ECG Engineering has become the go-to electrical services consultancy firm for mining projects throughout West Africa and credits its success to cutting its teeth in the Goldfields of Western Australia more than 30 years ago.

Known colloquially as the “poster child” of responsible mining operations throughout the world, WA instilled in ECG Engineering company director and founder Geoff Bailey not just a first-rate electrical skillset but an enviable network of global connections. Company Executive General Manager Andy Griffin told Paydirt the ECG team established “a very deep network” of relationships in WA, making way for decades of experience in the region.

Most of the global mining companies are based here [in WA] and Geoff’s got to know them all quite well because he’s been doing work for them ever since he started in the early 1990s,” Griffin said. “I think that’s our value add to the market, our experience in that space – the study work we do is quite unique, we’ve got so much inherent knowledge of the way work is done in places like West Africa.

“Although there are some smaller companies there, but nowhere near the volume we get put through our business.”

ECG Engineering’s experience in providing power systems, electrical instrumentation and process design, and automation/control services to mining assets in West Africa has also led to close relationships with global engineering partners.

The collaboration with these partners has provided a launchpad into Canada where Griffin said there was a need for ECG Engineering’s services in this space and a chance to show off their holistic electrical engineering services on a global stage.

“Our power systems expertise is engaged at the very early stages of a project,” he said. “We get involved in the study work and manage all the electrical aspects. We collaborate with other engineering teams to develop the electrical components of the design.

“Sitting over the top of those designs is the automation, control and instrumentation system, which we design, implement and commission. So, we cover these three streams – automation, electrical engineering, and the basic engineering of the plant from an electrical perspective – from the power system all the way through to the plant. We also provide electrical supervision superintendents and commissioning personnel for the construction phase.

Although a specialist in West Africa, ECG Engineering services mining projects across the globe from its offices in WA, Philippines, Tanzania and Canada, and is also heralding new demand from projects in South Africa.

Griffin said the energy transition and decarbonisation was driving a lot of new work into ECG Engineering’s register with battery minerals projects leading the charge. In fact, the company has almost doubled its workforce in just the past three years.

“It has grown from a small business of about 100 people, to where we are now at between 180 to 200 staff depending on the projects we have,” he said.

While the company has a keen eye on future growth, it also has its existing client base firmly at the centre of its priorities.

“Our first key priority is continuing to manage our clients – the proof of that continuing work is that reputation and value we provide,”

Griffin said. “The next priority is our automation process and cybersecurity which has a cloud-based application so our clients can remotely access their control systems.

“And we’ve only just touched the tip of the iceberg. When I started two years ago, our control systems team had five staff, now we have 20.”

ECG Engineering has a number of projects underway in Africa and Australia with Griffin commenting “it’s been very, very manic, the last year and a half has just disappeared”.

“We expect the demand to plateau in the next few months and we will use the time to strategise on how the business will evolve,” he said.

– Featured in Paydirt Media September Issue