Contractors reap NW rewards

Soaring demand for Western Australia’s resources has created a bonanza of new business for a host of small and flexible contractors operating in the North-West.

One such company that has been benefiting from some of this investment is a little known local company called Calibre Projects Pty Ltd, which is believed to have picked up a major rail contract from Rio Tinto.

Australian Securities & Investments Commission show the company was registered in March this year.

However, an associated entity Calibre Global Pty Ltd was registered in 2002 and has a website under construction.

A Rio Tinto spokesman confirmed the company (Calibre Projects ) had been working for the international mining giant’s Western Australian operations for the past couple of years.

The spokesman said Calibre Projects was one of several engineering, procurement, construction and management contractors (EPCMs) a division of Rio Tinto – Rio Tinto Iron Ore Major Projects (RTIOMP) – employed to manage the upgrades to its iron mines and infrastructure.

WA Business News understands Calibre is currently handling the construction of 150 kilometres of dual rail tracking in the Pilbara.

Some of the other better known EPCM contractors RTIOMP is currently employing to handle its upgrades include Sinclair Knight Mertz and a joint venture between Kvaerner and Clough Engineering.

In comparison to these big names, the St Georges Terrace-addressed Calibre is a largely unknown entity.

According to the ASIC documents the company directors are two Perth-based Scotsmen, John Rowley and Raymond Munro, and a Victorian by the name of David Walker.

WA Business News placed several calls with Calibre to find out more about the company however the company’s management did not return calls.