19 minute read
Aerison Pty Ltd
SUSTAINING THE MINES
In the mining-centric land of Western Australia, Sam Griffiths, Group Business Development Manager at Aerison, tells us about the company supplying turnkey engineering and construction solutions across the industry
Writer: Marcus Kääpä | Project Manager: Thomas Arnold
Western Australia (WA) is a very mining-centric land, and we have had an amazing run.” The words of Sam Griffiths, Group Business Development Manager at Aerison, sum up the recent past for the classic industry rooted in the foundations of the region.
Aerison operates as a provider of multi-discipline industrial services to the minerals and mining, oil and gas, non-process infrastructure and utilities sectors.
Sam Griffiths, Group Business Development Manager “THE IMPACT OF HIGH DEMAND FROM COUNTRIES SUCH AS CHINA FOR BOTH IRON ORE AND CRITICAL BATTERY MINERALS HAS BEEN PHENOMENAL. THAT’S THE GOOD SIDE, LOTS OF DEMAND AND LOTS OF OPPORTUNITY”
– SAM GRIFFITHS, GROUP BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER
Founded in Perth, Western Australia in 1988, Aerison has grown over the years from a specialist environmental engineering company to a broadbased multi-disciplined engineering and construction business that self-performs EPC, engineering and design, construction and maintenance services for various industries and clients across Australia.
“We in WA have lived in an incubator and have almost become this perfect storm. From a business side of things, we have been in a case where it’s an imperfect economic cycle with extremely high demand and a relatively low supply which only does one thing to price, and as a beneficiary of that it’s been very positive,” Griffiths continues.
“WA’s economic output grew over 2.5 percent in the year just finished, with over 50 percent or about $190 billion of the state’s output generated from the mining and construction sectors. So, we, being a constructor supporting the mining industry, are obviously a beneficiary and contributor to that.”
WA contributes over half of Australia’s national export revenue through the mining and petroleum sectors, a significant amount considering the region’s population of only 2.5 million.
“This little state that we are in really is a complete anomaly. It’s an outlier to the rest of the nation and to many other countries worldwide. The impact of high demand from countries such as China for both iron ore and critical battery minerals has been phenomenal. That’s the good side, lots of demand and lots of opportunity.”
On the flip side, Aerison has also experienced a strain on labour as well as access to materials and equipment coming from offshore manufacturers. Ultimately, however, these challenges have not slowed down the company’s steady growth.
Established in Melbourne, Australia in 2016, Createch Industries has enjoyed significant growth year-on-year and is delighted as part of its success to have been selected as a key partner supplying services to Aerison.
A specialist consulting, manufacturing and construction engineering services provider, Createch, a wholly Australian owned and operated company, has assembled an experienced and dedicated team of engineers, project managers, and tradespeople. It’s the people and their attitude to developing engineering solutions to challenges which others might walk away from that sets the Createch promise apart. As Managing Director Jake Monkley explains, “Digging deep and innovating to find solutions and commitment is part of our DNA – our commitment to each other, our commitment to our clients, and an unwavering commitment to the success of every project entrusted to us.”
All projects undertaken demonstrate a fundamental Createch philosophy: successful project outcomes start with the right design. Createch’s design engineering team includes specialists in Civil, Structural, Mechanical, Process, Electrical & Control Systems, and Project Management. Createch’s chartered engineers ensure designs are fully compliant to specified local and international standards.
With approved design in hand, Createch’s manufacturing service includes structural steel fabrication for process and mechanical equipment support structures, process piping fabrication, pressure vessel manufacture, furnace repair and fabrication, and ducting fabrication. Additionally, Createch’s electrical and controls manufacturing team delivers quality assembled and factory tested electrical and controls equipment, including motor control cabinets, mimic panels, complete controls systems, remediation of nonconforming equipment, and instrumentation upgrades of analogue mechanical equipment and machinery.
Createch Industries also provides construction execution services to complement the design and manufacture of structures and equipment. They supply all required plant and equipment, including supervision and trades, ensuring their clients enjoy a rewarding construction experience.
