Kleemann sales manager for crushers and screeners Kyle Fredericks told Quarry about the ripple effects of the upcoming Olympic Games.
How has the industry changed over 2025?
The demand for aggregates and quarry materials has increased over the past 12 months. On the supply side, there’s more recognition of quarrying as critical to the national infrastructure capacity.
There has also some regulatory changes in Queensland which allows regional local governments to extract limited amounts of resources up to 10,000 tonnes without a full environmental authority, under certain conditions.
It gives local councils the ability to maintain their local roads. They don’t have to go to the state national level to get funding.
The industry is also starting to consolidate. Smaller quarries are being swallowed up by bigger players. Larger firms vertically integrate them and improve their own efficiencies.
How has the upcoming Olympic Games affected the industry?
Demand is increasing in Queensland with the upcoming Olympics. There’s a massive push for infrastructure building in the lead up to the games.
There’s a renewed emphasis on infrastructure-driven demand, especially in the public sector infrastructure projects, such as roads, transport, utilities, houses, and housing.
This is helping boost the demand for quarry products.
I’ve also seen a call for streamlined approvals and strategic long-term planning. Cement Concrete and Aggregates Australia has been advocating for a heavy construction materials plan to manage demand, safeguard resource reserves and speed up approvals for new quarries or expansions.
However, in other states, things are slower after excessive growth over the COVID-19 period.
What challenges are facing the industry?
Getting approval for new queries or new reserves remain slow. Often the process is fragmented across multiple level of governments. Queensland for example, has delays of no less than three years for simple changes and up to a decade for access to new rock reserves, creating potential supply bottlenecks.
Despite the infrastructure demand increasing, suitably located permitted quarries, especially near growth areas, may struggle to keep up. Long distances increase cost, increase emissions, and material supply risk.
Workforce pressures are also a massive challenge. Pretty much everyone is experiencing a skill shortage in adjacent sectors. The broader construction sectors are facing a looming shortfall of skilled workers, trades, labourers, and engineers.
I personally feel that there needs to be a massive push within the sector. I think we’re losing people to simple jobs because there’s more money in jobs where you don’t have to get dirty.
How is Kleemann helping address these challenges?
We’re trying to manufacture and produce more efficient crushing and screening equipment for the industry. We offer a full diesel electric option, where you can plug into grid power or solar power or even wind farms.
It’s a matter of reducing carbon emissions and providing solutions that can reduce the cost per tonne for quarries and operators out there.
Our main objective is to find the most environmentally friendly drive concept for every application in quarrying. It comes with its challenges especially in Australia – you’re dealing with vast areas with very minimal infrastructure.
What was the most important lesson from 2025?
Demand can change rapidly, so acquiring an aggregate supply must be managed strategically.
In general, the cost to actually produce rock is also a lot more expensive. There are lessons to be learnt of how to do things better and more efficiently.
What does the future have in store for the industry?
In the near term, there’s going to be a tightening of supply of quarry materials. Especially as major infrastructure projects ramp up.
This could lead to fast tracked approvals for new quarries, increased consolidation in the industry and expansion of existing quarries. Some jurisdictions may implement strategic quarry reserve planning.
In the next maybe 12 to 18 months there’s going to be massive infrastructure projects and spend nationally. It’s going to require more innovation in how materials are sourced, processed, and transported. There could even be an increase in demand for recycled materials or composites to mitigate environmental impacts in these large projects.
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