ONE local small business owner has proved Katherine can compete on the national stage when it comes to multi-million dollar infrastructure projects.
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Crowhurst Engineering, on Emungalan Road, is leading the way in the Territory in winning lucrative Defence contracts.
Crowhurst Engineering has been so successful in works at RAAF Base Tindal and the Delamere Air Weapons Range that it recently received the top honour in the Territory for Defence support.
The Australian Industry and Defence Network - Northern Territory (AIDN-NT), the peak industry association for small-to-medium enterprises wishing to do business in the defence and security sectors, awarded Crowhurst Engineering the Minister’s Award for Excellence in Defence Industry at a recent gala event in Darwin.
AIDN-NT only hands out two awards per year – the Minister’s Award for Excellence and a Special Recognition certificate, which Crowhurst Engineering won in 2015.
Owners Janette and Geoff Crowhurst said they were able to win contracts and secure Defence work both directly with Defence and through prime contractors such as Lend Lease and Broadspectrum thanks to a joint venture with a Weipa-based company Goodline.
The Crowhurst Goodline Pty Ltd has carried out works during the recent Exercise Pitch Black, installed new flag poles for Tindal’s main parade ground, helped with upgrades to the fuel farm and work on the bases’ fire trucks.
Upcoming work will include fabricating and erecting the covered walkways for the new workers camp currently under construction at the entrance to the base.
“We have worked with a lot of different defence organisations to provide services to them,’’ Mr Crowhurst said.
“And since we have taken up the joint venture we have more coverage and capacity than what we previously have had.’’
“To jump to the level needed for Tindal would kill a business so you have to be able to joint venture. It brings local content to the whole show. It’s also about longevity, we can have more people go through apprenticeships and expose them to other organisations so continue to grow the community,’’ Mrs Crowhurst said.
Mr Crowhurst said the Crowhurst Engineering currently employs about local 25 workers but with expressions of interest for 20 contracts at Delamere and Tindal, he was expecting that number to double in the coming years.
Among the trades working at Crowhurst Engineering are structural fabricators, fitter and machinists and diesel fitters with up to six apprentices on the books at any given time. The Crowhursts also run a successful Community Development Program, which sees people on unemployment benefits work for the company while gaining valuable skills. Mrs Crowhurst said nearly all the participants had since picked up full time casual work with the company and have gone onto gain numerous certificates and tickets.
“Ultimately, we want to employ people locally,’’ Mr Crowhurst said.
Mrs Crowhurst said the company had put in a lot of work over the past two years in a bid to win local Defence contracts.
“You can’t just sit back and hope they come to you,’’ she said, “for contracts to go to local companies you have to be proactive and show that you have the capacity for the works as the client needs to have confidence with you as well.’’
Mr Crowhurst said Katherine’s location as “the crossroads of the Top End” was very important to the company’s success.
“Every piece of production has to come through Katherine either via road or rail. So we can have product three to four days earlier than Darwin which can make a difference,’’ Mr Crowhurst said.
Currently, Defence contracts make up about 20 per cent of the Crowhurst Engineering businesses, but the couple expect that to jump as high as 70 to 80 per cent over the next decade with the multi-million redevelopment at Tindal.
Mr Crowhurst said Crowhurst Goodline hoped to successfully tender for projects as part of the $470 million Joint Strike Fighter project at Tindal.
Crowhurst Goodline will continue to bid for major projects across Northern Australia. Locally the company has been involved in the expansion of the Katherine Courthouse, new fencing at the Katherine Speedway and the works at the Robinson River Health Clinic.
Mr Crowhurst is on the AIDN-NT board and also helped form the Katherine Mining Services Association in 2012 in a bid to help better place Top End businesses for mining, oil and gas projects in the region.