Carlo was one of two Italian engineers who founded Transfield, the large construction company. When it was divided between the two families in the early 1990s, the Salteri family created the Tenix group (
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tenix)
Carlo appeared regularly in the top 15 richest people in Australia.
From Business Review Weekly, 18 May 2001, list of the richest 200 Australians (
http://brw.com.au/lists/Richlist/20010518/article/10004.asp):
Carlo Salteri
Shipbuilding, defence industries. Sydney
Married twice, four children
The Salteri family would have been relieved that the split in its former Transfield partners, the Belgiorno-Nettis family, took place after the two families had gone their separate ways. The Salteri family has been careful not to comment on the court case that exposed a rift in its former partners of more than 40 years. Carlo Salteri met his eventual partner, Franco Belgiorno-Nettis, at Rome airport in 1951, when both were young engineers on their way to Australia to work for the same employer. Five years later, they established the construction company Transfield, which grew to become one of Australia's most successful contractors before the 1997 split from which the Salteris emerged with the defence business, renamed Tenix. It had sales in 1999-2000 of just under $950 million, but might struggle to sustain turnover at these levels this year with the sale late last year of aviation subsidiary Hawker de Havilland to Boeing, just two years after acquiring the operation. The loss of its $160 million turnover will only partly be made up by a full-year contribution from utilities engineering and the maintenance firm Enetech, acquired in late 1999, and the purchase last year from Vision Systems of its airborne-mapping business and a high-technology defence security and fire-protection operation. The backbone of the Tenix operation, the Williamstown shipyard, in Melbourne, is also winding down and last year was forced to make 250 staff redundant, with the Anzac frigate project due to end in 2006. Salteri is still cashed up following the sale of Hawker de Havilland, but the family will be anxiously awaiting word of government plans for a new air-warfare destroyer outlined in the defence white paper released in December [2000].
Transfield co-founder Carlo Salteri dies
October 13, 2010
AAP
[published in several newspapers]
Prominent businessman Carlo Salteri, co-founder of Transfield and founder of Tenix, has died.
Mr Salteri passed away on Tuesday night at the Mater Hospital in Sydney after a short illness, Tenix said in a statement. He was 89.
He migrated to Australia from Italy in 1951 with his wife Renata and young family.
The mechanical engineer, together with his future business partner Franco Belgiorno-Nettis, 25 men and a priest were part of a team contracted by an Italian firm to build an electricity transmission line from near Port Kembla on NSW's south coast to Homebush Bay in Sydney.
In 1956, following the end of the contract, Mr Salteri and Mr Belgiorno-Nettis chose to stay in Australia rather than return to Italy and formed Transfield.
It was the beginning of a great partnership between the two men that lasted 40 years, growing Transfield into one of Australia's largest companies.
Notable achievements under their leadership included the construction of the Gateway Bridge in Brisbane and the Sydney Harbour Tunnel, as well as numerous major infrastructure projects across the country.
The pair stood down as joint managing directors in 1989 in favour of their eldest sons, Paul Salteri and Marco Belgiorno-Zegna.
Seven years later Transfield was demerged, with Tenix formed in August 1997.
As part of the separation, the Salteri family took control of the defence interests of Transfield, and Mr Salteri with his two sons Paul and Robert set out to build Tenix into Australia's largest defence contractor.
Tenix sold its defence business to BAE in June 2008.
Tenix has since turned its focus on building its infrastructure and parking and traffic businesses across Australia, New Zealand, the Pacific and the US.
Mr Salteri continued to be an active Tenix director until his death.
Tenix chairman Paul Salteri said his father would be greatly missed.
"Dad had great faith and was at peace in the knowledge that he had achieved much in his nearly 90 years," he said.
"He was a loving husband to Renata, and then Roslyn, father to Paul, Mary, Adriana and Robert and their partners, `nonno' to his 11 grandchildren and their partners and great-nonno to Matthew.
"We will miss his love, his guidance and wisdom and above all his enthusiasm for life."
Mr Salteri requested a private family funeral, but a memorial service is expected to be held at a later date.