InfraBuild behind a more sustainable construction sector

Pictured: A newly rebranded InfraBuild Construction Solutions site in Australia

Liberty launches Infrabuild as the core construction and building solutions brand, harnessing the pillar’s Australian manufacturing, distribution and recycling resources.

GFG Alliance has achieved an enormous amount since commencing operations in Australia two years ago. The transformation of the Group’s Australian businesses has left it well placed for a successful and sustainable future, and a range of important milestones have been achieved.

Now, the next stage of GFG Alliance’s Australian transformation is taking shape in the manufacturing, distribution and recycling businesses. The newly announced business group, InfraBuild, a company of Liberty, brings together five new businesses: InfraBuild Recycling, InfraBuild Steel, InfraBuild Reinforcing & Construction Solutions, InfraBuild Building Products and InfraBuild Wire. Together, these divisions are expected to allow InfraBuild to strengthen its market focus, reshape its way of working and continue to grow.

The name InfraBuild is in itself significant. It was inspired by submissions from staff members and intends to communicate the new business’s purpose and its ambition to be the market-leading construction and building solutions partner.

InfraBuild Chief Financial Officer Geoff Feurtado is upbeat about this latest step, “I’m excited to work with the new team to transform the businesses and streamline the way we operate, ensuring that InfraBuild can deliver a true ustomer-focused experience, while leveraging its presence across the full value chain,” he says.

The roles of each of the five divisions are explained below.

InfraBuild Recycling
InfraBuild Recycling, a leader in sustainable resource-recovery, has been moving with energy to invest for the future.
Division Chief Financial Officer Barton Champness says that with investments of more than $28 million this year, the business is well-positioned to reap the benefits. “This year, we have invested more in capital expenditure than ever across all our sites, but particularly at Laverton, our largest site in Victoria, which will increase capacity and set us up for growth,” he says. “We are also exploring how we can use new technology to optimise market opportunities, particularly in the wake of China’s revised import guidelines on recyclable materials.”

Laverton upgrade
InfraBuild Recycling’s Laverton site has recently completed its most significant upgrade in two decades. Capacity has been expanded for recycled steel and vehicle turnaround time reduced on-site to cope with the steadily increasing demand for steel in Australia.

The installation of a fixed sheer increases processing by an estimated 50 per cent, the telestacker and track unloader increases delivery efficiency, and the four new B-double weighbridges further decrease vehicle turnaround time.

The redevelopment also includes the upgrade of roads and tipping areas to allow increased traffic and scrap volume flows. Some 15,000 square metres of new concrete pavement will be laid in total, with 100 tonnes of reinforcing steel provided by InfraBuild Reinforcing & Construction Solutions.

InfraBuild Steel
InfraBuild Steel is GFG Alliance’s globally competitive steel manufacturing business that leverages technology and world-class operating disciplines to provide lowest-cost sustainable solutions for the Australian steel supply chain.

One of the key developments coming out of this space is an investment in Industry 4.0, which embraces intelligent automation (artificial intelligence) and the power of Big Data to drive a step change in the way the business operates.

InfraBuild Steel Executive Managing Director Shane Murphy is excited about the prospects coming out of the Industry 4.0 programme. “Over the last 12 months, a huge effort has been made in reviewing networks at our mills to enable the collection of deep information across all our manufacturing processes,” he says. “This data, paired with new technology, will allow us to find ways to hone and modernise our processes at each stage of production.”

Driving the program on the ground across our Australian East Coast steel mills is Rod and Bar Industry 4.0 Program Lead, Andrew Thomas. “We’re just finishing a project to upgrade our Laverton melt shop’s data system,” says Andrew. “This will give us the data we need to help drive improvements in our billet production process. We’re also working with the Advanced Manufacturing department at Queensland University of Technology on a number of potential robotics projects.”

InfraBuild Reinforcing & Construction Solutions
InfraBuild Reinforcing & Construction Solutions is a leading provider of innovative steel-in-concrete-related solutions to the Australian building and construction industries.

