Piacentini & Son

From a single bulldozer, a privately owned and operated family company, Piacentini & Son has grown to become one of the largest privately-owned earthmoving companies with one of the largest CAT scraper fleets in the southern hemisphere. Albert Piacentini was 16 years old when he arrived in Fremantle from Italy in 1936. By 1944, he was running his own timber mill in Dardanup and in 1949, was allocated a Cat D6 bulldozer on the condition he commit to clearing post-WWII soldier settlement land grants in the Margaret River area.

Piacentini & Son’s involvement with mineral sands began in the 1950s and by 1969, when Albert’s son Colin had joined the business, it purchased its first scraper. After completing their education, Colin’s sons Bradley and Kim joined the family business. In 1998, the company relocated to their current premises, the new workshop and office complex at Picton, east of Bunbury. By 2001, a rapid expansion in the mining industry saw employee numbers grow from 50 to over 200. The company also has a very successful road transport and heavy haulage operation and staff numbers now exceed 800.