Australasia Outlook / Issue 15

australasiaissue 15 | www.AusTRALAsiAouTLook.coM

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4WD accessory company ARB talk to us about their success

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Hi there and welcome to another edition of Australasia Outlook. We have a bit of transport theme this issue as we uncover some of the country’s most successful companies who traverse around this big wide land.

With more and more Australians choosing to holiday in their own backyard and do it in the family car, ARB 4x4 Accessories is booming. While they began with humble dream in 1975, ARB has grown into Australia’s largest manufacturer and distributor of 4x4 accessories. We have a chat to national sales and marketing manager, Matthew Frost, about the changing face of four wheel drivers and how that is making their company go from strength to strength.

We also look at the continued success of DHL over in Papa New Guinea, speak to the new CEO of Yarra Trams, which is the world’s oldest tram system, and look at ICD Property who has shifted its focus to Melbourne. And if that’s not enough, we also look at jobs in the mining industry, in particular the push for more women drivers. So, climb aboard and take the journey with us. Feel free to email your feedback or suggestions to me.

Thanks for reading.

Welcome

Alex HarmonEditor

EditoriAl Editor Alex Harmon

Writers ian ArmitageHugh radojevJames Ferron

BusinEssAdvertising salessandra Parr

AccountsFinancial controller suzanne Welsh

Production & dEsignMagazine design & production lisa Ferron images: getty, thinkstocknews: AAP

digitAl & it Hamit saka

tnt PuBlisHing cEo david Alstin

chairman Kevin Ellis Publisher tnt Multimedia limited

tnt Multimedia limited,126 Abercrombie street,chippendale, sydney, nsW, 2008

EnquiriEs & suBscriPtionstelephone: 0061 (0)28 332 [email protected]

www.australasiaoutlook.com

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womeN behiNd the wheel: the changing face of the mining industry

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VeNus Vs mars: Why men and women can’t work together

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4 w d d r e a m s : With over 30 years of production, ARB explain the keys to their success

h o m e s w e e t h o m e : ICD Property’s managing director talks about the company’s passion for business

s i l e N t p a s s e N g e r : We talk to the new CEO of Yarra Trams

C a l C u l a t e d r i s k : E&A Limited explain the building blocks of success

F r e i g h t m a t t e r s : DHL’s continued growth in Papa New Guinea

s o u t h a u s t r a l i a ‘ l e a d i N g t h e w a y ’ i N F o o dThe focus for Food SA is to’ feed connections to help industry grow’

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newsp o l i t i C s

offshore processing ‘threat to gas plants’

Both major West Australian political parties fear Shell’s Prelude floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) project will trigger a departure from onshore processing, slashing royalties and denying local jobs.

Specifically, the inquiry by the Legislative Assembly Economics and Industry Standing Committee will probe floating LNG’s effect on the engineering and design, fabrication and manufacturing.

Liberal MLA for Geraldton Ian Blayney, who is chairing the inquiry, said the Prelude field was far offshore in Commonwealth waters, so there was no alternative to floating processing.

“It’s only economic to develop that field using floating LNG but the worry we’ve got is they’re going to want to extend it right down the coast, if you like, and make it a substitute for building plants onshore,” Mr Blayney told Fairfax radio on Friday.

“But for the government and opposition, it’s very much their preference that the facilities be onshore.”

Premier Colin Barnett is staunchly opposed to the possibility Woodside will turn to floating LNG after backing out of an onshore plant at James Price Point for its Browse project, which is one-third in state waters.

b u s i N e s s

AAco blames export ban for loss

Australian Agricultural Company (AACo) managing director David Farley says farmers are struggling, almost two years after footage of overseas abattoir workers torturing cattle sparked public outrage and a temporary ban on live shipments.

The latest loss has widened from a $5.1 million net loss during the March quarter in 2012, despite revenue rising from $43.2 million to $61.1 million.

Domestic cattle prices have crashed as Indonesia’s decision to more than halve its Australian cattle quota left a local oversupply.

“The drought and the continued impact of the federal government’s 2011 suspension of live cattle exports to Indonesia continue to be felt in domestic cattle markets,” Mr Farley said.

“With the biggest herd in Australia, livestock values have a significant impact.”

Rainfall levels in northern Australia were even lower than the 2007 drought, leading to higher feed, water and transport costs, AACo said, as a high Australian dollar eroded wholesale margins.

The company, however, has completed the first stage of a new abattoir in Darwin.

AACo hopes its ability to export meat directly to Asia from next year will insulate it against suppressed domestic cattle prices, as global beef prices remain high.

In another development, AACo has found a local buyer for its 420,000-hectare Brighton Downs Station in Queensland’s central west, almost three years after it went on sale.

Queensland Agriculture Minister John McVeigh has to approve the $11.75 million transaction.

Some 41,186 cattle were sold in the March quarter by AACo compared with 29,646 during the corresponding period in 2012, accounting for the rise in company revenue.

The company has introduced a new reporting system which ends the financial year at the end of March instead of December.

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e N V i r o N m e N t

greens propose new energy savings agency

Households generating clean power through solar panels would be rewarded by a dedicated “energy savings agency” being proposed by the Australian Greens.

The minor party on Friday said it wanted to set up a new federal government agency to find $1 billion in energy savings and help drive down power bills and the emissions causing global warming.

Greens leader Christine Milne said the cost of installing the poles and wires needed for peak energy demand periods - just 40 hours per year - made up nearly a quarter of all power bills.

The top priority for the so-called energy agency would be to reduce demand during those peak times, by distributing $2 billion worth of incentives over five years to encourage less power use.

Senator Milne said federal and state governments had failed to address this issue of overinvestment, and it was time for an independent body to take up the task.

She said Prime Minister Julia Gillard last year pledged to end spending on poles and wires, and save Australian households $250 each in the process.

“But so far she’s been all talk,

no action,” Senator Milne said in a statement on Friday.

Under the Greens’ policy, the agency would also compel power retailers to pay “minimum fair prices” to households that produce clean energy through solar panels or other means.

It would also design a “National Energy Efficiency Scheme” by expanding three state-based initiatives.

Senator Milne said this “major investment in Australia’s clean, green future” had been costed by the Parliamentary Budget Office at $405 million per year.

e C o N o m i C s

Kiwi dollar tipped to fall further

The New Zealand dollar is expected to fall below 80 US cents next week as an improving US economy spurred supporters for the greenback.

The kiwi was trading at 80.93 US cents at 5pm in Wellington from 81.45 cents at 8am, and 80.26 cents on Thursday.

The trade-weighted index rose to 76.35 from 76.06 on Thursday.

The kiwi fell to an eight-and-a-half month low 80.04 US cents this week amid growing speculation the Federal Reserve would start winding back its $85

billion a month quantitative easing programme.Chairman Ben Bernanke told politicians on

Wednesday that would happen if the labour data showed signs of improvement.

“The trend is still down in the kiwi with the US dollar driving the move,” said Michael Johnston, director of foreign exchange at HiFX in Auckland.

“I certainly think the kiwi will fall further. We’re looking for at least 78 US cents.”

Local trade figures showed a smaller surplus than expected at $157 million last month, as a flood of petrol imports offset gains in meat exports.

The kiwi rose to a three-and-a-half year high against the Australian dollar, trading at 83.58 cents at 5pm from 83.21 cents on Thursday.

Mr Johnston said the cross-rate was still moving in the kiwi dollar’s favour and he’s projecting it will reach 85 Australian cents in the coming months, with the Australian central bank more likely to cut rates and New Zealand’s showing a bias for higher rates.

The kiwi fell to 82.03 yen from 82.44 yen on Thursday and advanced to 62.60 euro cents from 62.46 cents.

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newsb u s i N e s s

gillard resists call for car tariff rise

Prime Minister Julia Gillard is resisting pressure from unions and Labor MPs to raise tariffs or significantly boost industry assistance after Ford’s decision to stop making cars in Australia.

Ford says about 1200 workers will lose their jobs at its two plants in Victoria by October 2016.

The company’s profits have been squeezed by the high Australian dollar, making exports more expensive and imports cheaper.

Australia imposes a five per cent tariff on imported cars, but a number of Labor backbenchers and unions say it should be at least 10 per cent while the dollar remains high.

Ms Gillard ruled out such a move on Friday, saying it would not assist manufacturers in the long term.

“I don’t believe that imposing tariffs and getting in the way of us being able to be an exporting nation by potentially sparking trade reprisals is the right strategy for Australia,” she told reporters on the NSW Central Coast.

