REIGNING world champion boxer Danny Green certainly knows his way around the ring and now he is going into a travel business that aims to run rings around traditional package holiday companies.

Boxing champion Danny Green starts his own holiday packaging business.

After a stellar boxing career, Danny Green now a partner in  Champion Holidays, a new division of innovative travel company Ignite Travel Group.

While in many ways Mr Green sees the business as part of his post-boxing career, right now he is concentrating on his newest venture with the same level of intensity he usually reserves for his opponents.

"Everyone deserves a holiday, but I understand that it can be a massive part of a family's wage and budget," Mr Green said.

"For me, an investment that important has to guarantee value without compromising quality.

"I personally love travelling with my family and saw Champion Holidays as the perfect opportunity to use the knowledge and experience we have gathered exploring the world together to assist others in their travel endeavours.

"It's not a brand endorsement; this is about helping everyday Australians to take a break and enjoy quality time out with their family or friends in a new or favourite destination. We offer four and five star properties at an unbeatable price."

Champion Holidays aims to offer Australian outbound and national travellers affordable, packaged holidays to a selection of the world's most sought-after destinations.

For the moment, Mr Green's firm is concentrating on Fiji, Bali, Hawaii, Thailand and Queensland, bundling airfares, accommodation and handpicked bonus extras for clients.

According to Randall Deer - founder and managing director of Ignite Travel Group, which is also the parent company of The Holiday Centre which ranked highly in the 2012 BRW Fast 100 list - Danny Green was the perfect fit for the venture.

"Danny has an amazing attitude to life and has achieved many triumphs. He is all about the people and making sure they get a fair go when it comes to taking a holiday," Mr Deer said.

"That's why we knew Danny and Champion Holidays would be a winner. He understands and appreciates the value of a great travel deal and our promise to deliver the best possible experience for every type of traveller."

As a professional athlete, Mr Green said he had been fortunate to travel the world as part of his career and he knew that when it came to booking a travel deal, "superior service and excellent value go a long way in delivering a great all round experience".

"I've tried and tested many travel products and a lot of research and hard work has been invested in Champion Holidays to ensure any deal offered by me, with my name on it, represents the best value in the market for the punters," Mt Green said.

"We don't want people to have to waste time shopping around for the best price or deal. It's not about the good, bad and the ugly - just the good. It may mean we market fewer deals than some competitors, but the deals we do offer will be top quality.

"I am thrilled to be working with Ignite Travel Group on this venture, which I believe represents a genuine deal with an attractive price tag that will result in a quality travel experience to some of my own favourite travel experiences worldwide."

www.championholidays.com.au

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AFTER securing a host of blue chip projects in Queensland - including the Brisbane Supreme and District Courts, Lotus Glen Correctional facility, DP World Terminal development at the Port of Brisbane, and the Gold Coast University Hospital - electrical, data and communications services company Pacific Services Group (PSG) has taken on a restructure and a $10 million capital injection from existing investors to chase more top-tier work in Queensland.

PSG interim CEO Peter White.

PSG interim chief executive Peter White said the financial boost would allow a restructuring and recapitalisation of the group so it could focus on further developing its pipeline of projects, while providing greater certainty for its workforce and construction clients. PSG has also reached agreement with financiers to restructure debt.

Mr White said with an annual turnover of more than $300 million, PSG employed more than 1200 people across Australia, including 280 in Queensland. He said it was evident the Queensland construction industry was now emerging from a significant period of challenge.

"This additional investment and restructure of debt is a significant vote of confidence in the company and will enable PSG to strengthen its balance sheet," Mr White said.

"The Queensland and national construction industry has been in contraction for an extended period, but the sector is emerging from a challenging period and this investment makes us well placed to capitalise on the rebound.

"While some of our competitors have not been able to weather the storm, our restructured balance sheet and low debt provides a strong platform to win further work and increase our market share by focusing on top-end projects - good news for our Queensland workforce and the local economy." 

Mr White said part of the company's future growth strategy involved a continued expansion of its involvement in the maintenance and lifecycle of buildings. The company already has some of Australia's largest companies as clients.

"We have recently moved from a manual intensive system and invested in a nationalised IT platform that automates maintenance job requests. This enables our maintenance workforce to be more responsive and give customers immediate updates so they get greater certainty that their needs are being met," Mr White said.

The company operates in a broad range of sectors including public infrastructure, defence, mining, rail, industrial, manufacturing, commercial and marine.

In Queensland, PSG is currently installing railway station electrical infrastructure on the Richland to Darra rail corridor upgrade. Recently, in the landmark $600 million Brisbane Supreme Court and District Court build, the State Government engaged PSG to design, develop and install all electrical systems.

At the $450 million expansion to the Lotus Glen Correctional facility, accommodating 700 inmates, PSG supplied and delivered electrical and communication services, while as part of the $140 million DP World Terminal Development expansion at the Port of Brisbane, PSG conducted supporting electrical work.

PSG also recently installed electrical and communications packages as part of a $1.76 billion state-of-the-art Gold Coast University Hospital infrastructure development.

Mr White said part of the reason for its success is that PSG has highly evolved quality assurance and safety systems and is a leader in ecologically sustainable development.

Mr White is due to complete his term as interim CEO of Pacific Services Group on September 9, when newly appointed CEO Jeff Bretz moves into the role. Mr White has been in the CEO's seat since August 2012 and a PSG board statement credited him with having "steered the company through some very difficult trading conditions and overseen the recent successful recapitalisation of the company".

