More steel, closer to customers in the Pilbara

Getting steel where it’s needed just became a lot easier for customers in Port Hedland.

We’ve opened a new 6,000-square-metre facility in the heart of the Pilbara, giving local customers easier access to reinforcing steel, structural steel, plate and tube products.

It means less distance between our steel and the people using it, whether they’re working in fabrication, construction, resources or renewable energy.

A local solution for Port Hedland

Until now, steel was transported from our Karratha site to Port Hedland several times a week.

If something was needed urgently, customers could face a five-hour round trip to Karratha or the significant cost of bringing material more than 1,600 kilometres from Perth.

The new site puts more steel within easy reach.

“Instead of waiting for steel to travel hundreds of kilometres from Karratha or more than 1,600 kilometres from Perth, InfraBuild customers will now have steel available locally when they need it,” said InfraBuild General Manager WA, Michael Hurley

“That matters in a region like the Pilbara, where downtime is expensive and customers need access to steel quickly.”

Ready for what’s coming next

The Pilbara is already home to some of Australia’s biggest resources operations, with further investment underway across renewable energy, resources and construction.

For us, opening in Port Hedland is about making sure the steel supply network is ready to support that growth.

“We’re also seeing significant investment in renewable energy and major resources projects across the region, which will create further demand for steel. We want to make sure we have the capability in place today to support that pipeline.

“Our investment in Port Hedland reflects our confidence in the long-term growth of Western Australia and the importance of establishing local capability ahead of future demand.”

The facility will also support local fabricators, retail and trade customers, and residential and commercial construction across the region.

Continuing to invest in WA

Port Hedland is now our eighteenth site in Western Australia, joining a network that stretches from the Pilbara through Perth to the South West.

We invested more than $5 million in our Western Australian operations in FY26 and plan to invest a further $15 million across FY27 and FY28, including at Forrestfield, Bunbury, Karratha and Kalgoorlie.

“We employ more than 300 people across Western Australia and operate 18 sites across the state, from the Pilbara to Perth and the South West,” said Michael Hurley, General Manager WA.

“We invested more than $5 million in our Western Australian operations last financial year and plan to invest a further $15 million over FY27 and FY28, including at Forrestfield, Bunbury, Karratha and Kalgoorlie.

“We’re making these investments commercially, without government grant funding, because we believe in the long-term growth of Western Australia and the role Australian-made steel can play in supporting it.”

Building local capability

The Port Hedland opening is another step in strengthening our ability to support customers closer to where they work.

InfraBuild is Australia’s only manufacturer of reinforcing steel, operating two electric arc furnace steel mills that recycle Australian scrap into new steel. We are investing to increase our Australian steelmaking capacity from approximately 1.4 million tonnes to 1.8 million tonnes annually by 2030.