Rebuilding the Business 1986 - 1994 - Abigroup

A people-oriented
business
RICHARD FRENCH 1986 - to date
GENERAL MANAGER PLANT
When you’re running a fleet of equipment that takes 40,000 – 60,000 litres of fuel a
day per project, and when each big scraper costs in the order of $2.3 million dollars –
including an average $22,000 a tyre – you’ve got a serious job on your hands. Richard
French is the man at the helm of the management and maintenance of one of the jewels
in Abigroup’s crown, and it’s a job he takes very seriously.
‘We’re here to make sure the machines are maintained and functioning to their capacity.
Each project has its own maintenance team in the field, so it has to be a big problem if
it makes it all the way to us [in the depot]. But what we do is try to cut those problems
off before they happen, with scheduled maintenance and lots of planning. It’s the same
when we’re getting new equipment – we don’t really have issues with lead times or not
getting what we want because we schedule things well in advance.’
It’s the job of Richard’s team to work on machines and manage Abigroup’s fleet, but the
success in this division is largely due to the strength of relationships with people. ‘It’s
unique for a business like ours to own, operate and maintain its own equipment and this
helps us stand out. We love the machines, but the reason we’re all here is because it’s a
people-oriented business. It’s a great aspect of our business internally, but it also helps
externally. We’ve dealt with suppliers like Westrac [Caterpillar], Komatsu and Michelin for
years and our relationships with them have been very important for a long time.’
Richard started life with Abigroup as Maintenance Manager in 1986. He was poached
from an Abigroup competitor, Citra, as a result of his relationship with John Cassidy, and
he has seen plenty of change in his 25 years with the business. ‘In ’86 there were around
50 motor vehicles and now we have over a thousand. Our earth-moving equipment has
trebled and our fleet is much more modern and presentable now. The big periods of
growth were around the M2 and Yelgun to Chinderah Pacific Highway upgrade projects.
We’ve now got 52 people in the team, but the thing that hasn’t changed is the passion of
the crew – if we didn’t have that we wouldn’t achieve anything.’
Originally, the plant depot used to be at Jim Abignano’s place, before it moved to Asquith.
In the late eighties, the main depot shifted to the current site in Mt Kuring-gai, and there
are now support depots in Queensland and Victoria. Equipment and fleet training is held
on each project site, and Abigroup now also has the only two mobile scraper simulators
in the world to assist that process. ‘The simulators were developed with Cat – one of
them is based here [at the depot] and the other can be taken around to the jobs in a
trailer. We also have an apprentice school here now for plant mechanics and we’ve had
20 through to date who are now out in the field.’
It’s an indication of Abigroup’s commitment to this area, and Richard is quick to agree.
‘Management is always supportive of capital expenditure requests and it keeps us ahead
of the pack. The fleet is always modernising and this gives us a tremendous advantage.’
In the beginning, Jim Abignano’s plant and equipment consisted of a compressor and a
shovel – soon followed by a wheelbarrow. These days it’s a fleet worth over $150 million,
and the point is not lost on Richard. ‘History shows us how far we’ve come, but the place
is still very much about people. It’s why we’re here. It’s very exciting times for Abigroup
and it’s great to feel so very much a part of it.’
‘History shows us how far we’ve
come, but the place is still very much
about people. It’s why we’re here. It’s
very exciting times for Abigroup and
it’s great to feel so very much a part
of it.’
REMEMBER...
• Hit singles of the time were the likes of Nothing
Compares to You by Sinead O’Connor, Ice Ice Baby
by Vanilla Ice, Vogue from Madonna and U Can’t
Touch This by MC Hammer. Rock On!
• The first McDonald’s in Moscow, Russia opens.
REBUILDING THE BUSINESS
RICHARD FRENCH
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