Canadian contractor lifts Australian presence

Canadian company North American Construction Group has appointed prominent director Vanessa Guthrie to its board, months after expanding into Western Australia and Queensland through a major acquisition.

NACG is one of Canada’s largest providers of heavy construction and mining services equipment with annual revenue of almost $C1.3 billion ($1.5 billion).

It announced early this month that Dr Guthrie was joining its board as a non-executive director.

NACG chair Martin Ferron signalled her appointment was tied to the company’s growth aspirations.

"Dr Guthrie will undoubtedly make a significant strategic contribution as NACG looks for further long-term growth in the mining of natural resources and infrastructure development industries in Australia," Mr Ferron said.

President and chief executive Joseph Lambert was also focused on growth opportunities when he released the company’s results last month.

“In both Queensland and WA, we are excited by the many prospects we have in front of us and look forward to sharing best practices and in-house maintenance expertise, as well as equipment where appropriate, to facilitate these growth opportunities,” Mr Lambert said.

The Canadian group substantially expanded its scale and geographic coverage last year when it bought private company MacKellar Group for $C395 million.

MacKellar’s core business is servicing Queensland coal mines but it also owns Perth company Western Plant Hire.

MacKellar bought Western Plant Hire in 2022. Former shareholders and directors Malcolm Azzopardi and Luke Mateljan continue to run the business under the new ownership.

NACG’s MacKellar acquisition followed its entry into Australia through the purchase of NSW-based contractor DGI Trading in 2021.

NACG’s recently released 2023 annual report shows it generated total revenue of $C1.27 billion and adjusted EBIT of $C145.2 million.

The MacKellar business added $C150 million of revenue, after the acquisition closed on October 1.

NACG said its Australian operations would generate total revenue of $C575 million in 2024.

The NACG appointment was Dr Guthrie’s third major new role in recent months.

She joined the board of national mining solutions company Orica in February and is due to commence as Curtin University’s chancellor next month.

That is additional to her ongoing board roles, as a director of ASX companies Santos and Lynas Rare Earths, advisory body Infrastructure Australia and Cricket Australia, and chair of medical research body FITE Brain Cancer.

To manage her busy workload, she has recently retired from the boards of ASX company Adbri and listed US company Tronox.

Dr Guthrie has spent most of her career based in Perth but her Linkedin profile lists her home as Tintenbar in northern NSW.