INSULATED BUILDING PANEL MAKER OPENS MELBOURNE PLANT

The $20 million investment in the 14,500 square metre factory, which includes a production line from leading  German equipment manufacturer Hennecke capable of producing over two million square metres of panel per year, was described by Bondor / Metecno Australia Group Executive General Manager, Geoff Marsdon, as an key development.

“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,” he 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.”

An investment in energy efficient technology that improved building envelope performance and reduced the energy demand of a building was timely, he said, with Australian power prices having 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.”

Metecno PIR General Manager Colin Richman said the factory would allow Bondor / Metecno to enhance its service and product offering.

“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.”

Metecno used its own building products in the build: MetecnoSpan (a PIR insulated roofing panel with fireretardant core) and MetecnoInspire (an insulated architectural façade system with fire-retardant core). The factory provides temperature control thanks to the Metecno insulated panel products maintaining temperature at 15-16 degrees Celsius, regardless of exterior temperature.

“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,” 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.

“The factory is made from products of fantastic quality. The ease of the installation meant the factory was completed very quickly,” said Salvatore Falleti, Project and Site Manager at Corplex.■