General News
21 May, 2025
CopperString woes: Growth praised amidst legacy project concerns
One Hughenden business opted to deal with subcontractors, rather than CopperString's major partners.
Aaron Zammit is a hardware store owner who has tailored his trade to bypass the bureaucratic expectations of the CopperString corporate goliaths.
The Hughenden Freight and Industrial general manager said he made a decision early in the construction of the CopperString camp to target the sub-contracted tradespeople being hired by Powerlink, UGL and ATCO.
Mr Zammit said these smaller operators were more aligned with his usual customer base, which meant he did not have to make significant adjustments.
“I have worked in Melbourne and Brisbane in the past and I know how hard it is to deal with these massive top tier businesses like UGL or Powerlink,” he said.
“They don’t make it easy to do business with them and they do it on purpose because there are just so many things you have to be compliant with.
“There are different levels of CopperString procurement and the top tier has to be structured in any interaction, which is a lot for a small business to deal with.
“I focused on those sub-contractors who just have specific product needs – they need a drill, so I get them a drill – or they need a specific tool and I can just stock that.
“I realised it was going to be a nightmare to go after anything higher than that.”
Mr Zammit said by keeping his marketing strategy simple, he had seen a steady increase in sales without having to significantly overhaul his operations.
“I think there are always going to be some local businesses that will shoot for the stars and try to get that top tier business, and some of them have done that,” he said.
“There are local businesses here that have done really well from CopperString, but they are the people who understand things like capability statements and developing standard operating procedures for driving a truck or digging a hole – they have that specific business policies that Powerlink and UGL want to see.
“There is a big difference between what we do every week in Hughenden and what these big tier one organisations expect.
“If you are a small local business in Hughenden, there is no need to have environmental policies and quality assurance policies when your customers are mostly graziers or local retail trade.”
Mr Zammit, who also sits on the board of the Hughenden Chamber of Commerce, said he was concerned that CopperString legacy projects would be overlooked as the state cut project costs.
“I wish those projects had been committed to before any construction begun so we knew they were definitely going to happen,” he told North West Weekly.
A Powerlink spokesperson said it remained committed to working collaboratively on the next steps of CopperString, which included future legacy initiatives.
“We maintain clear expectations regarding our social performance and commitments, ensuring all individuals involved with CopperString demonstrate respect for the communities in which they operate,” the spokesperson said.