Northtrack Machinery has put themselves on the front foot investing heavily ahead of the next industry booms

A Darwin mechanical ser­vices business has gotten firmly on the front foot by investing heavily in staff and new premises in readiness for booms in the mining, marine services and Defence sectors.

A Darwin mechanical ser­vices business has gotten firmly on the front foot by investing heavily in staff and new premises in readiness for booms in the mining, marine services and Defence sectors.

Darren and Jan Diwell started Northtrack Machinery on their 2ha rural block in 2007 before expanding into Berrimah and then making the switch to premises around the corner this year.

Chief Minister Michael Gunner toured the new premises on Wednesday.

The expansion saw the businesses workshop footprint increase from 5900sq m to 22,300sq m – a massive expansion that makes it among the biggest workspaces in ­Darwin.

Diesel mechanic Darren and Jan, a former surgical nurse, believe the investment is worth the risk because the signs point to good economic times ahead.

“The Northtrack strategic plan was to grow our footprint big enough to cater for this upcoming work we’re expecting,” he said.

“We’re about 18 months ahead on our strategic plan. We advanced a lot quicker than normal.

“Our goals are to now capture the mining sector, all this new work coming into Defence and to train people and get apprentice competency here in Northern Australia to a level accepted by Defence and mining.”

Jan Diwell, Michael Gunner and Darren Diwell. The Diwells own Northtrack Machinery Picture: Camden Smith

Two years ago, Northtrack employed 15 staff and three apprentices. Today, it has 25 staff including 11 apprentices and by the end of 2023 expects to have 30 staff.

Five of the diesel mechanic apprentices are from Taminmin College in rural Darwin and existing tradesmen are also being upskilled.

The massive workshop ­allows year-round, all season work unaffected by weather.

“The shed caters for work 12 months of the year because we were worried with the wet season about not being able to fulfil what our stakeholders or clients require,” Mr Diwell said.

Mr Gunner said Northtrack’s expansion reflected the government’s “urgency” to create jobs and develop the economy.

This was further boosted last week when Core Lithium announced it had reached Final Investment Decision on its Finniss Lithium project, about 80km south of Darwin.

Work on the mine is expected to be under way shortly.

“Here we’re seeing a business with the confidence to expand at Northtrack,” Mr Gunner said. “They’re gearing up for the shiplift and marine services work that’s coming.

“This is how you keep driving growth, it’s how you keep creating local jobs.”

Government forecasts say there is currently about $11bn in major projects pencilled in for the Territory, including the Santos Barossa gas field project, about $4bn in Defence upgrades and the shiplift as well as about $35bn worth of planned and proposed projects, including Sun Cable.