RCR Tomlinson was one of

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

's largest multi-disciplined infrastructure, resource and engineering companies.

History

In 1898, Tomlinson Bros was founded as an engineering company in

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

by Ernest and Edward Tomlinson. In 1951 the company was floated on the

Australian Securities Exchange Australian Securities Exchange Ltd (ASX) is an Australian public company that operates Australia's primary Exchange (organized market), securities exchange, the Australian Securities Exchange (sometimes referred to outside of Australia as, or c ...

, (ASX). In 1981,

Clyde Engineering Clyde Engineering was an Australian manufacturer of locomotives, rolling stock, and other industrial products. It was founded in September 1898 by a syndicate of Sydney businessmen buying the Granville factory of timber merchants Huds ...

that already held a 63% shareholding, launched a successful takeover bid. In 1985 with a lack of work, Clyde proposed to close the business, however it was rescued in a

management buyout A management buyout (MBO) is a form of acquisition in which a company's existing managers acquire a large part, or all, of the company, whether from a parent company or individual. Management- and/or leveraged buyouts became noted phenomena of 19 ...

. In December 1996 ''RCR Tomlinson'' was formed when ''RCR Engineering'' and ''Tomlinson Bros merged''.Our History
RCR Tomlinson RCR's origins date back to 1979 when ''RCR Engineering Ltd'' was established in

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

by Ron Stevens, Clive Butcher and Robert Wovodich (RCR) to provide diversified fabrication and machining services to industry in the south-west region of Western Australia which grew over the next 15 years into the ''MNLng Technologies'' business.

Company Overview

RCR Limited grew to become a multi-disciplinary conglomerate engineering company that specialised in the design, manufacture and maintenance of heavy equipment, infrastructure resources, power-generation and industrial boiler systems. The company also delivered site maintenance facilities management, construction and project management services, specialised laser-cutting, heat treatment, fire safety doors, air-conditioning, electrical installation and substation construction. RCR Tomlinson operated four in service segments and three regions. These include: * Resources - The company provided specialist structural construction and maintenance services for the resource sector including iron ore, gold nickel,

lithium Lithium (from , , ) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Li and atomic number 3. It is a soft, silvery-white alkali metal. Under standard temperature and pressure, standard conditions, it is the least dense metal and the ...

mineral sands Heavy mineral sands are a class of ore deposit which is an important source of zirconium, titanium, thorium, tungsten, rare-earth elements, the industrial minerals diamond, sapphire, garnet, and occasionally precious metals or gemstones. Heavy mi ...

, oil & Gas and

LNG Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is natural gas (predominantly methane, CH4, with some mixture of ethane, C2H6) that has been cooled to liquid form for ease and safety of non-pressurized storage or transport. It takes up about 1/600th the volume o ...

sectors. RCR also provided the design manufacture, maintenance and repair of

turnkey A turnkey, a turnkey project, or a turnkey operation (also spelled turn-key) is a type of project that is constructed so that it can be sold to any buyer as a completed product. This is contrasted with build to order, where the constructor builds ...

installations. It operated in WA (

Pilbara The Pilbara () is a large, dry, sparsely populated regions of Western Australia, region in the north of Western Australia. It is known for its Indigenous Australians, Aboriginal people; wealth disparity; its ancient landscapes; the prevailing r ...

region),

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

and

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

. *

Energy Energy () is the physical quantity, quantitative physical property, property that is transferred to a physical body, body or to a physical system, recognizable in the performance of Work (thermodynamics), work and in the form of heat and l ...

- The company provided combined or Open Cycle power plants, proprietary Heat Recovery Steam Generation technology. A wide variety of Boiler technologies owning Alstom, Tomlinson,

Babcock & Wilcox Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises, Inc. is an American energy technology and service provider that is active and has operations in many international markets with its headquarters in Akron, Ohio. Historically, the company is best known for their stea ...

and other boiler licenses. The energy division delivered boilers for a large range of fuels including waste recycle products and waste coffee grounds plus a range of renewable fuels to operate power stations. It operated in

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. *

Infrastructure Infrastructure is the set of facilities and systems that serve a country, city, or other area, and encompasses the services and facilities necessary for its economy, households and firms to function. Infrastructure is composed of public and pri ...

