FAQ WITH FOUNDER VINCE WILLIAMS
What do you love about Tungsten Structures?
I love that we are rewarded by our clients for the quantitative value that we add to their projects and not just the hourly efforts that we produce. I love that we are the best in the business and that we are sought after across the nation for our niche services. I love that we have the foresight to leverage world-class technology and enlist the support of world-class talent. I love that our daily contribution is having a significant impact on those around us, ourselves, and our planet, one tonne of structural steelwork at a time. Most of all, I love that I can fulfil my personal purpose of enriching the everyday lives of our people by providing them with the life-changing freedom, flexibility, rewards, and the recognition that they deserve in the workplace.
What makes Tungsten Structures so successful?
Obviously, without our team, this business could not be the success story that it is today or even exist. I recognise that the team is responsible for the award that we received from the industry for achieving our 2015 vision to be the number one value-added engineering firm in Australia. I have recognised the importance of the team since day one, even before it began making important contributions to the firm. It is for this very reason that we are not called Williams Engineering. Instead, Tungsten Structures is an all-inclusive brand, one that our team members can and already do own themselves and that they can propel and grow well into the future, beyond my working years. It’s no coincidence that we are named after the strongest element on the periodic table: our brand naturally exudes this inherent strength.
Why work at Tungsten Structures?
We provide an environment in which our people achieve the balanced lifestyles that they seek. We provide the space to inspire their minds in personal pursuits so that they can bring that inspiration back into our working environment. We support our team members’ efforts to teach, learn, and grow so as to become the best versions of themselves and harness, strengthen, and showcase their unique expertise. We instil pure trust in one another so that all employees work within the realms of their natural flow with absolute autonomy. We support each other unconditionally, leaving no one behind. We are genuine and relatable in our interactions and extend this personal trait to those from all walks of life, engaging with them on their level. By understanding and adapting to one another, we achieve great things with great people. Even more importantly, people work at Tungsten Structures because they want to be part of something greater than themselves while helping one another succeed. Success means that all of us are enjoying the fruits of our labours, and we achieve it by sharing our expertise, intuition, and initiative to advance and grow our company. In these ways, we are able to provide a wealth of opportunities, professional, personal, and/or financial, for all of the members of our team.
THE EVOLUTION OF TUNGSTEN STRUCTURES
When you join a new company, you want to know where comes from and where it’s going, right? We get it, and we believe in cultivating a culture of transparency, growth, and opportunity for every single member of our team.
So, here’s a summary of the Tungsten Structures journey so far, including a glimpse of what our future holds. Don’t miss out on being an important part of the action!
2015
Our founder, Vince Williams, establishes Tungsten Structures to live and work by his values and drive his own future.
2018- 2019
The Manila office opens, and Team Tungsten grows to nine, including engineers, Tekla technicians, and administration.
2021
Tungsten launches its Melbourne presence. Whilst we experienced success, we discontinued our expanded service offering, deciding to remain tightly niched in what we do best, which is structural engineering for industrial projects. We also decided to remain ‘lean’ and pared back the administrative functions of the business, reducing our team to fourteen core technical team members.
2023 and beyond
Tungsten launches its Perth presence and establishes a permanent Melbourne office. The team is set to exceed thirty-six members by the end of 2025. The Manila office expands and moves into a larger facility. The firm continues to promote internally and award the status of partner to a growing list of long-tenured (at least five years) loyal team members. Partnership brings with it business ownership and even greater financial rewards. We continue to leverage technology and innovate the world’s best practices as the team increases its efficiency from 124% to 150% and commences the trial period of twenty-seven-hour workweeks. The trial is successful, and the whole company begins knocking off before lunch on Thursdays while still being paid a full-time salary and quarterly bonuses.
The firm is now also the nation’s leader in multi-level industrial structural design. The team members have completed a number of industrial projects for international customers across Southeast Asia. Successfully expanding and adapting their industrial expertise and processes, they are now applying their approach to the mining sector, completing infrastructure and processing structures. The firm has also finalised a couple of highly profitable transactions with its investment arm, Tungsten Investments, successfully developing and selling fully tenanted industrial facilities at around 2,500 m2 each. The future continues to look bright for the team at Tungsten Structures.
2016 -2017
Tungsten grows to a team of three engineers as demand for work increases organically. We continue to experience sustainable growth through referrals for our exceptional outcomes and building solid relationships.
2020
Our team more than doubles in size to nineteen with the introduction of a new service offering, steel detailing and shop drawings. We are recognised externally for our excellence as a small business, receiving the Small Firm of the Year from Consult Australia.
2022
Tungsten moves its head office from Albion to Tenerife, and business succession planning commences with the promotion of Elise McDonald and Adam Segrave to co-general managers and then to managing partners. We also introduce the Tungsten Shavings Scheme, offering partnerships to our long-term team members through business shares. Vince Williams commences his transition from managing director to founding director and moves to Salt Lake City, Utah, in the United States. Our team expands again, to twenty-four, larger than ever, as we solidify our niche and focus our attention. We introduce our 108TEN 4-Day Workweek policy and commence our transition to working four days a week while being paid for five.
2015
Our founder, Vince Williams, establishes Tungsten Structures to live and work by his values and drive his own future.
2016 -2017
Tungsten grows to a team of three engineers as demand for work increases organically. We continue to experience sustainable growth through referrals for our exceptional outcomes and building solid relationships.
2018- 2019
The Manila office opens, and Team Tungsten grows to nine, including engineers, Tekla technicians, and administration.
2020
Our team more than doubles in size to nineteen with the introduction of a new service offering, steel detailing and shop drawings. We are recognised externally for our excellence as a small business, receiving the Small Firm of the Year from Consult Australia.
2021
Tungsten launches its Melbourne presence. Whilst we experienced success, we discontinued our expanded service offering, deciding to remain tightly niched in what we do best, which is structural engineering for industrial projects. We also decided to remain ‘lean’ and pared back the administrative functions of the business, reducing our team to fourteen core technical team members.
2022
Tungsten moves its head office from Albion to Tenerife, and business succession planning commences with the promotion of Elise McDonald and Adam Segrave to co-general managers and then to managing partners. We also introduce the Tungsten Shavings Scheme, offering partnerships to our long-term team members through business shares. Vince Williams commences his transition from managing director to founding director and moves to Salt Lake City, Utah, in the United States. Our team expands again, to twenty-four, larger than ever, as we solidify our niche and focus our attention. We introduce our 108TEN 4-Day Workweek policy and commence our transition to working four days a week while being paid for five.
2023 and beyond
Tungsten launches its Perth presence and establishes a permanent Melbourne office. The team is set to exceed thirty-six members by the end of 2025. The Manila office expands and moves into a larger facility. The firm continues to promote internally and award the status of partner to a growing list of long-tenured (at least five years) loyal team members. Partnership brings with it business ownership and even greater financial rewards. We continue to leverage technology and innovate the world’s best practices as the team increases its efficiency from 124% to 150% and commences the trial period of twenty-seven-hour workweeks. The trial is successful, and the whole company begins knocking off before lunch on Thursdays while still being paid a full-time salary and quarterly bonuses.
The firm is now also the nation’s leader in multi-level industrial structural design. The team members have completed a number of industrial projects for international customers across Southeast Asia. Successfully expanding and adapting their industrial expertise and processes, they are now applying their approach to the mining sector, completing infrastructure and processing structures. The firm has also finalised a couple of highly profitable transactions with its investment arm, Tungsten Investments, successfully developing and selling fully tenanted industrial facilities at around 2,500 m2 each. The future continues to look bright for the team at Tungsten Structures.