Automation Innovation from South Australia’s own SAGE Group
From the water that flows out of your tap to the management of the traffic lights on your way to work, the SAGE Group’s expertise and innovative spirit touch the lives of South Australians every day.
Established in 1994, SAGE were involved in a variety of automation projects before landing their first million-dollar major project work in 2000 for the development and management of the Heysen Tunnels in the Adelaide Hills.
The Heysen Tunnels project was a complicated, but essential, project for the state. The development delivered a new freeway and an improved connection to Melbourne. The upgrade of our state’s transport efficiency positively impacted multiple industries from tourism to freight transport.
SAGE’s role in the Heysen Tunnel project was to develop the safety control system for the tunnels. The success of the project garnered international exposure for SAGE and put them on the map. Moreover, the success of the Heysen Tunnels precipitated an increase of infrastructure and transport jobs in South Australia, and as of 2018 approximately 70% of South Australia’s managed roads, freeways and tunnels involve SAGE automation.
"To be an automation company based out of South Australia to be involved in technology that hadn’t really been used in a tunnel before was really, really exciting for us."
Adrian Fahey, CEO, SAGE Group
In addition to their portfolio of large infrastructure projects around Australia, SAGE now boasts significant works in Defence, Resources and Manufacturing, while still devoting their time to developing cutting-edge projects with local start-ups.
Tonsley Innovation District is integral to why SAGE remained in South Australia, establishing its global headquarters here at Tonsley.
In addition to the opportunity to be co-located with other innovative businesses, the ability for SAGE to build social capital internally was significant.
For employees at SAGE, it is more than just a place to work. The first-class facilities at Tonsley provide an all-in-one destination for a happy and productive work life.
Rather than having to leave the site to get lunch or access recreational facilities, staff are encouraged to make use of the cafes, table tennis and squash courts and beautiful surrounding gardens. This has resulted in more internal collaboration and the development of an ‘intrapreneurial’ spirit at SAGE.
"We’ve just set up a new program in our own business called ‘Ideas Works’ which is an opportunity to bring the innovation from within our team to really capture all the great ideas that exist within our business, and we’re providing seed funding for them."
Adrian Fahey, CEO, SAGE Group
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