Stephen Tormey
CEO
Senior Executive, and business builder with 20 years’ experience working in various geographical regions Globally, responsible for an impressive collection of businesses and projects from concept through design, evaluation and costing to completion and profitability. As Chief Operating Officer Stephen’s focus is on ensuring rigorous governance, discipline with clear strategic direction and appropriate risk management are upheld guaranteeing the ability to develop and maximise the potential of Bennco Eng.
Email LinkedInRhys Gardiner
COO
Rhys has over 20 years of experience in the mining industry having started his career with Monadelphous where he was responsible for assessing and maintaining the structural integrity of iron ore fixed plant and Warf assets, crucial for efficient and cost-effective mining operations. After gaining valuable experience in the mining industry, Rhys moved into iron ore mining, holding a range of Maintenance Management and Management positions across several projects in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. Through his experience, Rhys has gained in-depth knowledge of the operational side of mining and in 2018 joined Bennco Engineering as Site Manager, growing it to be one of Australia’s most recognised Integrated Engineering Solutions businesses.
Following on from his success in managing IES, Rhys was appointed to Bennco Engineering’s Executive Team and in the role of Chief Operations Officer,IES, is responsible for the full scope of engineering services, including IES,Logistics and Energy. He will be working to strengthen Bennco Engineering’s capabilities in fixed plant and heavy mobile equipment, energy, camps, and construction as we accelerate our growth in these areas.
In addition, Rhys is responsible for business development activities and ensuring Bennco Engineering delivers on key projects currently under development.
Dennis Were
Business Unit Manager (TP/MDO)
Dennis joined Bennco Eng in November 2018 and has over 30 years’ experience in project delivery across Australia and internationally. He has extensive experience leading multidisciplinary project delivery teams through Design, Engineering, Construction, Commissioning, and handover.
During his time with Bennco Eng, Dennis has worked as Manager of Projects, General Manager Infrastructure and Development, and as Executive General Manager Construction. He has overseen many of our Build, Own, Operate development projects including our Tom Price and Para iron ore projects, Marandoo and Gudai Darri projects, plus many major client projects. He is currently leading several growth projects, including construction for our Our newly workshops project.
Rod Smallacombe
Business Unit Manager (PARA)
Rod joined Bennco Eng in October 2019 and has over 35 years’ experience in project delivery across Pilbara Region, especially Paraburdoo.
Rod is a qualified boilermaker with over 35 years of experience, he is responsible for the fabrication department at Bennco Eng. With his hands-on role, he can actively ensure safety, quality and timing on all fabrication projects is upheld. He has over 11 years extensive experience leading multidisciplinary project delivery teams through Design, Engineering, fabrication, Construction, Commissioning, and handover with one mining giant company Rio Tinto & BHP. During his time with Bennco Eng.
As a member of various project management leadership teams, Rod have successfully executed projects in the capacity of Manager, Engineer, QA/QC inspections at all levels. He has overseen many of our Build, Own, Operate development projects including our Flagship Paraburdoo workshop project, plus many major client projects.
David Motsotsoana
Business Development Manager
David was appointed Business Development Manager, Tom Price Iron Ore in 2024.David has been in mining industry for more than 20 years in a variety of operating and business development roles across a number of commodities. Prior to his current role, David was Mine Manager from 2019 to 2022.
David has a deep understanding of the mining industry business and customers globally.
He is focused on transforming our business’s operational growth performance and focus on creating value and growth across Bennco Eng by working closely with our clients, assets and building strong partnerships with our main key customers,communities, First Nations, Indigenous people including stakeholders.
Shaun Kane
Operations & Projects Coordinator
Shaun joined Bennco Engineering 2022, was appointed Project Manager in 2023 and then Operations & Projects Coordinator in 2024.
As Operations & Projects Coordinator, Shaun brings extensive commercial expertise from working across Shire of Ashburton for over 20 years as General Manager. Shaun is strongly focused on various number of projects, investing in the commodities essential for fixed plants and delivering attractive returns to the business while maintaining financial discipline.
Shaun brings strong operational expertise combined with a track record of delivering future focused sustainability outcomes for the business and he also plays a leading role in many sustainable initiatives to help us reach our business ambitions.
Mark Basher
Workshop Superintendent
Experienced Heavy diesel mechanics with a strong background in the mining industry maintenance.
Seven years of service with Rio Tinto, joined our company in 2022,bringing expertise in heavy equipment repair,maintannce,and troubleshooting.
Proven ability to work efficiently in fast-paced environmemts,ensuring optimal equipment performance and minimizing downtime.
Bennco Engineering is happy have him on board, and his experience has been instrumental in driving our success. His experience has been a game-changer for our clients, and we are confident he will continue to deliver exceptional results.
Luke Hu
Senior Project Engineer
Luke had been appointed since Jan 2022 and has more than 10 years’ experience in the design (Solidworks, MicroStation & Ansys), engineering, construction, and operation of minerals processing plants, mechanical and infrastructure, both in Australia and internationally.
Luke’s qualifications include a master degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Melbourne and he is a fellow Member of Engineers Australia. His principal industry areas of focus are currently on engineering, resources, and energy.
Matthew Spinks
Workshop Superintendent
Matthew was appointed workshop superintendent in 2022, he brings wealth of expertise onboard in managing and overseeing Bennco Eng workshop operations, leading teams and ensuring efficient maintenance and repair of our HEM. Matt focus more on quality control and assurance, safety management, customer service including communication.
Matt has improved workshop productivity by 90% through process optimization and efficient resource allocation and achieved 8% reduction in maintenance costs through effective budgeting and cost control. He has developed and implemented a comprehensive safety program, resulting in 12 months consecutive months without any LTI.