A message from Melchor

It is a real privilege to step into the role of General Manager – Civil and E&I. Over the past month, I’ve had the opportunity to meet many of you and gain a deeper understanding of the business. I’ve long admired this team for its capability, culture and commitment to delivering for our clients, and I’m excited to now be part of it.

Before looking ahead, I want to acknowledge and thank Stuart Crofts for his outstanding leadership and contribution. Stuart has built strong foundations for the business and has always been someone who takes the time to listen, guide and bring out the best in the people around him. They are certainly big shoes to fill. On behalf of the team, thank you Stuart, and best wishes for a retirement filled with family, fun and adventure in the South West.

For those I haven’t yet had the opportunity to meet, my Monadelphous journey began in Port Hedland in 2005 as an Undergraduate Mechanical Engineer. Following the completion of my engineering degree, I was fortunate to be offered a graduate position with the business in 2007, marking the start of what has now been a near 20-year career with Monadelphous.

I spent the first five years of my career working across Port Hedland, Newman and Brockman as a Project Engineer and Senior Engineer, with much of that time supporting the Rapid Growth Projects in the Pilbara. Living and working in Port Hedland provided some fantastic experiences, both professionally and personally, and I have many great memories of being part of the local community, playing football for the local team and making the most of everything the Pilbara has to offer.

In 2012, I was given the opportunity to lead my first project as Project Manager at Marandoo, delivering a major SMPE&I package with a peak workforce of around 300 to 400 personnel. From there, I went on to deliver projects including Cape Preston, MAC WTP and Nyrstar before moving into an Operations Manager role within Mining Minerals West, overseeing several large-scale SMPE&I projects.

Following this I joined Mondium, where I gained valuable EPC experience on the Western Turner Syncline 2 project and was exposed to all aspects of project delivery, from engineering and procurement through to construction, commissioning and operational readiness. This gave me a good grounding in civil works where I oversaw all onsite packages on Western Turner 2 including earthworks, concrete, NPI and SMPE&I.

Since 2023, I have held the role of General Manager – E&I and International Projects, a responsibility I will continue alongside my new role leading Civil and E&I. During this time, I’ve had the opportunity to work closely with our E&I teams and clients, supporting the continued growth of the business while further developing my experience in business leadership, strategy and customer relationships.

As I step into this role, I’m excited by the opportunity to help grow the business, support our people and build on the strong foundations already in place. For me, one of the most exciting aspects of the role is the opportunity to lead two complementary business units. While Civil and E&I sit at opposite ends of the project lifecycle, there are strong synergies between them and significant opportunities to work together in new ways.

Both the civil and electrical sectors are experiencing strong growth, not only within Monadelphous but across the broader industry, and I believe there are notable opportunities ahead for our business and our people. Over the past month, I’ve already seen firsthand the strength of the culture within Melchor. It’s something people speak highly of across the business, and I’m genuinely excited to get involved, become part of that culture and contribute to its continued success.

It’s also an exciting time for the business, with a number of significant projects progressing well across our portfolio. Ongoing projects include our contract with SCJV on Perdaman’s Urea Project and the Port Maximisation Project for the Mid West Ports Authority in Geraldton. At Jimblebar, the concrete structure for BHP’s train loadout is starting to take shape, while the team continues to deliver strong results on Brockman Syncline 1 and at CD3/CD4 alongside our EC Projects teammates. In Kwinana, our work with Covalent Lithium has recently been completed, with our performance recognised through a contract extension and ongoing minor works opportunities.

We have also increased our focus on regional opportunities across the Pilbara, and I expect you'll hear more about this in the coming months. We recently commenced work for the Pilbara Ports Authority and are looking forward to building on that relationship. We're also about to receive the delivery of a vacuum excavation truck, or "vac truck", which will be a valuable and highly sought-after addition to our capability and service offering.

Finally, I'd like to congratulate everyone on another successful financial year. There is plenty happening across both our project sites and pre-contracts activities, and the results we've achieved are a credit to the hard work, dedication and professionalism of our people. Thank you for everything you do.

I appreciate the warm welcome I've received so far and look forward to working with you all in the months and years ahead.

Damien