Sandvik recently signed a contract to start construction on the engineering centre of excellence at a 16-hectare greenfield site at Heatherbrae, north of Newcastle.

The company’s growth – both organically and through acquisition – meant there was a need for it to combine a number of its existing Hunter Valley-based businesses that serve both Australian and global markets on a single site.

“Because Australia is one of our biggest regions globally, we felt it essential that this new centre set the benchmark for our operations,” Sandvik Region Australia-Pacific’s president Rowan Melrose said.

“An important element of the new site is to bring all our acquired operations onto a single site under the Sandvik Mining and Construction banner, so that they are less seen as a collection of separate brands.

“This new centre will help Sandvik achieve two key outcomes: consolidate the rebranding of our various acquisitions under the Sandvik name; and continue unifying our business segments.”

Melrose said the new facility would also highlight the size and scope of the Sandvik business, not only in Australia, but globally.

“This new centre is a major boost for our part of the world and where it’s going; despite the financial shocks of the past few years, we are very positive about the longer term,” he said.

“It’s a real vote of confidence in our region by Sandvik globally, as well as a vote of confidence in the Hunter Valley and in what we can offer – not just in our aftermarket business, but also in our manufacturing and assembly capabilities.

“Our new Hunter Valley site centre of excellence will deliver significant synergies in the way we operate in Australia, as well as allowing us to share services that are currently fragmented.”

The site has the potential to generate 600 direct jobs and will enhance the major industrial hub that Port Stephens Council is developing around Tomago, Heatherbrae and Williamtown.

The project was previously approved by the NSW government in December 2008 for a site in Tomago, however Sandvik identified a more appropriate location at Heatherbrae.

Sandvik manufacturing, assembly, distribution and aftermarket service facilities moving to the new site include the existing Tomago aftermarket service centre for load-haul-dumps, road headers, soft-rock drill rigs and continuous miners, along with the Tomago distribution centre.

It will also include Hexham A, where Sandvik’s Australian designed and built LHDs are assembled, along with assembly of underground soft-rock drill rigs, covering mobile drills, drill attachments for road headers and continuous miners for distribution domestically and to export markets and Hexham B, where Sandvik’s USA-assembled surface drills are customised for local markets, and which also handles sales and repairs of conveyor components.

The Broadmeadow operation, where parts for underground soft-rock drill rigs are manufactured, and Mayfield plant, where the MGT range of drill rods, tips and picks are manufactured – including a modern, state of the art self-drilling bolts production line – will also be integrated into the site.

In addition to the manufacturing, assembly, distribution and aftermarket service areas, the Hunter Valley site will also have a separate fabrication area of 1700 square metres, a training workshop of 450sq.m and a two-storey office building of 3000sq.m, housing administration and support functions as well as sales and marketing operations.

The aftermarket service facility alone at the facility will be 9300sq.m, nearly the size of two football fields.

Aftermarket service capabilities will cover the complete Sandvik Mining and Construction product range distributed and supported in the region, including LHDs, continuous miners, road headers, underground rigs and surface rigs, as well as repairs for roller screens, pulleys and similar equipment.

NSW Minister for Planning Tony Kelly said the facility will enable Sandvik Mining and Construction to expand its operations.

The Department of Planning assessed the project under Part 3A of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act and found it could be undertaken in a manner that would not significantly impact the local environment or amenity of the local area, while delivering jobs and investment.

Kelly said flora and fauna, traffic impacts, soil and water management and noise issues were carefully considered.

“A total of 47 conditions have been imposed to ensure potential impacts are appropriately managed and mitigated,” Kelly said.

“The facility will manufacture heavy machinery and cemented carbide tools for use in the mining and materials handling industries and also undertake mining machinery testing and maintenance.”