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House of Assembly - Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3)
2009-07-14 Daily Xml
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CODAN LIMITED

Ms SIMMONS (Morialta) (15:24): Thank you, Mr Acting Speaker, the honourable member for Stuart. Last week I was lucky enough to attend the 50th anniversary celebrations of one of this state's most successful companies, Codan Limited, based at Graves Street, Newton, in my electorate of Morialta.

Codan was founded in 1959 by three university friends: Ian Wall, Jim Bettison and the late Alistair Wood. I was delighted to meet and chat to both Ian and Jim on the day. Ian told me that he had only retired from the board on 30 June this year, and Jim reminisced about another large picnic that Codan had held in my favourite park at Morialta Falls.

The original company was the Electronics, Instrument and Lighting Company Limited. Two years later it released its high frequency radio, specifically designed to meet the needs of the School of the Air and the Royal Flying Doctor Service networks operating in the Australian Outback.

These high frequency radios became a lifeline for communities, households and emergency services throughout Outback Australia. A decade later, this radio equipment was being exported to the USA and Papua New Guinea. In 1980, the United Nations made a major purchase of Codan radio equipment for use with its relief work in Uganda.

By the middle of the 1980s, the name Codan became synonymous with high frequency radio and the term, 'I'll call you on my Codan,' was common place in many African countries. Today, Codan is recognised as the world's leading supplier of communications equipment to humanitarian organisations.

In 1981, Codan received a commonwealth grant to develop Australia's first domestic satellite system and this provided a quantum leap in Codan's growth. The 1990s saw the Codan development of the world's first fully sealed satellite transceiver, and the company's global profile was further lifted with the launch of the world's first commercial modem for fast and automatic high frequency fax and data transmission in 1993.

This century, Codan has continued to lead and diversify by acquiring other companies under its banner, such as: Mitec Limited, specialising in microwave radio frequency technology; Minelab Electronics Proprietary Limited, a world leader in metal detection equipment, also used for the clearance of mines by humanitarian and military organisations; and Locas Microwave Incorporated, specialising in X band satellite communication products for government and military communications.

Codan has so many firsts and won so many awards, but, in closing, I must say that it was the caring and family approach to the staff that stuck with me most on this day. The celebrations were attended by 1,000 past and present staff. The honour board in the foyer is dedicated to the staff who have served the company for 20 years or more, and the managing director, Mike Heard, told me that they need a new board for those who have served over 30 years.

Over the last 50 years, Codan has employed more than 2,000 people, mostly in South Australia. It estimates that it has injected about half a billion dollars into our economy via its wages and produced about $1.5 billion worth of world leading, high tech products sold across the world.

Codan's global reputation is one of innovation and ingenuity. Locally, we celebrate the company as a manufacturing icon, with a commitment to transforming the way we do business. My thanks go to my hosts, Mike Heard and Alan Gobolos, and my congratulations to the whole Codan team, especially Ian Wall, Jim Bettison and the family of Alistair Wood.

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