News

• Albemarle awards $70 million contract to Compass Group Remote Hospitality Services
• Contract to cover onsite catering, accommodation, cleaning, security, health and lifestyle, grounds services and facilities management
• The Paris Grove Community Reference Group has launched and will provide valuable input and feedback on village operations

Albemarle, a global leader in providing essential elements for mobility, energy, connectivity and health, has awarded a major contract to Compass Group Remote Hospitality Services to operate and maintain the Paris Grove workforce accommodation precinct in Australind, near Bunbury in Western Australia.

The $140 million Paris Grove village is now under construction and will provide accommodation during rosters for up to 800 people working on the $2 billion expansion of Albemarle’s nearby Kemerton Lithium Hydroxide Processing Plant.

The contract to operate and maintain Paris Grove is valued at just under $71 million and spans three years with extension provisions. Compass Group’s ESS Support Services Worldwide arm will be responsible for the contract and is highly experienced in operating modern workforce accommodation in a variety of settings in Western Australia and across Australia.

Around 70 people will be employed by the company on a rolling roster with the company seeking to employ as many local people as possible. A range positions is now being advertised, including roles with flexible working hours to support school hours work. Check https://careers.compass-group.com.au/home-page

Albemarle’s Paris Grove Operations Manager Grant Barrow said the village was being developed as a sustainable, long term accommodation precinct specifically to support Kemerton plant expansion.

“Paris Grove will be a modern, high quality and purpose-built village accommodating around 800 rostered workers and taking pressure off existing rentals and short term accommodation in the South West,” he said.

“Albemarle is setting out to positively change the approach to village management and operations and Compass Group will help us implement a healthy and safe culture for our workers – in line with recommendations of the recent WA Government resource sector inquiry.”

Located near Australind’s Spud Shed, the village design is landscape-led and is being built by Grounded Construction Group. Compass Group’s ESS will roll out and maintain all onsite catering, accommodation, cleaning, security, health and lifestyle programs, grounds services and facilities management.

Mr Barrow said innovations at Paris Grove would include secure access and check in/check out linked to a Compass Group App called ‘Guesst’ (Guesst), and comfortable and stylish queen bed villas with superior mod-cons including flat screen tvs, silent fridges, and blackout and noise-reducing features.

“A local leading interior designer has also been working on the village dining area to be a harmonious backdrop to what will be diverse and rotating high quality menu, prepared in a state-of-the-art commercial grade kitchen,” he said.

“Recreation facilities and personalised and group health and wellbeing programs, including fitness activities will be very important and Albemarle is working closely with Compass Group on a range of measures to support psychosocial health at Paris Grove.”

Mr Barrow said Albemarle was committed to smoothing the entry of Paris Grove into the Australind community and to ensuring that village operations started out and remained first class. As part of this, the Paris Grove Community Reference Group (CRG) was recently formed and will be just one of the ways that Albemarle will consult and gain feedback from Australind residents.

The Compass Group contract award follows the recent Albemarle announcement of two other major Kemerton expansion contracts including a $330 million contract to UGL, part of the CIMIC Group, and a $200 million plus contract to Monadelphous.

Albemarle’s Kemerton Expansion Project will see construction of processing trains three and four with plant capacity set to double at full capacity to up to 100 ktpa (100,000 metric tonnes) of lithium hydroxide each year.

Albemarle’s VP, Capital Projects Australia, Josh Rowan said the contracts were among the largest ever awarded by Albemarle and that the Compass Group/ESS Contract was the first workforce accommodation contract ever awarded by the company in Australia.

“We are Australia’s largest producer and manufacturer of lithium and our Kemerton plant is about to get a whole lot bigger,” Mr Rowan said. “Construction of trains 3 and 4 is set to create over 1000 new jobs across all of our major contractors and Albemarle has recently launched an intensive three-month recruitment drive in support of our major Kemerton contractors.

“We are particularly pleased that Compass Group is seeking to employ as many local people as possible to run and manage Paris Grove with the variety and flexibility of roles set to be very attractive to local job seekers.”

Mr Rowan said that workers interested in being a part of the clean energy transition by helping to expand the biggest and most productive lithium hydroxide processing plant in the nation, should visit the Compass Group website and link to jobs across all other major contractors at www.albemarle.com/careers