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The plant, which will be built in Kwinana, Western Australia, will supply steel cord conveyor belts to underground coal mines in Queensland and New South Wales as well as targeting the international market.
Chief executive Mark Abrahams said Australia was "ideal" for the development because of its central location to growth markets in China, India and Africa.
The new plant will feature the world's largest press, capable of producing steel cord and rubber ply belts up to 320cm wide and 5cm thick. It will have initial annual capacity of 330,000 square metres, about 103km of 320cm belt.
Graeme Vickery from Fenner PLC said that, while steel cord conveyors are not used regularly in underground coal mines, they are used as drift conveyors when the required capacity of the belt is too large for a fabric reinforced conveyor.
