In this episode of Jimmy Talks Construction, Jimmy sits down with Toby Glass, Director of Tascon Civil Construction, who’s flown over from Wellington, New Zealand, to talk business, growth, and the realities of surviving in the Tier 1 civil space.
Toby breaks down his journey from growing up around concrete and infrastructure work, studying construction management, walking away from uni frustration, and eventually buying into the family business at just 23 years old. Now six years in, Tascon operates in a tight niche delivering specialist structural concrete, retaining walls, and complex civil packages for Tier 1 and Tier 2 contractors.
This episode dives deep into the real conversations contractors are having right now:
- Taking over a family business young and navigating leadership with family involved
- Surviving economic slowdowns and managing uncertainty in the forward pipeline
- Why niche, “fiddly” civil work can be more profitable than chasing volume
- The brutal reality of Tier 1 contracts, variations, delays, and liquidated damages
- Why marketing and LinkedIn content suddenly matters when work dries up
- Soft skills on site, dealing with engineers, and why attitude can cost (or save) serious money
- Hiring, labour shortages, generational differences, and why effort still wins every time
If you’re a civil contractor, subcontractor, site manager, engineer, or business owner trying to grow in the Tier 1 space — or just stay alive during tougher cycles — this episode is packed with hard-earned lessons, no-BS insights, and stories every contractor will recognise.
If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to like, subscribe, and share the podcast. Follow Jimmy and Toby to stay up to date with more real conversations from inside the construction industry.
Connect with Toby from Tascon:
🌐 Website: https://www.tascon.co.nz/
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tasconcivil/
💼 LinkedIn: https://nz.linkedin.com/in/toby-glass-51971117a
💼 LinkedIn: https://nz.linkedin.com/company/tascon-2019-ltd
Connect with Jimmy:
🌐 Website: https://starbuckgroup.com.au
📺 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@JimmyTalksConstruction
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/starbuckexcavation
📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/starbuckexcavation
💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-starbuck-13336546/
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