A quick glance at Saunders International’s 2021 projects

Saunders International Limited (ASX:SND) made giant strides during 2021, the 70th year since the Company was founded in 1951. The multi-disciplined engineering and construction company delivers specialised services in the energy & resources, defence, storage tanks and maintenance sectors.

The action-packed year of 2021 saw the Company strengthen its market position across different sectors with a slew of new contracts.

Saunders also expanded its service offerings with the acquisition of PlantWeave Technologies, which specialises in industrial automation and technology solutions as well as cyber security.  

Related Read: Saunders diversifies into technology-based infrastructure    

A glimpse of projects undertaken by Saunders in 2021

Construction Projects

With the Australian government jacking up its defence and infrastructure spending, programs like ‘Boosting Australia’s Diesel Storage’ and ‘Fixing Country Bridges’ are the kinds of opportunities Saunders is seeking to tap. Apart from government projects, the Company’s order book from private players also kept it busy all around the year.  

Image source: Company update, 21 October 2021

Here are few construction projects that Saunders took on in 2021

Vopak                                           

Saunders covered the design, procurement and fabrication of steel and early civil works program for the Port Botany Terminal expansion project. Three tanks with a capacity of 35 million litres each were constructed with Geodesic Dome roofs.

Sydney Water at Liverpool Reservoir

Saunders completed the construction of a new 80m diameter and 13m high welded reservoir. Under this project, the Company took the responsibility from initial project phase to the commissioning stage, which included detailed design works, construction of civil foundation, electrical and instrumentation works.

Laing O’ Rourke Diesel Storage Tank

Under its defence service offerings, Saunders constructed two 1.75 million litre capacity diesel tanks for the Larrakeyah Defence Fuel Infrastructure Project. The fuel tanks were of stainless steel, and all the other ancillary equipment installations, civil works, SMP and electrical and instrumentation work were carried out by Saunders.

Related read: Saunders International (ASX:SND) set for excellent FY22 with strong order book  

Infrastructure Projects

Saunders is focused on tapping growing public civil infrastructure opportunities in NSW, including the Government’s ‘Fixing Country Bridges’ program.

Bridge Replacement Projects

Saunders completed rail track replacement on Sydney Harbour Bridge this year. The project scope included the installation of precast concrete track panels, which were supplied by Saunders Civilbuild.

In another project, the Company constructed a concrete bridge at Range Rd, Mittagong.

It also commenced the pre-cast supply of 77 Super Ts and 8 x sixty tonne precast pile shell caps, for the Nelligen Bridge replacement project. The work is expected to be completed in the last quarter of FY22.

Track replacement on Sydney Harbour Bridge (Image source: Company update, 21 October 2021)

Related read: Saunders International’s upward trajectory to continue well beyond FY22

Industrial Automation

Since the acquisition of PlantWeave Technologies, new opportunities in the sector of industrial automation have opened for the Company. Saunders has already wrapped up a number of projects successfully, while several others remain in progress.

Cyber Security upgrade project (Image source: Company update, 21 October 2021)

One of the significant projects includes the work on district cooling plant to service Crown Towers at Barangaroo Sydney. At Sydney’s Royal Northshore Hospital, the Company delivered critical control and monitoring of high and low voltage systems. The program included creating high-level interfaces between the building management system and backup generators.

Related read: Saunders International (ASX:SND) closes FY21 with 2.5cps dividend

Maintenance Projects

Many other maintenance projects were also undertaken by the Company. Some prominent projects included Coogie Chemicals’ tank modification and installation of two geodesic dome roofs, maintenance work at BP’s two 84 diameter tanks at Bulwar Island, and plant maintenance at Opal Paper Australia.

Major Project Win at 2021 end

Saunders’ impressive year concluded with the award of a contract valued at AU$165 million with Crowley Services for the design and construction of fuel storage tanks and EPCM services for the construction management of a US Defence fuel storage facility in Darwin.

Highlights of the project are as follows:

• AU$140 million contract for the design and construction of 11 tanks for a jet fuel storage facility in Darwin.
• Moreover, Saunders will provide Engineering, Procurement and Construction Management (EPCM) services to Crowley for the delivery of the entire fuel facility and marine loading and unloading facility at Darwin Port.
• The value of EPCM services is estimated to be circa AU$25 million.
• Saunders will manage the end-to-end project delivery of the fuel facility.

Detailed Discussion at: Saunders International (ASX:SND) riding high on $165M defence contract  

Saunders has set up an office and workshop in the Northern Territory to get more exposure in the defence sector. The Company forecasts its FY22 revenue to be in the range of AU$95M-AU$105M and EBIT in the range of 4.5% to 5.5%. The acquisition of PlantWeave has opened a new revenue stream for the Company along with providing more value-added services to its existing clients.

Also read: Saunders International (ASX:SND) races past revenue milestone, triples net profit in FY21  

SND shares traded at AU$0.96 on 16 December 2021.