As with many SMEs, it must have been hard for Tony Copley, in 1993, to have imagined where his then one-man-operation would lead. Some 15 years on, Darwin based CARCOM Installations now employs 15 staff members with a turnover of around $2m per year.

Significantly, CARCOM is proving its worth in the highly demanding defence industry with work installing state of the art command and control equipment into the Navy’s Armidale Class patrol boats and their rigid hull inflatable boats (RHIBS), and upgrading electronics in the Army’s M113 armoured personnel carriers.

As CARCOM Installations Managing Director, Tony Copley says the company was thrilled to be commissioned to install the new equipment into the Armidale Class patrol boats.

“The mobile asset command and control system is manufactured by Australian Technology Information based in Canberra,” Mr Copley said.  (See the Innovation article in this edition.) “ATI realised the benefits of having an experienced contractor on the ground in the vessel’s home port, and CARCOM was chosen on the basis of our track record and strong industry synergies.” 

CARCOM has rapidly increased its presence in the defence sector since 2006 where it capitialised on the benefits provided by Australian Industry Defence Network (AIDN-NT) and participation in the DMO Defence & Industry Study Course (DISC) 2007. This was followed up by CARCOM being part of a NT Government and industry delegation that made use of exposure to NT opportunities and contacts at the jointly sponsored Army and Defence Science and Technology Conference Land Warfare Conference in Adelaide in 2007. (Brisbane is the venue in October this year.)

Other CARCOM defence related contracts include working with General Dynamics Land Systems Australia upgrading electrical systems in the M113 fleet and a maintenance role with RLM involving Defence’s over-the-horizon radar system.

“Being on the ground in the area where much of the ADF hardware is based has proven mutually beneficial to both our company and prime contractors and Tier 1 contractors that typically engage us,” Mr Copley said. “I believe our strengths are in the areas of flexibility and fluidity of an SME this size, thus being able to respond to a range of requirements across the electrical/electronic sector.”

That flexibility is demonstrated by CARCOM’s diverse range of previous project work that includes roles on the Darwin to Alice Springs Railway Project, NT Police Vehicle Fleet fitouts, NT Taxi Fleet installation and maintenance, Telstra Mobile WKLAN/GPS Fleet Rollout and communication networks at mine sites.

Despite its relative isolation away from the major Australian capitals, CARCOM’s experience as an SME accessing defence industry work is a good model of success when considering the next 15 years presents significant opportunities. In this timeframe DMO will lead a huge catalogue of replacement/upgrades to ADF equipment and SMEs such as CARCOM will be needed in numbers to support the work.  

The Rigid Hull Inflatable Boats also benefit from the technology installed by CARCOM despite the company’s relative isolation as a Northern Territory SME.