Beca announces key promotions

3 May 2006

Beca announces key promotions

Engineering, project management and planning consultancy Beca has promoted 41 employees to senior roles. The 41 Beca people work across a broad range of specialist areas spanning civil, structural, geotechnical, electrical, mechanical and environmental engineering disciplines, as well as planning, architecture and valuations– reflecting the diversity of expertise that exists within the employee-owned consultancy.

“These promotions recognise that the quality of our work is dependent on our people. They are key to our business,” says Richard Aitken, Beca’s group chief executive. “In the last twelve months, Beca has won 18 awards, in recognition of outstanding work by our people and the value they offer to our clients.”

The following five Beca people span the company’s structural, power systems, industrial and project management divisions:

Chris Ivory leads the industrial structures section in Auckland and has been with Beca for two years. Prior to joining Beca, the challenging projects to his credit include the first large combined-cycle power station in New Zealand (Stratford 400MW), detailed design of large hydraulic structures on the Nam Song diversion canal in Laos and the power station structural engineering for the Bac Bin hydro station in Vietnam. Since joining Beca Chris has been involved in projects for key clients such as New Zealand Steel, PT Inco, NZ Foods and Transpower.

Kathryn Ward has been with Beca in the specialist role of a senior power systems protection consultant for eight years. She’s based in Christchurch. With over 25 years’ experience, some of her key projects are the Pole 2 HVDC upgrade at the Benmore terminal station to increase the capacity of the DC link; the Te Apiti Wind Farm which was the first direct connection of a wind farm to the national transmission grid in New Zealand; and the third 220 kV Islington to Kikiwa 220 kV circuit to increase the amount of electricity that can be supplied to the Nelson and Marlborough regions.

Based in Auckland, Stephen Salmon worked on numerous 275kV and 132kV substations for Durban Municipality before coming to New Zealand in 1994. He arrived in New Zealand just as Beca was starting a Power Systems section and was instrumental in winning the first large substations design contract from

Transpower for the Islington Upgrade in Christchurch. Soon after this project, the Preferred Consultancy Agreement was signed and Steve has since built up a switchyard design team. His work varies from bidding to management and review of detailed design projects, to feasibility studies and development options. The latest project of particular interest was the detailed design for a 500kV substation extension for SPAusnet in Melbourne for which Beca was the design consultant of choice.

Simon Edmonds is the manager of the Wellington Industrial section. With background in the design of industrial structures, water treatment and storage tanks, he was involved with the 1997 terminal re-development for Wellington International Airport, the MDF plant of Dongwha Patinna NZ Ltd in Southland, the Vitasoy Soy Milk Plant in Victoria, Australia, and over 15 water storage reservoirs and water treatment tanks for local authorities across New Zealand and for the Public Works Department in Fiji.

The most recent of his projects, the Cook Strait Cable Repair Ship conversion, won an ACENZ Innovate award in 2005 and the innovative design solution category award at the inaugural Beca Innovation Awards this year.

Peter McGregor leads the Beca Airport terminal planning team, and has been working on terminal planning and managing airport development projects for 16 years. Based in Auckland, he’s overall project manager for Auckland International Airport Ltd’s Terminal Expansion Project to plan the expansion of the domestic and international terminals and all associated infrastructure, to meet the 2015 and 2025 forecast horizons.

Various projects for AIAL have won ACENZ Gold awards in 1998, 1999 and 2000. Peter’s previous work included assisting the Airport Authority of Trinidad and Tobago to complete the construction and commissioning of the new international terminal in Port of Spain.

ENDS

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