Month: August 2016

The funding is part of the Labor Government’s Future Industries Manufacturing Program, which is supporting Victorian-based manufacturers grow and create jobs. LTA will use the money to invest in new equipment, create five new full time jobs and boost its exports by more than $4m. It builds on recent announcements, including grants to: Guala Closures in West Footscray; Southern Cross Ceramics in Mulgrave; CE Bartlett in Wendouree; Medical Developments International in Scoresby; and Fitmycar in Ravenhall. “We are helping Victorian manufacturers like Lovitt Technologies invest in new technologies to help them grow and create new jobs,” said Minister Noonan. “As car manufacturing winds down it’s important we support those businesses that will transition Victoria towards an advanced manufacturing economy.” Established in 1954 as George Lovitt Manufacturing to manufacture cutting tools for the Australian automotive industry, LTA has evolved continuously over the subsequent six decades. Quick to anticipate the decline of Australian car-making, it branched into fields as diverse as…

The CSIRO-developed technology, known as MagSonic, produces magnesium using up to 80% less energy and up to 60% less carbon dioxide emissions thanks to a supersonic nozzle. Magnesium is the lightest of all metals and is in rising demand from car manufacturers who are turning to the metal as a solution for making lightweight, low-emission vehicles. CSIRO and Enirgi Group’s Innovation Division will work together to further develop and validate the MagSonic technology. Once the technology is proven ready for commercialisation, Enirgi Group has the option to take up an exclusive global license that would see the company initially build a commercial-scale magnesium production facility in Australia. Dr Mark Cooksey, who leads CSIRO’s sustainable process engineering group, said commercialisation of MagSonic would help take advantage of Australia’s abundant reserves of magnesite ore that remain largely untapped. “The growth of magnesium use has been limited because it’s been too expensive and labour-intensive to produce the metal from ore using traditional processes,” Dr…

Lockheed Martin will invest an initial $13m over three years to establish a Science Technology Engineering Leadership and Research Laboratory (STELaR Lab) to undertake R&D to solve the technology challenges of the future, and work in the art of the possible. STELaR Lab, the first leading edge multi-disciplinary facility to be established by Lockheed Martin outside the US, will be situated in the heart of Melbourne’s emerging technology district between University of Melbourne and RMIT. It will constitute Lockheed Martin’s national R&D operations centre for its current research portfolio in Australia, and undertake additional internal R&D programs. Scheduled to open in early 2017, STELaR Lab researchers will explore several fields, including hypersonics, autonomy, robotics and command, control, communications, computing, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. Lockheed Martin confirmed the strategic investment in Australia’s future research and development program will create premium jobs for science and technology graduates, with STELaR Lab anticipated to grow to over 20 employees within three years. Speaking at an event in Melbourne on 1 August to announce the decision,…

“While sales and employment improved and prices remain positive, wages and profitability went backwards this quarter,” said Sensis Chief Executive Officer John Allan. “These are not the results you would expect to see when confidence has lifted to a five year high. “Rather than being driven by these indicators, confidence is instead being driven by perceptions that the overall economic environment is improving. On top of this, the non-cyclical influences remain strong, with businesses continuing to feel particularly positive about their own specific business strengths.” The net balance score of +44 – the difference between the number of confident SMBs (60%) versus the number of worried SMBs (16%) – is the highest business confidence score recorded since March 2011. The Index, which reflects the views of 1,000 small and medium businesses from across Australia, also found that perceptions of the economy improved by 14 points this quarter, although they remain negative overall on -8. “Perceptions of the economy…

The figures represent the longest phase of expansion for the Australian PMI since August 2004 (readings above 50 indicate expansion in activity and the distance from 50 indicates the strength of the increase). Six of the seven manufacturing activity sub-indexes expanded in July, with deliveries (up 13.7 points to 62.6), sales (up 6.1 points to 59.8), exports (up 9.0 points to 59.5), new orders (up 4.7 points to 58.8) and employment (emerging from contraction to 56.5 points) all expanding at a stronger pace (see table below). “Manufacturing activity entered its second year of expansion in July with the Australian PMI recording gains in manufacturing production, sales, exports and employment during the month,” said Ai Group Chief Executive, Innes Willox. “The lower value of the local currency has been a key driver behind these gains.” Six of the eight manufacturing sub-sectors expanded (that is, above 50 points in three-month moving averages), led by wood & paper products (up 1.9 points to…

It happened again in 2008 when Kevin Rudd announced a $25bn high-speed rail network connecting Melbourne and Sydney that never got over the line. Julia Gillard then spent time analysing a feasibility study on a network connecting Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane budgeted at $114bn before rejecting the proposal. And in 2013 Tony Abbott showed his hand by winding up the High Speed Rail Advisory Group. That is why we now need to take some decisive action. The latest proposal by the private equity firm Consolidated Land and Rail Australia Pty Ltd (CLARA) claims it can deliver a high-speed rail network from Melbourne to Sydney via Canberra with no government funding required. The…

Precision Metal Group offers a broad range of services including metal fabrication, profile cutting, workshop machining, machinery repairs and maintenance, mechanical and electrical engineering services. It prides itself on the ability to be a one-stop shop, offering 24/7 support for a growing band of loyal customers. Company founder Jason Elias is the driving force behind this innovative operation. Jason set up the business in 2000 at Yennora in western Sydney after finishing a highly successful apprenticeship as a boilermaker – he was named Apprentice of the Year three years running. After operating the business successfully for eight years as a sole trader Elias decided to form a company after moving to bigger premises at Wetherill Park. After four years, the company boasted 16 full-time employees, including Elias – the archetypal hands-on boss. “We then managed to land a couple of big contracts and the company grew from 16 employees to 42 in a six-month period,” he adds. Precision Metal Group now has 51…