From Irish backpacker to managing a national construction services business in just six years, 30 year old Declan White’s Monford Group was named the 2014 Telstra Western Australia business of the year.
From Irish backpacker to managing a national construction services business in just six years, 30-year-old Declan White’s Monford Group has been named the 2014 Telstra Western Australia business of the year.
Monford Group was one of the 2013 Business News Rising Stars finalists.
Mr White arrived in Australia in 2008 on a working holiday visa and quickly gained employment with a number of construction companies. He worked as a project manager, expanding his skills and knowledge of the local industry while completing a bachelor of construction management with honours.
By 2010 he’d launched the multi-disciplinary services company Monford Group in Perth, but then expanded the business to include Karratha as well as setting up in Sydney, Brisbane, Darwin and Mackay.
Monford Group specialises in servicing and supporting mine sites, gas plants, power plants and pipelines, offering haulage services, plant, equipment and labour hire. It has secured major projects including the Perth city rail alliance and Wheatstone LNG.
The business now employs about 200 people, and Mr White said the business’s success had been driven by its staff.
“Our employees have a very strong work ethic and always produce quality work – we pledge to excel and we deliver on our promises,” he said.
Monford Group prides itself on strong environmental values, forming the Monford Foundation to support community and environmentally responsible initiatives.
“We have worked hard to build an incident and injury free culture and produce a quality product without causing harm to the environment. Innovation is encouraged in every aspect of our business and we make it a priority to be at the forefront of industry software and technology developments,” Mr White said.
Other winners of the 2014 Telstra WA business awards include Armed For Life, which has run workshops for more than 20,000 students in 59 schools across WA to address bullying, self-esteem, stress management and resilience.
Established by teacher and chaplain Adam Przytula, who experienced schoolyard bullying as a child, the business uses a mix of humour, games and stories to engage students and has recently moved into providing workshops for adults.
Handmade raw sweets producer Rawsome took out the start-up award, while financial advisory firm TWD Australia won the small business award, and Mandurah Cruises & Gift Shop, which operates a variety of scenic, heritage and eco tours with a fleet of five ferries, was the regional business award winner.
Telstra Business Group managing director and ambassador for the Telstra Australian business awards, Will Irving, said the WA winners were inspirational businesses whose owners were recognised for their professionalism, innovation, leadership and creative use of technology.
“Monford Group has displayed a tireless and unmoving commitment to achieving its vision as the business wins against multinational players,” he said.
“The Telstra awards judges were impressed by the commitment to offering a value for money service to all customers and its use of new technology and systems to identify waste and efficiency improvements.”
More than $800,000 in prizes will be shared by winners of the 2014 state, territory and national Telstra business awards - a program that has celebrated Australian small and medium businesses since 1992.