- The company focused on

transport Transport (in British English) or transportation (in American English) is the intentional Motion, movement of humans, animals, and cargo, goods from one location to another. Mode of transport, Modes of transport include aviation, air, land tr ...

and

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

electrical construction and maintenance, water and

wastewater Wastewater (or waste water) is water generated after the use of freshwater, raw water, drinking water or saline water in a variety of deliberate applications or processes. Another definition of wastewater is "Used water from any combination of do ...

, road tunnel construction and

project management Project management is the process of supervising the work of a Project team, team to achieve all project goals within the given constraints. This information is usually described in project initiation documentation, project documentation, crea ...

services. * Facilities Management and Building Services - The company provided management services (repair and maintenance, cleaning, security, air-conditioning). Brands it operated through were included: ''RCR O'Donnell Griffin'', ''Haden'' and ''Resolve FM''. *

- RCR New Zealand, operated a multi-services business delivering predominately boiler technology for the

dairy A dairy is a place where milk is stored and where butter, cheese, and other dairy products are made, or a place where those products are sold. It may be a room, a building, or a larger establishment. In the United States, the word may also des ...

and

timber Lumber is wood that has been processed into uniform and useful sizes (dimensional lumber), including beams and planks or boards. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, window frames). ...

industry, electrical services and additionally fire safety doors. * RCR

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

- RCR operated a multi-service business in

delivering predominately

boiler A boiler is a closed vessel in which fluid (generally water) is heated. The fluid does not necessarily boil. The heated or vaporized fluid exits the boiler for use in various processes or heating applications, including water heating, centra ...

technology for

power station A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the electricity generation, generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electr ...

s and water projects. RCR Tomlinson engaged in

manufacturing Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of the secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer ...

of machinery and industrial manufacturing with a focus on: Materials handling - for

iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the f ...

nickel Nickel is a chemical element; it has symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel is a hard and ductile transition metal. Pure nickel is chemically reactive, but large pieces are slo ...

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

Lithium Lithium (from , , ) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Li and atomic number 3. It is a soft, silvery-white alkali metal. Under standard temperature and pressure, standard conditions, it is the least dense metal and the ...

. The company also engaged in manufacturing of machinery for transportation of materials such as dumpers, stackers, feeders, conveyors and crushing units. ''RCR Boilers'' delivered Energy servicing and Generation such as Steam boilers, hot water boilers, indirect air heaters, Weishaupt burners, inert gas generators and

thermal oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) and lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturate ...

heaters. The company also delivered Electrical Manufacturing of switchboards, SCADA/Automation systems and substations. ''RCR Laser and

Laser cutting Laser cutting is a technology that uses a laser to vaporize materials, resulting in a cut edge. While typically used for industrial manufacturing applications, it is now used by schools, small businesses, architecture, and hobbyists. Laser cutt ...

'' offered machinery such as adaptive laser cutting, fiber laser technology, folding and fabrication, tube processing and fabrication process services.

Company Growth

In 2007, the long-time CEO and Director, John Linden retired and by 2008 the company experienced a decline in shareholder return of -62% in one year and borrowings had risen to $55M, which was equivalent to the prevailing Market Capitalisation. In 2009, RCR won WA Engineers Australia, ''Engineering Excellence Award'' in the Products and Manufacturing category. The company then entered a new phase diversifying from a struggling

Resources ''Resource'' refers to all the materials available in our environment which are Technology, technologically accessible, Economics, economically feasible and Culture, culturally Sustainability, sustainable and help us to satisfy our needs and want ...

