In 2017, McMahon Services Australia celebrated 60 years of family contracting tradition.
It all started on Monday, 30th January 1957, when Norwood Football Club ruck-rover Glen McMahon and wife Barb formed the G.F. McMahon Transport company, specialising in logistics and storage services.
In its early days, the family-owned business delivered local haulage operations to and from Port Vincent and Adelaide, and quickly grew to support much of the Yorke Peninsula.
In 1970, Glen and his wife Barb moved from Port Vincent to Adelaide where Glen started a waste collection company called McMahon Waste.
Glen decided to expand into demolition in 1974 and established G.F. McMahon
Demolitions. The business grew rapidly and quickly became one of the larger demolition and asbestos removal companies in South Australia.
In keeping with family traditions, Glen’s sons David and Andrew McMahon founded McMahon Services in 1990. Starting with just 12 employees, McMahon Services have grown to over 630 employees with offices in South Australia, Queensland, Western Australia,
Northern Territory, New South Wales and Victoria.
Today the company delivers projects in every state and territory in Australia, from remote outback regions to city centres and have completed projects with a combined value of more than $3 billion.
Managing Director David McMahon said, “The event marks a significant milestone in our family’s history. Our values stem from our beginnings as a small family business and our traditions have remained constant over the years, irrespective of growth.”
“Tough times brought us together and united us. I see this as a great achievement because the same family traditions that pulled us together then are still strong today. Our family business heritage sets us apart, enabling consistent, exceptional project delivery. Construction services are in our blood.”
Three generations of the McMahon family are employed across the businesses, with David’s and Andrew’s sons Tom and Hugh McMahon also working at times for the company between study.
Glen McMahon said of the 60-year milestone, “My approach has always been to be tough but fair. I fostered this attitude in my sons and the people that worked for me. You just had to get the job done, no matter what, and understand that your people are everything.”
