Our Heritage

For more than 150 years the LYSAGHT® brand has been synonymous with quality products and innovative steel building solutions. The Lysaght story begins in 1857, when a 25 year old Irishman named John Lysaght bought a small galvanising works in Bristol, England and selected "Orb" as the brand his product would carry.

From the early years, much of the galvanised iron had been exported, with a quickly developing Australia as an important consumer. At this time, each individual merchant was buying direct from England,  though this arrangement had not proved very successful for the parties involved. Already proving to be a successful entrepreneur, John Lysaght established a Central Selling Agency in Australia through which all Australian sales would be made. The agency was opened in Melbourne in 1880 with other branches to follow in other Australian states.

In 1915, The Broken Hill Proprietary Company Limited (BHP) having much success in mining moved into steelmaking and opened a works in Newcastle to meet Australia's growing demand for steel products. At the same time, the galvanised iron production capabilities of Lysaght's in England were crippled as a result of World War One. The meagre resources available were mainly directed at the special needs of war and emphasized the isolation of the Australian business and its dependence on British production. The dangerous significance of this situation was realised very early by the firm and arrangements were made at Newcastle to erect a galvanised iron manufacturing facility beside BHP's new steelworks. To mark the coming of an era the Australian organisation was renamed John Lysaght (Australia) Pty Ltd and the head office was transferred from Melbourne to Sydney.

In 1935, BHP acquired Australian Iron and Steel (AI&S), a steelworks that included rolled steel sheet production capability. In 1936, BHP sold the steel sheet facilities to Lysaght's where they designed and erected the Lysaght Springhill plant adjoining the AI&S facilities. During its construction, production continued at the AI&S plant until 1939 when the new Lysaght Springhill plant was completed.

With BHP and Lysaght's now with significant interests in Newcastle and Port Kembla, both companies continued to grow and prosper. Numerous improvements to the plants and facilities occurred, domestic and international foot prints broadened and significant steel product innovations were launched.

The 1960s was a big decade for Lysaght's as they launched COLORBOND® steel into the market, closed the Newcastle sheet steel plant, purchased a 600 hectare site at Western Port to build a vast new steel mill and BHP acquired a 50% share in their ownership. In 1971, Lysaght's acquired the steel building products division of Brownbuilt resulting in a merger of the similar product offers and renamed the building products division Lysaght Brownbuilt Industries. This placed them as the biggest steel building products supplier in Australia.

The remainder of the 1970s continued as a significant time in Lysaght's history as the Western Port facilities were commissioned, ZINCALUME® steel was launched and BHP acquired the remaining 50% of John Lysaght (Australia) Pty Ltd in 1979 from British firm GKN (Guest Keen & Nettlefords Limited) which had superseded John Lysaght as the parent company. This acquisition was the final step in bringing together three separate ventures into one proud company.

In 1985, BHP restructured the business and John Lysaght (Australia) Limited became known as the Coated Products Division of BHP Steel. It incorporated all aspects of the old company with the sheet manufacturing business operating as Sheet & Coil Products. Lysaght Brownbuilt Industries was the only divisional unit of Coated Products division to retain the original Lysaght name though retired the Brownbuilt name and became known as Lysaght Building Industries in 1987.

The 1980s and 90s saw major changes in the industry and the growth of BHP's steel business in South-East Asia. BHP made huge investments in modernisation, but it was also a period of consolidation and rationalisation which saw the closure of the Newcastle Steelworks, the acquisition of New Zealand Steel and the Lysaght name was retired as Lysaght Building Industries became known as BHP Building Products and later reintroduced as BHP Steel Lysaght.

While justifiably proud of its history, BlueScope Lysaght keeps its focus on the future, with a commitment to research and development, initiatives in specialist fields and strategic acquisitions.

In the fields of design and construction services, mobile roll forming and facades, BlueScope Lysaght initiatives offer even more options for the building industry.

All of these BlueScope Lysaght activities have a single aim - to provide Australian made products and services which allow customers to build better, build smarter.