With the COVID pandemic continuing, it was another big year for the Jord Group. Despite the uncertainty and challenges in business conditions, we managed to execute and deliver to our clients’ requirements and built a healthy backlog of new work to establish a strong foundation for the new year. Here are a few of our favourite things from 2021.

Securing a contract under the Supplier Innovation Program Challenge

Jord was awarded the first contract from BHP under their Supplier Innovation Program Challenge that was launched in partnership with Austmine. In January, Jord signed a Collaborative Agreement with BHP to design and construct the first prototype of its idea, working hand-in-hand with the maintenance team at BMA’s Caval Ridge Mine, near Moranbah in Queensland. Jord’s idea is a safer way to perform maintenance on filter presses that remove moisture from coal rejects at the wash plant.

Expanding our footprint and continuing to diversify

We secured new orders across industries and geographies, including: a 155 MMSCFD high temperature sour gas TEG dehydration unit and fuel gas treatment unit in the Middle East; a horizontal vacuum belt filter for the Sukari gold mine paste plant in Egypt; a significant contract to provide replacement up-rated boiler safety relief valves to a major Australian power generation supplier; the design and supply of two O-frame modularised HRSG’s installed behind Siemens SGT-800-57 GTs as part of a new 120MWe cogen plant in South East Asia; and our clean air division started delivering low energy venturi scrubbers in the agricultural sector, building on five decades of experience in mineral and chemical processing applications.

We also completed projects, including: delivering a combined lube oil and hydraulic module to the 1,650 MW Bismayah III CCPP in Baghdad; four topside modules to be installed on an offshore gas processing facilities in the North Sea; and we were excited to see the first crystals produced at BHP Nickel West, having designed and supplied the crystalliser to achieve the purity levels required for lithium-ion batteries.

Giving back to the community

Jord contributes a percentage of group profit each year to the Jord Environment Trust (JET Foundation) which has a mandate to donate funds to causes that foster a biologically diverse and sustainable planet. Through 2021, our total distributed funds exceeded $1 million and our people spent significant time providing pro-bono support. We provided ongoing support to two strategic organisations that align with our values: Bush Heritage Australia for environmental regeneration and Conservation International for establishment of a 700 sq km marine park in Indonesia.

Investing in research and development

We became an official industry partner of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Enabling Eco-Efficient Beneficiation of Minerals. The centre aims to transform Australia’s minerals industry through research around three key goals: increase energy and water productivity; improve mineral recovery; and train a new generation of research leaders to support the sector. As a partner, our minerals processing team is working with Laureate Professor Kevin Galvin and his team at the University of Newcastle to deliver new technologies at full scale in the industry.

Supporting clients remotely

Through the continuing COVID pandemic, remote inspections have helped us to overcome the challenge of having geographically dispersed teams and international clients. We undertake remote inspections by video link, which involves a local Quality Control inspector moving a camera very methodically around the modules in the fabrication workshop. A key benefit we discovered was that remote inspections allow us to refer to all the available engineering information in the office – such as the 3D model and P&IDs – at the same time that we are inspecting the equipment, resulting in more thorough collaborative reviews in real time.

Human resources industry leadership

Jord Head of People and Culture, Erin Collins was announced as a finalist for the Knowledge Access Leadership Award, which recognises best-in-class industry leadership from right around the world. Erin has developed and executed the people and culture plan, managed organisational change, supported innovation and continuous improvement.

One of our human resource highlights in 2021 was the annual internal conference. Despite being held online, it was one of the most successful conferences in the history of the company. The Olympics-themed conference sparked our competitive spirit. It involved teams from all major global offices delivering presentations to their colleagues, with some major team prizes at stake.

As 2021 draws to a close, we would like to thank all of our customers, suppliers, colleagues, friends and families for their ongoing support. We hope that everyone has a wonderful and safe break. We look forward to seeing you in 2022 when we celebrate our 50-year anniversary.