MICHAEL Hansen does not shy away from recounting his upbringing, instead crediting it as the driver to his business success.
Mr Hansen oversees operations at Hansen Price Pty Ltd, as managing director of Mining Technicians Group – Australia, Innomast and Remote Power Solutions.
Despite his success, the First Amongst Equals finalist cited the lack of a family network as his motivator to create his own security professionally.
Mr Hansen told Business News he came from a family of domestic violence and lost his mother to suicide when he was 21 years old.
“In the beginning, I had to make a living for myself,” he said.
“It definitely made me hungry, not having family (support) or a Plan B.
“When you don’t have a choice whether to be successful or not … then it’s a pretty strong driver to make things work out.”
Mr Hansen has been managing director at MTGA for more than eight years. In that time, he launched companies Innomast and RPS to diversify the company.
According to Mr Hansen, the RPS platform system that allows equipment to be operated automatically would change how agriculture and heavy industry are conducted over large areas.
He cited his commitment to teach himself business development skills as the reason for his achievements, particularly in restructuring the business and launching new ventures.
Mr Hansen’s career has not been without setbacks, with MTGA halving its revenue during the first months of operation amid a mining downturn in 2015.
Mr Hansen and his business partner halved their salaries and invested time in automation services and products to prepare for when the market came back.
However, Mr Hansen was left to run the business on his own when his business partner contracted viral meningitis and did not return to the company.
During this time, Hansen Price was building autonomous light vehicles for iron ore miners Fortescue Metals Group and Roy Hill in its workshop in Perth.
Mr Hansen persevered and in 18 months, Hansen Price’s revenue has multiplied to $15 million, and the team has increased from 12 to 75 staff.
In addition to running Hansen Price, Mr Hansen founded The Omolas Project, a charity providing gourmet food for people experiencing homeless in Fremantle.
The food trailer was personally funded and built by Mr Hansen, who also runs the van weekly.
Mr Hansen has also set his sights on developing a retreat, winery and distillery in the Margaret River region in the next two years.
He said winning a 40under40 award would be a rare time his achievements have been recognised.
“In short, I spent a fair bit of my life not needing external validation,” he said.
“As I don’t have any family … this would be a nice way to feel recognised.”
