With proven modular infrastructure solutions, ATCO Structures is supporting Australian energy projects with speed, reliability and national-scale delivery.
The Australian energy industry is awash with development as the country transitions from fossil fuel sources to renewable energy to meet sustainability targets and limit the impact of climate change.
It’s one thing to develop the solar, wind and batteries to generate and store the required energy, and it’s another thing to construct the transmission infrastructure to transport these resources from one jurisdiction to the next.
Yet no energy project can survive without a home for their workers, dedicated facilities for operations and maintenance (O&M), office complexes and intrinsic bathroom amenities, to name a few.
And with many energy projects located in far-flung Australian locations with limited access to critical resources, this ancillary infrastructure is all the more important.
Luckily, the Australian energy industry has a trusted infrastructure provider to turn to.
After launching in 1947 to provide housing accommodation for Canada’s oil industry, ATCO Structures was established in Adelaide in 1961 armed with modular building solutions to service Australia’s most pressing logistics concerns.
The company quickly gained a reputation for providing a trusted pair of hands, with many Australian energy developers and operators turning to ATCO Structures for modular site offices, commercial buildings, accommodation camps, and legacy housing.
With 11 sales branches throughout Australia and more than 35,000m² of undercover space across four state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities, ATCO Structures is now a market leader.
A portfolio of options
While ATCO Structures offers a wide range of solutions, its key solutions can be distilled into two verticals.
“Our Rapid Deployment Camps (RDCs) are a workforce accommodation solution that prioritise swift setup and removal, making them ideal for situations where time and mobility are critical,” ATCO Structures energy lead Brett Turpin told Energy.
“Incorporating a systemised modular formula, we combine plug-and-play modules manufactured from sustainable materials with high-quality and durable contemporary finishes that meet the home-away-from-home necessities and luxuries of those who live the FIFO (fly-in, fly-out) lifestyle.”
Available in four pre-approved sizes – 120-, 360-, 480-, and 600-person capacity – RDCs are built for convenience, leave minimal impact upon installation and a virtually untouched footprint when decommissioned.
Many of them are then reused as legacy houses to support communities well beyond the life of the project.
ATCO Standardised O&M Buildings, on the other hand, are formulated to provide a fast, fully equipped solution to suit customer budgets.
“Available in three sizes, this pre-approved turnkey solution offers short lead times and a long-term design life that encapsulates everything operations and maintenance teams need to do their job comfortably and efficiently,” Turpin said.
“These modular building designs can be manufactured and installed in a matter of weeks, expediting O&M work for energy asset teams.”
Like RDCs, Standardised O&M Buildings are constructed by ATCO’s specialist in-house team, with 75 per cent of construction occurring off site to ensure facilities are ready to support the rigorous schedule demands of the energy transition.
Turpin said ATCO Structures places as much emphasis on the construction strategy as the construction itself.
“We consider all aspects of the project prior to formulating a solution based on our knowledge of modular construction, building regulations, manning allowances, safety regulations, sustainability solutions, and quality standards,” he said.
“Additionally, our sales and design teams have extensive industry experience to deliver an end-to-end solution within budgets and in a timely manner for all clients.”
ATCO Structures’ ability to meet tight deadlines is bolstered by its national footprint of branches and manufacturing facilities.
“Our long-term tenure in Australia gives us vast local knowledge and well-placed resources to respond with multiple unique intellectual property solutions and deploy the chosen solution promptly,” Turpin said.
ATCO in action
ATCO Structures has been involved in numerous energy projects nationally ranging from the supply of site offices, amenities and large-scale workforce accommodation camps for the construction phase to O&M buildings for ongoing support of transmission and renewable energy assets.
“We currently have multiple projects under construction with many in the pipeline to come,” Turpin said.
Recent projects include a partnership with Abergeldie to design, manufacture and install a 33m x 14m O&M facility at the Mt Piper power station in NSW – a fully air-conditioned building including a laboratory, equipment control room, administration office, meeting rooms, first aid facilities, a lunch room, and bathroom amenities.
ATCO Structures also delivered a modular O&M building for Australia Pacific LNG in Biloela, Queensland, achieving an in-situ aesthetic by applying an architectural external cladding combined with a clerestory roof raised above the main structure.
The Wheatstone oil and gas project in WA benefited from the design, manufacture and installation of 357 accommodation buildings, a 2756m² office complex and a 1995m² training centre. Located within blast radius of the oil and gas operation, ATCO Structures ensured all buildings met peak overpressure of 6.2kPa.
Looking ahead
ATCO Structures has a key role to play in supporting the energy sector in 2026 and beyond, with Turpin, who has more than 20 years of experience, chosen as the dedicated lead to support energy projects nationally.
With intimate knowledge of the energy industry, Turpin can assist with the value-added adoption of ATCO IP to achieve the best project outcome.
“As a service provider, our goal is to provide solutions to developers and contractors with respect to their on-site structural needs/balance of plant so they in turn can focus on the core project,” Turpin said.
As Australia’s energy build-out accelerates and project timelines tighten, ATCO Structures’ proposition is increasingly clear: proven modular solutions delivered at speed, scale and with minimal site impact.
Backed by decades of local experience, a national manufacturing footprint and deep energy-sector know-how, the company is helping developers and operators de-risk logistics, support workforces and keep critical projects moving.
This feature appeared in the March edition of Energy.
