Managing director Peter Hay said growth in engineering services for the coal industry is expected to be driven by spending on new coal developments, capacity upgrades of existing operations and refurbishment of existing facilities.

“New entrants to the industry are likely to seek service providers like Sedgman to provide operational expertise. In a strongly expanding market, Sedgman’s delivery capacity and experience should result in numerous growth opportunities,” Hay said.

Barlow Jonker, a provider of consulting and information services to the resources industry, has forecast strong coal production growth in each of Sedgman’s key geographical markets.

In Australia alone, saleable coal production is set to increase 25% from 2005 to 2010, a rise of 77 million tonnes.

The majority of this increase represents demand from the export market for both metallurgical and thermal coal, requiring investment in coal handling and preparation plant facilities. This is supported by planned port capacity expansion from 265Mt in 2005 to 337Mt in 2010.

“Beyond fiscal 2007, we believe that the growth in the Australian coal market will continue to deliver business opportunities with new coal developments, capacity upgrades and refurbishment of existing coal handling and preparation plant facilities,” Hay said.

“This continued expansion and the continued propensity for outsourcing of operations and maintenance by resource owners means Sedgman can continue to expect – and deliver – solid growth in our order book.

“We have already created a powerful and successful company in coal; the opportunity now for us is to do the same in the metalliferous sector through Pac-Rim. This is set to be a big challenge for us in the year ahead but one that I look forward to immensely.”