Another area of expertise that Createch Industries has developed is within proprietary lifting systems and custom design cranes. They have a range of proven lifting solutions that have been developed for difficult or complex lifting situations, including tight access, limited range-reach of traditional cranes, or limited structural capacity. Createch lifting systems can be configured to suit a client’s custom mode of operation, to operate in high temperature environments, and can be used in coordinated multicrane lift setups if required.
The key driver of Createch’s service is to firstly understand the requirement fully, then look beyond the obvious when developing a solution. Jake Monkley puts it this way, “The first step to solve a problem is to understand how best to assess it. As a group we strive, and want to be known, as a proficient, reliable hard-working team of people that provides inventive engineering services.”
EXPERTISE IN THE INDUSTRY
Operating from its head office in Perth in WA, Aerison provides project services and supply equipment to projects across Australia. Currently, the company has established projects in Queensland, South Australia, and in the north of WA, backed by a history and reputation for having undertaken projects across the whole of the country.
“Aerison is an engineering and construction company,” Griffiths elaborates. “Our competencies really line up with doing work from the front end, such as scoping and investigative studies, through to detailed design and equipment supply using our fabrication facilities.
“We then also go to site and deliver the installation works through our projects or maintenance teams. We have a team of around 450 direct trade and site workers, and another 170 office-based and engineering staff, totalling around 600 personnel throughout the company operations.”
It is not only Aerison’s reputation that stands it apart from competition in the region and industry. The company’s defining business model is its direct delivery approach, that sees Aerison undertake projects on-site and with its own personnel.
“There are two key aspects of our business that set us apart,” Griffiths explains. “Firstly, we offer a turnkey engineer-procure-construct model which is all in-house. We have our own aforementioned personnel and recruitment teams, and this offer of a one-stop-shop solution is a key differentiator in the sector.
“The other aspect, and one that really speaks to our namesake, is that we make engineered solutions that minimise the impacts of industry on the environment through our environmental solutions division.”
Heatleys Safety & Industrial
Heatleys Safety and Industrial is a diversified business that operates as a distributor of Industrial MRO, Safety & Workplace Supplies and other related products and services.
Utilising a wide-range selection of in-stock products combined with a high-touch solutions models, supply chain infrastructure, deep customer and supplier relationships, eCommerce platforms and physical store network, we serve customers of all sizes in range of industries.
With access to over one million products, over 200 employees and a national distribution network, Heatleys is committed to providing supplies and solutions for every industry.
As well as offering a wide range of safety and industrial products from the biggest suppliers, Heatleys offers a range of online, on-site and digital solutions to streamline the way businesses access their products and manage their inventory. Our on-site solutions provide businesses the opportunity to store and issue products securely on-site or in remote locations, while providing real time reports on stock levels.
Heatleys Business HUB is a custom online ordering portal where businesses can manage their products and purchasing requirements, access their contract range of products with tailored pricing, customised user management and approval structure for your teams. Business customers can digitally engage with Heatleys by integrating their own systems with ours via EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) and PunchOut, allowing for a seamless, efficient method of completing high volume transactions and the electronic exchange of information.
Heatleys is a part of ASX listed organisation Stealth Global Holdings (ASX:SGI), a leading Australian Public Listed multinational distribution group.
www.heatleys.com.au
CENTRAL VALUES
The name ‘Aerison’ is in fact made up of two Latin words: ‘aer’ (air) and ‘sonos’ (noise), and speaks to the company’s commitment towards producing solutions that control environmental pollution.
“Customers come to us to design and supply them with industrial equipment, and to investigate solutions to help them operate effectively, but they also come to us to meet their environmental obligations. This is a significant part of our history and will continue to form and strengthen the future growth of the business,” Griffiths tells us.
Aerison’s CEO, Giuseppe Leone reflects on what sets Aerison apart.
“We are a service business, providing professional consultancy and construction delivery services on technical and challenging projects,” he says. “Because of this, our people are incredibly important to us. Our operating systems provide the tools to effectively run the business, however it is our people and the culture of working as one team across the whole business that really drives our success.”
