The Environmental Group Limited (EGL) has secured a deal to purchase RCR Tomlinson subsidiary RCR Energy Service.
Melbourne-based EGL is dealing with the beleaguered engineering group’s administrator McGrathNicol to make the acquisition, which should be completed within the next week.
RCR Energy Service’s primary focus is on commercial gas and steam boilers, as well as thermal oil heaters and hot water heaters.
Perth-based RCR Tomlinson made headlines last November with the announcement of its administration due to insurmountable money problems, including around $630 million in debts.
The company saw a massive 60 per cent share wipe out in August last year and by the time of its administration its value hovered around 85–87 cents, down from $2.12 at the end of July.
In particular, the company suffered severe financial issues related to several failed solar farm investments — two Queensland solar projects saw a combined write down of $57 million, for example.
Despite this, EGL has cited RCR Energy Service’s “strong track record of profitability” as an attractive quality of the acquisition.
The company generated $21.5 million in sales and $1.5 million in earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) in the 2018 financial year.
RCR Energy Service’s senior management team will transfer to EGL once the acquisition is complete and the company will operate under the name Tomlinson Energy Service.
“EGL will continue to pursue new growth and acquisition opportunities that fit our environmental platform,” EGL chairman Lynn Richardson said.
“This will provide existing and new shareholders with the benefits of investment in a company committed to reducing pollution and the effective use of world resources.”
EGL did not reveal the cost of the acquisition at the request of McGrathNicol, but this information should be made available by the end of January. The acquisition will be funded by EGL’s existing debt facilities.
CFG Alliance is planning to construct a steel plant in Whyalla, South Australia, which will be the largest in the western world, according to company chairman Sanjeev Gupta.
Gupta announced the new project, Next-Gen Steel, alongside Prime Minister Scott Morrison and leader of the opposition Bill Shorten at a press conference in Whyalla on December last year.
“This is the turnaround state, and this is the comeback city in Australia when we’re talking about Whyalla,” Morrison said.
The project will create a new steel plant for Whyalla capable of producing 10 million tonnes a year.
Gupta also announced that the existing Whyalla steelworks would also be transformed through a $600 million investment into a 1.8 million tonnes a year steel producer.
GFG Alliance purchased the steelworks in 2017, saving hundreds of jobs in the process.
The company signed two contracts with Danieli and CISDI Engineering for the development of rail and structural heavy section mill and a pulverised coal injection (PCI) plant respectively over the next three years at Whyalla.
“The transformation will vastly improve the operations, financial and environmental performance of the operations, paving the way for Whyalla to become an enticing, global hub for innovative industry,” Gupta said.
The creation of the new next-gen steel operation with a capacity of 10 million tonnes a year (and the infrastructure to eventually double that capacity) and the upgrades to the current Whyalla operation is expected to increase the town’s population fourfold to around 80,000.
“This is a major boost for our long-term outlook and gives Whyalla City Council and other industries and businesses more confidence to be able to plan for the future,” said Clare McLaughlin, Whyalla mayor.
“The plant will also have state-of-the-art environmental controls, which is yet another positive for the community on top of the financial investment and job creation.”
The administrators of failed engineering firm RCR Tomlinson have revealed the company has debts totalling hundreds of millions of dollars, including up to $250 million owed to about 4,000 subcontractors and suppliers.
Key points:
The engineering firm ran into trouble after an aggressive move into solar
A total of $630 million is owed to creditors, subcontractors and suppliers
The collapse came after a $100m injection of funds just three months ago
Administrators McGrathNicol revealed to creditors across the country that RCR’s total unpaid debts amounted to up to $630 million, but it could not say how much was recoverable until it started to sell off parts of the business.
The company, which employed 2,800 people directly and engaged with thousands of subcontracting firms across dozens of projects around the country, went into administration last month after its bank refused to lend it more money to pay its debts.
At its peak in August last year, RCR Tomlinson was valued at almost $1 billion.
Since McGrathNicol was appointed, the company’s workforce has reduced by 270, with most of the redundancies coming from the infrastructure arm, which includes its solar contracts.
Employee entitlements excluding redundancy total $32 million. Under the Corporations Act, employees are paid first, followed by secured creditors, unsecured creditors and shareholders.
RCR creditors — who is owed what
Trade creditors (subcontractors and suppliers) — $100-250 million
McGrathNicol partner Jason Preston told creditors initial investigations revealed the company’s collapse was largely caused by problems with its solar farm developments, which left the business exposed to a number of risks, particularly if there were project delays.
