Canadian nuclear firm AtkinsRealis buys Brisbane engineer ADG to target Queensland building boom
A global nuclear and engineering services company has made a strategic bet on Queensland's future by snapping up a Brisbane firm with 350 staff.
Global engineering services and nuclear giant AtkinsRealis has ramped up its Australian footprint with the acquisition of a Brisbane company just as the multi-billion dollar housing and infrastructure rollout in Queensland kicks into full gear.
The Canadian company has acquired engineering consultant ADG which increases its Australian workforce by 350.
Founded in 2002, ADG chief executive Marco Ficca and Paul Andonaros, the company’s track record includes projects such as Sydney’s Quay Quarter Tower, Brisbane’s Howard Smith Wharves, transport infrastructure with MELConnx in Perth and the Hobart International Airport.
Most importantly, the acquisition signals AtkinsRealis’ long-term commitment to the Australian market, laying the foundation for future strategic investments and continued growth.
Headquartered in Toowong, Ficca says the partnership will allow ADG to use AtkinsRealis’ global reach to “amplify our impact”.
“This partnership will enable us to deliver even greater value to clients, while offering our teams access to larger, more diverse projects and careers,” he says.
Richard Robinson, president, AMEA of AtkinsRealis says the deal was a “great step forward” in its growth strategy for Australia and, it will unlock new opportunities.
According to the Australian Construction Market Review report earlier this year, Queensland consistently emerges as a standout performer with the fastest-growing engineering construction sector in the country.
Billions of dollars worth of public infrastructure is set to break ground, with Olympic, hospital and capital works in the pipeline underpinned by population growth, residential recovery, major engineering investment, and a tightening commercial market.
Being Barmy
An aspiring member of the Barmy Army is promising to “stir up the convicts” when a contingent of executives from Warren Ebert’s Sentinel Property Group gather in a corporate box at the Gabba for the second Ashes Test which starts on Thursday.
Englishman Tom Duncan joined Sentinel recently as Head of Clients and Capital, and while introducing himself on Tuesday in an address to investors at the Brisbane Club for Sentinel’s biannual investor update, he made it clear he’s ready to enjoy watching England bounce back after losing the opening Test in Perth in just two days.
“I’m expecting a good innings here at Sentinel, and it’s certainly going to be longer than the Australian batsmen will achieve this weekend,” says the former Cromwell Property Group executive, who was raised in the eastern English town of Ipswich.
“I want to be on the ground to watch Australia lose their first Ashes Test at home in 15 years.”
Duncan says he’s looking forward to joining in some of the Barmy Army’s chants, with one of his favourites being ‘Convict Colony’, which is sung along to the tune of The Beatles ‘Yellow Submarine’.
Duncan says he’s thrilled he now lives in Brisbane with Australian-born wife Viv and their two children.
“The main reason I’m here is to keep the boss happy, and the boss isn’t Warren, but it’s actually my wife who is from Brisbane.”
Ebert, who confesses not to be a big cricket fan save for listening to Billy Birmingham’s impersonations of cricket commentators on the ‘12th Man’ album, will join Duncan in the corporate box along with Sentinel executives Michael Sherlock, Daniel O’Driscoll, Scott Tynan, Brad Freitas and Dirk Yates.
Originally published as Canadian nuclear firm AtkinsRealis buys Brisbane engineer ADG to target Queensland building boom
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