CEO Brent Crockford said Sitzler’s involvement now sees the AOC representing the interests of 16 of Australia’s most experienced, locally owned Mid-Tier construction companies, collectively comprising more than 13,000 employees and subcontractors.

“Change is needed to procurement processes for large taxpayer-funded projects across the country so that multi-billion-dollar tender packages are no longer bundled to favour big foreign owned Tier One construction firms,” Mr Crockford said.

“The involvement of Sitzler in our efforts expands the breadth and depth of the AOC and we welcome the company to the fight for local opportunity and competition, local skills development and domestic company growth.”

Sitzler, established in 1976 and owned and run by Steve Margetic and Michael Sitzler, is an industry leader delivering projects across the nation and across all major industries including civil and public infrastructure, Defence, education, correctional facilities, health, commercial, retail and energy.

The company has a strong, well proven management team, systems, and an extensive direct and indirect workforce which has enabled it to quickly and efficiently scale-up for the large projects it has successfully pursued over the past 20 years and continues today.

Sitzler projects include the highly advanced Space Situational Awareness Telescope in WA, the Darwin Convention and Exhibition Centre, and a 918-unit base accommodation project for Defence.

Mr Crockford said that as governments helped kick-start the COVID-19 economic recovery fast-tracking more infrastructure projects to market, it was essential that Australian owned businesses were given more head contract leadership opportunities

“Australia’s once proud history of homegrown, nurtured and owned top tier construction firms is no more,” he said.

“We need action to encourage more work and less barriers for our Mid-Tier contractors on major projects if we are to have any hope of growing domestic skills and allowing these Australian-owned businesses to grow and evolve into our new leading Tier One players.”

Members of Australian Owned Contractors are:

• Majority Australian owned and controlled – at least 51% owned by Australian shareholders
• Have revenue in excess of $250 million
• Companies that have participated in Federal and State Government funded infrastructure

www.australianownedcontractors.com.au

• Providing health and hygiene information, posters and additional hand sanitiser / hand wash products to all workplaces
• Providing information to staff and contractors for identifying and managing COVID-19
• Providing professional cleaners to maintain a hygienic workplace
• Providing formal Induction procedures for all workplaces that discuss COVID-19
• Requesting staff / visitors that have returned from overseas within 14 days – not enter our workplaces
• Requesting staff / visitors that are unwell or have flu like symptoms to remove themselves from our workplaces until they have a medical clearance
• Minimised face to face meetings with teleconferencing / web based platform meetings
• Restricted our business related travel
• Implemented our business continuity plan
• Implemented our company COVID-19 Crisis Management processes
• Enabled our Employee Assistance Provider to be available for COVID-19 related counselling
• Implemented workplace sign in and out registers for personnel tracking purposes
• Updated our internal procedures to include reporting to Defence for suspected or confirmed cases of COVID-19 within a Defence base via phone – 1800 333 362 and email via project reporting chains
• Continue oversight of our IT systems for our enterprise data storage, back-ups and user authentication systems
• Preparing for implementing worker temperature testing at each workplace

• World Health Organisation –https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019
• Australian Government Department of Health – https://www.health.gov.au/
• Prime Minister of Australia – https://www.pm.gov.au

The works represent a significant upgrade to the highly operational RAAF base, with the construction of a large aircraft hangar in support of the P-8A  the first for quite some time at the base.  

“This is a significant project in the Darwin market at the moment and we are very pleased to have secured it, especially given its close proximity to the AIR7000 hardstand and aircraft wash facility project at RAAF Darwin we were awarded 3^rd quarter last year”, said Steve Margetic, Sitzler MD.

“We are focused on maximising local participation in the delivery of this project as we do with all our projects around the country. The project will sustain in the order of 230 jobs during its delivery which is quite substantial in the current market conditions.”

Work on the project will commence shortly and will be completed late in 2021.

Sitzler Pty Ltd has been named as one of Australia’s best businesses at the 2019 National Business Leadership Awards.

The National Business Leadership Awards recognise and celebrate successful building and construction businesses that harness best practice and innovation across their business, are exemplars of ethical commercial conduct and make positive contributions to local communities.

Denita Wawn, CEO of Master Builders Australia, said, “Recognition of Sitzler as 2019 Large Civil Construction Business of the Year reflected the business’s outstanding capacity and capability to deliver large civil/engineering construction projects that meet client needs in an environmentally and socially conscious manner.”

“Sitzler is an iconic name in the construction industry across Australia’s north and they have built a national presence as a preferred contractor on the back of their reputation for delivering projects in the civil, infrastructure, defence, space innovation and commercial sectors,” she said.

“In the past five years alone, Sitzler have successfully delivered in excess of $300M of civil projects that stretch from Exmouth in WA and Timber Creek, Delamere, Arnhem Land, Borroloola and Groote Eylandt in the NT in addition to projects within the Darwin metro region,” Denita Wawn said.

“Sitzler’s clients list include Department of Defence, NT Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Logistics, Indigenous Land Councils, multinational construction firms, mining companies and private developers. Projects have covered a wide range of civil disciplines including bulk earthworks, road construction, bridgeworks and piling, major flood mitigation projects and construction of subdivisions,” she said.

“Since it was established in 2009, Sitzler’s civil division has tripled in size to include 4 full time Project Managers along with dedicated estimating, survey and design capability. In the field they have a team of seven highly experienced Supervisors and Leading Hands with over 150 years of combined civil construction experience between them,” Denita Wawn said.

“Sitzler has also invested heavily in the acquisition of new plant and equipment to significantly increase their ability to provide civil solutions for their clients. A fully-equipped earthmoving fleet and a team of highly experienced multi-skilled key personnel has enabled Sitzler to self-perform the majority of civil work in the past five years,” Denita Wawn said.

“Sitzler’s ongoing success in the delivery of complex and challenging projects in remote and isolated locations has demonstrated their ability to overcome the unique challenges faced in such conditions whilst maintaining a record of on-time completion.,” she said.

“Importantly for a business delivering major projects in Australia’s north, Sitzler has maintained their commitment to respectively engage with local Indigenous communities at all levels across their projects. This has allowed Sitzler to create significant employment opportunities and hands on experience for local Indigenous people,” Denita Wawn said.

Excerpt below with links to the full PDF Article.

“Sitzler is among Australia’s longest standing and most highly regarded construction companies. For over 40 years, they have been delivering quality projects in a progressively safer, more sustainable, and more socially conscious manner.

Sitzler is among Australia’s longest standing and most highly regarded construction companies. For over 40 years, they have been delivering quality projects in a progressively safer, more sustainable, and more socially conscious manner. They have evolved from a local Northern Territory business operating in the remotest parts of the country, to a national professional and trusted industry specialist – with over 250 projects built throughout the Northern Territory, So¬uth Australia, and Western Australia, and with over 40 prestigious industry awards to testify to their excellence. Most recently, the company was honoured at the National Business Leadership Awards, hosted by Master Builders Australia. Those awards recognise and celebrate successful building and construction businesses that harness best practice and innovation, exemplify ethical commercial conduct, and make positive contributions to their communities. In 2019, they named Sitzler ‘Large Civil Construction Business of the Year.’

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