Crisp Bros. & Haywards is Tasmania’s largest steel fabrication and construction company with workshops in Launceston, Western Junction, Wynyard and Hobart, and over 280 staff. The company has successfully undertaken major projects throughout Australia and overseas, including recently completing work on the West Gate Tunnel Project.
From humble beginnings in the 1950s, Crisp Bros. & Haywards is now Tasmania’s largest steel fabrication and construction company. Boasting four workshops across the state—in Launceston, Western Junction, Wynyard and Hobart— Crisp Bros. & Haywards employs almost 300 Tasmanians.
The company specialises in the modelling, detailing, fabrication, surface treatment and erection of structural steel and metal work, as well as large scale steel works for sectors like infrastructure, energy, materials handling and mining.
The company is comprised of three divisions that all function in separate locations, but with their combined resources, can take on large scale, complex projects and achieve high-quality results. With specialised workshops in their Wynyard facility, Crisp Bros. & Haywards is well-equipped for working with nonferrous metals such as stainless steel and aluminium. Their modern shipyard at the Margate facility is capable of providing turnkey solutions, from concept design through to delivery of marine vessels.
In Launceston, Crisp Bros. & Haywards’ facilities include processing equipment with a workshop capacity that covers everything from architectural features and structural steel through to large scale industrial projects. Crisp Bros. & Haywards is equipped to take on any project that is made of metal.
According to managing director, Steve Edmunds, “Crisp Bros. & Haywards is a premier steel fabrication and engineering company. A highly successful business, we are owned and operated by a team of passionate shareholders and managers. In other words, the people who own the business also manage it on a day-to-day basis.”
“Our team of highly skilled and professional staff is committed to delivering quality engineering, fabrication and construction. Crisp Bros. & Haywards is dedicated to continuous improvement and growth and doing our utmost to meet our clients’ every requirement. We are committed to excellence and exceeding industry standards through innovation and management, as well as employee achievement.”
“Crisp Bros. & Haywards has successfully completed major projects throughout Australia and overseas. Our success is a direct result of our staff’s professional approach and determination to provide personal customer service, no matter the size of the project at hand,” Edmunds said.
Just some of their recent projects include the Westgate Tunnel Project, Rozelle Interchange, Burnie Ship Loader, UTAS Launceston Redevelopment, Bryn Estyn Water Treatment Plant and VIVA Energy Tanks. Crisp Bros. & Haywards has also played a pivotal role in some of Australia’s major sporting stadiums, from the MCG and Bellerive Oval, through to AAMI Park and Rod Laver Arena.
Haywards has also grown to become a major Australian wind tower constructor and supplier. They have manufactured almost 300 wind towers, including at Woolnorth and Studland Bay in Tasmania, Lake Bonney, Canunda and Walkway in South Australia, and Waubra and Mortlake in Victoria.
Project case study: West Gate Tunnel
Crisp Bros. & Haywards recently completed their works on the multi-billion dollar West Gate Tunnel Project in Melbourne. The Victorian Government has partnered with Transurban to deliver the West Gate Tunnel Project. The project will give Melbourne a second freeway link between the west and the city, providing a much needed alternative to the West Gate Bridge and a vital second river crossing.
The project encompasses widening the West Gate Freeway from eight lanes to 12 between the M80 Ring Road and Williamstown Road; a 2.8km eastbound tunnel and 4km westbound tunnel under Yarraville; and a new bridge over the Maribyrnong River providing an alternative to the West Gate Bridge.
In expectation of an increase in large scale infrastructure projects, Haywards expanded their workshop capacity, constructing a new purpose-built facility at Western Junction, just north of Launceston, in 2020. The facility increased overhead lifting capacity from 80 tonnes to 200 tonnes to accommodate the ever-increasing size of sections.
The CPB Contractors and John Holland Joint Venture (CPBJH JV) awarded the contract to Crisp Bros. & Haywards in May 2021.
The scope of Crisp Bros. & Haywards works consisted of the fabrication of 69 individual steel bridge girders sections, making up three bridge assemblies that will serve as distribution lanes from the tunnel into the western end of the city. Of the 69 sections transported, the largest section moved weighed 110 tonnes, and was 35m long and 5.5m wide.
In total, Crisp Bros. & Haywards handled 5,000 tonnes of steel in the production—equivalent to approximately 250 trailers of raw material coming into Tasmania.
Crisp Bros. & Haywards commenced construction in November 2021 and completed the project in September 2023. In total, 145,000 man hours were completed. Over the duration of the project there was an average of 40 tradesmen and five apprentices working per week. All of Haywards’ current 15 apprentices working in their Western Junction facility spent some time working on the project, gaining valuable experience along the way. With the inclusion of Haywards’ team of sub-contractors there was a total of 80 people employed per week to complete the project scope.
According to project manager Shaun Brown, “An incredible amount of work and labour went into this project, and it is great to see all of that hard work acknowledged on the project’s completion here today.”
“We’re very fortunate to have been awarded the contract, especially after Haywards expanded their workshop capacity by constructing a new purpose-built facility in 2020.”
“What we’re most happy about is that we’re able to employ a lot of Tasmanians and do things on a national scale. Transporting these large beams from Tasmania to mainland Australia is no easy feat. We are committed to keeping jobs local,” Brown said.
Crisp Bros. & Haywards would like to thank everyone involved in the project, including their loyal team of skilled tradesmen, apprentices and subcontractors; InfraBuild Steel Centre Launceston supplying 2,000 tonnes of Australian made steel from BlueScope Australia; GJ Engineering and P&D L Engineering for machining and drilling works; Fusion NDT for weld testing; McElligotts Tasmania for surface treatment; SteelForce Industry Solutions for steel modelling and detailing; Survey Resources for surveying; and transport partners Tasmanian Heavy Haulage and SeaRoad.
Crisp Bros. & Haywards apprentice takes home WorldSkills silver medal
Cris Bros. & Haywards apprentice Beau Malkin recently earned a silver medal for welding at the WorldSkills Australia National Championships.
The National Championships is Australia’s biggest vocational education and excellence competition, with regional competitors from all around the country competing against their industry peers.
Hearing his name called for a silver medal was a big surprise to Beau.
“They called me out for silver and I couldn’t believe it. Afterwards they told me that I was only a couple points off coming first as well.”
Competing at WorldSkills has given Beau extra motivation to challenge himself in his career. “WorldSkills has pushed me to be a better welder, because now I know what I can do. It’s given me confidence in my trade and has pushed me to want to do more courses to better my career. Hopefully one day, I’ll look at being a teacher or at least a mentor at WorldSkills.”
“I took pride in representing Tasmania. Team Tasmania was something great to be a part of. We stayed behind at the end after we had been finished a couple hours and helped the venue clean up. No other teams did that. It was a great team to be a part of and a great bunch of people.”
Tasmanian Minister for Skills, Training and Workforce Growth, Felix Ellis, said National Skills Week celebrates the outstanding career opportunities and value of vocational education and training.
