Bondor / Metecno officially opened their state of the art manufacturing facility in Campbellfield Melbourne on Friday 20 October.

The $20 million investment in this 14,500m2 factory, which includes a state of the art production line from leading German equipment manufacturer Hennecke, capable of producing over two million square metres of panel per year is a significant investment in Australian manufacturing. This comes at a time when other manufacturers are closing down.

The Bondor / Metecno Australia Group Executive General Manager, Geoff Marsdon, said the factory is an important addition to the company’s existing facilities around Australia, and demonstrates the group’s commitment to local manufacturing and the Australian economy.

“Melbourne’s west is an ideal place to build this facility with its strong manufacturing history and skills base and ready access to a hub for southern Australia,” Mr Marsdon said.

“This is a major investment in the long term future of our business, significantly increasing our capacity and the flexibility to produce our range of energy efficient steel faced insulated panel products, all of which are tested to Australian Standards.”

Mr Marsdon said the time is right for investing in energy efficient technology that improves building envelope performance and reduces the energy demand of a building.

“This week it was reported that Australian power prices had increased by 63 per cent since 2007. Even if we can’t do much about the unit price we can address demand by reducing the energy required to heat or cool a building, and superior performing building envelopes are the way to achieve this,” Mr Marsdon said.

Metecno PIR General Manager Colin Richman said the factory will allow Bondor / Metecno to enhance their service and product offering to their customers.

“The factory will produce our range of lightweight thermally efficient and fire retardant steel faced insulated panels. It has also allowed us to develop new products and systems such as MetecnoKasset, our façade and curtain wall system,” Mr Richman said.

Metecno is utilising its own building products MetecnoSpan (a PIR insulated roofing panel with fire-retardant core) and MetecnoInspire (an insulated architectural façade system with fire-retardant core).

The factory with its modern design provides temperature control thanks to the Metecno insulated panel products maintaining temperature at 15-16 degrees Celsius, regardless of the exterior temperature.

Mr Richman explains why insulated panel roofing and walling systems, such as the products used on this factory, are becoming an Australian standard.

“This trend has been driven by energy efficiency, installer safety and a better understanding of the relationship between employee comfort and the quality of their work output,” Mr Richman said.

“Because of this we are seeing many clients choosing insulated roof and wall panel systems.”

Construction of the facility was undertaken by local builders, Corplex Pty Ltd and roofing installers JJ Roofing, who said the Bondor / Metecno insulated building products increased the speed of the build.

Salvatore Falleti, Project and Site Manager at Corplex Pty Ltd said Metecno’s insulated products have been easy to use.

“The factory is made from products of fantastic quality. The ease of the installation meant the factory was completed very quickly,” Mr Falleti said.

ENDS

About Bondor Metecno

Bondor / Metecno is Australia’s leading manufacturer of insulated building panels. Founded in the 1950s, the group is constantly working on solutions for industrial, commercial and residential building customers across Australia and offers the most comprehensive range of insulated panel products and systems available. Having operated in the industry for 65 years, Bondor / Metecno takes pride in being an Australian manufacturer.

The company’s products have been approved and tested to Australian standards, while adhering to the strictest international regulations. Bondor / Metecno has technical and support associations with several international building product suppliers, universities and research facilities in Australia and remains up-to-date with industry trends and regulations through its involvement with the Insulated Panel Council of Australasia and the FM Approvals International Advisory Council.

Further to this, associations include BlueScope Steel, Dulux, Branz, and the Queensland University of Technology. Bondor is also a supporting corporate partner of the Australian Institute of Architects, strengthening its ties to Australia’s design community. These relationships assist Bondor in remaining at the cutting edge of trends in product development and to retain its industry leader status in construction techniques.

For more information about Bondor / Metecno head to www.bondor.com.au, or www.metecnopir.com.au

For media enquiries, interviews or photographs please contact:

Matt Gharakhanian

Elevate Communication Coordinator

(p) 07 3180 3666

(m) 0423 600 767

(e) matt@elevatecom.com.au