Global engineering and project delivery firm, Sinclair Knight Merz (SKM), has been recognised as the winner of the 2013 Australia-Latin America Business Excellence Award in a ceremony held in Brisbane on Thursday evening 31 October.
The Award win recognises SKM's growth in Brazil and follows the recent opening of a new SKM office in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. The establishment of the Brazilian office follows SKM's decision to further consolidate its presence in the region, based on recent growth, which has led to a 370% increase in revenue over the past twelve months, and future prospects in this market.
SKM's business in South America has grown significantly since the company first started investigating opportunities in the region in 1998. Since 2004, when SKM in Chile employed 12 people, the company has expanded to 600 staff in South America with offices in Lima, Peru; Bogota, Colombia; Santiago, Chile and now Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
SKM's services have expanded in the region to include water, environmental, power, energy and infrastructure, as well as mining capabilities, and plans are underway for further expansion in terms of geography, client base and capabilities.
"Our presence in Brazil and our commitment to the South American region forms an important part of the long term strategy for our business," said SKM's Chief Executive Officer, Santo Rizzuto.
The SKM team in Brazil offers mining engineering services in the areas of materials handling, in-pit crushing and conveying and fully integrated 3D technology, and is able to draw on SKM's global capabilities for a full range of services and expertise. SKM has a proven track record of skills and experience in underground mining, minerals processing and automation for hard rock mining and hydropower generation in South America.
"SKM's Brazilian office is well equipped to provide engineering services to clients, drawing on local knowledge combined with our global expertise," said Phil Lory, SKM's General Manager, Mining and Metals.
"Our team of local engineers works closely with specialists drawn from global SKM offices to deliver high-quality, innovative solutions for our clients, not only on some of South America's largest mining projects, but also in small to medium brownfield sustaining capital projects," said Mathias Cotta, SKM's Business Development Director, Brazil.