Labor senator Doug Cameron, a former

manufacturing union boss, said it was time for some “economic nationalism”.

“There comes a time where you’ve got to put the national interest before your economic ideology,” Senator Cameron said.

Labor MP Darren Cheeseman, who holds a Victorian marginal seat affected by the shutdown, said as well as imposing “emergency tariffs”, the government should encourage Ford to chip in $15 million to a fund set up to help workers and local businesses adjust.

Ms Gillard challenged Ford to contribute “generously” to the fund.

The prime minister was due to hold talks with unions and employers on Friday afternoon as part of the regular national panel for economic reform meeting.

Australian Council of Trade Unions secretary Dave Oliver said “crisis talks” were needed to ensure the automotive industry’s long-term future.

Ms Gillard announced $50 million on Thursday to support affected workers and businesses in the Geelong and northern Melbourne areas and other parts of the automotive supply chain.

Ford president and chief executive Bob Graziano said he was working with the Victorian and federal governments on how best to contribute to the adjustment package.

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott said the car industry needed an export plan.

“If you’re going to economically make cars in Australia you’ve got to export the bulk of them,” he said.

Ford has in the past decade been offered government help to export its Territory SUV, but declined to do so.

Holden boss Mike Devereux said high input costs and low tariffs were making it tough for manufacturers.

Ms Gillard said she understood workers were “anxious” about the future of the Australian economy.

“Even with Ford’s decision yesterday, we can be reassured the Australian economy is resilient and it has strong fundamentals,” she said.

The government plans to spend $1.5 billion on car industry assistance from 2016 to 2020.

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s p o r t

Power chasing history at indy 500

Will Power can join Australian sports hoodoo breakers Cadel Evans and Adam Scott if he wins this weekend’s Indianapolis 500.

Evans ended Australia’s wait for a Tour de France winner in 2011 while Scott’s Masters success at Augusta in April ended another marathon wait for Australian sports fans.

Now Power wants to make it an international sporting achievement hat-trick by becoming the first Australian to claim the Indy 500 crown.

Several Australian drivers, including ex-Formula One world champions Sir Jack Brabham and Alan Jones, have tackled the famous race in its 97-year history.

Triple world champion Brabham, arguably Australia’s greatest motorsport driver, briefly led the 1970 race but his best finish was ninth in 1961.

Brisbane-born Scott Dixon did win in 2008 but the two-time IndyCar series champion races as a New Zealander after growing up in Auckland.

It means Australia is still

waiting for an Indy 500 winner and Toowoomba product Power represents the best chance when he lines up in sixth spot on the grid for Sunday’s (Monday 0200 AEST) race.

In six visits to the Indy 500, Power’s best finish was a fifth in 2009 but the three-time series runner-up feels confident after a solid qualifying display.

“We did a lot of miles and worked with (teammates) AJ (Allmendinger) and Helio (Castroneves) to optimise our efforts,” Power said.

“At the end of the day I feel pretty good about what we’ve accomplished.

“All in all we are as prepared as we can be heading into the race. The guys have done a great job preparing and setting up the Verizon Chevy all week long.

“Now we look forward to a shake down run on Carb Day (Saturday AEST) and then we’ll give it our best come the race.”

Australia’s hopes aren’t just in the hands of Power, with Sydneysider Ryan Briscoe also competing for the powerful Chip Ganassi Racing outfit.

Briscoe, the 2012 pole holder, will start back in 23rd but in a race known for high-speed crashes and dramatic finishes, can still force his way into contention.

“The first step is being there at the end,” Briscoe said.

“You need to be there, you need to look after your equipment and be in the fight at the end of the race.

“At this race, so many times, a lot of stuff happens in the last 10 laps. It’s a long race.”

e N t e r t a i N m e N t

criss Angel axes death-defying stunt

Illusionist Criss Angel has cancelled a second death-defying stunt in Las Vegas after police officers struggled to control thousands of fans who lined the streets to see his latest trick.

The magician was set to be buried alive in concrete as part of a public illusion outside Sin City’s Mirage resort on Wednesday night, but organisers underestimated the number of people who turned out to watch.

Police struggled to control the surging crowd and the event was called off over safety fears.

Angel has since apologised to fans on Twitter and insisted the stunt will be rescheduled.

“I’m so honoured to have had such an enormous crowd turn out but am very disappointed that we got shut down - officials never expected (a big) size crowd,” he tweeted.

“We’ll reschedule Buried Alive with appropriate number of police. I’m sincerely sorry for any inconvenience this might have caused anyone.”

The news comes just days after Angel was forced to cancel

a similarly scary stunt in Las Vegas on Friday due to bad weather. The star had planned

to walk blindfolded across a steel beam suspended

between two high-rise buildings, but cancelled his

plans because of strong winds.

10

newss p o r t

take a punt on Merritt, says Hazem

One wing spot, the five-eighth and how to find the right balance on the bench are the only things NSW coach Laurie Daley is still mulling over ahead of Sunday’s squad naming for State of Origin game one.

Daley’s 17-man squad appears to be all but sorted but some question marks remain around who will partner Canberra’s Blake Ferguson on the wing, and whether the No.6 jersey will go to incumbent Todd Carney or in-form Sydney Rooster James Maloney.

St George Illawarra’s Brett Morris is the front-runner for the remaining wing spot, where he would likely play outside of twin brother Josh Morris from Canterbury who will form a centre pairing with Michael Jennings.

But a knee injury has forced Morris to miss the past two Dragons fixtures, and he’s in extreme doubt for Saturday night’s clash with Penrith.

The 26-year-old trained lightly this week, completing running exercises from Wednesday away from the main group in a bid to prove his recovery was on track.

But Daley is not willing to take injured players into camp, preferring to have his full squad about to train from day one.

That re-opens the door for South Sydney’s Nathan Merritt, forgotten Newcastle winger Akuila Uate and Manly youngster Jorge Taufua.

Merritt’s push has been a long time coming with the 29-year-old crossing for his 147th NRL try last weekend, and he has a fan in Bulldogs champion Hazem El Masri.

El Masri became the Blues’ oldest State of Origin debutant in 2007 when, at 31, he scored a try and kicked three goals in an 18-4 victory.

And the NRL’s all-time leading pointscorer can see similarities in how long he had to wait for his one and only NSW jersey, and the similar predicament facing Merritt who has been overlooked often for centres being played out of position.

“It’s good to get a specialist winger to play there,” El Masri told AAP.

“I think he’d do a wonderful job. He can sniff a try out of nowhere. His record speaks for itself.”

Merritt has often admitted he felt his time had passed and that he’d given up on any representative aspirations - an admission El Masri

recognised all too well.“I know exactly how he feels. It was the same

thing with me,” he said.“All he can do is play footy. That’s the only

answer he’s got.“Hopefully he can keep proving them wrong

until he gets an opportunity. Because you just don’t want to give them any more reasons not to choose you.

“It’s sad in a way that I only got one game, but it was the best game of my life.”

Daley is understood to have locked in captain Paul Gallen at prop, alongside Test front-rower James Tamou and Wests Tigers’ skipper Robbie Farah.

That leaves a backrow of Luke Lewis, Anthony Watmough and Greg Bird, while the bench utility role is likely to be handed to former Blues skipper Kurt Gidley.

The remaining three spots will include Cronulla’s powerful young prop Andrew Fifita and Melbourne’s Ryan Hoffman, as well as another mobile front-rower, with St George Illawarra’s Trent Merrin and the Tigers’ Aaron Woods in front.

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e N t e r t a i N m e N t

stones exhibit opening in cleveland

Over the years, curators at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum have occasionally had trouble coaxing reluctant stars to help put together major exhibitions. Not so with members of The Rolling Stones, who made time in their packed anniversary schedule to help.

Rolling Stones: 50 Years of Satisfaction, opening on Friday and running through March 2014, covers two floors at the museum and contains scores of personal items.

“The timing was right,” associate curator Craig Inciardi said.

“Ordinarily, you would think that working on an exhibit while the artists are getting ready for a major tour would be a bad thing. In this case, it worked to our advantage in that they were all getting together, spending time making decisions in the same room. ... We ended up getting their full cooperation.”

The interactive exhibit honouring Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and the band’s other members is a tribute to their work, worldwide musical impact and continued relevance.

It’s more than a celebration. In fact, it’s a gas.With nearly 300 artifacts on display, the exhibit

chronicles the band from its birth in England as a blues cover band to its current 50 and Counting tour. Rare guitars, stage outfits, concert posters, documents and personal items fill two floors.

