The Wood Tech Group, national supplier of woodworking and stone processing equipment, has acquired Rogers Industries, a specialist plastics and aluminium manufacturer for over $12.5m. The acquisition includes the land, factory, plant and equipment.
Founded in 1953 as a small engineering workshop, today, Rogers Industries, based in Hemmant, Queensland, is an industry leader in plastic injection moulding and aluminium die casting services.
Image: Ron Smyth, Group Managing Director (left), Colin Rogers, founder of Rogers Industries.
Rogers Industries’ customer base includes local and national companies, which it produces components for truck/ute bodies and trays, diggers, and aluminum pipe fittings for farming irrigation.
The acquisition via an associated trust, includes the transfer of assets with over 17,000m2 of land near Port of Brisbane, to be redeveloped for the Wood Tech Group. Machinery also forms part of the deal, including injection moulding machines, CNC lathes, milling and machining centres plus multiple furnaces.
The existing site already includes 7000m2 of factory space, with a further $3m investment announced for a 2,500m2 purpose-built office to serve as the national group headquarters. The new HQ will also include a technology and innovation centre to invite collaboration between inventors, designers, engineers, government departments and real-world production.
The Wood Tech Group is increasingly diversified; last year a new division, PPE Tech, was established to locally manufacture millions of P2 face masks for industry and government. The new site at Hemmant will expand production with a $1.5m investment in new ISO cleanrooms, automated production lines and a quality testing facility for face masks and other PPE. The acquisition of Rogers Industries’ plastics division will allow new product development into face shields, helmets, hard hats, and safety glasses.
“The move to acquire and integrate the Rogers business into the broader Wood Tech Group is an investment and shows confidence in local manufacturing, right here in Brisbane”, says Group Managing Director, Ron Smyth. “The existing Rogers’ business will expand with further investment, plus our new in-house capabilities will complement existing business units, with machinery spare parts manufactured locally, plus expansion of Australian PPE production.”
Smyth continues, “Our message to Australian companies is clear: if you’re looking to re-shore your manufacturing, speak to us. Our technology investment makes it viable for you to provide Australian made products to your customers.”
The business is expected to announce up to 50 new positions over the next 6 months in their Brisbane-based headquarters.