Andy Hansen
Born in Chinchilla on the 4th December 1975 and raised in Taroom, Queensland, Andrew Hansen’s introduction to hard work came early. His first job was at the local sawmill in Taroom before he moved to Toowoomba, where he continued in sawmill work. A short stint fruit picking eventually brought him to Darwin, where he began what would become a long and steady career in transport and machinery operations.
Around 1995, Andy joined Gulf Transport in Darwin. After a few weeks, he was relocated to Tennant Creek with Gulf, where he would obtain his MC licence. He spent several years operating road trains and tippers across the Northern Territory, including remote areas like the Granites Gold Mine and the Tanami Mine for Gulf’s subsidiary, Bulkhaul. He also held a safety officer role for the Tennant Creek operations during his time at Gulf, which spoke to his reliability and composure in high-risk environments.
After Bulkhaul, in 2002, Andy joined Tivers Construction, contributing to the construction of the Alice Springs to Darwin railway line, using triples to haul ballast and rock. This was followed by a short period with Compass Haulage. Andy had told his family he was off on a two-week trip to help a friend. He would finally return home three months later!
Andy then worked with Barkly Bus & Truck in Tennant Creek, operating triple road trains, a water cart and a loader.
From 2005 to 2015, Andy worked at Bootu Creek across multiple contractors including Macmahon, NRW and OM Manganese. He was a well-rounded operator across all roles, handling D9 to D11 dozers, graders, dump trucks, water carts and loaders. He frequently stepped up to relieve shift boss duties, using his experience on the ground to keep the job productive.
After this, Andy started with Exact Contracting. With Exact, Andy played a key role in major civil infrastructure projects across the Northern Territory, including a return to the Tanami Road. Although, this time, he was helping to improve the very stretch he once endured while working with Bulkhaul.
Andy then stepped away from Exact to work for St George Freightlines. He was responsible for carting pipes and relocating camps during the 622km Northern Gas Pipeline construction between Tennant Creek and Mount Isa. The business would cart 26,500 lengths of line pipe during the project, battling extremely hot and dusty conditions.
In 2018, Andy returned to Exact Contracting, where he has remained since. Exact values Andy’s no-fuss approach and his ability to get the job done right the first time, no matter how challenging the conditions.
Andy is a tough, experienced operator with over 30 years working on some of the Northern Territory’s most remote and demanding jobs. Respected for his dependability and strong work ethic, he has made impressive contributions to building and maintaining key transport routes and infrastructure that both Territorians and visitors enjoy today.
