Joel Board from ICG Construction

Joel Board.

For 15 years, ICG Construction has specialised in the design and construction of commercial and industrial projects. Their work includes the Oasis Aquatic Centre, Watermark Apartments and Borambola Conference Centre.

Last year, Joel Board returned to Wagga to accept a role with ICG and is now project managing multiple large construction works. He shares what brought him back to Wagga and why he wanted ICG to become a Committee for Wagga member.

Joel Board is no stranger to hard work.

Growing up in Wagga, he worked in the family business, Artlounge, before joining sister Bianca in her web design company, Web123.

Taking 12 months to travel across Europe, Joel craved big changes so headed to Brisbane on his return to Australia to work for a company building gas pipelines.

“I started doing project controls there and moved into project management on big projects with Santos and QGC.

“I completed a Graduate Certificate in Project Management at Central Queensland University, took a short break from study, then completed an MBA at Griffith University over the following three years.

“I liked Brisbane and was there for five years but I missed the lifestyle here and housing affordability was a huge factor.

“I guess you don’t really appreciate it until you move away. A lot of people like to Wagga-bash but I really enjoy it – it’s big enough that there’s plenty to do and small enough that you can still get ahead.”

It was as Joel was grappling with a decision on where to live when the company he worked for went into liquidation.

“Mark Fleming (ICG Proprietor and Managing Director) actually called me out of the blue the day I received my termination letter.

“I was wondering what I would do next when Mark called and asked if I could come down for a couple of weeks to work on a few things, and it turned into a full-time job.”

Since moving back to Wagga in April last year, Joel has been involved in both operations and project management.

“After a period of consolidation, ICG is growing again and we’ve been working on five new projects we have in Cootamundra, Parkes, Gundagai and here in Wagga.

“We try and use local suppliers and tradies where possible. Most of our subcontractors come from Wagga, and we’re looking to build and maintain long-term relationships.”

From his vantage point, Joel sees an upswing in construction across the region.

“There now seems to be a constant stream of tenders coming in Wagga and the wider area.

“There are big projects around, like the Clay Target Convention Centre, Wagga Multipurpose Stadium, the Harness Racing Club, PCYC’s new centre, and the Intermodal Freight Hub is going to create lots of construction. The flow-on effects to housing and retail are also significant.”

Joel was a driving force behind ICG recently joining Committee for Wagga.

“It’s good to have a committee pushing things forward and liaising with Council to see what we can and can’t do and providing some inspiration.

“I guess since I’ve been back I’ve just appreciated Wagga much more and I thought joining Committee for Wagga was a good opportunity. From a business perspective, Wagga has done a lot for ICG in the past and we see this as a way of giving back.”