About Gunlake
Gunlake Concrete and Gunlake Quarries are an industry leading supplier of construction materials to the Greater Sydney region.
The Gunlake Group are a proudly Australian owned, family company spanning four generations in the quarrying and concrete industry in Australia. We strive to deliver;
- Industry leading service;
- High quality products; and
- We continually innovate as we work with our customers to develop solutions.
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Beginning with one concrete plant and plans for a quarry in 2007, Gunlake Group has grown in 2021 to five operational concrete plants and another plant under construction. We have a fleet of 86 concrete agitators with more to come. The quarry is now consented for 2 million tonnes per annum and services the concrete, asphalt, civil and infrastructure markets.
Gunlake’s people are the foundation of our company and will enable us to keep on delivering our industry leading service to our customers for generations to come.
Leadership Team - Concrete
Roy has over 25 years in the construction industry. He holds a Master Degree in Civil Engineering. His previous roles involved working for consulting engineers specialising in concrete and related materials, Technical Manager for Fly Ash Australia and the Regional Technical Manager for Hanson Eastern region. Prior to moving to Australia, he worked in South Africa in the Civil Engineering construction industry working mainly on mining and heavy industrial type projects, and also in the concrete and aggregate supply industry. He has actively been involved on numerous industry working groups, namely Standards Australia working group committees, Concrete Institute of Australia NSW Technical Committee, Ash Development Association of Australia Technical and Education Committee and is currently on the Cement Concrete and Aggregates (CCAA) NSW branch Technical Committee.
Simon has over 25 years’ experience in the construction industry. Studying Construction Management and Economics and working in both commercial and residential construction since leaving school, Simon founded Gunlake Concrete and Gunlake Quarries with his brothers and sister in 2007. Over the years he has managed many multi-disciplinary teams for his own businesses, also working successfully as part of a team for other companies. Simon's passion is delivering customer satisfaction outcomes and embracing the latest technology with an innovative approach to traditional concepts within the concrete industry. With the expertise and legacy of four generations in the industry Simon is highly-qualified to lead the Concrete Team.
Angus is a Civil Engineer with an MBA, both from UNSW. He’s worked in the construction and construction materials industries in Australia and the UK for over 25 years and started as General Manager for Gunlake Concrete 2016. Prior to that Angus was the Regional Manager NSW/QLD at Rocla Quarries and held strategy and operational roles across Boral in cement and quarries. Angus is passionate about organisational culture and building great businesses.
Gunlake Quarries is a supplier of premium quarry materials across New South Wales. Gunlake Quarries is proud to deliver premium aggregate to Gunlake Concrete, as well as some of NSW's largest infrastructure projects.
The Gunlake Group also includes Rollers Australia, which owns and operates over 300 pieces of earth-moving equipment, predominantly in NSW and Queensland, supplying services to many local and regional Councils.
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Gunlake History
In 1852 the first generation of O’Neils arrived in Port Adelaide from Ireland. Looking for better life they settled in Kapunda just north of Adelaide in the 1870’s where they gained employment in the fast growing copper fields as labourers in the mines. Generally recognised as the first true mining town in colonial Australia, Kapunda was the start of a long history for the O’Neils, in the mineral extractive industry that continues today.
In the 1880’s they moved to the small town of Broken Hill, 5 years before BHP was formed in 1885. It was here that they honed their skills as workers in the fast evolving quarrying and mining industry. After nearly 2 decades in Broken Hill they took this knowledge back to South Australia where in the early 1900’s they began to look for opportunities for themselves.
With a solid background in mining and quarrying it was not long before they established themselves carting for a local quarry. The second generation of O’Neils were keen to follow on in the industry and before long JJ O’Neil and Sons were carting full time for a number of quarries.
In 1926 the local road authority accepted their tender to supply material for a road in the Adelaide Hills. With a hired crusher this tender was the first of many that they successfully fulfilled. Horrocks pass in the Flinders Ranges was the most significant of them all. The project provided easier access from Wilmington to Port Augusta on the Main Rd North.
In 1927 the depression hit South Australia earlier than in the other states and had a serious effect on the O’Neils. Horricks Pass was nearly complete and with no other opportunities in Adelaide the O’Neils decided to move to Perth with a number of their workers who had hitched their future with the O’Neils. In addition to the people who moved with the O’Neils to Western Australia there was all the equipment including a small crusher, trucks, horses and dray and all of the household furniture- all the equipment they would need for Western Australia and which would have been impossible to sell in Adelaide because of the depressed condition.
The quarry for sale was “Gosnells” about 25 km out of Perth. “Gosnells” almost bought about their ruin due to the particularly abrasive rock that took its toll on the equipment. Perseverance and the discovery of a better deposit on the other side of the hill turned the quarry around and ultimately Gosnells became one of Australia’s most significant quarries.
In about 1938 the family decided it was time for them to expand outside Western Australia, so they went to Sydney to explore other opportunities, they found a suitable hard rock site near St Marys and in 1939, Australian Blue Metal commenced quarrying and distribution operations.
It was not long, however, before WW2 intervened. All of the O’Neil’s equipment was commandeered for defence purposes. Under the command of the Civil Defence Corp, the company’s assets including the staff were dispatched to a number of key defence projects, one of them being the construction of a railway and transport distribution hub at Broken Hill and this brought them back to their place of origin where at the end of the war they established a quarry at Broken Hill and then also in Adelaide.
In the 1950’s ABM expanded into Darwin and Canberra and by the late 1950’s the group was the largest quarrying company in Australia. The 50’s also was the start of this generations move into the concrete industry. By the end of the century 5 concrete plants had been established in the Sydney Area.
By this time, the third generation of O’Neils had gained a foothold into the highly competitive Long Distance Transport industry in the Northern Territory. This gave them the skills and desire to expand further and with their love of trucks it was not long before they moved back into the transport of quarry material in their own right.
Hymix Australia was formed, which had quarries in Victoria NSW and Queensland. Concrete Batch Plants soon followed, and Hymix established a presence along the east coast of Australia as one of the countries premier independent concrete suppliers.
Today the fourth Generation, through the establishment of the Gunlake Group of companies, have once again provided an independent presence in the Quarrying and Concrete Industry. Their background in the building and plant hire industry have helped them understand the market’s needs.
The first Gunlake Concrete Plant was established at Smeaton Grange. Two other plants quickly followed at Glendenning and Silverwater. The growth continues today with more plants being planned.
Gunlake Quarries established a quarry in Marulan to the south west of Sydney which opened in the early 2000’s. Whist providing aggregate to the concrete plants Gunlake Quarries also provides material for some of NSW’s largest infrastructure projects such as WestConnex and the North West Rail Link. With reserves in excess of 180 milllion tonnes the quarry has an expected life of over 100 years.
Plant Locations
Gunlakes centrally-based concrete plants in South Western Sydney and North Western Sydney are strategically located to ensure we can quickly and efficiently supply all the concrete needs of greater Sydney and Western Sydney construction industry, domestic builders and civil engineers.
