Alltype invests in people, technology

SUBSTANTIAL investment in new technologies and five decades of combined experience among two senior managers has enabled Alltype Engineering to achieve rapid expansion.  

Alltype started in 1985 with a focus on the power generation industry; today the steel fabrication business has branched out to the water, infrastructure and mining and resources sectors.   

Between 2008 and 2012, Alltype Engineering underwent significant growth, expanding its workforce by 53 per cent, to 110 employees, and experiencing a 73 per cent increase in turnover.

Alltype is run with the philosophy that ‘well-refined procedures extinguish chaos’. 

This gives rise to the company mantra ‘on time to specification’, something that has shaped the structure and practices of the organisation.

Early in the current mining boom Alltype recognised that Australian manufacturing wasn’t competitive due to its high labour costs and a strong dollar.  To counteract this the company focused on controlling unit costs and investing in new, efficient technologies.

Alltype specialises in the construction of pipework systems, structural steel, plate fabrication and site installation services. 

Determined to be a leading local manufacturer, in 2007 Alltype bought an automated manufacturing line and a CNC pipe-processing machine – the first in WA and still the largest in Australia.

By automating the production line Alltype was able to reduce costs while increasing the quality and accuracy of its products, and productivity in its factories.

This allowed the business to further enhance its capabilities by recognising and servicing a niche market in the processing of large diameter pipework. The automated machine has the ability to reduce one hour of a tradesman’s labour to one minute.

Output capacity trebled in 2010 when Alltype finished the construction of a second factory in Naval Base, double the size of their original premises. 

The new factory centralised the automated process and enabled the company to complete all structural, plate and pipe requirements in one place.

Alltype say this created a unique service of a complete one-stop steel processing plant.

Major milestones include contracts it won on the Water Corporation’s Southern Seawater desalination plant near Binningup, among the biggest engineering projects in the state.

After successfully completing work on the initial desal plant, Alltype was selected in January this year to work on the expansion, which will double the current capacity of the plant to 100GL/year. 

Managing director Colin Heitman and works supervisor Frank Gran attributed this contract to Alltype’s position as a leading local manufacturer.

Apart from its automation process, Alltype has made considerable investment in its workforce. It has spent the past 20 years developing and improving management systems to promote optimum performance from staff. 

The expansion into new premises created more positions and the company used this opportunity to implement strategies designed to increase the loyalty and expertise of its staff.

The number of apprentices was increased, quarterly reviewed training programs implemented, and internal management systems streamlined.