ABOUT US
A Queensland-based, majority Indigenous-owned and controlled, Supply Nation-certified company, we specialize in project execution within Industrial Services.
Established in Queensland in 2021, Kitja Services has experienced rapid growth in the Surat Basin, where we provide contract support to Tier 1 clients across a multitude of Energy assets.
Our future growth strategy involves partnering with like-minded companies, both Indigenous and non-Indigenous, to create long-term employment outcomes for Australian First Nations people.
Over the past 20 years, our core team members have been involved with managing projects within the mining, oil and gas, and construction industries across Australia.
Our execution excellence is endorsed by our ISO certification, recognized by SAI Global with 14001:2015, 9001:2015, and 45001:2018.
WHY KITJA?
Our objective is to create partnerships with both Indigenous companies and non-Indigenous companies that work hard to identify, engage, retain, upskill, and develop a workforce that maximizes local and Indigenous opportunities.
We are not dependent upon other resources to access our work fronts. Our multi-discipline services enable a one-stop shop for our scope of work execution.
Our Indigenous business community connections strengthen our client’s Indigenous supply chain opportunities.
We have a proven track record in the delivering execution excellence, including:
SAFETY
Zero injuries within our operations
MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS
ISO accredited
QUALITY
Projects to Specification. A 'right first-time' culture
OUR MANAGEMENT TEAM
Our leadership team have a proven track record when it comes to supporting Indigenous employment opportunities to both skilled and upskilled workers.
Clay Evans
Clay is a proud First Nations man with ancestral ties to the Kitja people.
He has over 15 years’ experience managing projects within the Oil and Gas, Mining, and Construction sectors, specializing in leadership that fosters positive and sustainable change.
Clay is passionate about Indigenous empowerment through employment and business opportunities, believing that we succeed together by working together.
Key to Clay’s success is his relationship management with both his customers and his team. He prides himself on creating an environment of trust and respect where safety drives efficient project outcomes.
Clay has a proud history of supporting sustainable pathways, having worked as a training advisor with Rio Tinto’s Indigenous employment program in Gove N.T. More recently he was instrumental in setting up the first Scaffold Traineeship in the Surat Basin in 2018, to date has achieved an 83% success rate spanning multiple intakes.
Alex Hughes
Alex’s 20+ years of experience in managing Industrial Services contracts has been pivotal in the successful launch of Kitja Services.
Alex has provided expert leadership across multiple major projects, including Wheatstone LNG, Gorgon LNG, Pluto LNG, and Curtis Island.
He has an aptitude for problem-solving and raising new initiatives for cost-saving and better practice.
Alex is a walk-the-walk and talk-the-talk manager, with a passion for his team and bringing back personal service to clients. He is a big believer in “you succeed, I succeed, we succeed”.
Alex’s attention to detail is evidenced through his accreditations, including NACE 2, ICCOR 2 and ASME Plant Inspector.
OUR STORY
Kitja Services founder and majority owner, Clay Evans, is a proud descendent of Kitja mob from the Kimberley region; with Clay’s great-grandmother, Kevin (Kaye) Souey, being Kitja mob. Kaye Souey was taken from her family as part of the stolen generation at the age of eight and taken to the Beagle Bay mission in Broome, before moving to Port Hedland and mothering eight children. Unfortunately, Kaye never returned to country, the land to which she felt a deep connection.
After working as a policeman for over a decade, Clay found himself in the mining industry as a Projects Manager. This change of career allowed him to move from place to place, where he has felt a strong sense of calling to country, with the immovable question in the back of his mind: “What am I supposed to do? Where am I supposed to be?” Clay’s yearning to return to his Country has grown stronger and louder, with the deep feeling of continually being called home ever increasing. This realisation was illuminating, and in 2021, Clay founded Kitja Services – named after his family’s mob and to honour his grandmother and connect his past to his future. His goal is to help his family, dispersed across Australia, to reconnect.
The story of Kitja is symbolized in its logo. To the left are four hoops and a three-sided meeting circle – a prolific symbol in Indigenous Art that symbolizes community and coming together. To the left is a sea turtle, an animal that returns to the same nesting place repeatedly throughout its lifetime despite the trials and tribulations it faces in the depths of the ocean. The tenacious sea turtle is Clay’s chosen totem that, despite not having a pre-established link to Kitja mob, has resonated with Clay and his family during their journey. Finally, the blue lines and dots that arch over the rest of the image signifies the underground waterways Clay and his family have journeyed along on their journey home to Country.
Together, these three components symbolize Clay’s family and their journey home to Country, to a meeting place that has been calling them back for generations.
The story of Kitja is symbolized in our logo. To the left are four hoops and a three-sided meeting circle – a prolific symbol in Indigenous Art that symbolizes community and coming together. To the left is a sea turtle, an animal that returns to the same nesting place repeatedly throughout its lifetime despite the trials and tribulations it faces in the depths of the ocean. The tenacious sea turtle is Clay’s chosen totem that, despite not having a pre-established link to Kitja mob, has resonated with Clay and his family during their journey. Finally, the blue lines and dots that arch over the rest of the image signifies the underground waterways Clay and his family have journeyed along on their journey home to Country.
Together, these three components symbolize Clay’s family and their journey home to Country, to a meeting place that has been calling them back for generations.
OUR CLIENTS
OUR CLIENTS SAY IT BEST
“Kitja have been professional to deal with since day 1. The personnel have been of great calibre and worked well with some tight deadlines.
We’ll continue to work with them happily long term.”
Josh, Project Manager
WSG Eftech