From the moment two young entrepreneurial New Zealand engineers sat down in 1961 with a vision to do things better than the company they worked for, McConnell Dowell was born. Since then, innovation and creative construction have remained at the heart of everything we do.
Timeline
| 1961 |
McConnell Dowell is formed by two entrepreneurial New Zealand engineers Malcolm McConnell and Jim Dowell. |
| 1965 | A massive step forward when the Company wins the contract for the Marsden Point off-shore circulatory water cooling system, then the largest submarine pipeline in New Zealand. The design solution was a world first in marine technology. |
| 1971 | The first overseas office is established, with an independent company in Singapore. |
| 1972 | Melbourne's Yarra River gas pipeline crossing gives McConnell Dowell a springboard into Australia, and is the first of a number of major pipeline projects in this country. |
| 1983 | The 480km oil pipeline Jackson Blairmore section of the Jackson Moonie pipeline project, Queensland, completed in just over six months, establishes McConnell Dowell as the leading pipeline Company in South East Asia. |
| 1986 | The 550km 14 inch diameter gas pipeline, middle spread of the Alice Springs to Darwin completed in six months. |
| 1992 | The awarding of the Kutubu oil pipeline contract in Papua New Guinea consolidates the Company's reputation as an international expert in remote location projects. |
| 1995 | |
| 1997 | |
| 2000 | The company, in joint venture, delivers one of the largest jetty developments in the southern hemisphere, the Very Large Crude Carrier project in Singapore, involving civil, mechanical and pipelines. David Robinson becomes CEO. |
| 2003 | Aveng Limited buys 100% of McConnell Dowell shares. |
| 2005 | McConnell Dowell, in joint venture, is awarded the contract for the design and construct of the marine facilities for Hin Leong Trading Pty Ltd. This Project is the largest single Marine Terminal to be constructed in Singapore. |
| 2006 | McConnell Dowell secures its first major marine project in the Pibara region of Western Australia for BHP. Over the next 10 years, the company would deliver close to a dozen major marine projects for mining heavyweights such as Rio Tinto, BHP, FMG and Roy Hill to support Australia's iron ore boom. |
| 2008 | McConnell Dowell teams up with Built Environs for the first time to deliver the Common User Facility project in Adelaide. McConnell Dowell also buys a stake in the building company. |
| 2010 | McConnell Dowell receives 26 safety awards and 6 construction awards. The company buys 100% of building company Built Environs. |
| 2011 | McConnell Dowell is awarded the Waterview Connection project (Auckland), as part of an Alliance to build Australasia’s largest ever road tunnel. |
| 2012 | McConnell Dowell is awarded Holcim Jetty project which will facilitate the unloading of coal and loading of product for improved trade at Tuban, East Java, Indonesia. |
| 2013 | The Seaford Rail project in South Australia is completed, marking the construction of the longest incrementally launched bridge (1,100 metres) in the Southern Hemisphere. |
| 2014 | McConnell Dowell reaches the final stages of the Gold Coast Light Rail project, which will revolutionize the public transport system of Australia's tourist mecca. |
| 2015 | Scott Cummins joins the McConnell Dowell Group as CEO. |
| 2017 | McConnell Dowell is awarded a number of significant projects including the Murray Basin Rail Upgrade and Tuas Road Bridges. The Waterview Connection project is successfully completed. The Webb Dock Port Capacity project wins the prestigious Australian Construction Achievement Award. Aveng confirms recapitalisation of the business. |
| 2018 | Work ramps up on the Western Program Alliance - a program of level crossing removals throughout metro Melbourne that will eventually grow into a contract worth more than A$2.0 billion. |
| 2019 | The Company secures its second Australian Construction Achievement Award in two years with the award going to the Chith Marine Export Facility, delivered in partnership with Rio Tinto in Queensland. |
| 2020 | Despite the COVID 19 pandemic, McConnell Dowell experiences significant growth. New leadership of our building brand, Built Environs, sees successful expansion into Victoria and continued growth in South Australia and New Zealand. |
| 2021 |
McConnell Dowell celebrates 60 years of Creative Construction. |