This was attributed to the way in which the contracts were structured.
RCR signed engineering procurement and construction contracts, or EPCs, for its solar projects, in which it provided a fixed price for its customers.
If the contract took longer to complete, and therefore cost more to deliver, RCR had to absorb the increase.
This meant the company consumed “significant amounts of cash very quickly,” McGrathNicol told creditors.
The administrators indicated they were likely to apply to push the next creditor’s meeting back by three months due to the complex nature of the business, adding the RCR group was made up for 41 companies spanning a number of sectors including, energy, mining, resources, water and renewables.
The company had been a successful engineering firm for 120 years — predominantly in the mining and resources industry — before making its aggressive move into the solar industry.
RCR ran at the solar power movement hard and has been involved in building farms across the country, but it was a $57 million write-down on the value of two of its Queensland projects that burned it.
At the first meeting creditors, held across four states, McGrathNicol told suppliers, contractors and employees it was working to sell the business but could not quantify how much it would raise in the sale.
McGrathNicol last week managed to secure funding to support ongoing trading of the company and said it hoped to find a buyer or buyers by the end of the year, having received interest from more than 180 parties.
“Our priority is to prepare the business for sale to bring certainty to employees, customers and suppliers,” McGrathNicol partner Jason Preston said.
“The business has been challenged by unprofitable solar contracts within its renewable operations, however the balance of the business operates across industries which are seeing increasing demand for services.”
Among the solar projects left in limbo include the expansion of Synergy’s Greenough solar farm in Western Australia’s Midwest.
Marco Da Silva said he was hopeful the business would be sold, but was not confident of getting the $25,000 he was owed.
“Ideally, we’d like to get our money, so hopefully they can sell the businesses off in their individual capacity and we can continue to trade out of that,” Mr Da Silva said.
“It’s negative, but one has to remain unemotional and try and apply themselves and focus on the business and do the right things by the staff.”
Australian Subcontractors Association board member Louise Stewart said she had grave concerns leaving the meeting.
“I’m very concerned. There was no talk of a project bank account being set up. RCR haven’t been paid by a number of their clients, the project owners, the principals that actually own the projects,” Mrs Stewart said.
“What we don’t want to happen is for those funds to be paid directly to RCR, who are now in administration, and those monies to be used to pay secured creditors.
“Subcontractors are the biggest class of creditor affected here.
“We want to see that money going to subcontractors who have done the work, they should be paid and it’s very important that happens.”
Collapse after a $100m injection of funds
The collapse of the business, which is one of the oldest engineering names in Australia, stunned many in the investing world.
Just three months ago, RCR raised $100 million from shareholders to buffer itself against the losses it had incurred on the solar projects, but it wasn’t enough to save the business.
The move led many in investor circles to question what the board had not been telling shareholders and raised questions about whether the nation’s corporate regulator, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), would get involved.
The company is also facing a class action which was launched on behalf of shareholders in the New South Wales Supreme Court.
Lawyers Quinn Emanuel Urquhart and Sullivan filed the action, saying investors paid too much for their shares because the market was not informed of the problems the company was having with their solar projects.
Fundamentally, many analysts said the company ran too hard at the solar game without knowing enough about it, and found itself working in an environment of rising equipment costs, increasing wages and a lack of workers skilled in the renewable energy space.
It also underestimated the time it could take to gain grid approval from the nation’s electricity regulator, the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO), which has toughened its testing regime to ensure reliability of the network.
RCR’s collapse prompted AEMO to issue a warning to all new entrants to “discuss early with network businesses … prior to making commercial commitments” so as to “avoid delays during project development, registration and commissioning”.
McGrathNicol said it would like to ask for a three-month extension for the second meeting with creditors to give more time to investigate what went wrong with the business.
thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions has been awarded one of the largest fabrication and construction projects the company has ever handled in Western Australia, with an order from BHP’s South Flank iron ore operation.
Under the €150 million ($171 million) contract, thyssenkrupp will design, supply, construct and commission large-scale stockyard machines for South Flank, in the central Pilbara region.
