Meet Di Barry, Director of Grove Scaff
“I never set out to build a life in scaffolding — but life has a way of leading you where you’re meant to be.”
Back in 1983, my husband Kevin saw a gap. People were beginning to talk more seriously about safety. Maybe, just maybe, we shouldn’t be gyprocking ceilings off shaky trestles anymore. He bought a couple of mobile scaffold towers, built on the relationships he already had, and got to work.
There was no grand business plan—just personal service, professionalism, and genuine care for clients. That was his way. It became ours.
At the time, I was working in recreation management with local councils—juggling children, work, and helping “in the business” when needed. Like many women in construction, I eventually moved fully into the engine room. Kevin managed the technical and site side; I ran the office. The model worked because our strengths fit together seamlessly.
Then in 2012, Kevin died.
He had battled melanoma for two years. When it finally took him, the next twelve months were about pure survival. There were no vision statements or five-year plans—just getting through the day, paying people, keeping jobs going, making sure clients weren’t let down.
Our team really honoured Kevin in that period. So did our customers. It reminded me that ours is a relationship industry, even when the contracts don’t say it out loud.
Turning Loss Into Leadership
About a year later, I had to decide: to carry his legacy forward or walk away.
I chose to honour him by building something that would stand on its own feet in the long run. That meant making some difficult decisions.
One of the first was to narrow our focus. Over the years Kevin had expanded into powered access solutions to provide a broader offering to our customers. By 2013 it became a race to the bottom: the big players could slash rates overnight and smaller operators could not compete.
So, I rebranded as “Grove Scaff”, stepped away from powered access solutions and focussed on our core business – aluminium scaffolding. It was a niche inside a niche, and at the time, a misunderstood one.
“Aluminium scaffolding is problem-solving in three dimensions. It’s design thinking with spanners.”
Finding Strength in Specialisation
If you haven’t lived in our world, aluminium scaffolding often gets lumped in with steel as if they’re interchangeable. They aren’t.
Steel is perfect for high-rise construction and structural projects. Aluminium on the other hand, excels in tight, technical environments – over roofs, above machinery, around ductwork—where lightweight modularity is the difference between “that won’t fit” and “we’ll solve it.”
The challenge was that the broader industry didn’t always understand the differences, and, at the time, the Australian Standards didn’t speak our language. Training for scaffolders was minimal – a one-week course could get you a basic ticket, and within that 1 week, only 2 hours was dedicated to aluminium scaffolding.
Technical advice was hard to come by. So, we learned by doing, and by asking. I still remember a job on top of a city building—complex geometry, high exposure, no textbook to follow and no local advice
We sought out interstate aluminium specialists, picked their brains, and lobbied suppliers for answers. We engineered around gaps. We kept clients safe.
“Niche expertise deserves a direct line, not a gatekeeper.”
Breaking Barriers and Building Systems
Being a woman leading a scaffolding company has brought its own… folklore.
For years, customers assumed the “operations guy” must be my husband. When he wasn’t, they assumed the next senior bloke must be. Apparently, I’ve been married to a few men at Grove Scaff!
I can laugh about it now – but it reflects how invisible women in construction have been. But invisibility is not leadership.
At some point I chose to step out from behind the scenes—not to be the face of everything, but to claim responsibility for the direction of the company and the standards we set.
“Invisibility is not leadership.”
Raising the Bar for an Undervalued Trade
Standards, training, and recognition are the battle lines that matter.
In places like the UK and New Zealand, scaffolding is respected as a trade at the top of the safety ladder. In Australia, it is too often treated as a commodity at the bottom of the supply chain.
You can’t achieve consistent, safe outcomes by wishing for them. You need clear pathways – from training to competence and competence to pride.
I am currently the South Australian chair of the Scaffolding Association of Australia.
My involvement with the SAA is providing the vehicle to achieve safer outcomes, working together to improve the professionalism, training and recognition of our industry. Competitors don’t have to share trade secrets to share a vision for safer, smarter work. It’s about sharing learnings and growing together.
“Competitors don’t have to share trade secrets to share a vision for safer, smarter work.”
Smarter Systems, Stronger Accountability
Locally, one of the biggest breakthroughs has been partnering with an Adelaide-based temporary works engineer who understands aluminium.
Having someone who can look at our drawings, visit our sites, and speak to the realities of local conditions has been a godsend.
Training though, remains a slow burn. I fund my team’s courses, but I am deliberate about value. If a qualification adds no knowledge and drags people off the tools for a certificate-only outcome, I won’t pursue it for the sake of a frame on the wall.
What I will invest in is capability we can see on site: structured mentoring, and the craftmanship that comes from tackling complex aluminium builds safely and consistently.
“That’s the foundation we’re building on—smarter systems, stronger accountability, and a team that takes pride in doing things the right way.”
The Future of Grove Scaff
The path ahead is about refinement, not reinvention — to keep lifting our standards, our people, and our industry.
It’s about training smarter and building a generation of scaffolders who can read a drawing, understand engineering specifications, and bridge the space between them with confidence.
We’ll raise the bar for training and recognition, so our trade earns the respect it deserves.
That means setting a new benchmark for aluminium scaffolding in South Australia— targeting sectors like Defence that value safety and quality over cost, collaborating with steel suppliers to deliver complete scaffold solutions, and building a dedicated training arm in alignment with the Scaffolding Association of Australia to grow future talent.
Our focus is also on using technology as an enabler for growth — connecting our systems, our people, and our clients through smarter tools and stronger accountability.
We’ll give our clients a system they can trust — clear, consistent, and reliable — backed by a team who understands not just what they do, but why each step matters.
“Solid processes and systems aren’t bureaucracy — they’re how you free good people to deliver quality every time.”
I didn’t set out to be here. But I’m proud of where we’ve arrived and clear-eyed about where we’re going.
Grove Scaff will stay niche, stay technical, and stay human.
And as we continue to grow, I want our success to reach beyond deliverables — finding ways to give back to the community that’s supported us for so long.
“That’s how we honour the past and build the kind of future our people — and our clients — deserve.”