A highly successful, multidiscipline, industrial engineering solutions provider, the goal of EMTek is to change the economics of industry by implementing holistic, engineered solutions. We explore more with General Manager, Morgan Stevens.
EXPERT ENGINEERS FOR FUTURE SOLUTIONS
“Engineering and construction are truly exciting spaces to be working in at present, and we are constantly finding new opportunities across a range of commodities. We like to challenge our clients’ scopes to find better solutions for them and take advantage of the latest technologies wherever possible.”
General Manager of EMtek, Morgan Stevens, attributes the attractive nature of the variety of experience on offer, as well as the range of potential opportunities available within these industries, as the starting point of a career that led him directly to the company.
“After finishing my degree in mechanical engineering, I began working in the construction industry. This provided me with some great on-site experience building processing plants, new mines and mine expansions, refinery upgrades and power stations. Some of the projects I was involved in over this time were design and construction projects, and I always had an interest in upfront concepting and engineering, which was one of the reasons I eventually joined EMtek,” opens Stevens.
EMtek’s core business is in the materials handling industry, alongside a range of other services.
“With EMtek, we have a great variety of projects, from small scale to large scale, in both the brownfield and greenfield environments, covering an extensive range of disciplines and project phases. Having a broad knowledge base helps to provide the best-fit solutions for a project, and we draw on the strengths of our team members as needed. The work is fast-paced and interesting, and we have a skilled, experienced team to execute our projects,” he adds.
With offices located in Perth, Melbourne and Brisbane, the 120 EMtek staff members spread between these hubs are equipped and strategically positioned around the country to best support the clients. EMtek also has staff currently on consignment with multiple clients located on sites across Australia.
“We have been operating for well over seven years now, and in that time, we have worked for over 100 different clients. We’ve garnered major projects in the iron ore industry, gold, as well as copper, nickel, lithium, and industrial clients,” details Stevens.
As a multidiscipline technology company, EMtek works in diverse industries including mining, software, and industrial IT.
Stevens believes there are several key differentials, separating EMtek from the competition it faces within the sector.
“For me, the main differentiators are our capabilities across multiple disciplines, our ability to find smarter solutions which are beyond the capabilities of many of our competitors, and our collaboration both internally and with our clients,” he illustrates. “We also possess an ability to take projects through their complete lifecycle, whilst also responding to clients in short timeframes due to our streamlined design process.”
“We understand the need for the new technology to be tried and proven to ensure it can meet EMtek and client expectations”
Morgan Stevens, General Manager, EMtek
MAJOR PROJECTS
EMtek was recently engaged by a Tier 1 miner to complete the detailed design, engineering and construction support for a new 10.3 kilometre (km) overland modularised conveyor system. This immensely fast-paced project was delivered on a tight schedule, and the design was optimised to provide a reliable, low-cost solution for the specific project needs.
Another addition to the growing EMtek portfolio of projects was the recent contract for a turnkey design and construction project for one of the biggest gold mining companies in the world. The scope for this included the design, supply, construction, and commissioning of a Sound Attenuation Building. EMtek was tasked with completing the EPC project to ensure noise emissions were kept within acceptable levels.
Elsewhere, EMtek partnered with Fenner Dunlop for the detailed design and engineering of the new conveyor system and stacker for a Tier 1 miner. In this case, EMtek’s assignment included the detailed design, engineering and detailing of the Drift Conveyor, Fixed Stacker, belt pulling, and pulley change-out facilities, loop take-up, construction, and commissioning support.
“The positive feedback we receive is always rewarding and shared amongst the entire team”
Morgan Stevens, General Manager, EMtek
EXPANSION AND EXPERTISE
The opening of the company’s new Brisbane office aims to provide EMtek with some great opportunities to expand its client base in Queensland and Northern Australia, with some very positive discussions already underway with many existing clients as well as new ones. The Brisbane office will also be used as a base for international work.
“In addition, the company has employed some great staff at our new Brisbane office and sees opportunities to have the Brisbane team support our strong pipeline of work across other areas of Australia and overseas,” says Stevens.
He is keen to express how the EMtek staff are the key to the entire business, bringing an unrivalled enthusiasm and passion for innovation and seeing designs come to fruition.
“The effort they put in, their knowledge, ability to problem solve, and being team players helps us to stand out above our competition, and to consistently perform. All our staff love to see our designs being implemented in the field and the positive feedback we receive is always rewarding and shared amongst the entire team,” he acclaims enthusiastically.
“The size of our team and our protracted expertise allows us to accomplish absolutely any type of engineering project, regardless of its complexity.”
The culture at EMtek is critical to how it does business, and the company continues to promote creative thinking and innovation in everything it does.
“Across all projects that we undertake, we propose to investigate and use the advantages and innovations of the latest technology, with the focus on delivering high value, low-cost solutions throughout the process,” he continues.
IMPLEMENTING NEW TECHNOLOGY
EMtek has identified that many potential hurdles remain to be cleared when tasked with implementing new technology within the manufacturing industry.
“Client acceptance is often challenging, as people tend to stick with what they currently know over new products,” explains Stevens. “We understand the need for technology to be tried and proven to ensure it can meet EMtek and client expectations, however, even with the required evidence, it can still be challenging to gain client acceptance.”
Sometimes there remains a need for an R&D phase to be initiated before a new technology can be implemented, which can involve significant investment from EMtek prior to seeing any returns.
EMtek utilises the latest technology and highest levels of automation, control system and IT systems to optimise operational systems. Technologies EMtek implements include artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML). This is alongside the continuous monitoring of mechanical and electrical assets, using visual recognition and AI technology to identify unusual events not sensed using conventional technology, and situational controls and actuation to allow for remote control of normally manual operations.
“We also work extremely closely with all our partners and clients as we find this gives us the best project outcomes. In particular, with Tier 1 mining companies, we have developed strong relationships with not only their project leads but across their sites as well,” offers Stevens.
A benefit of this is clients can call EMtek to help out with anything, from site information and problem-solving to a project execution strategy, before they have put a scope out for tender.
“Our partners, suppliers and subcontractors help us to add value to our projects as it increases our offering from design and detailing to supply or full design and construction projects,” he informs us.
Across the next 12 months, a crucial target envisaged by EMtek is to further spread its client base into overseas locations and to maintain a vast level of diversity across multiple commodities.
“We intend to extend our offering further into the upfront process engineering space, as well as expand on our supply and construction offering. There are often situations where our clients are after a full turnkey solution, and we want to offer this more consistently.”
