Sandvik has opened an upgraded ground support manufacturing facility at Heatherbrae, bringing automated rock bolt and plate production under one roof and launching a 10-year smart manufacturing plan for the Hunter.
The ground support products made at Sandvik’s Heatherbrae facility won’t travel far to find their purpose. Rock bolts and plates produced at the site support mining and tunnelling operations across the Hunter and beyond, forming part of the systems that protect people and equipment underground.
Sandvik has relocated its established ground support manufacturing operation from Bennetts Green to the upgraded Heatherbrae site, which was officially opened on 26 August. The move brings local production into a facility designed around automation, safer work and future growth, and marks the start of a 10-year smart manufacturing plan for the region.
“This is a long-term investment in manufacturing capability in the Hunter,” says Derek Hird, Regional Chief Executive Officer at Sandvik Ground Support (APAC). “It has been a decade-long journey, through changes in ownership, a relocation and the steady build-out of our automation strategy. I’ve always been passionate about keeping manufacturing in Australia, but to do that, we have to compete with the best in the world. Heatherbrae shows we can.”
Automation at the core
Three automated rock bolt production lines sit at the centre of the new operation, alongside automated plate production and plate packing from the presses. Together, the systems improve consistency and productivity while keeping specialised manufacturing capability, and the jobs that come with it, in the Hunter.
Much of that equipment was designed by Sandvik’s own team. The fundamental design and mechanical engineering were developed and built in-house, with specialist support for the robotics.
“The best results come when the people who understand the process design the equipment,” Hird says. “Taking that work in-house has made all the difference.”
The lines are the result of a staged program. A decade ago, rock bolt production was a series of stop-start steps, with bars cut, racked and moved between machines. The team has progressively linked those steps together, removing work in progress and automating each stage along the way: first peeling and threading, then bar shearing and packaging.
“The line is safer and far more efficient, and quality checks that were once done by hand are now built into the process,” Hird says. “The result is a manufacturing cell that can compete with anyone in the world.”
Safer work, new skills
The changes are practical as well as technological. Automated material handling reduces the need for manual intervention at several stages of production, and the modernised facility gives employees a safer setting to operate and maintain the new systems.
Workforce development is central to the plan. As Sandvik progressively introduces new technology at Heatherbrae, employees are being trained to run, maintain and improve the automated production systems.
“The technology gives us a more consistent and competitive way to manufacture locally. Just as importantly, it creates opportunities for our people to develop the skills modern manufacturing needs,” Hird says. “Our operators now bring far more technical knowledge to their roles. And because we design our own equipment, our engineering and maintenance teams are building expertise that opens up real career paths.”
Sandvik also partners with HunterNet Career Connections to bring apprentices into the business. “We’re proud to train young people from the region,” Hird says. “We keep as many as we can, and those who move on take valuable skills into other Hunter industries.”
Building on Hunter history
Heatherbrae builds on a long history rather than starting again. The business has made ground support in Newcastle since rock bolting took off in the 1960s and 1970s, first as part of ANI Strata Products and later as DSI Underground, which became Sandvik’s Ground Support division in 2021.
For decades, that work was based at Bennetts Green, once an industrial area and now largely retail. The Heatherbrae site, built during the mining boom but never fully used, offered a purpose-built alternative. It now brings Ground Support together with other Sandvik divisions, including mechanical cutting, load and haul, and surface drilling, lifting site utilisation from around 30 per cent to 90 per cent.
The move also delivered a modern research and development centre. “It’s one of the most advanced R&D centres in our group and our industry,” Hird says. “It’s where we’ll develop the solutions mines need in the future, and we’re proud to welcome customers through it.”
Built on Australian steel
Steel is the backbone of every product leaving Heatherbrae, and around 99 per cent of it is Australian. InfraBuild rod and bar is cut, shaped and threaded into solid rock bolts, while BlueScope hot-rolled coil is used for tubular bolts and plates.
With steel accounting for about 80 per cent of product cost, those partnerships are critical.
“Our competitiveness starts with our steel,” Hird says. “We work closely with BlueScope and InfraBuild on grades, tolerances and supply chain efficiencies, and their support has been an important part of keeping our Australian manufacturing competitive.”
Local production also means faster, more responsive service. “Sourcing offshore means long lead times. From Heatherbrae, we can get product to customers in hours, not months,” Hird says. “And because ground support is a safety product, every check and balance matters. As our motto says, we keep people safe.”
Global strength, local know-how
Sandvik is a global high-tech engineering group providing solutions that enhance productivity, profitability and sustainability for the mining, manufacturing and infrastructure industries. At Heatherbrae, those global engineering resources combine with the production knowledge of the Hunter workforce.
Being part of Sandvik also allows Ground Support to work with other divisions on end-to-end mining solutions that help customers automate their operations and create safer environments underground.
The smart manufacturing plan extends well beyond Heatherbrae. Sandvik benchmarks each product across its global manufacturing network, and automation is increasingly tipping the balance towards Australia. A new automated plate welding cell at Kewdale in Western Australia, due for completion by the end of the year, will bring a significant volume of production and steel back onshore. The friction bolt, made in Brisbane and Perth, is next, with plans to link roll forming, welding and galvanising into one continuous flow.
“We don’t automate processes in isolation. We look at the total flow of the business,” Hird says. “Our focus isn’t protectionism. It’s investing in smart manufacturing and working with partners like BlueScope and InfraBuild to compete globally. Where it makes sense, we’ll keep investing and growing.”
For the people operating its lines, and the industries relying on what they make, Heatherbrae represents a long-term investment in Australian manufacturing capability.
For further information, visit: https://www.mining.sandvik/
