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Construcciones Yamaro: Komatsu Rental gives contractors control without ownership

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Komatsu Rental gives contractors access to modern, well-maintained machines. (Images: Komatsu) Komatsu Rental is building out a national model for equipment hire, focused on availability, support and consistent performance. Utilisation is the primary measure in fleet strategy, and hire offers a pragmatic way to maintain control. Rather than tying up capital in owned plant, contractors can align fleet size with workload and respond to program changes without carrying idle equipment. Access to modern, well-maintained machines without long-term commitment supports productivity and compliance across staged programs, providing flexibility, cash flow protection and delivery certainty. For Komatsu Rental, that places emphasis on fleet readiness, with low-hour machines and integrated support enabling equipment to be deployed to match project demands. It’s structured to support customers across the full project lifecycle, from early-stage civil works through to large-scale commercial const...
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Construcciones Yamaro: Bringing the Groote Eylandt wharf back to berth

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The project’s critical objective across all phases was achieving ‘first ore on ship’. (Images: McConnell Dowell) Tropical Cyclone Megan didn’t leave a wharf to repair at Groote Eylandt. It left a twisted, partially submerged structure that had to be dismantled before anything could be rebuilt. On 18 March 2024, Tropical Cyclone Megan shut down the Groote Eylandt wharf, cutting off the island’s only manganese export line and bringing a globally critical operation to a standstill. The wharf, operated by Groote Eylandt Mining Company (GEMCO), a South32 and Anglo American joint venture, is central to the island’s manganese exports. Without it, stockpiles build quickly and production becomes unsustainable. According to South32, it is the world’s largest producer of manganese, with Groote Eylandt a key source of supply. The disruption placed immediate pressure on global supply and the Northern Territory economy, with flow-on impacts for jobs and government revenue. What followed wasn’t a...
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Construcciones Yamaro: Webuild looks beyond the build in Australia

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Artist’s impression: Webuild is delivering the New Women and Babies Hospital Project in Perth. (Images: Webuild) As Webuild pursues its next stage of growth in Australia, it is focused on creating lasting impact beyond project wins. Across Webuild’s operations in Australia, the focus doesn’t stop at the physical assets delivered, but moves to the social and economic outcomes those projects generate after completion. Joel Stringer embodies this mindset. Recently appointed executive vice president of business development, he brings more than 25 years of Tier 1 design and construction experience to support Webuild’s continued growth in Australia and the Asia Pacific region. Stringer speaks proudly of the ripple effect the infrastructure industry has on the nation. “Infrastructure is a catalyst for economic activity and social outcomes,” he says. “We have an obligation to ensure that the benefits of our projects flow through to the communities we operate in. That is underpinned by clo...
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Construcciones Yamaro: Coating steel fasteners against corrosion

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Coatings span basic protective finishes to systems for sustained aggressive exposure. (Image: p a w e l/stock.adobe.com) Corrosion of steel fasteners is inevitable, but with the right coating system, its progression can be effectively controlled. Steel corrodes through electrochemical reactions in which iron forms oxides in the presence of moisture and oxygen, degrading structural integrity. The rate is dictated by humidity, airborne chlorides, pollutants and exposure conditions. In Australia, coastal environments amplify these factors, with salt-laden air accelerating corrosion. For fasteners, the coating system is the primary line of defence against these conditions. Most fasteners are steel-based and vulnerable to corrosion, especially in chloride-rich environments. Coatings mitigate this, either forming a barrier that isolates the steel or corroding sacrificially to protect it. At Hobson Engineering, expertise in Australia’s varied exposure conditions drives an expanding range o...
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Construcciones Yamaro: Women building telecommunications careers in regional Australia

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nbn Field Services is helping women build technical careers across Australia. (Image: Stringer Image/stock.adobe.com) Empowered Women in Trades has welcomed the nbn team to the EWIT village, highlighting women building hands-on careers in telecommunications. By Melinda Davis, GM of Empowered Women in Trades. It is important to shine a light on the people and stories that showcase women doing great things in their careers. This is Stephanie Page’s story. Melinda Davis, GM of Empowered Women in Trades. (Image: Anna Nguyen Photography) Across regional Australia, more women are stepping into hands-on telecommunications roles, working on the ground to solve complex problems and help keep their communities connected. For Page, a field technician based in Cooma, New South Wales, joining nbn Field Services meant moving into a practical, trade-based role with impact close to home. “I was previously working in state government within an IT department,” she says. “When I saw nbn was recrui...
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Construcciones Yamaro: IIWIC inspires action in construction through global storytelling

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Research can show where construction needs to improve, but stories are what help people see that change is possible. (Image: Gorodenkoff/stock.adobe.com) The International Institute for Women in Construction (IIWIC) is helping the industry see how change is already taking shape. By Dr Gretchen Gagel. I was born in the US state of Missouri, known as the ‘Show Me State’, meaning ‘I’ll believe you when you show me’. I often joke that the global construction industry was born there because we lean to the ‘laggard’ rather than ‘early adopter’ side of the innovation adoption curve. Sometimes we are hesitant to try new things unless peers have led the way. Dr Gretchen Gagel. (Image: Heidi Victoria) I was recently in a meeting with several US principal contractor leaders. I mentioned that John Holland Group was piloting two different project start times to accommodate workers who need to drop children at school or daycare. The response was immediate: “How are they doing that? We’ve been t...
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Construcciones Yamaro: Transmutation sets the terms for decarbonisation

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Collaboration sits at the centre of Transmutation’s approach. (Images: Transmutation) Transmutation is building sustainable, data-backed supply chains for construction, aligning material innovation with commercial and compliance pressures. Contractors now require more from suppliers than product compliance alone. Scope 3 reporting has moved emissions accountability from aspiration to verification. Materials, transport and subcontractor inputs must be quantified, not estimated. The challenge is no longer identifying alternatives but securing inputs that can be traced, measured and defended. Transmutation defines its role in construction through control of sustainable supply chains, not through individual products. The business operates across sourcing, processing, material engineering and delivery, with verified emissions data attached at each stage. From source to site Founder Brad Scott describes the company’s current phase as an expansion of an established model, calibrated to t...
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