Aerison has a really strong sense of safety and caution when it comes to site work. The company operates in high-risk environments and invests significantly in its people when it comes to skills, guidance and training, as well as having its very own development programme to support this.
“Our business partners are equally crucial to the business,” Griffiths says. “We rely on the positive, longstanding relationships that we have with our supply partners, and this collaboration between us provides support and strength when it comes to operating at peak capacity.”
United Fasteners
Welcome to United Fasteners, Australia’s largest independent distributor of fastening products and industrial supplies.
Over the years we have established ourselves as a market leader and are recognised for exceptional service, timely delivery, competitiveness, and total solutions. We have been leading specialists servicing the fastener industry for over 20 years. We’re a proud supplier to Aerison Pty Ltd.
• 75k+ Product SKUs • 11 Branches nationwide • 100 percent Australian owned • 250+ Technical experts
Our Products
We offer over 75,000 product SKUs, sourced from over 500 trusted suppliers. Our range includes: fasteners and fixings, abrasives, cutting tools, sealants, adhesives, lubricants, hand tools, safety, construction chemicals, materials handling, petrochemical and special manufacture.
Our Services
Our people are technical experts and solution focused individuals, driven to fully understand our customer needs and wants. From project design to project implementation, we provide advice and specification support along the way. We also offer inventory management solutions.
www.unitedfasteners.com.au
HELPING SITES ACROSS WESTERN AUSTRALIA
Aerison prides itself on providing solutions that better the state and operation of sites as well as lessening the environmental impact of such activities. Aerison is currently undertaking a variety of projects, the first of which is a 40 megalitre (ML) desalination plant.
“This is a fantastic project,” Griffiths says. “The plant desalinates the equivalent of 16 Olympic-sized swimming pools-worth of water each day, to be used in mine process facilities. We are delivering this as an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC), full turnkey project that is going ahead right now.”
WESTERN TURNER SYNCLINE PHASE TWO
The second, relating to the mining industry directly, is the Western Turner Syncline Phase Two, being undertaken on behalf of the Anglo-Australian multinational mining corporation Rio Tinto.
Essentially, the project aims to increase the through-put of the ore processing plant at the Mount Tom Price Mine, an iron ore mine located in WA.
“Various upgrades to the materials handling infrastructure need to take place in the processing plant,” Griffiths affirms. “Our scope on the project is for mechanical and electrical works, with our workforce peaking at 280, operating inside and out of plant shutdowns.
“There are some really large lifts, long conveyors and big pieces of technical equipment that need maintaining, and we are very proud of this project.”
A LEADER IN INDUSTRY SOLUTIONS
Aerison has over 30 years of successful history providing multi-disciplined engineering design, construction and asset maintenance services. Aerison is a broad-based engineering design and construction company self-performing multi-disciplined EPC, engineering and design, construction and maintenance services to various industries and clients across Australia. The company is also recognised for its specialist expertise in environmental services, including emission mitigation performance studies, compliance testing and custom design and build solutions engineered to reduce the impact of industry on the environment. The success of Aerison has been built on its ability to provide a quality turnkey service, and this is only possible by having in-house engineering and design, procurement, project management, manufacturing, construction, mechanical installation and commissioning capabilities. Providing complete asset life cycle services, key areas of expertise include: • Engineering and design • Multi-disciplined EPC projects • Environmental engineering and construction • Fabrication • Sustaining capital, maintenance and shutdown • Project services • Electrical and control infrastructure • Power generation services At Aerison safety, quality and schedule are the company’s key drivers.
Weir Minerals
First choice for high efficiency abrasive slurry pumping
With the ability to handle slurry concentrates of up to 85 percent and temperatures over 200° Celsius, while maintaining a 98 percent availability, the range of GEHO® positive displacement pumps are built for endurance.
