Fred Taylor has been building Indigenous Mining and Civil Australia Pty Ltd (IMACA) for more than six years on the foundations of civil construction knowledge, capability, and experience.

Mr Taylor has 30 years of experience in construction. Alongside Liam McKinney, he founded IMACA to realise a vision of building a culturally aware workforce that provides long-term employment for Indigenous people.

IMACA is a majority Aboriginal-owned company which integrates five decades of civil construction experience, delivering concrete, drainage and earthworks projects throughout the state, with a commitment to creating a sustainable and prosperous Indigenous business sector in Western Australia.

A vital turning point for the emerging company was an important joint venture contract working on reconstruction after floods devastated the Fitzroy Valley and wider Kimberley in late 2022 and early 2023.

Mr Taylor told The Indigenous Business Review that this important work set IMACA "off and running".

IMACA played a vital role in building the new bridge across the Martuwarra / Fitzroy River, reconnecting Fitzroy Crossing and surrounding communities to the west by road.

It was IMACA's first project and they completed the work six months ahead of program, setting the tone for a workplace culture strongly focused on diligence and dedication.

"We have come a long way," Mr Taylor said.

IMACA is now B1 tier with Main Roads, opening up a range of important opportunities.

"We are building our way up - B1, B2, B3 - we'd want to be sitting there at B3, directly building ourselves for the client. We'll get there," he said.

IMACA strives to hit a target of 10 per cent Indigenous employment on every job they take on.

Navin (confirming full name and role in the company shortly) said the company takes a strong stance on worksite health and safety, including the issue of drugs and alcohol, and defines success as "pricing the work right and completing the work without doing any rework, and delivering customer satisfaction", noting that this is why IMACA gets called back for more jobs from established clients.

Civil construction services provider Calroc is a shareholder of IMACA. Specialising in project management, formwork, reinforcement, and concrete, the organisation has built a reputation for delivering high-quality projects throughout Western Australia.

Together, the two companies combine their engineering approach and industry knowledge, working collaboratively to bring employment opportunities to Indigenous people while delivering quality civil construction projects for their clients.

Mr Taylor said as IMACA expands it will be in a position to take on more Indigenous school leavers and train them in key skills for the sector.

"I think as we grow and we win major jobs by ourselves, we can - down in Byford, where we build all the precast stuff to put on site - that's a great opportunity for young Aboriginal people to come through and build their way up," he said.

"It's hard work, you know, but the opportunities are there if young people want to come and work for us."

Mr Taylor said the most rewarding thing about building IMACA has been seeing communities energised by employment opportunities.

"When we first got Fitzroy and did that, the whole Fitzroy Crossing community was working, and not on CDP money, they were employed by all the contractors that were there as part of that bridge," he said.

"There were more than 10 different contractors in the town, probably 15, and I would see the Traditional Owners of Fitzroy, all the mob, dressed up in their PPE gear early in the morning, going to work, going home, or the ones that were in the camp where I stayed. It was the whole town. It was a great story, a great outcome to see everyone earning a good wage and fixing their own town.

"And then they did Brooking Channel. That was the next thing."

Mr Taylor said the opportunities also build hope and optimism in communities.

"It's about hope - knowing there's more work coming. And I noticed there were a few Aboriginal contractors, not just ourselves, there were local contractors around the district, around the area on that East Kimberley site, doing things.

"It's about the economy. It's about our people being involved in that, getting a piece of the wealth of major construction jobs."

In terms of the future, Mr Taylor said IMACA was now pursuing work in South Australia.

With the company looking to expand around the country, Navin (confirming details shortly) noted that New South Wales benefits from having a statewide Indigenous Chamber of Commerce promoting Aboriginal-owned businesses.

"It doesn't happen overnight," Mr Taylor said. "It takes time to build the foundation and a good name."

In terms of advice to aspiring and emerging Indigenous businesspeople, Mr Taylor encouraged them to follow their hearts.

"Look at what you're passionate about, and ask 'is it going to help the wider community?'," he said.

"And you've got to pick a good name that's catchy... marketing - tell your story, it's something that's really strong in your business.

"Take it easy. Slowly. Start, build up, you know."