Transfield Services
Encyclopedia
Transfield Services Limited is an Australia
n publicly listed corporation
providing operations and maintenance, asset management, project and capital management outsourcing and infrastructure development services to the resources and industrial, infrastructure services and property and facilities management sectors. The company operates in Australia and New Zealand, the Americas and the Middle East and Asia (comprising the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, New Caledonia, Malaysia, Philippines, and India).
and process, hydrocarbons, transport
(including road
, rail
and public transport
), utilities
(including water, power
, and telecommunications), facilities management and defence
. Transfield Services's clients include major national and international companies, as well as all levels of government.
and Carlo Salteri
. Together they built one of Australia's most successful companies focused on major engineering projects, such as bridges, tunnels, dams, hydro-electric and coal power stations, oil rigs, concert halls, sugar mills and power lines. Included in their list of major achievements are the construction of the Gateway Bridge
in Brisbane and the Sydney Harbour Tunnel
. By the early 1980s, Transfield had in excess of 3,000 employees and an annual turnover of A$
350 million; and within five years grew to the point of being the biggest engineering firm in south-east Asia. The company acquired the Williamstown Dockyard
in Melbourne and, in 1989 after winning a A$6 billion contract to build ten ANZAC class frigates
for the Australian and New Zealand
governments, the largest defence company in Australia. When visiting Australia in 1986 Pope John Paul II toured the Transfield factory located at Seven Hills
.
First known as AMECON, then as Transfield Defence Systems, the company re-established a naval shipbuilding capability in Australia with the successful construction of two FFG7 - Oliver Hazard Perry class frigates for the Royal Australian Navy
. It was later awarded the Anzac Ship Project contract, for 10 Anzac class frigate
s, eight for the Royal Australian Navy and two for the Royal New Zealand Navy
.
In 1989, Salteri and Belgiorno-Nettis stood down as joint managing directors of Transfield Holdings (as the company was then named) in favour of their eldest sons, Paul Salteri and Marco Belgiorno-Zegna. However, in a dispute between Salteri and Belgiorno-Nettis in 1995, the differences between the two families became irreconcillable and Transfield, then valued at A$733.2 million was split in two. The Belgiorno-Nettis family kept the name Transfield, having earlier established Transfield Holdings’ Operations and Maintenance division in 1993 at Mobil Altona
in Victoria. In 2001, the division was listed on the Australian Securities Exchange
as Transfield Services Limited.
In June 2007, Transfield Services Infrastructure Fund was floated, comprising seven former Transfield Services assets; and later that year, the company acquired four wind farms.
In April 2009, Transfield Services announced the appointment of Dr Peter Goode as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, succeeding Peter Watson, who had been Chief Executive since the company listed on the ASX. Goode, born in South Australia
, was a former senior executive with US–based oilfield services multinational Schlumberger
, and formerly Group President and CEO of Vetco
. He has stated that his strategy is to move Transfield Services into higher margin sectors, particularly providing maintenance services to the oil and gas sector.
As part of this strategy Transfield Services acquired privately owned Australian well-servicing business Easternwell in December 2010 for A$575 million. Easternwell provides services to the mining, oil and gas and infrastructure sectors in Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia.
In July 2011 Transfield Services sold its North American based facilities management business USM to Emcor for US$
255 million (A$240m), and also announced the sell down of 80 percent of its share in the Transfield Services Infrastructure Fund to Ratchaburi Australia, a subsidiary of Thai
company
Ratchaburi Electricity General Holding PLC. In announcing the sale, Transfield Services Infrastructure Fund said it would book an A$12.2 million loss on its investment.
in the community. The company's involvement began when Franco Belgiorno-Nettis launched the Transfield Art Prize. Commonly known in art circles as the ‘Transfield’, the prize has become one of Australia’s major annual arts events. Since 1983, Transfield has also supported the Biennale of Sydney
; now one of the premier activities in the Australian arts calendar. In the 1990s Transfield began supporting the Australian Chamber Orchestra
. Transfield and the Belgiorno-Nettis family have also had a long association with the Art Gallery of New South Wales
and donated A$4 million in 2007 to enable the creation of the Franco & Amina Belgiorno-Nettis & family Contemporary Galleries.
The Transfield Foundation, a joint venture between Transfield Holdings and Transfield Services was created in November 2010. The Foundation provides philanthropic support for innovation in employment and education, resources management and the arts across Australia.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n publicly listed corporation
Corporation
A corporation is created under the laws of a state as a separate legal entity that has privileges and liabilities that are distinct from those of its members. There are many different forms of corporations, most of which are used to conduct business. Early corporations were established by charter...
providing operations and maintenance, asset management, project and capital management outsourcing and infrastructure development services to the resources and industrial, infrastructure services and property and facilities management sectors. The company operates in Australia and New Zealand, the Americas and the Middle East and Asia (comprising the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, New Caledonia, Malaysia, Philippines, and India).
