Western Earthmoving Celebrates 65 Years

Western Earthmoving celebrated 65 years at an anniversary dinner in Sydney with clients, partners and WEM team members on Friday 7th July. The evening was a celebration of where the business began, the business today and the future. As part of the proceedings, keynote speaker Sir Peter Cosgrove shared some of his career highlights, the importance of good leadership and the value of empowering teams to ensure they perform at their best to harness success.

The WEM business based in Seven Hills, began in 1958 and was predominantly focused on residential projects. Wal Ragg started with WEM in 1964, later purchasing the business in 1986 with his son Graham who joined the business in 1978. When Wal retired in the year 2000, Graham, now Executive Chairman, assumed leadership of the company. Today, continuing the third generation legacy, Graham’s son Michael Ragg, Chief Executive Offer, is the third generation family member leading the business into the future delivering a full service, multi-sector, multi-region civil construction company.

As one of the largest privately owned civil construction businesses in NSW, WEM’s resources and capabilities allow the team to deliver civil services required for projects on any scale and complexity, within the residential, industrial, infrastructure and open space sectors.

Executive Chairman, Graham Ragg addressed the guests reflecting on the history and legacy of Western Earthmoving, the importance of our people as a team, and acknowledged the clients and partners in the room, many of whom have worked with WEM for years.

Graham Ragg Executive Chairman said, “I’m proud of the 65th anniversary milestone for our business. Throughout my career I have always been proud of our team’s willingness and drive to find better solutions and deliver great outcomes. As I look ahead, I’m inspired by the ongoing commitment of everyone at WEM as we continue to create the places and communities we shape”

The audience also heard from Mike Ragg, CEO as he provided an overview of the business today, the rebrand and the aspirations for WEM Civil in the future.

Michael Ragg CEO said, “The foundations built over the last 65 years have established where we are today. We are incredibly proud of our legacy and as we look to future opportunities, we want to ensure we are continuing that legacy.”

The event showcased the evolution of the business from humble beginnings through to the success story of today.