Tasmania’s advanced manufacturing sector has experienced a major turnaround over the past two years, with niche specialist companies leading the way.

Storemasta is a perfect example of an innovative local company that has found great success with out-of-the-box thinking. It has carved out a space as Australia’s leading manufacturer of dangerous-goods storage, supplying its product to a raft of our biggest business names from Coca Cola Amatil and Visy, to Rio Tinto. The company is also actively growing its export market.

According to the lobby group, the Advanced Manufacturing Advisory Committee (AMAC), Stormasta is exactly the sort of niche operator that has helped spearhead the sector turnaround.

“This is an incredibly exciting time for Tasmania’s advanced manufacturing sector,” says AMAC Deputy Chairman Kent Wyllie. “Not so long ago, there was little positivity around manufacturing, however my observation is that now we are in a period where we are seeing incredible opportunity. Two years ago we were worried about workers getting jobs. Today we are seeing a skills shortage.”

The AMAC is charged with guiding the future growth of this sector and is keen to capitalise on Tasmania’s unique advantage as an island state.

“We should not think of Bass Strait as a hindrance,” Wyllie adds. “On the contrary, our unique island mentality is one of our greatest assets. Our ability to fix problems in an ingenious and unique way is our greatest asset.”

While Wyllie admits some traditional manufacturing industries are having trouble, he says the focus needs to be on specialist, value-added products, and embracing new technology.  That is exactly the philosophy that guides companies like Storemasta.

With a manufacturing plant in Burnie, on the north-west coast, and teams of dangerous goods experts based in Sydney and Melbourne, Storemasta employs a workforce of 48 people. This low-key Tasmanian success story also only sells a fraction of its product – 2 to3% – within its home state. The bulk is sold interstate, with a growing export market to Asia and New Zealand.

Storemasta provides an ‘end to end’ service, designing and manufacturing a range of tailored solutions for dangerous goods storage, including flammable liquids, corrosive substances, chemicals and explosives. It specialises in hazardous storage cabinets, flammable storage cabinets and spill management.

“We build products that reduce risk and improve efficiencies in the storage and management of dangerous goods,” explains Storemasta Marketing Manager, Walter Ingles. “We are the only Australian company involved in the manufacture of customised dangerous goods storage products. Our business is highly automated and highly specialised.”

The business is also spread across a number of sectors, all with their own highly specified needs. Food & beverage producers – for instance, Coca Cola Amatil, Nestle and Mars Snack Foods – may require specialist storage for highly flammable flavourings such as peppermint. Manufacturing plants, like Visy, Nustar and Caterpillar, have more extensive requirements, including large storage for gas cylinders, machine lubricants and flammable liquids. Laboratories require small, indoor safety cabinets, where the segregation of chemicals is of prime concern. The mining industry needs large outdoor dangerous goods storage for petrol, fuels and lubricants. They also need dispensing stations where large quantities of liquids – including lubricants – can be safely pumped in a contamination-free environment.

Storemasta has come a long way over 25 years, from its humble beginnings when sheet metal specialist David Urquhart built small safety cabinets as a sideline business. Today is it continually evolving and embracing new design and technology.

Much like Tasmania itself.

“We need to constantly add a level of digital expertise to be able to compete on the global stage in the advanced manufacturing sector,” Wyllie says. “Tasmania should not be scared of taking on new challenges.”

Best defence

Momentum is building to have Prince of Wales Bay officially recognised as a defence precinct, reflecting Tasmania’s growing reputation as a leading sector supplier. Covering just over 100 hectares in Hobart’s north, Prince of Wales Bay has long been the Tasmanian hub of maritime and advanced manufacturing.

Long recognised as the home of global success story Incat Catamarans, in recent years Prince of Wales Bay has also been garnering a reputation as a leading defence hub, and the pressure is on to make that official. The Tasmania Maritime Network (TMN) – the peak maritime industry lobby group – is leading the push to have the area officially named as a defence precinct.

“The importance of having this precinct officially recognised as the Prince of Wales Bay Maritime Defence Precinct is that it underpins the positive image and profile of Tasmania’s defence capability,” explains TMN Chairman Rob Miley. “Most other states and territories have similar focused hubs of activity, and it is important that we have that kind of recognition as well.”

Tasmania’s defence industry is big business, and rapidly getting bigger. The sector now injects $340m into the state economy each year, as well as providing 2,000 direct jobs. Some 30 key Tasmanian companies currently supply defence contracts. Of these, one-third are based at Prince of Wales Bay.

“I think it [Prince of Wales Bay] is unique. There are not many places in Australia with that level of commitment and diversity in the defence industry in one area,” Miley adds. “Prince of Wales Bay Maritime Defence Precinct is an outstanding hub of export, innovation and advanced manufacturing, not only in Tasmania, but representing the nation.

“Furthermore, the potential here is huge – really huge. We are really only just coming of age now with our nine key companies here out of 30, but they are getting really good opportunities and contracts and I think it is important that we realise it is export dollars that they are generating.”

The roll-call of companies involved with defence at Prince of Wales Bay is impressive. To mention just three: Incat has supplied military use catamarans for both the Commonwealth and overseas; CBG equips naval vessels with fire barriers; and Taylor Bros fit out naval ships.

Another is Liferaft Systems Australia (LSA), one of the earliest Tasmanian companies to move into the lucrative defence sphere. Since 2004, LSA has been supplying its marine evacuation systems, including 100-person liferafts, to the US, UK, New Zealand and Dutch navies. The company also scored a $10m contract to supply marine evacuation systems for Australia’s newest battleships: nine Hunter Class global combat ships under a supply agreement with British manufacturer BAE Systems.

“I think there is a lot of potential in terms of niche manufacturing products that the Navy can’t necessarily source from other states in Australia, and we tend to do the specialist manufacturing in defence very very well in this state,” says LSA Managing Director Michael Grainger. “A lot of development is going on within companies in the TMN, and these companies – like ourselves – who have been dealing with defence for some time now, are continuing to evolve and become more defence-savvy and ready to supply our defence forces.”

As the Commonwealth embarks on its $195bn defence spend – touted as Australia’s largest ever economic stimulus – Tasmania is perfectly poised to carve out a lucrative slice of this pie. With a large portion of that slice coming from the Prince of Wales Maritime Defence Precinct.

“There is nothing we can’t do here in this state. As an island nation we have proven our innovation and our willingness to come up with a solution and that’s what defence is looking for,” Miley explains. “We have got to still continue to push that hard through Canberra and other areas to make sure we get the right product out there for defence in the future.”

Reprinted courtesy of Brand Tasmania.

www.brandtasmania.com
www.tasmanianmanufacturing.com.au 
www.storemasta.com.au
www.tmn.org.au 
www.lsames.com