About Us | Upright Engineering

Our Story

Built Different from Day One

Most engineering firms are built by engineers. Upright Engineering was built by engineers who had already spent decades building engineering software. That combination is the foundation of everything we do — and the reason we can deliver with greater precision and efficiency than a traditional practice.

Our founding directors Ben Horner and Michael O'Loughlin spent years writing software for the construction industry before co-founding Alltraders, a software company servicing construction and insurance. They understood, at a deep level, why engineering takes so long — and they spent a decade systematically addressing that problem.

Since Upright was established in Adelaide in 2015, we've grown from a single-person practice into a team of 11 structural engineers serving clients across every Australian state and New Zealand. We've never had to look for work. Our reputation for quality, consistency, and reliability has kept us consistently busy — and growing.

2015

Year Established

11

Structural Engineers

30+

Combined Yrs Experience

AU & NZ

Markets Served

Leadership

Meet the Leadership Team

Our leadership brings together expertise in structural engineering, software development, and construction — a combination that gives Upright a genuine competitive edge.

Director & Co-founder

Ben Horner

Ben is CEO and co-founder of Upright Engineering. With over twenty years in the construction industry, his background spans both worlds: degrees in Agricultural Science and Mathematics & Computer Science, nearly a decade writing complex engineering software, then co-founding Alltraders in 2006 before co-founding a major WA structural engineering company in 2008. Ben has led Upright since its founding in 2015, combining deep business acumen with a rare understanding of both engineering and technology.

Principal Structural Engineer

Kristian March

Kristian leads Upright's structural engineering team as Principal Structural Engineer. He is responsible for the technical quality and consistency of all engineering outputs, mentoring our growing team of engineers, and ensuring every certified project meets the highest standards of structural integrity and code compliance. Kristian brings deep specialist knowledge across residential, commercial, and industrial structural engineering.

Operations Manager & Co-founder

Michael O'Loughlin

Michael is Operations Manager and co-founder of Upright Engineering. He holds degrees in Computer & Information Science and Communication & Professional Writing, and began his post-graduate career at a major engineering software company — rising quickly to lead the SteelBuilder House software development team. With twenty years in construction software and nearly forty years of team leadership experience, Michael co-founded Alltraders in 2006 and has helped grow Upright from one staff member in 2015 to a team of eleven today.

Structural Engineer

Sam McHugh

Sam is an experienced structural engineer with a strong focus on residential and commercial cold-formed steel structures. He is recognised for his ability to quickly understand client requirements and apply sound engineering principles to deliver practical and reliable solutions.

With a lifelong interest in construction, building, and design — and shaped by his upbringing in a rural environment — Sam brings a grounded, hands-on perspective to his work. He has also spent years playing competitive team sports, further strengthening his collaboration and leadership skills.

At Upright, Sam applies these strengths to mentor and guide our growing engineering team, contributing to both technical excellence and a positive team culture.

How We Work

Our Culture & Values

Engineering is a profession built on trust. These principles guide everything we do — from how we review our own calculations to how we communicate with our clients.

01

Safety in Design, Always

Safety is not a checkbox — it is the foundation of every engineering decision we make. We design structures that are safe throughout their entire service life, and that standard is non-negotiable regardless of project size, timeline, or budget.

02

Professional & Ethical

We hold multiple national and state accreditations because they reflect a genuine commitment to doing things properly. Our engineers are expected to uphold the highest standards of professional conduct — and we hold ourselves accountable to those standards every day.

03

Listen First, Engineer Second

Good engineering starts with genuinely understanding what the client needs, what their constraints are, and what a good outcome looks like from their perspective. Before we start designing, we listen. This is why our clients tell us we make things simpler, not more complicated.

04

One Team, One Standard

With eleven engineers across our team, consistency matters enormously. Every project — residential or industrial, straightforward or complex — receives the same level of care, accuracy, and communication. We hold each other to the same high standard we hold ourselves to.

Our History

A Decade of Consistent Growth

Upright's story begins well before 2015. Our founding team spent years building the software expertise and industry relationships that underpin everything we do today.

What makes this history unusual: Upright wasn't founded by engineers who later learned about business. It was founded by people who had already built and led successful companies, and who brought that experience directly into how Upright operates from day one.

2006

Alltraders Founded

Ben Horner and Michael O'Loughlin co-founded Alltraders, a software company servicing the construction and insurance industries. This laid the technical and business foundation for everything that followed.

2008

First Structural Engineering Venture

Ben and Michael co-founded a large WA-based structural engineering company, combining their software expertise with structural engineering operations for the first time. The model proved that technology-first engineering could work at scale.

2015

Upright Engineering Established

Upright Engineering was founded in Adelaide, South Australia. The firm began as a single-person practice with a clear vision: apply the lessons of a decade in engineering software and operations to build a better structural engineering firm.

2015 → Today

Consistent Growth, Consistent Quality

Over ten years of continuous growth, Upright has expanded from one staff member to a team of eleven structural engineers — certifying projects across every Australian state, while also delivering engineering services to clients throughout New Zealand. The team is still growing.

A Team Built to
Deliver More

Built Different from Day One