Adelaide will become the Australasian headquarters for global engineering support services company Babcock International Group, following a multi-million dollar investment by the company which will deliver more than 48 highly skilled jobs to the State.
The company will relocate its Mission Critical Services Australasian head office to the Adelaide CBD from Brisbane as part of a reorganisation that establishes Adelaide as the Australasian headquarters of Babcock International Group.
The State Government is supporting these initiatives with a $2.5 million grant from the Economic Investment Fund and Investment Attraction South Australia, to be reinvested back into the State through the purchase of local goods and services, including premises fit outs, recruitment, IT, consulting, training and induction.
Background
Babcock International is a leading engineering support services company which operates in the defence, nuclear, telecommunications, transport, emergency services, minerals and energy and education industries across the globe. It operates in 16 countries employing more than 35,000 people with annual revenues of about $AUD 8billion.
Babcock Mission Critical Services provides emergency and mission critical helicopter support, including emergency medical, search and rescue, and surveillance operations, law enforcement, aerial work and marine pilot transfer to services to State and Federal government, public and private sector companies, including offshore drilling rigs.
Quotes attributable to Premier Jay Weatherill
This is great news for South Australia and further strengthens our growing position as the defence centre of Australia and the natural home of shipbuilding in this country.
We are transforming our economy towards a high tech future and by making Adelaide their head office in Australasia, Babcock is playing an important part in helping us achieve this. In the past year, the State Government has also attracted the head offices of two resource companies to South Australia. OZ Minerals and Hillgrove Resources are both now based in Adelaide and we’re thrilled Babcock will be joining them and many others here.
Quotes attributable to Investment and Trade Minister Martin Hamilton-Smith
Babcock International is a global business so this is a massive achievement for South Australia.
Having Babcock’s key decision-makers locally-based means South Australia will be front of mind for any future investment plans as the company seeks to expand.
This initiative will create 48 new high value jobs and will centralise the company’s aviation and engineering expertise in South Australia.
Independent analysis by the South Australian Centre for Economic Studies estimates the Babcock expansion will have a $19.2 million impact on gross state product in 2016/17, with total employment impact of 137 full time positions and other significant, long-term benefits.
Quotes attributable to Babcock Australasia Chief Executive Officer Craig Lockhart
South Australia was the logical choice for our new Australasian headquarters, and the Babcock Mission Critical Services base, because it expands our existing presence here and centralises our helicopter operations in Australia. We can see that there’s a great pool of talent in South Australia, particularly in engineering, and there are promising synergies with the significant and growing defence industry.
We appreciate the support of the State Government and Investment Attraction South Australia in helping us to consolidate and expand our operations in Adelaide.
Quotes attributable to Investment Attraction South Australia Chief Executive Mike Hnyda
The expansion of Babcock and its Mission Critical Services business in Adelaide represents a major win for South Australia, as it secures Adelaide as the hub for senior executives for Mission Critical Services and the broader Babcock group. This positions the State favourably as the company seeks further expansion opportunities and will create a considerable multiplier effect for the local economy.
This expansion exemplifies the type of highly skilled, high value investments that we are seeking to encourage in South Australia and will help us to continue building interest in our State from potential investors.