The GEHO® positive displacement pumps combine a 96 percent power saving efficiency with a unique preformed GEHO® diaphragm which are designed to withstand abrasive, corrosive and high temperature slurries, sludges, and tailings, long-term. This significantly reduces the operating and maintenance cost compared to other transportation systems on site. Backed by innovative material sciences technology, the GEHO® positive displacement pumps also provide a 50 percent reduction in energy usage, 30 percent reduction in water consumption and 50 percent reduction in carbon emissions, ensuring you don’t have to compromise on reliability or sustainability. “Our innovative pump technology is backed by 100 years of continuous advanced research and in-house laboratory test facilities, resulting in superior efficiency, reliability and availability,” says Ross Barnett, Regional GEHO Product Manager, Weir Minerals.
“At Weir Minerals we have gained worldwide reputation for consistently meeting our customers’ requirements, dependable customer support and extended field support. By aligning our own objectives with those of our customers, we build long-term and mutually beneficial partnerships.” Trusted globally for over 100 years, supported by Synertrex® real time performance data and unrivalled with their aftermarket support from the Weir Minerals network, the GEHO® positive displacement pump can support your mine in the toughest conditions. Get your free pump health assessment today: https://info.global.weir/geho
– SAM GRIFFITHS, GROUP BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER
METRONET
Moving away from the mining sphere, Aerison was recently successful in its bid for works as a part of the state government programme METRONET. Consisting of multiple rail infrastructure projects based in the Perth metropolitan region, METRONET is an exciting portfolio that speaks to Aerison’s involvement in the public infrastructure sector.
“One of the METRONET projects is the construction of 56 new high speed passenger rail cars for our local metropolitan network,” Griffiths explains. “Aerison is supplying rail car components such as pantographs, battery boxes, cabin structures and couplers.
“This is particularly exciting, as we underwent a very stringent quality process to obtain accreditation for European standard fabrication, EN 15085. This allowed Aerison to provide the unique capability to fabricate equipment for railway rolling stock based locally in Western Australia. We have a high-quality fabrication workforce who produce exceptional work for the mineral and energy sectors which is now also great to offer to the METRONET infrastructure project!”
ENERGY TRANSFORMATION
In the energy space, Aerison’s activity revolves around business collaboration and providing customers with progressive energy solutions.
“There is an energy transformation taking place globally, and we are seeing a shift away from the typical thermal fired power stations; what’s coming in place is energy storage,” Griffiths highlights. “Aerison is working with an Australian energy network provider, to design and instal storage systems that balance renewable power generation.”
Cybalink Solutions
At Cybalink Solutions we built our service on the knowledge and experience gained with over 17 years in the Engineering and Construction Mining.
We saw the need to specialise and assist engineering and construction companies like Aerison to transition from in-house back-office support to offshoring these functions. We partnered with Aerison just over two years ago and their remote staff have become an extension of their Perth based team just like a satellite office.
Cybalink Solutions has a proven track record of helping companies like Aerison with innovative solutions, improving business processes, accessing global talent and keeping costs down.
www.cybalinksolutions.com
NMT Global Project Logistics
NMT - We’re in business to provide solutions to your logistics problems
For over 17 years we have completed multiple high-profile projects and achieved great success. As a current logistics leader, NMT International (Australia) has been at the forefront in execution of a wide array of projects operating in this specialised industry.
We offer high-level environmental and safety commitment across our projects, backed by experienced and client-focused employees; factors that separate us from our competitors.
We value our people, safety, client commitments, and forward-thinking entrepreneurial spirit to provide our clients with expertise and exceptional service.
We know the current market and understand the deliverables of our clients, to meet the desired outcomes for project execution.
www.nmtprojects.com
Specialists in offshoring services for the engineering and constructions sectors
Revit Architects
Drafters BIM Modellers
Estimators Quantity Surveyors Piping Designers Document Controllers Accounts Payable HR Generalists
Document Control
We are unique because of our solid experience and high standards in recruitment. With real world experience and industry knowledge, we understand the nuances of E&C first-hand. We see them as opportunities for great recruitment.
This is why we are on the frontlines understanding the urgency of your needs. If you need an estimator right now, we will deliver and more.
We at Cybalink Solutions, are committed to your staffing needs. We aim to deliver 100% on every promise and on every timeline. That is why Cybalink Solutions is YOUR #1 outsourcing choice. It’s what gives us the outsourcing edge.