BHP is targeting first ore extraction at the operation in 2021 and expects to ramp up to 80 Mt/y of output. This will replace production from the existing Yandi mine, which is reaching the end of its economic life. The company carried out the first blast at the project in September.
thyssenkrupp will supply two stackers that deposit iron ore into stockyards for loading, and a reclaimer for loading the ore on to trains for transport to Port Hedland. The machines will have a capacity of 20,000 t/h, making them the largest rail-mounted stackers and reclaimer in the world, according to the company.
Torsten Gerlach, CEO Mining Technologies at thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions, said: “South Flank will be one of the largest iron-ore operations worldwide. We look forward to contributing to this project by combining longstanding global expertise in the mining business with local experience.
“Our strong partnership with BHP extends globally, but the Pilbara region is a core area where we have provided material handling solutions for decades. With our field service teams, we are supporting our customer on a daily basis.”
The design of the machines incorporates the latest Australian design standard requirements and technology improvements centred on safe construction, operation and maintenance activities, according to the company.
Australia’s subcontractors are demanding the government legislate on how building firms structure bank accounts amid claims that corporate failures in the construction sector are causing a “crisis” and leaving suppliers without payments.
The Australian Subcontractors Association (ASA) demands that the Federal government take swift action to protect suppliers who are being “forced into insolvency” by the collapse of larger construction firms.
This comes after the recent collapse of engineering giant RCR Tomlinson, which had delayed payments to suppliers for up to 12 months.
“When it comes to the collapse of companies that rely on subcontractors to undertake the work, the domino effect can be devastating. Unfortunately, the subbies are often left to fend for themselves,” said Loise Stewart, ASA spokesperson.
“When companies fail to pay subcontractors for work done, the subbies still have to pay employee entitlements and taxes.
“Thousands of subcontracting businesses will be adversely impacted by the recent collapse of engineering firm RCR Tomlinson – in just the latest example of the flow-on effects to SMEs from corporate failures.”
A 2015 Senate inquiry into insolvency found that the industry is burdened every year by an estimated $3 billion in unpaid debts, including subcontractor payments. In 2018 alone, there have been 1,642 construction businesses that have become insolvent. A high percentage of these is attributed to misconduct.
“Sadly, non-payment issues have long plagued the industry – as evidenced by the subcontractor to RCR Tomlinson that has lost $9 million due to the company not paying for work done,” Stewart said.
“We have been advised by subbies that RCR has been delaying payments as far back as 12 months in order to prop up its own cash flow. And it’s unlikely any of these subcontractors will see their money.”
The ASA is now calling on the Federal minister for small business Michael McCormack to take action to protect subcontractors “all the way down the supply chain in the event of an insolvency”.
“The Federal government Review of Security of Payment Laws by John Murray has already made recommendations for cascading statutory trusts to be rolled out across the industry, however, there has been no further action,” Stewart said.
“When Craig Laundy was minister for small business, he said if state governments did not act before the end of the year, the Commonwealth would take action. We are still waiting for that to happen.”
Stewart added that national legislation is needed, and either cascading statutory trusts or cascading project bank accounts must be mandated.
“The Queensland government is certainly taking the lead on this and has made project bank accounts a legal requirement,” Stewart continues.
“However, greater responsibility needs to be taken at all levels. Governments need to act to legally impost these solutions and ensure pay subcontractors, rather than spending their money.”
RCR Tomlinson announced on November 22 that it had entered voluntary administration with the intention of commencing an immediate sale process.
McGrathNicol is the appointed administrator. The first meeting of creditors will be held simultaneously in four locations (Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Perth) on December 3, 2018.
At the time of its collapse, the ASX-listed group employed more than 3,400 people in Australia, as well as in New Zealand and other areas within Southeast Asia.
Queensland Mining and Engineering Exhibition (QME) 2018 saw more than 4,000 attendees visiting the event to explore the latest strategies and technologies driving productivity, profitability and protection of the industry.
More than 230 exhibitors attended this year’s event, an impressive 41 per cent increase on QME 2016. Industry heavyweights included Downer Group, Flender, Flexco, FLSmidth, Puma Energy, SMW Group, thyssenkrupp and Valley Longwall International.
Representation from key mining companies Adani, Anglo American, BHP, Glencore and Yancoal reaffirmed QME as a must-attend event for the Queensland mining industry. Collaboration was an underlying theme in the QME Seminar series sponsored by March IT.
With Australia’s mining equipment, technology and services (METS) sector contributing $86 billion to the Australian economy and supporting half-a-million jobs, QME 2018 also welcomed Australian Government representatives, Senator Michaelia Cash (Minister for Jobs and Innovation), Senator Matt Canavan (Minister for Resources and Northern Australia) and Mr George Christensen MP (member for Dawson).