After stepping through a doorway framed like the Stones’ iconic tongue-and-lips logo - omnipresent in various shapes and sizes on the museum’s fifth and sixth floors - visitors are taken back to the band’s early days, even before founder Brian Jones, Jagger, Richards, Ian Stewart, Mick Taylor and Charlie Watts played their first gig.

There are gems of Stones’ history interspersed throughout the exhibit. Impeccably mounted behind glass, the treasure trove of items includes:

- Fan questionnaires filled out in the early 1960s by the band. On his, Jagger listed his likes as “girls, eating, clothes” and dislikes as “intolerant people, having my hair cut.”

- A silver serving tray the band “allegedly” stole from Station Hotel during a night of beer drinking.

- Jones’ custom Vox teardrop guitar and Ronnie Wood’s Zemaitis electric six-string, which has personalised etchings carved into the silver facing.

- Jagger’s floor-length cape stitched out of US and British flags that he wore on the 1981-82 tour.

- The 1970 letter the Stones sent to Santana, asking for permission to use footage of the band’s performance at the

infamous Altamont concert, which eventually became the film Gimme Shelter.

- The original artwork for It’s Only Rock and Roll and Their Satanic Majesties Request.

However, this is hardly a staid stroll through display cases and wall hangings. With this exhibit, the hall is hoping to entertain, educate and enlighten.

For the first time, visitors can be included in the show with the launch of an interactive project where fans can share photos - the hall has lifted a ban on picture-taking in the exhibit - and other memorabilia at a multimedia display and online. Fans can upload images to Twitter and Instagram with the hashtag rockhallsatisfaction to contribute.

“This gave us an opportunity to engage the fans a little bit more,” said Todd Mesek, vice president of communications.

“OK, show us your experience with the Stones. Show us your tickets, show us your set lists, show us your concert photos. What we’re also doing with our new photo policy is letting fans take shots in here and send it out to the world, let them be a part of it.”

The exhibit includes three iPad-based interactive kiosks where visitors can put on a pair of headphones and hear the band’s early blues influences, explore the Jagger-Richards songwriting team and see how the band melded influences into its one-of-a-kind sound.

“We wanted to take visitors deeper into the sounds of the Stones and their music and hear it in a way they’ve never heard it before,” said Jason Hanley, the hall’s director of education. “... We had to think about ‘how do we get 50 years of music into three different stations?’ So we came up with the idea of focusing on them as real innovators who were always looking at the world around them and pulling in new things.”

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facethe ChaNgiNg

of miNiNg

Photo credit; Copyright © 2013 Oyu Tolgoi

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Mining secToR

Focus Workforce

THE boom in Australia’s mining investment is near its peak, though it is forecast to remain at very high levels for the next year or so. The Reserve Bank of Australia recently stated that capital expenditure in

the resources sector, the major driver of growth in the Australian economy in recent years, was likely to remain around its current levels next financial year.

But while the mining sector is riding this high they’re also having to contend with a new problem due to Australia’s aging workforce. A pressing concern for BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and the other major players is the very commodity they require to carrying on digging: a highly skilled workforce.

The problem, like everything else in this business, is on a daunting scale. The National Resources Sector Employment Taskforce has described a worst-case scenario of a shortage of 36,000 jobs by 2015. While the Australian resource industry itself puts the figure much higher, looking at a shortage of 90,000 by 2016. And whatever the ups and downs of future demand, if the industry is going to sustain growth it has no choice but to invest in growing and developing its skilled workforce.

This has urged mining to explore fresh sources of recruitment - the most obvious has been its focus on tapping the female population.

Currently only 18 per cent of jobs in the mining industry are filled by women. To highlight the big issues facing the industry, services firm Pricewaterhouse Coopers, interviewed senior executives in the Australian energy and resources sector for its June 2012 report entitled ‘Mind the Gap - solving the skills shortages in resources’. It revealed that 80 per cent of those executives considered attracting more women as a real issue, with 52 per cent stating it as a top priority.

At the Australian Women in Resources Alliance (AWRA) Conference just held in Sydney, Anglo American CEO Seamus French said attracting female employees is a top priority for the coal giant, and that women are a source of fresh ideas, innovation and skills. “Diversity gives us the opportunity to grow the resourcing pool rather than fishing it dry and to make this happen we are creating an inclusive culture which embraces all employees, no matter their gender, ethnicity, age or religion,” said French.

For decades the industry has been relying on predominantly male, baby boomer professionals in the fields of prospecting exploration and processing but as they approach the end of their working lives that stock of valuable expertise is rapidly depleting. And it’s proving a difficult vacuum to replace.

The root of the problem lies in the industry’s lack of

Down in the dirt and dust of the coalface of Australia’s resources boom, amid the rumble of heavy

machinery, they’re recasting what used to the man’s world of mining.

Preference is being given to women drivers and ex-teachers and public servants are recruits

of choice and a 68-year-old great-grandmother is as likely as anyone

to pull down a six-figure salary.

By James Ferronof miNiNg

14

investment in graduate trainee schemes in the late 1980s and early 1990s. And today many graduates and junior professionals complain that employers are demanding too much of their skill sets without offering the opportunities of learning on the job.

In a band- aid solution, the big names lobbied the government to introduce the somewhat controversial Enterprise Migration Agreement (EMA), a visa specifically created to provide an open door for experienced professionals from overseas. But with other mining operations around the globe competing for their skills there just aren’t enough to ensure Australia has the numbers it needs.

It remains to be seen if the industry can make up for lost time, But bodies such as AusIMM Women in Mining Network (WIMnet) which “aims to promote attraction and retention of women in the mining industry and to encourage membership and active participation of women” are actively promoting the career development opportunities to women whether in science based careers, truck

drivers, lawyers, engineers, geophysicists and secretaries.

Opening up the recruitment drive to women is a key part of a new recruitment strategy that promotes mining jobs the those who previously would never have considered it. A high profile advertising campaign, supported by the Minerals Council of Australia, using the theme ‘This is our story’ features feel good portraits of a new breed of mining recruits, men and women who extol the FIFO (Fly In Fly Out) lifestyle. The commercials portray the new recruits to mining as loyal family types, happy to work hard for the Aussie dream of paying off the mortgage and living the dream.

They ads promise the target audience a fulfilling career, good money, and the camaraderie that comes with being part of the Australian mining legend. It’s a very stirring combination designed to hit all the motivational triggers at a time when many ordinary workers see themselves being left behind in current economic climate. The idea that an average young female Australian could be driving a mammoth

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Sinead Kaufman - General ManagerPhoto credit; Copyright Heather Robbins www.redimages.com.au

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mining truck one week and taking the children to school in the family SUV the next hits home. With a beginner truck driver likely to earn between $85,000 and $110,000 a year it’s not hard to see how mining can be seen as an attractive alternative.

Just this month the placing of ads for 250 jobs in far north Queensland by BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance triggered more than 8000 applications in the Cairns region in pursuit of the Fly In Fly Out life.

These keen hopefuls joining the mining community are known as ‘Greenies’ (not to be confused with any warm feelings for conservationist) and with this ‘can do’ attitude’ they’re just what the work force the mining industry is hoping will help them face the future.

It’s not just providing women with the promise of excellent remuneration, the environment and working practices and lifestyle are now there to offer workers, both male and female a better balance between work and family. Indeed workers are offered a better package than they would find in many other workplaces with parent-friendly work rosters, couples on-site housing, onsite childcare, extended maternity leave.

The new recruitment strategy points to a mining industry facing higher capital cost and sees the opportunity to focus on improving performance and operational effectiveness with a workforce willing to follow corporate management styles and avoiding the historic disruptions from labour strikes.

At Rio Tinto’s new Clermont mine, in the central Queensland highlands, 40 per cent of the 306-strong workforce do not have a background in mining.

Its also openly acknowledged by the employers that women and more mature applicants are positively viewed as a be a better choice with regards to safety. They also offer mining companies a more contented and in some ways a more grateful workforce, happier to think about a career path within the sector - all of which makes for an easier to manage workforce - quite a contrast to the traditional miner who was loyal all male workers who were more bonded to each other and their union.

Focus Workforce

The changes for women are happening now, in the jobs once considered the bastion of the tough Aussie male driving a gargantuan - that true blue Aussie miner can just as easily be a woman - the new symbol of Australia’s egalitarian society, were anyone willing to work hard enough is entitle to have a go.