Overview
Transfield Services operates across diverse industries, including miningMining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
and process, hydrocarbons, transport
Transport
Transport or transportation is the movement of people, cattle, animals and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, rail, road, water, cable, pipeline, and space. The field can be divided into infrastructure, vehicles, and operations...
(including road
Road transport
Road transport or road transportation is transport on roads of passengers or goods. A hybrid of road transport and ship transport is the historic horse-drawn boat.-History:...
, rail
Rail transport
Rail transport is a means of conveyance of passengers and goods by way of wheeled vehicles running on rail tracks. In contrast to road transport, where vehicles merely run on a prepared surface, rail vehicles are also directionally guided by the tracks they run on...
and public transport
Public transport
Public transport is a shared passenger transportation service which is available for use by the general public, as distinct from modes such as taxicab, car pooling or hired buses which are not shared by strangers without private arrangement.Public transport modes include buses, trolleybuses, trams...
), utilities
Public utility
A public utility is an organization that maintains the infrastructure for a public service . Public utilities are subject to forms of public control and regulation ranging from local community-based groups to state-wide government monopolies...
(including water, power
Electric utility
An electric utility is a company that engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity for sale generally in a regulated market. The electrical utility industry is a major provider of energy in most countries. It is indispensable to factories, commercial establishments,...
, and telecommunications), facilities management and defence
Military
A military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g...
. Transfield Services's clients include major national and international companies, as well as all levels of government.
History
The origins of Transfield Services Limited commenced in 1956 when Transfield Pty Limited was founded by two Italian–born mechanical engineers, Franco Belgiorno-NettisFranco Belgiorno-Nettis
Franco Belgiorno-Nettis, AC was an Australian industrialist and patron of the arts. He founded the construction and engineering company Transfield and also helped establish the Biennale of Sydney....
and Carlo Salteri
Carlo Salteri
Carlo Salteri AC was a prominent Australian businessman, mechanical engineer, founder of Tenix and co-founder of Transfield.- Background and early years :...
. Together they built one of Australia's most successful companies focused on major engineering projects, such as bridges, tunnels, dams, hydro-electric and coal power stations, oil rigs, concert halls, sugar mills and power lines. Included in their list of major achievements are the construction of the Gateway Bridge
Gateway Bridge, Brisbane
The Sir Leo Hielscher Bridges are a pair of road bridges on the Gateway Motorway , which skirts the eastern suburbs of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. They are the most eastern crossing of the Brisbane River, the closest to Moreton Bay, crossing at the Quarries Reach, between Eagle Farm and Murarrie...
in Brisbane and the Sydney Harbour Tunnel
Sydney Harbour Tunnel
The Sydney Harbour Tunnel is a twin-tube road tunnel in Sydney, Australia. The tunnel was completed and opened to traffic in August 1992 to provide a second vehicular crossing of Sydney Harbour to alleviate congestion on the Sydney Harbour Bridge....
. By the early 1980s, Transfield had in excess of 3,000 employees and an annual turnover of A$
Australian dollar
The Australian dollar is the currency of the Commonwealth of Australia, including Christmas Island, Cocos Islands, and Norfolk Island, as well as the independent Pacific Island states of Kiribati, Nauru and Tuvalu...
350 million; and within five years grew to the point of being the biggest engineering firm in south-east Asia. The company acquired the Williamstown Dockyard
Williamstown Dockyard
Williamstown Dockyard was one of Australia's principal ship building yards at Williamstown, Victoria, Australia.The Colony of Victoria decided to construct a large slipway at Williamstown to provide ship repair facilities in 1856 and the Government Patent Slip was opened in 1858. Slip Pier was...
in Melbourne and, in 1989 after winning a A$6 billion contract to build ten ANZAC class frigates
Anzac class frigate
The Anzac class is a ship class of ten frigates; eight operated by the Royal Australian Navy and two operated by the Royal New Zealand Navy...
for the Australian and New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
governments, the largest defence company in Australia. When visiting Australia in 1986 Pope John Paul II toured the Transfield factory located at Seven Hills
Seven Hills, New South Wales
Seven Hills is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Seven Hills is located 34 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the City of Blacktown. Seven Hills is part of the Greater Western Sydney region...
.
First known as AMECON, then as Transfield Defence Systems, the company re-established a naval shipbuilding capability in Australia with the successful construction of two FFG7 - Oliver Hazard Perry class frigates for the Royal Australian Navy
Royal Australian Navy
The Royal Australian Navy is the naval branch of the Australian Defence Force. Following the Federation of Australia in 1901, the ships and resources of the separate colonial navies were integrated into a national force: the Commonwealth Naval Forces...
