Goulburn Valley Resources & Albert Gianarelli

KELLIE GIANARELLI, Administration Manager of Goulburn Valley Resources reports on the growth of the business through the experiences of Albert Gianarelli.

ALBERT Gianarelli (Ginger) of Goulburn Valley Resources Pty Ltd arrived in Seymour, Victoria from the small town of Sassalbo in Tuscany, Italy in 1956 leaving behind a war torn Europe to start fresh. He arrived in Australia with little more than the clothes on his back and a strong desire to work hard and make his way in this new country he was to call home.

He found work cutting wood within a day of arriving in the Puckapunyal area. From there he moved to the snowy mountain scheme and onto Orbost at Lake Entrance. From there he worked as a labourer on the railway line in the Wandong Kilmore area which is where he made his break into earthworks. The foreman on the railway told him, if you buy a truck there is ballast to cart from the Broadford quarry. So in 1962 his contracting business started.

As a newly married man he sold his car to buy his first truck, then came a loader and bulldozer. With an eye for the land and what lay beneath he started winning gravel from farmer’s paddocks in the local area.

In 1971 he obtained a licence to extract from the Goulburn River which was the stepping stone to the quarry he now owns today, this form of extraction continued until 1995. The dredging days are long gone, but the onshore reserve is considerable and importantly, located just a handful of metres from the Goulburn and Hume highways and an hour north of Melbourne.

Producing a range of sands and aggregates and Seymour toppings, as well as a spectacular assortment of decorative river pebbles, the company’s product is carried all over the state. The higher value products find their way to the Melbourne market while the road base remains local. The decorative materials are chased for the colour – greys, blacks and quartz whites – and often end up in South Australia or New South Wales.

Albert whose reputation of being hard working and of good integrity as well as his tenacious nature won him many contracts with the local shires, VicRoads and private companies. From 1976 he contracted on the Seymour, Avenel, Euroa, Benalla and Melton By-passes. This included transport, earthworks and supply of granitic additive sand supplied to Pioneer, Apex and the Readymix quarries from his own pit at Trawool.

The inclusion of Albert’s three sons further expanded the business. In 1984 his oldest son Wally joined the business after completing a boiler maker and steel fabricating apprenticeship. In the same year he bought the first parcel of land on the outskirts of Seymour at the Hume and Goulburn Valley highway interchange that was to become part of his extensive quarrying business. They started supply of Mangalore gravel to surrounding shires and VicRoads.

In 1989 Paul, Albert’s middle son joined the business bringing with him experience from jobs with VicRoads and the Shire in the engineering and surveying, and in 1990 his youngest son Camillo joined them after specialising in business studies at school.

Now with all of his sons in the business he opened a concrete plant in Seymour to compliment the quarry and civil work they were already involved in. Over the next thirteen years they built up the concrete plant and civil work and in 2003 sold off the concrete division to concentrate more onquarrying and civil jobs. After the purchase of more adjoining land in the 1990’s they started producing natural river sands, pebbles and crushed rock. Their products are now transported all over Australia, particularly Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia, and the pebbles have even made it to New York.

Fifty six years after coming to Australia Albert has built an extensive quarry and earthworks business with his three sons. With hard work and determination he has ensured the future for not only his own family but the generations to come. At nearly eighty years of age he still comes in every day, taking a hands on role. You can normally find him in one of his machines or advising his young grandson who has recently joined the company on the best way to tackle a job. His wisdom and experience continues to be a guiding force to this family owned and operated business.

Eldest sibling Wally Gianarelli is the face of the organisation according to Camillo, and was an active participant in the formation days of the CMPA.

“The CMPA has been a good thing from our perspective,” Camillo said. “You get to know other people in quarry operations and find information and you can develop those contacts and friendships.

“It’s created a community of like minded people,” he said. “Wally is often getting calls from other operations about issues or equipment and it mightn’t be information you are giving it might be just an opinion, but at the end of the day we are all in the business to make a living.

“We’ve also got some sort of fighting power with the CMPA if something seems to be a bit overboard – as an organisation we can go into bat for our industry,” Camillo added.

The department has also benefited from the unity the CMPA brings to the independent side of the industry, Camillo reckoned.

“Some of the departments – and credit to John Mitas here – have been with the CMPA from the start and have been there to be positive,” he said. “I think in most cases they have a good understanding of private operations and the issues we have as a small business.”

He also thinks the CMPA has garnered more respect for the independents as a major part of the industry.

“The unified voice has helped,” he said. “You have got to remember that people have worked to create these businesses, and there should be respect for what they do.

“Being a community of independents helps us keep abreast of issues but also stops others who have the resources from running over our businesses.”.

60 SECONDS WITH A VOTING MEMBER…

What is your name?
Albert Gianarelli

Who do you work for?
In 1962 I founded my quarry, Goulburn Valley Resources.

How many years have you been involved in the Industry?
60 years starting out contracting then a license to extract from the river. After that quarrying my own land as well as with civil contracts.

What is your role at the company?
I’m the owner and founder of the company.

What does your job involve?
I leave the day to day running of the company to my sons. We produce very good products to a consistent high quality. I like to guide the younger less experienced staff to achieve their full abilities.

What is the best part of your job?
Seeing the company grow to what it is today, providing employment to local people. Seeing what our products are used for, from award winning gardens to multistory constructions and major road works.

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