In its 25 years, Allworks has undergone rapid expansion onto the east coast of Australia after servicing South Australia and Western Australia.
Allworks has 25 years’ experience supporting the rail industry with wet and dry hire of plant and equipment. The company’s recent growth onto the eastern seaboard during the past five years has people lauding its success. General Manager Nick McLoughney said it is the classic story of a 25-year overnight success.
“I think the success of the business is down to the fact our team has an in-depth knowledge of the rail industry that extends beyond their specific roles,” he said.
McLoughney said each of the management team can operate across a broad range of areas within the business, and deal well with competing priorities and sometimes ambiguous project demands.
“This expertise ensures we remain nimble,” he said.
“If a customer rings and needs plant or equipment on site immediately, we can often meet that need. If we do not have the equipment on hand, we will move heaven and earth to make it happen.
“A lot of Tier One companies have been customers over the past 20 years and their key personnel, even if they move companies, have strong ongoing relationships with us. Customers know when they call Allworks, we will make it happen.”
Owners Angelo and Robin Sarich began Allworks in 1999, but the opening of the business was a culmination of years of experience serving the railway sector.
Angelo Sarich was only 19 when he started working with Western Australian Government Railways, the operator of the state’s railway services before being privatised in 2003.
After being retrenched at age 35, Angelo joined John Holland for a four-year stint, after which he bit the bullet and decided to start his own company. McLoughney said the success of the company 25 years later can be attributed to a deep understanding of the rail sector stemming from Angelo’s experience.
“We understand what our service offering is, and we back it 100 per cent,” he said.
“Not everything goes to plan all of the time, but we are very good at responding to that. We build contingency into our plans and have spare resources on standby if a job requires it.
“We have a large transport fleet and can redeploy our assets very quickly if need be, and understand what is required across a diverse range of rail projects.”
Supporting rail
McLoughney said understanding customers projects and leaning on the organisation’s experience to support the local team is critical to the success of a project.
“With the current demand for rail-specific expertise across Australia, some projects may not pre-empt problems we see regularly. We can advise of what plant and equipment is best suited to each application to avoid some of these issues,” he said.
“I think customers appreciate us being open and clear with what our service offering is and what we can provide.
“What we have learnt over the past few years is that we sometimes need to say no. If we cannot deliver on customer’s expectations we will let them know early so they can explore other avenues.”
McLoughney said the company has the modern fleet needed to work across a number of large projects. It works across greenfield, brownfield, ongoing maintenance and derailment works using its diverse equipment.
The company’s expansion onto the east coast was an exciting move for McLoughney and the team but it was not without new and exciting challenges.
“It has certainly been something that was been a challenge for us over the first couple of years,” he said.
“I think before that, a lot of our machines were dedicated to Western Australia. We had a lot of our equipment on metro and regional WA projects, as well as out in the Pilbara.
“We now have equipment working across the east coast on multiple rail networks.”
Allworks Asset and Compliance Manager Tom Butcher is responsible for managing equipment approvals across Australia’s diverse rail networks.
McLoughney said this full-time role ensures the machinery is readily compliant across Australian Rail Track Corporation, Arc, Queensland Rail, the Pilbara rail networks and Public Transport Association in Western Australia.
“Tom has been an integral part of our team for over 10 years and he has a great understanding of the requirements of each network to ensure the machinery is up to standard,” McLoughney said.
Backup support
After its expansion onto the east coast, Allworks understood it needed strong backup support systems across the country.
The company has a robust equipment replacement program and works with brands it knows and understands. This ensures a deep understanding of machines for both operators and maintenance staff.
“Our fleet is predominantly Hitachi, Volvo, Isuzu and John Deere. Across the more than 300 assets they are our main equipment suppliers,” McLoughney said.
“Majority of those machines have an extended warranty at purchase. We have even more confidence from the OEM that the machines are going to be reliable while working around the clock in some harsh environments.
“We generally turn over our machines over quicker than others in the industry. This ensures our machines have the latest technology, with the highest level of quality and reliability when out on site.”
Allworks often deploy equipment to work on critical projects that are completed in short shutdown periods and emergency works such as derailments.
McLoughney said keeping the fleet updated reduces the risk of plant and equipment breakdown while working on time-sensitive projects.
“We know customers are often working in a short work window with limited network or track time, so we ensure we are prepared for any challenge that might come our way.”
He said the key to this industry support is the company’s understanding of the rail industry.
“Organisations know we are more than just a hire company; we bring great experience and knowledge to challenging circumstances.
“We are set up for things like derailments and that is why we are so good at deploying resources quickly and efficiently,” he said.
McLoughney said the company understands that challenges are part and parcel of working with machinery, especially when things don’t go to plan.
“It is all about understanding what each project needs, the customers’ requirements, anticipating potential issues and working through them together.
“Ensuring customers projects are On Track, On Time is what we do.”
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