. It was later awarded the Anzac Ship Project contract, for 10 Anzac class frigate
Anzac class frigate
The Anzac class is a ship class of ten frigates; eight operated by the Royal Australian Navy and two operated by the Royal New Zealand Navy...
s, eight for the Royal Australian Navy and two for the Royal New Zealand Navy
Royal New Zealand Navy
The Royal New Zealand Navy is the maritime arm of the New Zealand Defence Force...
.
In 1989, Salteri and Belgiorno-Nettis stood down as joint managing directors of Transfield Holdings (as the company was then named) in favour of their eldest sons, Paul Salteri and Marco Belgiorno-Zegna. However, in a dispute between Salteri and Belgiorno-Nettis in 1995, the differences between the two families became irreconcillable and Transfield, then valued at A$733.2 million was split in two. The Belgiorno-Nettis family kept the name Transfield, having earlier established Transfield Holdings’ Operations and Maintenance division in 1993 at Mobil Altona
Altona, Victoria
Altona is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 13 km south-west from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Hobsons Bay. At the 2006 Census, Altona had a population of 9685....
in Victoria. In 2001, the division was listed on the Australian Securities Exchange
Australian Securities Exchange
The Australian Securities Exchange was created by the merger of the Australian Stock Exchange and the Sydney Futures Exchange in July 2006. It is the primary stock exchange group in Australia....
as Transfield Services Limited.
Current operations
As a private investment and development company, Transfield Holdings retains a shareholding in Transfield Services, and its joint Managing Directors, Guido and Luca Belgiorno-Nettis are both Directors of Transfield Services Limited.In June 2007, Transfield Services Infrastructure Fund was floated, comprising seven former Transfield Services assets; and later that year, the company acquired four wind farms.
In April 2009, Transfield Services announced the appointment of Dr Peter Goode as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, succeeding Peter Watson, who had been Chief Executive since the company listed on the ASX. Goode, born in South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
, was a former senior executive with US–based oilfield services multinational Schlumberger
Schlumberger
Schlumberger Limited is the world's largest oilfield services company. Schlumberger employs over 110,000 people of more than 140 nationalities working in approximately 80 countries...
, and formerly Group President and CEO of Vetco
Vetco
Vetco was established in July 2004 and operated through its subsidiaries and . Vetco was the result of a consortium consisting of the private equity firms Candover, 3i and taking over ABB's oil and gas division; ABB Offshore Systems. Vetco was made out of companies that have serviced the upstream...
. He has stated that his strategy is to move Transfield Services into higher margin sectors, particularly providing maintenance services to the oil and gas sector.
As part of this strategy Transfield Services acquired privately owned Australian well-servicing business Easternwell in December 2010 for A$575 million. Easternwell provides services to the mining, oil and gas and infrastructure sectors in Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia.
In July 2011 Transfield Services sold its North American based facilities management business USM to Emcor for US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
255 million (A$240m), and also announced the sell down of 80 percent of its share in the Transfield Services Infrastructure Fund to Ratchaburi Australia, a subsidiary of Thai
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
company
SET50 Index and SET100 Index
The SET50 and SET100 Indices are the primary stock indices of Thailand. The constituents of both lists are companies listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand in Bangkok.-Calculation:...
Ratchaburi Electricity General Holding PLC. In announcing the sale, Transfield Services Infrastructure Fund said it would book an A$12.2 million loss on its investment.
Philanthropy
Transfield has had a longstanding commitment to the artsThe arts
The arts are a vast subdivision of culture, composed of many creative endeavors and disciplines. It is a broader term than "art", which as a description of a field usually means only the visual arts. The arts encompass visual arts, literary arts and the performing arts – music, theatre, dance and...
in the community. The company's involvement began when Franco Belgiorno-Nettis launched the Transfield Art Prize. Commonly known in art circles as the ‘Transfield’, the prize has become one of Australia’s major annual arts events. Since 1983, Transfield has also supported the Biennale of Sydney
Biennale of Sydney
The Biennale of Sydney is an international festival of contemporary art, held every two years in Sydney, Australia. It is the largest and best-attended contemporary visual arts event in the country...
; now one of the premier activities in the Australian arts calendar. In the 1990s Transfield began supporting the Australian Chamber Orchestra
Australian Chamber Orchestra
The Australian Chamber Orchestra was founded by cellist John Painter in 1975. Richard Tognetti was appointed Lead Violin in 1989 and subsequently appointed Artistic Director....
. Transfield and the Belgiorno-Nettis family have also had a long association with the Art Gallery of New South Wales
Art Gallery of New South Wales
The Art Gallery of New South Wales , located in The Domain in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, was established in 1897 and is the most important public gallery in Sydney and the fourth largest in Australia...
and donated A$4 million in 2007 to enable the creation of the Franco & Amina Belgiorno-Nettis & family Contemporary Galleries.
The Transfield Foundation, a joint venture between Transfield Holdings and Transfield Services was created in November 2010. The Foundation provides philanthropic support for innovation in employment and education, resources management and the arts across Australia.