The Ipswich building industry in Queensland, Australia has signed a deal to design and build the first Australian home in Tokyo, Japan. The initial $250,000 contract is for Queensland Export Homes to build display homes in the Tokyo metropolitan region. If additional contracts are secured, they will build between 60-100 homes per year in Japan, shipping materials from suppliers in Ipswich and southeast Queensland. This move into the Japanese market was prompted by a downturn in Australia's domestic building industry, and Japan's need for 1.5 million new housing starts over the next 15 years provides a large market opportunity.

1. Tokyo homes get
Australian look
THE lpswich building indus-
try is taking on Tokyo after
signing a deal to build and
design an Australian home in
Japan.
Queensland Export Homes
signed the deal yesterday with
Japanese company Kineson
Ltd.
The initial contract, worth
$250,000,is for the building of
display homes in the Tokyo
metropolitan region.
If it secures a long-term con-
tract, Queens land Expor t
Homes will build between 60
and 100homes a year in Japan.
Ipswich builders Lindsay
Fortescue and Keith Greis-
back will build the homes with
material shipped from at least
eight Ipswich and south-east
Queensland suppliers.
Ipswich City Council's eco-
nomic development depart-
ment helped the deal.
Queensland Export llomes
general manager Brian Hooper
said the unprecedented move
into the Japanese market was
sparked by a downturn in the
doinestic building industry.
"I think everybody in the in-
dustry is suffering a bit from
the downturn." he said.
"But with 1.5million hous-
ing or unit starts in Japan eve-
ry year for the next 15 years,
t her e' s def i n ite ly a h u g e
market there."
- MICHAELMADIGAN
Displayopens
doorsin JaPan
BY Graham Gardiner
A concertedcampaignby gov.ernmgnl
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a landmarkag'reementbetween
ii-'".*iirtu"t.J QueenslaidExport-Homes
ai;
j;";;;. uuitaingcompany'Kineson'
il-i""ii."., the firsi Australiandesigned
unOUuiftdisPlaYhousein TokYo'*
li aff goes'accordingto plan' the
comDanywill investmoreihun$lmillionto
"rirfiritf(
a facroryin thelpswichregionto
iupfry ttt. materialsnecessarylo meel
unilliirut.o demandfor its housesin the
JaDanesecaPltal'"-T;;J;
.^p.n, forecastdramatic.growth
in ttt.
"*pon
of detachedhousesto Japanas
ittui--.oi nttv't government works to
r.rl*i"* iri'goal-of reducingdomesttc
constructioncostsDy :0 percentoverthe
nextfive Years."-
Th;; ior..ur, the Japanesemarketfor
a",..r,,J0'i*.itings *iti rise from 4'000
;;;;;T"t, y"ut io 60'000houseswithin
it.;;ears, with mostof this demandto be
metby imports. To Page30
News
TokyocontrTOKYO families could
soon be living in Ipswich
made and designed homes
under an Australian-first
project launched yesterday
Raceviewbusinesseueens-
land Export Homes signeda
$250,000preliminary agree-
ment with Japanesecompa-
ny Kineson Ltd yesterdayto
build the first Australian de-
signed and built displav
homls in the Tokyo getro-
politan region.
If the company securesa
long-term contract, between
60and 100homeswill bebuilt
eachyear.
, QueenslandExport Homes
general manager Brian
Hooper said the company
was working on other deals
and may expand operations
to build up to 800homes a
year.
Thecompanywasplanning
to construct a major materi-
als and pre-fabrication plant
in the region which would
createmore than B0jobs.
. "We will have the first Aus-
tralian display home in the
Tokyo region, a region which
has 150,000to 200,000semi-de-
tached housing, which
amounts to asmuch as in the
whole of Australia,', Mr
Hoopersaid.
Export Homes directors
Brian Walls and John
Thompson headed the dis-
play homeproject,to bemar-
ketedas'AussieHomes,,.
Building materials from at
leasteight Ipswich and south-
east Queensland suppliers
will be shippedto Japan in
the nextmonth.
Ipswich builders Lindsav
Fortescueand Keith Greii-
back will build the homes in
Tokyo from November.
Ipswich City Councillor
Paul Pisasalesaid the deal
earmarked future potential
for Ipswich-based workman-
ship. HCsaid council's Eco-
nomic DevelopmentDepart-
ment was one of the catalysts
D AUSTRALIANfIRST
Paul Pisasaleand Takao
l ^ A ^ l h . . : l l : - - : - - r - |
BrianWalls,Cr
Tasaki- taking