More than 1600 kilometres separate the Pilbara iron ore region from the Perth suburb of Kwinana, but for David Landgren and the team at conveyor belt manufacturer Fenner Dunlop it doesn’t seem that far away.

That’s because Fenner’s Kwinana factory has churned out enough rubber belt over the past decade to reach the Pilbara – more than 1750 kilometres of the stuff – putting Landgren’s team on the crest of a conveyor belt boom.