Toowoomba company Wagners plans US expansion as work to start on $5m Texas plant

Wagners is hoping to open its new $5m manufacturing plant by the end of the year, and the company has already secured work with one of world’s largest corporations.

EXPANSION PLANS: Preparing to ship off Wagners composite fibre frameworks to be used in new sound mitigation systems at Amazon distribution centres are (from left) Wagners USA employee Dennis Higgins and Behrens and Associates’ Geordie Richardson. The Toowoomba company plans to open its new American plant by September.

Toowoomba business Wagners hopes to be manufacturing from its new $5m composite fibre plant in America within months.

With the worst impacts of COVID-19 seemingly in its rear-view mirror, the publicly-listed company has ramped up US expansion plans, which include completing projects for one of the world’s largest corporations.

Wagners new generation materials general manager Michael Kemp said the company had leased nearly five hectares of land in Parker County in Texas, within an hour of the busy Dallas/Fort Worth Airport.

He said the area was chosen due to Texas’ generous incentives for attracting businesses, along with its regional landscape.

“It wasn’t all about dollars, but Texas does offer a particularly good set of tax incentives,” Mr Kemp said.

“Texas is a really welcoming environment, the culture is similar to rural Queensland.

“It’s regional like Toowoomba is – you’re only about an hour from Dallas, but we’re out of town and it gives us a lot of freedom for manufacturing.

“We’ve cleared the block and we’ve got a contract with a builder — we’re hoping to be (operating) by September.”

The company has already resumed its American project schedule, securing work with online retail giant Amazon in two of its enormous distribution centres.

A sound mitigation wall, involving Wagners CFT framework, in an Amazon distribution centre.

“Right now we’ve completed two jobs with Amazon, we’ve installed lightweight frames that they’re hanging sound curtains from that mitigate noise,” Mr Kemp said.

“They’re massive factories, but the lightweight nature of CFT means they can just walk it in without stopping work.

“Wagners has received an order for the next Amazon sound wall to be installed in Kenosha, Wisconsin in May.”

Mr Kemp said the company planned to have a US workforce of about 140 within three years, adding there would be placement opportunities for some of its Australian workers.

“It would be normal for our local staff to do three months in America,” he said.

“It needs to be an American business, but we do want it to have the same values.”