'We are conscious that we are in many ways not just a mining service company. We like to think in our own way we are almost being good ambassadors for Australia in these developing parts of the world.'
That corporate philosophy, expressed by Stuart Ratcliffe, general manager for business development, has helped Ausenco secure two finalist's berths in the AustCham Australia-China Business Awards.
The Australian-listed engineering and project management services provider to the global mining industry was a finalist for both the ANZ Business Excellence Award - Large (companies), and the CLP Sustainable Development Award.
The Brisbane-based company began with a handful of engineering specialists in 1991 and has now grown to a global organisation with almost 1,000 staff.
It has undertaken global projects with an installed capital value of more than US$2.7 billion in 33 countries - covering the processing of minerals to produce gold, copper, nickel, silver, cobalt, lead, zinc, uranium and mineral sands, and the production of industrial minerals and coal processing.
'The Asian region has been a focus of Ausenco for many years, with one of our major projects being the first significant gold processing plant built in Thailand in 2001,' said Mr Ratcliffe.