Centuria completes Apex Steel’s new HQ, Direk SA

New site increases production, manufacturing and distribution

• • State Member for Florey and City of Salisbury Mayor help open new SA headquarters
  • 22,400sqm industrial and office facility caters to expanded workforce
  • New facility improves production, manufacturing and distribution; investment in new equipment
  • Opening commemorated with commissioned murals depicting portraits of long-serving employees.

ASX-200 listed Centuria Capital Group (ASX:CNI or “Centuria”) has completed Apex Steel Supplies’ new South Australian headquarters at 36 Caribou Drive, Direk SA, with the occupier officially opening its new premise with a cocktail reception attended by State Member for Florey, Michael Brown MP, and City of Salisbury Mayor, Gillian Aldridge OAM.

The new 21,160 sqm industrial facility, complete with an additional 1,240 sqm of office space, was developed by Centuria in partnership with the Samaras Group. Centuria’s unlisted open-ended real estate fund, Centuria Diversified Property Fund, will own the property.

The property is now home to 120 employees. Previously Apex leased three separate sites across Adelaide, which limited its warehousing and manufacturing capabilities as the company grew.

The new facility provides a larger capacity, enabling Apex to increase its steel building products and structural steel manufacturing. The Direk business is the only arm of the Apex Group – one of Australia’s largest privately owned steel manufacturers and distributors – to manufacture these products.

John Konstandopoulos, Apex Steel Supplies Managing Director, said, “We simply outgrew our previous premises, which was a good problem to have. Our new purpose-built facility in Direk has given us the ability to make further advancements in technology to improve our production, manufacturing, and distribution. So far, we have already invested in new roll forming machines, which has increased the range of products we now offer.

“Apex Steel Supplies is committed to remain the first choice in the South Australian market by further investing in our staff and technology. Our continued investment in South Australia allows us to further improve our internal procedures and deliver a seamless process to our customers.”

Jesse Curtis, Centuria Head of Industrial said, “We warmly welcome Apex to the new Direk industrial facility, which has been customised specifically to facilitate Apex’s expanding business needs. It is a pleasure to work so closely with customer tenants to curate real estate to suit growing operations. Apex is a great Australian business success story and we are proud to be a part of their journey.”

Centuria is a significant investor in the South Australia market with more than 26 assets worth $913 million across the estate¹.

State Member for Florey, Michael Brown MP, said, “This significant investment will assist Apex Group in taking advantage of the record spending on infrastructure development from both the government and the private sector in our state.”

City of Salisbury Mayor, Gillian Aldridge OAM, said, “We’re so pleased that Apex Steel have chosen to build this amazing facility for their employees here in the City of Salisbury.  What a fabulous success story for an Australian family owned business, who cares for their employees, and produces outstanding quality of steel products. We look forward to watching them continue to grow.”

Apex Steel began its operations in South Australia in 2010. To commemorate this significant milestone and the opening of its new facility, established artist and Ngarrindjeri man from Kaurna Country, Thomas Readett, was commissioned to paint two murals.

The artworks ablaze two water tanks, depicting realistic portraits of two long standing and respected warehouse employees, Greg Blake and Jeremy Hansen. Readett cited the portraits tell the story of Apex’s success and are representative of its entire workforce.

In addition to the state member and Salisbury Mayor, the opening event was attended by Apex’s employees, board of directors and shareholders. Guests were treated to music by local singer and songwriter, Ash Gale.

Centuria develops real estate for its broad range of listed and unlisted property funds. Currently, Centuria has $1.7 billion (AUD) of development projects in its pipeline across Australia and New Zealand¹.

1. As at 31 December 2022