Boral's three operations at Maldon, located outside Picton in the Wollondilly region of NSW, form a strategic hub for the supply of crucial building and construction materials into the greater Sydney metropolitan area.
The operations began with the opening of the Cement Works during April 1951 in response to the post-World War II building and construction boom.
With direct road (Hume Highway) and rail (Main Southern Railway) access into Sydney, the site has continuously supplied bulk and bagged cement since that time.
Until 2014, the Cement Works hosted three different kilns on-site. The kilns were used to manufacture clinker, the material which is ground to produce the 'powdered' cement as bought in hardware stores.
Since the decommissioning of Kiln 3 at the end of that year, the Cement Works has reverted to grinding clinker from the Boral Berrima Cement Works as well as imported material in its mill.
With the kiln no longer in service the associated stack, a local landmark, was demolished during 2018.
Over its life, the site has produced and ground 'grey', 'white' and 'off white' variants of clinker. Grey clinker is now the predominant form used at Maldon.
The Cement Works hosts a modern bagging facility to support dispatch of bagged cement products around the state. The facility incorporates advanced technology and robotics to assist with the speed and efficiency of supply.
Bulk cement is dispatched by trains and road tankers, both familiar sights around Maldon.
Travelling south along Maldon Bridge Road, the next of Boral's local operations is the Quarries Rail Terminal.
The Terminal was opened in 2014 as part of the greater Sydney Aggregates Project which also saw the establishment of the Boral Peppertree Quarry at Marulan South.
The Project sought to initiate a replacement hard rock resource for the now closed quarries at Emu Plains in western Sydney. These had served metropolitan building needs since the 1800s.
The main role of the Terminal is to receive trains carrying the hard rock aggregates produced at Peppertree.
From Maldon, the aggregates are dispatched by road using truck-and-dog or tipper combinations to customers across Sydney, including Boral's own concrete and asphalt plants.
Today the site supports eight employees based at the Terminal, and the seven Boral Logistics drivers attached to the facility.
The most southerly operation is the Concrete plant. The plant, originally established in the 1980s, is one of 11 making up Boral's Illawarra/Southern Highlands concrete network.
The site produces pre-mixed concrete which is sent via agitators ('concrete mixers' or 'cement trucks') to customer worksites around the network region and south-west and western Sydney.
Aggregates delivered through the Rail Terminal and cement produced at the Cement Works are used at the concrete plant to generate the site's products. Activity occurs around the Boral Maldon Operations on a 24 hour-seven day basis.
This takes place mainly at the Cement Works as the Boral Maldon Rail Terminal has some restrictions included in its planning consent.
The Concrete site normally only operates during what can be considered regular business hours.
The Terminal receives up to 1.75 million tonnes per annum of aggregates by rail from the Boral Peppertree Quarry at Marulan South.
Key processes include the release of aggregates from train wagons into the 'dump station', from where they are transferred to the aggregate handling area by covered conveyors into various product bunkers.
From the bunkers, aggregate is loaded onto road trucks by front end loaders. Trucks are checked on the weighbridge prior to leaving the Rail Terminal to ensure compliance with legal axle loads.
The Rail Terminal's approved hours of operation for site activities are:
- Train unloading and stockpiling: Monday - Friday, 24 hours
- Truck loading and dispatch: Monday - Saturday, 5am - 10pm
- Maintenance: Monday - Sunday, 24 hours
The Boral Maldon Rail Terminal and Boral Maldon Concrete are very proud to be among the local businesses which have directly contributed to the New South Wales Rural Fire Service (RFS) Memorial and Playground built at Telopea Park, Buxton during 2020.
Buxton, about 20 minutes drive south west of the Boral Maldon Operations, was one of dozens of towns across the state damaged in the devastating bushfire season of 2019-20.
On 19 December 2019 two brave RFS volunteers, Andrew O'Dwyer and Geoff Keaton of the Horsley Park RFS Brigade, perished near the village while battling the fires.
Early in 2020, members of the Buxton RFS Brigade approached Wollondilly Council with the idea of constructing a new fire truck-themed playground at Telopea Park as part of bushfire recovery efforts.
The local brigade, along with the residents of Buxton, wanted the playground to reflect their eternal gratitude to Mr O'Dwyer and Keaton for their sacrifice.
Further, they also wanted it to be a place of reflection and remembrance for the volunteers' respective partners, children and families.
Following its approval in 2011 and subsequent opening during 2014, an Operational Environmental Management Plan (OEMP) was developed for the Boral Maldon Rail Terminal.
The OEMP guides the site, sets benchmarks and assists with managing the operations in respect to a number of relevant environmental factors. The original version was submitted to and approved by Wollondilly Council.
Some of the aspects covered by the OEMP include the management of air quality and noise. You can read more about the initiatives we have in place in relation to these topics below.
Air quality
The handling and movement of aggregate at the Rail Terminal has the potential to create dust.
It is our objective to ensure any emissions from the Rail Terminal are within air quality limits set by the NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA), and that practices are in place to minimise the potential for dust to leave the site.
The OEMP includes an Air Quality Management Plan with a range of mitigation measures to assist with this aim.
These include covering of all loads leaving the site, ensuring vehicles are not overloaded, stabilising disturbed areas with hydroseeding or some other form of cover, the application of water via water cart or fixed sprays, and enclosed conveyor systems.
Forecasts for winds or dry periods are also monitored. The operations are able to prepare for high wind situations with wetting of materials and the shutting down of particular activities as required.
Noise
The handling and movement of aggregate can also be noisy and have the potential to affect neighbouring properties.
As an example, trains bringing aggregate to the Rail Terminal arrive and are unloaded in the early hours of the morning.
The OEMP also contains a Noise Management Plan. Mitigation measures include ensuring vehicles and train stock are maintained to a high standard, undertaking operator and driver education programs and, if noisy activities are to occur, notifying residents which may be affected.
The Boral Maldon Rail Terminal is operated to the requirements of development consent 010.2010.00000921.001, issued by Wollondilly Council on 20 July 2011, and its supporting Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).
The consent sets out the operating, environmental and reporting conditions the Terminal must comply with throughout its operational life.
Boral Maldon Concrete is operated according to existing use rights which were confirmed by Council during 1985.
As Australia’s largest Building and Construction Materials Company, we have career opportunities throughout Australia and across a broad range of disciplines from trade and engineering to manufacturing and logistics as well as a range of corporate functions.
View current opportunities to join our team and build your career with us.As Australia’s largest Building and Construction Materials Company, we have career opportunities throughout Australia and across a broad range of disciplines from trade and engineering to manufacturing and logistics as well as a range of corporate functions.
