BUREAU OF STEEL MANUFACTURERS OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED
Registered Office: Suite G1, Ground Floor, 25 Ryde Road Pymble, NSW Australia 2073 Post Office Box 1063 Artarmon NSW 1570
ABN 51 088 933 162

 

Chairman: David Jenkins
First Vice-Chairman: Shane Murphy
Second Vice-Chairman: Michael Parker
Web: http:\\www.bosma.org.au

 

Secretary: David Armston
Phone: +61 419 242 886

Email: info@bosma.org.au

The Bureau of Steel Manufacturers of Australia (BOSMA) is the peak body representing the Australian steel manufacturers BlueScope, MOLYCOP, Liberty Primary Steel, and InfraBuild.  BOSMA members supply the majority of long and flat steel mill products used in the Australian domestic market. Their steel businesses operate across several hundred sites, servicing customers in a variety of industries, including the building & construction, manufacturing, infrastructure and agriculture sectors. 

 

The Bureau of Steel Manufacturers of Australia has a long-standing history representing steel makers and steel foundries since its inception in 1923.  It was founded as a forum for Australian steel makers - initially BHP and the major Australian foundries, and other steel makers as they emerged - to discuss industry issues, dialogue with Government, and for representation on Australian Standards committees.

 

BHP CEO’s Essington Lewis and Ian McLennan both served as Chairman in the early years, underlining the seriousness with which BHP treated its relationships with Standards and Government.  BOSMA has always been an active Council member and participant in Standards Australia.

 

BHP CEO’s Essington Lewis and Ian McLennan both served as Chairman in the early years, underlining the seriousness with which BHP treated its relationships with Standards and Government.  BOSMA also has always been an active Council member of Standards Australia, a position it still holds today.

 

In more recent years, Warren Hoskins, the BHP Foundry Manager at Port Kembla served as Chairman of BOSMA from 1992 to 2000 when the foundry closed.  Neville Power of Smorgon Steel followed him as Chairman until 2007, and then Bernie Landy of BlueScope Steel took the Chair until 2011 when Andrew Roberts of OneSteel/Arrium succeeded him.  David Jenkins of BlueScope Steel became Chairman in 2013. David Armston has been Executive Director and Secretary since 1998.

 

BOSMA’s principal activities continue as representation on Australian Standards and other committees and organisations, and representing the interests of its members to Government and other relevant bodies.   BOSMA has various Board committees. The BOSMA Climate Change & Energy Committee and the BOSMA Standards & Compliance Committee have been particularly active in recent times. In addition David Armston serves on the Standards Australia Council/now Membership committee.

 

Following the various changes over the years in the Australian steel making and foundry industries, the current membership comprises BlueScope Steel making steel in Port Kembla, MOLYCOP making steel in Newcastle, Liberty Primary Steel making steel in Whyalla, and InfraBuild making steel in Sydney and Melbourne.

 

BlueScope, MOLYCOP, Liberty Primary Steel & InfraBuild are companies with Australian and international operations employing around 25,000 people. The three companies have combined revenues in Australia of approximately $8.5 billion and employ around 14,500 people in this country. Total employment in the Australian steel sector, both upstream and downstream, was estimated to be over 100,000 (ABS 2011). The three companies are also major regional employers, including in the Hunter Valley, the Illawarra and Whyalla regions.

 

BlueScope is a global leader in premium branded coated and painted steel products - the third largest manufacturer of painted and coated steel products globally; with great strengths in engineered steel buildings in key markets, and number one in building and construction markets.  The Company is committed to deliver value from steelmaking in Australia and New Zealand by remaining cost competitive and continuing to deliver value through the cycle.

 

Today's BlueScope has evolved from the integration of three pioneer companies in the Australian steel industry - Broken Hill Proprietary Ltd (BHP), John Lysaght Australia Pty Ltd (John Lysaght) and Australian Iron & Steel Ltd (AIS) - and the acquisitions of New Zealand Steel, and, in North America, Butler Manufacturing and the IMSA group of companies.  BlueScope, formerly a business group within BHP Billiton, became an independent steel company and publicly listed on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) on Monday 15 July 2002.

 

BlueScope Australia and New Zealand supplies a large percentage of all flat steel products sold in these markets, employing nearly 9,000 employees at more than 50 facilities in Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Vanuatu and New Caledonia, and over 50 distribution centres in Australia.

 

MOLYCOP, is the largest worldwide supplier of grinding media, used in mineral extraction and processing, and operates 10 state of the art grinding ball manufacturing facilities with 1.7 million tonnes of annual capacity across Australia, Indonesia, Chile, Peru, Mexico, Canada and the USA.

 

MOLYCOP’s history dates back to the late 1920’s when both Armco (USA) and Comsteel (Australia) independently began to develop what is now clearly recognised as industry leading grinding media products.  In January 2017 MOLYCOP was acquired by American Industrial Partners from the Arrium Group.

 

MOLYCOP operates two EAF steel mills in Newcastle, Australia and Edmonton, Canada.  In Australia, the Comsteel Steel Mill in Newcastle was established in 1908 and manufactures a variety of steel products.  The Australian business includes the market leading MOLYCOP grinding media business and Comsteel is the leading supplier of high quality rail products and other niche steel products as well as the grinding media feedstock.

Liberty Primary Steel & InfraBuild are the largest Australian manufacturers of steel long products, producing approximately 2.5 million tonnes per annum.  Liberty Primary Steel & InfraBuild hot rolled structural steel products, rod bar and wire products, pipe and tube, reinforcing steel, and railway track and sleeper products are independently certified to Australian Standards and can be used with confidence in engineering construction, mining infrastructure, residential construction and transport applications.  Liberty Primary Steel & InfraBuild have more than 100 years of expertise in the manufacture and supply of steel products, with a flexible, integrated supply chain with product traceability.

The OneSteel businesses, now trading as Liberty Primary Steel and InfraBuild, were acquired on 1st September 2017 by the GFG Alliance, a global business group including Liberty Steel and SIMEC Mining, focused on metals, mining, energy generation and engineering.  Liberty Primary Steel and InfraBuild remain focused on an unequivocal commitment to outstanding customer service, product quality and safety.

Steel is a fundamental building block of any modern society, and a domestic steel manufacturing capability is an important and strategically valuable asset.  BlueScope, MOLYCOP, Liberty Primary Steel & InfraBuild currently have over $3 billion in capital invested in Australia and have a proud history of manufacturing quality steel products. 

 

The Australian steel industry also exports, and in 2019 those exports were valued at about USD$600M.

 

 

For BOSMA enquiries please contact David Armston, BOSMA Executive Director & Secretary, phone: +61 419 242 886, email info@bosma.org.au

 

September 2023