Moving earth to achieve success

AN ability to work hard and to guide her family business through difficult times have paid off for managing director of Townsville Earthmoving, Teri Humphreys.

Ms Humphreys has been recognised as Business Woman of the Year in the Townsville Business Women’s Circle awards staged at The Ville Resort- Casino last Saturday.

Judges said Ms Humphreys satisfied all criteria to show outstanding leadership to adapt and diversify the company to achieve significant growth during difficult economic times.

Townsville Earthmoving, formed by her late father Bill McLachlan in 1974, is involved in all facets of civil construction, operates plant hire and undertakes project management and its own residential property development in the Northern Beaches of Townsville.

Ms Humphreys paid tribute to her mother and father, her husband and children and her “amazing” staff at the awards.

She took on the role to lead the company in 1998 after working with her father for 12 years. Through it all she managed to help raise a family, taking off just five days and eight days to bear her two sons, Dan and Ben.

“Working in the family business there was no such thing as maternity leave,” Ms Humphreys said, adding that she was able to have an extra three days off after the birth of her second son because he was a “week- end baby”. But Ms Humphreys was the right person at the right time.

After the passing of her father “I was Johnny on the spot”, she said.

Ms Humphreys helped the company adapt to challenging times in the construction industry, with staff training and the use of technology such as GPS to drive efficiencies in civil engineering.

Townsville Earthmoving also took some roles previously performed by contractors in- house.

This had helped retain the skills and work needed for the industry.

Ms Humphreys said she could see better times ahead for Townsville and declared she was “not finished yet”.

“I haven’t hit the backroads yet. I’m not going to do that for some time,” she said. “There’s still a lot to do.” Townsville Business Women’s Circle president Joanna Murray said the calibre of women in Townsville was “unique and quite phenomenal”.

Also recognised were founders and members of the former Townsville Business Women’s Network, a forerunner to the current group, which served to help celebrate women’s achievements in Townsville for more than 20 years.

In other categories, Physio Vida director Jennifer Plath was named Emerging Business Woman of the Year, Kylie Bartlett of Kim Bartlett Master Jewellers won the Empowering Woman of the Year and ANZ district manager Rachal- Ann Jones was named Corporate Business Woman of the Year.