With expertise across electrical, mechanical and fabrication services, EMF Group has enjoyed impressive growth since forming in 2017 to work with clients in the mining and construction industries across New South Wales’ Hunter Valley.

Having started as a team of three, EMF Group now employs a team of 20 who from their Muswellbrook base are frequently engaged on shutdowns and other projects at the nearby BHP Mt Arthur Coal Mine.

Jason Anderson, Company Director at EMF Group, said his company joined BHP’s Local Buying Program in 2018 soon after being first engaged for a high voltage shutdown. Work at Mt Arthur now accounts for more than 40% of EMF Group’s business.

Since joining, BHP has approved a total spend of around $3,432,279 with EMF Group over 264 work orders.

The BHP Local Buying Program was introduced in New South Wales in 2016 after being established with partner C-Res in 2012 to support BHP’s coal operations in the Bowen Basin in Queensland. 

“Quite a few of us had done work at Mt Arthur off and on over the years when we were with other companies. In 2018 we got the call to work on a high voltage shutdown because of the key skills some of our guys had, and we went from there,’’ Jason said.

“Now we do a variety of work across Mt Arthur, including electrical, mechanical, fabrication, instrumentation and air conditioning.

“We also come in and isolate the coal handling preparation plant before maintenance shutdowns, and we also do quite a bit of work for the Projects team out in the pits.

“Being only five minutes down the road from the site means we are easily able to respond when we get call-outs offering services on a 24/7 basis.

“The Local Buying Program is great. We really like the shorter payment terms, and the C-Res online portal is easy to navigate. The work instructions come through from the site and it is easy to quote and price up.

“We can be engaged on a sole-source arrangement, or we get a few opportunities to quote against other companies, which gives you a line of site to how the market is going.’’

The Program exists in partnership between BHP and C-Res. In addition to operating in Queensland and NSW, the program was introduced in South Australia and Western Australia in 2017. In May this year, we celebrated a total spend across our registered Australian suppliers of $500 million. Read more about this impressive milestone here.