Corporate Profile
Protected Transport Systems is a start-up company bringing long standing manufacturing and armour design together with proven project management capacity.
Executive Chairman: Derek Andrews
Derek Andrews is a Fellow of the Institute of Industrial Engineers [past Federal President]; a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Management; and a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Appointed May 1991 Derek was Chief Executive Officer, Ports Corporation of Queensland until he retired on 31 July 2001. He was in charge during a period of major cultural and structural change as the organization successfully moved to providing port services and infrastructure on a commercial basis. The Corporation was a significant developer of transport infrastructure investing almost $400 million in port-related projects in the last five years of Derek's tenure, achieving project goals in functionality and cost, on schedule.
In his current role as a Business Development Manager he develops corporate strategies for growth; improving management capabilities; and organizational outcomes of operating businesses and works with entities interested in improving enterprise productivity. Derek has a continuing interest in understanding and developing effective strategies to create wealth.
He has worked with [and on] Boards for more than 20 years; involved in establishing corporate structures; dismantling and changing structures; corporate and cultural renewal and business turnarounds.
Derek's professional experience of fifty years includes working as an industrial engineer; managing maintenance and production operations; general manager roles; and as Chief Executive Officer responsible for company operations, growth and profit.
Relevant industry experience includes: engineering factories; automotive and truck assembly; tire and general rubber products manufacture; marketing; manufacturing, importing and distribution of construction equipment.
Time spent in Sweden, Germany. USA, New Zealand, Canada, Finland, and Switzerland, was valuable in understanding management, manufacturing and distribution in global markets.
Derek contributes to the Australian Institute of Management Graduate School of Management as an Academic Board Member. He was an active member of the Institute of Industrial Engineers for 30 years, serving as Federal President and a Council member.
Director and Project Manager: J.F de Wet
Koos de Wet has been involved in the design and development of land-mine and ballistically protected vehicles since 1974 and has wide ranging experience as an armoured vehicle designer. He also has extensive experience in project managing armoured vehicle production in association with the armed forces of a number of counties including Australia. He has held a high level of security clearance from the ADF for a number of years now and most recently has been ITAR cleared in July 2009 to develop the Protector 2 in the US and to transfer and manage that IP in Australia which includes sensitive protection technology.
His pioneering work in the field of land-mine and ballistically protected vehicles has been recognised internationally and he has been invited to address visiting US Military delegations locally at the invitation of DSTO on this subject on a number of occasions and he has also delivered papers on mine protected light armour design to a number of institutions including Shrivenham military college in the UK.
Over the years he has managed a large number of protected vehicle projects in South Africa and internationally and more recently he has been involved in the following defence contracts in Australia:
- Was contracted by ADI in 1996 to re-design the Bushmaster vehicle to improve its ballistic protection and to provide blast protection (it had none at the time) within the scope of the original (very restrictive) contractual conditions negotiated by Perry Engineering before ADI acquired their interest in 1995 and then discovered that the vehicle was non-compliant in many areas.
- The design, development, industrialisation and building of the protected cabs used on the ADF Unimogs and Mack trucks
- The Chubby mine detection systems which he totally re-designed under contract in South Africa and was then contracted by DMO to assist with contract negotiations whilst with ADI to procure some of these systems for the ADF.
In addition he was also heavily involved in the design, development and industrialisation of a number of other protected vehicle projects in South Africa which included the Unimog based Buffel and the CASSPIR MPV as well as a number of light armoured vehicles in the 1000kg payload class.
More recently he has been contracted by MAV to undertake the extensive re-design and improvement of their Protector 1 vehicle.
Koos is based in Australia and brings his extensive experience to PTS in both a leadership and mentoring capacity. He is committed to training local design staff in the design of land-mine and ballistically protected vehicles and to assist with the training of project management personnel.
Director: Christopher Thornton
Chris Thornton is the Managing Director Manufacturing of the manufacturing group of Great Western Corporation. Since his appointment in 1998, business performance has improved and grown both organically and by acquisition. Headquartered in Toowoomba Australia the group is now comprised of the businesses:
- Great Western Manufacturing
- Leader bodies and Crates
- Excel Agriculture
- Great Western Tillage
The group's capabilities encompass establishing supply lines [including importing]; representing overseas suppliers; design, manufacture and service of products for: direct sale, tenderers; and other GWC businesses; and products contracted to OEMs. Some products are sold [and serviced] directly to the end users; other products are distributed through networks of independent dealers.
Great Western Manufacturing has the organizational capacity to provide complete solutions to complex sourcing, manufacturing and distribution opportunities.