January 30, 2015
The manufacturing industry across the country is going through an interesting period. At the same time major plant manufacturing is declining, high-tech manufacturing for smaller employers is going through a phase of significant growth. ARRB is a perfect example of this trend. Not only are we the country’s leading roads researchers and advisers, but also a manufacturer of the world’s most advanced road measurement equipment with substantial growth in new product development and international sales. The question is: why do high-tech manufacturers like ARRB continue to buck the trend and succeed, when bigger more traditional players are struggling? Let’s explore this through a case study. Niche manufacturing Pavement cracking and road quality deterioration is a dangerous and ongoing problem that is difficult to effectively monitor and record. Previously, it was done by painstakingly taking pictures of the road and picking out cracks – a tedious process that isn’t truly reflective of…
January 30, 2015
Belgian robotics technology and solution company RoboJob is a market-leading specialist in the automatic loading and unloading of CNC machinery. It commenced its activities in the ANZ region last year after it reached an agreement with the Australian branch of Okuma, the Japanese market leader in CNC turning and milling machines. Under the terms of their partnership agreement, Okuma is selling, installing and servicing RoboJob automation solutions throughout Australia and New Zealand. RoboJob’s Turn-Assist and Mill-Assist series of equipment are integrated solutions that enable the automatic loading and unloading of turning and milling machines. A key element of each is the interactive controller, whereby basic dimensions are asked for and input by the operator, allowing quick set-up or changeovers to occur, making important short batch work much more viable. Both systems can be used for a wide range of dimensions (standard ø 5 to 400mm) and weights (up until 700 kg). The portability of the equipment between machines is also a major advantage. Once set up, ‘after…
January 30, 2015
The Index, which reflects the views of 1,000 small and medium businesses, revealed 51% of small and medium business owners are feeling positive about the year ahead, with 24% reporting being worried. Overall confidence levels are slightly down on last quarter at a net balance of 27, being the difference between the positive and worried businesses. The report uncovered a growing gap between the experience of metropolitan and regional businesses, with declining confidence among regional businesses being the main source of declining confidence overall. “Regional Australia is doing it tough. Confidence levels vary across the states, but in general, regional businesses are significantly less confident than their metropolitan counterparts about the coming year,” said Sensis Chief Executive Officer John Allan. “Metropolitan businesses are more positive about the current state of the economy and more optimistic about the future of the economy than regional. They reported higher performance across all indicators and are clearly more optimistic on profitability. “Much depends on the local…
January 30, 2015
Coining The term ‘coining’ comes from coin-making. To put Lincoln’s profile on a penny, machines using extremely high tonnage compressed a metal disc with enough force to make it conform to the image inscribed on the die set. Similarly, coining with a press brake involves using enough tonnage to conform the sheet metal to the exact angle of the punch and die. In coining, the metal is more than just bent, it is actually thinned by the impact of the punch and die as it is compressed between them. The theory is that with enough tonnage, your sheet metal will bend to the precise angle of your tooling, so your tooling should be an equal match to the angle required. Bottom bending In bottom bending or ‘bottoming’, the punch and die are brought together so the material makes contact with the punch tip and the V-opening sidewalls. It differs from coining in that the punch and die don’t fully contact the metal, and…
January 23, 2015
The company has worked on parts for some of South Australia’s most recognisable infrastructure projects, from fabricating the complex, rotated frame of the Wayville Pedestrian Overpass, to transporting major sign gantries and bridge beams for the Southern Expressway. Bowhill has also had a hand in national projects such as the Square Kilometre Array in Western Australia, and upgrading just about every loch and weir of the lower River Murray. Their client list includes McConnell Dowell, Lend Lease and Raytheon. The business is a long way from where it started and, quite literally, a fair way from most things. Brendon and Averil Hawkes moved from the beachside Adelaide suburb of Glenelg, to Bowhill on the banks of the Murray River in the early 1970s. It lies around 150kms out of Adelaide. Brendon and Averil’s son Jeremy Hawkes, now Bowhill’s Managing Director, explains that the family plan of becoming broad acre farmers took something of a turn. “My grandfather had a mechanical repair workshop in Glenelg,” says Jeremy. “When my father…
January 23, 2015
Difficulties in obtaining finance can hold these SMEs back from winning new business, growing internationally and commencing export operations. The good news, however, is that there are a number of options available to ensure that SMEs don’t miss out on the finance they need to expand overseas. The financial challenges facing SME exporters Australia’s 2014 International Business Survey found that 62% of SMEs found it difficult to source additional debt financing. There are a number of reasons why this is the case. A key one is that the funding requirements of many SMEs are quite specialised — particularly those that are innovative or growing rapidly — and so don’t often fit into the standard lending approach adopted by banks. This is often due to the small amounts involved, the lack of security or not being able to provide information on their ability to service the loan. It is particularly an issue…
January 23, 2015
An innovative new environment has emerged for manufacturers due to the transition of 3D printing into mainstream technology. With the cost of 3D printers continuing to decrease and the technology becoming more widespread, it’s drawing escalating attention from the industry. According to Deloitte, additive manufacturing, a process that’s been steadily developed since 1984, allows businesses to innovate products from the inside out, a process that can’t be obtained through traditional manufacturing techniques. A common perception is that 3D printing is optimum for the creation of small, compound and unique objects. While this was certainly the case historically, it’s not the case today. The capabilities of 3D printing move far beyond the creation of simple objects, allowing manufacturers to design and create objects that are complex and challenging in nature – all in a cost-effective way that’s providing immense opportunities for the manufacturing sector. Now, we are even seeing projects to build standalone houses using 3D technology. From manufacturing concrete…
