Company History

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Born in 1921 at Urunga on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Arthur McIlwain’s first experience ‘on the road’ was as a seven year old in 1928 when the family took 3 horses and a dray out to join his grandfather building roads at Yarrawich. Then followed years of living under canvas with his five siblings as the family company built roads around Armidale, Port Macquarie and Old Corella.

Arthur purchased his first truck on leaving the army in 1946 and recommenced work ‘on the road’ with his father in the Gold Coast Hinterland and Numinbah Valley. Arthur persevered in the trucking business throughout the 1950’s and in 1961 bought his first bulldozer to augment his contract cartage business. The company grew steadily throughout the 1960’s and in the early 70’s comprised a plant hire fleet of four bulldozers and drotts, trucks, rollers and a grader.

Neal McIlwain commenced with the company in 1974 and progressed through the positions of plant operator, leading hand, site foreman and construction manager. In 1984 Arthur’s second son Keith decided that ‘mud and dust’ were in his blood and joined the family business as General Manager. The business grew through the mid to late 80’s and concentrated more on civil contracting as its core business rather than its historical emphasis on plant hire.

The company was restructured in 1991 to form McIlwain Civil Engineering Pty Ltd and Arthur formally retired from the business.

Throughout his retirement, Arthur maintained a keen interest in the operations of McIlwain Civil and could often be found tinkering in the workshop at the Lytton Road premises (in between golfing and fishing expeditions)!

Sadly, Arthur passed away in July 2008 at age 87 having survived his wife Joan by only two years.

In 2009 Tim McIlwain (Neal’s son) accepted a directorship with the company having started some ten years earlier as an undergraduate engineer working part time and during semester breaks.

Tim has seen the company quadruple in size since his involvement to a turnover of $30 million with a full time staff of forty-five and with three young sons, the transition to a fourth generation appears likely.