A provider of sustainable aggregate and concrete products has received one of 14 grants to a range of SME manufacturing businesses in the Made in Victoria – Manufacturing Growth Program.
The manufacturers will share in $3.2 million of funding, with the program providing grants of up to $250,000. As a successful grant recipient, Aurora Construction Materials (ACM), will receive support to introduce advanced technology, boost productivity, improve global competitiveness and create new jobs.
The grant will enable ACM to establish a sustainable, new generation concrete plant, co-located at its existing Beveridge quarry site north of Melbourne. The concrete plant will enable the 100% owned Australian business to extend its circular economy value chain, increase lower-carbon concrete availability, reduce transport emissions, and create local jobs and economic opportunity.
ACM’s ethos “seeks to capture our commitment to sustainability, recycling, and waste minimisation. We participate in the circular economy. ACM understands its environmental footprint and continuously finds ways to minimise it. Our processes use excavated rock, recycled water and proprietary geopolymer technology to provide valuable aggregate and concrete products with a reduced environmental footprint, compared to virgin materials, in a fully closed loop process”.
Over the last 15 years the company has invested almost $2 million in developing a carbon reduced alternative to traditional concrete, called ULTRA. Projects where this product has been used include Swan Street Bridge, Richmond; Thomastown Recreation and Aquatic Centre; Melton Library; and Regional Rail Link in Victoria. ACM currently operates four quarry and concrete operations in the state at Epping, Rockbank, Beveridge, and Clyde.
About the author
Desi Corbett
Desi is our weekly news journalist and the editor of Concrete in Australia magazine for 10 years. She has been heavily involved in all forms of engineering since 2013; part of a 30-year writing career across a range of subjects and media.