A Family Story Poured in Concrete

The story of Dalmatian Concreters began in 1984 when Vlado Dragic made the brave decision to emigrate from his home country of Croatia to South Australia. He didn’t have any promises of success, but he brought with him an unrelenting work ethic and the belief he could make something of himself.

In Adelaide, Vlado found a vibrant and growing post World War II Croatian community. They took him in with open arms, and before long, he was building a life, raising a family, and by 2000 he had started his own business – Dalmatian Contractors (as it was known then).

In its early days, Dalmatian Contractors built a reputation as a versatile, all-round construction company. As the business grew, Vlado often travelled to regional areas, working on large-scale industrial projects like roadways, bridges, and infrastructure. The hours were long. The work was tough. And it sometimes meant being away from home for months at a time.

Those years weren’t easy. He missed birthdays, family dinners, and important milestones. But the sacrifice paid off. His name soon became known for honest work and jobs done properly, with no shortcuts.

This is the reputation he handed down to his son, Ante.

Ante joined the business in 2009, learning from his Dad on job sites across the state. When Vlado sadly passed away in 2016, Ante took the reins of Dalmatian Concreters with a determination to carry the family legacy forward.

Since then, he has set his sights on servicing the Adelaide metro area, choosing to specialise in custom residential concrete work from driveways, pathways, retaining walls, to decorative concrete.

While industrial work is no longer part of the schedule, Ante will always take on projects that give back to his city – particularly when they support the Croatian community that welcomed his father decades ago.

One enduring tradition for the company is the continued work they do to help prepare concrete for local cemetery mausoleums: careful, detailed work that holds deep meaning for the families involved.

Vlado’s influence continues to run deep at Dalmatian Concreters – “look after your community, and they’ll look after you.”

It’s no secret the concreting industry doesn’t always enjoy the best reputation. There are horror stories of dodgy workmanship, trades that bully their clients, cash jobs gone wrong, and contractors who vanish when something needs fixing.

That’s not how we do business at Dalmatian Concreters. We are fully licensed and insured, and we stand behind every job with our own workmanship guarantee. We can’t promise the quality of all concrete supplied, but we are happy to guarantee that if it is our mistake, we will always make it right.

As for Ante, he’s on a mission to help lift the standard of the industry. His work proves that concreting can be professional and respectful. Mentoring the next generation of tradespeople is also a big part of that.