George is the magazine for St.George Bank’s corporate customers. Aimed at executive-level readers, it features customer case studies, news, articles on emerging business and management trends, product information, lifestyle features and more.
Issue link: http://viewer.e-digitaleditions.com/i/48224
I t takes corporate courage to commit to creating the nation's largest purpose- built fabrication and modularisation facility during a global financial crisis. Civmec's Chairman Jim Fitzgerald acknowledges that some external critics doubted the move to build the massive facility on 70,000 square metres of land in the Australian Marine Complex precinct in Henderson, Western Australia. Just over two years later, Civmec takes justifiable pride in its state-of-the-art facility that is now an integral part of its business, servicing the mining, oil and gas, construction, engineering, utilities and power sectors. Focusing on four key business units – site civil construction, fabrication and modularisation, precast concrete construction and industrial insulation – the company is well on its way towards building its reputation as one of Australia's leading construction and heavy engineering contractors. Going for growth Jim and fellow Director and Chief Executive Officer, Pat Tallon, acquired the name and assets of Civmec (founded in the early 90s and more recently up to June 2009 operated concrete and structural-mechanical and process piping (SMP) erection. However, Pat emphasises that what the company has accomplished to date has been achieved through a culture of teamwork. "There's no standout person who leads the whole operation," he says. "It's been very much a team effort." Pat praises his outstanding workforce and management team for their efforts and support, as he believes this is the key to Civmec's reputation for excellence. His philosophy is that a business should recruit for attitude, not just skills alone. "We can teach the skills," he adds. Planning for the future Once Civmec established its future goals, the plan was to then focus on bedding down the implementation of the new accounting, fabrication, construction, safety and quality control systems. Despite achieving healthy profits after the initial 12 months, it was time for Civmec to make its first big move if it wanted to get its share of the big contracts in the fabrication and construction sector, which would ensure the company's long-term future success. To do so, it needed a large heavy Pat Tallon, Director and CEO, Civmec Construction & Engineering Jim Fitzgerald, Chairman, Civmec Construction & Engineering "There's no standout person who leads the whole operation. It's been very much a team effort." —Pat Tallon, Director and Chief Executive Officer under the publicly listed VDM Group) and began transforming it with the support of a focused Management Team and a committed workforce. Growing employee numbers from 30 to over 500 in just a short period of time, Civmec is now a multi-million-dollar operation with a client list comprising of mining giants; BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and energy conglomerates Chevron, Woodside and Apache. Jim, Pat and new Director and Chief Operating Officer, Kevin Deery, have brought decades of experience to the business in insulation, concrete construction, precast engineering facility; therefore an ideal site was located on the waterfront at the Australian Marine Complex precinct at Henderson, WA, some 35km south of Perth. While at first it was viewed as a risky prospect given the fallout from the GFC, Jim reflects that it did play into Civmec's hands because at the time, generally base material prices had dropped substantially and local labour was readily available. Furthermore, the Directors and Management Team had faith in the company's ability to perform in the future. "We looked at all the numbers and the upcoming pipe line of work and felt confident www.stgeorge.com.au/george George 29