From bathroom renovations to custom homes and now a thriving multistream company, the Pichelmann journey reflects family values, pride in workmanship and a determination to deliver quality.
“I’m actually a plumber and gas fitter by trade originally,” says Parry Pichelmann. “I went into bathroom renovations and ended up working as a project manager for a couple of building companies. That enabled me to become a licenced builder rather than going through the traditional way of doing a carpentry apprenticeship.”
In 2005, he established Pichelmann Custom Building with his wife Meike. “We started so we could work for ourselves,” Parry says. “Having worked for two other companies, primarily building custom homes for about seven years, we had a decent client base and it encouraged us to do our own thing and do it the waywe wanted.”
Meike was born in Hamburg, Germany, where her parents ran their own plumbing business, and gained her qualification as a Master Plumber there. In a male dominated industry, Meike excelled in her trade, and was selected to represent Germany in plumbing at the 1985 International Vocational Skill Olympics in Osaka, Japan. It was there that she met Parry.
Fellow Pichelmann director Eugene Haigh joined the industry in 2006 as an apprentice, fresh out of school. “I always saw myself joining the construction industry. It felt comfortable and natural,” he recalls. “After my apprenticeship I subcontracted back to my apprenticeship boss, until about 2014-15 when things got quieter. That’s when I went for my builder’s licence to stand on my own two feet.”
By 2017, Parry and Eugene were “arm wrestling for the same trades and time.” Eugene says: “That was when we sat down and had a conversation about my coming on board with Pichelmann. Tom Argaet was part of that conversation as well. There was lots to figure out, but we never really looked back. From the first time it was suggested, I feel we were all swinging for the same fence.”
Tom, who had been an apprentice a few years behind Eugene, soon joined too. “Those two became great mates; very different personalities, but they covered each other really well,” Parry says. “When we all got together, we decided none of us wanted a boss. So, we can’t be each other’s boss, we just have to be professional colleagues and mates.” Eugene adds: “That’s why we’re perfectly capable of having hard conversations when we need to. Everyone can respect that and leave it at the door, then walk out and still go fishing together.”
Building relationships has been the foundation of their approach. “We’ve put a lot of effort into relationships with clients over the years,” Eugene says. “Not always the best short-term financial decisions, but in the long term they’ve been very good business decisions. That’s probably our key to success; prioritising relationships over financial outcomes.” Parry agrees: “We’ve been very lucky to have a lot of repeat clients, and they trust us implicitly.”
In the residential building sector, they see the great industry challenge as the ‘race to the bottom’. “Clients 20 years ago were far more trusting of the building industry,” Parry says. “Builders are under pressure from cost, legislation and client demands”. Eugene adds: “Houses are getting more expensive and, in many cases, built worse. That’s what you see in the media: not-so-great building and builders going under. They’re doing it as cheaply as they can, so their profit margins are nothing on a building that’s been built poorly. It’s a set of circumstances that we as society have created, because we value getting the most we can for the least amount of money.”
The MBA has been a big part of their story. “Like many, we started with the awards cycle. You want to get into the magazines, it drives you to be a member,” Parry says. “Then you see how the MBA helps with contracts, legal support, apprentice training, and you get more involved.” Eugene adds: “They’ve always been a massive support for our apprentices and they’re a sounding board. We’ve always felt supported by them, like nothing’s ever been unachievable.”
Recognition through the MBA awards has been significant. Parry won the first Emerging Builder of the Year award the MBA bestowed. “We hung our hat on that award,” he laughs. Eugene followed years later with his own Emerging Builder of the Year award. “At that point in my career, I was still pretty young, early 30s, and had just built the biggest home I’d ever been a part of. To get that award from the MBA was hugely reassuring. It gave me confidence that I deserved to be where I was,” Eugene says.
Looking ahead they are cautious about the industry’s hurdles. “Something’s got to give between cost, quality and legislation – the trajectory is unsustainable,” Eugene says. Parry adds: “At some point we’ll hit a wall, and we’ll have to go backwards to go forwards in a better direction.”
