Business
31 March, 2025
Huge truss heads north
THIRTY staff working around the clock since the beginning of the year have completed a massive 62m-long, 100 tonne steel truss heading for the Northern Territory.
CSF Industries workers have successfully loaded the structure onto a barge bound for Groote Eylandt.
The structure, measuring 4m x 4m in diameter, is the first of two being fabricated for mining and metals company South32, with the second truss set to be dispatched in coming weeks.
The two structures will replace wharves damaged by a cyclone at Groote Eylandt in recent years.
CSF managing director Sean Adams said the project started in September last year, with a dedicated team of 70 working at the firm’s Portsmith workshop.
“Since January, up to 30 staff have been operating 24/7 at the ‘duck pond’ in Portsmith to complete the final assembly,” he said.
“Despite challenging wet season conditions, the team encapsulated the structure and worked night and day, joining three 20m sections.”
Mr Adams said the project had been a mammoth undertaking, both logistically and practically.
“A project of this scale demonstrates the incredible manufacturing capabilities we have right here in Cairns,” he said.
“We’re not just a tourism town – we’re a manufacturing town.
“We have a solid manufacturing base that can tackle world-class projects right here in Cairns.
“We’ve had several companies working as contractors for us as well – this is a real testament to what we can achieve as a community.”
The workforce includes scaffolders, boilermakers, welders, riggers, painters and crane drivers, all of whom played a critical role in delivering the largest single piece of fabricated steel Mr Adams has seen come out of Cairns.
“The team kicked so many goals and worked tirelessly through the challenges of the wet season,” he said.
“I couldn’t be prouder of what we’ve accomplished.”
CSF Industries is the parent company of CSF Steel Fabricators, CSF Roofing, CSF Steel Fabricators Townsville, CSF Coatings and sister company to Intrans Logistics and Century Cranes.
CSF Industries, established in 1979, is responsible for the delivery of regional Queensland’s major steel fabrication and logistics projects, specialising in the delivery of ‘whole of house’ project solutions. It has a client base across Australia and southeast Asia.
