Case Studies
Issue No. 29 - June/July 2006
Flying high
Fast Movers: Nova Aerospace
Nova Aerospace popped onto defence industry radar at the turn of the century and quickly grew from a blip to something much more. Founded by two entrepreneurs, Jim Whalley and Peter Nikoloff, the firm specialises in testing and evaluating critical systems in the aviation sector — something Jim took a keen interest in during his former career as an RAAF fighter pilot.
“Nova first year of full operations was FY00-01 where we turned over just on $150,000 dollars. We’re on track this financial year (05-06) for a turnover of just over $7 million,”Jim reports.
“We started with two people, myself and co-founder Peter Nikoloff and Nova now employs just over 70 and is the largest employer of specialist flight test and system test and evaluation specialists in Australia.
“The company has expanded its defence customer base from predominantly Air Force projects to now include Navy and Army and in addition has expanded into the civil market through services we provide in transport and healthcare.”
This booming growth was made possible by coupling the evident need for the business with careful selection of people.
“Nova's staff have very high experience and skill levels in their chosen fields and combine this with high levels of training and education,” Jim says. “The company has more Masters-level qualifications than it has consultants!
“A lot of the guys and girls have had significant amounts of money spent on getting them to where they are. They are very hard to find and in very high demand, so the key to our success is making sure we look after them.
“A lot of us have a military background and we are all products of that upbringing. What that means is that esprit de corps, focus on getting the job done and looking out for your work mates are a priority.
“We need to make a profit but I don't believe it needs to be at the expense of these values.
“Perhaps the thing I am most prou...
