Growing in Australia and the UK
The reputation of Terry Wolferstan and his business soon spread beyond their original windowless, back-room office in Adelaide, and they opened a new office in Melbourne. Significant projects put the firm on the Australian map, even expanding to Tasmania.
Meanwhile in the UK, Len Trower’s company was growing rapidly, and it wasn’t long before offices opened across England and Scotland. When Len had the idea of setting up a practice in Australia and ventured south to explore, the 1961 alliance was forged.
It was a defining moment in a pivotal year, which also included the opening of a new office in Sydney and our first steps into Asia.
Establishing a presence in Asia
As WT’s business continued to grow across Australia and the UK, opportunities began to emerge beyond these home markets.
In 1961 Terry Wolferstan was invited to Kuala Lumpur. Following the visit, it was decided to establish a Malaysian office. The decision bore fruit quickly with appointment on the new Subang Airport at the time. Shortly thereafter, in 1962, a Singapore office was established. In 1972, based upon the growth of the business in South East Asia primarily via Singapore, an office was opened in Jakarta.
A defining moment came in 1976, when directors of WT Australia were invited to Hong Kong by one of the region’s leading developers to assist in establishing an in‑house cost management team and writing project procedures.
Following this commission, WT established a permanent presence in Hong Kong. The Hong Kong office went on to become the headquarters of WT’s Asian operations and remains one of the practice’s largest offices in the region.
During the 1990s, WT Asia was appointed quantity surveyor on two of the world’s largest airport developments of their time: Hong Kong International Airport at Chek Lap Kok (Terminal 1) and the main terminal and satellite of Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIAB).
In 1996, WT entered mainland China with the opening of an office in Shanghai. Building on Hong Kong’s role as the regional hub, the China business expanded steadily over the following decades, growing to more than 10 permanent offices and over 600 professionals.
Taking on the World
By 1976, our rapidly expanding international firm became known collectively as WT Partnership.
In Australia, construction sector growth was strong and we opened a Perth office in 1966 to capitalise on the Western Australian mining boom. By the 1980s, WT was the premier quantity surveying practice in Australasia and added offices in Cairns, Gold Coast, Brisbane and Newcastle.
The ’80s was also boom time in the UK, and our European operations reached into Spain and Italy.
While recessions in the 1990s challenged the construction industry, major airport projects in Asia and other large projects in Europe kept us thriving.
A new millennium and international growth
The turn of the millennium saw a new generation of WT leaders building a strong, resilient business, adding more services, gaining new experience, and stretching even further across the continents.
In 2001, the WT name made its way to New Zealand which has grown to offer a wide range of services from several offices across the country. Across Asia, further expansion continued from 2000 to 2026 with new offices established in Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, Japan and Korea.
The North American business began in 2010 with the establishment of WT’s presence in Mexico City. In 2015, WT won a landmark $1.3 billion public–private partnership project for the University of California, supporting expansion across the US and Canada.
Also in 2015, we established a local team in India and the business has rapidly expanded with offices in Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Pune, Delhi and Chennai.
Our latest stops on the global journey are the Middle East and South Africa. We opened offices in Abu Dhabi in 2018, in Cape Town and Durban in 2021, and Riyadh in 2024.
Looking to the future
The future of WT is underpinned by investment in our people, our services and our processes. Across all regions, WT takes pride in a client-first approach and consistent results, delivered with integrity.
We continue to diversify and innovate, including service offerings across the full lifecycle of building and infrastructure projects, leveraging the power of the latest digital technologies and tools to deliver even more accuracy, efficiency and insight to empower our clients to grow.
