Australian Staging and Rigging (ASR) is a 100% South Australian owned company established in 1988. Since this time ASR has grown to become one of this state’s most reputable and prominent access, scaffold and rigging specialists.
Managing Director Peter ‘Pedro’ McColl’s interest in construction however goes back to his early childhood days growing up in the West Lakes area of Adelaide. Pedro’s backyard was the large scale developments taking place in the early seventies including AAMI Stadium and the West Lakes precinct.
“I was always interested in how things were built and went together.  I had a birdseye view of all the action. My family travelled extensively throughout Australia through my father, Allan’s work as a Marine Engineer. He designed and built bridges, hospitals and roads all over the country so I was destined to be involved in the construction industry".


In 1982 Pedro travelled throughout Australia.  He studying at night school and gaining practical experience in the mining sector at the Moomba gas fields in SA as well as the Argyle Diamond Mine in WA.


Upon his return to South Australia in 1985 Pedro got his first taste of the Rock ‘n’ Roll industry touring the country working on the Dire Straits tour. In 1986 he was employed by the SA Grand Prix board to erect overpasses and corporate structures for the F1 Grand Prix in Adelaide. His role expanded when Pedro was appointed as a major contractor overseeing 10 - 20 semi trailer loads of major events infrastructure being transported and used nationally.


Pedro continued his involvement in the construction industry participating in the building of major Adelaide landmarks such as the Myer Centre and the Bicentennial Conservatory. It was at this time that Pedro began to develop the idea of establishing a company which capitalised on commonalities between these two industries and in 1988 he established Australian Staging and Rigging (ASR) working from a small facility in Mile End.

After weathering the storm of the recession in the early nineties, Pedro continued to expand ASR’s capabilities by investing in equipment and building up a large diversely skilled permanent workforce as well as moving to larger premises in Wingfield.

During this time ASR also focused on innovation developing many unique products and components. The company also developed a reputation in the construction industry for being the "go to people" when difficult problems needed solving. McColl says “People would come to us to rescue situations when other people got them into trouble”.
ASR was still very active in the ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Industry’ however as more major outdoor events became part of the Australian culture ASR began winning contracts to supply corporate platforms for events such as "The Clipsal 500" in Adelaide and "The Bathurst 1000" in NSW.  In 2000 ASR supplied temporary grandstand seating for the first time for Soccer matches held at Hindmarsh Stadium in Adelaide as part of the Olympic Games. By 2004 ASR had outgrown its Miller St. operations and moved to its current site  Lavinia Street, Athol Park.


The 2006 acquisition of Melbourne based seating specialists AAA Seating by ASR has bought on board over 25 years of industry experience through AAA Manager, Neil Trimble. The synergies created by this partnership have enhanced the company’s reputation for quality and service, creating a product range that is the industry benchmark other companies compare themselves to and strive to achieve.


In 2008, ASR signed a sole agency agreement with Alimak Hek Australia. This agreement formalises the successful ongoing relationship between ASR and Alimak Hek.  It also gives ASR customers in South Australia, access the state of the art ,Alimak 'Man and Material' hoists and Hek elevating work platforms or 'Mast Climbers'.


Back to Top ↑

ASR continues to expand its operations both in the areas of Construction access and event infrastructure. Pedro has a simple business philosophy “We aim to offer our clients a unique service by employing an experienced workforce, using high quality equipment and to back this up by a professional support staff. We aim to be making our mark on the skyline for some time yet!”


Back to Top ↑