There’s no-one remotely like us
sales@cybalinksolutions.com Global: +61 8 6355 6028 Mobile: +61 417 471 421 www.cybalinksolutions.com
With a personalised hands-on approach, NMT’s core competencies include turnkey logistics planning and design support, full early contractor involvement (ECI) services to develop the project’s logistics freight management plan to ensure project schedule and cargo optimisation is achieved, and comprehensive management during the project execution phase. WWW.NMTPROJECTS.COM
Our services include (but are not limited to):
• Freight Forwarding and full 3PL management • Chartering by air and sea (container, roro, break-bulk, tug & barge) • Inland haulage (road and rail) • Freight consolidation, warehousing and laydown management • Management and supervision of heavy lifts, oversized and hazardous cargo • Freight tracking, reporting, and inventory material management • ECI services incl. route studies and schedule/cargo optimisation studies • Vendor sourcing assistance (local and overseas) • Customs brokerage incl. comprehensive duties and import tax studies • Biosecurity and quarantine support (origin and destination)
AUSTRALIA
Phone: +61 8 9353 2555 Email: perth@nmtprojects.com.au
THAILAND OFFICE
Phone: +66 38 074 704 Email: thailand@nmtprojects.in.th
CHINA OFFICE
Phone: +86 21 5512 8656 Email: shanghai@nmtprojects.com.cn
USA
Phone: +1 832 300 16 00 Email: houston@nmtprojectsusa.com
UAE
Phone: +971 4 299 75 60 Email: projects@nmtprojects.com
THE NETHERLANDS
Phone: +31 (0) 10 222 90 00 Email: projects@nmtprojects.com
A CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY
Aerison ensures that it gives back to the community and places a great deal of value on helping to develop upcoming talent in the industry. The company runs a graduate programme with local universities and maintains a strong connection through both the programme and sponsorship arrangements, where graduates are invited to experience the industry to help their training and development prior to entering the working world. Aerison’s sponsorships including supporting sporting groups, such as rugby clubs, car racing and rowing teams, to give back to the community through communal events.
On top of this, Aerison works towards providing customers with increasingly environmental solutions for the betterment of industrial practices.
TRANSURBAN
Another infrastructure project Aerison is carrying out is with Transurban, one of the world’s largest toll-road operators who are the incumbent for a number of main tunnels and road networks in Brisbane.
“Our agreement with Transurban focuses on the maintenance and improvements of mechanical and electrical infrastructure including noise attenuation and air ventilation in the tunnels throughout the road network, caused by vehicular activity and traffic tunnels,” Griffiths says.
DUST COLLECTION
All iron ore and alternative mines produce substantial amounts of dust. When rocks are crushed and screened, tonnes of dry particle
matter emit into the atmosphere, and Aerison is aiming to help mines combat this.
“Solving the dust problem isn’t about spraying down roads, Aerison instead works on numerous projects where we have built custom-designed dust collector bag houses,” Griffiths informs us. “We have recently completed the design, construction and/or installation of five baghouse projects. Aerison provided assessment and design advice based on the environmental conditions of the site air then completed the works to ensure environmental compliance and improved productivity was achieved.”
MOVING FORWARD
a variety of different projects and continues to do so in the WA region. For Griffiths, the future aims of the company revolve around two key aspects of operation.
“We have already secured our budgeted revenue for the next 12 months,” he informs us. “So, for us our core focus is to deliver on the promises and commitments that we have made.
“Although we have enjoyed and endured growth in the last few years it has been sustainable, it has occurred at a steady pace, and we are not looking for dramatic leaps and bounds when it comes to growth. We simply want to ensure that we deliver and hit our set targets.
“But of course, we are also reminded every single day of the nature of the environment that we operate in. Structured engineering involves heavy machinery, working in a space that is high-risk for our employees, and so safety is paramount for us.
“We are absolutely focused on safety and that comes before anything else; it is something that we think about every single day.”
AERISON PTY LTD Tel: +61 8 9352 5900 info@aerison.com www.aerison.com
