Iron ore boom key to Calibre rise

When a company goes from a standing start to nearly 400 staff in the space of three years, you might think it would be time to take stock and consolidate.

That’s not the plan at engineering consultancy Calibre Projects, which has been ranked the fastest growing Western Australian private company in WA Business News’ Rising Stars survey.

Calibre co-founder and managing director Jack Rowley is planning further rapid growth.

“We are confident that in the next couple of years we will again double the size of the business,” Mr Rowley said.

The company’s rapid growth to date has been tied to the extraordinary boom in the iron ore industry.

Mr Rowley and his co-founders Ray Munroe and Dave Walker have considerable experience in the iron ore sector and believed they could leverage their professional reputations by setting up their own firm.

In early 2002, they also sensed the iron ore industry was ready for a period of growth.

“We felt if ever there was a time to invest in the company and build on our personal reputations it was then,” Mr Rowley said.

Their original business plan assumed staff numbers would increase to 50 by the end of year one, but in practice they doubled that number and had 100 staff.

Mr Rowley said this was a time when everyone in the iron ore industry realised they had underestimated the growth in Chinese demand.

“We saw there were a lot of further opportunities in our own core business.”

The core business is engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCM) services to the mining sector.

To date the company has worked on some of Rio Tinto’s major expansion projects in the Pilbara, including the Yandi and Eastern Range mine expansions, the West Angelas upgrade and expansion of the rail infrastructure.

Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton, which dominate the Pilbara iron ore industry, are planning further substantial expansion, giving Calibre and other engineering consultancies plenty of new opportunities.

However Mr Rowley’s aim is to give Calibre a long-term future beyond the current iron ore boom.

“We’ve certainly built a very solid platform to ensure the sustainability of the business. We’re here for the long term.”

The company’s strategy is to diversify its operations into new industry sectors and new geographic areas.

Calibre is looking at sectors like oil and gas, nickel and chemicals for future growth.

It is currently doing “entry level” work for companies like Woodside, BHP Petroleum and WMC Resources and has been awarded a contract for the design of a liquid fertiliser pumping and loading station at Wesfarmers CSBP’s Kwinana plant.

It has established an Adelaide office to support its work at WMC Resources’ giant Olympic Dam copper, gold and uranium mine in South Australia and plans to open a Brisbane office next year.

Internationally, Calibre has established links with Engineers India Limited, an Indian government-owned engineering firm with expertise in iron ore and uranium mining, and with Clough’s Indonesian subsidiary Petrosea.

Mr Rowley is very bullish on India, which he believes could emerge as a major iron ore exporter over the next decade.

“Market research tells me that India could be the next Pilbara.”

Calibre’s growth strategy is also based on developing the management and structure of the organisation. Mr Rowley said Calibre attained quality management accreditation in its first year and has sought ever since to develop its business systems and processes.

The compay is working with management consulting firm SAI Global, which audits Calibre’s business systems, and has adopted the “Australian Business Excellence” framework.

Mr Rowley said this provides a systematic and structured approach to assess and improve the performance of its leadership and management systems.

Calibre has also expanded its management team, with the appointment of a chief operating officer, a chief financial officer, and specialist managers in areas like human resources, occupational health and safety, business development and marketing.

Mr Rowley said his philosophy was to empower the managers, allowing them to get on and do their work.

He said that he and his fellow directors – who now include a fourth director, Andrew Rowe – also strived to remain accessible to the staff and to clients.

Another aspect of Calibre’s growth strategy is the development of new business units that not only service the core EPCM project teams but are also able to win customers in their own right.

Last November the company recruited Steve Hannah, formerly a general manager of Honeywell Asia Pacific, to run Calibre Controls, which specialises in automation and controls technology.

Doug Rogers was recruited to run Calibre Safety Services, which provides safety and training services to the resources and construction industries.

A third move was the forming of a joint venture with Perth company Engenium, which specialises in heavy haulage rail engineering.

Mr Rowley said the joint venture, headed by Greg O’Rourke, is doing more work in heavy haulage rail engineering than any other firm in the state.

A smaller business unit established by the group is Calibre Systems, a software development specialist headed by Geoff Storer.

“We offer a broad range of services with a deep support structure,” Mr Rowley said.

Amidst the company’s rapid growth, Calibre has also found time to support a range of community initiatives including sponsoring Princess Margaret Hospital, a member of the WA Symphony Orchestra, the Cancer Council’s Relay for Life and a motor sport project at Curtin University.

CALIBRE

• Engineering consultancy firm
• Established in 2002
• Grown to 400 staff
• Iron ore boom boosted growth
• Looking to diversify into new industry sectors