Mr Bretz has extensive construction and electrical industry credentials from his experience with Silcar Pty Ltd, Tyco Australia Pty Ltd and ABB Industries in Australia, Asia and the Middle East.

http://www.psgelectric.com.au/

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Jeff Bretz takes on new CEO role at PSG.

RESURGENT Australian luxury boat designer and manufacturer, Riviera, has celebrated a 25 percent boost in sales at the recent Sydney International Boat Show, as well as picking up two awards.

Riviera chairman and owner, Rodney Longhurst.

Riviera’s new 50 Enclosed Flybridge seemed to be the vessel that impressed luxury boat buyers with its world release at the show. There were multiple sales of the model among Riviera’s $14.8 million in total retail sales at the event.

Riviera’s chairman and owner Rodney Longhurst said he was extremely proud of Riviera’s achievements at the Sydney International Boat Show.

"The past 16 months at Riviera has been a true career highlight for me and it is extremely gratifying to see Riviera return to its former glory,” Mr Longhurst said. “I am proud to announce that my family settled on the purchase of Riviera’s 14-hectare Coomera property on July 8, and if the recent boat show results are anything to go by, I believe Riviera can look forward to a very bright future."

Riviera -- which just a couple of years ago was enduring a long period of Global Recession-induced decline and subsequent administration -- recorded 10 new boat sales across all models from 36 feet to 63 feet, including one 3600 Sport Yacht, one 445 SUV, three 50 Enclosed Flybridges, two 5000 Sport Yachts, one Belize 54, one 565 SUV, and one 63 Enclosed Flybridge.

"It has certainly been a very prosperous time for Riviera with $51.8 million in total retail sales recorded over the past nine weeks," Mr Longhurst said.

"It was also an honour to win two BIA awards for Best Marine Display and Best Overall Display at this year’s Sydney show.

"I commend our team of master craftsmen and designers for the huge effort they have put into creating and building our first 50 Enclosed Flybridge for world release at the show. I would also like to publicly recognise the tremendous support from our dedicated crew who worked tirelessly over the five days of the show.”

Riviera’s chief executive officer Wes Moxey said Riviera’s new models have been extremely well received.

“Riviera’s sales at the Sydney International Boat Show are up by 25 percent on last year signifying the growth that Riviera is now enjoying and we have a significant number of sea trials booked across the range so we expect this number to grow over the coming weeks,” Mr Moxey said.

"The new design features of the 50 Enclosed Flybridge really impressed boating enthusiasts at the show. The fresh approach to the Euro style interior with a very impressive accommodation plan comprises three generous and equally sized cabins and two equally large bathrooms.

"The island barbecue centre with two transom doors and the extended swim platform creates one massive entertaining deck. The all new 50 is certainly a very spacious and accommodating boat.

“With more than 58,000 visitors attending the show over the five day event, the Sydney International Boat Show has proved to be an extremely successful show for Riviera and Belize.

"Riviera has also just finished the 2013 financial year and we are pleased to announce that 55 percent of our luxury new boats were exported last year, which is a significant achievement. We can definitely see the return to confidence in both the United States and Australian markets with a large number of our recent sales bound for international ports.

"Riviera now has a very busy production schedule with our order books filled into the New Year, in fact, our forward order sales are double the volume they were this time last year, and we are actively looking to grow our production staff numbers to meet this rising demand.”

Mr Moxey said preparations are already underway for the Auckland On Water Boat Show in New Zealand in September, the Fort Lauderdale Boat Show in October, and the Gold Coast International Marine Expo in November.

Riviera is well on the way to full recovery and now offers 15 different models from 36 to 75 feet across three model series Flybridge, Sport Yacht and the new SUV collection.

In 2012 Riviera celebrated the launch of its 5000th boat, the 445 SUV, a significant achievement in the company’s rich 33-year history.

www.rivieraaustralia.com

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ECONOMIC pressure on Australian coal companies is actually sparking greater innovation within local service industries, according to WDS Energy Drilling & Completions.

Innovation comes into play with coal industry seeing a slowdown. Image: Tourism Queensland.

WDS's general manager, Declan Rooney said the mining business landscape was undergoing enormous change because of cost pressures, but that was turning out to have a longer term effect on sustainability.

"Australia's coal industry is doing it tough and controlling costs is a top priority but there is a silver lining," Mr Rooney said.

"Miners are looking for integrated suppliers in a highly competitive market so service industries and contractors are becoming more efficient and productive.

"We have responded with the introduction of our Earth to Energy concept which offers a whole suite of world-class services, allowing them to focus on their core business."

The company has trademarked its Earth to Energy concept, which focuses on listening to customers and partnering with them to come up with cost-effective services that do not sacrifice quality, according to Mr Rooney.

"For example, we have recently introduced new drilling technologies, a seismic service and reviewed our cost structures to make sure we're supporting the miners during this tough time."

Operations manager Doug Henderson said WDS Energy Drilling & Completions found adaptation was the key to dealing with a soft market.

"Our drilling business works closely with other parts of the WDS Limited group providing pipelines, fabrication, gas drainage and field services to make sure we can offer our customers a one-stop shop," Mr Henderson said.

"We have to be able to support projects from feasibility stage through development, production and site rehabilitation.

"Value for money is more important than ever but that's pushing contractors to be astute and inventive."

WDS is an Australian integrated provider of specialist development, design, engineering, construction, fabrication and maintenance services to the resources and infrastructure sectors.

www.wdslimited.com.au

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