January 23, 2015
Assistant Minister for Education and Training Simon Birmingham said the Fund, which will provide up to 200,000 training places and skills advice for businesses over the next four years, was a key element of the Government’s Industry Innovation and Competitiveness Agenda. “This is a new way of providing support to businesses that need to upskill or retrain their employees to enable their business to grow, diversify, adopt new technologies, or take advantage of new market opportunities,” said Birmingham. “For the first time, employers will be supported to decide what training is needed in their business, and which training provider they want to work with, to boost their business productivity and competitiveness.” Priority will be given to small and medium-sized businesses, including micro businesses, as well as to businesses looking to grow in the sectors in which Australia enjoys a competitive advantage, such as, food and agribusiness, medical technology, mining equipment, and oil, gas and energy resources, as well as in advanced manufacturing. “The Industry Skills Fund is a key part of…
January 23, 2015
The Hall of Fame recognises Victoria’s most advanced and export-oriented manufacturers who excel in business innovation and productivity and contribute to the Victorian economy. The Manufacturing Hall of Fame Award categories include Manufacturer of the Year, Company Induction, Honour Roll, and Young Manufacturer of the Year. “The 2015 Victorian Manufacturing Hall of Fame Awards present an opportunity for all manufacturers to be recognised for their industry success,” said Minister D’Ambrosio. “Manufacturing contributes $25bn to the Victorian economy. This award recognises forward- thinking manufacturers who are raising the bar in the industry, to help ensure the future of manufacturing in Victoria.” The Victorian Manufacturing Hall of Fame Awards were established in 2001 to celebrate manufacturing excellence in Victoria. At last year’s awards ceremony, SRX Global (Australia), Future Fibre Technologies of Mulgrave and Thermofilm Australia were named as Manufacturer of the Year in the large, medium and small categories respectively. In addition, AMTIL members APT and Maton were among nine companies inducted into the Hall of Fame with a total of 16 individuals or companies…
January 22, 2015
The new facility at Richmond is not your everyday building. Not simply because it is located at the end of a military runway. Or because its form is unconventional, especially compared with other buildings scattered around this sprawling military base. This building’s near uniqueness rests with the fact there are only a handful of such facilities in Australia, which, in turn, largely influenced its ultimate corrugated steel shape. For those in the business, liquid oxygen is simply referred to as LOX. The Liquid Dry Breathing Oxygen Maintenance and Storage Facility, to give it its full name, performs a specific task for the RAAF, it tests, maintains and services the oxygen (and nitrogen) used for breathing air on military planes. “The new facility had to accommodate LOX liquid,” said architect Guy Luscombe of Campbell Luscombe Folk Lichtmam Architects. “It has two main functions, storage and maintenance. “For safety reasons each function is housed in a separate building. “The storage building, essentially a rain and…
January 16, 2015
Only two of the seven activity sub-indexes – those for employment (up 4.7 points to 52.5) and exports (up 2.9 points to 51.0) – were above 50 points this month (readings below 50 indicate a contraction in activity, with the distance from 50 indicative of the strength of the decrease). The new orders sub-index fell sharply (down 10.6 points to 43.7) following two months of mild expansion, reflecting slower growth or a decline in new orders across the manufacturing sub-sectors. Manufacturing production also contracted for a second month (down 1.4 points to 46.0). Reflecting the weak trading conditions, supplier deliveries (down 3.5 points 48.5) and stocks (almost unchanged at 45.4) also contracted in December. Ai Group Chief Executive, Innes Willox, said: "We would have hoped to have seen a stronger Australian PMI® in the lead-up to Christmas, but the finding is consistent with other publicly released data. Respondents to the Australian PMI® welcomed the further depreciation in the Australian dollar, but noted that the level of…
January 16, 2015
“The beginning of the year signifies the ‘fresh start’ the majority of us use to make personal improvements or strive to be better,” said Ms Baxter. “So in 2015 rather than committing to just a personal change, focus on something that will also benefit your work-mates, family and the broader community. Improvements to workplace health and safety don’t have to be difficult or expensive tasks. They can increase productivity, and could save someone’s life.” If you have not already done so, Safe Work Australia recommends introducing a system of managing the health and safety risks in your workplace using a risk management approach. The model Code of Practice on ‘How to manage work health and safety risks’ provides a step by step guide to: identifying hazards, and assessing, controlling and reviewing risks. If you want to improve your management of health and safety, Safe Work Australia recommends: Make health and safety the first agenda item on both your management and team meetings. Review your risk management systems. Consult workers to identify…
January 16, 2015
The next industrial revolution is near. IT and software innovation are driving efficiency and automation within manufacturing processes. Specifically, mega-trends such as mobile, social, cloud and big data are transforming processes and technology platforms to enable the agility, scalability and adaptability needed by businesses to remain competitive. These trends represent the transformation towards what can be referred to as the evolution of the “digital enterprise”. Already we are seeing examples of this digital revolution with the emergence of the ‘smart factory’. In particular, through the phenomenon of the Internet of Things, devices and machinery can now communicate with each other, offering manufacturers greater insight into processes. Manufacturers can monitor the status of a part through the production process and beyond. Moreover, armed with knowledge of a product’s whole lifecycle, manufacturers will be able to gather vast amounts of intelligence about the product, meaning parts can be modified or replaced more rapidly and systems can be monitored more precisely. These are all elements of one common theme, known as Industry 4.0. Manufacturers must become digital to exist…
