John O’Connor
John O’Connor explains how Diona Civil Engineering Contractors is taking it one step at a time to build on its already long-standing legacy.
As one of the most respected civil engineering companies on the east coast of Australia, Diona Civil Engineering Contractors has developed an enviable reputation over its 34 years of operation. Since its establishment in 1980, founder and Managing Director John O'Connor has worked with his loyal team to deliver a range of high-quality and on-time projects. John says the company has grown steadily over the past three decades.
"I guess I just wanted to get away from being a direct employee and I saw an opportunity there," says John. "I started off with just one man and one machine, and the company has grown tremendously since then. We just got more machinery and more people as we developed."
Originally a contractor business, Diona is now a major player in the industry with the company securing government contracts and taking on large tenders. Today, Diona is an accredited service provider to Ausgrid, Energex, TransGrid, Sydney Water, Brisbane Water, APA, Jemena, Telstra, and many other asset owners, including local councils across the greater Brisbane and Sydney regions. John believes that it is Diona's commitment to its values and strengths that has seen the company grow substantially.
We have built that respect over the years, and were still serving some of the original clients we had when we started for example, Sydney Water and Jemena, previously AGL. W'eve retained those clients because we've given them a good product, and the quality and openness was always there. We were able to retain our relationships with all our oldest customers.