CC Pines
CC Pines is a family-owned construction business that delivers complex projects in remote locations and uses a unique model for constructing modular components in Australia and shipping them worldwide.
Need
CC Pines identified a growth opportunity to support the US Department of Defense in the Indo-Pacific region, but to secure contracts it needed surety bonds in place.
Solution
We provided CC Pines with the bonds it needed to secure two contracts for the US Department of Defense.
CC Pines is a family-owned construction business that has been operating for nearly 50 years, primarily serving Government entities in Australia, including the Australian Defence Force and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
The business specialises in delivering complex projects in remote locations and has developed a unique model for constructing modular components in Australia and shipping them worldwide.
After identifying a growth opportunity to support the US Department of Defense in delivering its plans to invest $40 billion in infrastructure across the Indo-Pacific, CC Pines began bidding on tenders but needed additional financial support to secure the opportunities.
“We realised a lot of the American construction firms didn’t have experience in this part of the world,” explained Ben Pines, Executive Chairman at CC Pines.
Export Finance Australia saw the opportunity for us as a business – the team understood what we needed and what we wanted to do.
Ben Pines
Executive Chairman, CC Pines
“We saw an opportunity for CC Pines to be a viable construction provider, both in Australia and right through the Indo-Pacific region, and then we started bidding on some of the work.”
However, to win US defence contracts, businesses are required to provide bonds to tender on a contract and secure a contract if their bid is successful, Mike Foster, Managing Director at CC Pines highlighted.
“Looking at the procurement processes for the US Department of Defense, we learned about the requirement for surety bonds and that you have to have them in place to secure these contracts – and that became the hurdle.”
These bonds can be as high as 200% of the total value of the work being tendered for and are put in place by the US Department of Defense to guarantee the work will be completed. These bonds can only be issued by providers accredited by the US government. In Australia, accredited providers are limited and the handful of financiers that can provide surety bonds typically only support larger companies.
Bonds and beyond
Fortunately, we were able to step in and provide the support that CC Pines needed.
We supported CC Pines with surety bonds to secure two tenders from the US Navy. The contracts, worth more than US$24m combined, were awarded by the US Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command (NAVFAC) for the construction of US Air Force Squadron Operations Facilities at RAAF Bases Darwin and Tindal in the Northern Territory.
Reflecting on the support we provided, Mike highlighted that we had a significant impact on the growth of the business.
“Export Finance Australia has been a vital partner in our international expansion. Its tailored financial solutions and deep understanding of our industry have been invaluable.”
Looking forward, Mike said CC Pines will continue to grow its export business with our support and is now looking to expand its client base.
Explore more customer stories
CC Pines
We supported CC Pines with bonds to secure contracts with the US Department of Defense.
McGregor Coxall Australia
McGregor Coxall Australia (Trading as McGregor Coxall) is an interdisciplinary design firm that offers a range of services,...
Digicel Pacific
In partnership with the Australian Government, Telstra acquired Digicel Pacific, the leading mobile telecommunications and...