Second generation family business Bowhill Engineering in Bowhill, SA commenced in the 1970’s with the current owner’s father starting as a diesel mechanic with Bowhill Motors opening in the mid 1970’s. In the early 1990’s with his two sons Simon and Jeremy in the business who preferred to build rather than repair, the business evolved into Bowhill Engineering.

Initially based on the family farm, the company relocated to the present site in 1996 some 1.5 hours east of Adelaide in the town of Bowhill on the Murray River, with a population of less than 300.

In 2002 the family suffered a tragedy when Simon, an innovator and driver of Bowhill Engineering was killed in a car accident. At that point Jeremy’s wife Jodie, who was on maternity leave from the local high school with their eldest daughter just 6 months old, joined her husband Managing Director, Jeremy in the business to do whatever was necessary.

Over the next ten years Jodie had various roles from administration, finance, IT, marketing, compliance and strategy allowing Jeremy to concentrate on the development and day to day operation of the business.

Today Jeremy Hawkes is Director of Business Development with Jodie as Chief Executive Officer and the company has strong links with the community through the local CFS, Bowhill Progress Association and is also the local Post Office.

With a current staff of more than 70 personnel plus some 20 sub-contractors assisting with the current workload, Bowhill Engineering is a specialist in heavy and complex structural steel fabrication and surface treatment. It is a leader in one-off bespoke structures, concentrating primarily in the infrastructure industry but also servicing marine, sovereign defence and mining industries.

Investing in the future, Bowhill Engineering has always had a strong policy of apprenticeship training, deciding many years ago to ‘grow our own’ to help our industry survive. Jodie commented “We spend a lot of time visiting schools, having group tours through the site, hosting work experience and intern students and this has resulted in over 56 apprentices and trainees taking part on our award-winning training academy over the years. Drawing on local talent, we currently have 15 apprentices and one trainee at various stages and we look to introduce 4-5 first year students each year to this program. Our previous apprentices and trainees have gone on to become Team Leaders, Supervisors, Production Managers, Welding Supervisors, WHSE Coordinators, Project Administration and Accounts support,” she said.

With an intensive look to the future and following detailed research, Bowhill Engineering has recently commissioned the latest large Okuma CNC Double Column Machining Centre MCR-A5CII with OSP-P500 Control. “Okuma was consistently recommended to us and we took time to speak to others who have this equipment. This reconfirmed what we were hearing about the company’s support, replacements parts to maintain productivity and technical advice from passionate engineers,” said Jeremy. “Word of mouth referrals by people you trust is the best advice you can get and we intend to take full advantage of the on-going training from Okuma,” he said

“The large new Okuma Double Column Machining Centre enables us to undertake large complex CNC work that we would have had to outsource making it difficult to remain competitive. The all inclusive’ approach to the investment package meant there were no surprises with the contract and commissioning. Okuma engineers were also at pains to ensure that the selection of the machining centre was the correct choice and fit for us given our forward projections and strategies,” Jeremy commented. “The first CNC contract for the company includes 648 x 10 tonne segments for the Torrens to Darlington Cross Tunnel Passage opening with parts 4m long 2.4m wide and 1m high with facings, grooves, tapered holes, threaded holes and radial milling with the indexing head so there is a lot going on with these components,” he said.

The new Double Column Machining Centre is expected to unlock many exciting opportunities given the solid reputation and experience the company has established in heavy fabrication and large component machining and it will be an important element going forward with the opening up of expanded market potential.

According to Jeremy and Jodie, there is an air of excitement within the engineering staff who see opportunities to develop new skills and gain hands-on experience with the latest manufacturing technology with advanced tooling and programming capabilities the new machine incorporates. Personnel are witnessing a deeper understanding of modern fabrication methods plus an improvement in overall efficiency and accuracy.

Most of Bowhill Engineering’s work is built to specific supplied designs but in recent years there have been plenty of opportunities to optimise designs for manufacturing buildability. For structural integrity and accuracy, many adjustments can be made to the designs unlocking efficiencies to which the advanced equipment can contribute.

This company is fully committed to its Integrated Business Management systems via a sophisticated document management system that is easily accessible to all stakeholders. Amongst its numerous certified compliance certification is ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management, ISO45001:2018 Safety Management; ISO14001:2015 Environment; SCA Steel Compliance-Construction 3: EPA Abrasive Blasting and Surface Coating. Complimentary to these are more than 30 Community and Business Awards that have been achieved over the last 15 years.

“What we value most is the opportunity to work collaboratively with the client and their designers to optimise designs for durability,” commented Jeremy. “The specific capabilities and nuances of the tooling and the machine itself often influence practical and efficient design outcomes. The engineering discussions and input also allows our staff to contribute to effective solutions and to gain valuable technical knowledge that would otherwise remain outside the fabricator’s scope. It is a rare and highly beneficial opportunity for professional growth and collaboration – together we thrive,” he said.

On the question of the current economy of South Australia Jodie commented that the company currently has contacts covering two of the largest infrastructure projects SA has seen. This is mixed with the uncertainty of global economic conditions which means that strategic plans for the next ten years are no longer an option and there is a need to be ready to pivot quickly to meet the current circumstances. Today’s mission is to focus on ROI given the company’s recent large investment in new heavy lift with 100T gantry and the machining workshop expansion however Bowhill Engineering is strongly positioned for further tunnel works, sovereign defence, mining, marine and infrastructure projects and has the ability to take advantage of new opportunities. Currently sales for Bowhill Engineering equate to approximately 80% in South Australia and 20% mainland Australia.