Getter App Fills $2bn Construction Gap

Getter is expanding into Brisbane and Melbourne metropolitan areas as they scale up after attracting a $1.4 million backing.

Dubbed the “Uber” of the construction industry, the business model focuses on bringing building and trade supplies to tradies onsite within one hour, a concept which caught the attention of G.J. Gardner Homes director and entrepreneur Darren Wallis.

“We are really excited to have someone of the calibre of Darren Wallis on board as one of our strategic investors, as it’s further confirmation that the industry is in need of the solution Getter provides,” Getter chief executive Tom Burton said.

Burton said he and his trades-based founders saw a gap in the market for this kind of service and the business was quickly scaling up.

“In August we had 500 registered users … and we’ve just ticked over 4000.”

Burton said with the $1.4 million war chest they hoped to scale up to meet demand on bigger worksites. Getter currently services tier three and lower-end tier two building companies. They will be targeting tier one construction firms to solve their unique procurement problems, often across multiple sites.

“The same problem exists at the top end of town. At a macro level, the Australian construction industry has a longstanding problem with not being able to procure its trade materials efficiently ... this is why we’ve established Getter, to bridge the gap between the site and the shop, so construction crews can keep working without having to head to the nearest supplies warehouse.”

Industry research shows tradies make unplanned trips to the hardware store on one in every three jobs, adding around $2 billion in labour and vehicle expenses each year.

Burton said there were already two vehicles in operation in Brisbane but a bigger expansion was on the cards for Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney.

He said he hoped to scale up 10 times in the next 12 months with an investment in technology to support the scale, marketing to increase exposure to the construction industry and an investment in infrastructure and people on the ground.

Burton said the building and construction industry was late to innovation but was slowly moving towards game-changing technology.

He said the Getter founders had identified the gap in the market and found solutions already in play in Canada and the USA.