What goes up must come down. No one understands that better than Liberty Industrial.
Founded in 2008, Liberty Industrial is a leading demolition firm based in New South Wales, Australia, specializing in industrial deconstruction contracting and consulting services. As a major provider of deconstruction, remediation and civil works, the Australian-based company has received international acclaim for completing some of the largest and most technically complex demolition projects in the southern hemisphere to date.
Offerings
Liberty Industrial offers a broad range of integrated capabilities through consultancy and contracting services. The company provides decommissioning and hazardous materials removal, dismantling and demolition, land remediation, site rehabilitation and site preparation services, as well as industrial demolition and closure consulting and engineering services.
“We typically undertake very large, complex demolition projects,” said Clinton Dick, Director of Liberty Industrial. “We handle a lot of mining assets and removal, oil refineries, and large power stations. Recently, we’ve been transiting into civil and remediation.”
According to Dick, Liberty acquired a civil company in 2014 and has since been transitioning the business into a remediation company, offering a diverse range of services that include: contaminated and hazardous waste remediation, soil stabilization and solidification, bio-remediation, bulk excavation, detailed excavation, and offsite disposal of materials.
Liberty Industrial is one of the few demolition companies to obtain SAI Global Certificate for Occupational Health & Safety Management System (AS/NZS 4801:2001), Environmental Management System (ISO 14001:2004) and Quality Management System (ISO 9001:2008).
“We have the right environmental and accredited people on board and we’re starting to see some great results from the work we’re generating,” said Dick. “Australia is the mecca of the mining industry and we’re getting a lot of closure projects for demolition and remediation work here.”
“It’s something we wanted to offer our clients,” said Dick. “We want to be a one-stop-shop.”
Competitive advantage
Because Liberty handles some of the largest and most challenging projects Australia has to offer, client expectations and concerns are at an all-time high. The Australian firm has built a solid reputation for exceeding expectations by delivering safe, effective results on time and on budget.
The company does this through state-of-the-art 3D structural modeling and analysis technology under its partnership with Applied Science International (ASI).
“The software allows us to put together a visual of the structure and showcase our capabilities to the client,” said Dick. “Other competitors don’t have that ability. It’s a terrific tool and helps set us apart from our competitors.”
ASI’s Applied Element Method (AEM), coupled with Extreme Loading for Structures (ELS), is the world’s first tool to accurately analyze and simulate ‘real-time’ structural collapse from the point of loading through cracking, element separation, and total collapse.
The unique simulation technology allows Liberty to model a structure and then run and test several different plans and 'what-if' scenarios. The software gives them the ability to visually demonstrate what will happen in any given scenario to the client.
“These structures are massive and often weigh around 20,000 tons and stand at 100 meters tall. It’s not easy to just make them collapse and have them to go where you want,” explained Dick. “So the tool allows us to show the client how we’ll handle the project.”
“We’re able to undertake workshops with clients and show them what we’ve done in the past,” Dick added.
The software also enhances Liberty’s commitment to safety. The ASI Australia 3D modeling is utilized to simulate falling structure thereby reducing the project risks by simulating the activity before actual execution.
Projects and awards
Liberty Industrial’s impressive portfolio of completed projects needs no introduction as their latest and most extensive work includes:
Boodarie HBI Facility
From May 2011 till May 2012, Liberty Industrial commenced the deconstruction work on the Boodarie project in the Pilbara region of Western Australian. The project, which was commissioned by BHP Billiton – the world’s largest mining company – required the demolition of a briquetting structure, a reactor structure and a gas plant. The project presented a unique challenge for the company as the removal of the reactor – measuring 104 meters high – represented the largest demolition project undertaken in the southern hemisphere in 15 years. With skill and grace, Liberty Industrial completed the projects in just 12 months.
Hlsmelt Facility
Another award-winning project by Liberty Industrial includes the dismantling and relocation of Rio Tinto’s High Intensity Smelting (HIsmelt) facility in Kwinana, Western Australia. The project was the first of its kind involving the complex dismantling of significant components of industrial plant, which had never been attempted in Australia.
According to the company, more than 7,000 tons of industrial plant and equipment including four bulk shipments of over 18,000 cubic meters and 300 shipping containers of plant and equipment were salvaged and shipped 7,600 kilometers away to Shandong Province in China. Over 2,000 bulk units were methodically dismantled, cleaned to export standard, match marked, labeled, recorded and packed, with each item given clear instructions on how to be reassembled in China.
Hammerhead Crane
In 2014, Liberty Industrial was commissioned by the Department of Defence for the deconstruction of the historic Hammerhead Crane in Woolloomooloo, NSW. Along with the removal of the structure, the project had a substantial salvage component for the preservation of numerous historically significant components of the crane.
“With the preservation of some of Australia’s richest and rarest industrial and maritime heritage, the project showcases Liberty Industrial’s dismantling and salvage capabilities, reinforcing our position in the industry as deconstruction specialists,” said Dick.
Shell Clyde Refinery
Liberty Industrial is currently underway with the demolition and removal of the former Shell Clyde Refinery in New South Wales. The 18-month project was commissioned by Viva Energy Australia and part of the Clyde Terminal Conversion Project.
“The project entails the removal of the refinery as well as a redevelopment project, including a remediation process, to convert the refinery site into a fuel import terminal facility,” said Dick.
According to Dick, planning and preparations for the project are under way for future and a controlled explosive demolition is scheduled for early 2016. The culmination will see five chimney stacks demolished concurrently through the controlled use of explosives.
Accolades
Liberty Industrial continues to be a force to be reckoned with and it shows in the accolades they receive.
“Last year was a big year for us. We won the World Industrial Demolition and the overall 2014 World Demolition Award for the HISmelt project, which was one of the largest jobs in the country. It was an extremely large demolition and the remediation was enormous at 100,000 cubic meters.”
This year, the company was a finalist in two categories – Contractor of the Year, and Explosive Contractor of the Year – for the 2015 World Demolition Award for their Omega Tower Demolition and Hammerhead Crane Deconstruction Project. The company took home the Explosive Award for their demolition work of the Omega Transmission Tower, which is reserved for unusually complex or demanding demolitions involving the use of controlled explosives.
“We're extremely excited to win this award,” said Dick. “It really showcases Liberty's diversity and skill set within the demolition industry.”
For Liberty, the recent awards only confirm what hard work, dedication and strong teamwork can achieve.