Thiess Pty Ltd
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Mining services, Construction, Waste management (former) |
| Predecessor | Horn & Thiess |
| Founded | January 1, 1933 in Toowoomba, Australia |
| Founder | Henry Horn, Leslie Thiess |
| Headquarters | Brisbane , Australia |
Area served | Australia, Canada, Chile, India, Indonesia, Mongolia, South Africa |
| Products | Mining services, Construction services (former), Waste management (former) |
| Owner | CIMIC Group (50%), Elliott Advisors (50%) |
Number of employees | 12,000 (2021) |
| Parent | CIMIC Group |
Thiess Pty Ltd is a global mining services enterprise based in Brisbane, Australia. Established in the 1930s under the name Horn & Thiess, the company underwent several rebrandings such as Thiess Bros and Thiess Contractors before being acquired by Leighton Holdings in 1983, subsequently becoming part of the CIMIC Group. Its operations are conducted from the Thiess Centre located in South Bank, close to the Brisbane CBD.
Following a 2014 restructuring within CIMIC that consolidated multiple international Leighton businesses into Thiess, the firm emerged as the largest contract mining services provider worldwide. It operates across regions including Australia, Canada, Chile, India, Indonesia, Mongolia, and South Africa, employing approximately 12,000 staff members as of 2021. Ownership is evenly divided between CIMIC Group and Elliott Advisors.
History
Founded in 1933 in Toowoomba by Henry Horn and Leslie Thiess, the company began as Horn & Thiess. Its early activities centered on road construction and earthmoving before expanding into dam building, open cut mining, and civil engineering projects. After the Thiess family acquired Horn’s shares, the business was renamed Thiess Bros.
In 1951, Thiess became a publicly traded company on both the Sydney and Brisbane stock exchanges. The firm imported Toyota Land Cruiser vehicles for use in the Snowy Mountains Scheme in 1959 and secured the Australian franchise for Toyota commercial vehicles. A 40% share of Thiess Toyota was sold to Toyota Australia in 1968, with complete divestment occurring by 1980. Additionally, from 1967 to 1970, Thiess handled distribution of White Motor Company products within Australia.
In February 1980, CSR executed a hostile takeover of Thiess. By April 1981, its construction division was sold to a consortium comprising Hochtief (50%), Westfield Group (25%), and Leslie Thiess (25%). Subsequently, in July 1983, Thiess was acquired by Leighton Holdings, where Hochtief held majority ownership.
Expanding into waste management in 1987, Thiess launched Thiess Waste Management Services, which was later sold to Remondis in July 2012.
The company received induction into the Queensland Business Leaders Hall of Fame in 2011.
In 2014, mining operations from Leighton Africa, Leighton Asia, and Leighton Contractors were consolidated under Thiess. By 2016, its civil engineering division merged into Leighton Contractors—renamed CPB Contractors—allowing Thiess to focus solely on mining projects thereafter.
In 2021, CIMIC entered a joint ownership arrangement with Elliott Advisors, each holding a 50% stake in Thiess.
Major projects
Thiess has delivered numerous key infrastructure developments across Australia, including:
These undertakings illustrate Thiess’s broad expertise across sectors such as water infrastructure, transportation systems, power generation plants, correctional facilities, and commercial property development. The company's strategic emphasis on substantial contracts within both public and private sectors has reinforced its standing as a premier construction and engineering organization within Australia.
External links
- Articles with short description
- Australian automobile dealerships
- Brisbane-based companies
- Formerly listed companies on the Australian Securities Exchange
- Construction and civil engineering firms founded in 1933
- Australian construction and civil engineering enterprises
- Australian mining services providers
- Australian waste management firms
- Westfield Group
- Initial public offerings in the 1950s
- Australian businesses established in 1933
- Waste management companies founded in 1933
- Mergers and acquisitions in 1980
- Auto dealerships of Australia