Learning to drive a huge trucks which weigh up to 200 tonne and costing up to $7 million is proving a popular dream for women considering a career in mining.

The only requirement is a current driver’s licence and a go-getter attitude to start, then qualifying for a Heavy rigid (HR) vehicle licence - which would set you back around $1000 – while some previous experience operating heavy machinery can help applicants get through the recruitment selection. Many are happy to get their experience by signing up to Truck Schools and with a course starting at $1,000 - and up to $4000 on the bigger rigs , it’s still more accessible that entry into many other career paths.

Keen Bros, one of the WA’s HR schools providers reports double the number of female learners going through their program in last five years.

And it seem women are considered by employers as more careful operators – being a lot easier on machinery and vehicles, which of course help keep down maintenance costs and lowers injury rates.

Mining secToR

Lisa Mirtsopoulos - Dump truck driver, Newmont

16

Women: do you feel like your male colleagues don’t listen to you? Men: do you feel like you’re walking on

eggshells with women in your office?Well, you might not be imagining it.One of the world’s most successful self-help

authors Dr John Gray - who will visit Australia in June - argues in his new book Work With Me that there’s more to these hunches than just aggrieved stereotyping.

US-based Gray, author of best selling relationship tome Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus, says men and women have “blind spots” when it comes to working together.

“Men unknowingly give messages that do not feel supportive to women,” says the father of three daughters on the phone from California.

“We say and do things that make women feel they’re not being valued or appreciated.”

But men are not the only ones to blame, he says.

“Women are also blind.

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woRkfoRce

Focus Workforce

“Our research shows that most women feel they understand men, but at the same time they’re constantly taking things personally that men don’t mean.”

Work With Me: The Eight Blind Spots Between Men and Women in Business is the result of more than 100,000 interviews with employees of 60 big companies.

Gray, and his co-author Barbara Annis, discovered 92 per cent of men said they appreciated their female colleagues, while 48 per cent of women felt they weren’t being appreciated and 82 per cent said they felt some form of exclusion.

This lack of understanding between “Martians” and “Venusians” has a serious side - women are giving up their careers and companies are losing talented employees.

“When women leave they often say it’s the work, life balance.

“But when we interviewed them they said they don’t feel valued, included or appreciated.

“You ask the men and they say `of course we recognise their contribution, we don’t want them to leave’.”

Both sexes need to improve their “gender intelligence” to solve these problems.

“Simply having women in the workplace and just paying them the same amount as men does not make it a better place for women.

“We need equality, but we also need to have an intelligence that appreciates what women bring to the table.”

Gray says his book and seminars will help people learn how to put themselves in the shoes of the other gender, how to listen and how to get messages across more effectively.

“Women need to feel safe to communicate and men need to learn to listen.”

Meanwhile, Gray says he’s thrilled that Reese Witherspoon has been chosen to star in the film version of Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus, due for release in 2014.

* Dr John Gray will host business and relationship seminars in Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, Melbourne and Perth from June 24. More: www.marsvenuslive.com.au.

WHy MEn & WoMEncan’t work

togEtHErBy Leah McLennan

18

succEss A driving

19

ARB

Focus Equipment

The great Australian holiday is changing. No longer is it a family of four lying by a pool, mum and dad drinking all-inclusive cocktails while the

offspring are shuffled off into the arms of a glorified babysitter or kid’s club. Families are holidaying together and they’re taking matters into their own hands. The self-drive holiday is more popular than ever and families are deciding to take their own vehicles along for the journey.

“It’s a well known fact, people are getting busier in their working lives, which is making them value their recreation time even more highly and this very much works in our favour,” says Matthew Frost, national sales and marketing manager for ARB. “Having a 4WD gives them the opportunity to go out and explore the country.”

While they began with humble dream in 1975, ARB has grown into Australia’s largest manufacturer and distributor of 4x4 accessories. They distribute everything from portable fridge freezers to safari snorkels to tow bars. Pretty much everything you could think of to make your journey one of freedom and flexibility.

“There has definitely been a tendency for more and more people over the last few years to choose to take their holidays in Australia,” explains Frost. “There are a couple of reasons: there’s the accessibility reasons, or the fact that people have got a 4WD helps them explore the remote areas. The other thing is that a lot of areas that are classic 4WD destinations have improved their facilities and are encouraging more people to come and visit them.”

This has driven ARB to continually improve their accessories to an export network of more than 100 countries around the world. These are the kinds of accessories that can make the difference between a good holiday and a great one.

In fact, safety is one of ARB’s major concerns.

“Put it this way,” says Frost. “If you were about to head off for three to four weeks with your family on a big trip into central Australia, the last thing you’d want is for the accessories on your vehicle to fail while you’re on your holiday.”

How one man in his shed created what is now the country’s most

successful manufacturer of 4x4 accessories. We chat to ARB

about the changing face of the Australian holiday and how that is ensuring the company go from

strength to strength.

By Alex Harmon

succEss

Are You Looking For The World’s Strongest Flexible Tanks and Inflatables?

Your search ends with Flexitank Australia.

International Grade. Australian Made.

Flexitank (Australia) Pty LtdA division of The FloatPac Group

Established in 1983

P: +61 (0) 3 9548 4700 F: +61 (0) 3 9548 4744

E: [email protected] W: www.flexitank.com.au

Flexitank Australia’s designed and manufactured range are unique. 100% Australian Made and owned, there are products that look like Flexitank Australia’s niche range but just like other pretenders, they always fall short of the mark; The difference is, we never compromise on quality.By utilising the highest quality materials sourced from Australia, the United States and Europe, the highest quality controls, and the latest manufacturing technologies and capabilities, Flexitank Australia strive for perfection in everything we manufacture. Now in its 30th year of manufacturing, Flexitank Australia has positioned itself as a leading niche manufacturing company, offering a unique range of products across a broad spectrum of industry. Furthermore, by offering a complete product realisation service, Flexitank Australia manufacture specific items for a multitude of companies large and small, servicing the Australian domestic market, as well as exporting to a number of countries around the world, including USA, New Zealand, Malaysia, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and India. With our roots firmly rooted in defence specifications, Flexitank Australia prides itself on manufacturing to client specifications whilst exceeding their expectations.

Our range includes:

• Pillow (bladder) tanks for a multitude of liquids and applications – 1,000 litres to 500,000 litres

• Onion tanks for a multitude of liquids and applications – 5,000 litres to 75,000 litres

• Tank, dam, and aquacultures liners – various sizes to 6,000,000 litres

• FlexidockTM dry docking solutions – waterline dry docking solutions for any water borne vessel

• Flotation and salvage equipment for marine, oil & gas and aviation industries

• RainPacTM under house flexible rainwater tank collection systems

• 4x4 drinking water Flexitank’s to suit any vehicle on the market

• Marine & camping Flexitank’s for drinking water, diesel, fuel and waste water storage

• Inflatable marker buoys and fenders for the marine industry

• Spill control and prevention solutions including collapsible bunding, spill mats, drain covers, bund relining, and filtration products.

With the latest in hot air, wedge and high frequency welding technologies, matched by high quality industrial sewing services and full CAD services with plotting and cutting, we also offer a full in house design, prototyping, and manufacturing service to bring product concepts to reality.

Based in Melbourne, Australia, with manufacturing capabilities in Europe and the United States, Flexitank Australia can easily supply product on a worldwide scale whilst continuing to offer Australian ingenuity and quality controls throughout our every growing network.

22

ARB

Producing quality accessories is high up on the list for ARB and that is a reputation they’ve been proud to uphold for almost 40 years.

“People recognise that we make the best accessories and if they are to buy them, they’re buying a product that is the best possible accessory for their vehicle,” adds Frost.

Back in 1975, company founder, Tony Brown, took a life-changing 4WD trip through the Top End of Australia. It was a time when these kinds of travels were dependent upon home-made or ill-fitting equipment. Tony was quite the handyman and built up a bit of a reputation for fixing other people’s vehicles. It was during this time that a brilliant idea came to fruition and changed what was an era of

risky and dangerous 4WD trips forever.

His concept was simple: create high quality, durable equipment that would meet the vigorous demands of 4WD owners. He started tinkering around in the family garage to fix some of the product deficiencies he’d encountered on his trip to the Outback and it was then that ARB, the initials of Anthony Ronald Brown, was born.

This “colourful history” as Frost calls it, is now successful and profitable company which employs over 1200 people internationally. So what challenges are there for a company which appears to be booming in an era of 4WD families?

