New Ardex Oceania HQ
ACA partner Ardex Australia has built a new six-star green rating manufacturing regional warehouse in Kemps Creek in western Sydney. It is positioned as an Industry 4.0 building materials manufacturer for Oceania, and demonstrates a commitment to local manufacturing and Australian-made supply.
The site’s bespoke advanced manufacturing design includes a world-class 35-metre high powder manufacturing tower used to vertically mix raw materials efficiently. The new liquids manufacturing plant is an industry-first for its orientation and size and includes a 20-metre silo tower for storage and transfer of raw materials to the multi-level mixing plant.
Other Industry 4.0 characteristics include automation, electric vehicles and forklifts, solar panel system spanning 17,000 square metres, rainwater tanks, and energy efficient lighting – targeting the site a Six Star Green Star Design As-Built v1.3 rating.
“We’re investing now for long term, low cost production, ensuring we will retain our market-focused position for decades to come,” Oceania Regional Managing Director, Fabian Morgan said. “Our commitment to local manufacturing and Australian-made supply brings certainty and stability to customers.”
The YARDS – developed by joint-venture partners Frasers Property Industrial and Aware Real Estate – is the first industrial estate in Australia to achieve a Six Star Green Star Communities v1.1 rating from the Green Building Council of Australia, within which the Ardex Oceania HQ resides. It includes solar installations, water harvesting and recycling, and full electrification to facilitate a seamless transition to fossil fuel-free energy sources in the future.
The Ardex HQ site doubles the size of the company’s current research and training facilities, recognising the requirements for new and innovative building material solutions and a strong succession of future installers and applicators in the waterproofing, generation construction, flooring and tiling industries.
The location is strategic for an optimal national logistics network for the warehouse, located nearby the 24/7 Western Sydney International Airport and future Southern Link Road in the Western Sydney Aerotropolis, close to the M4 and M7, and within Greater Western Sydney’s sought-after industrial zone, alongside Microsoft and Amazon.
The $140 million investment is the single largest infrastructure investment that the intergenerational privately-owned global organisation has internally funded in its 70 years of operation.
For the first time, Ardex will merge its manufacturing, warehousing and support office as well as its joint venture partners DTA Australia, Nexus Adhesives and WEDI, in August 2024. The site complements the other nine manufacturing and 14 distribution centres around Australia and New Zealand.
Head to the website for more information about Ardex Australia.