APAC 2017 Australian Enterprise Awards

, AE170028 Best Ship Building Company - New South Wales Channel Shipwright Services are amobile commercial and defence ship repairer and maintenance contractor travelling to various ship repair facilities in the Sydney and Newcastle regions in its fully equippedmobile workshops. BrendanHardy talks us through the firmand the range of services it offers. Established in 2008 Channel Shipwright Services moved from small luxury vessel repairs into the commercial and defence market. The team is comprised of a diverse group of personnel who bought with them a wealth of experience in shipbuilding /ship repair, metal fabrication, fibreglass composites and carpentry, allowing them to offer a truly unique service, as Brendan is keen to emphasise. “At Channel Shipwright Services, our highly skilled trade’s people have a wealth of experience in working with timber, steel, stainless, aluminium and composite fibreglass materials. We have a strong history in ship fit out and construction, hatches and watertight doors, industrial painting and insulation, equipment installation and removal, rigging, working from elevated work platforms and undertaking confined space work. Our team offers mobility, quality and safety at a competitive price across a range of services. “It is this lengthy experience in commercial and defence works, which has given us the ability to deliver a wide range of services with confidence, that distinguishes us from our competitors. We offer services ranging through design input, equipment installation and internal modifications to insulation and painting. Our clients include but are not limited to: defence prime Thales Minehunter, Svitzer Australasia Tug operations, Newcastle Ports, LE Williams Group Pty Ltd, Beaver Engineering, Herron Constructions, Sydney Harbour Ferries, Forward Electrical and our most recent client Shadbolt Group who we assist in the maintenance of Australia’s latest LHD ships for defence prime BAE systems.” Within Australian ship building market currently, the industry has gradually declined since the closing of dockyards and shipyards in the late eighties early nineties especially on the east coast. Brendan discusses the importance of the market and how recent developments prove that it is slowly improving. “Competing with overseas labour costs is a challenge in our industry and unfortunately this has led to Australia’s Shipbuilding skills being lost with the decline of apprentice intakes in our field of work. Given our vast coastline and the need for ongoing maintenance and repair of vessels servicing the east coast, we view this challenge as an opportunity for growth and an opportunity to pass on the skills to newcomers to the Australian ship repair industry. “However, the outlook is getting better. The announcement of future defence contracts and the coal industry slowly regaining momentum increasing shipping movements within Newcastle ports means for us an increase in support vessel maintenance and repair. A sign of this confidence in the current market was to indenture our first apprentice with the view of moulding our ideal multi-skilled tradesperson.” Improving upon its current achievements and growing to meet the ever evolving needs of its clients will be Channel Shipwright Services ongoing focus as it looks towards a bright and prosperous future, as Brendan outlines in his concluding comments. “Overall, the future for channel shipwrights is to maintain our good reputation and clientele. We are also looking to increase our workforce and sustain a level that can consistently deliver quality outcomes. We are currently exploring the option of taking up a harbour work shop space in Newcastle so as to meet the expanding needs in the area whilst continuing the use of our mobile units to service our current client’s requirements.” Company Channel Shipwright Services Contact: Brendan Hardy Phone: 0439437152 Email: [email protected] Website: www.channelshipwrightservices. com.au