Carole Park: Ipswich’s Original Industrial Suburb

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Did you know Carole Park has been making things for more than 50 years?

It’s true.

From fibre cement cladding for homes.

To toilet paper, cardboard boxes, batteries, sauces, eggs and medicines.

Unlike newer estates, Carole Park has many businesses actually making products, not just moving them around.

And here’s the bit most people don’t know: in 2010, the residential half of Carole Park (Ellen Grove) became part of Brisbane.

Ipswich kept the factories.

Let’s have a look.

The Border Quirk

• Today. The industrial suburb sits in Division 2 of the City of Ipswich.
• The split. The Logan Motorway separated the old residential section from the industrial section. The residential side went to Brisbane City Council and officially became part of Brisbane in June 2010.
• Before that. Carole Park was a rural settlement in old Moreton Shire. A State primary school opened in 1904.
• Housing. Residential development started in the early 1970s, with residents working in the industrial estate and nearby Ellen Grove and Wacol.

Core Tenants & Facilities

James Hardie — 50 years at Carole Park

• Use. James Hardie’s largest manufacturing facility in Australia. Makes fibre cement cladding and building products used in homes across Australia and New Zealand.
• Status. 50 years of operation at Carole Park. Its new People Centre is open, bringing 300 employees into one central space.
• Recent works. Ground broke on the People Centre on 18 June 2025. Ink Duck was architect, and FDC Construction & Fitout QLD was the builder.

Quilton / ABC Tissue — toilet paper and tissue

• Use. Toilet paper, facial tissues and paper towel manufacturing on Antimony Street.
• Scale. ABC Tissue says the Carole Park operation has two paper-making machines, multiple converting machines and eight fully automated production lines.
• Local note. Quilton/ABC often says its products are made in “Brisbane”, but the Queensland tissue plant is actually here in Carole Park, on the Ipswich side of the boundary.

Visy Board — Visy’s largest box plant in Australia

• Use. Corrugated cardboard box and packaging manufacturing.
• What it makes. The kind of cardboard packaging used by food producers, retailers, warehouses and industrial businesses.
• Why it matters. This is Carole Park at its most practical: everyday packaging made locally, then pushed back into the supply chain.

Viatris — ~4 billion doses a year

• Use. One of Australia’s largest pharmaceutical manufacturing sites. Makes and packages oral solid-dose medicines — mainly tablets and capsules — with about 4 billion doses a year produced for Australia and more than 40 export markets.
• Scale. Medicines have been made on this site for more than 40 years. Viatris had 600+ people working here in 2022.
• Recent investment. New production lines added in 2022 brought capacity for about 1 billion more doses a year, plus up to 35 new manufacturing, scientific and engineering jobs.

Century Yuasa — batteries made on Cobalt Street

• Use. Australian-made batteries for cars, 4WDs, trucks, marine, deep-cycle and industrial uses.
• Scale. Century Yuasa says its Carole Park manufacturing and distribution facilities supply more than 1.5 million batteries a year.
• Local read. One of Carole Park’s clearest everyday-product factories: the blue-and-yellow Century batteries sold across Australia start here.

Cummins — engines and power

• Address. 39-53 Ron Boyle Crescent, Carole Park.
• Use. Assembles, tests, installs, services and distributes engines, engine components and power generation equipment. Cummins lists it as its Brisbane site.
• Status. Operating.

Sunny Queen — the $40m egg factory

• Use. Cooked egg products, frozen or chilled. A 5,700 m² processing facility and warehouse with six cold-chain load-out docks.
• Status. Opened in 2017. The purpose-built factory created 39 new jobs and moved the company into pre-prepared meals.
• Money. $40m factory according to the Queensland Government; $16m construction cost according to Wiley’s project profile.

Vulcan Steel — steel, aluminium and stainless

• Address. Brisbane Steel at 6/14 Ron Boyle Crescent, Carole Park; Brisbane Aluminium & Stainless at 20 Ron Boyle Crescent, Carole Park.
• Use. Steel, aluminium and stainless distribution and processing.
• Status. Operating.

Trisco Foods — sauces, syrups and food manufacturing

• Address. 54 Ron Boyle Crescent, Carole Park.
• Use. Food manufacturing, including syrups, sauces, bakery fillings, marinades, drink bases and specialised food products.
• Status. Operating from Carole Park.

Simon National Carriers — 30,605 m²

• Use. Freight depot and logistics facility.
• Status. Owned by Charter Hall’s Long WALE REIT, with 11.5 years left on the lease at the time of reporting.
• Money. Valued at $77.0m at a 5.5% cap rate.

Jaybro (Frasers) — 13,250 m²

• Address. 59 Boundary Road, Carole Park.
• Use. 13,000 m² warehouse plus 250 m² office, 16 recessed loading docks, 36 car parks, 24/7 access.
• Status. Completed in 2004 and occupied by Jaybro. Sits 1 km off the Logan Motorway.

Stockland Industrial Estate— modern warehouse estate

• Use. Modern high-clearance warehouse estate on a 10 ha site.
• Tenants. Stockland’s FY25 portfolio names Lusty TIP Trailers, Dutt Transport and Pac Trading as major tenants.
• June 2026 snapshot. Stockland’s leasing page listed Warehouse 1A and Warehouse 3B as available.

Who else?

