Marine & Civil board boost

ESTABLISHED in 1992, Canning Vale-based Marine & Civil specialises in marine related civil engineering and driven piled foundations.

Over the past five years, the company has established itself as one of Western Australia's leading marine infrastructure specialists, working on projects such as the Royal Perth Yacht Club and Hillary's Boat Harbour marinas, the Cottesloe artificial surf reef, and the Narrows Bridge duplication.

It was also involved in the construction of the Underwater Observatory in Busselton and the Cable Beach Artificial Surf Reef.

In recent years, its has focused on the design and construction of larger scale marine infrastructure projects, including Berth 2 on Port Hedland and the construction of an iron ore load-out facility at Koolan Island off the Kimberley coast.

A combination of innovation, a reputation for technical excellence, and an efficient administrative regime has helped the company achieve strong growth since 2004.

Since that time, staff numbers have increased from 50 to 120 and annual turnover has grown from $16 million to $42 million in 2007.

With the assistance of founder and director of business development, John Neylon, managing director Kay Giles led a total and ongoing restructure of the company, which started in 2005 and is expected to be completed in January 2009.

The restructure is aimed at accommodating the increased turnover and managing associated pressure on cash flow.

So far, as a result of the restructure, the board has been bolstered with the addition of two independent non-executive directors, corporate governance has been developed and formal systems and processes were introduced, along with a manager to implement them.

The company also bought in external consultants to map the culture of the business, leading to the identification of its core values, as well as formerly incorporating the purpose of the business, its market position and its sustainable competitive advantage into the company's mission statement.

Now, with its management structure and systems and processes in place, the company is structured to accommodate an annual targeted turnover in 2008-09 of more than $60 million.

It is also planning the construction of a new office and workshop facility on a 1.5-hectare site at the Australian Marine Complex in Henderson, with completion expected in 2010.

Marine & Civil's strategy is to extend its services to provide the full gamut of marine infrastructure specialities, incorporating the frontend skills of feasibility and design, construction and maintenance.

This will allow the company to deliver the complete package of design, construction and maintenance, together with the capacity to finance and build, own and operate infrastructure.

Marine & Civil believes that people are the key factor in its success, together with its ability to provide value to its customers through innovation and trust.