Pandemic Pivot and Steely Resolve Driving Mancini Made’s Success

They made a bold pivot during the pandemic. Now they’re thriving while competitors struggle to stay afloat. A challenging market, a father telling his sons to “adapt or die”—this was the reality facing Mancini Made co-directors Anthony and Paul Mancini as the pandemic created unprecedented industry conditions. “We had about 15-20 open contracts, and we faced challenges with nearly every single job,” Anthony Mancini tells The Urban Developer . “After two years of these industry-wide pressures, our operations were impacted.” With no outside investors or shareholders to provide additional capital, the brothers faced difficult decisions about their high-end construction business. That’s when their father Leon, who had built his own real estate empire from nothing, delivered a blunt assessment: “Boys, adapt or die.” Those words triggered a radical pivot. When timber shortages threatened to delay their projects, the brothers invested strategically in steel framing capabilities despite having no manufacturing experience. “It was a decision to strengthen our company,” Anthony says. “We identified an opportunity to vertically integrate our operations while solving an industry-wide challenge. We didn’t know much about production, but we listened to the market and made the move.” The decision required significant commitment, particularly during such uncertain times. “We just put more pressure on ourselves because we needed to run another business during one of the most challenging periods of our construction career,” Paul tells The Urban Developer . Initially a “survival mechanism”, Paul says the business has evolved into ‘Framed’, a standalone steel framing business that might eventually eclipse Mancini Made itself. More importantly, the shift to steel has transformed their core construction business, elevating their construction capabilities and reducing build timeframes by about 15 per cent. “Steel is the future,” Paul says. “We didn’t have any ambition to get into manufacturing—it was a market-driven decision—but it’s turned into a solid standalone business.” Delete The circumstances forced a wholesale reassessment of their business model. Previously focused on development projects and client work, they’ve shifted almost entirely to serving clients. “We’ve identified that our core focus is to keep the business strong and secure at all times, and that pathway is client work,” Anthony says. Built on family foundations The brothers’ ability to succeed stems directly from values instilled by their parents. Construction and real estate run in their blood. Their mother was a talented seamstress who helped their father establish Mancini Real Estate in Melbourne’s western suburbs fifty years ago, a business that continues under their brother Eric’s co-directorship. Paul’s journey to construction wasn’t straightforward. His first passion was soccer, and his talent took him to England where he trained with Premier League clubs. “I played soccer in Melbourne for a while, then to England to play. I was at Premier League clubs like Leeds and Everton,” Paul says. “I ended up breaking both my feet. That was the end of my professional career.” This early setback taught him resilience and the ability to pivot—skills that would prove crucial when the business faced its own challenges years later. Delete After his soccer career ended, Paul pursued education. “I went straight from Westbourne to university to do a double degree in architecture and construction, which was a six-year program,” he says. After graduating, he worked at Liquid Lines on high-end fit-outs for restaurants like the Stokehouse and Cumulus Inc. Meanwhile, Anthony completed his education in construction management and facilities management before working for Burbank, Easton and as a project manager at Vcon, joining Paul at Mancini Made around 2014. “We were raised in the business,” Anthony says. “What we’ve got is business acumen. We know that we can apply those principles to anything that we do.” Their father held a building licence and constructed their childhood home while running the real estate business—a project that took seven years. While still at university, Paul began building projects under his father’s licence. “My mum used to give me the chequebook. I was writing my own checks for the tradies. I was literally running a building business for my dad at 20 years old,” Paul says. Paul launched Mancini Made in 2011, “with no equity in the market”. “The only thing we had was the surname, which had a good reputation in the area. So with that, our parents gave us an opportunity, I guess,” Paul says. “In the first year, I quoted about 100 jobs and only won four. We built this thing from zero. We weren’t handed anything.” They’ve since turned Mancini Made into a multi-award-winning business, including the inaugural Urban Leader Award for Construction . ▲ Anthony and Paul Mancini with The Urban Developer ’ s Phil Bartsch when they won the inaugural Urban Leader Award for Construction last year. The three pillars Having navigated market challenges, the brothers now operate three distinct but interconnected businesses. “Mancini Made is a construction company, and then we have Home, which is a design and build service, and then we have Framed, our steel framing business,” Paul says. Their design and build service, Home by MM, emerged from a collaboration with architect James McGann. This venture integrates disciplines that typically operate separately—architecture, interior design, construction management and property development—creating a seamless experience for clients. The boutique studio has expanded beyond Melbourne to offer their design approach to builders throughout Australia. “I think separating Mancini Made from Home is good, because it now delineates the fact that Mancini Made is a builder first but we also offer a design and build service,” Anthony says. “Home does work for other clients. About half the work is from Mancini Made, half the work comes from James’s clients.” ▲ It ’ s the obsession with minutiae that has helped propel Mancini Made to the forefront of Melbourne ’ s high-end construction industry, the brothers believe. The same values that have been crucial to Mancini Made’s success apply to internal projects and collaborations with architects. “The only thing that changes is when it’s a design and build it’s our thing from scratch. When it’s with an architect it turns into more of a team effort,” Anthony says. “Essentially we’re delivering their design. We’re delivering their vision, but with our level of quality and detail.” A hallmark of any Mancini Made job, they say, is an attention to detail and layered quality-control process, where in-house warranty inspections and independent building assessments that scrutinise “minute details” are combined. The approach includes a defect register that tracks issues by trade for third-party jobs as well as their own. Looking to the future Having successfully adapted to changing market conditions, the Mancini brothers are optimistic and believe that Melbourne property is “at the bottom of the valley” with everything now stabilised and poised for recovery. “What we feel now is that at some point in the next 24 months, there’s going to be exponential growth for a long time,” Anthony says. Their survival is remarkable given the industry-wide collapse that claimed numerous builders. “It was a blood bath,” Anthony says. “So many people were affected. One of my old bosses had to close. So did heaps of reputable companies.” Delete Far from being discouraged, the brothers are more determined than ever. “Some builders survived but they’re mentally tired and don’t even want to build anymore,” Anthony says. “But Paul and I are more energetic now than before—we’re hungry.” They’re investing in growth, continuing to develop their three-pillar business model. “We’re about to buy a second steel machine, because Framed has the workflow,” Anthony says. “We’re on solid ground with that business. “We’ve solidified our team to be ready for the growth. We’re now focused on surpassing $50 million plus in sales.” As the industry emerges from a challenging period, the next chapter in the Mancini story continues to be written in the precise lines, thoughtful designs, and impeccable finishes of Melbourne’s finest homes—all underpinned by the vision that positioned them for success when everything was at stake. “We’re not the finished article, and I don’t think we’ll ever be the finished article,” Anthony says. “We’re committed to evolution. Even with our success, we maintain the mindset that there’s always room for growth and refinement. We’ve got more gears, more to give, and exciting horizons to explore.”

Pandemic Pivot and Steely Resolve Driving Mancini Made’s Success

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