Industry leaders turn to 3D printing to tackle housing crisis
WA farming town turns to 3D printing to house its migrant workers
Gnowangerup relies on migrant workers to fill vital roles in the construction industry. (ABC Great Southern: Mark Bennett)
In short:
Gnowangerup has a wealth of employment opportunities but nowhere to put skilled workers.
Industry leaders are looking for a solution to keep migrant workers in the region.
What's next?
A local not-for-profit is set to start 3D-printing houses to solve the worker accommodation issue.
A regional WA town is taking matters into its own hands to secure more housing to ensure population and economic growth.
In Gnowangerup, 350 kilometres south-east of Perth, industrial businesses are booming but cannot expand due to staff shortages.
The main reason the town cannot get workers is that there are not enough houses.
Business at a 'bottleneck'
Eighty per cent of employees at road transport equipment company Duraquip are sponsored skilled migrants.
Owner Garry Richardson said the housing shortage was creating a bottleneck for the future success of his company.
Garry Richardson is a part owner of Duraquip road transport equipment. (ABC Great Southern: Mark Bennett)
"As the business has grown, and these workers have come in and need housing, that's created an issue," he said.
"Every time we look to expand or take on another employee, our first question is, 'Where are they going to live?'"
Employee Joefre Macaspac is one of the sponsored migrants.
He said he loved it in Australia but found it hard to get a place to live.
But Gnowangerup is working on local solutions to provide housing for workers who are essential for the town's growing manufacturing industries.
Three-dimensional solution
In a town of just 1,200 people, the community is hopeful it has found a solution.
Local not-for-profit group Harvest has bought land and is working with another not-for-profit, Hous3D, to build homes.
Grame Paterson and Cassandra Beeck plan to use 3D printing to expand the region's housing supply. (ABC Great Southern: Mark Bennett)
Manager Graeme Paterson said using the emerging technology would cut costs and construction time down to about 10 weeks.
"I'd say we're probably in the region of being 20 to 30 per cent cheaper," he said.
Cassandra Beeck, who is the driving force behind Harvest, said the project would bring promise to the region.
"It would be amazing for us to be able to support the people who are making the economy happen by locally providing home solutions for them, so they can afford to rent," she said.
Caleb Richardson's Auspan factory has more orders to fill than staff to complete them.
Caleb Richardson says bringing more homes to the region will assist with economic progress. (ABC Great Southern: Mark Bennett)
He said the impact of innovative housing projects would have a substantially positive effect on the local economy.
"If the housing was available, we would be able to get the skilled workers here and then we could keep a handle on our quality and there would be growth for our town," he said.
"You drive around regional Western Australia, and you see a dime a dozen small towns dwindling down, getting smaller.
"Here in Gnowangerup, we are bucking the trend."
