Charles Figallo saluted for service to business/ community with South Australian family tech engineering ventures
Charles Figallo, a self-taught engineer, took his extensive knowledge of the composite materials and corrosion protection industry overseas through family South Australian companies Basetec Services and NovaFast.
Main image courtesy Austraian Business Executive
Charles Figallo, founder of two South Australian complementary family mechanical engineering companies, Basetec Services and NovaFast, received an Order of Australia medal for services to business and community in 2017.
Figallo also was made a knight (chevalier) of the sovereign hospitaller order of St John of Jerusalem, the knights of Malta, grand priory of Australia, Adelaide commandery, in 2015, for services to its community causes.
Of Maltese background, Figallo built up extensive knowledge of the composite materials and corrosion protection industry, working in it from his teenage years. Primarily self taught in this area of expertise, Figallo’s business started from a chance encounter with some engineers who were facing a problem that he was able to confidently fix. That led to other approaches from other companies facing similar problems, and more opportunities for work, ultimately working with major company such as BHP on the Olympic Dam project in northern South Australia and BP in Brisbane.
When the New Guinea government sought Figallo’s help with on a failing water plant that was tainting townwater in West New Britain, the large contract saw the birth of the Basetec business. Figallo’s industry knowledge was taken elsewhere overseas to Iraq, Abu Dhabi and Jordan, and he became a member of the Australian-Arab Chamber of Commerce. He also began to receive offers from countries in Africa for new projects.
Figallo’s sons Paul and David joined the Basetec business and were heavily involved in the Middle East connections. From a peak of around 75 employees and several contractors, Basetec scaled down with mining and energy work but embraced a different model by setting up technical arm of the business, NovaFast, to developed its own products and technologies.
NovaFast worked closely with Australia’s universities, providing equipment for students and forming valuable working partnerships. The Basetec arm of the business continued to oversee the mechanical engineering and civil work, putting together plants and pipes, trenching, digging, laying and assembly work, before commissioning and handing over to the client. NovaFast handled the design and high-pressure work, building and designing some of the highest-pressure pipes in the world.