Sector to include

infrastructure Infrastructure is the set of facilities and systems that serve a country, city, or other area, and encompasses the services and facilities necessary for its economy, households and firms to function. Infrastructure is composed of public and pri ...

projects by acquiring the Austrian Energy business in

Australasia Australasia is a subregion of Oceania, comprising Australia, New Zealand (overlapping with Polynesia), and sometimes including New Guinea and surrounding islands (overlapping with Melanesia). The term is used in a number of different context ...

and the Construction arm of the

Water Corporation (Western Australia) Water Corporation is the principal supplier of water, wastewater and drainage services throughout the state of Western Australia. It is the seventh successive agency to deal with the services in Perth, Western Australia. With offices in Perth, ...

and appointed a CFO, Andrew Walsh. By 2010 the one-year

shareholder A shareholder (in the United States often referred to as stockholder) of corporate stock refers to an individual or legal entity (such as another corporation, a body politic, a trust or partnership) that is registered by the corporation as the ...

return of the company had risen to 36% compared to 2008 of -62%,

net debt Debt is an obligation that requires one party, the debtor, to pay money borrowed or otherwise withheld from another party, the creditor. Debt may be owed by a sovereign state or country, local government, company, or an individual. Commerc ...

was halved and profits increased by 25%. In 2010 Annual Report of the company, notable multi-disciplinary engineering projects were carried out. Among them include

Iluka Resources Iluka Resources is an Australian resources company, specialising in mineral sands exploration, project development, operations and marketing. Iluka is the largest producer of zircon and titanium dioxidederived rutile and synthetic rutile global ...

, Jacinth ambrosia,

. RCR designed, manufactured installed and commissioned the second generation fully integrated track-mounted mobile mining unit plant (MUP) as a single module. RCR Provided structural mechanical and piping works for the

BHP BHP Group Limited, founded as the Broken Hill Proprietary Company, is an Australian multinational mining and metals corporation. BHP was established in August 1885 and is headquartered in Melbourne, Victoria. As of 2024, BHP was the world� ...

Worsely Alumina Efficiency and growth project. RCR also provided construction testing and commissioning services for four new

gas turbines A gas turbine or gas turbine engine is a type of continuous flow internal combustion engine. The main parts common to all gas turbine engines form the power-producing part (known as the gas generator or core) and are, in the direction of flow: ...

at the ''Yarralyi Maya'' Power station site near Karratha,

. In 2011, RCR announced record revenues increasing 600% to $607 Million, ''EBIT'' increasing 80%, Net profit after tax increased was up 12% to $19.5million, net debt reduced from $23.1 million to $6.5 million, dividend was up 25% to 3.75 cents. By 2012 the company had a $45M of cash and no

debt Debt is an obligation that requires one party, the debtor, to pay money Loan, borrowed or otherwise withheld from another party, the creditor. Debt may be owed by a sovereign state or country, local government, company, or an individual. Co ...

had agreed to acquire the ''Norfolk Group of companies'' including the prized ''O'Donnell Griffin electrical Group'', ''Hadens'' and ''Resolve Facilities Management''. The company had signed a $600 million contract with

Fortescue Metals Group Fortescue is a global metal mining company headquartered in Australia. Fortescue focused on iron ore mining under the name of Fortescue Metals Group (FMG) until July 2023. As of 2017, Fortescue is the fourth-largest iron ore producer in the ...

to deliver their new

Iron Ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the f ...

projects and returned over 200% for the three year total share-holder return (TSR). The Iron Ore project for Fortescue Metals grew as the company delivered both Kings and Firetail Process plants in record time, delivering $780M dollars of work at completion. In 2013, RCR completed the ''Norfolk Group'' acquisition for $140M dollars adding over $1B to the company's revenue base and in the same year 2013, the CFO, Andrew Walsh retired from the company. In 2014, RCR Tomlinson RCR become an international multidisciplinary conglomerate with revenues in excess of $1 Billion with over 40 subsidiaries. The company delivered record sales revenue that increased by 49% to $1.3 billion. It also had a record profit and growth delivering a five-year Total Shareholder Return of over 414% and total dividends up 21% in a year. RCR was awarded $125 million in new contracts in

. Projects included

Legacy Way The M5 Legacy Way (formerly Northern Link Tunnel) is a long tunnel linking the Western Freeway at Toowong and the Inner City Bypass at Kelvin Grove, Brisbane. The project consisted of two bored tunnels carrying two motorway grade lanes of tr ...

