History
Downer originated in New Zealand in 1933 as Downer & Co, a privately owned company that was to become the foundation of Downer’s engineering division. Downer & Co was established by an engineer, the late Arnold Fielder Downer, CBE, and focused on providing engineering and construction services to the public and private infrastructure sectors in New Zealand, including the New Zealand Public Works Department.
Downer & Co played a significant role in the creation of a number of major public infrastructure assets in New Zealand, including the road, rail, water and power systems. Notable heritage projects in New Zealand involving Downer & Co include the Homer Tunnel accessing Milford Sound (1935–1940), Rimutaka Tunnel (1951–1955), Cook Strait Ferry Terminal for passenger and freight operations (1960), Lower Nihotupu Dam (1948), Lower Wairarapa Valley flood prevention scheme (1964–1984) and New Plymouth Power Station (1972).
Today, Downer is a supplier of services to the infrastructure, mining, metals and energy sectors in New Zealand, Australia, the Asia-Pacific region and the United Kingdom. It provides a range of services to its clients across the whole life cycle of their physical infrastructure assets, from “front end” consulting and design through to the creation, operation, maintenance, upgrade/expansion and final decommissioning.
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