Steelpipe subsidiary in WA

NEW Zealand-based steel pipe company, Steelpipe New Zealand, has officially established its Australian subsidiary, Steelpipe Australia, with the opening of a new $7 million factory in East Rockingham. The company, which manufactures steel pipe for the building and construction industry, will use the new factory as its national distribution base. Steelpipe’s first major contract is to manufacture pipe for the Southern Gateway Alliance, the construction company behind the Perth to Bunbury Highway. Steelpipe Australia sales manager Ian Hutchens said the company had been planning to open a factory on the Rockingham site for the past five years, and commenced construction in October last year. The factory has been operational since March. “Steelpipe Australia aims to produce 16,000 tonnes of steel pipe over the coming year, with a goal of 25,000 tonnes by 2009-10,” he said. Mr Hutchens said Western Australia was the ideal location for the company’s Australian headquarters, due to the mining and construction boom in the state. “With the amount of work going on in Perth, we felt it was the opportune place,” he said. Mr Hutchens said the company had no plans to open a factory on the eastern seaboard, although it had a number of projects outside WA. “Our intention is to look for major projects throughout Australia, particularly with marine applications,” he said. Steelpipe Australia will manufacture pipes to be used in steel piling in wharves, jetties, bridges, foundations and structural circular sections for the building and construction industry.