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Hong Kong modular manufacturer AluHouse has signed agreements with three Australian property and construction groups, bringing together development, engineering and project-delivery expertise as it looks to expand its presence in the Australian market.
AluHouse Group has signed separate Memorandums of Understanding with Northland Group, DCF Property Group and newly established volumetric modular advisory business Up Modular, providing the manufacturer with a broader network of Australian development and delivery partners. (main image: AluHouse’s concrete, steel and aluminium modular systems form part of the manufacturing capability the Hong Kong group is seeking to connect with Australian development and delivery partners through its new agreements.)
The agreements were signed at the Belt and Road Summit in Hong Kong on 10 September and cover modular residential and mixed-use development, prefabricated building research and development and broader collaboration in Australia. No individual projects, dwelling commitments or binding orders were disclosed.
AluHouse manufactures steel, concrete and aluminium volumetric systems and says its Greater Bay Area manufacturing operation has capacity for 48,000 modules annually. The company says it has delivered more than 38,000 modules across more than 200 projects internationally. A second manufacturing facility, with stated capacity of 30,000 modules annually, is under development in Saudi Arabia.
Australian partners bring development and delivery capability
Sydney-based Northland Group has operated since 1988 as both a property developer and construction company. Its portfolio includes apartment and mixed-use developments across Sydney, with its current Central Quarter project in Merrylands comprising 194 apartments and about 3,600 square metres of retail and commercial space.
Northland director Johnny Nassif said Australian developers could see the potential productivity benefits of MMC but often lacked experience across modular design, compliance, supply chains, logistics and installation.
“We look forward to leveraging AluHouse’s mature modular systems to deliver high-quality housing efficiently,” Nassif said.
Melbourne-based DCF Property Group, established in 2011, is a property developer working across apartments, townhouses, hotels and mixed-use projects. Its portfolio includes First Light, 407 King Street and the Musselroe Bay Resort.
The third partner, Up Modular, provides perhaps the clearest indication of how an offshore manufacturing supply chain could be assembled around Australian projects.
The business describes itself as a specialist volumetric modular advisory covering design, engineering, Australian certification, factory selection, quality control, logistics and construction management. Its model includes selecting manufacturing partners in China and Vietnam and managing projects through to Australian handover.
Its three co-CEOs are Marshall Cobb, Carl Heath and Johnny Nassif. Cobb has more than 20 years in Sydney property development and project marketing and is principal of Stone New Projects, where Heath also works in international project sales. Nassif provides the direct link with Northland as a developer-builder.
The technical side includes structural engineer Simon McCarthy, founder of Systemised Design Group and a prefabAUS board director, while Up Modular lists architect Jason Marriott as Head of Design, citing previous senior roles with AECOM and modular building technology development.
The MoUs do not yet amount to an Australian project pipeline, but they show AluHouse assembling local development, commercial, engineering and compliance capability around its offshore manufacturing capacity.