“Well, like any performer in this day and age, retaining good

staff in such a buyout job market. Because unemployment is so low, hanging onto good staff is always a challenge for us,” explains Frost.

“The other thing, I suppose, is the increasing complexity of modern vehicles, if you look at designing accessories for a cars today, it’s a lot different to what it was 10 years ago. There are far more complex vehicles which make the design of the products a much more lengthy process and also this affects the installation times.”

So in an era of ‘soccer mums’ where even the most average of families own 4x4s like Mitsubishi Pajeros, the trends obviously change. The latest in swags or tow bars might not be the most popular item in the catalogue anymore. Instead, the focus




Flexitank (Australia) Pty LtdA division of The FloatPac Group Established in 1983

P: +61 (0) 3 9548 4700 F: +61 (0) 3 9548 4744


In the early 2000’s, armed with the premise of offering alternative drinking water storage concepts to the growing domestic and international 4x4 industry, Flexitank Australia’s relationship with ARB began. Thanks, in large, to ARB’s input, dedication, and support of Flexitank’s range of drinking water bladders, Flexitank have seen the continual growth and evolvement of our range into the full complement of water storage solutions offered today.

Now the 4x4 industry’s answer to traditional off road water storage problems, a Flexitank drinking water bladder will ensure all 4x4 owners can arrive at their destination safely and well hydrated, whilst not cluttering valuable cargo space. Available throughout the ARB network, Flexitank bladder’s offer 20 – 100 litres of pristine drinking water storage utilising voids and otherwise wasted space to provide innovative water storage solutions.




Flexitank (Australia) Pty LtdA division of The FloatPac Group Established in 1983

P: +61 (0) 3 9548 4700 F: +61 (0) 3 9548 4744


In the early 2000’s, armed with the premise of offering alternative drinking water storage concepts to the growing domestic and international 4x4 industry, Flexitank Australia’s relationship with ARB began. Thanks, in large, to ARB’s input, dedication, and support of Flexitank’s range of drinking water bladders, Flexitank have seen the continual growth and evolvement of our range into the full complement of water storage solutions offered today.

Now the 4x4 industry’s answer to traditional off road water storage problems, a Flexitank drinking water bladder will ensure all 4x4 owners can arrive at their destination safely and well hydrated, whilst not cluttering valuable cargo space. Available throughout the ARB network, Flexitank bladder’s offer 20 – 100 litres of pristine drinking water storage utilising voids and otherwise wasted space to provide innovative water storage solutions.

2525

ARB

Focus Equipment

26

seems to have shifted onto safety.“Our core product range is protection equipment,

along with vehicle suspension upgrades and locking differentials. Of course things like car Fridge Freezers are amongst our top performing products too” admits Frost

Appealing to a wider market has not only increased profits but also opened up the Melbourne-based company to a bigger network of staff, including their own in-house design team. ARB also have offices in every Australian state and a branch in Seattle, USA.

“We are a manufacturer of accessories but we have a whole department dedicated to designing the

Rhino-Rack has proven to be Australia’s most diverse commercial roof rack company. 100% Australian owned, we offer systems to suit the tradesman or large custom fleet projects to 4WDrivers touring our country.

The strength of our partnership with ARB is highlighted in the fact that we share knowledge and feedback to develop products to suit specific customer needs. We are proud to work in conjunction with ARB, building a quality product range that compliments each other’s expertise and provides solutions to our customers. The importance of such a partnership in providing a full and comprehensive product offering to our market is paramount in building a sustainable future for our industry. This is our focus!

RHINO-RACK

26

The World’s Most USEFUL Roof Rack Systems

27

ARB

Focus Equipment

28

products from scratch,” explains Frost. “We have a large engineering team dedicated to designing and creating products in-house.”

ARB are continually improving their own products to meet the needs of their customers.

“What you have to remember in our industry, it’s not just a case of bringing new products out. Every time a new vehicle comes out we quite often have to go back to the drawing room and create new accessories.”

It’s this innovation that is keeping ARB at the top of their field, but it is their strong company values that help them retain great staff. They have a policy that makes sure every employee is treated fairly and given the opportunity to realise their potential.

“The working culture is very strong, there are numerous staff that have been here 20-30 years and it’s a brand a lot of the staff are very enthusiastic about. This is demonstrated by the longevity of staff.”

ARB continually ensure that the relationship between employer and employee is win-win. And just like the perfect Australian holiday, within the walls of ARB and, of course, out on the road, there’s a great balance of fun and safety.

Hema Maps is a mapping and publishing company that has been exploring Australia for 30 years. The company crafts reliable maps, guidebooks and digital navigation solutions to properly prepare explorers for everything from a regional holiday adventure to simply making the right navigation decision in Australia’s most remote regions.

Driven by a passion for the outdoors and discovering the unknown, Hema Maps has freely risen to now stand as the most trusted source of mapping in both the 4x4 and caravan industries.

What sets a Hema map apart is its unmatched accuracy and detail, with the company’s dedicated field teams driving Australia’s remotest roads and tracks to meticulously GPS survey them.

HEMA MAps

ARB

hemamaps.com

Hema HN6 Navigator

Preloaded with CAMPS & Caravan Parks Australia

Wide locations and 78 detailed Hema 4WD maps

Plan Navigate Share4WD Maps App

Hema Australia Offline GPS 4X4 + Topo Navigation

YOU ARE HERE

Prepared to explore.Over the last 15 years, Hema has GPS mapped over 250,000km of Australia’s most remote roads and tracks.

3030

sHort tiMEA long way in a

31

For the young company who had just started out in the cutthroat world of Property

Management and Development in Victoria, the stakes were high and the road ahead looked daunting. The property market in Australia’s second largest city was in a poor way, with sky-high property prices and a dearth of people looking to buy. For ICD Property it was a tough time to start in the industry, and it took a few years for the fledgling company to find its feet. But, as company managing director Michael Mai explains, a commitment to innovative ideas, fruitful relationships with design and construction firms, and a lean team of young professionals with a genuine love for the industry have combined to produce lofty results.

There’s a small blurb on Melbourne based ICD Property’s website that speaks volumes about the kind of organisation they are. “Having moved to Melbourne from out of town or overseas, we have all chosen to call this city home.” It becomes quickly obvious that for Michael Mai , this is not just an empty slogan but very much central to the way ICD Property goes about its business.

“There are a lot of international students from Asia and a lot of people coming from Europe looking for work.

We have found that because of the attraction presented by Australia, and the demand for places to live, the industry is actually in quite a good state,” says Mr Mai, highlighting the company’s meticulous approach to research and commitment to an ever expanding population of migrants, of whom some at the company can directly relate having come from overseas to work at ICD Property.

It seems fitting that a young company like ICD Property should have a young group of core staff, many of them fresh out of university with little or no practical working experience in the industry but who possess a keenness to learn, a real passion for the business and a love of the real estate industry as a whole.

“We try to attract people, young people,” says Geraldine Berzins, Admin and HR Manager. “People who are interested in the industry and who are studying something that is strongly industry related. We bring them into the research team where we try to develop them, and through this process we’ve been very successful

in developing those younger graduates into full time working professionals internally.”

With a small but committed team of 14 staff members working for ICD Property, there is no room for those who don’t pull their weight. But by developing young professionals straight out of universities and tertiary education, ICD Property has quickly instilled a solid ethic within its workforce, as well as a commitment and sensitivity to the individual concerns of each local community where ICD Property has a project.

“We really try and involve the local people who are going to be able to provide services to us,” says Geraldine Berzins, “We believe it is really important to involve the local community whether it’s inner suburban Melbourne or Geelong, or out in the regional areas.”

This is a sentiment that Mr Mai whole-heartedly agrees with. “Our development philosophy is to develop buildings that suit the local character. ,” he says. “We want to deliver projects we can proud of, that work for the community

icD pRopeRTy

Focus Property

ICD Property aims to create well-designed properties in

premium locations. They talk to Australasia Outlook about

calling Melbourne home

By Hugh Radojev sHort tiMEChris Goss, Orbit

Solutions; Michael Mai, ICD Property;

Chris McCue, Carr Design and

David Hockley, Orbit Solutions

32

and for the purchasers but will also get a good return for our investors.”

Having only launched their first project, a luxury mixed-use apartment project in Collingwood, 18 months ago, the fact that ICD Property now have three other projects in the works including a medium density project in Hawthorn and a 1000 lot land estate awaiting settlement in the city of Geelong, is an obvious indication that the company is advancing in leaps and bounds. The land estate in Geelong seems to be a particularly exciting project for the company.

