20 Years of SMS

SMS Group Services is now celebrating its 20th Anniversary. Twenty years that has seen it grow from a fledgling one-man operation into the successful Tier 1 business and first-choice contractor that it is today.

As a small under-resourced start-up, it would seem counter-intuitive to try to break into an established market where major players dominate the landscape. Especially a low-tech venture that requires significant initial costs, and little prospect of leveraging any advantage from new technologies or proprietary intellectual property.

Yet that is exactly what SMS has succeeded in doing – winning contract after contract against competitors who had established track records, massive stockpiles of valuable equipment and substantial capital reserves.

20 Years of History

Mark Welsh starts scaffolding business.

Operations managed from Mark’s South Perth residence.

2001

Rental of a small office in Balcatta.

QAL expansion project, Queensland.

2002

Train 4 LNG, Karratha.

2003

2004

Supplier partnership with Alquip as their alloy dealership in WA.

2005

Awarded construction work at Hismelt.

Kwinana and Wagorup Alcoa Expansion.

2006

Purchase of 400m² office and warehouse in Carlisle.

Ravensthorpe Nickel Operations.

2007

Rental of additional 750m² unit.

Purchased first 8 tonne truck.

2008

2009

Purchase of 1,500m² office/warehouse.

2010

Construction contract secured with Karara Mining Limited (KML).

2011

2012

2013

Commissioning contract with KML.

2014

Purchase of 6,000m² office/warehouse.

2015

First scaffolding & sentry services maintenance awarded.
Confined space management with KML.

2016

Access management for MSP/Tianqi lithium plant construction, Kwinana.

2017

Bunbury branch opens
Fremantle Ports maintenance contract.
Australian partner for HAKI scaffolding.

2018

Rental of additional 3,000m² hard standing.

2019

2020

SMS celebrates its 20th Anniversary.
Maintenance and shutdown continuing at Ravensthorpe.

2021