Burak Dincel left Turkey in 1979 with no English and no professional standing in the Australian market.
Over the next 20 years the structural engineer developed a patented PVC wall building material.
His business, Dincel Construction, now turns over more than $60 million a year.
"I basically put everything on the table and I took a very big chance," Mr Dincel told SBS.
"I'm a very calculated person and I do my calculations correctly, and I borrowed the money for the first production line."
Mr Dincel describes his snapping technology as a "glorified lego."
He says the product has changed the Australian construction industry's reliance on using brick and besser block building materials.
Dincel is made from a re-engineered PVC formulation, meaning it is an alternative to conventional removable frameworks that are used to build walls and columns.
The different parts are "snapped together" meaning builders don't have to use cranes or scaffolding.
"When you have a look at the product, it gives you a minimum 30 per cent cost savings and up to 50 per cent time savings," Mr Dincel said.
Mr Dincel's two sons also work in the business, a fact he is very proud of.
"When the time is right, I will have absolute confidence that my sons will be more than capable in working with the Dincel team in managing and continuing to further grow this business," Mr Dincel said.
Mr Dincel migrated to Australia, following his now wife, in 1979.
Learning English was a particular challenge for the engineer.
"I remember those days I used to put the tape recorder on the lecturer's table during the class and I used to listen to them 10 times after the lecture," he said.
"Determination is everything, god gave us a brain to use that, all we need to do, all we have to do, is do our research and as a result we can achieve the impossible dream."