“We are adjoining two existing suburbs [within Geelong], one of which is Newtown which is known to the locals as the ‘Toorak of Geelong’. It’s a well-established suburb with lots of good infrastructure. There are schools and three major supermarkets, a nine-hole golf course and a nice river waterfront for our prospective purchasers. It’s only 5km outside of Geelong’s major CBD and only a 45 minute drive from Melbourne, right on

the brand new ring road,” explains Mr Mai. “ It is very much part of a long term strategy for us.”

With its YOU AND I apartment project in Collingwood already underway, ICD Property also has plans to launch another project of the same calibre later this year in Melbourne’s bourgeoning inner suburb of Hawthorn.

Both the YOU AND I site in Collingwood and the other in Hawthorn are being undertaken with the help of architectural firm Orbit Solutions and with interior design company Carr Design. Both companies have become indispensable to ICD Property in terms of realising the promise and vision of their Melbourne projects.

“We came across Orbit Solutions through an introduction by one of our other consultants. We have since formed a long-term relationship with Orbit Solutions. Our relationship-building philosophy is, even though we are only a young Property

33

“We try to attract people, young people,” says geraldine Berzins, Admin and Hr Manager. “People who are interested in the industry and who are studying something that is strongly industry related. We bring them into the research team where we try to develop them, and through this process we’ve been very successful in developing those younger graduates into full time working professionals internally”

icD pRopeRTy

Focus Property

“

CONSTRUCTION

INTERIORS

T 03 9328 8900 A 52 Henderson St, North Melbourne, VIC 3051E [email protected] W www.HarrisHMC.com.au

MAINTENANCE

ELECTRICS

Contact Us

Our mission is to provide quality workmanship and reliable service to every client, adding value by initiative and self-supervision.”

“

Development firm; we are always looking for reputable consultant teams to work with for the long-term. Orbit and Carr have both done a great job and we have built a good relationship with them.”

Many more strong working relationships between ICD Property and other like-minded companies have been formed in the last 12–18 months, including one with Melbourne-based construction company Harris HMC who will handle the building of ICD’s Collingwood project and Sinclair Brook who are the Project Managers for YOU AND I.

“There are so many people I’d really like to thank. Our company model is that internally we only manage the development side, so we outsource a lot of functions externally, but we have so many great partners whom we rely upon to translate our vision into reality. ”

With a number of exciting projects approaching fruition, a cosmopolitan and young team of committed professionals working in concert with a number of hugely important and influential partners, and a business model based on community mindedness and innovation, the present is bright for ICD Property, but the future is even brighter.

Since our inception in 2004, Sinclair Brook has been engaged in the formation and delivery of over $1billion in real estate projects

One of the keys to successful real estate development is strong leadership and management. Sinclair Brook prides itself as being one of the leading development management firms in Melbourne.

Sinclair Brook brings together a team of senior industry professionals with a mixture of technical (advisory services, design and construction management) and commercial (feasibility, contracting, financing, risk management, and procurement) skills.

Our team provides a comprehensive end-to-end solution for clients and partners, from concept development and feasibility assessment, through to deal-structuring and transaction management, development management and construction delivery.

The professional relationship with ICD & Sinclair Brook serves to highlight the positive project outcomes that can be achieved with genuine partnership. Clear objectives, open communication & long term ambitions build mutually beneficial results.

sINClAIR bROOK

34

icD pRopeRTy

35

icD pRopeRTy

Focus Property

Michael Mai, ICD Property. Adam Smith Sinclair Brook, Sal Quah, ICD Property. Tim Price,

Steven Tudor and Tim Miller, Sinclair Brook

At the heart of Sinclair Brook is a commitment to genuine partnershipSinclair Brook is a specialist real estate development group that provides development and project management, advisory and construction management services

- proudly partnering with ICD Property

Level 1, 460 Bourke Street Melbourne VIC 3000

PH: 03 9938 9888 E: [email protected] www.sinclairbrook.com.au

Development mAnAgement ADviSory ServiceS conStruction mAnAgement

363636

thiNkiNg aloNg

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The new CEO of Yarra Trams talks to Australasia

Outlook about his vision for the future of public

transport in Melbourne.

By James Ferron

Melbourne’s trams are a symbol of its unique character. A city that loves to boast of its distinctly

European feel. So it seems rather fitting that its beloved tram network should have an urbane Frenchman in charge.

Clément Michel has recently been promoted to CEO of Yarra Trams.

As head of the world’s oldest tram network, he oversees a metropolitan network consisting of 250 kilometres of double track, and operating 31,500 scheduled services each week.

His journey to running what is the world’s biggest operating tram network began in Paris where he worked for SNCF (French National Railways).

As Managing Director of Gare de Lyon in Paris – France’s busiest station with more than 31 million passengers a year – Michel was responsible for the management of more than 1,000 employees. He quickly proved himself by tackling punctuality, increasing the quality of service and boosting commercial turnover – on top of this, he oversaw extensive renovations works during the Rugby World Cup in 2007.

With this impressive performance behind him he arrived at KDR as Yarra Tram’s Chief Operating Officer as the new franchise started in 2009. In a short space of time he has made his mark and was awarded the post of Chief Executive Officer at the start of this year.

For those who may not have known Michel’s management philosophy and leadership style, the first day of his tenure left them in no doubt. In an open letter to staff he stated his personal commitment to making Yarra Trams a fully effective and efficient organisation that will provide his dedicated, passionate workforce with the support and leadership they deserve. He told them that his appointment was a mandate to make ‘’decisive change’’ - with the full backing of Public Transport Victoria, the statutory authority, to fix the problems affecting Melbourne’s tram services. The declaration was quickly picked up by the local press, making it clear to the whole of Melbourne that this Frenchman was determined to set higher expectations for everyone.

yARRA TRAMs

Focus infastructure

38

As we spoke to him about his priorities for the future it was clear that his view of the running public transport was firmly built on putting passengers first. He sees it as his number one duty to ensure the safety of public and his staff.

“We just finished our planning process now so we have things pretty clear, and they are pretty standard in terms of transport companies. We are planning them quickly

but safety and environment are important. Safety is a major concern for people travelling on trams, if they’re out at a party or drinking and they need public transport back, they are going to assume it is safe”

The second is the key driver of customer satisfaction, which is on-time performance. That of course leads to the third customer satisfaction, information, passenger accessibility. The fourth one is people and

39

leadership.And the finally, value for money – “for

the state, and for our shareholders. So that the people of Victoria are getting good value for money from their transport. That is really high level.”

They may seem obvious but it is the determination and exactitude that Michel brings to his role that signals him out as an achiever. So after a few months in the CEO

“Michel is steeped in public transport, and it’s clear that his passion lies in providing a transport system that really delivers on a day-to day basis for its passengers”

job, what immediate changes is he most excited about?

“Well, the main one that is going to have an impact is the new trams coming in on the network, which will arrive in a couple of months time for testing and will be ready at the end of the year. It’s going to have a real customer oriented approach, we are making sure that all the stops are accessible,

Focus infastructureyARRA TRAMs

Coleman Rail is one of Australia’s most trusted rail contracting business and the only contractor that maintains a permanent light rail design & construct team.

Coleman has won a reputation as the premier light rail contractor in Australia. We’ve secured that reputation because we have a long history of providing cost-e�ective solutions and delivering projects on time and within budget.

We have a simple approach: clear and innovative thinking, good communica-tion, and �exibility in method. We have the latest plant and a loyal and capable workforce, employing our highly-skilled sta� directly.

We are particularly skilled at managing tram, train, road tra c and pedestrian movements, as well as engaging the needs of the local community.

We are especially proud of our relationship with Yarra Trams and being able to assist them in the maintenance, renewal and upgrade of their tram network.

Key Projects

Domain Road Interchange, VICGlenelg Tramline Upgrade & Extension, SAHarbour Esplanade Redevelopment, VICMarrangaroo Tunnel, NSWRegional Rail Link, Work Package A, City to North Melbourne Station, VICRegional Rail Link, Work Package B, City to Maribyrnong River, VICRegional Rail Link, Work Package C4, Tottenham Track Slew, VICCraigieburn Rail Projects, VICAdelaide Rail Revitalisation, SA

Domain Road Interchange

Yarra Trams engaged Coleman to undertake major redevelopments to the Domain Interchange over the Easter 2013 holidays. The upgrades facilitated improved and safer access to tram services for passengers, with the addition of two, double-sided, level access platforms and a dedicated tram track for the Route 8 service to Toorak turning into Domain Rd. The installation of new tracks and widening the radius of the curve between St Kilda Rd and Park St reduced tram noise. The $10.2 million upgrade was completed in two weeks and includes new tram tracks, shelter and longer platforms. The interchange, one of Melbourne's busiest, is used by 75,000 passengers every week.

