Part of FUCHS’ global investment strategy for the future, the new facility will cater for continuous growth in the region and be constructed on a greenfield 25,000sq.m piece of land in Beresfield, said the MD of Fuchs Lubricants (Australasia), Wayne Hoiles.

The Beresford site was chosen for its proximity to all major connecting highways north, southeast and west and was close enough to the company’s existing Wickham site that all existing employees would be able to continue to work at the new plant.

“While such a significant portion of Australia’s manufacturing is moving offshore, we have focused on growing our business in Australia and New Zealand, particularly in high-demand areas,” Hoiles said.

“The existing site in Wickham was too small to expand, so we made the decision to move to the new Beresfield site, which will allow us maintain our experienced workforce and increase our production capacity and operational efficiencies to better service our key customer base in New South Wales and Queensland.”

With the purchase of the land complete, construction is expected to start mid-2015 and the facility fully operational in mid-2016.

FUCHS manufactures a range of engine, gear and hydraulic oils, engine coolants, grease and cleaning products to meet the unique demands of the Australian mining industry. Customers in the Hunter Valley region will benefit significantly from this new facility.

Fuchs Petrolub AG executive board member Dr Georg Lingg, who is responsible for the Asia Pacific and Africa region, said: “The Australian mining industry is of significant importance to the Fuchs Group, and the construction of this new manufacturing plant will allow us to improve the responsiveness and quality of our service for our Australian based customers.

“This commitment is part of our global investment program to invest in the future, particularly in the growing Southeast Asian region.”