, Tunnel Works - City of

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

. In 2015, the Order-book of the company was up 30%, dividends up 10%, net debt down 79%. Work included: Novo Rail Alliance, Wynyard Station upgrade, oil and gas service contracts at

Gorgan Gorgan (; ) is a city in the Central District (Gorgan County), Central District of Gorgan County, Golestan province, Golestan province, Iran, serving as capital of the province, the county, and the district. It lies approximately to the nor ...

, Pluto, Wheatstone and Curtis Island. The company was awarded

Thai Oil Thai Oil Public Company Limited or simply Thaioil () is a Thai public company. It is listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET). It is a subsidiary of PTT Group. The company was founded on 3 August 1961 as Oil Refinery, Ltd. Thaioil is the ...

Sriracha Sriracha ( or ; , ) is a type of hot sauce or chili sauce made from a paste of chili peppers, distilled vinegar, pickled garlic, sugar, and salt. It was first produced in 1932 by a native of Si Racha, a town and district of Thailand, though ...

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

. The company won maintenance contracts at NRG

Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British politican, starting as Conservative MP for Newark and later becoming the leader of the Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party. In a career lasting over 60 years, he ...

, AGL

Torrens Island Torrens Island is an island in the Australian state of South Australia located in the Adelaide, Adelaide metropolitan area in the Port River Estuary about northwest of the Adelaide city centre. Since European settlement of Adelaide in 1836 ...

, New Crest Cadia Panel Cave 2, Rio Tinto Angeles West Deposit B, Rio Tinto Mesa J, Wheatstone heat-treatment off-shore platform, SMP E&I works and equipment supply

Roy Hill Roy Hill may refer to: * Roy Hill mine, an iron ore mine in Western Australia * Roy Hill railway, a railway line associated with the Roy Hill mine * Roy Hill Station Roy Hill Station is a pastoral lease and cattle station, located about sout ...

. In 2016, RCR Tomlinson exited the

Coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other Chemical element, elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal i ...

industry and continued to diversify into solar projects as

renewable energy Renewable energy (also called green energy) is energy made from renewable resource, renewable natural resources that are replenished on a human lifetime, human timescale. The most widely used renewable energy types are solar energy, wind pow ...

impacting the Australian Power generation sector. RCR continued to invest in technology and signed the deal for the Australian rights to the innovative

Kiruna (; ; ; ) is the northernmost Stad (Sweden), city in Sweden, situated in the province of Lapland, Sweden, Lapland. It had 17,002 inhabitants in 2016 and is the seat of Kiruna Municipality (population: 23,167 in 2016) in Norrbotten County. The c ...

Wagon Helix unloader. RCR Tomlinson entered the solar generation market, delivering the first

solar farm A photovoltaic power station, also known as a solar park, solar farm, or solar power plant, is a large-scale grid-connected photovoltaic power system (PV system) designed for the supply of merchant power. They are different from most building ...

for AGL in

Broken Hill Broken Hill is a city in the Far West (New South Wales), far west region of outback New South Wales, Australia. An inland mining city, it is near the border with South Australia on the crossing of the Barrier Highway (A32) and the Silver City Hi ...

. The

solar farm went on to successfully deliver record gross margin profits for the company. By 2017, the order book of the company was 1.4 billion and revenue was 1.3 billion. EBIT for the year was $35.2 million and the company had Preferred Contractor status for a further $1.6 billion of work. The year included winning

Darling Downs The Darling Downs is a farming region on the western slopes of the Great Dividing Range in southern Queensland, Australia. The Downs are to the west of South East Queensland and are one of the major regions of Queensland. The name was generally ...

110 Mwac Solar Farm, the ''159 Mwac Daydream'', the ''50 Mwac Hayman Solar Farms'' and Pilbara Minerals

Plant. RCR was awarded: 125 Mwac Sun Metal Solar Far,

Melbourne Underground Rail Loop The City Loop (originally called the Melbourne Underground Rail Loop or MURL) is a piece of underground commuter rail infrastructure in the central business district (CBD) of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The loop includes three undergro ...

