Downer Group


Downer Group is an integrated services company active in Australia and New Zealand.
Listed on the Australian Securities Exchange and New Zealand Stock Exchange as Downer EDI, Downer is an ASX 100 company that also owns 88 per cent of Spotless Group Holdings.
Downer Group employs approximately 53,000 people across more than 300 sites, primarily in Australia and New Zealand but also in the Asia-Pacific region, South America and Southern Africa.

History

Downer's foundations were laid in the 19th century, when Walkers Limited and Clyde Engineering were founded in Australia, and the Public Works Department and Electrical Telegraph Department were founded in New Zealand. They would merge in the 20th century to form parts of the Downer Group. The 20th century also saw the purchase of companies that now make up Downer's core divisions: railway manufacturer Evans Deakin & Company and mining contractor Roche Brothers.
In 1933, the Downer Group was founded in New Zealand by Arnold Fielder Downer, as Downer & Co, focussing on providing engineering and construction services to the public and private infrastructure sectors in New Zealand, including the New Zealand Public Works Department. In 1954, Downer & Co merged with William Cable Holdings and, in 1964, with A & G Price, to form Cable Price Downer.
In 1994, Downer merged with Hong Kong-based Paul YITC. 1996 saw the purchase of Works Corporation, the state-owned enterprise civil construction arm of the New Zealand Ministry of Works & Development. In 1997, mining contractor Roche Brothers was acquired. In 1998, Downer purchased major roads contractor Technic Group, and was first listed on the Australian Securities Exchange.
In 2000, road-sealing business Bitumix was acquired from BP. In 2001, Downer merged with Evans Deakin Industries to form Downer EDI. Between 2003-2008 Downer also acquired Stork, QCC, Snowden, Emoleum and Excell Corporation. In October 2014, the construction assets of Tenix were acquired.
In March 2017, Downer acquired Hawkins, one of New Zealand's largest builders, and in June 2017, took majority ownership of Spotless Group Holdings through a hostile takeover. The Spotless acquisition was the largest in Downer's history.

Major projects

Projects undertaken by the company have included:
Downer reports its financial results under six service lines: Transport; Utilities; Rail; Engineering, Construction and Maintenance; Mining and Facilities.

Rail/Bus

was formed in March 2001 as EDI Rail following the purchase of Evans Deakin Industries by Downer Group. Evans Deakin operated the former Clyde Engineering plants at Kelso and Somerton and Walkers Limited, Maryborough plant. It reopened the former Cardiff Locomotive Workshops to build CityRail M sets. In July 2007 it was renamed Downer Rail.
In 2008 Locomotive Demand Power was established as a subsidiary to lease locomotives. In November 2009 Downer Rail became a tram operator through its 49% shareholding in Keolis Downer that operates the Yarra Trams franchise in Melbourne. In July 2014, Keolis Downer commenced operating the light rail line on the Gold Coast.
In March 2015, Keolis Downer purchased bus operator Australian Transit Enterprises which operates the Hornibrook Bus Lines, LinkSA, Path Transit and SouthLink operations with 930 buses. In July 2017, Keolis Downer commenced operating bus and ferry services in Newcastle under the Newcastle Transport brand.

Transport

Transport comprises Downer's road, rail infrastructure, bridge, airport and port businesses. It conducts transport infrastructure services that include earthworks, civil construction, asset management, maintenance, surfacing and stabilisation, supply of bituminous products and logistics, open space and facilities management and rail track signalling and electrification works.

Utilities

The Utilities service line provides services in the power, gas, water, renewable energy and communications sectors. Downer designs, builds, operates and maintains steel lattice transmission towers, electricity and gas networks, wastewater treatment plants, water assets, wind farms, solar farms and telecommunication networks such as the NBN.

Engineering, Construction and Maintenance (EC&M)

Downer's EC&M division provides services to greenfield and brownfield projects across industry sectors such as: oil and gas; power generation; commercial / non-residential; iron ore; coal; and industrial materials. These services are delivered on mining and industrial sites as well as commercial operations such as data centres, airport facilities and hospitals. EC&M has a Defence business which offers design, construction, operation and maintenance services to the Australian Army.

Mining

Downer's Mining business operates across 50 sites in Australia, Papua New Guinea, South America and Southern Africa. Most of Downer's Mining contracts deliver open cut mining and blasting services, with other services such as tyre management, underground mining, blasting, consulting services and site rehabilitation.

Facilities

Spotless operates in Australia and New Zealand and provides outsourced facility services, catering and laundry services, technical and engineering services, maintenance and asset management services and refrigeration solutions. Its customers include corporations and government departments, agencies and authorities at the Federal, State and Municipal level.

Use of pseudoscience

In 2019 Downer admitted to using dowsing, in an attempt to find water pipes while contracting to the Wellington City Council. Dowsing is considered a pseudoscience and there is no scientific evidence that it is any more effective than random chance. Downer told New Zealand Skeptic's chair Craig Shearer that Downer has no concern about the public perception that ratepayer money is being spent on a technique considered pseudoscience. Downer's general manager of business excellence and reputation Brooke Dahlberg said "the method is safe, and it has no plan to ban staff from using it - the choice to use it was up to individual employees."
In December 2019, at the New Zealand Skeptics annual conference, the Downer Group was co-awarded the Bent Spoon by NZ Skeptics for "showing the most egregious gullibility in 2019" for the contractor's use of water divining to find underground pipes.

Sponsorships

Downer Group was the naming rights sponsor of the NRL Auckland Nines in 2016 and 2017. It also sponsored the 2016 Anzac Test at the Newcastle International Sports Centre and the 2018 World Club Challenge.. Downer will be the major sponsor of the Rugby League World Cup 9s.
In 2017, Downer signed on to be the major sponsor of the Sunshine Coast Lightning netball team.