b'Flexibility through leasingPlants and machinery underpin the companys foundations. The brothers lovedtheir toys, and they were good at fixing and keeping them running. Owning their own equipment gave the company a competitive advantage; even in the early 2000s, Thiess only leased 2 to 3 per cent of its equipment. But it had become a huge fleet, and that presented financial risks due to the weight it added to the balance sheet. When the GFC hit, everything changed. By 20082009 we leased almost 60 per cent, said Bruce Kenny who headed up the plant division at the time. Its just not viable to haveso much money sunk into equipment. [Leasing] helps us manage the peaks and troughs of the industry, and definitely helped shield us from the worst of the GFC.In 2013, FleetCo was created as a subsidiary of CIMIC, initially as an asset financeand management business. In 2015, the company was transferred to Thiess control, with a new strategy to supplement Thiess full-service mining capabilities, and to OZ Minerals Prominent Hill Coppersupply mining equipment to new and existing mining clients. The first hire was to and Gold Mine, South Australia, 2015. BHP Billiton in the Bowen Basin and just a year later, the company had commenced operations in Canada and Chile. These days, Thiess owns 80 per cent of its fleet.105'