Boral backs our region
Company opens new $13m plant
A MASSIVE asphalt batching plant capable of creating 1.2 million tonnes of product every year has been launched by major construction materials company Boral.
The $13 million facility in the Witmack Industry Park was officially opened by Mayor Paul Antonio in a ceremony yesterday.
Spanning 35 metres into the air, the Swiss-made batching plant would double Boral’s output across south-west Queensland and northern New South Wales.
State executive general manager Simon Jeffrey said the Toowoomba economy would only continue to improve, predicting strong demand for new and renewed civil infrastructure over the next few years.
“Toowoomba is going to go from strength from strength and we sincerely believe the essentials of the Queensland economy are strong,” he said.
“The Toowoomba Second Range project is going to open up a lot more opportunities.
“If I wasn’t positive, we wouldn’t have made the investment.”
The plant also contained several new features and measures to improve efficiency and even use recycled materials during batching.
Mr Jeffrey said the plant’s proximity to the Boral quarry off Toowoomba-Cecil Plains Rd was another factor in choosing the Wellcamp site.
“This is our base where we launch our work in this region and out west,” he said.
“One of the major influences here is we’re just near our Wellcamp quarry.
“We really want an operation that will get us through the next 30 to 50 years or so.”
Cr Antonio praised Boral for backing up its long-standing presence in the region with further investment.
“It’s fantastic that they wanted to invest in our region – it’s an endorsement of our economic policy,” he said.
“The investment is a vote of confidence in Toowoomba.
“They’ve chosen to be part of what we’ve prescribed as an industrial area, which is good.”