Bruce Rock Engineering has greenlit a $10 million expansion at its Wheatbelt trailer manufacturing site which will make the company’s local footprint six times larger.

The expansion will add 5,000sqm of floorspace, a new office building, and a 12-metre, 2,500-tonne press brake, reportedly the largest in Australia.

Bruce Rock Engineering plans to have the build finished early next year.

In a statement upon announcing the expansion, the company said it was proud to be investing in its hometown.

“At Bruce Rock Engineering, we’re proud of where we’ve come from and committed to where we’re going,” a company spokesperson said.

“Bruce Rock is home. It’s where we’ve built our business, our people and our reputation over more than four decades, and we’re proud to continue manufacturing here in the Wheatbelt.

“The project represents a long-term investment in our people, our community, and the future of regional manufacturing, while creating the capability and infrastructure to support the next chapter of Bruce Rock Engineering.

“Bruce Rock is where we started. It’s where we’re continuing to build.”

The company was founded by the Verhoogt family in Bruce Rock in 1980 and has kept its hometown facility despite significant statewide growth in the past decade.

BRE expanded into metals manufacturing in the 2000s via establishment of its Transbeam subsidiary, now domiciled at a 16,000sqm factory in Forrestfield.

It has also bolted on a tyre wholesaling arm, Bruce Rock Tyres, and in July this year acquired Kalgoorlie-based fire protection systems manufacturer Quitfire.

Its core business has grown naturally and via acquisitions, building a site in Port Hedland, buying D-Trans Motor Body Builders to establish a presence in Geraldton, and setting up sales offices in New South Wales and Queensland.

The company employs more than 400 people and counts close to every major trucking firm operating in WA as a customer.

That staff count has grown from about 60 in 2015, and 200 in 2021.

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