Earlier in the year Fenner executive director David Landgren said the new plant was also the largest single investment in conveyor belt manufacturing ever made in Australia.

“We could have built this facility in China or India,” he said at the time. “Others have done that.

“But our decision to manufacture in Australia was based on our commitment to quality and the total cost of the belts to our customers.”

The plant will be able to produce steel cord belt and rubber ply belt up to 3200mm wide, with an initial annual capacity of 330,000 square metres.

Fenner said this equates to about 103km of 3200mm wide belt.

The plant will also have the most modern technical testing facility in the southern hemisphere.

Fenner said it would have the best rubber calendaring and steel cable tensioning equipment available anywhere in the world, with a faster throughput than was previously considered possible.

The Kwinana manufacturing facility will be Fenner’s 15th for producing conveyor and its fourth steel cord plant.