Big River Industries

BRI is a vertically integrated manufacturer and distributor of timber, panels and building products. The business was founded over 100 years ago in Northern NSW, staying within the founding family’s ownership up until its ASX listing in 2017. BRI has grown its product base, geographic reach and scale to today generate sales of >$400 million via 26 sites across Australia and New Zealand, employing >640 staff.

As stated above, BRI manufacturers and distributes timber, panels and building products. Key to the BRI strategy is the pure focus on trade customers/clients as opposed to do it yourself (DIY)or retail customers. ~20% of BRI’s revenue is manufactured by BRI, with another ~20% directly imported by BRI and the balance sourced from large local supply partners. From its latest revenue mix perspective, ~40% is related to detached housing, ~22% to commercial projects, ~18% to multi-residential dwellings and the balance split between three further segments including civil works as well as alterations & additions.

The competitive advantage of BRI essentially boils down to a few key principles. The first being that BRI has a single-minded focus on the trade customer (B2B), hence its solutions are catered to the specific needs of this type of customer base. The second of these principles is it’s nationwide network which allows BRI to service both locally based smaller trade clients, and also larger trade clients who have networks across the country and want to rely on a small number of suppliers for their goods. In addition, BRI’s scale provides several advantages including a broad stock range which can meet most customer needs, competitive pricing for customers due to BRI’s consolidated purchasing power and finally the diversified supply that BRI can source which generally means customers will not be waiting extended periods for product supply for current construction projects. For BRI, all of these factors underpin sustainable long term customer relationships, some of which last for decades.

As a small player in a large industry, we believe BRI has a significant runway for future growth both organically and inorganically, just as Reece Plumbing (ASX: REH) and Tradelink did many years ago within adjacent industries.

Big River Construction:

Big River Panels:

Brendan York represents NAOS on the board of Big River, reflecting our approach to active and collaborative investment. This strategy allows us to support the business, ensuring they are positioned to maximize the long-term compounding potential of our invested capital.