Tyler Hansen of Bradken
You may have noticed that the building located at 701 US Highway 60 had received a new sign and a paint job. You may have noticed that there are trucks parked in front of the building and some activity going on.
What are they selling and who is shopping there?
The average consumer probably is not stopping in to buy anything. Unless, that is if you are looking for a huge mining shovel, a crawler system, or custom metal foundry items.
Bradken, an Australia based company with a 100-year-old history of being the largest foundry in the world, has opened an office location in Superior. Tyler Hansen the local Sales Manager for Bradken, explained that they picked the Superior location because of the close proximity to most of the major mines in Arizona, which allows them to get to mine sites easily.
“Superior is a hub to the Southwest Mining region,” he said.
Most of the products that Bradken sells are constructed and made at their foundries in China, Tacoma, Washington, Kansas City and London, Canada. They are then shipped via sea containers to the ports in Los Angeles and then railed or trucked to the customers or to their warehouse in Kentucky.
Currently the Superior location has three full time employees who travel throughout the Southwest to serve their customers along with six other employees who work between the Superior and Chandler offices.
Bradken was purchased by Hitachi in 2017 for close to $8.5 million.
Tyler Kay, the U.S. Applications Engineer based in Superior, shared that Bradken is a great company to work for.
“They understand the importance of family,” he said.
As the company expands into the area they hope that they will eventually have a warehouse and access to a rail line to further expand upon their long term business goals.