Glenelg Tramline Upgrade

DPTI engaged Coleman to undertake the upgrade and extension of the Glenelg Tramway and the design & construction of the new Glengowrie Tram Depot. Part of the TransAdelaide Upgrade Project, it turned the 100 year old tramline from Glenelg to Victoria Square into a modern and e cient public transport route suitable for new Flexity Light Rail Vehicles. It involved the total reconstruction of 12km of dual tram track and reconstruction of 17 dual platform tram stops. The 1.6km extension from Victoria Square to the Adelaide Convention Centre was the ¢rst major tramway expansion in Adelaide for many years, passing through Adelaide’s major city streets, King William St and North Terrace.

A member of the Geotech Group RegioRegional Rail Link, Work Package B, CCity to MaM ri yyrnong ver,

ckage C4, Tottennham Trrack Sleww, VICRegional RaRegional Rail Link, Work Package C4, Tottennhaam TTracck Sleew, VVICCraigieburn Rail Projects, VICAdelaide Rail Revitalisation, SA

For more information on our rail capabilities:

Head O�ce: 174 Turner Street, Port Melbourne, VIC 3207

T (03) 9624 4210F (03) 9624 4230

[email protected]

Other o�ces in Brisbane, Adelaide & Mackay

42

In January 2013, BDS People was appointed the sole supplier of labour hire services to Yarra Trams. As a specialist provider of workforce recruitment, BDS People’s skilled resources help deliver outstanding service to public transport commuters. By bringing their labour resource hire requirements together under the one supplier, Yarra Trams will deliver improved performance and better outcomes to their customers.

bDs pEOplE

s

For more information, please visit www.bdspeople.com.au or www.isgm.com.au

A subsidiary of

BDS People is a specialist provider of workforce recruitment solutions. A subsidiary of ISGM, together we provide more than 2,000 skilled contractors to leading organisations across Australia. BDS People specialises in an array of services from HR consulting and advisory, labour hire, recruitment and fully managed services to the transport, telecommunications, infrastructure, mining and manufacturing industries.

BDS People has the experience, expertise and ability to work with you to advise and implement creative management and workforce recruitment solutions to deliver improved performance, reduced costs and better outcomes for your business.

43

Focus infastructure

The loyal, dedicated workforce of Coleman Rail working on light rail projects for Yarra Trams

yARRA TRAMs

44

we want information both on the trams and at the stops, also information on getting to the stop.”

Michel is steeped in public transport, and it is clear that his passion lies in providing a transport system that really delivers on a day-to day basis for its passengers.

As part of his drive to engage with customers he regularly takes part in the Meet the Managers sessions, which are held at the city’s busiest tram platform stops during peak times. They’re widely promoted prior to the events, giving both tram passengers and staff helpful access and feedback.

As a passionate advocate for public transport he’s committed to developing a world-class tram network based on offering the highest standards in service performance for all stakeholders.

“In the long term, I would like to see the separation of the traffic as much as possible. If you decrease the journey time, with the same number of trams and drivers you get more frequency and therefore more

capacity and can transport more people with the same capital investment and operation costs”

He’s proud to promote trams as a better greener solutions elsewhere “I can say that in the 1950s, there was only one city in France with trams but now it’s 25. Even cities of 150,000 are building trams in Europe. In Australia you have old systems like ours which are popular, but you also have the Gold Coast which is building a brand new system. And actually it’s our company that are building it.”

It seems there aren’t many areas he doesn’t consider from a customer viewpoint. Take the introduction of the 15 new trams which are currently being built in Dandenong by Bombardier. Rather than take easy PR route and use the event to generate headlines, he has chosen a more considered approach which will maximises the benefits for everyone through the city.

‘The new trams are replacing new trams, they’re only 10 years old and we’re taking those trams and putting them

“Public transport is the best option, it’s more sustainable, but also it’s more user-friendly for the city, it’s great on all accounts.”

Focus infastructure

in a place where we have high frequency. So we do a cascade of the trams, instead of replacing very old trams with the newest tram, we try to impact as much as possible by increasing everybody’s experience and so we replace the relatively ‘new’ trams by newer. So, those old Seimens trams, which are high flow, high capacity, air con trams, will be put into operation in the south east of Melbourne where they’ve got low capacity non air-con trams. And by doing this we really have an impact on most of our customer base.’

Michel sees it as crucial that staff performance is aligned with customer experience. Yarra Trams currently employs more than 2,100 people and he’s determined

to support them with strong leadership that filters down through the ranks.

‘We have lots do to support our employees, there room for some improvement there, at the moment some managers manage 200 people on their on own and they don’t have team leaders.’

His thinking is a perfect demonstration of being able to combine operational detail with the big picture.

‘If you observe that 17 per cent of the time, the journey is spent waiting at the traffic lights. Now, if we had the green just for 4 or 5 seconds more, that would save 17 per cent of the journey time.’

With this sort of analytical mind it’s not hard to see how he can win that argument with Melbourne’s the traffic authority.

Just three months into the job, it’s clear that Michel has a lot of incisive thinking and understanding to turn the world’s oldest tram business into a shining example of public transport contributing to the well-being of a city’s daily life.

He sees the role of pubic transport as a vital to sustainability and changing attitudes to city life.

“Australia’s impact on environment is huge, in terms of carbon dioxide, we are one of the biggest producers in the world. So pubic transport is the option, it’s more sustainable, but also it’s more user-friendly for the city, it’s great on all accounts.”

yARRA TRAMs

Michel sees it as crucial that staff performance is aligned with customer experience. yarra trams currently employs more than 2,100 people and he’s determined to support them with strong leadership that filters down through the ranks.

skiN iN the

E&A Limited is a publicly-listed investment company which operates eight wholly-owned subsidiaries across the mining, resources, defence, water, energy and financial services industries.

The company believe the key to success is to buy to build, rather than buy to sell. It is with this approach that they ensure each business they buy is able to keep its identity, and that they can grow it in the E&A way – with group buying power to maintain the successful name.

E&A Limited subsidiaries have a diverse, quality client base including OneSteel, BHP Billiton, Citic Pacific Mining Limited, Rio Tinto, Xstrata, Alcan, Santos, Beach

We profile investment company E&A Limited about the building blocks of success By Alex Harmon

game

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Petroleum, SA Water, Barwon Water, AGL, Origin Energy, United Water, Arrow Energy, Queensland Gas, Melbourne Water and other state and federal government agencies.

E&A Limited are based in South Australia and have a vested interest in the state, believing that the private equity market is underrepresented in the state and good value targets remain available for negotiated acquisition.

The company also offer other subsidiaries advice with one of their businesses “equity and advisory” – which is what E&A stands for, after all.

By providing financial advisory services to clients external to the group, the majority of E&A Limited’s revenue is generated through the provision of engineering services and manufactured components.

With this in mind, you could say this is one of their core competencies: by buying successful companies and streamlining them, they are utilising their knowledge and making the companies, better whilst maintaining individual identities.

Companies under the E&A Limited name

Focus investment

e&A LiMiTeD

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northern scaffoldingSpecialists in

Scaffolding Steel erection Shed erection concrete diamond

Sawing & drilling fencing temporary fencing

plant hire & free quotes

phone: 08 8645 4204 after hours: Bluey: 0428 454 204 Bob: 0408 810 061 Jacko: 0417 831 835email: [email protected] office: 6 Jessop St. whyalla playford

abn: 47 130 158 860 builder licence no. r111750

for all your Scaffolding needS

are QMM, Blucher Australia, Heavymech, E&A Contractors, Ottaway Engineering, Equity & Advisory, Ice Engineering & Fabtech. It is with their strong relationships and group buying power that the E&A name allows them to get the best prices and continue long standing relationships.

With a staff base of around 700 people, E&A are made up of Engineers, Engineering Design and Drafting personnel and trades people. They care about their staff and they care about their customers. This philosophy also extends to their contractors, supplier and, of course, their shareholders. E&A Limited also recognises that access to skilled labour is and will be a constraint for growth and will focus on off-site facilities where production efficiencies can be exploited as

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e&A LiMiTeD

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Our customers choose us because we understand the Australian Standards, Codes of Practice and Regulations relevant to our industry whilst maintaining a strong focus on safety, minimising environmental impact and offering the most efficient equipment available. We pride ourselves on the fact that customers who have purchased systems from us are completely satisfied and continue to recommend us.

