)
IT is arguably one of the most impressive and high-profile developments in the world at the moment, and one Gold Coast business has been offered a multimillion-dollar contract to assist in its delivery.
Apple's new headquarters in Silicon Valley, known as the 'Spaceship Campus', is under construction costing an estimated $5 billion, and is set to be home to more than 13,000 employees.
Arundel-headquartered Skudo - a specialist in construction coatings - is the exclusive supplier for the Apple project, having already manufactured around 300,000sqm of peelable protection for the campus.
"We have been working behind the scenes on the Apple project for a number of years - it was one of the last design aspirations of Steve Jobs, who was heavily involved in it and canvassed it through Council to get the approvals," says Skudo director Hayden Bone.
"It is typical of Apple and its principles that the standard is very high. We have done many, many prototypes and have developed products specifically for them, and earlier this year we started to receive orders for the protection of substrates.
"Currently, they have probably ordered between 200,000-300,000sqm but there is still a lot to go. There is probably up to 1,000,000sqm that we have the opportunity to assist with.
"It is a considerable job, one of the largest and most prestigious projects in the world at the moment, so we are very fortunate."
Skudo's products are being used on most surfaces in the new Apple headquarters including on glass, polished concrete, terrazzo and marble.
Skudo, a family-owned and run business, has been manufacturing coatings since the 1980s and has produced a range of products that provide temporary protection during construction.
The system protects floors from paint splatter and dirt, and provides benefits such as concrete retardation, slip resistance and fire safety.
Along with Apple, the Oracle tower in Broadbeach used around 10,000sqm of the Skudo product.
Skudo has a presence in more than 10 countries, including the US. The business has also won several major contracts with Vinci, a French company and one of the world's largest construction groups. At any one time, Vinci has up to 2000 active job sites across the world.
The new Apple campus will be set in a 260,000sqm area with employees expected to move in before 2016.
The four-storey circular structure will boast huge walls of glass so employees can look out of both sides of the ring. It is estimated there will be six kilometres of glass.
The main building will include a $75 million fitness centre, a 1000-seat underground auditorium, miles of jogging tracks and 1000 bikes will be left on campus for staff to get around. In addition, the car park is located on ground level or under the site so there are no rows of cars to spoil the view.
Apple has no intention to destroy its old headquarters. The new building is located on the site of the former Hewlett Packard campus.
)