Melbourne Water Melbourne Water is an Australian statutory authority owned by the Victorian State Government, which controls and manages much of the water bodies and supplies in metropolitan Melbourne, the capital of Victoria. Its jurisdiction includes all t ...

sewerage capital works, 20MW Lignite-Fired Boiler, Mataura Valley Milk New Zealand, 20MW Biomass - firmed boiler, Senipah Power Plant

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

, Relocatable Overland Conveyor, Pilbara Minerals Limited, and Pilganoora Lithium, FAM - Stacker / Reclaimer Installation. The Sun Metals solar farm went on to deliver record project gross margin profits for RCR.

Divestment

By the end of Financial year 2018 the company had grown to $2Billion in Revenue and was net cash at June 30, 2018, having paid down all debt facilities. In late July 2018, cost overruns were discovered on a project. At the time the cost overruns were significant however, the company remained in profit and net cash. The chairman, Roderick Brown, directed RCR into a protracted voluntary suspension for a period of 30 days which was had long term ramifications. The company completed a capital raising of $100 million by

Macquarie Bank Macquarie Group Limited (), more commonly known as Macquarie Bank, is an Australian multinational investment banking and financial services group headquartered in Sydney and listed on the ASX (). Macquarie's investment banking division is Au ...

, paying $12.1M in fees, according to the 2018 Annual Report, and the company resumed normal activities. The chairman, Roderick Brown and Directors called in Administrators when the Secured Creditors withdrew support for them on November 21, 2018. In the final report of the Liquidator, it was determined that the protracted Suspension and the loss of confidence in the chairman, Roderick Brown and new CEO, Bruce James “had a significant adverse impact on the group and its ability to successfully tender for new projects”. According to the Administrator's Report, McGrathNicol oversaw “a sale process that involved more than 300 interested parties on an 'accelerated sale process' timeline, seeking bids with minimal conditionality”. The Administrators admitted failure to sell the business as a whole “Ultimately, each bidder who had initially engaged in the 'whole of business' sale process concluded they would not submit final bids”. This was expected due to the accelerated due diligence process that was unsuitable for sale of such a large complex conglomerate as identified by KPMG in “Navigating Complex M&A”.

The Sell Off

In 2018, ''RCR Boilers'' was sold t
The Environmental Group Limited
In the same 2018, ''RCR Rail'' was sold to

John Holland Group The John Holland Group is an infrastructure, building, rail and transport business operating in Australia and New Zealand. Headquartered in Melbourne, it is a subsidiary of China Communications Construction. History The company was founded in ...

owned by

China Communications Construction Company China Communications Construction Company, Ltd. (CCCC) is a Chinese majority state-owned, publicly traded, multinational engineering and construction company primarily engaged in the design, construction, and operation of infrastructure assets, ...

'snapped up' RCR Rail and absorbed 400 RCR employees. Also in 2018, ''RCR Mining Technology Pty Ltd'' was sold to ''ERW''. In 2019, the ''Chows brothers'' acquired ''RCR Tomlinson New Zealand'' and renamed it ''RCR Infrastructure Ltd''. ''RCR Energy Services'' which employed 50 people was sold to ''The Environmental Group''. RCR's Metalbilt/Danks doors business which employed 60 people was sold to New Zealand's ''ARA Group''. Also in 2019, ''RCR laser'' was sold to ''Wangara Business''.

NRW Holdings NRW Holdings is a construction and mining contractor with its headquarters in Perth, Western Australia. History NRW Holdings was established in 1994 in Kalgoorlie by Jeff McGlinn and John Silverthorne with its first contract at the Granny Smith ...

also acquired RCR Mining Technologies in 2019.John Miller, In March 2019 the boiler projects division ''RCR Energy New Zealand'' was sold t
Windsor Engineering Group Ltd
when it was purchased after the RCR parent company went into voluntary administration and this division was rename
Windsor Energy

References

{{Reflist Companies based in Sydney Companies formerly listed on the Australian Securities Exchange Construction and civil engineering companies established in 1898 Engineering companies of Australia 1898 establishments in Australia Construction and civil engineering companies of Australia