Member Under the Microscope
Andrew Bland, Business Development Manager at Primero
Andrew brings over 30 years of industry experience and an incredible career path to the Energy Club as a member for the past five years.
He began his career as a civil engineer in Manchester, but quickly realised that his career path was best suited to management, technical, and commercial aspects of business.
Changing his area of expertise led Andrew to a role in technical sales and management in the construction industry.
In 1992 he moved to Hong Kong where he worked for an international construction chemicals company and was responsible for developing their Hong Kong and Chinese markets.
“At this time Hong Kong was developing their Port and Airport Development Strategy (PADS) Projects prior to the handover to China in 1997, which consisted of 10 major projects several of which were the largest construction projects in the world at the time,” Andrew said.
“In addition to local contractors such as Chun Wo Construction, Hip Hing and Gammon Construction, major international companies from Japan, UK, France, Germany, Australia, New Zealand and China were delivering the projects often as joint ventures due to their size.”
To drive the company's future strategic growth in China, which was the "fastest growing economy" at the time he decided to undertake a graduate diploma in marketing management.
“I was learning on the run about a new country emerging from Mao’s Cultural Revolution. Learning about Chinese business etiquette, marketing, and consumer behaviour at a night class on a Tuesday evening and then flying to Shanghai the following day to implement newly developed marketing strategies,” Andrew said.
Before moving to Australia in 2005, he took up a position as General Manager for a joint venture company in Singapore in 1997. Unfortunately, the Asian crisis was in full swing, as the Asian Tiger economies lost their momentum, which prompted him and his family to relocate back to the UK.
Now, Andrew works for Primero, a vertically integrated engineering, procurement and construction company (EPC) with offices in Perth and North America. The company provides construction solutions across the resources and energy sector.
“Primero is currently involved in a number of exciting decarbonisation projects as clients pivot their business towards net zero carbon emissions,” Andrew
said. “These include the Hazer Group’s Demonstration Plant which converts methane into hydrogen and graphite via the Hazer Process and Woodside’s
Hydrogen Refueller@H2Perth.”
Reflecting on his project history, his favourite project has been the Chek Lap Kok Airport Terminal Building in Hong Kong.
“At the time, this was one of the largest construction projects in the world and it was inspiring to be working with companies such as Architects Sir
Norman Foster + Partners and structural engineers Arup two of the most respected companies in the world,” he said.
“My first site visit coincided with blasting activities, which effectively ‘took the top’ off the island to make way for the airport terminal building and related infrastructure.”
Career-wise, Andrew is proud of being involved with establishing joint venture companies in China in the 1990s.
“Visiting cities such as Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou, which were growing at a phenomenal rate as people moved from the country into cities to
secure work either in the construction or manufacturing sectors,” he said.
“Travel was usually a combination of rail, ferry, car and plane and on occasion all forms of transport, on one occasion taking three hours just to get
out of Shanghai for a site visit.”
Away from work, he said one of the most rewarding aspects of his journey has been raising his two sons while traveling extensively and now
welcoming the family’s first granddaughter.
Andrew's professional career and recent positions have been characterised by his passion and understanding of the energy transition, which he sees
as one of the greatest challenges in the world today.
“Energy is a critical enabler for the global economy and the energy transition needs to be responsibly managed to maintain both supply and affordability,” he said.
“There is no silver bullet solution for the globe’s energy transition, strategies need to be developed for both the short, medium and long term.
The recent events in Europe and the Middle East have provided renewed focus on conventional energy supply and the timely transition towards renewables.”
Andrew enjoys spending time with his family, traveling and is looking forward to a future caravan trip around Australia. Primero have formed a
partnership with the Perth Homeless Support Group. Andrew finds time to hand out hot drinks, food, clothing and toiletries to the homeless once a month.
“Perth may have one of the best standards of living in Australia, however on a typical Sunday morning 250 people including children will receivesupport from
the charity. This small sacrifice is both rewarding and humbling that so many people are doing it tough and are unable to find a permanent home,” Andrew said.