Bradken Limited
Encyclopedia
Bradken Limited is a global manufacturing company headquartered in Australia
. The company is a component of the S&P/ASX 200
index. Bradken has 26 manufacturing facilities throughout Australia
, New Zealand
, the United Kingdom
, the United States of America and China
.
Bradken is a manufacturer and supplier of differentiated, consumable cast steel products and associated maintenance and refurbishment services to the global resources, freight rail and energy industries. The Company's product range includes ground engaging tools, crawler systems, mill and crusher liners, freight wagon, rail bogie
s and engineered products.
The Bradken business was originally established in 1922 as Bradford Kendall by two BHP steelworks employees - Leslie Bradford and Jim Kendall. In December 1974 the company officially changed its name to Bradken Consolidated Limited. Between 1981 and 2000, the Bradken business was a division of Australian National Industries Limited
(ANI), an under-performing industrial conglomerate. ANI was taken over by Smorgon Steel
in 2000 and broken up. The Bradken casting business was sold to private equity and subsequently refloated on the ASX
in August 2004. Since then, the company has performed strongly due to the demand for its products from the booming Australian mining industry.
On Tuesday, 29 July 2008, Bradken announced that it had entered into an agreement to acquire the remaining 83% equity interest in AmeriCast Technologies, Inc. (“AmeriCast”) that it did not already own from funds managed by Castle Harlan, Inc. and AmeriCast management. The business has become known as the Engineered Products Division.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. The company is a component of the S&P/ASX 200
S&P/ASX 200
The S&P/ASX 200 index is a market-capitalization weighted and float-adjusted stock market index of Australian stocks listed on the Australian Securities Exchange from Standard & Poor's...
index. Bradken has 26 manufacturing facilities throughout Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, the United States of America and China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
.
Bradken is a manufacturer and supplier of differentiated, consumable cast steel products and associated maintenance and refurbishment services to the global resources, freight rail and energy industries. The Company's product range includes ground engaging tools, crawler systems, mill and crusher liners, freight wagon, rail bogie
Bogie
A bogie is a wheeled wagon or trolley. In mechanics terms, a bogie is a chassis or framework carrying wheels, attached to a vehicle. It can be fixed in place, as on a cargo truck, mounted on a swivel, as on a railway carriage/car or locomotive, or sprung as in the suspension of a caterpillar...
s and engineered products.
The Bradken business was originally established in 1922 as Bradford Kendall by two BHP steelworks employees - Leslie Bradford and Jim Kendall. In December 1974 the company officially changed its name to Bradken Consolidated Limited. Between 1981 and 2000, the Bradken business was a division of Australian National Industries Limited
Australian National Industries Limited
Australian National Industries Limited was an Australian heavy engineering company with diverse range of holdings, including:*Cockatoo Island dockyard.* Commonwealth Engineering.* Bradken .* Bus body building....
(ANI), an under-performing industrial conglomerate. ANI was taken over by Smorgon Steel
Smorgon Steel
Smorgon Steel was an Australian steel manufacturing business established in the 1980s by the Smorgon family of Melbourne. The chairman of the company board was Graham Smorgon....
in 2000 and broken up. The Bradken casting business was sold to private equity and subsequently refloated on the ASX
ASX
ASX may refer to:* Australian Securities Exchange, the primary stock exchange of Australia* Advanced Stream Redirector, a computer file format listing Windows Media files * Armstrong Siddeley ASX, a British experimental turbojet* John F...
in August 2004. Since then, the company has performed strongly due to the demand for its products from the booming Australian mining industry.
On Tuesday, 29 July 2008, Bradken announced that it had entered into an agreement to acquire the remaining 83% equity interest in AmeriCast Technologies, Inc. (“AmeriCast”) that it did not already own from funds managed by Castle Harlan, Inc. and AmeriCast management. The business has become known as the Engineered Products Division.