Flender, a global supplier of mechanical drives and a subsidiary of Siemens, has announced plans for an expansion into Western Australia.
Its new state-of-the-art facility in Tonkin Highway Industrial Estate, in Bayswater, will allow the company to grow in the region, helping it meet increasing customer demand especially in the wind energy and mining sectors, Flender said.
The investment will include a new purpose-built 3,500 sq.m facility set for completion in September. When complete, the new premises will be the only OEM facility on the West Coast with a 1.5 MW test bench capable of testing complete drive systems up to a voltage of 6.6 kV, it said.
Kareem Emara, CEO and Managing Director of Flender Australia, said relocating to Tonkin Highway Industrial Estate will allow Flender to centralise operations and get closer to customers in Western Australia.
“Flender has been renowned for high performance, innovation, quality and reliability of mechanical components for over 120 years,” he said. “We have been growing exponentially the last few years and now have the biggest installed base in mining and wind turbine gearboxes compared to any other OEM in Australia.”
He added: “Regardless of where we are, being close to our customers is the cornerstone of our business model. Western Australia has been an excellent market for us in the recent years. It’s only natural for us to reinvest in this key market and be where our customers are to offer them the combined brains trust of over 50 facilities worldwide through this new state-of-the-art centre.”
Flender says it has the largest installed base of industrial drives in Western Australia. Some installations have been in operation since the 1970s and are still in service today in mine and port locations across the Pilbara and other regions of Western Australia.
The facility will also be designed to cater for projected growth in ‘geared’ wind turbines over the next couple of decades, enabling Flender to combine sales, project delivery, engineering and training in one location, it said.
Emara concluded: “Whilst COVID-19 has presented challenges to Australian economy, we take a long-term view and are confident in our expansion plans to help set up the right support structure for the nation’s critical energy infrastructure and industry.
“We are supporting critical industries such as mining now and are preparing for future growth in other industries.”
This announcement follows the $5 million investment into Rockhampton service centre, in Queensland, in 2017.