Our road to success.

At Stornoway we’re always up for the biggest challenges. It’s been that way since day one. That’s going back over 30 years now. When frankly, we were caught between the proverbial rock and a hard place. The dairy industry was about to take a huge downturn. So it didn’t look good for our family farm – “Stornoway”. However, a rich deposit of gravel on the property presented a possible way forward. So with the gritty determination of our Scottish namesakes, from the wind-swept community of Stornoway, we started to construct a new future for ourselves. This proved to be our road to many major infrastructure and company achievements. These achievements have dramatically changed the shape of many areas, and lives, throughout Australia. They have also shaped our belief that we should be constantly rethinking tomorrow.

“To grow the quarrying business I needed someone else onboard. Philip Bowden had just completed fencing the new railway between Launceston and Bell Bay, and it seemed to me that anyone willing to do that, was good value. That started a 27 year partnership and we never looked back from there.”

Alan Gardner, Founder, Stornoway

Stornoway Milestones

1976

Alan Gardner establishes Stornoway Gravel in partnership with Philip Bowden, supplying road gravel to the Launceston area.

1983

Stornoway Gravel wins Tasmania’s first road contract for the upgrading of the Lake Leake Highway.

1984-1999

Stornoway progressively develops as one of Tasmania’s leading civil contractors, specialising in road pavement finishing work. Numerous major road construction projects are undertaken throughout the state, including significant upgrades on all major highways.

1996

Stornoway builds the West Coast Link Road through Tasmania’s remote and environmentally sensitive north-west forests. Stornoway becomes the first Tasmanian company to achieve Environmental Management System certification to ISO 14001.

1998

Stornoway partners with CSR Emoleum to deliver routine asset maintenance services under the 10 year Southern Tasmanian Long Term Road Maintenance Contract. Stornoway Maintenance is established.

1999

Recognising the increasing demand for a more specialist environmental focus, Stornoway Environmental is established to drive interstate expansion.

Stornoway wins the first interstate project, undertaking environmental rehabilitation works for Parks Victoria.

2000

Stornoway installs lighting and upgrades Launceston’s York Park oval to AFL standard. AFL players now consider the playing surface as one of Australia’s best.

2001

Stornoway undertakes it’s first major Rockfall control project, blasting, meshing and bolting sections of the Alpine Way through Victoria’s high country.

2003

Stornoway commences one of the largest rockfall control projects carried out in Australia, installing a protection system over 50,000m2 of rockface in a Queensland coal mine.

Stornoway is now well established nationally delivering specialised projects across Tasmania, Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland.

2005

Stornoway completes construction of Melbourne’s largest potable water transfer station at Greenvale and establishes Stornoway Water with a focus on providing high-quality water and wastewater treatment and recycling solutions.

Stornoway Water’s first treatment plant is successfully commissioned for a shopping centre west of Brisbane.

2006

Stornoway Water launches AQEO® packaged water and wastewater treatment and recycling systems. The quarrying business carves out a 30 year milestone.

2007

Stornoway Water builds and installs a wastewater recycling system for a large Queensland coal mine. The system recycles all wastewater from a 600-person accommodation camp.

A fully transportable Aqeo Membrane Bioreactor wastewater recycling system is successfully developed.

2008

Stornoway enters a period of office relocation with all divisions moving to new premises. Stornoway Group offices are moved from Raeburn in northern Tasmania to the new office location in Davey Street, Hobart providing a central location for company management. A Maintenance depot is set up in Devonport as the hub of all our activities in order to service the North West road maintenance contract win. Our Water division outgrows its current location and moves to bigger premises which allows for a larger workshop space to aid in construction of plants. With the closure of the Raeburn office, Stornoway Quarrying moves on site to the quarry providing greater efficiencies to the team there.

Tim Gardner takes over as the Director of Stornoway Group with the sad passing of company co-founder, Alan Gardner.

2009

Stornoway Water wins first international contract for a defence project in Malaysia and continues to work with leading mining companies in the supply of wastewater treatment solutions. Stornoway Quarrying expands with the acquisition of Industrial Sands and Silica providing the company the opportunity to provide high quality washed and screened sands as well as decorative stone product. Stornoway Maintenance continues to grow with project work from the likes of Hydro Tasmania and local government work.