After the Kurri Kurri community was devastated by the closure of the local aluminium smelter, plans are afoot to bring a new manufacturing business to the town.
Industrial Building Services plans to relocate from Tomago to the Hunter Economic Zone at Kurri Kurri, with plans lodged with Cessnock Council for a purpose-built steel fabrication and distribution facility.
The AUD 7 million facility will have capacity to fabricate up to 12,000 tonnes of steel a year, with the potential to increase to 18,000 tonnes.
IBS said that the Kurri site provides a number of opportunities in terms of its location, proximity to regional infrastructure and available land for future growth.
Once described as the state's biggest employment development, HEZ failed to get off the ground with the site sold off when its owners went into liquidation.
IBS said that the new location also enables it to retain its existing workforce of about 50 people and is close to a number of urban areas with a skilled labour market for future expansion.
IBS spokesman Anthony Williams said that HEZ provides many benefits. He said that "Longer term, HEZ presents well strategically, in terms of location, proximity to infrastructure, such as the F3 extension. This would enable IBS to better projects in the Upper Hunter, Central Coast and locally, and long term HEZ also offers companies the scope to expand due to land availability there."
Kurri Kurri Business Chamber President Rod Doherty said that attracting new businesses and jobs for the town is essential after the closure of the Hydro smelter. He said that "Any business that's substantial, if it's got 20 or 30 employees or whatever, it's going to have a multiplier affected, and it's going to create one and a half, to two extra jobs within the community. So it's just the kind of shot in the arm we need at this point in time, now the smelter's gone."
Mr Doherty said that getting HEZ off the ground would be a huge benefit for the town. He said that "It's a significant site in the Hunter, some 900 hectares. There's only Ulrich Aluminium on there at the present time, and we would hope that we would have more and more businesses start to establish there.”
"It is an employment lands generator and we're just hoping that we attract the right applicants to come in there, and then we give them all the support they need to establish."
