July 6, 2020
VICTORIAN BUSINESS GROWTH FUND The $250 million Victorian Business Growth Fund (VBGF) is now open to support long‑term growth opportunities for businesses and boost employment and economic development across the State. Established by the Victorian Government and First State Super, the Fund will operate for 10 years and will help to address barriers faced by successful small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that are ready to grow their business but can’t access the funds or find the right partner they need to take the next step. Providing support to businesses with strong long-term growth prospects that are having difficulty accessing capital is even more critical as a measure to help drive economic recovery and growth in the wake of the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic. The Fund will back permanent, high-skilled jobs in priority areas of the economy; jobs that improve workforce diversity, jobs for people that have been unemployed or have a harder time gaining employment and jobs for people trying to reskill and for apprentices. Roc Partners has been engaged to manage the VBGF. The VBGF will be operated out of a new Victorian office, ensuring local knowledge is leveraged to support the success of the…
July 6, 2020
RMIT University launches new online CNC short courses Workers across Australia will have the opportunity to learn how to operate programmable CNC machines and lathes. The two online short courses cater for beginners and advanced operators. The Centre for Digital Enterprise (C4DE), a partnership between RMIT University, Wodonga TAFE, Sunraysia Institute, have collaborated with Okuma Australia to offer workers throughout Australia the opportunity to learn how to operate and program the latest Computer Numerical Control machines used in advanced manufacturing. By offering the courses fully online, it not only means that learners from anywhere in Australia can benefit from this new program, but it highlights RMIT’s readiness to innovate and quickly pivot to digital models of learning. Both courses are in line with the current trends toward industry-tailored, short, bite sized segments of learning to upskill and reskill workforces rather than undertaking full qualifications. These courses are aimed at addressing the potential impacts that new smart skills and Industry 4.0 are having on the Australian workforce. Centre for Digital Enterprise Senior Manager, Stephen Joyce said that digital skills in advanced manufacturing will be vital in driving job creation in the post-COVID economy. “We designed these courses to…
July 2, 2020
The family-owned and operated business, which turns 25 next year, has been built upon inherently sustainable values, including local manufacturing, designing long-lasting products and a reuse-and-repurpose outlook on production. The Melbourne-based company owns and operates its own foundry, where brass is melted down and recycled into swarf, which forms the brass rods that eventually become tapware. This circular system is supported by Sussex’s manufacturing workshop, which recently underwent a multi-million-dollar expansion with plans to implement new technology to further improve its manufacturing capabilities. At the heart of Sussex’s business model is a commitment to retaining the artisanal aspects of its product output, where design and local manufacturing come first. Creative Director Vanessa Katsanevakis explains that this rubric is fundamental to Sussex’s operation as a sustainable design and manufacturing business and has set the business up to ask broader questions about the life cycle of the products it creates. “We operate under the mantra that good design is sustainable design,” says Katsanevakis. “To us, that really comes down to asking ourselves three core questions: How is the product designed? How…
July 2, 2020
ProtoSpace is unique in offering access to both high-end equipment and technical advice and expertise beyond the reach of many manufacturing businesses. It encourages direct, hands-on experimentation, and offers training and consultation alongside access to AM capabilities supported by operational and engineering teams. “We want to collaborate with industry partners by providing access to cutting-edge expertise in 3D printing technology, software, engineering and design,” says Hervé Harvard, Director of both ProtoSpace and UTS’ Rapido facility. “We have assembled a highly advanced suite of printers, with eight individual AM machines on-site, and provide guidance on how AM technologies will best fit a business. And we can bring together multi-skilled teams from across UTS drawing on specific discipline areas including artificial intelligence, Internet of Things (IoT), robotics and automation to work closely with businesses to develop their best solution.” As AM has matured from design/prototyping and tooling, a new era in bespoke 3D printing promises great potential for further innovation, says…
July 2, 2020
On 25 March, the Government effected changes to the Corporations Act to protect the economy from the stress of the ongoing pandemic. Understanding these changes and what hasn’t changed can help you protect against: Being held personally liable for Company debts incurred, and Losses from trading with insolvent customers and on Director / Shareholder Loans. What has changed? Relief from insolvent trading Relief has been provided to Directors who act in good faith from insolvent trading claims for the period of six months from 25 March 2020. Insolvent trading is the act of incurring debt whilst the company is insolvent, and this debt remains outstanding at the point of liquidation. A liquidator can bring an action against a Director personally for these debts. An example of how the relief will work in practice is: We have Jim who runs a chain-link fencing manufacturing business with expenses in the form of rent, wages and wire. Jim’s company becomes insolvent on 1 April 2020; however, he keeps trading until 31 December 2020 when his…
July 2, 2020
MaxiTRANS is one of Australia’s largest suppliers of truck and trailer parts to the road transport industry in Australia. It is also the largest supplier of locally manufactured, high-quality heavy road transport trailer solutions, including trailer repair and service, in Australia and New Zealand. The AZMEB Door Side Tipper AB-triple road train combination is the first of a number that are due to be delivered to Boral Logistics, with the first unit being put to work in the long-distance delivery of quarry material throughout Western Queensland from the Boral Wellcamp Quarry. Boral operates around 70 quarries, metropolitan and regional, throughout Australia. The Wellcamp Quarry, west of Toowoomba, extracts and processes a wide range of product, particularly highly specified road base aggregate. Wade Clark, Operations Manager of Boral Logistics Queensland, says Boral’s road train combinations play an important part of the transport logistics operation…
July 1, 2020
The June result comes in the wake of April’s largest ever monthly fall in the Australian PMI (readings above 50 points indicate expansion in activity, with higher results indicating a faster rate of expansion). However, while the result is the largest ever monthly rise, it was narrowly focused on some sub sectors and indicates an improvement from recent depths rather than a recovery to buoyant conditions. Almost all of the improvement reflected in June’s Australian PMI was concentrated in the large food & beverages sector, with new orders from food wholesale distributors improving with the relaxation of trading restrictions. Less positively, manufacturers who supply locally made metal products and building materials to the construction industry reported a sharp reduction in new orders. “Manufacturing performance edged ahead in June largely on the back of a solid lift in the large food & beverages sector as restrictions on cafes and restaurants were eased,” said Ai Group Chief Executive Innes Willox. “The machinery & equipment sector enjoyed a spike in sales associated with end-of-financial…
