Celebrating 50 Years of Business

In November 2022, the FKG Group marked 50 years since their humble beginnings in the Southwest Queensland Region of Brookstead.

Established by Francis Kevin Gardner, the business took on local renovations and small construction jobs in it’s early days, and it wasn’t long before Francis was joined by his five sons, Gary, Frank, Bruce, Paul and Wayne (Mick).

As the only builder in Brookstead, the business flourished and grew, and after a short time also began completing work in Western Queensland, including projects in Roma, Goondiwindi and St George.

With Western regions not having a great range of trades available at the time, locals welcomed ‘Gardner Bros’ to complete projects, as they were able to self-perform the majority of works, including trades such as plumbing.

Operations were coordinated from the family’s timber and hardware store in Brookstead, with Gary undertaking the quoting and invoicing from this base. With his sons now involved in the family building business, Francis had the opportunity to pursue his true passion of farming – a legacy that has continued many decades for the family.

In 1977, with Gary at the helm, and Paul, Frank and Bruce in the field, Gary steered the company into commercial construction – with the company awarded the Talwood Community Centre. This was a significant project, and the largest they had ever undertaken.

In 1984 the Gardner family sadly grieved the loss of Francis. However, they did not lose sight of their father’s dream to expand the business for generations of Gardners to be involved in, and in 1987 the brothers renamed the business ‘FK Gardner and Sons’.

As the company grew, so did the demand for staff and suppliers which were difficult to attract in Brookstead, and in 1990 the decision was made to relocate to Toowoomba.

Since this time, the business has expanded exponentially to have 900+ team members and offices in Toowoomba, Brisbane, Cairns, Dalby, Newcastle, Roma and Townsville.

In addition to the FKG Group’s core service offerings of construction, civil and developments, the Group now incorporates a diverse range of additional businesses including Ezyquip Hire, NRG Services, NRG One, GFG Projects, Anaman, AUSCOIL, Obadare Group and Pulse Data Centre, with a combined group turnover of $700M+.

Despite the company’s tremendous growth over five decades, Gary Gardner, now Executive Chairman, and his son Nick Gardner, Managing Director, have ensured the core family values remain central to the FKG Group’s operations – building a culture of honesty and integrity while delivering quality outcomes for clients.

‘When looking back over our journey so far, we are incredibly grateful to our greater FKG family; as well as the many suppliers, subcontractors and business advocates who have been part of our journey to date,” Gary shared.

“We are truly humbled, and know that we wouldn’t be here, celebrating 50 years in business, without them.”