b'disciplined and rigorous about itdeal fever is a real thing that you need to keep aneye on so that you dont overlook some things or overpay. We took a long timein the lead-up and diligence phase, then the actual deal happened quite quickly.Thiess acquisition brought further expertise in non-coal mining and took the business back into Western Australia in a big way. It also brought over 3700 committed employees. We kept MACAs branding alive, Michael says, just as with the Thiess brand in the times that it was acquired. Theres value in it. Both our shareholders showed commitment to the buy-out by investing $400 million without borrowings, whichis a significant indication of confidence.Robert Moore was a part of the integration team. We constantly worked with [the challenge of] how to keep the essence of the brand going, while integrating some things in the name of efficiencies. Its a fine line that you can only walk with respect, and Thiess is good at that.Matt Henderson, MACAs current General Manager, agrees. Respect was the foundation of the whole thing. There was a perfect fit around values, but without that starting position of respect, the acquisition and the process of integration would not havebeen so smooth.Theres been so much technological change, but whats remained the same is the most important: people are number one, and well-managed assets are number two.Get those two things right and you can embrace any challenge. Geoff Baker, founder MACA135'