Today, the BMD Group is Australia’s largest privately-owned civil contractor, covering a wide range of activities from civil construction, engineering design, residential and industrial land development, project management consultancy, landscape construction and maintenance, to building construction for private and public sector clients, across Australia and globally.
“As an Australian-born business, we have a rich local heritage and our past successes have helped shape what BMD is today,” says Scott Power, BMD’s CEO. “We are the leading Australian-owned civil contractor in terms of our size, performance and track record in the local market, which we have been able to leverage for offshore growth.”
“Diversification has always played a huge role in BMD’s growth strategy,” he says, explaining that BMD has operated as a family-owned business since 1979 when his parents, Mick and Denise Power, established BMD in the bayside suburbs of Brisbane. From those humble beginnings, BMD has grown into a Group operating five core companies in Australia – BMD Constructions, BMD Urban, Empower Engineers and Project Managers, JMac and Urbex, a joint venture contracting business in the Philippines – Prime BMD, and an infrastructure advisory business in the United Kingdom – TUSP powered by BMD.
When asked what has enabled this steady and consistent growth in a complex and challenging construction environment, he says: “Our strengths lie in the quality of our people and the genuine collaborative relationships with our clients, partners and the communities we live and work in.”
“Family is at the core of who we are at BMD Group. It encompasses our approach to business and the way we conduct ourselves, and I truly believe this is what sets us apart in the industry. It extends to how we approach building long-standing and mutually-beneficial relationships with our clients and partners, and to the way we believe in leaving lasting legacies in the comm-unities in which we operate.
We invest more than $1 million annually with our corporate partners and we continue to find new and impactful ways to give back to local communities through grassroots initiatives.”
Recent achievements
Mr Power reflects that the last 12 months have been incredibly eventful at BMD, and the Group has reached major milestones across all its business units and regions. For example, in July 2023, BMD Constructions in a joint venture with Georgiou helped to transform Perth’s freeways in order to accommodate population and economic growth, through the completion of the $232 million Mitchell Freeway Extension project.
“The project’s completion marks an incredible achievement for our operations, with the team successfully delivering innovative solutions that will reduce the environmental impacts of the development well into the future,” Mr Power says. “This milestone project involved the use of a transformative, performance-based asphalt — Class 2 Enrobés à Module Elevé (EME2) — making it a ground-breaking case study in sustainability for the infrastructure industry in Western Australia.”
At the end of last year BMD delivered the Civil and Infrastructure – Landside Works (C&I) aimed at relocating the Spirit of Tasmania from Port Melbourne to Corio Quay in North Geelong in Victoria, a significant example of BMD’s solidified capability in the port sector. When already into delivery, BMD made significant improvements to the initial design and was instrumental in ensuring the project was delivered on time and passed cost savings onto the client, GeelongPort.
Yet another example of BMD’s capability is the upgrade project at the Mt Crosby Water Treatment Plant (WTP) in the western suburbs of Brisbane. “Pivotal to BMD’s success was our ability to undertake the upgrade works with no impacts on the WTP’s operations. Through careful planning and staging, BMD successfully extended the asset life of the structure and increased sustainability of the control system with no service interruptions to South East Queensland’s water supply.”
People at the core
Speaking about recent developments, Mr Power acknowledges that whilst the past few years have been tough for the industry and challenging for BMD in navigating global supply chain disruptions, staff shortages and rising costs, the company has leant on its long-standing relationships with its partners and suppliers. BMD also used the challenge as an opportunity to think differently, pursue innovative techniques and invest in its digital transformation.
In 2022, BMD Group joined forces with TechnologyOne in a new seven-year $17 million partnership with the goal of re-engineering the way the company manages its projects and powers its now almost $3 billion pipeline of work. “This investment has been critical in maximising the efficiencies of our projects, particularly as we face challenges in adequately resourcing our projects, as it enables our people to focus less on administration and more on doing what they do best,” says Mr Power.
He further affirms that the business has gone from strength to strength even during the challenging year – a testament to the resilience of its people. “We are lucky to have an incredibly resilient and committed workforce. We are focused on finding the best possible people aligned to our culture and objectives, together with turning strong attention on retention through investment in the growth, performance and careers of our people.”
To this end, the company has introduced an industry-leading graduate program, Foundations, to bridge the gap between tertiary education and the workplace across a variety of key functions including engineering, accounting and environmental science to name a few. BMD also celebrates its people and their outstanding contributions to the business through its annual Dare Awards event (named after Scott Power’s grandfather and now in its tenth year), recognising and rewarding employees who have gone above and beyond in their roles.
The power of opportunity
Looking ahead, Mr Power affirms that BMD is set to continue to grow. “This year we have made strides in our global expansion plan through the acquisition of UK-based consultancy TUSP. What I am really excited about is the international and career growth opportunities this exciting new venture will be able to provide for our people. As someone who has studied overseas, I absolutely believe in the benefits of forming international connections and opening doors to take your career to the next level.”
Sector-wise, the company is expecting continued investment in defence, renewables and the water sector, and anticipates significant investment in infrastructure across the country as it prepares for the 2032 Brisbane Olympics and Paralympics which will generate new and exciting opportunities for Australian businesses like BMD.
“What differentiates BMD from other contractors is the sheer scope of our focus – from urban development to transport, water and wastewater, building, engineering design and so much more. Our vast scope of capabilities has enabled the rapid growth of our business in recent years and will continue our upward trajectory in the years to come,” says Mr Power and continues:
“Our success at BMD has been born out of the opportunity.
We pursue initiatives that align with our strategic direction and overall diversification strategy to achieve sustainable growth. These values will support our continued growth into the future, & I am excited to see where this will take us.”
