Steel Homes First for Far Flung Frontiers

The Swiss Alps are the last place you'd expect to find prefabricated homes manufactured in Queensland using BlueScope Steel products. Yet Switzerland and the Pacific islands of Noumea and Tahiti are just some of the locations Olympiade Transportable Homes has delivered to in the past 22 years.

According to Frits van der Plas, the company's owner, Olympiade is just as deft at delivering to remote and inaccessible spots throughout Australia.

Based in Forest Glen, just two kilometres south of the Big Pineapple, north of Brisbane, Olympiade has spent decades perfecting ways of providing modern accommodation to remote spots on demand.

About 10 years ago, Olympiade started building its range of pre-fabricated houses with as much as 75 per cent steel content from Australia's pre-eminent supplier, BlueScope Steel. Olympiade's homes were previously half steel and half timber.

But Mr van der Plas says that using high quality steel these days makes more sense; it makes his company's homes more portable and affordable.

"Using steel framing from BlueScope Steel instead of traditional timber framing, we can fit more than twice as many of our kit homes into shipping containers for export," he says.

"Steel frames are also a lot lighter than timber frames of comparable dimensions, so freight costs are significantly lower, while also ensuring that what arrives at the other end is a high quality product, fit for purpose. The steel house frames provide high-tensile strength with flexibility to avoid any noticeable damage and ensure parts fit well together, preserving the product's finish and integrity throughout erection."

Mr van der Plas says durable quality steel construction is also an asset, particularly where houses are in rugged environments ranging from dry deserts, to icy mountain environments, to isolated tropical locations.

"Our products are subjected to demanding climatic conditions from the word go, manufactured as they are within the high humidity of Queensland's coastal region, but the BlueScope Steel framing copes without distortion," he says.

He also stresses that termites are rife in many remote Australian locations, so steel construction is almost a prerequisite.

For further information:
Frits van der Plas
Olympiade Homes Pty Ltd
Ph: 07 5445 3966
Email: info@olympiade.com.au