ENTREPRENEUR GONG FOR PIPE AND CIVIL

PIPE and Civil founder Jim Campbell has been recognised for positioning his company to take advantage of the emerging CSG market with a gong at the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of The Year northern region awards.

Campbell founded Pipe and Civil in 2006 – then a fledgling pipeline construction company that quickly started to carve a reputation within the civil construction arena with a focus on mining.

It resulted in the company purchasing customised German-made Fockersperger ploughs with exclusive Australian rights to import the machines.

“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,” says Campbell.

In March this year, Pipe and Civil merged with UK-based Murphy Group, a company that has lead the way in civil construction in Britain for more than 60 years. The merger will allow the new company, Murphy Pipe and Civil, to capitalise on market expansion as it targets large scale pipeline projects in Australia – with a goal of turning over $1 billion by 2014.

“Our company has certainly grown very rapidly, but we are fortunate to have the right people, with the right experience and level of energy that will secure the company’s future and help achieve our goal of turning over more than $1 billion by 2014,” says Campbell.

Pipe and Civil was recently awarded a $100 million per year contract by QGC to build an upstream gathering system for its mining projects. It is also working on a $100 million contract in mining services construction in WA and on the Gateway Motorway upgrade.

Other E&Y state winners included Robert McVicker, Morris Corporation (Services), while non-competitive regional award category winners were Peter Bond, Linc Energy (Listed); David Barbagallo, Endeavour Foundation (Social Entrepreneur) and Mick Power AM, BMD Group (Champion of Entrepreneurship).

Two Gold Coast businesses also clinched top honours with Unit Clothing founders Paul and Ian Everest taking out the award for emerging entrepreneurs, while Claes Loberg, CEO of music download channel Guvera, won the technology category.

The accolades follow the Everest brothers being named Gold Coast Young Entrepreneur of the Year in 2010, where Loberg picked up the Trailblazer award.

Business News Publications has launched its annual Brisbane Young Entrepreneur of the Year awards for 2011. Don’t miss this stellar opportunity to showcase your talent at our gala luncheons in November.