Mr Rick McCarthy – Managing Director
Rick McCarthy has been involved in the new home construction and residential development industries for over twenty five years. Starting his career with AV Jennings Homes in 1984, he quickly became one of the company’s leading home consultants in Australia.
In 1986 he left AV Jennings and joined GJ Gardner Homes moving into management responsible for staff training and product development. After again being promoted this time to Queensland Marketing Manager, he was instrumental in establishing GJ Gardner Homes as one of Queensland’s largest project builders with regional offices through ought Qld. Since then GJ Gardner Homes have gone on to become one of Australia’s most successful building franchises having completed over 25,000 homes.
After leaving GJ Gardner Homes, he acted as a consultant to several project builders in South East Qld. Returning to work with AV Jennings Homes in 2003 as a member of the Queensland State Executive with responsibility for all display centres and homes as well as the sale of land, completed homes and house and land packages throughout Queensland.
After relocating back to the Sunshine Coast in 2006, Rick joined forces with Rod Blandford to establish what has now become NATIONAL SOLUTIONS GROUP. Rick believes that the home building industry has become far too complicated and confusing for home buyers and investors and that by drawing on the depth of knowledge and experience of the team at National Solutions Group, clients can avoid the stress and dramas normally associated with building a new home.
Mr Rod Blandford – Group Operations Manager
Rod Blandford has the building industry in his blood. He was born & bred on the Sunshine Coast into a family of builders with his father & uncle running their successful building company on the Coast from the early 1950s.
He was on building sites from the age of 10 gaining some hard earned pocket money on weekends and school holidays. It was always going to be a natural progression into the building industry.
At the end of 1974 when Rod finished high school in Nambour, he was indentured to McKinnon & Blandford to start his Carpentry Apprenticeship and his life in the building industry. One of the first valuable experiences Rod gained as a young apprentice was going to Darwin to help clean up & rebuild the town after it was devastated by Cyclone Tracy. He returned to the Sunshine Coast during 1975 where he worked for a further 5 years, successfully completing his apprenticeship and passing with honours.
When Rod learnt his trade, it was in the days when they did everything themselves. This included all their own footings & concrete slabs, drainage and septic systems, steel work, gyprocking, painting, tiling and metal roof sheeting as well as every aspect of timberwork. This has given Rod a broad & invaluable knowledge of many individual trades.
He & his wife returned to Darwin in 1981 where he ran his own successful building company for 8 years, earning industry awards for the work he did in residential housing. Rod also did work for the Northern Territory Conservation Commission helping set up the now famous Litchfield National Park.
The beginning of the 1990’s saw Rod return to the Sunshine Coast. From this time on Rod put his tools aside and for the next 11 years he worked with local building company P.J. Burns to establish and manage a project housing division. Rod’s last project with P.J. Burns was overseeing and managing the rebuild of the burnt out heritage listed Childers Backpackers Hostel in 2003.
Rod then returned to his roots developing several housing projects for himself & clients in various locations around the Sunshine Coast.
In 2005 he began work with Rick McCarthy establishing a property division securing land on the coast & in Brisbane to provide complete packages for clients with whom they had been associated for many years. In 2006 Rick & Rod joined together to establish what has now become National Building Solutions.