Multotec Australia has plans to expand its presence in Australia and the local quarrying sector in 2025.
When Grahame Hopkins returned to Multotec Australia after more than a decade, he realised the company was onto something special.
He had spent around 14 years away from the business on a journey to grow his skillset and career, but when offered the chance to return to the company, where he had been one of the original five employees in 2004, he could not say no.
It was a simple decision in his mind. The company had the right products to make a mark across Australia’s heavy industries and the ambition to expand.
“I hadn’t been to the office or seen the factory until I rejoined.
“I turned up the first day and walked around; I said to them, ‘You are so far ahead of everyone else, it’s not funny’. They were streets ahead of everyone else,” he told Quarry.
“I felt like they were going to set the benchmark of what the rest of the industry will chase.”
Hopkins credited much of the company’s drive and ambition to Multotec Australia’s managing director, Nigel Kriel. Kriel played a key role in Hopkins’ return to the company, and now the pair’s partnership is a driving force behind the company’s plans in Australia.
“Nigel has set the tone, the benchmark and the desire within our company to get it to where it is,” Hopkins said.
“He brings the innovation. I would often ask him if we could do something, and in 24 hours, he would come back with a solution.
“He is one of the most innovative people I’ve ever met.”
Multotec Australia’s distinctive black-and-green screen media and processing equipment is recognised in the Australian mining sector. Now, the company plans to introduce the equipment into the country’s quarrying industry.
While the industries may differ, Multotec Australia’s end goal remains the same: helping customers improve their yields through a tailored solution.
Rarely in the industry can a screening solution be stock standard and brought off a shelf. Two quarry sites are rarely the same, as geography, project demands and differences in material composition can alter the equipment a quarry may require. That is why Multotec Australia has assembled a team with the knowledge, experience, and innovative thinking to tailor a solution to the customer’s exact requirements using a process-driven engineering approach.
“The same products we sell into mining can be used in quarrying. For us, it’s not as though we’re reinventing ourselves or starting again. We think it can work well in the quarrying sector in Australia,” Hopkins said.
“The idea is optimising the product that is best for the customer’s commodity, in this case aggregates.
“If we can give them better yields, they’ll make more profit. If they get bigger, they’ll be able to expand their sites, so it is a win-win.”
However, the company’s role does not end with manufacturing a solution for the customer. It provides further training at its facilities or on-site to show how the customer can get the most out of Multotec’s equipment. This service is extended to the company’s digital platforms, where Multotec Australia’s team can demonstrate how to use the online service so customers can spend less time doing admin and ordering and more time on what matters: producing material.
“We don’t want a seller. We want to be your partner,” Hopkins said.
“We’re always looking at the optimal performance of the equipment, how we can make improvements to the current plans, and what we need to do to help our customers get better yields.
The company has invested significantly in expanding its headquarters in Logan, Brisbane. The investment, worth $20 million, will see the addition of a laboratory and a circuit system and expand the site’s footprint. These additions will complement the existing advanced manufacturing equipment, which includes automated welding machines, compression moulding rubber panels, and polyurethane casts.
This will also complement Multotec’s existing network of branches throughout Australia, which can provide direct customer support. The company maintains branch locations in Perth, Newman, Melbourne, Sydney, Newcastle, Emerald and Mackay. The company is looking to potentially add Townsville and the north and south islands in New Zealand to increase its customer support in those areas.
The expansion, which is estimated to be completed in 2026, will provide an advanced facility for its team of engineers to create its range of screening, processing and classification equipment, which is tailored to the customer.
“Research and development is extremely important. Our research and development mainly centres on lab work and optimising the performance of this product,” Hopkins said,
“With this expansion, we’ll be getting a proper lab and our own circuit. The circuit will allow us to run our client’s product through there and test what works for them.”
Hopkins said the company’s commitment to technology-driven product design ensured the customer received a high-quality product.
“The stalwarts of our business have operated plants; they know what the customer has done because they’ve done it themselves,” he said.
“What sets us apart is the willingness and desire to convert that in the areas that we’re working in. That is where the growth has come from.” •
For more information, visit multotec.com
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