Zach vs. the ocean

10 years at Monadelphous

From pre-trade school in New Zealand to leading major projects in the marine space, Zach's journey with Monadelphous has been nothing short of exciting. 

Growing up in the coastal town of Whangarei, Zach spent his childhood dirt biking, fishing, surfing, and diving – the perfect foundation for his love of working in the marine space. 

His career kicked off with a pre-trade school for machining and welding, combined with work experience at a fabrication workshop two days a week for six months. Despite the competitive job market, Zach was determined to carve his own path.  

At 18, he took a leap and moved to Tom Price, starting out as a Trades Assistant.  

"I moved to Tom Price in 2011, where I spent three and a half years – believe it or not, it was a lot of fun," Zach said.  

"After about three months, I secured an apprenticeship as a heavy metal fabricator.” 

In 2014, he joined Monadelphous as a qualified Boilermaker and made the move to Karratha to be closer to the coast and water initially working with the coastal shut team. After about six months, he was given the opportunity to join the coastal project team. 

In 2019, he made the move to relocate to Perth where he quickly moved through the ranks, taking on roles as Leading Hand, Project Supervisor, Project Lead, and his current role as Project Superintendent.  

Reflecting on his time with the company, he said one of his favourite memories was working on a challenging project at Cape Lambert Wharf in 2018.  

"It required a lot of effort to push it across the finish line and broke me about five times throughout the fortnight, but the feeling we all had once the job was complete was great," he recalled. 

The marine space is where Zach feels most at home, and it's what keeps him engaged every day.  

"The challenges and complexities of working over water always keep things interesting," he said.  

Watching both the team and Monadelphous' capabilities grow over the years has been incredibly rewarding for him. 

Outside of work, Zach's love for fishing and diving remains strong, and he's recently taken up golf – getting out on the course whenever he can.  

His dirt biking adventures, however, came to an end after a trip with the Royal Flying Doctor. Nowadays, his hands are full with his one-year-old son, who keeps him busy. 

When asked what advice he would give to newcomers in the industry, Zach keeps it simple: "Create your own opportunities." 

Looking ahead, Zach has his sights set on expanding Monadelphous' marine capabilities.  

"Convince Zoran [Bebic] to buy a Modular 250T jack-up barge, then expand our marine capabilities on the coast and eventually take Nick's [Raffan] job," he joked.