SA business cracks $1 billion in sales after east coast buy
One of South Australia’s oldest family-owned businesses has picked up a major eastern seaboard building business – and a huge new sales figure.
Fifth-generation family-owned contracting business Ahrens has bought respected Victorian construction company Vaughan Constructions for an undisclosed sum in a bid to expand interstate.
The deal draws together two Australian family-owned stalwarts together, with almost 200 years of combined experience in the construction, steel, engineering, mining services and rural manufacturing industries.
SA-based Ahrens – a 123-year-old family-owned business that now employs nearly 2000 people – claimed it now has sales worth more than $1 billion post-acquisition. The company was ranked number 30 in InDaily‘s 2024 South Australian Business Index.
Ahrens managing director Stefan Ahrens said with Vaughan in its stable, Ahrens has a broader footprint in Victoria and New South Wales. The new company would continue to operate under its own brand, and CEO Luke Stambolis will continue as the leader of the subsidiary.
The latest deal followed Ahrens buying mining and industrial services business Farrelly Construction Services and structural steel firm ABFI Steel Group earlier this year.
Stefan Ahrens said the combination gave the company a “really strong footprint”.
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“We’re vertically integrated, so there are a lot of things we can add to the Vaughan business,” he told InDaily.
“For us, it’s pretty exciting that two family businesses are coming together – 200 years of history.”
He said Vaughan was a cultural fit with Ahrens, with both companies being family-owned.
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The acquisition would enable Ahrens to own large-scale construction projects on the east coast. He said that with land prices on the rise in Sydney, clients were looking at multi-storey warehousing projects.
“The projects are worth in excess of $100 million,” he said.
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“As land prices get higher, they’re doing multi-level warehouses. The engineering expertise is really second to none.”
Ahrens was also seeing “very strong demand” in the mining sector, he said.
The company works closely with giants like BHP. Recently, it worked on the company’s Olympic Dam airport project and its Oak Dam Exploration Hub.
Ahrens is also delivering a range of temporary and permanent shared facilities at Olympic Dam, as the mining behemoth expands.
It comes as BHP this week announced an $840 million investment in growing its massive underground copper mine at Roxby Downs. Ahrens said his company was “really keen to support BHP with their growth and their whole copper strategy”.
Vaughn Constructions CEO Luke Stambolis said the company would continue to operate under its trusted brand and management structure.
“One of the greatest strengths of this partnership is the vertical integration Ahrens brings which creates a more efficient and competitive offering for our clients,” Stambolis said.
“Together, we have the scale, sustainability and integrated resources to deliver innovative projects, transfer knowledge internally, strengthen supply chains and expand into overseas markets – all while maintaining the quality and trust our clients expect.”
Directors of Vaughan Construction, Matthew and Ken Vaughan, would remain with the merged business as external advisors.
Matthew Vaughan said the most important part of the transition was ensuring the company’s people and legacy were in safe hands.
“Ahrens is a business that shares our values of integrity, transparency and trust – we are eager to see Vaughan Constructions flourish into new regions and larger projects with the backing of Ahrens, while still maintaining the personable, family-driven culture that sets us apart,” he said.
Correction: An earlier version of this story claimed the company was valued at more than $1 billion. The company actually claims it has more than $1 billion of sales post-acqiusition.
