For 40 years, Stabilised Pavements of Australia (SPA) has pioneered the development of innovative and sustainable solutions for the roads sector. Directors, revolutionaries and good friends Warren Smith and Tom Wilmot reflect on the company’s achievements and provide some insight into SPA’s bright future.
Despite being four decades ago, many of the events of 1984 still influence our lives daily.
It was the year Steve Jobs first launched the Macintosh personal computer in the United States, the year that the one-dollar coin was first introduced in Australia and the year that Ghostbusters smashed domestic box office records.
For Warren Smith and Tom Wilmot, 1984 is also fondly remembered for the foundation of one of Australia’s most influential players in the pavement stabilisation space.
A united desire and hunger to improve outcomes for the roads and infrastructure sectors, as well as a lack of alternative solutions in the market at the time, gave way for the launch of Stabilised Pavements of Australia (SPA) and its focus on pavement recycling.
Smith, a Director of the company alongside Wilmot, says SPA’s early days were about making connections and aiming to influence a greener and greater future for the industry as a whole.
“It all started with our passion for recycling,” he says. “Over the years we’ve brushed shoulders with people who share that passion. That’s led to opportunities and the building of relationships with suppliers.”
SPA has been influential across pavement recycling and insitu stabilisation, road reconstruction, profiling, spray sealing and more, often developing solutions that are later adopted as standard across the roads sector.
The company has experience completing a variety of road construction projects. It’s also often the voice for the pavement sector, helping to represent and advocate for improved outcomes. Just one example of SPA’s support for the industry is its partnership with AustStab – the Pavement Recycling and Stabilisation Association.
As a founding member, SPA is a keen supporter of AustStab’s efforts to create sustainable roads for future generations, as the only member-driven industry association in the world for pavement recycling and stabilisation.
Every day SPA is recycling the roads of local councils, helping to save money and disruption for the community while having minimum effects on the environment. Similarly, SPA is continually delivering major infrastructure projects.
SPA contributes to both Federal and State government projects, delivering over 130 kilometres of shoulder widening for VicRoads in 2020-21 alone.
The company’s expertise and track record in delivering projects for both the public and private sectors are just some of the reasons why SPA has been so successful.
Reflecting on SPA’s 40th year anniversary, Smith says that without family, the company wouldn’t be where it is today.
“When I look back, it was a lot of hard work, and everyone contributed so much. All of us were doing that little bit extra to help the business,” he says.
“Even though we now have hundreds of employees, we’re still a family. The door’s always open. Doesn’t matter if it’s a health issue or something financial, our employees know that we’re happy to lend a hand.”
Smith says SPA has been instrumental when it comes to product development and regulation, thanks to the experience of its team and access to best-in-class facilities.
“We’ve worked on the binder supply side and worked with binder suppliers to introduce new blends and improvements to foaming agents,” he says. “We’ve not only worked for SPA, but we’ve also worked really closely with our suppliers and brought them along with us.”
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Family first
A core pillar and constant of SPA’s growth has been the organisation’s commitment to community and family, reflecting the attitudes of both Smith and Wilmot.
A big focus of SPA’s senior leadership team has been treating its employees like its customers – with respect, understanding and trust, helping to provide greater growth opportunities for the company.
“That loyalty is reciprocated by a lot of our employees, which also passes down to our customers,” Wilmot says. “We’ve built up that base of trust and created an environment where we’ve got people who are all like-minded, who want to do the right thing and are hard working.
“Our senior management predominantly consists of people who started with us on site, which goes to show that they’ve got a real understanding of the sector. That depth goes right across the business.
“They know what’s required and what it takes, and that experience is passed from the field to our offices. We’re passionate about the whole process and the sector. We never let a customer down and we don’t let our suppliers down.”
This is seen as step-by-step progress by SPA, ensuring that its solutions and specifications can provide positive outcomes for generations to come.
“A lot of our innovation isn’t just something out of the blue that’s totally different from everything else we’ve done.” Wilmot says.
“A lot of it comes from improving existing processes.
“We’ve spent a lot of our time improving our spreading techniques, improving our mixing ability and refining our mixes. We’ve made big strides in those areas.”
Having a diverse team with a variety of backgrounds and experience levels also contributes to continuing success, as Smith explains.
“It’s about innovating all the time and that’s supported by the environment that we’ve established where there are no dumb questions or ideas,” he says.
“We’ve found a nice blend between people who have been at the company for a long time and new, young people who are coming in. That cross-section is where our idea generation excels.”
David Berg, SPA Executive Director, shares the same sentiment.
“I joined SPA in year 1988 and have enjoyed being part of the growth to a national business, building a formidable team whilst encouraging the family ethos taken up eagerly by the team”.
Friendship and future
Another major highlight throughout SPA’s 40-year journey has been the friendship between Smith and Wilmot. This decades-long friendship has consisted of many tough decisions and “gambles”, all of which have helped to shape the company that SPA is today.
“It’s a pretty unique partnership,” Wilmot says. “We’ve learnt each other’s strengths and weaknesses. If I have a particular view and Warren (Smith) has another, we’ll usually meet halfway and that’s worked very well for us for years.
“Being able to work so well together, in combination has been one of our greatest strengths and it’s something that I’m very proud of.”
Both close friends say they’ve benefitted from challenging and pushing each other, an ethos that they’ve both instilled in SPA today.
“If you’re standing still, you’re going backwards,” Smith says. “You’ve got to keep on moving.”
“Everyone within our environment is a part of that process of continual improvement. That’s what excites me the most, that we’ve got so many inspired and intelligent individuals who will help to paint a brighter future going forward.
“That passion towards recycling, sustainability and cutting emissions will be fundamental to that future.”
This article was originally published in the November edition of our magazine. To read the magazine, click here.