business
Subiaco Founder Mia Chen Scales Modular Housing Startup to Meet Perth Demand
Mia Chen's GreenForge Innovations is rolling out recycled-material modules from its Hay Street base to address falling prices and supply gaps in the local market.
How we reported this
Mia Chen launched GreenForge Innovations three years ago from a converted warehouse on Hay Street in Subiaco and has now secured contracts to supply modular wall and floor panels to three mid-sized builders operating across the Perth metropolitan area.
The timing aligns with a documented slide in Perth median house prices that began late last year and continued through the June quarter, pushing developers and buyers toward lower-cost construction methods that still meet Western Australian energy-efficiency rules.
Local Partnerships Drive Early Orders
GreenForge maintains its design studio above the original Hay Street premises and collaborates with the City of Perth’s sustainability incentive program, which offers rate rebates for projects incorporating at least 40 percent recycled content. The firm also draws on the Western Australian Small Business Development Corporation’s export-readiness workshops held monthly at the organisation’s Northbridge training rooms.
Chen’s team sources crushed glass and reclaimed timber from demolition sites in East Perth and Fremantle, then assembles the panels in a 1,200-square-metre facility leased on the same block as the studio.
Revenue and Employment Figures
Company records filed with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission show turnover reached $3.4 million for the year ending 30 June 2025, up from $1.9 million the prior period. Staff numbers stand at 28, including eight apprentices enrolled through the Construction Training Fund’s Perth-based program. Average panel cost to builders has been quoted at $2,850 per square metre, roughly 18 percent below equivalent imported systems listed on supplier portals in May 2026.
Chen said the next production run will begin in August once additional compression equipment arrives from a supplier in Bunbury. Builders can book site visits or download specification sheets from the company website; the City of Perth sustainability program will host an open day for interested developers at Council House on St Georges Terrace on 28 July.