Our team capabilities include: • technical sales • 3D Solidworks drafting • engineering • manufacturing • project management • preventative maintenance.

The specialists in equipment solutions for:

Ph: 1300 538 948Email: [email protected]: www.olivertechnologies.com.au

ADELAIDEOliver Technologies Pty Ltd4 Rosberg Road, Wingfield SA 5013

MELBOURNEOliver Technologies Pty LtdU7 100 Monash Drive, Dandenong Sth VIC 3175

We relished the challenge to design, manufacture and install two 40 metre long spray booths and a drying room as well as upgrade an existing abrasive blast room with a new recovery system and dust collector within a four month period. At Oliver Technologies we are very proud to be associated with E & A Contractors and we wish them every success with their new venture fabricating wind turbine towers.

Darren Oliver - Managing Director, Oliver Technologies Pty Ltds

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Proudly Australian owned & operated supplying Electrical/Data products to these markets;

MiningOil & Gas

IndustrialCommercial

DomesticPhone: 1300 010 010Email: [email protected]: www.cnw.com.au

well as developing Australia’s best recruitment and retention skills for overseas 457 Visa employees.

Whilst organic growth is an important element of the creation of shareholder wealth, E&A Limited believe in the exponential impact of growth by acquisition. With this unique business model, they can continue to grow their brand.

Their investment target is as follows: E&A believe the sectors of mining, industrial, water, energy and defence industries will have significant revenue and growth potential for at least the next five years and will continue to actively target business acquisitions where their investment criteria can be met. They are commercially astute investors who back their own judgment with their own money and more than 70 per cent of the company is owned by Senior Executives and Directors within the E&A Limited Group. It is fair to say that the Directors and Senior Management truly care about dividends and creating shareholder wealth.

In short, E&A Limited will potentially invest in companies with the following criteria:• Value can be added as a result of synergies between

the business and existing portfolio of E&A Limited businesses; • Strong position in a market expected to experience significant growth;• Available for acquisition at or below its intrinsic value;• Board control and managerial influence can be obtained;• Within the areas of expertise and experience of E&A Limited and its executive directors• Predictable cash flows and• Risk can be managed and minimised through appropriate financial, legal, tax and accounting structures.

E&A Limited believes in the mantra: ‘your risk is our risk’. And with their expertise and experience, you can be confident that return is win-win for all parties involved.

BlueScope Distribution is the market-leading sales and distribution division of BlueScope Steel, providing quality BlueScope steel products and solutions to the Australian market place.

With our national network, we can supply customers in construction, resources, transportation, automotive, manufacturing and agriculture, with steel plate, sheet and coil, reinforcing products, building products, merchant bar, structural steel, tubular, pipes, valves and fittings and aluminium products. We also have a full suite of processing services, to supply your steel in the form you need it.

Our Steel Efficiency Review™ offer looks closely at your business operations, production and processing lines to identify potential cost and time savings, remove bottlenecks and make incremental changes which can translate into profit improvements.

For more information, visit www.steelefficiencyreview.com.au

bluEsCOpE DIstRIbutION

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Proud Supply Partners of E&A LimitedBlueScope Distribution

BlueScope Distribution supplies a wide range of mild steels, including steel plate such as XLERPLATE® steel, High Tensile steel plate, Floor plate, Quench and Tempered Plate, Merchant Bar, Tube, Structural Steel sections, Steel Pipes and Fittings, Aluminium and our very own Sheet and Coil Products.

Our Steel Efficiency Review™ offer looks closely at your business operations, production and processing lines to identify potential cost and time savings, remove bottlenecks and make incremental changes which can translate into profit improvements. The review aims to help us better improve our product and service offer – customising our business to suit your business. (For more information, visit www.steelefficiencyreview.com.au)

BlueScope Distribution has a long and strongrelationship with E&A Limited. We are proud to beassociated with E&A Limited providing full project coordination, exceptional customer service, one-stop-shop steel supply and continued reliability – enabling an ease of doing business.

BlueScope Distribution

Proudly offering steel and metal solutions to E&A Limited

To discuss your steel requirements, please contact BlueScope DistributionPhone: 13 72 82 Web: www.bluescopedistribution.com.au

e&A LiMiTeD

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deliVeriNgsuccessPngiN

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DHL continues its strong growth in Papua New

Guinea (PNG) says Mark Schell, General Manager at

DHL Express PNG

by Ian Armitage

DHL Express and DHL Global Forwarding is the air, road and sea freight subsidiary of Deutsche Post DHL, is recording

strong growth in Papua New Guinea (PNG), in tandem with the country’s continued economic success.

PNG is Australia’s closest neighbour and is currently one of the world’s fastest-growing economies. Despite the slowing of the country’s growth rate over the last two years from nearly nine per cent in 2011 to somewhere around five per cent at the beginning of 2013 deficit spending is likely to offset any slow down, and the economy is still one of the strongest in the region.

With the winding down of the US$15 billion ExxonMobil-led PNG LNG project, the non-mineral market is expected to slow but with huge expansion expected in PNG’s mining and minerals sector, it appears to be a case of closing a door and opening a window.

The number of firms doing business in PNG is still growing fast and yet there are still so many untapped in an economy that remains under-serviced in many areas.

“DHL is growing off the back of that,” Mark Schell, General Manager at DHL Express PNG Ltd says. “We are supporting the growing transport and logistics needs of PNG. We are, of course, a logistics partner with a huge global network, but we’re also capable of giving customers the personal attention they need.

”We help our customers constantly improve their transportation networks and gain a competitive advantage; we give them the means to get products to market faster and more efficiently.

“What’s more, DHL’s focus on selected industry sectors means customers benefit from working with specialists – not just in logistics, but also in their particular marketplace. With our industry-leading sector solutions, we provide our customers with real competitive advantage.”

DHL employs over a hundred staff across PNG (it has six branches, 40 vehicles and 15 agents) who provide over a 1,000 customers – including leading players in the mining, infrastructure, oil and energy sectors – with “world-class logistics”.

Focus logisticsDHL eXpRess

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Of these “world-class logistics” mark Schell speaks of is the introduction of an innovative new tracking system, the first of its kind in Papua New Guinea. It allows for DHL’s customers to track up to 50 individual shipments at a time – using their computers, handheld devices and even their mobile phones – in real time.

It is this kind of innovation that has continued to help DHL stand out from its competitors in PNG and the wider Asia-Pacific region as well as maintaining the company’s impressive share of the market.

The company helps businesses in PNG expand their footprints, Schell says, while giving foreign-based companies access to trade.

“We help businesses gain access to the global market by expanding their distribution to markets,” he stresses. “We provide a platform to distribute goods to their target markets.”

Unsurprisingly, Schell is excited about the future. “The PNG economy continues to grow. We see more trade activities locally but of course, the government should do its job to facilitate business trade, especially in the logistics market by putting up more infrastructure like roads and ports to speedup delivery to remote areas, and to improve the security.

“And it is in the government’s interest to do that – the major resources projects could double economic growth which would transform the nation.

“At the moment, we are seeing an increase in trade around the LNG project, but growth is all around. PNG is sometimes described as a pot

of gold floating in a barrel of oil. The country’s potential growth over the next ten to 15 years is huge.

“A lot of companies are coming into PNG and they recognise the DHL brand are using us.

“We have an ambitious growth strategy and will be investing in our operations here. We have plans that are on the drawing board at the moment and we envisage the growth to be ongoing, so we are looking at things like expanding our network bringing in more agents, opening new facilities, upgrading our IT and those types of things to capitalize on the growth potential.”

DHL is the global market leader in international express, overland transport and airfreight. It is also the world’s number one in ocean freight and contract logistics. It offers a full range of customised solutions – from air express, shipping to supply chain management – and its goal is to build “strong, long term-partnerships” with customers by providing “world-class service” across all its operations.

“We are the world’s leading express and logistics company and our global network of more than 220 countries and territories and about 275,000 service quality. We also continue to be at the forefront of technology, guaranteeing faster and more reliable services for our customers.”

DHL has operated in Papua New Guinea since 1972. The way things are going for Mark Schell and his ever-expanding team in 2013, they look set to continue for a long time yet.

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Australasia Outlook / Issue 15

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