Jim will now represent Queensland at the upcoming National Awards. If successful at the national level, the next step for Jim could be representing Australia at the Global Awards held in Monte Carlo.
Jim’s story began in 2005 when he and two friends, Brenton Euler and Tom Dermody, started up a pipeline construction company called Pipe and Civil, which had the ambitious plan of not only making it big in the construction industry, but also making a difference with regard to innovation and safety.
Armed with plenty of energy, determination and one loyal staff member, the trio set about introducing new technology and fresh ideas in an effort to improve the pipeline construction industry.
Initially met with challenges, the company’s business philosophy of achieving a balance between efficient productivity and safer work practices soon began resonating with key civil construction players.
Within five years, the company has gone from a $20,000 start-up venture, to a 450-strong national workforce turning over more than $100 million annually.
According to Jim, the key to the company’s success can largely be attributed to its introduction of the “Spiderplough” – a purpose-built pipeline installation machine from Germany that has revolutionised the way HDPE gas and water pipelines are now laid.
“With the ability to lay HDPE pipelines five times faster than conventional methods, and without the need for dangerous open trenches, the pipeline ploughing technology has been quickly embraced by the industry, particularly the coal seam gas sector within Queensland’s booming Surat Basin,” Jim said.
The company, which holds the exclusive rights to import the German-made machine into Australia, has already secured a number of key pipeline installation contracts in the coal seam gas (CSG) sector and the volume of major CSG industry players wanting in on this unique technology has now increased to deafening levels.
It was this strategic manoeuvre and growing success in securing large-scale pipeline installation contracts in the coal seam gas sector that caught the attention of one of the world’s largest civil construction entities – the United Kingdom’s John Murphy and Sons Ltd.
Keen to install itself into the Australian civil construction sector and confident that the company of the three business partners had the credentials for success, John Murphy and Sons Ltd brokered a 50/50 merger with Pipe and Civil earlier this year to form Murphy Pipe and Civil.
The merger itself is testament to the positive business direction of the company as it represents the only time in John Murphy and Sons Ltd’s 60-year history that it has entered into a merger with a company in or outside of the United Kingdom.
While many would attribute the introduction of the Spiderplough as the sole catalyst for the company’s ability to etch its name as a major player in the pipeline construction industry, according to Jim, the key ingredient to his company’s meteoric success lays firmly in the hands of his dedicated workforce.
During his acceptance speech at the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Awards, Jim was quick to acknowledge the efforts of the company’s backbone – its people.
“Our company motto is “˜innovation in action’ and this strong business philosophy stretches right across our team – from the guy on the shovel to the suits in Brisbane,” Jim said.
“We foster innovative thinking and never discount the ideas of our people because it just might lead to a better, more efficient work method or a safer workplace.”
