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NIOA Group is a family-owned global munitions company.
Today, their operations include NIOA Australia, NIOA New Zealand, the Australian Missile Corporation, Barrett Firearms (USA), and Joint Venture company Rheinmetall NIOA Munitions.
They are also the largest privately owned supplier of munitions to the Australian and New Zealand defence, law enforcement, and commercial markets.
Our working relationship with the Nioa family spans decades.
Having worked together for many years on previous business ventures, in 1996, the NIOA munitions group became a client of ours.
Back then, we were known as Hancock Sawyer and Partners. Our firm was very different back then, but so was NIOA.
When they first joined us, the globally renowned munitions was still a twinkle in the Nioa family’s eyes.
In 1996, NIOA had a small warehouse on Sandgate Road and less than 10 staff. They may have been small, but the business had a big vision for the future. And for the last 27 years, the Ulton team has been working in partnership with them to realise that vision.
Like any partnership, you don’t spend almost three decades together without experiencing some challenges.
Looking back on our time together, the biggest challenge we’ve faced with them hasn’t been a stand alone obstacle or a one-off event. It’s been NIOA’s enduring drive to grow.
Managing Partner, Mark McLean, has worked closely with NIOA from when they first engaged the firm.
In that time, he’s taken on the role of NIOA’s External CFO and more recently, he’s embraced the role of NIOA’s External Business Partner.
“In the time we’ve worked together, the business expansion has been constant,” said Mark.
“They moved from their original Sandgate Road property into a large warehouse at Banyo. Then, they needed to find a new site that could offer double the capacity. They quickly outgrew that site and underwent a $25 million expansion at the Brisbane Airport. More recently, they moved into a six-storey building and spent $10 million on expansion for that site.”
“Continually along the way, we’ve needed to negotiate the expansion needs of the business. We’ve been heavily involved in the negotiations with the banks, and as various projects have come along, to put the borrowings in place. And probably the biggest single challenge was the financing of the Barrett acquisition, which was huge.”
Their drive to grow has meant that as a partner, Ulton has had to remain dynamic and flexible to change – evolving our roles and responsibilities as their business’s needs shifted.
Over the years, the Ulton team has supported NIOA with everything from bookkeeping, to wealth management, to tax advisory, to audit, to succession planning, and most things in between.
While we’ve embraced different roles to support NIOA over the years, there’s one thing that’s never changed – and that’s our close partnership.
For Mark, the strength of this partnership has made NIOA’s global success that much sweeter.
“Working with NIOA, you don’t feel like you’re a service provider – our relationship is so tight that you feel like you’re a part of their team. Because of this, it’s personally rewarding when they achieve success,” said Mark.
Business Advisory Partner, Jason Krenske, agrees that it’s the close working relationship we have with NIOA that has set the foundation for a successful, long-term partnership.
“Working as NIOA’s partner, I have a lot of pride and feel very humbled. They share a lot of feedback with us and are very appreciative of all the work we do – it’s humbling to be part of it,” said Jason.
The value of long-term, like-minded partnerships like these cannot be overstated.
Done right, they lead to success for all – our firm, our clients’ businesses, and everyone involved along the way.
Recently, NIOA’s CEO, Robert Nioa was asked about his experience working with Ulton.
This is what he said: “They are completely dependable. If they say they’re going to do something, they do it… they are the kind of people who will have your back.”
