“Boral’s confidence in the Toowoomba region has led us to invest $13 million at this site,” said Rob McGuire, General Manager of Boral’s Queensland Asphalt business. “Boral is proud to be part of the Toowoomba community and looks forward to supplying quality asphalt products and services well into the future.”

The new site replaces Boral’s former site at Industrial Avenue, Toowoomba, that was unsuitable for future growth. The new asphalt plant has been built in the Witmack Industry Park on the western outskirts of Toowoomba.

Officially opened by Toowoomba Regional Council Mayor Paul Antonio on March 11, the new plant is equipped with the latest available technologies for optimal efficiency and emission controls to meet Boral’s sustainability goals and future success.

“This means providing a safe, diverse and rewarding workplace for our people, seeking to minimise environmental impacts and taking a socially responsible approach to how we operate,” Rob said. “Delivering world-class safety performance and developing less resource and energy-intensive products for our customers are also central to our vision of delivering performance excellence
and sustainable growth.

The plant and offers greater flexibility to make specialist products for Boral’s customers including Toowoomba Regional Council, Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads and Roadtek. For example, the plant can produce innovative products such as our WarmPave Asphalt. The warm mix technology used to create WarmPave embraces sustainability practices to create a product at a lower temperature to reduce carbon emissions and the carbon footprint of asphalt manufacturing.

The plant can process reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP), which means that old road surfaces are removed, processed, and then used as a raw material in the plant to manufacture asphalt reducing the need for virgin rock and bitumen.

Rob said the plant’s construction also provided an opportunity to showcase ENVISIA, one of Boral’s products from our Advanced Concrete range. ENVISIA^® is a lower carbon concrete with properties similar to standard concrete and designed to require up to 65 per cent less cement in the manufacturing process without impacting on performance.

Boral Asphalt employs more than 85 people in the Toowoomba region and the new plant will provide 16 permanent jobs. Boral also provides other construction materials to the region with the nearby Wellcamp Quarry and concrete plants in Toowoomba.