February 4, 2019
Led by AMTIL, and generously supported by the Victorian Government, the Additive Manufacturing Hub (AM Hub) has been established to grow and develop Additive Manufacturing capability. The AM Hub will be the first port of call for any companies looking to explore the potential of additive manufacturing for them. If you are in this space or you want to be, then the AM Hub can help. The AM Hub will have a dedicated, searchable capability directory that can be used to identify critical resources within the AM community. There will be tailored networking events that will educate people on advancements, connect attendees to domestic and international expertise, as well as many other services and resources. A major part of the AM Hubs activity will be the offer of possible financial assistance to members that want advance their capability or product and see the AM sector as a critical part of that exploration. The Build it Better voucher programme will provide funding of up to $20,000 to undertake small projects such as; redesign or re-engineering of existing components for additive manufacturing, or new product development for additive manufacturing application, developing a business for investment, material selection and lots…
February 1, 2019
The return to expansion follows a flat result in December 2018 that ended 26 months of continuous expansion (readings above 50 points indicate expansion in activity, with the distance from 50 indicating the strength of the increase). January 2019 saw mild improvements in sales, new orders, exports and production compared with December for many manufacturers. Conditions remain more favourable for food & beverages manufacturers than those in other sectors, with exports and new orders looking especially promising. Six of the seven activity indexes in the Australian PMI indicated expansion in January (see table below), but they have been trending down on average since Q3 2018. New orders improved by 2.0 points to 52.3 while the production index recovered from December’s mild contraction (up 4.9 points to 54.0). Supplier deliveries rose 6.2 points to 55.6, but finished stocks (inventories) were depleted in order to meet new year demand (down 7.8 points to 47.7). “2019 is clearly bringing a new set of challenges to Australian manufacturing,” said…