Executive Managing Director Anthony Sive recently joined to lead the InfraBuild Construction Solutions business and has more than 30 years of operational management experience in the steel and manufacturing industry.
Anthony says with several key infrastructure projects currently underway, there is a lot of potential to unlock as the business approaches a key milestone. “Now that we operate as InfraBuild Reinforcing & Construction Solutions., we will have clearer customer segments and target markets,” he says. “This will allow us to identify areas we can leverage in the market and where we can add most value.”

Anthony continues, “Our brands are stronger together under the same banner, but will still continue to function eparately. This structure will allow us to explore operational efficiencies to create opportunity. There is so much potential for us to grow and improve the way we work.”

The importance of GFG Alliance values to InfraBuild Reinforcing & Construction Solutions can be seen in a recent initiative introduced by the division. A new mantra and peer recognition program called ‘Pride in Performance’ has been brought in to drive measurable results for the business that align with the Balanced Business Plan.

ARC, part of InfraBuild Reinforcing & Construction Solutions, is contributing to the Sydney Metro project. Photo: Sydney Metro

InfraBuild Building Products
InfraBuild Building Products is a provider of a wide range of steel and tube products and related building solutions to the Australian construction and building industries.

Executive Managing Director and industry veteran Michael Negri says the business is well positioned to leverage InfraBuild’s nationwide distribution network and deep market insight.

“We have an amazing position in the market, and a huge opportunity for our business to grow based on our expertise and our well-positioned distribution network,” he says. “We’ll drive customer value by taking their perspective on everything we do and providing a more rounded package to the building industry.”

Michael continues, “The first focus is to gain a deep understanding of what our customers are looking for and to use this to guide every decision we make. It’s less about looking at how many tonnes we put through the mill, and more about whether we’re providing real solutions to our customers’ problems.”

InfraBuild Wire
InfraBuild Wire is a provider of high-quality wire and steel products solutions to the Australian rural, industrial and manufacturing markets. It delivers innovative solutions that customers can rely on by leveraging strong business and market brands, including Waratah and Cyclone.

The business is led by Managing Director Greg Jones, who has held a range of senior managerial positions across the Australian InfraBuild business over the past 11 years.

For Greg, the future is all about building value for customers and continuing to innovate. “InfraBuild Wire serves our customers with leading brands through a worldwide distribution network,” he says. “I’m excited about the potential to leverage these brands to deliver sustainable products and innovative solutions that exceed our customers’ expectations.”

Waratah’s innovation in wildlife conservation fencing proves just this. The award-winning fencing solution has been specifically designed to exclude feral animals and protect native species. Currently used in a joint conservation project with Aussie Ark in New South Wales, the fencing helps to secure 2,000 hectares of natural habitat and protect 50 species of mammal, 278 species of bird, 42 species of reptiles and 18 species of frog. This is just the beginning for a solution that can play a major role in the reduction of mammal extinction rates in Australia and overseas.

InfraBuild Reinforcing & Construction Solutions Current Projects

SYDNEY METRO (New South Wales) Sydney Metro will extend metro rail from the end of Sydney Metro Northwest at Chatswood under Sydney Harbour, through new CBD stations and south west to Bankstown. It is due to open in 2024.

The new standalone railway will deliver 31 metro stations and more than 66 kilometres of new metro rail, revolutionising the way Australia’s biggest city travels. ARC will supply 35,000 tonnes of reinforcing bar (including stock, processed and precast), mesh, automatic and manual prefabricated cages, as well as associated accessories.

STOCKYARD HILL WIND FARM (Victoria) Australia’s largest, most economical wind farm is currently under construction approximately 35 kilometres west of Ballarat, between the Victorian towns of Beaufort and Skipton.

The proposed facility will have 149 wind turbines – made using some 7,000 tonnes of ARC reinforcing bar and accessories – and will have the potential to power approximately 390,000 homes annually.

DESTINATION GOLD COAST (Queensland) The $400-million Dorsett Hotel and Star Residences on Queensland’s Gold Coast will feature 316 hotel rooms and 423 apartments in a tower designed by acclaimed architects Cottee Parker in conjunction with multi-award-winning DBI Design. The project is expected to use 6,500 tonnes of reinforcing bar from ARC and will be completed in 2022.

Economic benefits flowing from the project will include 2,300 jobs for the Gold Coast region, with 1800 in construction and a further 500 created. upon completion.