Holcim celebrates successful Indigenous business partnership with Amaroo Mining and Civil

In August this year, Holcim will complete its first contract of works with Indigenous business partner Amaroo Mining and Civil (Amaroo MC). The work was undertaken in the Pilbara Region of Western Australia and was worth in excess of $1.5 million.

The partnership was formed in 2019 when Holcim’s concrete business sought to secure mobile plant and fleet supply options to support a number of remote mobile projects in Western Australia.

Led by General Manager Rebecca Reeves, Holcim actively sought to support its Indigenous Engagement Strategy and Social Procurement Policy by partnering with a registered Indigenous business.

Holcim conducted a review of potential partners and found Amaroo MC, a Supply Nation Certified company led by Chief Executive Officer Clint Ross.  

Amaroo MC is a mining and civil works company established by Clint Ross and his father, Lennie Ross. Together, Clint and Lennie Ross have over 50 years’ experience in the concrete, transport and construction industries with significant experience working in remote concrete supply in Western Australia, and are known for the quality of the service they provide.

Following a series of discussions, a confidentiality agreement was signed by the two parties and formal negotiations began. The relationship fit for both parties was important and considerable time was spent up front exploring whether there was a value alignment between Holcim’s and Amaroo MC’s objectives. 

Satisfied that there was real opportunity to provide mutual benefits for both parties, Holcim engaged Amaroo MC as a subcontractor on the West Angelas iron ore mine expansion project after earlier securing the award of the concrete supply and delivery package from NRW Contracting, the primary contractor on the project.  

In preparation for the project, Holcim collaborated with Amaroo MC and provided both technical and operational support with the full backing of Holcim’s management. 

In October 2019, Amaroo MC started work as Holcim’s subcontractor on the West Angeles site initially constructing and commissioning its new state of the art mobile batch plant and completing onboarding and set up processes with the primary contractor.

Holcim operations and project management specialists continued to provide Amaroo MC with support on project oversight and supervision, client liaison and resourcing while Amaroo MC carried out the day-to-day concrete supply. 

In total, the partnership saw Amaroo MC manage one mobile batch plant, three concrete mixer vehicles and six employees on the project site over a 10 month period.

The partnership and project supply were considered successful by all parties and Amaroo MC has expressed appreciation for Holcim’s support and in particular Rebecca Reeves

Clint Ross said Rebecca and her team were always available to assist with any query they had and to discuss operational matters.

“It’s great to have such good communication even though we are working in remote areas,” he said. 

Holcim echoes the sentiment and has appreciated Amaroo MC’s open communication, work ethic and the quality of the outcomes achieved.  

For Holcim, this partnership was made possible through strong leadership support and a determination to provide shared value for society in the form of Indigenous business support.

“Developing the relationship with Amaroo MC is a great example of collaboration within Holcim and certainly would not have been possible without the critical support from various departments and specialists,” said Rebecca Reeves.

“Likewise, we have appreciated Amaroo MC’s willingness to work through the challenges involved in establishing the relationship framework.”

Both Holcim and Amaroo MC are proud of their involvement on the West Angelas project and the joint outcomes achieved.

Holcim and Amaroo MC are currently looking for more opportunities to expand their joint operations and continue to showcase what is possible from a successful Indigenous business partnership. 

Holcim is a member of Supply Nation, providers of Australia’s leading database of verified Indigenous businesses. Amaroo MC is a certified Supply Nation Indigenous business.