Brandon Ward, director of QME 2018, said the success of this year’s exhibition reaffirmed the strength of the industry and its continued importance to the Queensland economy, with initial reports indicating a multi-million-dollar boost to the region during QME.
“With the sector playing such a significant role in the nation’s prosperity, it’s important that leading companies, decision makers, and personnel in mining and engineering have a major calendar event to come together to network and source the latest products and services,” said Ward.
“We would like to thank our supporters and all of the attendees, exhibitors, and speakers who chose QME 2018 to be that event, and Mackay to be that location.”
Ian Macfarlane, chief executive of supporting partner Queensland Resources Council (QRC), said the popularity of QME 2018 represented tremendous opportunity for businesses in the region.
“QME has been a fixture in Mackay for the last 25 years and remains the most important trade show for the region’s mining industry. It is truly a festival of innovation – brimming with ideas, energy and pavilions of all the latest products,” said Macfarlane.
“The exhibition provided a great opportunity for industry to come face-to-face with the best innovators the country, and find new opportunities that will safeguard the industry for generations to come in Australia.”
QRC figures show that last financial year, minerals and energy companies injected almost $14 billion into Mackay and Fitzroy regional economies. A survey of QRC’s chief executive officers (CEOs) showed that more than half were looking to increase their spending with local businesses this year.
QME also played host to the 2018 Queensland Mining Awards, celebrating the spirit of innovation, excellence and collaboration that is fostered within the highly competitive industry. QME sponsored this year’s Best Product Launch Award, won by Control Systems Technology for its IntelliRoll an autonomous ‘plug-and-play’ conveyor belt weigher.
QME will return to Mackay in July 2020 but the next major event for engineers, mining personnel, production managers and other professionals in mining and engineering will be the Asia-Pacific International Mining Exhibition (AIMEX) set to be held August 2019 in Sydney.
New Century Resources is on the verge of restarting the Century zinc mine in Queensland after making strong progress in July.
The mine, 250km northwest of Mt Isa, was one of the largest zinc mines in the world during its original operational run from 1999 to 2016, when it was closed by previous owner MMG.
At the height of operations the mine was producing an average of 475,000t of zinc and 50,000t of lead a year. New Century has plans for the mine to become one of the world’s top 10 zinc mines when up and running.
New Century stated that mining, processing and port operations teams were now in place, with site activities moved from day shifts to a 24-hour schedule.
In July, the company completed mechanical installation, nearly finished dry commissioning and completed dredging at the mouth of the Norman River for shipping routes.
New Century will use the vessel MV Wunma, which was also confirmed to be ready for launch last month after testing of engines, generators, bridge equipment, ballast systems and several other necessary areas.
Notably, the company also fully commissioned its pipeline operation for the site, a 304km slurry concentrate pipeline connecting the mine in Lawn Hill to the project’s port facility at Karumba.
Rio Tinto has approved $US146 million ($197 million) in preliminary funding for the Koodaideri iron ore project in the Pilbara region, Western Australia.
The miner plans to develop Koodaideri into its first “intelligent” operation by including the latest in high-tech advances in the industry and by using an increased level of automation and robotics.
Koodaideri is described as a large scale, low cost, high quality project that will produce replacement tonnes and form a new production hub for the company in the Pilbara for decades to come.
The initial investment will focus on detailed engineering work on key elements of the project, the development of a rail construction camp and the first stage of the Koodaideri accommodation camp.
Rio Tinto expects to make a final investment decision on the project by the end of the year and also requires government approvals.
If approved, Rio Tinto has scheduled construction to begin in 2019 and first production in 2021. Koodaideri would create over 2000 jobs during construction and 600 permanent roles.
Rio Tinto Iron Ore chief executive Chris Salisbury said the investment was an important step for the Koodaideri project, which would be a significant leap forward for the global mining industry and the company.
“We’ve been building mines in the Pilbara for over 50 years, and, subject to final approvals, Koodaideri will incorporate all of that knowledge to enable us to build the smartest, safest and most efficient mine we’ve ever constructed,” Salisbury said.
“The deployment of leading-edge technology will deliver a step-change in both safety and productivity for our business.”
Koodaideri is about 110km from Newman in the Pilbara.
