that night for a first delivery in the morning, that’s when the ever so ‘passive aggressiveness’ games begin on the phone between the two children.
But we all still love each other at the end of the day and that’s why we believe we don’t need a HR Department.
Joe also openly states that he prefers Jim over Anthony most of the time, because Jim laughs at Joe’s sense of humour something Anthony hasn’t mastered in the last 10 years of their professional relationship.
“Did we send any intelligent people to this country on our boats some 200 years ago, or am I missing something”? For the record Matt Johnson did not say that out loud but we knew what he was thinking after his first week on the job in Australia.
Arriving from England where order, discipline, hierarchy and modern-day slavery still existed, Matt was left speechless by how far this “Nanny State” of Victoria was in turmoil. From the land and time of great dictators such as Margaret Thatcher, who ruled over the masses with an iron fist, Matt arrived on site in Australia to see it shut down because there was no Skinny Milk in the lunch sheds.
Matt’s resume boasted such impressive achievements so early in his career, from surveying, site managing, project managing and setting up a precast, concrete and tower crane businesses to advance the structural company he was part of. Then to arrive to Australia and become a full-time childcare teacher, babysitting men who he can’t believe are allowed to think for themselves let alone vote.
“It’s not hard, its ****** simple, its right there in front of you, can’t you read”? Is one of the famous lines Matt politely points out when frustrated in meetings when simple things become difficult, most of the time it’s directed to his Director Joe Kasalo as he often zones out in long meetings.
However, diligent with every task, Matt’s professionalism always finds the solution to every problem we encounter and works persistently with all the teams for the best solution.
Matt believes that early intervention from allowing others to plan the project before him, is the best way to minimize many errors and delays that the project may incur unnecessarily. By taking control and looking at every option under the sun, allows him to pick holes in every scenario possible even if it’s his.
Frustratingly good to work with.