• Adam’s Continental Smallgoods. Smallgoods, fresh meat and deli products from its factory retail outlet since 1984. The one locals actually visit.
• Reece Civil. Civil plumbing, waterworks and infrastructure supplies from its Mica Street branch.
• Van Demons Vans. Custom food vans, trailers and trucks, built and fitted out for mobile food businesses.
• Ausdeck Building Systems. Building products including roofing, walling, light-gauge structural steel, rainwater products, EPS foam and patio/carport systems.
• APPLiK Digital Fabric Printing. Bespoke digital fabric printing for creatives, fashion, homewares and custom textile projects.
• Tranzblast Coating Services. Abrasive blasting and protective coatings, especially for structural steel and corrosion protection.
• Blackwoods. Industrial and safety supplies, including tools, workwear, welding gear, cleaning products and workplace consumables.
• Kinrise Biscuits. Biscuit, cracker and snack-food manufacturing, part of the wider Australian-owned Kinrise food group.
• SleepMaker. Mattresses and bedding products, one of the familiar Australian-made brands with a Carole Park presence.
• SEKO Logistics. Freight forwarding, warehousing, ecommerce fulfilment and supply-chain services from its Carole Park logistics site.
• Marsh Alliance. Springs, wire forms, pressed parts and metal componentry, with manufacturing roots going back to 1953.
• ShapeCUT. Steel profile cutting, laser cutting and metal processing, with a large Mica Street cutting facility.
• Queensland Badminton Centre. An indoor badminton centre with dedicated courts.
• Wyton Transport. Freight and transport services across South East Queensland and regional routes, operating from Boundary Road.
• Kincrome Australia. Tools, workshop equipment and storage systems, with a Queensland warehouse and showroom at Carole Park.
• Heritage Products. Decorative plantation timber products, including timber doors, windows, handrails, fretwork, posts and verandah details.
• Austral Monsoon Building Products. Louvres, façade systems, sun-shading, screening and roller-shutter products for commercial and industrial buildings.
• Beekeeping Supplies Australia. Beekeeping gear, hive equipment, honey containers and related produce supplies from Cobalt Street.
• Chargers RC. A 1/10-scale off-road radio-control car club and track at Andre Ripoll Park on Cobalt Street.
• Darra Meats. Meat processing and wholesale distribution, including beef, pork, chicken, smallgoods, eggs and seafood.

Transport & Operations

• Position. About 15 km east of Ipswich CBD, close to the Ipswich Motorway and Centenary Highway. By road, it sits roughly 20 km from Ipswich CBD, 25 km from Brisbane CBD and 37 km from Brisbane Airport.
• Council’s view. Ipswich City Council’s freight plan pegs Carole Park for low impact industries, warehousing, logistics and manufacturing.
• Tolls. Boundary Road is an eastbound entry to the Logan Motorway, and the Logan is a toll road. Unlike Redbank, you can’t market this precinct as toll-free.
• Approvals. 24/7 operations and B-double access are verified at individual properties, not across the whole precinct.
• Rail. Gailes train station is 1.6 km from Boundary Road. That’s for workers, not freight: no on-site freight rail is verified.

Recent Moves & Leasing Snapshot

• James Hardie People Centre. Open, housing 300 employees. Ground broke 18 June 2025, replacing the old administration and amenities buildings.
• Stockland. Warehouse 1A (6,635 m²) and Warehouse 3B (4,832 m²) were listed at 85 Mica Street in June 2026.
• 67 Boundary Road. Marketed as a warehouse and hardstand option of about 1,600 m², with awning space, concrete hardstand and truck access.
• 46-50 Mica Street. Recently marketed/leased as a 4,485 m² high-clearance warehouse with 298 m² office, 1,544 m² awning, eight roller doors and one recessed dock.
• 7-9 Jade Court. Marketed as a 1,080 m² near-new engineering facility on a 6,000 m²+ site, with a 25-tonne gantry crane, jib cranes and an approved wash bay.

History

• 1904. A State primary school opens in what was then a rural settlement.
• Early 1970s. Housing development begins.
• ~1975. James Hardie begins its 50-year run at Carole Park.
• ~1982. Medicine manufacturing begins on the site now run by Viatris, based on the company’s 40+ years figure in 2022.
• Mid-1980s. Century Yuasa establishes its Carole Park central manufacturing facility.
• 1984. Adam’s Continental Smallgoods opens its factory retail outlet.
• 2001-2002. Synergy Park is pitched in Queensland Parliament: a 43 ha project expected to attract $200m-$300m in private investment and up to 3,000 jobs over three to five years. A $12m construction contract is awarded in 2002.
• June 2010. The residential half of Carole Park officially becomes part of Brisbane.
• 2022. Viatris adds production lines at Carole Park, increasing capacity by about 1 billion doses a year.
• 2025. James Hardie marks 50 years at Carole Park with its new People Centre.

How It Compares

• Redbank Motorway Estate is one Goodman-managed estate full of national logistics names. Carole Park is an older suburb with many owners and many makers. The short version: Carole Park manufactures, Redbank distributes.
• BrisWest. Carole Park is 50 years old and full. BrisWest is brand new and empty, with lots still selling.
• The niche. If it’s made in Ipswich rather than just moved through Ipswich, there’s a fair chance it comes from Carole Park.