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Fitness First is one of the largest health club groups in the world with more than 342 Fitness First clubs worldwide with more than one million members across 15 countries. In Australia, Fitness First has 78 clubs with approximately 240,000 members.

After a struggle through the early 2000’s with some operational and reputation challenges, they underwent a significant overhaul in 2012 after being acquired by Oaktree Capital Management. The organisation started their journey of change and committed to rebuild their reputation and standing as the industry leader in fitness.

In 2013, the first tangible evidence of change, through a new partnership with opr Health, was the launch of a new concept gym in the heart of Sydney’s CBD called ‘The Zone’. The concept, a world first innovation, was based on the principles of dynamic movement training. The Zone offered six distinct ‘zones’ for small group training, each created by Fitness First with more than 95 classes running in a day for members.

The strategy behind the launch provided an opportunity to bring to life the company’s philosophy of motivation, fitness expertise and the idea that ‘machines don’t motivate people, people motivate people’. In addition, it also showcased its serious commitment to invest in change and deliver real benefit back to members.

Several years on, the Fitness First location in Pitt Street Sydney has recently completed a refurbishment that extends the exclusive concept to more of its members. In keeping with the ‘Platinum’ standard of the brand, the physical spaces needed to reflect this positioning, and their design team were open to new products that would visually enhance the space but also minimise downtime.

From an aesthetics viewpoint, the gyms had traditionally used flat sheet products for their fitouts. On this occasion though, the stars aligned in the process and the design team were introduced to the Territory Concrete product by their Builder, Matthew Skord from Project Plus.

“This product had been around for a little while and we started to see it more on projects giving us the confidence to use it. The palette had recently been relaunched and had evolved to more modern tastes which was appealing. And also, being a CSR Cemintel product, we knew that there was going to be good technical support if we needed it. As with all products, there are usually little tips and tricks you need to learn to aid in an efficient installation and achieving a quality outcome. For us it ticked a lot of boxes.”

The Concrete product complements the minimalist palette of materials used on the project, and blends beautifully with the rich red and black colour tones.

With the aesthetic requirements covered, Territory also helped with minimising downtime. As it is a prefinished product, the panels are installed with a clip fixing system to the studs with no need to bring in painters or tilers. After a bit of a wipe down, the product is ready to go. In expensive CBD spaces, the quicker a business is up and running, the better.

With ‘The Zone’ in Pitt Street now open, Territory is being considered for some future locations. Cemintel is excited to be associated with a prestigious brand with this product that keeps going from strength to strength.

CSR Cemintel
Fitness First, Sydney
Fitness First, Sydney
Fitness First, Sydney
Fitness First, Sydney
Fitness First, Sydney

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Fitness First, Sydney

About the
Professional

CSR Cemintel are the fibre cement and lightweight composite solution specialists. With design and innovation as our central drivers, Cemintel offers engineered systems around prefinished solutions that enhance performance and aesthetics, as well as traditional internal lining products. Our passion is to help Kiwis design right, and build better.

Cemintel fibre cement is changing the face of design and innovation in Australia. Tapping into global design trends, Cemintel brings the best the world has to offer to the Australian market – providing the latest designs fused with innovative new approaches. Cemintel is part of CSR – the brand behind the most trusted building products. Cemintel has a progressive approach to fibre cement built around a team of experts, including; technical support, engineers and building designers. For our clients, it means you’re getting the best products paired with the best experience.

Cemintel - Cement Intelligence

With unparalleled design flexibility, fibre cement is perhaps one of the most flexible building materials available today. Through innovation and intelligence with cement panels, Cemintel offers a range of products, systems and services that inspire, giving choice and real design flexibility to create striking points of difference.

Unparalleled Design Flexibility

Fibre cement is perhaps one of the most flexible building materials available today.

  • It can be manufactured in numerous panel sizes and thicknesses.
  • It can be cut into various shapes and patterns.
  • It can be compressed for high strength applications.
  • It can be used in acoustic systems.
  • It can be used as a superior wet area lining product.
  • It can be painted.
  • It can be tiled.
  • It can be used for fire resistance applications.

New materials influence the way buildings are defined. Cemintel is responding to the growing importance of external and internal cladding with the release of new prefinished ranges. These ranges respond to the preference for high performance, lightweight materials and the desire for buildings to enhance the environment where we live. From external façades to interior surfaces, these ranges are a reinterpretation of cladding as we know it.

It’s the future of building and it starts now.

An Idea Born From Imagination

The father of fibre cement, Ludwig Hatschek, started to imagine a new building material in 1894. He wanted a material that was lighter than brick, cheaper than slate and better than sheet metal.

In 1900, he achieved his breakthrough with a special mix of fibres, cement, pulp, air and water. The Austrian calls the world’s first industrially manufactured building material ‘Eternit’ and numerous European countries adopted the technology from 1903. Australia first introduced the technology in about 1917.