Sydney’s new airport is made for international travel, but it was built by locals.
More than 10,000 people helped build Western Sydney International (WSI), half of whom lived in the area.
Contract manufacturer Micron made the airport’s check in and baggage check desks.
Micron is one of the 30.1 per cent of New South Wales’ small businesses based in Western Sydney.
Managing director Ed McMillan said his 40-strong team has supplied products for airports all around the world, including Singapore, Japan and France, but they were excited by the opportunity to develop fundamental infrastructure for the airport just down the road.
Operating from Glendenning since 2012, the majority of Micron’s staff live in Penrith.
“All the guys were very happy and proud to work on WSI given it’s so close to home,” McMillan said.
“They’re all pretty keen to see their work in action.
“They can touch it, feel it and see they’ve made an actual difference.
“It was a great project to work on and it’s always good to see local government investing in local business rather than importing infrastructure projects from overseas.”
The Micron team works closely with Japanese partners for the software components of the builds and having cargo at WSI will make a difference to how they operate.
“It’s a positive thing for international business. It’ll bring more industry to the area, which in turn will give us more business,” McMillan said.