Chess Engineering Celebrates 50 Years in Business

CELEBRATES 50 YEARS IN BUSINESS

ESTABLISHED IN THE LATE 1960s, CHESS ENGINEERING WAS ORIGINALLY BASED IN SYDNEY'S INNER-CITY SUBURB OF ALEXANDRIA, SPECIALISING IN FABRICATION, MACHINING AND FITTING. OVER THE YEARS, CHESS ENGINEERING HAS GROWN, MOVING ITS SYDNEY OPERATIONS TO THEIR CURRENT PADSTOW LOCATION IN THE EARLY 1970s and OPENING FACILITIES IN PERTH IN 2014. PURCHASED BY STEVE FACER IN 2002, CHESS ENGINEERING BOASTS AN IMPRESSIVE ROSTER OF CLIENTS AND PROJECT EXPERIENCE. THE COMPANY RECENTLY CELEBRATED 50 YEARS IN BUSINESS.

Chess offers leading engineering solutions in Sydney and Perth. Their 8,500m2 Sydney facility caters to a broad spectrum of needs, while their largest cranes and machines are located at their 6,000m2 facility in Perth.

Their mechanical engineers specialise in fabrication, machining and fitting. In terms of fabrication, Chess has experience in everything from heavy boiler shops through to sheet metal, with materials including mild steel, stainless steel, exotic steels and other materials. One of their highly specialised fields is flame proofing equipment and parts.

According to Steve Facer (CEO, Chess Engineering), "When I first bought the business, its operations were dominated by food manufacturing. We had a permanent site crew at Kellogg's, undertaking equipment design, repair and maintenance works. We still have a site crew at Kellogg's today, but the company has grown to encompass more than just food processing and general engineering."

"The company's expertise spans various industry sectors, from structural steel to specific parts for rail, mining, food and defence. In Sydney, our biggest market is infrastructure, followed by rail rolling stock. We’re an OEM on some of those parts too. We also have a dedicated stainless steel shop and undertake machining, blasting, fitting and painting in Sydney."

"In Perth, we concentrate on machining and fabrication, particularly for the mining industry. Both our Sydney and Perth facilities are certified to CC3 under AS/NZS 5131 by Steelwork Compliance Australia."

"We've also just started moving into the defence industry. We are close to securing certification to DIN 2303 Welding and allied processes - Quality requirements for production and maintenance companies for military products. We've also applied for some grants and invested in capex," said Facer.

PREVIOUS PROJECT SUCCESS

Chess boasts an impressive roster of previous project success.

"We've worked on some of Australia's most notable projects, including the Eastern Distributor, the M5 and the Sydney Harbour Bridge," said Facer. "One of the most notable projects we've worked on was the replacement of Sydney’s historic Meccano Set intersection structure. As proud members of the Sydney community, we are happy to have worked on such an iconic and familiar roadside structure. Trusted by Transport for NSW to complete work on time and within budget, we gave the Meccano Set a new lease on life that motorists will enjoy for decades to come.”

Gantry Toll Structure on Sydney Harbour Bridge.

BHP SOUTH FLANK PROJECT

The Western Australian arm of Chess Engineering recently delivered 39 conveyor drive bases for the BHP South Flank Project.

This was a demanding project, with a combination of heavy fabrication and machining required to very exact specifications. A rigorous inspection was followed by a robust test plan and fully compliant product meeting. The client had very stringent quality benchmarks, including a fully plumbed fluid overflow system to meet environmental standards.

The BHP South Flank Project is an example of demanding and highly specialised mining engineering. The Chess Engineering team is always ready to rise to the challenge, with the project completed beyond expectations on time and within budget.

MECCANO SET

Originally installed at Lansdowne in June 1962, motorists have long used the Meccano Set as a point of reference when travelling through Sydney. After years of neglect, the 25-tonne structure was replaced and restored in 2019 to cement the legacy of what is a unique and functional traffic light system. Chess Engineering replaced the entire structure over a four-week period to minimise the impact on the local area. With around 88,000 vehicles using the intersection each weekday, there were obvious complexities to be solved. The new parts for the updated Meccano Set structure were fabricated off-site at our world-class facilities and then transported to the site. The individual parts were installed in place, with the existing footings strengthened, and traffic lights and signs attached. Each side of the structure was replaced one at a time before being tested to ensure integrity and alignment.

BARANGAROO STATION

Barangaroo Station is a new underground metro station being built to serve the inner-city Barangaroo precinct in Sydney. With an estimated investment of A$217 million, the project is expected to be completed in 2023. The new station is part of the Sydney Metro City and Southwest project which includes five other new metro stations and 66km of railway tracks, making it the largest public transport project in Australia.

Situated 10m above the rail track level, Barangaroo Station's concourse will be split into three main areas, north, south, and central. The crossover cavern at the new underground metro station in Sydney will facilitate the crossing of trains from one track to another.

Chess Engineering is providing the structural steel for the over track exhaust and lift structure.

"At the moment, we're working on the steelworks for Barangaroo Station on behalf of Transport for NSW, as well as two projects that will form a substantial portion of the walkways along the new harbour tunnel from Chatswood to Marrickville."

"One of our current projects that I'm most excited about is a series of agricultural robots, which are mechanical weeders that drive up and down crop rows and, when finished, drive themselves back to the shed. We're working for Agerris—a field robotics start-up based on technology created by the University of Sydney's Australian Centre for Field Robotics. Chess is undertaking the mechanical manufacturing and the electrical fit out," said Facer.

This foray into the world of agriculture is not a first for Facer. He has spent a considerable portion of his career living in six different countries, working in the agriculture sector.

THE WINNING CHESS FORMULA

For Facer, there are three key elements to the Chess formula for success.

"We have three rules at Chess Engineering. Number one: deliver superior customer service at all times. Number two: no idiots—this applies equally to staff, suppliers and clients. Number three: innovation. This is often the hardest to manage, because the day-today operations and jobs always get in the way. Also, we take safety seriously. At Chess, safety is not just a goal—it's a value," said Facer.

A FUTURE POISED FOR SUCCESS

The future looks bright for Chess Engineering. "We're on track to nearly double our turnover this year compared to last," said Facer. "When I bought the business, our turnover was around $7.5 million, and it's a lot more than that now. Infrastructure is driving our Sydney operations strongly, while mining drives our Perth business."

"With this strong base, we will spread our wings and get into defence. In the shorter term, we're also trying to improve our equipment to elevate efficiency and quality and keep driving our conscientiousness as a competitive edge. Our future is one focused on continuous growth," said Facer.