20th Nov 2009 - Matrix Composites & Engineering to Build New State of the Art Buoyancy and Subsea Equipment Manufacturing facility within the Australian Marine Complex.

Posted on: 20/11/2009

Australian Marine Complex (AMC) Subsea Cluster at Henderson, south of Perth

Matrix Composites & Engineering Limited announced today that it is undertaking the construction of a new state of the art facility in the Australian Marine Complex (AMC) Subsea Cluster at Henderson, south of Perth.

To be built in two stages on an 8.4 Hectare site, the Stage I complex will incorporate an integrated buoyancy manufacturing facility that includes bulk chemical storage, warehousing, composite sphere manufacturing, composite layup and casting, painting, dispatch and one of the world's largest full scale hyperbaric testing centers.

When completed in 2010 this facility will house the largest and most sophisticated syntactic foam buoyancy plant in the world and will more than double Matrix's current production capacity. Utilizing material technologies derived from the aerospace industry and Advanced Manufacturing Technologies Matrix's Henderson plant will be capable of manufacturing and testing riser buoyancy and production buoyancy of virtually any size to water depths of 16,500' (5030msw). Construction of a fully instrumented, 63" internal diameter 16,500' test chamber is underway and will be housed in this facility during the second quarter of 2010.

Construction of Stage 1 is underway and operations are due to commence in April 2010.

Facility and Project Overview :

Stage I

The Stage I workshop buildings will house a series of specialised, integrated manufacturing processes, including the following:

  1. Deepwater Subsea Buoyancy Production Facilities, under crane (5,778 sqm)
  2. Ancillary Manufacturing Plant (5,428 sqm), under crane. This facility will house an advanced composites and elastomer production facility, as well as a composite repair facility
  3. Warehousing (3,332 sqm)
  4. Laboratories (1,930 sqm)
  5. Bunded Areas (3,888 sqm)
  6. Hard Stand and open areas of approximately 6,000 sqm


Stage II

Matrix intends to commence the construction of Stage II, following the completion of Stage I. Stage II will comprise the following:

  1. Riser and Caisson Fabrication Facilities (3,000 sqm), under crane
  2. Heavy Machine and fitting Facilities (3,000 sqm), under crane
  3. Conductor Welding (2,295 sqm), under crane
  4. Offshore & Subsea Installation Equipment (e.g. winches, tensioners, under-rollers) with a manufacture, rental & service yard and high bay service building (2,295 sqm)


Matrix is currently spread across six sites (mainly in Malaga). The relocation to Henderson will reduce the number of operating sites to two. Matrix believes that relocating to Henderson will provide significant synergies between it, the AMC facilities and the tenants in or to come to the AMC precinct.

The 8 hectare site in the AMC was specifically chosen by Matrix due to its proximity to the ocean, as well as to Chevron's supply base for its Gorgon and Jansz fields. This proximity will position Matrix well to best match its services and products with the subsea offshore infrastructure for these projects.

The Australian Marine Complex

The Australian Marine Complex (AMC) is a world-class centre for excellence for manufacturing, fabrication, assembly, maintenance and technology development, servicing the marine, defence, oil and gas, and resource industries. Located in Western Australia, 23 kilometres south of Perth, the AMC has been developed to enhance the opportunities created by the clustering of industries and is home to the largest marine industry in Australia.

The AMC is currently home to over 100 businesses, which operate out of the area’s 4 main precincts:

  1.    Shipbuilding
  2.    Technology
  3.    Support Industry
  4.    Fabrication


Within these precincts, the AMC provides the following world-class multi-user facilities:

  1. FremantleMarine Facility MapCommon User Facility (CUF) is part of the Fabrication Precinct. The CUF is a large, integrated fabrication and assembly facility with extensive load-out wharves that is available to multiple, concurrent users.
  2. Central Services Facility (CSF), is a central meeting and networking point for representatives of industry, research organisations, education institutions and support service companies specialising in the marine, defence, oil and gas sector.
  3. The Australian Centre for Energy and Process Training (ACEPT) is a leading provider of process operations training for the Australian oil and gas, mineral and chemical processing industries.
  4. The Marine Support Facility (MSF) is owned and operated by Tenix, and provides WA with a significant marine repair, refit and modernisation capability. The MSF is an integral part of the State’s burgeoning shipbuilding and ship repair and maintenance industry.  The MSF is equipped with extensive dry-berth support infrastructure, including one of Australia's largest ship-lifts, which is used extensively by the Royal Australian Navy. This facility is currently being complimented by the $174 million upgrade currently underway at the Common User Facility, which includes a floating dock and transfer system.


Source: http://www.australianmarinecomplex.com.au/amc

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