The Queensland Mining and Engineering Exhibition (QME) 2018 has today announced the attendance of Michaelia Cash, Minister for Jobs and Innovation, Matt Canavan, Minister for Resources and Northern Australia and George Christensen MP, member for Dawson, reaffirming the importance of the sector to the Australian economy.
The Australian Government representatives will join engineers and mining personnel, production managers, and some of the industry’s largest corporations in Mackay from July 24–26 for Queensland’s largest mining and engineering exhibition, which will explore the theme, ‘Productivity, Profitability and Protection’.
According to the Mining in Australia 2018–2032 Report, mining production is likely to grow 5.5 per cent in the current financial year, with maintenance spending also on the rise and the investment decline winding down. To foster the industry growth trajectory, QME 2018 will bring together key industry players to improve collaboration, accelerate innovation and address future barriers.
“Since the doors opened 25 years ago to the very first QME, the event has built a longstanding reputation for bringing the best in Australian mining together, to collaborate and consider the industry’s domestic and international outlook,” said Brandon Ward, director of QME 2018.
“The event will also provide the Mackay region with national and international exposure and bolster its reputation as a mining hub, whilst providing visitors an opportunity to enjoy its diverse and vibrant community.”
This year’s exhibition will host more than 230 companies (an impressive 41 per cent increase from QME 2016) including global industry heavyweights Downer Group, Flender, Flexco, FLSmidth, Puma Energy, SMW Group, thyssenkrupp and Valley Longwall International.
Running alongside the exhibition will be a seminar series featuring more than 30 speakers across three days, providing visitors with exclusive access to the latest industry technologies and insights via keynote presentations, panel discussions and case study presentations. The seminar series will focus on six key areas including maintenance, automation and Internet of Things (IoT), procurement and supply chain, renewable energy, transport, and operational health and safety (OH&S).
QME 2018 will feature a Business Matching Program which offers visitors a personalised itinerary of products and companies matched to their areas of interest, to maximise their time on-site.
The Weir Group has completed the acquisition of ESCO Corp, the world’s leading provider of ground engaging tools for surface mining and infrastructure markets, for an enterprise value of $1,285 million. It follows regulatory clearance for the transaction, which was first announced on 19 April 2018.
Commenting, Weir Group Chief Executive Jon Stanton said:“We are delighted to formally welcome ESCO to Weir. It is a great brand that is respected throughout the world for its quality, performance and reliability. ESCO’s strength in extraction complements our leadership in the mill circuit, meaning that together we will have a comprehensive offering for mining companies around the world.”
Current ESCO President and Chief Operating Officer Jon Owens will continue to lead the business as it becomes a division of the Weir Group. He will also join Weir’s Group Executive committee with immediate effect.
Owens said: “This is an exciting day for ESCO and all our people. As part of Weir we can create something that is genuinely unique that will help more customers improve their productivity and safety. No other mining equipment provider will be able to offer customers market-leading solutions from extraction to concentration supported by a service centre network that covers every major mining region in the world.”
ESCO has surface mining’s most extensive installed base of lip systems that house short-cycle consumables, such as teeth, shrouds, adaptors, blades and locking systems, with aftermarket sales representing about 90% of ESCO revenues. ESCO’s extraction products sit upstream from Weir’s traditional strength in slurry handling equipment with market leading brands including both Warman® and GEHO® pumps, Cavex® hydrocyclones and Linatex® rubber products.
ESCO was founded in Portland, Oregon, in 1913 and currently employs around 2,600 people with operations in 19 countries. In 2017 it generated revenues of $632 million.
Ricardo Garib, Division President of Weir Minerals, said the combination would be beneficial to customers around the world: “It is great to welcome ESCO to Weir. They are a business we have admired for some time. By working together we’ll be able to give customers easier access to more market-leading products and services. With our global network of over 100 service centres, that means customers will have more of the superior solutions they require, where and when they need them.”
Joe Weber, Vice President of Global Sales for Weir’s ESCO division agreed: “As mining markets grow customers are looking for partners they can trust to help them increase productivity and safety while also lowering their total cost of ownership. That requires a relentless focus on innovation, quality and close customer proximity, which are the hallmarks of the ESCO® brand.
“As part of Weir we’ll benefit from combining some of the world’s leading materials scientists, applications engineers and developing digital technology to deliver increased innovation in the future, ensuring ESCO remains surface mining’s preferred provider of ground engaging solutions.”
